JayCeeKy

FreshFluff - your allusion to the Prison Study is appropriate, I think. . Zimbardo's study illustrates that, given the right circumstances, we ALL have the potential to do terrible things - and might help us understand (and maybe empathize, not condone) what happened at the frat house. It's what Zimbardo calls the "Power of the Situation." I like what Martin Luther King said in regards to understanding the evil that lurks in all of us: There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. - Martin Luther King, Jr

Research shows that people are less likely to offer help to someone in distress if other people are also present. This is called the bystander effect. The probability that a person will receive help decreases as the number of people present increases. If your car breaks down you are much more likely to get help from passersby if it's 3:00 a.m. than rush hour. The bystander-effect is sadly illustrated by this event. These frat boys are probably not horrible dudes - just terribly immature like most of us at that age. The pre-frontal cortex (responsible for "good judgement") is not fully functional in males until around age 25. Very, very sad situation for everybody.

A lot of people don't understand the Catholic Church's teaching on sexuality. The Catholic Church, unlike the fundamentalists of the Protestant churches, does not base its teachings on sexuality on the bible. The Catholic Church has never been a fundamentalist church, that is, has never taken the bible literally. For a good summary of this, see Daniel Helminiak's "What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality." Daniel is a former priest and has his Ph.D. in scripture. http://www.visionsofdaniel.net/paperSummaryOfWhatBibleReallySays.htm The Catholic Church bases its teaching on Natural Law - on Aristotelian teleology (what is the purpose of a thing?). The Church teaches that the purpose of sexuality is the "procreation and education of children." The Second Vatican Council added a second purpose of sex: the love and mutual support of husband and wife. So, anything outside of the sexual act between husband and wife (in marriage!) is considered gravely sinful b/c it does not conform to the laws of nature. This includes masturbation, homosexuality, adultery, you name it - if it doesn't produce kids, it's a no-no. Several modern Catholic moral theologians have argued that viewing sexuality only in terms of having babies is a very restricting and animalistic view of sexuality. They have argued that sexuality within marriage is the ideal, but is not an absolute. They argue that, if there is one thing that Jesus fought against, it was legalism and absolutism. Some older Catholics may remember Fr. Charles Curran who lost his job at a Catholic university back in the '70's for his book that advocated an acceptance of other forms of sexuality (he asked: does the Catholic Church really think that teens commit a mortal sin by masturbating?). "Curran contended in 1971 that homosexual acts, in the context of a committed relationship, fell short of the ideal but were to be considered good for homosexual people; he stated that "I had come to accept the moral legitimacy of a union of two gay men or lesbians." However, he has since recognized shortcomings in this argument, and in 1992, though without explicitly stating a change of position, he said that "the official hierarchical Roman Catholic teaching should accept the moral value and goodness" of same-sex relationships, not excepting those that include sex." So, who speaks for the church? Pope Francis said a couple of years ago: "If a person is gay and seeks out the Lord and is willing, who am I to judge that person?" Roma locuta; causa finita est

Some pics of the boys: https://www.boysclub21.nl/boys_eng.html

A Single Man (2010). With terrific acting from Colin Firth - and beautiful Nicholas Hoult as every gay man's dream college groupie. Based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood it portrays one day (November 30, 1962) in the life of a college professor (George) who has recently lost his longtime partner and is contemplating suicide. And whenever I'm having one of those crappy days I remind myself of what George tells himself on November 30, 1962: "Just get through the goddamn day."

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kMTdDZEgbPs/UT-nRfRFzyI/AAAAAAAAAMI/jIZiMqOO-N0/s320/Jan-MichaelCopy.jpg Unfortunately, Jan Michael did not age well. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/11/06/1415301904429_wps_9_EXCLUSIVE_Airwolf_star_Ja.jpg

Whether you have someone in your home or at a hotel is a matter of preference and circumstance. I NEVER have anyone in my home after a extraordinarily traumatic experience about 30 years ago - I unfortunately kept my hunting rifle and ammunition in a guest bedroom closet. When I emerged from the bathroom after our "fun time" the escort had the rifle and was loading ammo. I fortunately was able to run out the back door, over a back fence, and asked a neighbor to call the police, telling him I had come home and thought there was a burglar. When the police drove me home the rifle was lying on the bed, loaded. Luckily the escort was gone. I still have nightmares 30 years later - but, as I say, it's always at a hotel now. Of course, you could just as well have a bad experience at a hotel too, as newspaper accounts attest. Your best bet is to deal with "established" and well-reviewed escorts, though I don't always follow my own advice.

My usual routine is to hand the envelope to the escort as I excuse myself to "freshen up." I always invite the escort to go ahead and open the envelope and count it for two reason: 1) I may have made a mistake; 2) he can't say later that I shortchanged him. I was pleasantly surprised last weekend when the escort said: "No, I trust you" and put the envelope in his pocket. Not only did I have a good time with this young man, he earned my respect. (P.S. I had actually given him a big tip which I hope was a pleasant surprise for him later.)

Shaved. Hardwood floors are cleaner than shag carpet.

I have no personal info but sometimes if you google their phone number you get info. Just sayin'.

In looking at the photo of his arrest - does that say "Dunces" or "Ounces" on his t-shirt? I'm thinking both are appropriate.

Anecdotal Evidence is usually not worth much but here goes: I put up a male stripper for a while b/c he said he was having some financial problems. Everything went great for about a month - I had companionship and really enjoyed having a "stud" walking around in his skivvies. Then one day I noticed that my AMEX account had ATM withdrawals totaling about $6,000. Yes, stupid me left the PIN on my dresser. Luckily, AMEX didn't want to investigate and reimbursed me. The old saw is true: no good deed goes unpunished.

I may be wrong, but I don't believe that just having a parent who was in the service qualifies you for USAA. Your parent must have had USAA insurance themselves for their children to qualify. Both of my parents were in the military but I have been turned down a couple of times b/c I can't prove they belonged to USAA. From the web: "Now, to be eligible, according to their website: Active, retired and honorably separated officers and enlisted personnel of the U.S. military. Officer candidates in commissioning programs (Academy, ROTC, OCS/OTS). Adult children whose eligible parents have or had a USAA auto or property insurance product."

Whoever you get as a financial advisor, be sure to ask if he/she will have a "fiduciary duty" in his/her relationship to you. "A fiduciary duty is a legal duty to act solely in another party's interests. Parties owing this duty are called fiduciaries. The individuals to whom they owe a duty are called principals. Fiduciaries may not profit from their relationship with their principals unless they have the principals' express informed consent." If a financial advisor is in a fiduciary relationship with you, he/she MUST disclose to you whether he is making ANY profit when he recommends any type of investment. I've learned the hard way that certain advisors get kickbacks if their clients make certain investments, not always in your best interest. I would be especially wary of the large management companies. If I had to do over again, I would have taken a more active and direct role in determining which funds to invest in - and would have been more careful in observing the "management fees" that these companies charge. When you snooze, you lose. BTW, my portfolio has doubled since Obama became prez. It's probably time to take some profits before investors realize that the market is overpriced. Could happen any day though I suspect it will happen in first quarter of next year.

As a licensed Couple and Family Therapist, I have spent many years with clients who have literally dragged their partners into therapy - demanding that their PARTNERS CHANGE! It doesn't work that way. You are only responsible for one person in this life... and that's YOU. Sometimes, if you make changes in your life, your partner will also change, but don't count on it. I encourage my clients to say the newly-revised SERENITY PRAYER: God, grant me the SERENITY to accept the people I cannot change. COURAGE to change the person I can. And the WISDOM to know..... it's me. Good luck on your journey.

As someone who used to spend a lot of time interviewing job applicants, I think that Worthington45 gives you some excellent advice. Usually a hiring manager has several applicants to chose from. If an applicant told me that he had a "serious" illness that is "essentially" resolved (this implies that it is not resolved), I would consciously and unconsciously put that applicant at the back of the line since I might construe that the applicant is telling me to expect occasional absenteeism due to health issues. I also would not advise that you tell any coworker about your illnesses or personal information as they will inevitably spread that information to others, usually in a distorted or sensationalized form. When hiring, the most important traits I looked for were enthusiasm, intelligence, a good work ethic, a sense of humor, and ability to get along with others. Your medical history is your business, no one else. I am sure that most applicants are not hired for what they said rather than what they did not say during the interview.

My "boys" like JC Penney's Stafford boxers. They say it gives them room to breathe and knock-about a bit. When the boys are happy, I'm happy.

Not every part of Cher is 70 years old.

In my third year of college my roommate introduced me to the music of Leonard Cohen. When I first heard "Suzanne" I was hooked. http://rockhall.com/media/assets/blog_posts/songs_of_leonard_cohen_album.jpg