<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
panose-1:3 15 7 2 3 3 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.gmaildefault
{mso-style-name:gmail_default;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>…</b>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat<br><br><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>>…<span style='color:#222222'>So I ask: is religion playing a good role in their lives, or a bad one?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault>Perhaps I am the wrong one to ask, for I know personally people who have been changed for the better by religion. Hey it works for them, even doublethink. I am not capable of it myself, but if it works for them, who the hell am I to judge? Thinking right isn’t everything, it isn’t the only thing that matters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault>Another way to say it: if you needed surgery who would you rather have, Dr. Leonard Bailey, or… the right-thinking you know who?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault>So would I.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault>>…</span><span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#222222'>Bad might mean that they deny reality in other areas of their lives, are way too credulous ($ to Nigeria maybe?), and so on.</span></span><span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It has long been a fantasy of mine if I made a buttload, a really fun gag I would play: get an actual literal Nigerian prince, put up the money behind him, say 2.47 million US dollars, and see how long it takes him to give it away to an American person he heard was a worthy sort, reliable, of good character, that sorta thing. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The prince could send one email a day, worded in his own perfectly authentic classic Nigerian prince style. He would get a commission if he managed to give away the money. He has to get the gullible person to hand over their bank account number, at which time the Prince would deposit the actual literal money into that account, exactly as he said he would. Then we watch what the gullible victim does once he or she sees all that money show up in the account.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Oh that would be a hoot.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I suspect that prince would go thru a lot of people before he managed to get anyone who would believe.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#222222'>Opiates of the people - necessary?</span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#222222'>bill w</span></span><span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Whelp. Billw, I would hafta conclude that opiates really are necessary for some people. But hey I don’t know everything there is to know. Do you? Does anyone here know everything there is to know? Neither do I. But I am learning. I will let ya know when I know everything.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>