Posted on 11/14/2006 7:35:03 PM PST by smug
Miracles happen every day. They happen by the grace of God. My comment was that no one commands miracles. Jesus made miracles happen. He commanded a miracle to do done, and it was so... No one can do that now.
We pray for God to grant us a miracle - and through His grace we might receive that miracle - but we don't COMMAND it.
Mr. Silverback, are you working at not understanding what I'm saying? What reason could you have for misrepresenting what I'm saying?
Again, I BELIEVE in miracles.
I BELIEVE miracles happen every day.
I BELIEVE they happen by the grace of GOD.
I DON'T BELIEVE any man alive today commands GOD to do his bidding.
IS THAT CLEAR ENOUGH?
Then you see poorly.
I have merely asked you to 'show your work' and you've tried to make ME do it.
Sorry, but Homey don't play dat way.
Sure do, and you've proved that 'having a permit' does NOT eliminate the danger. Did this guy have the critters under control or is it just 'his papers' that are out of order?
(initials: 'L' 'C')
There is an elsiejay on fr too.
Same here.
I've probably killed 25 rattlesnakes with a shotgun (and as many with a bushog) but just in my experience, when you shoot a snake on the ground shoot JUST BENEATH IT. Maybe I tend to shoot high anyway but on hard ground it just works better, as the shot (I use birdshot for everything) tends to both hit the snake and kick them back a few feet.
The writhing always gives me the creeps tho.
Quite true, but a lot of the early church were NOT Jews.
NIV John 7:35
The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
NIV Acts 11:19-20
19. Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.
20. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
NIV Acts 17:2-4
2. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, (uh... what Elsie is trying to ;^)
3. explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, " he said.
4. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.
NIV Acts 17:17
So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
NIV Acts 18:4
Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
NIV 1 Corinthians 1:22-24
22. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23. but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24. but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Thank you very much for your comments. I have three non-venomous pet snakes and have ordered two more. They are the greatest pets that a guy like me could have. I'll likely end up with a collection of about seven or eight. I don't ask that anyone else like me or my snakes. I only ask that they not agitate for the government to regulate my possession of these animals or ban them outright. Non-venomous snakes will never be the public health threat that dogs or cats can be. They will not be the environmental threat that other animals can be. Many people just don't like them, but they aren't a danger.
Bill
A few posts ago, you were willing to leave things alone. I'm sorry to see this change. That's sad to see. There are many things that I don't like, but I don't ask the government to ban them. Snakes are not a public health threat. Except for extreme southern Florida, the extremely big ones can't even survive in the wild in the United States. They do not have the bite strength of dogs. Their jaws are made to hold prey and not to tear or crush prey as a dog's jaws do. They do not have the territorial instinct that causes dogs to attack people. They do not form packs to attack cooperatively. About 800,000 people are treated every year for serious dog bites. They likely don't even keep those statistics on snakes because there are so few non-venomous snake bites that require treatment. Efforts to ban snakes are based on fear and ignorance. The ignorance is not just ignorance of snakes but ignorance of the founding principle of not passing laws where there is no need and not passing laws just to put our own fears and prejudices on others.
Bill
Your statement simply isn't true. Most non-native snakes that are brought to this country are from places near the equator. The most common imported snake in the pet industry is the ball python. The natural range of the ball python is within about 20 degrees of the equator. The southern extreme of Texas is about 26 degrees north of the equator. The southern extreme of Florida is around 25 degrees north of the equator. Those six degrees make a huge difference in climate, and ball pythons would not survive our winters.
If there's a reason for Congress not doing something, the reason is that there's no public health threat or environmental threat associated with these animals. The venomous snakes are never going to be common, and most states already regulate venomous snakes under state law. The non-venomous snakes are not a threat at all and certainly not a threat when compared to the 20 to 30 deaths and about 800,000 injuries caused yearly by dog bites. I'm glad that Congress has so far refused to force some people's fears and prejudice on the rest of us who enjoy owning these magnificent animals.
Bill
It was a joke. I hate snakes but I really don't want the government in the banning business. I will do my part voluntarily on my own property though:')
You must be a responsible owner though and make sure they can't get out or hurt anyone. My son wants boas. I told him I respect his right to do so but don't invite me for THanksgiving unless we are eating snake:')
Thanks for the clarification. It's hard to pick up the nuances that denote sarcasm or a joke in this format.
What you do on your own property is your own business. I hate the thought of good animals being killed, but these things happen.
Bill
Actually, I should have said you need a permit to use the Chevy, because the snake permit is a stamp of competence, not a regulation of ownership. If a fouteen year old ended up in the ICU because he drove his dad's Chevy into a tree and the DA charged him with driving without a license, you wouldn't ask, "Did this guy have that car under control or is it just 'his papers' that are out of order?" You would agree that he was unqualified.
If this guy had the training he would have gotten the license, just as a seventeen year old who's been to driving school will go get his license instead of driving without one.
You know, it's all well and good for us to have a libertarian impulse about events in ones own home, but these animals are dangerous, could escape and were owned/handled by a guy who had no idea what he was doing. There is a state interest here to protect the public from his stupidity, just as there is a state interest in making sure a person driving a two ton piece of machinery is not a danger to the rest of us.
Boas are nice snakes. I almost considered getting them when I started in the hobby. The one warning that I'd pass along is that any one of the red-tail boas may have the chance of reaching 12 feet in length. There's no way of knowing ahead of time whether that cute, little hatchling is going to reach that size someday. Many will stop around 8 or 9 feet, but some keep growing. If your son is serious, he needs to plan for the fact that his snake could be that big within ten years. If he's not certain that he can provide comfortable housing to his animal when it reaches that size, he needs to look for another species. If he's looking at rainbow boas or one of the other small species, that particular issue shouldn't be a problem. I love snakes, but I urge anyone considering them to do a huge amount of research. They are a perfect pet for me, but some people aren't in a good situation to be keeping them. I hate to see the heartache for the owners and the suffering of the animal when things aren't right.
Sorry for the sermon.
Bill
And for sure you are correct about the health problem wth dogs and cats. It's huge. The shelters in my area are no-kill, and there are enough feral cats in the woddy parts of town to sink a fleet.
That was my point. We may not agree with each other but the government shouldn't referee with laws. Owners of dangerous animals must be responsible though.
I'm always very skeptical of permitting processes. I think most people's behavior is based on how they were raised and possibly some inherent personality traits, and I don't see bureaucracies and their permitting processes having much impact on that behavior. Our society's strong faith in permitting as the cure for most ills bothers me tremendously. We need to be a society where parents inculcate a strong sense of responsibility in their own kids as the first line of defense for every kind of problem. Any other kind of society will never solve its problems.
I can grudgingly accept the permitting of "the big 5" species and all venomous species even though I really don't see that process as being particularly effective. Louisiana has a law that requires people to have a permit for all species that will reach over 12 feet in length and all venomous species. For venomous species, there may be a requirement to keep anti-venom on the premises. I don't keep venomous snakes or large snakes, so I don't know the details. A snake's inherent behaviors make even the large species less dangerous than the dogs that people let roam free in neighborhoods, but as permit laws go, I'm okay with what Louisiana has right now. Unfortunately, some idiots want to expand the law to require permitting for the species I have and want to stop people like me from expanding our collections.
I think the Louisiana law also requires the implantation of a small ID chip in the big snakes. I don't remember whether the chip is required as soon as the snake is big enough to accept the chip safely or whether the chip is required only when the snake reaches 12 feet. Owners who have a snake escape are required to report the snake immediately. If the owner doesn't report the escape and the snake is found and ID'ed by the chip, there's a fine.
Thanks,
Bill
I was never the one disagreeing with you - reread the comments.
Do I have to? I have a headache, my tooth hurts, and I'm seeing double double. My apologies then- too many threads to keep track of was just going on memeory, but obviously I had a brain fart soemwhere along the line- I've lashed myself with Cat-O-Nine-Tails embedded with glass shards and rusty nails- I've also eaten liver as penance- I niver eat liver- makes me quiver- and shiver and dance in a river
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