BebopKid

May be a good idea in concept, but if you get it wrong, your partner/opps can correct you. Not a big deal to me. I, personally, do not like physical labels: gender, race, age, etc. to be over emphasized.

I am from the USA. I am not sure of the total percentage of Christians, but believe it to be well under 50%. Close. Belief that Jesus is the Son of God, who physically appeared on the earth and repentance of sins in the knowledge that Jesus took our judgement as he died on the cross. And while Baptism is not necessary to become a Christian, it is necessary to be Baptized, after repentance and acceptance of Jesus as Savior, to receive the Holy Spirit--who interceeds on our behalf.

BeBop: This I think is an accurate statement; however, have you considered the reason for the unwavering resolution is due to the nature of the Wesleyan theology of "salvation/hellfire-brimstone" that is the heart of so many protestant religions and leads to a black and white world view? You are either saved or you burn in hell - You are either with us or with the terrorists - do you see any connection? The problem with faith is there is no room for self doubt. When confronted with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, one with faith has nothing to cling to but that faith. Because to accept the evidence means being wrong, and being wrong unravels not only the world view but unravels self - and we find there never was a self - only faith. A world view based on faith is not a house built on granite, nor even sand, but only the thinnest of stands of hope that if ever broken leads to chaos within the self. And clinging to a delusion in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary can only be defined as insanity - not stubborn resolve. I believe I did not expound fully enough. [Opinion here] I find that people of strong faith generally do not waver on issues. People of strong faith are open and non-judgemental. People of strong faith do stand fast in convictions. Now on the topic of decisions. People of strong faith make decisions, just like anyone else. Sometimes they are wrong. If facts turn out contrary to what they believed, they admit it. They say they were wrong. They make new decisions. They don't, however, base all decisions on polls and popular opinion. [Opinion stops] I'm still waiting for the evidence of crimes committed by the White House as espoused eariler in this topic. I'm still waiting for evidence that taking a dictator out of power--a dictator who committed war crimes, mass murder, mass rape, and other crimes against humanity--is illegal. I'm still waiting for evidence that the White House condoned torture, when all the reports of torture are being investigated with some of the instigators being court-marshalled. I've read lots of opinions that say illegal things have happened. I've yet to read a fact that proves any it. Saying something is so doesn't make it so. If you cite facts that these things have happened, then I'll admit that you are right. Until then, I am waiting for facts. Show me this overwhelming evidence you speak of. Also, I appreciate all who have insulted me. It proves my point. When you can't come up with an argument to back up your opinions then insult people who don't agree with you. Bravo.

LOL. I like it.

I'd pass. Go for setting the contract.

There is no separation of church and state in the USA. (BTW, if you find "Separation of church and state" in the USA Constitution I'll pay you money. Separation of church and state is a misrepresentation of the Bill of Rights that simply forbids the Government to establish a state religion.) The Judicial Branch of the USA has created a state religion. That state religion, Atheism, is the largest practiced religion in the USA. People of all faiths other than atheism are persecuted in the USA. It started small but is growing bigger every day. This is one reason why I want to vote for a Christian. Also, if Joseph Liberman were running, I'd consider voting for him. In my opinion, people who practice strong faith generally do not waver on issues. I can listen to them before elections and after elections and they have the same answers. Generally people without faith tend to track polls and give constituents what they want to hear in order to get elected. This is in no way fact, and in no way can I prove or disprove this. I did bring up the part about Barrack Obama, because the media did make false claims about his religious background. Since quite a few people were reading this, it was a way to advertise my favorite candidate. Obama never went to Madrassa as the media reported. He went to a public school for 2 years in a Muslim country. This information was easy enough for me to find out. I guess the media didn't care that it took me 2 minutes to verify that the information about the Madrassa was wrong. So with this said, what information can we believe? Who is telling the truth? Beats me.

I believe I have proved my point by the responses to my most recent post. Thanks to all. Also, I wish someone would actually cite facts and evidence of crimes or illegal deeds by Bush instead of citing their opinions and misrepresentations. And don't post it here, take it straight to Congress. Because if such evidence does exist, 2 Democratic houses of Congress will impeach and remove Bush. BTW, I never said anything bad about other religions. You are mocking me and not the other way around. Some choose to be ignorant of God. Some don't. No one is perfect. Everyone is hypocritical. I still have not judged anyone to be unworthy based on my opinions. In fact the only person I disparaged, was a former President--on that I voted for--by stating a fact. He testified to it and I have no reason to believe that he lied about it. As a faithful Christian, I don't believe I'm any better than you. I'm not better than Bush. I'm not better than Clinton. It sounds like some people are better than us, though. Please stand up and take charge. You know exactly what to do to fix everything. Text in bold is sarcastic.

There is no evidence Pres. Bush has made any false statements. There has been no condoning of torture. There has been no illegal tapping of phones. When a Christian man stands up for what's right he's a liar, and when a horny pervert commits adultery in a national treasure he's a hero. There is evidence that Iraq at one time had WMD, which Iraq used WMD on the Kurds. Most likely those are in Syria now. It is fact that Iraq was not allowing full access to U.N. Inspectors. The U.N. even passed a resolution demanding that Iraq stop deterring inspectors. Also note, that unlike some people, I have not made a personal judgement about anyone posting on this thread based solely on the value of their opinion. One other thing, everyone who can, please vote for Obama. He's a good, devout Christian. Thanks.

Fear not. My earlier comment was not sarcastic. I frankly don't care how I'm perceived. I don't have the grand authority to judge others. Unless they know something I don't, they don't have that authority either. I pray for democracy and freedom for all.

I have no reason to believe that Bush is doing anything differently from what he thinks is in the United States' best interests. He's shown himself to be an honest man.

I vote 5♦. I'm guessing we have 29-30 HCP. Partner should know i have long diamonds and singletons or void. He can decide to raise from there.

I like 3♣ for this one.

I say transfer to hearts and bid 3NT

I would prefer transfer to hearts then bid 3NT, accomplishes the same goal, but lets opener choose. But I would vote for 3NT since I'm 4333

2♥ Your partner asked you a question for a reason, answer it.

I would not look for slam unless partner has an ace. Use 4NT and stop in 5H. I would have just left it at 4H though. With one less spade, I might have tried.

Would you preempt 2♥ with KQxxxx over 1♣? I hope so. If nothing else 2♣ gives your partner an idea for lead of LHO is declarer.

1♦ for me, too, but 1♥ and 1♠ should not excite partner as all you've done is bid your best suit and shown no interest in your hand. Definitely don't pass, partner could have a big hand that makes game with your measely 5 HCP.

I would open 1♠ with your hand. I would have bid 4♠ with your partner's hand. I think your team is right. With your distribution, what good would a 1♦ or 1♥ response by partner done for you if your LHO had passed? With 12 HCP and intervention, you may not get to bid again. Also, the first goal of every hand should be for you and your partner to find an eight-card Major fit. IMHO.

I would lead the ♣5. If you get the ♣A out then you know you can come back and cash the king after you take one of your aces.

1♦ is perfect in SAYC. As I tell all my beginner partners, "Don't lie to your partner. They have to trust you as you trust them."

I would bid 2♠. If the contract stands, I would proudly lay down my cards as dummy. You can't set 2♥.

PASS and then slap myself for thinking that long about it.

In my understanding, a double denies a 5-card suit. With ♦ being my longest suit, I would tend to let my partner play with a 7-card fit at 2♠. North's bidding would seem odd to me.

2♥ cue bid