Bruce Springsteen JEEP 2021 Super Bowl Commercial 2021 LV - YouTube

BirdMan1 comments on Feb 12, 2021:

The Bruce's music never appealed to me. I understand that he is a nice guy. Having lived in N.J., my adult son ran into him in a deli, or café "down the shore" as Jerseyites call it, and had a pleasant experience saying "Hi!" The Jeep commercial rubbed me the wrong way, with him seeming to ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

@BufftonBeotch Oh fuck I hate that song, Turn The Page. I mean, come on, Seger whining about having to "play the star again", as he rakes in the big bucks? Boo-fucking-hoo. Cry me a river, Bob...

California is collapsing - UnHerd

rainmanjr comments on Feb 12, 2021:

I moved out of it twice because I couldn't afford it and couldn't find good work. I'm low skilled.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

That's why I never moved away from Iowa, even tho I don't fit in here, because the cost of living is much higher on either coast, I am not high-skilled, and thus, I could never compete or survive without living in poverty. Even in retirement, I'm still not rich enough to move somewhere that is significantly more expensive.

Bruce Springsteen JEEP 2021 Super Bowl Commercial 2021 LV - YouTube

BirdMan1 comments on Feb 12, 2021:

The Bruce's music never appealed to me. I understand that he is a nice guy. Having lived in N.J., my adult son ran into him in a deli, or café "down the shore" as Jerseyites call it, and had a pleasant experience saying "Hi!" The Jeep commercial rubbed me the wrong way, with him seeming to ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

I agree. I have always hated how popular Bob Seger is in the Midwest, since he is basically a midwest redneck ripoff of Springsteen and always has been. Seger writes and sings basically the same type of songs as Bruce and always has, but the yokels here in the midwest have always been big on Seger instead of Bruce. I could never figure that out unless it's simply a regional thing about being parochial and only supporting singers from your own neck of the woods. I liked Springsteen more when he was a proud Jersey boy who merged and sang from a cross of the hippie music and R&B music he grew up on instead of trying to move to the mainstream. I read his memoir, Born To Run and he said he grew up hanging around with both hippies and greasers, so I guess he also listened to doo-wop stuff like Dion as well as the above genres.

Secular Dating

Sofabeast comments on Feb 12, 2021:

Random chance in a beer tent after I had saved someone else's life.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

@Sofabeast Same with me as far as Agostic.com. Met some cool women on here, but they all live at least several hundred miles away. I'm not willing to date LD or move and neither are they. So it's pretty hopeless in that sense.

Roaming Charges: Scene of the Crimes - CounterPunch.org

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 12, 2021:

I must admit that the older I get, the more I feel like this, feelings of despair, resignation, and an inclination to abandon the fight. I wonder how Bernie Sander privately feels about the future of America and our politics. He knows he will probably die soon.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

@WilliamCharles Can't argue with any of that. I'm younger than you and I felt this was probably our last chance.

Secular Dating

AmyTheBruce comments on Feb 12, 2021:

My method probably won't work so well for you... I got on a senior dating website and stated that I'm atheist. On other dating sites such information was kryptonite, but on the senior site it was met with enthusiasm. I'm not saying that atheism is more popular with the older crowd (it isn't),...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

I agree that older adults are more willing to come out of the closet and identify as non-believers. When you're young there's more personal desire to fit in and go with the flow socially with the rest of your age group. People tend to be more secure about who they are and willing to buck the flow when they are older and have a support network already in place.

Secular Dating

Sofabeast comments on Feb 12, 2021:

Random chance in a beer tent after I had saved someone else's life.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

Nothing more attractive to women than a recognized hero.

Secular Dating

ADKSparky comments on Feb 12, 2021:

I’m not dating but pre-pandemic, I’ve met great people at atheist Meetups, humanist meetings, and at rallies.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

I have a married friend who goes to a lot of meetings like that around here. He used to keep pushing me to go with him so I could meet women, but after a while even he started to realize the meetings usually had very few women there, mainly sausage fests, and the women who were there were usually coupled with a guy that was with them there. Same thing with a grief support group I attended for several months after I was widowed, mainly to see if there were any women worth meeting, since my wife had dementia for several years before she died, so I had already done most of my grieving by then. When the group had its monthly gathering at a restaurant to socialize, I quickly realized that almost everyone there was already coupled up, along with the fact that almost all the people there were older than my dating age group. So I gave up on that too and quit attending. Dating over 50 really amounts to going out and doing the research, like I did, on the different ways of meeting people. After a year or so of research, it became clear that the best and most efficient way to meet single women my age would be dating sites, of which Match was the best. Your mileage may vary depending on where you live and what your dating age group is.

Secular Dating

AmyTheBruce comments on Feb 12, 2021:

My method probably won't work so well for you... I got on a senior dating website and stated that I'm atheist. On other dating sites such information was kryptonite, but on the senior site it was met with enthusiasm. I'm not saying that atheism is more popular with the older crowd (it isn't),...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

Just out of curiosity, which dating site did you use? I've tried Match and Our Time and neither one seems to have many non-believers in my age group. It also seems like most of the women my age from my area on there want a fellow believer. Of course, I'm an older generation than you and I live in Bible Belt Iowa while you live in liberal, blue, Washington state.

Bruce Springsteen JEEP 2021 Super Bowl Commercial 2021 LV - YouTube

whiskywoman comments on Feb 12, 2021:

he is getting old

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

That's why he did the high ticket price Broadway show, so he could cash in. On top of that, he and Netflix are milking every last nickel out of it before they will ever release that show for home video. Bruce is starting to act old, greedy and stupid...

So - my partner died in 20.

HeAdAkE comments on Feb 8, 2021:

Interesting fact : 80% of women are looking for the top 20% of men on dating apps datingapps are not worth it if ur a guy "Women marry Men in the hope that they will change, and Men marry Woman hoping they will not. So each is inevitably disappointed." can u believe that was the great ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

You are right about the stats on dating sites or apps. Both sexes are mostly looking for the top 20% of the respective genders on dating sites. The result is that the vast majority of both sexes end up being frustrated spectators who end up meeting very few people from the dating sites, go on very few dates and seldom end up having sex from it. Most of the actual dating and sex from dating sites is only practiced by the men and women in the top 20% of looks/attractiveness from the site. I do suspect the stats are somewhat different and better for average-looking or below average looking men and women on the sites like Tinder that are more about just hooking up than seeking relationships, but I have no experience with those types of sites or apps.

These Billboards Call Out Christian Nationalist Bills Filed by Iowa Lawmakers | Hemant Mehta | ...

nicestuff comments on Feb 11, 2021:

Glad to see the billboards, but they are not enough. Quote: "House File 170 would allow Christian business owners to discriminate against LGBTQ people. Senate File 159 would send taxpayer dollars to private Christian schools at the expense of public secular ones. House File 272 would eliminate ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2021:

I'm embarrassed to admit I'm a lifelong Iowan. These Repub retards are rapidly turning my state into North Mississippi, which is what many liberals here already call the state.

Life is to short to wait for love to come to you. That’s why we are all here searching.

HeAdAkE comments on Feb 8, 2021:

Ur not searching if ur a woman ur riding the CC and keeping ur standards sky high and then hitting the wall its simple biology and what we have become woman have the ability to pick as they please, even if theyre fat n nasty dating is dead

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2021:

@HeAdAkE You are right about much of this, but not about marriage. Mine lasted for two decades, even tho the last several years of it were hell most of the time, as my wife developed dementia. But even with that ending, the whole experience was worth it. It made me a better person, even tho the dementia experience just about broke me emotionally. So I have to disagree with you about marriage. In my case, we both gained much from it and it was worth it for both of us. Your mileage, however, may vary...Marriage is, or at least can be, whatever two people make of it, regardless of what society, the church, or the law think it should be... It's important to remember that.

I sometimes wish this could be enforced.

Sorcha comments on Feb 11, 2021:

I know Fox News and other conservatives point to Venezuala has being their example of socialism and why it is horrible, but they don't look at Scandanavian countries who have a very generous social safety net and some of the highest happiness indices in the world.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2021:

Of course they are selective and dishonest in which countries they use to portray socialism. What else do you expect from propagandists posing as journalists?

Life is to short to wait for love to come to you. That’s why we are all here searching.

HeAdAkE comments on Feb 8, 2021:

Ur not searching if ur a woman ur riding the CC and keeping ur standards sky high and then hitting the wall its simple biology and what we have become woman have the ability to pick as they please, even if theyre fat n nasty dating is dead

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2021:

There is, sadly, some truth to what you are saying. Dating in the traditional sense is mostly dead, as many men are getting demoralized by fruitless attempts to pursue women in the mating ritual while women sit back and wait to be approached. When too many of the women maintain standards that are too high, many of the men give up. Both sexes then often end up alone and frustrated, while the high value men and women continue on their merry way, enjoying the perks and privileges that come with being above average looking or better. They end up being mostly the only ones continuing to do traditional dating and they are the ones having most of the sex in the singles scene. The rest of us become frustrated, disgruntled spectators... Update: After some further thought, I can see maybe one way out of this, tho it's not likely to happen, since it would involve people acting against their biological instincts in favor of their rational intellect. And that would be for men to start choosing women that are lower than their own ranking on the looks scale while women started choosing men that also are lower on the looks scale than them AND also lower than them in their status as far as power, money, and success. Not very likely to happen with either sex as a general trend. Because, despite the denials and virtue posturing by members of both sexes about how they are not so shallow to base their choices of partners significantly or even largely based on looks and sexual attraction, the awful truth is that BOTH sexes want to find a partner that is at least at their same level of looks, if not higher than them on the so-called 1-10 scale. The end result, everybody ends up looking mainly for partners among those who are on the upper end of the scale, namely the 7-9s. I know of no real answers or way out of this. See update above....

What do you think scammer or just a misguided individual? [agnostic.com]

ZantiMisfit comments on Feb 11, 2021:

Not sure. Perhaps she's curious about the other side.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2021:

I concur.

I'm quite glad, I'm not participating in this anymore. [m.youtube.com]

Lorajay comments on Feb 10, 2021:

I posted this because I thought it was probably a good example of young people of both sexes that really wanted to meet each other but didn't know how to go about it. I love to dance and I used to go to an old folks dancehall where nobody smoked and there were lots of singles.I started going ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2021:

@Lorajay I keep my "attitude", as you put it, to myself as I get to know someone. I don't need your help. I have in person friends for that and they do the job. I don't need your smug perspective as a good looking woman. The men come to you with no effort on your part.. You live a different reality than me and you either don't realize it or don't want to admit it. Again, I don't need your help or judgement. Whether you realize it or not, you have the dating game equivalent of white privilege due to your gender and looks. It entitles you and Julie, below, to sit back and do your choosing of the pick of the litter.

I'm quite glad, I'm not participating in this anymore. [m.youtube.com]

Julie808 comments on Feb 10, 2021:

I'm glad that I'm no longer in the mating game. I go out in a mixed gender group bubble once or twice a week - and we dance as a group, individually and spaced out. Lately I've been getting approached from single (strangers) guys and girls who ask me to dance, but I don't want to introduce ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2021:

@Julie808 I respect your routine and your style, but to me it sounds like having to go thru a lot of trouble and do a lot of work at the dance place to get what you want and still navigate and deal with the attentions of strange men that you encounter. I guess that's the price you're willing to pay to get your dance fix. Wouldn't be worth it to me, personally, but I don't feel as strongly about dancing as you do. I do feel that way about karaoke and getting my chances to perform and sing, at least I do at this point in my life. I put up with some annoying things in order to get my karaoke fix, such as bad singers and lots of country music in order to get my enjoyment of singing myself and listening to my friends sing that I hang with at the show.

I'm quite glad, I'm not participating in this anymore. [m.youtube.com]

Lorajay comments on Feb 10, 2021:

I posted this because I thought it was probably a good example of young people of both sexes that really wanted to meet each other but didn't know how to go about it. I love to dance and I used to go to an old folks dancehall where nobody smoked and there were lots of singles.I started going ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 10, 2021:

@Lorajay I'm not at all surprised and it proves my point about how men my age living in conservative, traditional culture places like Iowa or OK end up having to do about all the pursuing or approaching of women in the dating game, whether it's on a dating site or at an in person event. I wish more women were sensitive and empathetic to what we go thru being pretty much forced into that role if we want to meet any single women. The only exceptions I can think of are when a man is exceptionally good looking, then the women will pursue him, but that's never been me and it isn't most men. I think that most women who do understand are the ones who are below average-looking, as they know the same woes of rejection, tho in their case it stems from being passed over or passively rejected by men who don't pursue them vs. the experience of men who suffer public rejection when they approach a woman in person at an event or private rejection when they message a woman on a dating site. It sucks to be the often rejected no matter what your gender. With your looks, I was ready to bet that both men approached you first and pursued you, it's the perk of being above average looking, no matter which gender you are. Being average-looking, I am forced to play the traditional male role in the dating game. At the suggestion of a married male friend, I even had a sort of business card with my contact info and my hobbies and interests on it to give out to women I meet at live music events, instead of having to ask for their phone number and find something to write it on. You might think that kind of thing following an approach is attractive to you, but after handing out a few of those cards, none of the women ever called me. My guess is that women here in Iowa are just too traditional to feel comfortable calling a man first even if he is soliciting the contact and being New Age sensitive enough to give them the option of calling or not instead of going the traditional route and putting them on the spot by asking for their contact info. Damned either way.. Man I hate traditional culture here and how almost all the single women seem to be conditioned by it. I know in my bones the pickings would be so much better in Chicago or Minneapolis. If only I had ended up there by my age with an established group of friends.....

I'm quite glad, I'm not participating in this anymore. [m.youtube.com]

Lorajay comments on Feb 10, 2021:

I posted this because I thought it was probably a good example of young people of both sexes that really wanted to meet each other but didn't know how to go about it. I love to dance and I used to go to an old folks dancehall where nobody smoked and there were lots of singles.I started going ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 10, 2021:

Your story is interesting and I can relate. I met my late wife at a folk dance while each of us were there with our respective group of friends. Unfortunately, that folk dance scene in my area pretty much died out a couple decades ago, so it's no longer a viable way to meet other singles. Before Covid, there was a small weekly ballroom dance event going on and I checked it out, but lost interest pretty quickly because it involved more dance skill and practice than I was interested in and those were clearly necessary if one was going to actively participate in that scene. I'm also not that good a dancer even if I practice regularly, so I don't enjoy the ballroom dance that much as a single. I enjoyed it more when I went with my wife. It's interesting that both of us managed to meet someone to date as middle-aged or senior adults who were merely showing up to do something we enjoyed attending with our friends. Too bad I don't have a similar group of friends to hang with at social events like that anymore, with the exception of when I used to attend karaoke with my friends before Covid. I would probably qualify as "uptight" about impressions in your book, Lorajay. Nowadays, the only two types of events I attend where I am doing what I enjoy and have any chance of meeting someone to date are karaoke and live music. You have, if I may say so, looks that are easily above average for your age. I, on the other hand, do not and am also male, which means in my local area of mostly traditional-minded people, that I usually have to do the approaching and pursuing. I had to do that when I met my late wife way back then at the dance. I'm curious if both of the men you met for dating approached you or vice versa. My bet is both of them approached you, since this was traditional OK culture. I don't miss the club scene at all when it was the main venue for meeting other singles before internet dating. Even dating sites have way less games and bullshit to have to navigate and risk public humiliation.

I'm quite glad, I'm not participating in this anymore. [m.youtube.com]

Julie808 comments on Feb 10, 2021:

I'm glad that I'm no longer in the mating game. I go out in a mixed gender group bubble once or twice a week - and we dance as a group, individually and spaced out. Lately I've been getting approached from single (strangers) guys and girls who ask me to dance, but I don't want to introduce ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 10, 2021:

Like the women in the video and what you describe about your social bubble/dance group, it seems ridiculous to me that I would even think of trying to approach a woman who is hanging tight to their little group. To me it sends a clear message that they are very unlikely to be interested in meeting single men for dating, so why bother approaching? I will approach a woman at a music event if their body language and eye contact seem open or inviting, but even an idiot should be able to read the body language and facial expressions of the women in the video that they do not want to be approached or meet men. Sometimes I wish more women had to experience what it's like for men to almost always have to make the approach at a dance club or bar, because, unlike you, who seem to send clear messages to men and are sensitive to what is going on at the clubs, I think too many women are very smug and callous about what men, at least the sensitive ones who aren't players or pick up artists, have to go thru in a lifetime....

What dangerous, wrong or false things do Conservatives believe?

BitFlipper comments on Feb 10, 2021:

I know a lot of self-described conservatives and generally speaking, they're not really conservative. But, they're greedy.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 10, 2021:

Exactly. Conservatives are about greed, selfishness, and wanting to keep everyone below and different from them in the pecking order firmly in their inferior place. They have no sense or concern about generosity, fairness, or integrity. It's all about winning and staying in power. Which is why they are more successful politically than liberals, who instead have to also care about being truthful, fair, consistent, etc. Those are handicaps when it comes to putting together voter coalitions and getting power. The conservative political tent is much smaller than the liberal one, contains fewer issues and coalitions to unite around, and much easier to keep the group united.

What dangerous, wrong or false things do Conservatives believe?

LenHazell53 comments on Feb 10, 2021:

This really misses the point that there are two kinds of conservative, one can almost think of them as Sharks and pilot fish. 1) Rich conservatives who are conservatives because they are determined to stay rich, not matter what the cost, 2) and poor conservatives who have bought in to the myth ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 10, 2021:

I think there is a lot of truth in your comment. The non-rich conservatives make up a huge percentage of Americans, who vote against their own self interest and will probably never change, since the corporate media are still very powerful in convincing them of the myth that they will be rich some day. There are also non-rich conservatives who vote against their own economic interests solely out of fundy religion, esp. abortion opponents. The non-rich conservatives who are very religious don't care about money or getting rich. They vote conservative thinking they can buy themselves a seat in heaven by following their religion strictly and that's enough reward for them. If we got rid of the corporate media propaganda and fundy religion in America, our politics would greatly improve just by those two things, even if the same people and corporations still owned both major parties, because our people would be ready to revolt against the system and vote third party.

ADMIN.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 9, 2021:

Same thing happened to me a few days ago. Suddenly I was required to log in, even tho I had gone for more than a year since I last had to do that, instead of just being able to click on a previous alert e-mail sent from the site. None of the password codes the site sent to me worked, so I had to use...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 9, 2021:

@Sticks48 I get it. My laptop is completely unconnected to my tracphone and I only use my laptop for internet stuff. I don't own a smartphone because I don't want to use it for internet and I prefer my landline for phone talks with people. I almost never use my tracphone by choice and almost no one has that number for me. Guess that makes me borderline Amish these days..

ADMIN.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 9, 2021:

Same thing happened to me a few days ago. Suddenly I was required to log in, even tho I had gone for more than a year since I last had to do that, instead of just being able to click on a previous alert e-mail sent from the site. None of the password codes the site sent to me worked, so I had to use...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 9, 2021:

@Sticks48 I don't erase my site history. Why do you need to do that?

How many atheist/agnostic/secular/humanism sites do you visit and/or interact with regularly?

Paddypereira comments on Feb 7, 2021:

Only this one.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 8, 2021:

@whiskywoman Exactly. Live and let live, go on with your own life.

How many atheist/agnostic/secular/humanism sites do you visit and/or interact with regularly?

Paddypereira comments on Feb 7, 2021:

Only this one.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 7, 2021:

Same here. Atheism is really not that important to me, so I don't need to visit other sites.

Enough with America's 'thank you for your service' culture.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 7, 2021:

Americans need to get honest about what we now have regarding military service and wars of choice, instead of this strict code of thanking vets for service, supporting the troops (whatever that really means?), and otherwise accepting without question the policies of the pols, the government, and the...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 7, 2021:

@nicestuff They also aren't supporting them when they come back as far as veteran health care, and supporting vets in transitioning to civilian life. It's more like send them to war and then dispose of them after they discharge. Politicians do not have that same support for the troops when it comes budget time for veterans care and programing.

Sanders criticizes Democrats willing to pare down eligibility for stimulus checks By Celine ...

MsAl comments on Feb 7, 2021:

Its problematic anyway because its based on 2019 and the problem is many lost their income in 2020. It annoys me that these all have to be framed as economic stimulus packages instead of relief packages for people.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 7, 2021:

That's because most pols, esp. Repubs, believe in the concepts of the deserving poor and the undeserving poor. They also believe that most poor people and others who need financial help from the government deserve their fate, so they only believe in stimulating the economy is good and necessary, not helping people in need. The concepts of the deserving (of help) and undeserving poor go all the way back to Elizabethan times in England, centuries ago, but they have never really lost their popularity in American culture and politics. Time to join the new century.

Im having trouble logging onto this (agnostic.

xenoview comments on Feb 7, 2021:

PM the admin.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 7, 2021:

How can they do that if they can't get on the site? I was having the same problems earlier today. It's been so long since I had to login, I forgot my password, so I just reset it to something I usually use for everything else.

So, yesterday I posted an interesting news release from my last employer.

powder comments on Feb 6, 2021:

My problem with the Military Industrial Complex is this. The amount of resources including human resources (scientists) they consume. I just feel these resources could be better directed to things like cleaning up our oceans, working out how to rid the world of plastic, sanitation/ water. Just ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 7, 2021:

@bigpawbullets Time to block. Get bent.....

So, yesterday I posted an interesting news release from my last employer.

powder comments on Feb 6, 2021:

My problem with the Military Industrial Complex is this. The amount of resources including human resources (scientists) they consume. I just feel these resources could be better directed to things like cleaning up our oceans, working out how to rid the world of plastic, sanitation/ water. Just ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 7, 2021:

@bigpawbullets Not bitter, just realistic. I do consider myself a peasant in the system of American capitalism. I don't feel negative about myself, just bitter at the ruling class. You need to read some of William Mary's stuff over in the socialist group and Out Of The Illusion group. I think you have quite a lot of illusions left yourself man... Get over your illusions about the American system and quit blaming me for your illusions. In you own way, you're being as ridiculous as those on the left who hide behind and wield strict PC speech codes as a way to prevent anyone from stating ugly truths about what views are held by others, even when those views are obvious fact.

So, yesterday I posted an interesting news release from my last employer.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 6, 2021:

A way to heal the cannon fodder quicker so they can get back out there on patrol in whatever countries we're occupying...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 7, 2021:

@bigpawbullets I didn't label you, I stated what the pols think of you. If you can't accept that, deal with it. Quit blaming me or I'll block you. You are taking it personal and being defensive. I am telling it like it is in real politik these days. If you don't like it, get upset with the pols, not me. My view of most of my fellow Americans is pretty negative, I'll admit that, but it's based on reality, whether you like or agree with it or not.

So, yesterday I posted an interesting news release from my last employer.

powder comments on Feb 6, 2021:

My problem with the Military Industrial Complex is this. The amount of resources including human resources (scientists) they consume. I just feel these resources could be better directed to things like cleaning up our oceans, working out how to rid the world of plastic, sanitation/ water. Just ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 6, 2021:

The MIC sucks up most of our money and resources in order to keep the rich and corporations rich while most of the peasants stay poor or barely get by. That is the system's real purpose, not to protect America from foreign attacks. And those foreign threats are often exaggerated or imaginary in order to justify the military spending and keep the peasant scared of other countries and discouraged from questioning the MIC system and spending. Mission Accomplished... And the ironic thing is that during most of the Cold War, the Soviet Union was doing the same thing to their people in order to get them to support the military spending without question even tho most Russians were suffering from inadequate social spending by the government, same as here. A nice little racket that both countries used to control and manipulate their peasants by stoking fear of the other country.

So, yesterday I posted an interesting news release from my last employer.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 6, 2021:

A way to heal the cannon fodder quicker so they can get back out there on patrol in whatever countries we're occupying...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 6, 2021:

@bigpawbullets I'm not saying you saw them as that, or even that the brass saw them as that, but rest assured, most of the pols that support the MIC DO see them that way when they vote for wars of choice like Iraq, for example. There's a big diff between what most pols say in public and what they privately feel about the troops and the rest of us peasants. Of course, in public it's required for pols to praise the troops and pander to them in order to impress voters. Don't put words in my mouth... When you watch what they do, rather than just listening to what they say, it's obvious most pols in DC have nothing but contempt for us peasants and they also do not support the troops once those troops return home from war and are messed up, at least most of the pols don't.....

I'm curious. What the hell is wrong with Mitch McConnell's chin?

davknight comments on Feb 5, 2021:

Looks like a rare form of mutation, where the head turns into a second butt. Note the mutated, horizontal anus, and the beginnings of a second scrotum growing under the chin. There is no known cure.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 5, 2021:

No, there is no cure. We can only wish his mother had aborted him..

Doesn't seem fair does it?

Theresa_N comments on Feb 3, 2021:

Doesn't make sense at all. The current minimum wage is lower in real dollars than it's ever been in it's history.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 4, 2021:

Adjusted for inflation, the real average wages of Americans topped out in 1973, when I was 15 and the minimum wage was something like about $2.65 an hour. I know and remember that because I worked at a McDonald's around then and that was what I earned.

Pastor Claims Biden White House Being Run By the Devil: Conservative evangelical Pastor, anti-gay ...

Canndue comments on Feb 4, 2021:

Tell me he doesn’t look gay....

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 4, 2021:

These guys always turn out to be closet cases.

No the parties are not the same

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 4, 2021:

Sure, there are stark differences between the parties on culture war issues, and even on real issues that matter more, like taxes, war, economics, health care, immigration, etc. but those differences on the latter issues are only between the progressive Dems like Bernie and AOC vs. the Repubs, not ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 4, 2021:

@BirdMan1 That's bullshit. Bush was appointed by the SC, not elected because Nader ran. You are buying a common myth. The actual vote in Florida favored Gore, but the SC stopped the count. Another factor that favored Bush in the vote were hundreds of elderly voters in Palm Beach that mistakenly voted for Pat Buchanan as a third party candidate, due to the confusing butterfly ballots, when they would have otherwise voted for Gore. These were elderly Jewish voters in Palm Beach. Buchanan's name was right next to Gore's on the butterfly ballot. Do you really think these people intended to vote for an anti-Semitic fascist like Buchanan instead of Gore? Don't spew that false shit blaming Nader for W. becoming presidents. You are showing your ignorance...

The fact that it matters to them to the degree that it does, and that they are taking freedoms away ...

Budgie comments on Jan 31, 2021:

Here is what to do in this situation, turn up your car stereo really loud, if they come near crank it up higher. My Dad was working (staff) at a mine site where people were striking (he is not allowed to strike) and they were outside harassing the staff members and the apprentices (also not allowed...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 31, 2021:

I hear you on the logic and effectiveness of the loud car stereo, but what about the effect of that on your own ears? You'd better be wearing really good earplugs when you blast that car stereo or you'll suffer permanent hearing loss, probably at least develop permanent tinnuitis, which I have in one ear, it's a bitch. Not sure it would be worth it to me to risk those two problems for myself just to get over on the protesters. From news reports I've read on past strikes here in the US, what usually happens in situations like that is that the company being struck provides buses to bring in the workers who show up. Why didn't the company do that for those who were not allowed to strike? Seems to me they neglected them.

Why are drugs so outrageously expensive? [youtube.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 29, 2021:

Very simple. It's legalized extortion against the patients and legalized bribery between the lobbyists and the pols. It won't end until most people are willing to vote third party on this single issue if nothing else. Sometimes I dream of a huge mob storming the capital in DC, not for an ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 30, 2021:

@RoboGraham Actually that's what happened back in the Great Depression. People got so desperate they had nothing to lose and strikes became very frequent, even tho they were not general strikes.

The new relationship...

Barnie2years comments on Jan 29, 2021:

Not my bed! That has been a rule with every animal I’ve had. Even my beloved Barnie sleeps in his crate in the next room. The crate is not closed, but the door is.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 30, 2021:

@Barnie2years Same here, not by choice in my case.

The new relationship...

Barnie2years comments on Jan 29, 2021:

Not my bed! That has been a rule with every animal I’ve had. Even my beloved Barnie sleeps in his crate in the next room. The crate is not closed, but the door is.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 30, 2021:

If a cat is allowed in the same room it will function as an alarm clock to wake you up at feeding time each morning.

How many have encountered a similar story?

powder comments on Jan 29, 2021:

My ex had zero empathy, just not in her. I discovered several things about her and people like her.. #1 the only way they get pleasure is if it happens directly to them. Empathetic pleasure is non existent ie sharing pleasure in another's joy/ success. Because of this they appear selfish. ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 30, 2021:

@powder To quote the bard," The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind...".

How many have encountered a similar story?

powder comments on Jan 29, 2021:

My ex had zero empathy, just not in her. I discovered several things about her and people like her.. #1 the only way they get pleasure is if it happens directly to them. Empathetic pleasure is non existent ie sharing pleasure in another's joy/ success. Because of this they appear selfish. ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 29, 2021:

@powder And it makes you wonder how much of that lack of empathy is their environment growing up and how much is simply bad seed genetics. My hunch is that it's mostly the latter, but if it's the former it's from being spoiled and entitled their whole damn life.

How many have encountered a similar story?

powder comments on Jan 29, 2021:

My ex had zero empathy, just not in her. I discovered several things about her and people like her.. #1 the only way they get pleasure is if it happens directly to them. Empathetic pleasure is non existent ie sharing pleasure in another's joy/ success. Because of this they appear selfish. ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 29, 2021:

Sounds like you are describing sociopath or psychopathic personalities.

Why are drugs so outrageously expensive? [youtube.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 29, 2021:

Very simple. It's legalized extortion against the patients and legalized bribery between the lobbyists and the pols. It won't end until most people are willing to vote third party on this single issue if nothing else. Sometimes I dream of a huge mob storming the capital in DC, not for an ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 29, 2021:

@RoboGraham I would love to see a series of general strikes and mass protest in the streets. I think they would work, but it would take tens of millions being committed to it for quite a while. I just don't see enough people developing the kind of guts and awareness for that to happen. I think civil war, started by the right wing proles, being much more likely.

Is it just my imagination, or did Match, and probably all the other dating sites as well, get rid of...

bobwjr comments on Jan 25, 2021:

Avoid that

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 29, 2021:

@Santanaman9 Tried that, won't do it again. It's a duplication and a waste of time. I soon discovered that that same single women that were at the Meetup groups were also on the dating sites, trying to improve their odds, but really not making any difference.

Biden is Already Breaking Promises It was inevitable that President Joe Biden would betray ...

Piece2YourPuzzle comments on Jan 27, 2021:

I left another website because of the inability of people on either side to see reality. The responses to Biden's bullshit by the Democrats is sickening. Just as sickening as the Republicans response to Trump's bullshit. Two cults. There is no breaking them out of their illusion. Disagree with ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 29, 2021:

@Piece2YourPuzzle The problem is that even people with common sense don't have the moral courage and independence to choose to think differently than what the media and the majority of the sheeple believe. Most people are just not that strong and brave enough to buck the bandwagon.

Satire: Republicans Say It Is Unconstitutional to Hold Officials Accountable Unless They Are Hillary...

Barnie2years comments on Jan 28, 2021:

Pretty much how they operate. They can do whatever they want, but scream bloody murder about anything Democrats do, or they even think they did.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 28, 2021:

Repubs are genetically incapable of feeling shame or embarrassment whenever they are accused of hypocrisy. They are also reflexively prone to projection.

Socialism IS a scareword, most often confused with Communism thanks to over 60 years of American ...

yvilletom comments on Jan 28, 2021:

Socialism is what they called: 1. the direct initiative’s democracy, 2. the referendum’s repeal of what a legislature did, and 3. the recall’s removal from elective office. In short, socialism is what they called the consent of the governed. They want the governed to pay taxes and ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 28, 2021:

Socialism is what the ruling class calls anything that involves the lower classes doing something beside shutting up, paying their taxes, obediently going to work instead of striking, and supporting all wars started for the benefit of the ruling class.

Not sure who needs to hear this, but a lot of the people in this group are exactly whom this song ...

Redheadedgammy comments on Jan 27, 2021:

I would need lyrics to understand what the writer of this song is saying. I cannot understand much of it.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 28, 2021:

I think many musical artists of this age group really don't care about whether their song lyrics are understandable or hearable to older people. That's their prerogative, but it makes for their music being limited in who it reaches and influences, which should be a consideration in protest or political songs. Esp. since our generation tends to vote in way higher percentages than people under 30.

Biden is Already Breaking Promises It was inevitable that President Joe Biden would betray ...

Piece2YourPuzzle comments on Jan 27, 2021:

I left another website because of the inability of people on either side to see reality. The responses to Biden's bullshit by the Democrats is sickening. Just as sickening as the Republicans response to Trump's bullshit. Two cults. There is no breaking them out of their illusion. Disagree with ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 28, 2021:

@Piece2YourPuzzle Because corporate media is about all that is available to most people outside of the internet. And many people who do have access to the net and non-corporate media sources of news either don't know about those options or feel too demoralized to spend time and energy on seeking that info and commentary. They feel it won't make any difference, so they instead escape into following sports, playing video games, etc. It provides diversion that doesn't bring them down further emotionally. I used to be able to watch Free Speech TV on my Direct TV package of channels. Then something caused me to no longer be able to get the signal, even after the satellite dish was destroyed and replaced following a storm. I am still paying for that channel, but to get it I would have to individually pay a $90 fee for a service visit to get the dish adjusted to pick up that channel again. Since about the only show on FSTV that seems worthwhile to me is Democracy Now!, I'm not going to spend the money. I'll settle for CommonDreams.org on the net, which is free of charge.

Radicalizing is a serious problem. This info may be of help. [youtu.be]

Larimar comments on Jan 27, 2021:

https://time.com/5886348/report-peaceful-protests/ This is not a both sides issue to the point some on this site would like others to believe. It was far right infiltrating and performing destruction to make others believe that it was BLM or Antifa and the latter isn't even an organization! ONE...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 27, 2021:

Damn right. It smacks way too much of Trump's post Charlottesville talk of "good people on both sides". Horseshit!

Biden is Already Breaking Promises It was inevitable that President Joe Biden would betray ...

Piece2YourPuzzle comments on Jan 27, 2021:

I left another website because of the inability of people on either side to see reality. The responses to Biden's bullshit by the Democrats is sickening. Just as sickening as the Republicans response to Trump's bullshit. Two cults. There is no breaking them out of their illusion. Disagree with ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 27, 2021:

True that. Fortunately for me, I'm not a member of either party's cult groups. I bash Biden from the left, as I am a proud socialist. I get sick and tired of centrist Dems attacking me for that and knowingly lying by saying I must be a Repub to attack Biden. I hate both major parties just about equally, as they serve and are owned by the same people.

Is it just my imagination, or did Match, and probably all the other dating sites as well, get rid of...

RonWilliam53 comments on Jan 26, 2021:

Possibly fewer women are willing to open up and/or spend that much effort because they know a) they pretty well have the pick of the litter b) guys won't actually read it or care what it says c)meeting even for coffee will answer more questions

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 27, 2021:

@RonWilliam53 I think just about all men put numbers on women, at least mentally. Some are honest enough, like me, to say it out loud to others, some won't. I have never given a fuck about PC speech. Take it or leave it as you will. I won't have sex with someone who is below a certain level of looks, namely about the same level as me. Other men, including you, apparently, aren't so discriminating. I can't lie to myself or others about who or when I'm attracted to someone. Like Sticks says, the chemistry is there or it isn't. If it isn't, why waste anybody's time, yours or theirs?

Ok just asking for advice here.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 20, 2021:

My wife died four years ago after suffering for several years with dementia, so I can relate. Between missing her, mostly failing at trying to find love again thru two years of the dating scene, then Covid putting it all on hold, I am feeling doubtful I will ever find love like that (my marriage) ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

@James121 You have my condolences, it sounds like it was a good marriage and the way it ended was horrible, even if it was brief. My wife's illness lasted several years. I can't say which is worse.

Ok just asking for advice here.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 20, 2021:

My wife died four years ago after suffering for several years with dementia, so I can relate. Between missing her, mostly failing at trying to find love again thru two years of the dating scene, then Covid putting it all on hold, I am feeling doubtful I will ever find love like that (my marriage) ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

@James121 If you are being serious, that is really shocking and if it were me, I would be really traumatized about it for a good while. How did that play out for you? Women love guys that can play an instrument and sing, esp. if they are at least decent at both, even if not a pro. You should have an easy time finding someone once you are ready for the game.

Is it just my imagination, or did Match, and probably all the other dating sites as well, get rid of...

RonWilliam53 comments on Jan 26, 2021:

Possibly fewer women are willing to open up and/or spend that much effort because they know a) they pretty well have the pick of the litter b) guys won't actually read it or care what it says c)meeting even for coffee will answer more questions

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

I read all of the profile essays, make a point of referring to parts of them when I send the initial message, but it doesn't seem to cut any ice with over 90% of the women I approach. The problem with waiting for the coffee meeting to answer ?s about the women is kind of selfish on their part. I mean, how do they know men aren't just as interested as they are in getting some of those ?s answered before sending out an initial message to a woman that has a clear deal breaker about them that could have been addressed in the essay. I think they are being somewhat evasive with their tight-lipped approach to profile essays. It wouldn't bother me if men on dating sites were not forced to almost always play the pursuer. I get tired of sending a few dozen messages a week knowing that almost all of them will never get a reply, and even more so knowing that a good bunch of them could be avoided if the woman was more forthcoming in their essay. So, in conclusion, I think most of it comes down to a), the women knowing they can sit back and wait for the messages to pour in, esp. if their looks are above average. My guess is that most of the women who bother to message men first are below average looking, who don't get many messages from men approaching them first, so they take matters into their own hands out of necessity. Sound about right? The last woman I dated from a dating site was a 4 or a 5 on the looks scale and she admitted to me that she didn't get many messages from men, so that proves my point.

Today is Angela Davis' birthday.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 26, 2021:

She used to be so radical. Nowadays she sells out, caves, and tells people to vote for corrupt Dem pols.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

@LucyLoohoo You compromise enough and eventually you become no different than the corrupt mainstream pols. This now includes Bernie Sanders, who regularly caves to the establishment Dems so he can get committee assignments in the Senate, where he still is unable to actually do anything for the people. AOC has also sold out and cannot be counted on to stand up to Pelosi's corrupt policies. These two should have left the Dem Party and built a real People's Party.

Today is Angela Davis' birthday.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 26, 2021:

She used to be so radical. Nowadays she sells out, caves, and tells people to vote for corrupt Dem pols.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

@Spinliesel It's just the honest truth. She used to be a communist, a Black Panther, and someone who helped break another Panther out of prison. A far cry from someone telling people to vote for lesser evil Dems that take corporate money and work against the working class and poor people.

How many good friends do you have from other political tribes?

TreeSpirit comments on Jan 15, 2021:

Most all my friends from high school and childhood voted for trump. I don't know where they all stood for the 2nd term because I shut down my facebook account last June. My best friend from childhood is a trumpster - but not too extreme - we don't discuss or go there. She works for the Post ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

Everybody in my condo building is conservative and Christian. I don't mind, I just ignore them politely and live my whole social life away from my community. I don't mind driving for all my entertainment and social life away from home. If I lost ability to drive, I would be in trouble.

Is it just my imagination, or did Match, and probably all the other dating sites as well, get rid of...

Pralina1 comments on Jan 25, 2021:

Tom , I don’t think u need that trash . U look good , u can hold a conversation , u seem respectful and mindful or ladies , just go out and meet people ( w a mask ). Online dating seems weird to me , maybe I am not up to date , I don’t know .

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

@RonWilliam53 I'm not willing to put the time into that. Too much politics. At least with dating sites you can already assume that most people there are single and open to dating.

Is it just my imagination, or did Match, and probably all the other dating sites as well, get rid of...

bobwjr comments on Jan 25, 2021:

Avoid that

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

I have to disagree. At my age, dating sites are really the only viable option unless you can get set up by friends, attend a church, etc. as I said below. My friends are all married and don't know any single people besides me.

Is it just my imagination, or did Match, and probably all the other dating sites as well, get rid of...

Pralina1 comments on Jan 25, 2021:

Tom , I don’t think u need that trash . U look good , u can hold a conversation , u seem respectful and mindful or ladies , just go out and meet people ( w a mask ). Online dating seems weird to me , maybe I am not up to date , I don’t know .

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 26, 2021:

@Pralina1 Not going to volunteer. Tried meetup groups. They end up being the same people you meet on dating sites, so why waste time doing the groups when you would meet the same people thru dating sites anyway? I don't do bold. I have never been that confident about my looks and now that I'm older and bald, it's even harder to approach women in person at public events. Or were you mixing up the words bald and bold?

Is it just my imagination, or did Match, and probably all the other dating sites as well, get rid of...

Pralina1 comments on Jan 25, 2021:

Tom , I don’t think u need that trash . U look good , u can hold a conversation , u seem respectful and mindful or ladies , just go out and meet people ( w a mask ). Online dating seems weird to me , maybe I am not up to date , I don’t know .

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 25, 2021:

Thanks for the compliments and the props(esp. because women at your level of looks have never been attracted to me, even when I was young and had lots of hair on my head), Pralina, but at my age that's just not how it works these days. While I was online dating before Covid, I would even try approaching women at live music concerts and give them a sort of business card that had my name, ph. no., interests, etc. so they could call me if they wanted to get together sometime. Nobody ever called me from that. Women are just too cynical or scared to start seeing someone organically anymore unless they meet thru friends, at a job, or at church. The ones that go to bars to meet men or just go dance with their friends are not my type either. I went to a dance club once that has a big local reputation as a meeting places for singles and it was horrible. Way too loud to actually talk to someone, no way to tell without talking to them which women were just there to dance with friends and which ones were single and looking to meet someone, etc. Online dating is a cesspool and a crapshoot, but at my age, it's either that or staying alone.

Is it just my imagination, or did Match, and probably all the other dating sites as well, get rid of...

EyesThatSmile comments on Jan 25, 2021:

That is not a positive change....

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 25, 2021:

I am skeptical of the CSR's answer that most members are choosing not to include an essay. I mean, really, am I to believe that most women my age on Match in my local area are choosing to try attracting men to message them based pretty much on nothing but their pics? Because that appears to be the reality of all the newer profiles I found in my search today. It was also not a positive change, at least not in my mind, when they decided a while back to eliminate several items from the checklist of traits that were listed in profiles, both traits of the member and of what traits the member was looking for. They used to include hair color, including bald or not, as well as income level and a couple other traits like race and a couple others that escape me now, but seemed at the time to also matter. They are now down to just nine traits, all of the member, nothing anymore about what they are looking for. Another thing that doesn't seem to be there in the newer profiles is a dating age range of what age range the member is looking for. All of the changes seem to be about making the profiles simpler to deal with and more bare of info for the viewer. I really doubt that most customers are so attention span and patience challenged or so busy, that they cannot and do not want to really have anything but pics to go on in choosing who to message or potentially meet. It seems to be a race to the bottom where eventually it will be no different than putting your pic in a book for cabbies, in the old days, for them to show to customers and matchmake people that way. That and video dating where people just look at pics on a dating site and then go straight to video chatting thru the site instead of even trading text messages thru the site. It will all be about looks and nothing else eventually, I fear, as far as making it far enough to get to talk to or know the other person at all.

There is so much shouting out about FREEDOM.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 24, 2021:

Right wingers only seem to value freedom when it translates to them being nasty to others thru domination or exploitation. They really don't care about the freedom of anyone different from them, weaker than them, or poorer than them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 25, 2021:

@think-beyond Thank you for your support. Frayed Bear does not seem to grasp that my beef with him is about him saying that DINO, right center Dems are no different than Repubs, and thus, that ALL Dems are just as guilty, in his mind, of being fascist jerks as Repubs usually are. That is what my argument and what my initial disagreement with him was about. Clinton and Obama should be Repubs rather than Dems and in the old days, they would have been, before the DNC made the Dem Party into Repub lite. Saying that neoliberals like Clinton and Obama are jerks does not prove that Repub pols are better, more humane, or fair than Dems as a group than the Dems who are progressive and actually decent, caring people. FB attempts to smear all Dems as being as fascist as Repubs by tarring them with how those two DINOs are.

There is so much shouting out about FREEDOM.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 24, 2021:

Right wingers only seem to value freedom when it translates to them being nasty to others thru domination or exploitation. They really don't care about the freedom of anyone different from them, weaker than them, or poorer than them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 24, 2021:

@FrayedBear So what? The quote from Out Of The Illusion proves my point about Clinton and Obama. Those quotes were not written by you. My point stands, you are a right winger who distorts the labels in who you call leftist. You want respect from me? Then have the intellectual honesty to not refer to DINO pols like Clinton and Obama as leftist, then I could possibly respect your opinions.

To have a real legacy Biden will have to be more radical: [theguardian.com]

Killtheskyfairy comments on Jan 22, 2021:

Biden put a picture of FDR over his desk so I’m optimistic. If he doesn’t live up to his hype, then we hold his feet to the fire. People get away with what you let them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 23, 2021:

@Killtheskyfairy Time to block.

To have a real legacy Biden will have to be more radical: [theguardian.com]

Killtheskyfairy comments on Jan 22, 2021:

Biden put a picture of FDR over his desk so I’m optimistic. If he doesn’t live up to his hype, then we hold his feet to the fire. People get away with what you let them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 23, 2021:

@Killtheskyfairy My beef with identity politics is that the Dems use it as a substitute for actually fighting for the working class and poor, while too many people get suckered into thinking that ID politics is an acceptable substitute for not fighting class war on behalf of the classes that the Dems claim to be on the side of, at least more on the side of than the Repubs. The fact is, when it comes to class and who the economy is run to benefit, the two major parties are pretty much the same. You don't seem to want to admit that, much less discuss it. I'm not the only one who feels that way.

To have a real legacy Biden will have to be more radical: [theguardian.com]

Killtheskyfairy comments on Jan 22, 2021:

Biden put a picture of FDR over his desk so I’m optimistic. If he doesn’t live up to his hype, then we hold his feet to the fire. People get away with what you let them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 23, 2021:

@Killtheskyfairy Actually, I usually watch MSNBC, even tho I know they are very corporate and were very against Bernie. I'll see you in four years after Biden Harris have greased things for a Repub win for prez. Without Covid and the economic collapse, Biden would have lost and you know it.

To have a real legacy Biden will have to be more radical: [theguardian.com]

Killtheskyfairy comments on Jan 22, 2021:

Biden put a picture of FDR over his desk so I’m optimistic. If he doesn’t live up to his hype, then we hold his feet to the fire. People get away with what you let them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 23, 2021:

@Killtheskyfairy Get back to me in several months after Biden has not really done anything for average people that would cost the rich and corporate America anything. Then you can tell me I'm wrong about him. I'm not worried about being proven wrong, since I already saw this movie for eight years with Obama. Have you forgotten all that already? I haven't, but maybe identity politics and happy talk are enough for you. I promise you, it won't be enough for the working class to vote Dem in four years for prez...

To have a real legacy Biden will have to be more radical: [theguardian.com]

Killtheskyfairy comments on Jan 22, 2021:

Biden put a picture of FDR over his desk so I’m optimistic. If he doesn’t live up to his hype, then we hold his feet to the fire. People get away with what you let them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

You two just keep telling yourself that and wishing that Biden can be influenced by peasants like us. Instead, I will choose reality..

I'm curious what the group thinks on this issue.

Wangobango3 comments on Jan 22, 2021:

I have had many dating site experiences. One successful experience began with me reaching out to a woman who was initially sceptical. We eventually got together and were very happy until she got sick and died. I had conversations with women that never progressed beyond superficialities. The woman I...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

@Wangobango3 I have never met a single person IRL from this site, Agnostic, man or woman, because there are so few of us. Around the time I first joined, there were two or three women from my local area that I messaged and they all turned me down on meeting me. Two of them disappeared and the other still visits here occaisionally. Her photos are exceptionally good looking and I've been told by another male member here that she is a scammer and the profile is fake.

I'm curious what the group thinks on this issue.

Wangobango3 comments on Jan 22, 2021:

I have had many dating site experiences. One successful experience began with me reaching out to a woman who was initially sceptical. We eventually got together and were very happy until she got sick and died. I had conversations with women that never progressed beyond superficialities. The woman I...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

Happy to hear it. You beat the odds and won the lottery. I think it rarely works out like it did for you. My late wife was initially skeptical of me when I met her at a folk dance as she had experienced two bad marriages and even said that night, " I don't date", but I managed to win her over. Maybe there's more opportunity for that when people meet organically rather than in the online market of dating sites, where the shopping attitude dominates it all.

I'm curious what the group thinks on this issue.

JGal comments on Jan 22, 2021:

I will initiate an introduction if there is something interesting to respond to. This means the guy has put some thought into his profile, with a conversation starter. I will ignore any initial introduction that is too vague or generic like "hey" or "I read your profile".

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

@JGal I appreciate your honesty. A lot of people won't admit it, because they want to think of themselves as too deep and fair to have a "type" or don't want to be seen as shallow or close-minded, but the research has been done and consistently shown that instinctively people make up their minds very quickly about whether they are attracted to someone and want to see them again or meet them after just a couple minutes of meeting in person or looking at a profile's pics and info. Anyone who says different is trying to defend themselves or convince themselves they are what they're not. We have to decide fairly quickly anyway with online dating because there are so many choices we have to be efficient in the online screening. As far as in person or video chatting, we also have to decide relatively soon there too if we are lucky enough to regularly be presented with several choices each week or so, which good looking women are in online dating. I have yet to try video chatting on a dating site, but with in person meetings of women from a site, I have almost always come away from the first meeting with a clear sense of whether I would ever want a physical relationship with the woman. I find it really hard to believe that most women are really that different from me in knowing after the first meeting if they would ever want to kiss me or not, etc.

I'm curious what the group thinks on this issue.

JGal comments on Jan 22, 2021:

I will initiate an introduction if there is something interesting to respond to. This means the guy has put some thought into his profile, with a conversation starter. I will ignore any initial introduction that is too vague or generic like "hey" or "I read your profile".

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

@JGal I just don't think anymore that there is any good reason to reply simply out of politeness, it doesn't really do someone any favors. Esp. if the reply does not make it clear that you have no real interest in that person as a potential dating partner or in ever meeting them. We don't join dating sites and then pay money to meet people just to find pen pals or platonic friends, at least not anyone that I have talked to or known. So why waste people's time with polite, but ambiguous replies?

I'm curious what the group thinks on this issue.

itsmedammit comments on Jan 22, 2021:

Some clues here. https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephenlaconte/dating-app-secrets-employees-tell-all-reddit

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

Some of that I already knew or suspected. Since Covid, after my paid membership had run out months ago, I received a few messages which I quickly figured out were fake and generated from site employees because they were so bland and generic. This week, however, I got two new messages ( in reply to my initial message) from women who seemed to be for real and have exchanged a few messages with me. The ones from months ago never replied when I sent them a free message. I still have not signed up for a paid membership and will not do so until this summer after I am vaccinated, and I have told both recent women that is my plan. They have still continued trading robust messages with me, so I doubt I'm being played to get a subscription out of me.

I'm curious what the group thinks on this issue.

JGal comments on Jan 22, 2021:

I will initiate an introduction if there is something interesting to respond to. This means the guy has put some thought into his profile, with a conversation starter. I will ignore any initial introduction that is too vague or generic like "hey" or "I read your profile".

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

Do you reply to a man's message if you already have decided from his pics and info that you are not interested in him due to lack of physical attraction, not seeming like a match for you, etc.? Because that is the issue I am getting at.. the issue of replying out of politeness, not genuine interest in learning more or possibly meeting him as a potential dating partner.

I'm curious what the group thinks on this issue.

BitFlipper comments on Jan 22, 2021:

There's an old saying: "man chases woman until she catches him". Technology doesn't seem to have changed that.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

No shit. I do think tho, that it probably varies some depending on where you live. Here in the rather traditional culture state of Iowa, even around the Des Moines area, people are so traditionally cultured that the women expect the men to pursue. Even the women that grew up somewhere more progressive. It's just a matter of how the water flows and people adapting to the mainstream in most cases. If a woman doesn't like it, she can always take the initiative and get delighted responses from men, providing she is smart enough to explain that she isn't promiscuous or desperate.

What's the first thing Biden and the democrats do after taking over?

Zoltans_Queen comments on Jan 22, 2021:

I love Kyle. He has really been speaking passionately lately. He's not holding anything back. And I'm not surprised that Joe went back on his promise. That was predictable, unfortunately.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

Just the opening move in four years of Obama style happy talk and focus on identity politics, but no action to benefit or improve the lives of the masses. Which will be payed back in four years or less with pissed off working class whites voting Repub in anger at the Dems betraying them, once again. People are too smart to buy the same old excuse of blaming the Repubs, because they've seen this movie too many times.. The Dems really don't care if most people quit voting, they are counting on it as long as they can continue to win some of the time with squeaker margins. If Dems actually tried to improve the lives of working class and poor people, they could win in huge landslides, but they will never do that because they love that corporate campaign money too much..

What's the first thing Biden and the democrats do after taking over?

altschmerz comments on Jan 21, 2021:

I hope he's right about the Republicans being at each other's throats, because *both* the Trumpers *and* the establishment-types are bloody fucking awful and I want to see the GOP go down in flames! Then maybe another party, a GOOD one, can take its place, and force the Democrats to shape up, ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 22, 2021:

Exactly. And those non-voters are the people who would vote for Bernie if he ever got the Dem nomination or went third party. The figures I saw for this last election were 80 million eligible voters who checked out, 78 million for Biden, and 71 million for Trump.

My cousin posts this on FB! Let's see next year on this day.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 21, 2021:

Me thinks the cousin on FB is most likely an upper middle class white male with a job that currently is not in danger of outsourcing or automation, so, of course, life with Trump seemed good for him...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 21, 2021:

@Secretguy Actually, I got a degree in Sociology from a state university and was making an educated guess. The cousin the OP is talking about appears to be voting against her own self interest and fell for the Trump lies in order to do so.

My cousin posts this on FB! Let's see next year on this day.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 21, 2021:

Me thinks the cousin on FB is most likely an upper middle class white male with a job that currently is not in danger of outsourcing or automation, so, of course, life with Trump seemed good for him...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 21, 2021:

@dave1459 I stand corrected, but she's still full of shit to think Trump was great for the country.

This sign is in my front yard (although right now there is also snow).

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 20, 2021:

Depends on how much vandalism and harassment you are interested in experiencing. They may also vandalize your house, not just the sign.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 20, 2021:

@creative51 It's your life and your property. I'm surrounded by Repubs and conservative Christians in my condo development, so even if the homeowner's association did not prohibit political signs, it would not be worth it to me to provoke them to hassle me. My only desire is to be left alone by and not hassled by my neighbors. I avoid and ignore them as much as possible, so I already have that anti-social reputation. But why bother when almost none of them are college educated, politically liberal, or at all intellectual? I've already had enough small talk about the weather to last a lifetime, so I don't need to bother pretending with them that I have any interest in them. I just use this as a place to live, nothing more...

Local Crazy Train I am trying to refrain from posting anything on Facebook that might cause ...

Wangobango3 comments on Jan 20, 2021:

The trouble is, some people actually believe that insanity. They will have to be deprogrammed.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 20, 2021:

Unfortunately the law does not allow you to kidnap, imprison, and deprogram them. Absent that, I will settle for Covid killing them off. Less trouble and grief, more efficient...

A beautiful metaphor and an accurate formula for living.

AnonySchmoose comments on Jan 20, 2021:

Excellent metaphor! I've mostly felt that competition as a way of life is unfair, because not everybody has an equal chance to benefit. That is not to say that competition in sports, contests, games, etc. is unfair. But to base an entire nation on the spirit of competition probably sets up a ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 20, 2021:

I agree. Competition has its place in sports, etc. and that's fine because those are marginal things that should not and do not determine people's ability or opportunity to have a decent life or where they fall into the social and economic order. But in America competition and individualism are made into the foundations of our economic and social systems. All that does is divide the masses against each other and insure that the ruling class stays on top while the lower classes fight for crumbs. When I was young, I participated in sports and other competitive activities and enjoyed them. I learned good things from those experiences and they were good for my character. But I was also an intellectual and I learned how toxic these concepts of extreme individualism and competition were for ordering the economy and the social order in a society. Competition for sports and harmless pastimes and activities. Socialism for economics and government. Europe has those things right and in their proper place. Too bad it didn't work out for me to live there instead of here.

Trump has never done anything for the poor.

Lorajay comments on Jan 12, 2021:

I bet they are the result of LBJ's passage of the Civil Rights Act. They no longer feel better than anyone.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 12, 2021:

On the inside, you're right, they know now they are white trash who are not any better than the colored people or immigrants they hate. But they will never admit that to anyone or show any of that shame on the outside. They're poor as dirt, but they will always cling, at least on the outside, to their belligerent pride about at least being white and Christian, rather than Muslim or atheist.

Understanding the role of Billionaire John Malone, Liberty Media and iHeartMedia (formerly Clear ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 12, 2021:

Clear Channel's programming is mostly made up of two things I hate, country music and right wing talk radio.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 12, 2021:

@Canndue You got it!

Remember when? LOL

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2021:

And yet, he was impeached, but not convicted, over that...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 12, 2021:

@josephr Lying about a blowjob is a whole other thing than lying about abuses of power and mixing foreign policy with election interference, like Trump.

Congress Votes to Arm Violent Mobs That Storm through Capitols around the World

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2021:

No surprise here. The US, thru the CIA, has been funding and supporting coups in lots of countries, usually in Latin America, for over almost a century.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 12, 2021:

@Canndue You're a sick man, but we share a similar sense of humor....

Atheists most politically active group in US, survey finds - The Christian Post

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2021:

Probably because they have to be, to protect themselves from the discrimination and harassment they experience from bigots and the religious.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 12, 2021:

@CuddyCruiser I mainly encountered it at the workplace, and there was no getting away from it as long as I needed to work. Now that I'm retired, that problem is solved.

I would definitely call this a surprise.

Pralina1 comments on Jan 11, 2021:

U mean my taxes won’t pay for his all organic expensive food .

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 11, 2021:

I doubt he's very gung ho about paying his taxes, most Trumpers aren't, esp. their leader. I'll bet his fellow Trumpers think he's a sissy for eating only organi foods.

How do you feel about Parler being removed from the Internet?

FearlessFly comments on Jan 10, 2021:

Please describe how a private company deciding not to host another company's website after terms of service were violated is censorship again ? How is that not simple capitalism?

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 10, 2021:

@Admin So I assume you are also perfectly comfortable with how a handful of media conglomerates own over 90% of all the mass media (newspapers, radio, and TV stations), which all have a pro-corporate, anti-labor, bias in favor of the ruling class and a clear hatred of any groups which are for economic equality? That kind of imbalance and monopoly are ok? Just checking.....Since they are all private companies, they can do what they want, etc. I am not ok with that status quo, but the only way it can be reformed is thru govt. regulation, which I doubt you are ok with, even tho I certainly am... We still have anti- trust laws on the books, it's just that with two corrupt, corporate-owned major parties, they never get enforced anymore....

I am not one for conspiracy theories but this struck me.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 9, 2021:

See the other post with the BuzzfeedNews article.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 9, 2021:

@273kelvin Just check the Politics threads for a post that has a BuzzfeedNews link. You're sharp enough to find it. I'm not going to spoon feed you. Hint: An Organized Strike Disguised As A Protest.

On the phone today with my longtime religious friend, we talked of January 6th and everything ...

Detritus comments on Jan 9, 2021:

What happened on December 6?

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 9, 2021:

That happened to be my 62nd B-day, but I'm pretty sure the OP meant Jan. 6.

You have the FBI asking the public for help in arresting these people.

redhog comments on Jan 9, 2021:

Theyre covering all the bases. If there is any justice left i. This country every single one of those people will go to sleep one night and wake up in guantanamo bay cuba with the other terrorists we've been stockpiling there since 9/11. That includes Trump, Hawley, Cruz and the other ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 9, 2021:

@redhog Oh, would I love to see Trump water-boarded, but not as much as I would savor it happening to Cheney...

You have the FBI asking the public for help in arresting these people.

redhog comments on Jan 9, 2021:

Theyre covering all the bases. If there is any justice left i. This country every single one of those people will go to sleep one night and wake up in guantanamo bay cuba with the other terrorists we've been stockpiling there since 9/11. That includes Trump, Hawley, Cruz and the other ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 9, 2021:

I would love to see every one of the Gitmo'd, but it'll never happen to any of them.

You have the FBI asking the public for help in arresting these people.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 9, 2021:

They're probably just going thru the motions and are under orders to not actually find and arrest anyone.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jan 9, 2021:

@VineetHonkan My statement is clear and self evident. I'm not going to bother explaining to you, troll...