I sent a "Hello" to numerous gals at Agnostic, and I only got a response from one of them.

p-nullifidian comments on Aug 18, 2020:

That's what she said.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 18, 2020:

Michael Scott lives!

I sent a "Hello" to numerous gals at Agnostic, and I only got a response from one of them.

Willow_Wisp comments on Aug 17, 2020:

Yea, the guilt angle doesn't hang well here especially if you think it'll work on a mass scale. Just silly. Surly you see why, right?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 18, 2020:

As Leslie Nielson said in Airplane, " I am serious and stop calling me Shirley".

Death Valley soars to 130 degrees, potentially Earth’s highest temperature since at least 1931 ...

creative51 comments on Aug 17, 2020:

Wow, sounds hotter than hell, lol.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 17, 2020:

Must be why they call it Death Valley..

Catholic voters' impossible choice

snytiger6 comments on Aug 17, 2020:

I know my catholic relatives (one set of an aunt, uncle and cousins) plan to vote for Trump... again.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 17, 2020:

They are very narrow-minded Catholics.

Catholic voters' impossible choice

barjoe comments on Aug 16, 2020:

Most Catholics in this country are secular. They use birth control. Most of them wind up getting divorced like everybody else. When President Kennedy ran 1960, the critics said he'd take his orders from the Vatican. Now they want Joe Biden to do just that. This is bullshit that Catholics should vote...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 16, 2020:

@whiskywoman You got it. A hundred years ago that's how it was for most women.

Catholic voters' impossible choice

barjoe comments on Aug 16, 2020:

Most Catholics in this country are secular. They use birth control. Most of them wind up getting divorced like everybody else. When President Kennedy ran 1960, the critics said he'd take his orders from the Vatican. Now they want Joe Biden to do just that. This is bullshit that Catholics should vote...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 16, 2020:

@whiskywoman That's what proves in spades that outlawing abortion is not really about preventing abortions and saving fetuses, it's about controlling women and putting them back in their place before they had the vote and the other rights they gained in the last century. In other words, to turn the clock back on women like in The Handmaid's Tale.

Catholic voters' impossible choice

ChestRockfield comments on Aug 16, 2020:

It seems clear the anti-abortion Republicans will vote Trump because they are generally one-issue voters.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 16, 2020:

They also usually have double digit IQs.

Do women pass gas?

BitFlipper comments on Aug 15, 2020:

I have had a woman fart right in my face.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 15, 2020:

@BitFlipper Guess I did misinterpret, but then I didn't have those details. Like LL said, the rest is TMI.

Do women pass gas?

BitFlipper comments on Aug 15, 2020:

I have had a woman fart right in my face.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 15, 2020:

The last woman I dated told me about a time her cat farted right in her face. She said she was justifiably mad at the cat even if the cat couldn't help it.

Do women pass gas?

BitFlipper comments on Aug 15, 2020:

I have had a woman fart right in my face.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 15, 2020:

I would find that mean and offensive on her part. I must say, David, after seeing so many of your comments, you do seem to have been treated rather badly by a fair number of women. I don't know if that has made you bitter towards women or not-you don't seem to express such an attitude-but I wouldn't blame you if you were. You seem to have had a worse time of it than me and I am always sorry to hear about them happening to you.

If anyone is the slightest bit interested in why I feel the Admin has created a moral crisis for ...

RobinGray comments on Aug 15, 2020:

What bothers me most is the amount of discussion you guys require about not believing. It’s staggering to me. I don’t believe, maybe I’m wrong 🤷‍♀️ I don’t care to have deep discussions about it....

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 15, 2020:

@indirect76 Exactly. That's my whole reason for coming here for community, not to talk about belief or lack of it, but to explore what other things I may have in common with the members here as well as what common interests we might share. It's also interesting and useful to hear how other members cope with and experience life as non-believers and non-conformists in the Christian-dominated society and culture of America.

If anyone is the slightest bit interested in why I feel the Admin has created a moral crisis for ...

RobinGray comments on Aug 15, 2020:

What bothers me most is the amount of discussion you guys require about not believing. It’s staggering to me. I don’t believe, maybe I’m wrong 🤷‍♀️ I don’t care to have deep discussions about it....

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 15, 2020:

I sure don't need to talk to others about my non-belief. I don't need to talk about it to understand it nor to fulfill some need for connection on that subject. My non-belief is actually not a big part of my life and certainly not the biggest part of my identity.

When is Jesus coming back? The question on the lips of almost every believer.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 15, 2020:

If he did come back, he would be very pissed..

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 15, 2020:

@jlynn37 True. Anybody that is a threat to power would be.

The "woke" are not the political left [blog.davidrand.ca]

AnonySchmoose comments on Aug 15, 2020:

Thank you! Wow! That is a thorough article. Mindsets that like identify themselves as leftist, but which are not the real left, boggle one's mind. 'Woke' leftists obscure the real issue -- they allow capitalism free rein. All of the fake leftism boils down to a lot of BS that denies equality.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 15, 2020:

You're talking about people who believe that being liberal or lefty is all about PC and identity politics, which describes most Dem supporters these days, but they really don't give a damn about economic equality or economic justice. They are comfortably in the upper middle class, so they already have theirs..

Post covid dating have you done it

Deb57 comments on Aug 13, 2020:

I'm using this time as a valid reason to deliberately avoid any romantic entanglements or relationships. It would be too much trouble to try to maintain such a thing, and the stress we're all under means we are not being at our emotional best, anyway. Relationships are complicated enough without ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 14, 2020:

I'm sitting it out too until Covid is over. Next time around I will also go into it with much lower expectations, as in practically nothing. To me, post Covid is once there is either an effective treatment or an effective vaccine.

POF live?

BitFlipper comments on Aug 12, 2020:

I have hit that button a couple of times, just to see what's going on there. The best I can figure is that the women are like webcam models. Men try to get their attention by giving them gifts (which they purchase from POF). There are no local people there. Come to think of it, the people don't ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 14, 2020:

Sounds like a complete scam to fleece even more money out of the site's suckers, er.. members,,,,

[rawstory.] KAMALA HARRIS is Joe Biden's pick for his Vice President.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2020:

So I guess they both made up later or Harris was just posturing or lying back in the debate months ago when she practically called Biden a racist to his face over his opposition to busing? Both her and Joe disgust me, everything with them is theater and false advertising. Biden said he would ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 13, 2020:

@tiredofthis1 Not surprising. Like Joe, she has no integrity..

Heckuva job, DNC.

RoboGraham comments on Aug 13, 2020:

Wait a minute.... This is incorrect. Biden, very polite? He wasn't polite to all those voters he yelled at during the primary, or the woman he assaulted, or all the other women he touched inappropriately, or the thousands of poor people he mass-incarcerated... Sounds like you ought to ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 13, 2020:

There's also the factory worker Biden got belligerent at during a campaign stop and practically challenged the guy to a fight. I also viewed video of Biden poking his finger a few times into the chest of a climate change activist here in Iowa that never made the news...

Heckuva job, DNC.

t1nick comments on Aug 13, 2020:

Just for clarification, are you saying that both Biden and trump are both more or less identical and based on your list deplorable by their indiscretions. Furthermore, are you suggesting that they are different, and worse than the majority of other politicians in Washington. The descriptions you ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 13, 2020:

We don't, as long as most people fall for the game of the major parties and refuse to consider voting for third party candidates. That's the only peaceful form of revolution that I see available for the future. BTW, Sanders has almost none of those qualities in the diagram, but I guess he's too honest, incorruptible and dignified for most people.

Iy bizzee....

HippieChick58 comments on Aug 13, 2020:

I tell my girlies I'm bigger than they are, and I know how to open the door to get to the food. They scoot.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 13, 2020:

Food is always the trump card for cats.

Morris relaxing in his usual way.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 13, 2020:

Begging for those belly rubs..

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 13, 2020:

@Sonja44 That is true. I've seen some cats that feign this and then bite if you begin rubbing their bellies.

@admin and members.

Leontion comments on Aug 13, 2020:

I fear that the hate groups are gaining steam these days because partly because online platforms including slug have validated their perspectives and helped them get converts. Even though I uphold the right to be free of government censorship, I do not think it is a wise idea for those of us opposed...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 13, 2020:

@Leontion I'm not afraid of being doxed as I am not a public figure, am retired, and not very active on FB. I live in a building with a security door and the only way they could harass me would be to vandalize my car if they got the plate number and description. I could live with that since I have an underground garage, so they would have to follow me when I leave home, in which case I would start keeping an eye on my car parked away from home and be ready to call the cops on them when they approached my car. I could just take a pic of them and get their plate number to give to the cops if they came after me.

It seems from the news reports that most of the decisions for returning to classes last week in ...

TheInterlooper comments on Aug 13, 2020:

The far-left want white men to feel shame for their race/gender. The far-right want white men to be proud of their race/gender. Which do you think is more appealing?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 13, 2020:

@t1nick I don't think it's all about a lack of intelligence. It's more about being callous and lacking empathy and compassion. In the world of most Republicans, you don't matter and your life, health, safety, and welfare don't matter unless you are part of their tribe, esp. if you aren't rich and white...

The overwhelming selfishness of the conservative, Republican, American capitalistic philosophy.

barjoe comments on Aug 13, 2020:

College Football is big business. For many cities it's the #1 industry. Notre Dame football is the largest employer in South Bend. Ann Arbor without Michigan football is a ghost town. Lou Holtz is worried about money. He doesn't care about these kids, our military. What an insult to those who gave ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 13, 2020:

If big time college football programs expect their players to sacrifice as if Covid was like fighting a war, then I think that's also a hell of an argument that it's also time that the players had a union and got paid fairly for what they contribute to the money machine.

Alt Jesus.

hankster comments on Aug 12, 2020:

throw lots of stones https://youtu.be/SYkbqzWVHZI

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 12, 2020:

Love the line, "You're only making it worse on yourself! How can that be, I'm already sentenced to death by stoning?",,,,,,, That movie is so painfully funny because it is so true about religious fanaticism..

An article with a progressive's view on Kamala Harris:[theguardian.com]

altschmerz comments on Aug 12, 2020:

This election really depresses me. And I knew Biden wasn't going to pick someone more progressive than himself, and that all the women he was looking at were problematic, but his pick just depressed me even more. On Facebook, post after post lauding this "historic" pick. On this website, post after ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 12, 2020:

Identity politics is total bullshit when it is used so blatantly as a distraction and substitute for choosing leaders who are right on policy, have integrity, and a proven track record of backing up their talk for the present on what they will do if elected. It sickens, depresses, and leaves me with little hope for the future when I see how many people on the left of the Repubs keep falling for this shit instead of making intelligent choices for who to support based on policy, record, and integrity instead of identity politics, image, and rhetoric. The next logical step after Harris is the Dem party nominating a gay Hispanic male to complete the cycle of identity politics.... Oh wait, they sort of already did that with Mayor Pete and plenty of fools fell for that one... Anyone who thinks that a modern neoliberal corporatist centrist Dem can be pushed to the left to do what most Americans want after being elected, is either willfully ignorant of recent history since the 1980s or very naive...

I know many here are against Trump, but what's your opinion on Joe Biden?

JimG comments on Aug 12, 2020:

He's going to be like Obama, but without the charm. His foreign policy will maintain our international standing among the least-trusted, moay-despised nations on earth. At least, we might lose the number one ranking. He will cater to corporate backers and allow banks to continue exploiting college ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 12, 2020:

You're so right. Until then we will continue to get shit for policies and worse candidate choices each time around, unless you love right wing candidates...

I know many here are against Trump, but what's your opinion on Joe Biden?

RoboGraham comments on Aug 12, 2020:

Lesser evil. A very dangerous evil

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 12, 2020:

Or, maybe, as Glen Greenwald called Obama, "The more effective evil"?

I know, it's heart-breaking. 😅

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 12, 2020:

What is Pspsps?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 12, 2020:

@Jetty Thanks.

Q) How can you tell when Donald Trump is lying? A) His lips are moving.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2020:

That's what LBJ used to say about Nixon back in the 60s... There's a reason Nixon was called Tricky Dick...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@Triphid Lots of people badmouth cynicism about pols, but I think of it more as realism and a sign of being able to think critically..

I'm just wondering,,, was Gabbard not dark enough for Joe?

Captain_Feelgood comments on Aug 11, 2020:

My guess is Gabbard would have turned down his offer for VP.... Knowing what a imbecile he is, I guess he probably didn't even offer it to her..

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

I would gladly take Tulsi over Harris as prez, not that Tulsi ever had a chance...

I'm just wondering,,, was Gabbard not dark enough for Joe?

RoboGraham comments on Aug 11, 2020:

Later, when asked about what she said regarding Joe's past on the busing issue, she laughed and said that it was just a debate. These people will say anything. It's all political theater.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

I remember that moment well. It shows they are both fucking liars. I remember how it looked like Joe was going to cry and I was laughing my ass off hoping he would....

Q) How can you tell when Donald Trump is lying? A) His lips are moving.

hankster comments on Aug 11, 2020:

or his thumbs.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@Triphid Bah-dum...

Do you want Biden/Harris to Win?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2020:

I might vote for Biden or I might vote Green, but either way, as far as donating money, volunteering or having any enthusiasm or support for Biden, they can all fuck off....

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@creative51 Oh, that one really hurts. I'm deeply, deeply wounded....

Do you want Biden/Harris to Win?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2020:

I might vote for Biden or I might vote Green, but either way, as far as donating money, volunteering or having any enthusiasm or support for Biden, they can all fuck off....

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@creative51 Like I care what you think of me...

[rawstory.] KAMALA HARRIS is Joe Biden's pick for his Vice President.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2020:

So I guess they both made up later or Harris was just posturing or lying back in the debate months ago when she practically called Biden a racist to his face over his opposition to busing? Both her and Joe disgust me, everything with them is theater and false advertising. Biden said he would ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@WilliamCharles Beautiful and well done, sir. She is such a fraud, tho I did enjoy her debate takedown of Biden on his racist opposition to busing so many months ago. He almost looked like he was going to cry and I laughed out loud...

[rawstory.] KAMALA HARRIS is Joe Biden's pick for his Vice President.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2020:

So I guess they both made up later or Harris was just posturing or lying back in the debate months ago when she practically called Biden a racist to his face over his opposition to busing? Both her and Joe disgust me, everything with them is theater and false advertising. Biden said he would ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@richiegtt I guess he actually said "woman of color", rather than black, so she qualifies. Doesn't really matter, because, like I said, identity politics is really more of a distraction to focus the voters away from whether politicians are representing and carrying out the will of the common people on the issues I mentioned above.

Top 10 Obama Scandals | The Daily Show - YouTube

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 10, 2020:

I hated Obama too, but for entirely different reasons than the right wingers, except for one reason they and I had in common, namely that he was Barry The Liar....

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@Lightupmylife I hate him for having pretended during his 2008 campaign that he was liberal on most issues and then moving to the right after he got elected. During his whole presidency he sold out union members and others on the left time after time by caving to the Republicans before they even opposed a policy as well as his habit of negotiating with himself rather than honestly opposing the Repubs on anything. He was essentially a liar and a sellout on most things when it came to how he would pretend to care about his supporters on the left and then piss on their policy wishes. And then proceed to blame the big, bad Republicans instead of honestly owning that he was a servant of Wall Street and corporate America from the beginning.

Hello all! Today has been interesting with the massive storm that blasted through Iowa.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 10, 2020:

I lost my satellite TV until at least sometime tomorrow, but I still have Iowa Public Radio and my dvd's from the library of a season of Better Call Saul and a movie on my dvr that I recorded a few days ago and haven't watched yet.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@Donna_I A lot of tree damage. Loss of power in much of the town. Many streets blocked by downed trees. The Iowa Public Radio station that I listen to was on after the storm passed, but got knocked out later in the afternoon and was off all evening. It's back on this morning.

Lovely cat and music. [facebook.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 10, 2020:

Beautiful singing, but it seems to agitate the cat. The singer needs to remember that we are only here to serve the felines. This cat was very cute, but I would never expose myself to that kind of scratching and biting just to mess with the cat's head. I think he was being kind of selfish and cruel ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@NoMagicCookie Sounds like a badass cat...

Lovely cat and music. [facebook.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 10, 2020:

Beautiful singing, but it seems to agitate the cat. The singer needs to remember that we are only here to serve the felines. This cat was very cute, but I would never expose myself to that kind of scratching and biting just to mess with the cat's head. I think he was being kind of selfish and cruel ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

@NoMagicCookie That's what I was thinking too. I was becoming afraid of what I would see.

Should 'gig' companies be required to establish benefits funds ? why/not ?

BitFlipper comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The *Gig Economy* is designed to prevent unionization. The corporation works to prevent "employees" (independent contractors) from even coordinating with each other.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

Not only that, it's also designed to provide zero security to workers and maximum exploitation. It's the non-agricultural equivalent of being a migrant farm worker before the UFW.

Leftists who pretend that they are allies with the minority and shuts up people from the minority ...

RoboGraham comments on Aug 10, 2020:

This is what Malcolm X believed. At least known enemies are predictable. Enemies that seem to be friends are dangerous.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 11, 2020:

"Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes..They don't tell the truth. Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes... And I've got proof"-The Undisputed Truth

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

dermot235 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The US is not a functioning Democracy and it's getting worse every year. Voter Suppression Gerrymandering The Electoral College, And then Alaska with it's 600,000 people gets 2 Senators and California with 39 Millions People gets 2 Senators also. WTF Please don't export your democracy ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@dermot235 I thought all of America's so-called low skill factory jobs went to China....

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

dermot235 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The US is not a functioning Democracy and it's getting worse every year. Voter Suppression Gerrymandering The Electoral College, And then Alaska with it's 600,000 people gets 2 Senators and California with 39 Millions People gets 2 Senators also. WTF Please don't export your democracy ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@dermot235 I mean that the multinational corporations, thru trade treaties that their bought politicians negotiate with other countries, as well as decisions made directly by the corporations to move their jobs, factories, and services from the US to low or lower wage countries, end up outsourcing the jobs away from the US. The result is that US workers end up with fewer jobs to compete for, the jobs that are left are less often unionized, and the pay and benefits, as well as the job security of those remaining jobs in America, are worse. It's the globalization version of musical chairs, a desperate scramble among the workers to compete for worse and worse jobs in a shrinking pool. The latest result is the gig economy. No job security or benefits, low pay, but oh so much "freedom" for the worker in having a flexible schedule and independent contracting....

Hello all! Today has been interesting with the massive storm that blasted through Iowa.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 10, 2020:

I lost my satellite TV until at least sometime tomorrow, but I still have Iowa Public Radio and my dvd's from the library of a season of Better Call Saul and a movie on my dvr that I recorded a few days ago and haven't watched yet.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@Donna_I What do you mean by od?

How liberal flakes led us to Trump: [theatlantic.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 10, 2020:

Nothing new here. In a nutshell, the majority of the college-educated Boomers, including some former hippies, started selling out in the 80s, becoming self-centered, socially-callous yuppies. As such, they became members of the Coordinator Class, who make up most of the top 10% group of Americans in...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@Krish55 I try, thanks...

Now that this group has added the BLM movement to its identity, it will be interesting to see if it ...

Allamanda comments on Aug 10, 2020:

I think you are right, but I am also curious to know - has the group lost members since adding BLM to name and aims? I ask because for the first time yesterday I was 'accused' in a strange way by a member who is seemingly anti-feminist, of 'being a BLM' [supporter, I guess]. I would have thought ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

Interesting ?. I would assume that, if anything, the group might gain some new members who are libertarian, rather than socialist or progressive, because they support minority civil rights, but on the other hand they will probably stay away from this group because they don't want to argue their libertarian economic views against the economic lefties on here.

Now that this group has added the BLM movement to its identity, it will be interesting to see if it ...

Shaghaf comments on Aug 10, 2020:

Just last night i was listening to an interesting interview with ,Thomas Frank, the author of " listen liberal " and few other books. He mentioned the same idea about what MLK figured out before his murder . I don't think it's possible to achieve any kind of justice or equality under capitalism....

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

Maybe under the more European models of capitalism mixed with social democracy, but certainly not under America's form of unregulated capitalism and plutocracy that we have had for decades. Under our type of current capitalism, the best we will get is greater tolerance or freedom to be queer or non-white or an immigrant, but most Americans will never have justice or equality in the areas of economic equality or opportunity, as well as equal justice or power, individually or as a group, unless they are wealthy. All we have gotten since the 1960s in America, as far as social progress or equality, are things like gay rights, abortion rights, tolerance or civil rights for non-white people and more equality for women, all of which have cost corporate America and the rich nothing, which is why these reforms were allowed. Meanwhile, the rich and corporations, along with their bought pols in DC, proceeded to trade away our jobs, our middle class standard of living, and our democracy thru international trade deals and treaties that trump our federal and state laws. We no longer are able to make our own laws if they violate these treaties unless we drop out of those treaties and pay the financial penalties for doing so. None of the pols in DC, not even Bernie, is telling the people about these sinister facts and neither is the corporate media, which never covers trade deals in depth anyway.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

PondartIncbendog comments on Aug 10, 2020:

Please define intended usage, "democracy"?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@RoboGraham By that definition, the US clearly has plutocracy rather than democracy. The ruling class is not afraid of the masses at all these days and even most of the pols in DC don't bother to pretend that they care about the commoners or what the commoners think or want. They insult our intelligence regularly. I have no doubt that privately most pols in DC think that we are idiots that haven't caught on to their con or even if we have, they callously dismiss us as having nowhere else to go outside the two major parties. And as long as those that do vote stay confined to the two major parties, those pols are right and they will continue to behave accordingly.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

Aurora62 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The USA has real democracy?!?! Don't make me laugh Rob! 😂 We can't even verify our votes. We click on a machine and pray to the flying spaghetti monster that our vote isn't flipped to the other candidate. 😂

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@Aurora62 Unfortunately, because of the influence of American corporations, I have heard from Canadians that their country is rapidly becoming much like the US in their politics and the rule of their country by multinational corporations.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

Aurora62 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The USA has real democracy?!?! Don't make me laugh Rob! 😂 We can't even verify our votes. We click on a machine and pray to the flying spaghetti monster that our vote isn't flipped to the other candidate. 😂

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

True. The only honest elections are those with only paper ballots that give the voter a paper receipt for their ballot votes. The ruling class in our plutocracy will never allow that...As far as votes being flipped to a different candidate on an electronic voting machine, that is exactly what happened in Ohio back in 2004 when votes for Kerry were being flipped to Bush and the corrupt Dems in congress were not even willing to protest and fight this obvious election stealing after the election when congress met to certify the election results. It was all in Michael Moore's movie about the 2004 election and the Iraq War.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

dermot235 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The US is not a functioning Democracy and it's getting worse every year. Voter Suppression Gerrymandering The Electoral College, And then Alaska with it's 600,000 people gets 2 Senators and California with 39 Millions People gets 2 Senators also. WTF Please don't export your democracy ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@dermot235 I have been alive since 1958 and from my observation, politics in America has only continued to get worse since the early 1970s, which is when the federal government began to become much less responsive to the common people, the outsourcing of jobs began to get much worse, union membership began to fall drastically, and corporate campaign donations began to dwarf union campaign donations, and the US began making trade deals that sold out workers. Automation of jobs also began to really accelerate in that time. Corporate campaign donations are now 16 times greater than that of unions. All of these trends began to intersect in the US beginning in the early 1970s and that's why the average wages of American workers, adjusted for inflation, have not risen since 1973. We stopped making progress because the pols sold us out after that and the economy and tax policy since then have been all for the benefit of the top 1%, which is who gives most of the campaign money, either directly or thru corporations. Life expectancy in the US, for those in the lower classes, has actually gone down in the last decade or so, back to where it was before the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid 1960s. So, for the lower classes in America below the top 10% of the wealthiest, it's like living in a third world country. You're right, dermot, most Americans will probably not wake up and be willing to fight the ruling class until there is another Depression like the 1930s. Racial injustice like what we saw this summer with the BLM protests will not be enough to get most white Americans motivated to revolt against the system, violently or peacefully. I think it would take tens of millions out in the street and I am not confident that police and military would not just mow us down no matter how peaceful we were, whether the president was a Dem or a Repub. It would be Tianneman Square in America, with no media coverage as well. Since America's initial revolution, the history shows that Americans will only revolt when they feel they have nothing left to lose. Right now we still have way too many people who still have jobs, food, housing, healthcare and a feeling of security.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

dermot235 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The US is not a functioning Democracy and it's getting worse every year. Voter Suppression Gerrymandering The Electoral College, And then Alaska with it's 600,000 people gets 2 Senators and California with 39 Millions People gets 2 Senators also. WTF Please don't export your democracy ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@dermot235 It's too hard in America because most people are brainwashed by the two major parties and the mass media. They don't know how to think critically and so they are easily manipulated by those groups. Collectively, we Americans, even those without wealth, have the power under the law to change things, but too many of us have either given up, are brainwashed and don't get what is wrong and needs to be done, or are unwilling to get out in the streets to fight for it, violently or non-violently. The BLM protests, which used to get constant TV coverage from national networks, now get completely ignored for the last few weeks, for example...

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

dermot235 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The US is not a functioning Democracy and it's getting worse every year. Voter Suppression Gerrymandering The Electoral College, And then Alaska with it's 600,000 people gets 2 Senators and California with 39 Millions People gets 2 Senators also. WTF Please don't export your democracy ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@dermot235 I think you were able to do it in Europe because your citizens are better educated, more engaged with politics and, most importantly, much more conscious of economic class. It seems like most Europeans, unlike Americans, see themselves as part of a large citizenry that is united for the common good, instead of the American worship of individualism that pervades America's media, entertainment and educational system. Most Americans identify with and worship the rich, wanting and planning/hoping to also be rich someday, while most Euros seem to be more realistic and identify with the middle class or lower classes and instead desire peace and security and fairness over individual ambition and advancement.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

dermot235 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The US is not a functioning Democracy and it's getting worse every year. Voter Suppression Gerrymandering The Electoral College, And then Alaska with it's 600,000 people gets 2 Senators and California with 39 Millions People gets 2 Senators also. WTF Please don't export your democracy ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@dermot235 I agree with the methods you mention, but in the US it's impossible because of the past court decisions, the collusion of the two major parties to maintain the status quo on campaign funding, the wealth and power of the rich and corporations to control the mass media, etc. These things make it impossible to remove big money out of politics here because the whole system here supports the status quo: The courts, the media, both major parties. Unlike Europe, the mass media does not have to provide free air time for qualified candidates, the campaign seasons are not time limited either, like in Europe. The media corporations would never allow the government to restore the Fairness Doctrine, which was abolished in the 1980s and required that TV stations give free air time for opposing viewpoints to respond to editorial comments or political ads. The only way American politics could get rid of the big money in it would be to have third parties get control of the federal government first, but instead most Americans would rather just tune out and drop out of the system first. We would have to have tens of millions rioting in the streets before the rich and corporations would give up their power and control of the fed govt. I don't see many Americans willing to get out there and fight for it like we would need for it to happen.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

dermot235 comments on Aug 10, 2020:

The US is not a functioning Democracy and it's getting worse every year. Voter Suppression Gerrymandering The Electoral College, And then Alaska with it's 600,000 people gets 2 Senators and California with 39 Millions People gets 2 Senators also. WTF Please don't export your democracy ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

I do envy you Europeans as most of your governments have not been completely captured by the rich and corporations like the US, at least not yet. And also envy your parlimentary systems in which someone like me can actually be represented in government by a party that shares my values and policy positions. In America, almost half of us are not represented that way by either major party, so we stop voting in fed elections.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

barjoe comments on Aug 10, 2020:

We are not the freest but still a democracy. We'll find out for sure this November.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@barjoe Oh, that one really hurts, bj....

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

barjoe comments on Aug 10, 2020:

We are not the freest but still a democracy. We'll find out for sure this November.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@barjoe, @RoboGraham Notice how no matter which party controls which parts of the fed govt., you can always count on our fed govt. having the money to fund tax cuts for the rich and corporations, bailouts for Wall Street and the banks, and plenty of money for the military and endless wars. Money for the common people for their health, education and welfare, not so much. "Sorry, we need to balance the budget and practice fiscal responsibility, etc." Nothing makes it more clearer than this that the fed. govt. is owned by and only responsive to the rich and corporate America. I know in my bones that the main reason we have such low voter turnout is because most non-voters have woke up and figured this out, so they reason elections are not worth bothering with...

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

barjoe comments on Aug 10, 2020:

We are not the freest but still a democracy. We'll find out for sure this November.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@barjoe Don't take it so personal. Lots of smart, famous people agree with me about the two parties being the same on the things that matter most, so I'm by no means the only one saying these things. I just happen to be the only one you are engaging with...

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

barjoe comments on Aug 10, 2020:

We are not the freest but still a democracy. We'll find out for sure this November.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@barjoe Wrong...For at least a few decades, the presidents from both major parties have only been nominating SC justices that are safely pro-corporate and in favor of the status quo on big money in politics. Tweedle dee and tweedle dum.. You are either ignorant or naive on this issue. Same as how both parties will only nominate prez candidates who will play ball with Wall Street and corporate America. Any candidate, like Bernie, who is against those players and the rich will never get a chance. Biden and anyone he would nominate to the SC would be safe choices to support corporate power and maintain big money's control of the fed govt.. I'm amazed at how intelligent people, of which I have no doubt you are one, are often so blind to how much the two major parties are the same on all the most important issues and policies, namely the ones that actually involve power and money. The ones the rich and corporate America really care about. Identity politics and culture war issues, those are just noise and distractions that really don't matter to the donor class, but are effective at getting the masses to ignore the collusion between the major parties.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

barjoe comments on Aug 10, 2020:

We are not the freest but still a democracy. We'll find out for sure this November.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@barjoe Unfortunately, campaign funding will never be cleaned up because both major parties love the status quo on that, the Supreme Court has also ruled that limits on campaign funding are unconstitutional in Citizens United as well as Buckley v. Aleo from the 1970s. The only way to clean up campaign funding from big money would be to pass a constitutional amendment and that will never happen with the two major parties being opposed to it. Plus, all the SC justices that are appointed support the idea that free speech and campaign donations are the same thing and so the SC will always protect unlimited campaign donations as free speech.

Should The USA Be Considered a Democracy?

barjoe comments on Aug 10, 2020:

We are not the freest but still a democracy. We'll find out for sure this November.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@RoboGraham The reason for that is that we do not have a responsive democracy, instead we have a plutocracy. In the latter, it doesn't matter what the majority of people want for policies, the pols will only give us what policies their rich donors want. That's why Americans are so lefty in what opinion polls say they support, but the policies from both parties are to the right of center at least by the standards of European countries. Our pols are only responsive to how much money they get from donors, who are their only real constituency.

Christian Activist: Country Music Contains Magic ‘Spells’ That Change Human DNA | Michael Stone

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 8, 2020:

I've always hated country music reasons for cultural reasons, so I don't really care what it does or doesn't do to its fans and listeners. I just want to be left out of it and not have to be exposed to it. The only time I hear it is in grocery stores. I suspect if I lived in New England or the ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@Marionville Yeah, country music seems to have the most strict dress code for performers of any genre, except maybe classical, where everyone is supposed to dress formally in black.

Christian Activist: Country Music Contains Magic ‘Spells’ That Change Human DNA | Michael Stone

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 8, 2020:

I've always hated country music reasons for cultural reasons, so I don't really care what it does or doesn't do to its fans and listeners. I just want to be left out of it and not have to be exposed to it. The only time I hear it is in grocery stores. I suspect if I lived in New England or the ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@Marionville I bet they also dress up like fake drugstore cowboys with their huge belt buckles and cowboy hats..

Had a 5.1 earthquake this afternoon.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2020:

Somewhere in the area of the earthquake, there is probably at least one narcissistic man who thought he moved the earth while banging a woman......Bah-dum..

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@WonderWartHog99 Indeed...

Trump Pledges to Permanently Cut Taxes That Fund Social Security and Medicare In one of his ...

dalefvictor comments on Aug 9, 2020:

Yes, he will make it so we have more money but allowing us to not pay federal taxes and Social Security. Then to balance the budget he will do away with Social Security, Medicare, all programs to help people and raise taxes, or allow the country to get further into debt. He does not care about the ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@Theresa_N Not only should the payroll tax be raised more progressively for those at the higher levels, we should also remove the earnings cap for the top earners, since right now they are not taxed for SS for income over the cap level. Simply doing that would solve all the current funding problems with SS. But of course, the rich and their puppets in Congress would not stand for that...

Had a 5.1 earthquake this afternoon.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2020:

Somewhere in the area of the earthquake, there is probably at least one narcissistic man who thought he moved the earth while banging a woman......Bah-dum..

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 10, 2020:

@WonderWartHog99 For all we know, something along that line may have been how HIV got started...

To all the anti- vote blue no matter who, critical thinkers out there.

barjoe comments on Aug 9, 2020:

I'm not sure he's going to win this election but I'm hopeful. Trump just threatened my upcoming Social Security, so I have a question for you. What did Joe Biden ever do to you?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

@barjoe I beg to differ. The protest marches all over the country this summer suggest to me that the lefties may be more sizeable than you think. Remember also that only about half of the eligible voters in the country vote in most prez elections and the most likely reason appears to be that they see little difference between the parties these days in prez elections. Since both parties have been nominating neoliberal corporate candidates for the last four decades that have been center right to far right, while Bernie Sanders has brought out way bigger crowds and excitement than any other candidate the last two cycles, that tells me that most of the non-voters are probably people who lean to the left. But as long as the Dem party does not allow a progressive to be nominated, we will never get to see if a progressive can win a prez election until a progressive runs outside the Dem party as an independent or third party candidate. If Bernie had run as an independent or third party candidate either time, he would have polled high enough that they would have had to let him into the prez debates, just like Perot in 1992, and I think he could have won last time or this time. But he didn't have the guts or integrity, unfortunately.

To all the anti- vote blue no matter who, critical thinkers out there.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2020:

No blocking, where's the fun in that, hee, hee? All kidding aside, I welcome the addition of the group and can't wait to see if any of the Biden supporters have the guts to comment there and defend their candidate.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

@RoboGraham They are either naive or willfully ignorant.

To all the anti- vote blue no matter who, critical thinkers out there.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2020:

No blocking, where's the fun in that, hee, hee? All kidding aside, I welcome the addition of the group and can't wait to see if any of the Biden supporters have the guts to comment there and defend their candidate.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

@RoboGraham I have no beef with people who settle for Biden, as long as they are willing to be honest and admit that the only reason to vote for him is that he is somewhat better than Trump. What I can't abide is them saying that he is a good candidate or even one of the better ones of the 24 who started out in the primary race. The fact that after a two year primary race the nominee turns out to be one of the worst ones in the field tells me that the Dem party is corrupt beyond repair, the Dem primary voters (at least in SC and the Super Tuesday states) are dumber than a box of rocks, or both....

To all the anti- vote blue no matter who, critical thinkers out there.

Bobbyzen comments on Aug 9, 2020:

Joined. If he is elected, I am hoping for a massive uprising to demand Biden and Democratic legislators rise to a far better place. Propaganda to the contrary, Biden has been no friend to the poor, the working classes, immigrants, African Americans........

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

No shit. His record is terrible and if the Dem party wasn't so corrupt, he would have been done for good with running for prez after he had to drop out in 1988 over his plagarism scandal.

Here’s a question for those of you who love and listen to music.

Paddypereira comments on Aug 9, 2020:

Well, it's very relative. Although I'm more into heavier music, I do like A-Ha. There are guys that are unique like David Bowie, Prince, Nick Cave, Black Sabbath and others. There are brilliant bands that don't get much recognition. The late Michael Jackson was a brilliant performer but not great ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

@dermot235 From having lived in Iowa my whole life and been assaulted by more country music than I care to remember around fans of it, I would venture to say that in many cases the fans of country music never had a great amount of brain in their heads to begin with, much less any great amount of deterioration...

Here’s a question for those of you who love and listen to music.

dermot235 comments on Aug 9, 2020:

Country Music. Yeeeeeee haaaa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7im5LT09a0

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

He is so on the mark about how fake and inauthentic modern country artists are as well as how their rube fans eat it up. He eloquently spells out all the standard cliches that make up the lyrics of country songs, which are so offensive and insulting to anyone with some intellect and education. He also nails the affected nasal, twangy singing style along with all the instrumental twang. It's music for rubes, hicks, and rednecks, of which I am proudly not a member of any of these groups. The only thing he left out was the common " Rah, Rah" patriotism that is such a staple of country songs. If country fans want to proudly proclaim that they are uneducated rednecks, fine, it's a free country. I just don't want to hear any of it or listen to it or be around them if it's at all avoidable. Separation and peaceful co-existence is what I seek.. It's also no coincidence that when I used to go sing karaoke at bars, most of the worst singers there would be the ones who sang only country songs, the reason being that country is the easiest genre to sing and doesn't take much singing talent to perform, so that's probably a large reason they stuck to that. Another reason I loathe country music.

"In Sweden, “two-thirds of deaths have been among those over 80, and 97% never received ...

barjoe comments on Aug 8, 2020:

Sweden basically treated those patients with morphine. Think death panels. They never closed their economy, but their citizen practice social distancing and universal mask wearing. Swedish economy has suffered because people are not going out, tourists are staying away in drives. Death rates are ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

@barjoe At least in Sweden, their leaders are honest and open about the rationing. Here in the US, we aren't. Don't want to get the peasants too riled up by openly saying they are expendable and have no value.

"In Sweden, “two-thirds of deaths have been among those over 80, and 97% never received ...

barjoe comments on Aug 8, 2020:

Sweden basically treated those patients with morphine. Think death panels. They never closed their economy, but their citizen practice social distancing and universal mask wearing. Swedish economy has suffered because people are not going out, tourists are staying away in drives. Death rates are ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

@barjoe We do have rationing of health care here in the US. It's administered thru managed care insurance programs and the ability to pay for patients without insurance.

"In Sweden, “two-thirds of deaths have been among those over 80, and 97% never received ...

barjoe comments on Aug 8, 2020:

Sweden basically treated those patients with morphine. Think death panels. They never closed their economy, but their citizen practice social distancing and universal mask wearing. Swedish economy has suffered because people are not going out, tourists are staying away in drives. Death rates are ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 9, 2020:

We have death panels here, it's just that they sit in the boardrooms of insurance companies instead of the government buildings.

Christian Activist: Country Music Contains Magic ‘Spells’ That Change Human DNA | Michael Stone

piphirho comments on Aug 8, 2020:

I thought it was rock and roll that contained satanic spells and secret messages. I thought they like country music because it was so, well, white.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 8, 2020:

It's not coincidental that here in Iowa whenever there is a political gathering of Repubs, they always have country music as the background or entertainment. With the Dems, at least they avoid country and usually play or have rock or folk rock that is hip, sometimes even reggae...The only music genre more white than country is classical, which I don't hate, I simply dislike it and am not interested. It doesn't bother or offend me like country. Country music and NASCAR are the two most white and Southern institutions in the US.

Christian Activist: Country Music Contains Magic ‘Spells’ That Change Human DNA | Michael Stone

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 8, 2020:

I've always hated country music reasons for cultural reasons, so I don't really care what it does or doesn't do to its fans and listeners. I just want to be left out of it and not have to be exposed to it. The only time I hear it is in grocery stores. I suspect if I lived in New England or the ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 8, 2020:

@PondartIncbendog I concede that MO is somewhat worse than Iowa culturally, but not much...We progressives in Iowa half jokingly refer to Iowa as North Mississippi....Speaking of MO, I visited a friend in KC last weekend and stopped in Cameron on the way back for gas and coffee. Not a single person besides me in the convenience store was wearing a mask, not even the employees, as well as a sheriff's deputy in uniform. What a bunch of yahoo idiots!

Christian Activist: Country Music Contains Magic ‘Spells’ That Change Human DNA | Michael Stone

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 8, 2020:

I've always hated country music reasons for cultural reasons, so I don't really care what it does or doesn't do to its fans and listeners. I just want to be left out of it and not have to be exposed to it. The only time I hear it is in grocery stores. I suspect if I lived in New England or the ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 8, 2020:

@PondartIncbendog It could be worse for you. I live in Iowa, you can't escape it in about any grocery store and also in most restaurants.

The Anti-Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s in pictures [allthatsinteresting.com]

JazznBlues comments on Aug 4, 2020:

So things really haven't changed...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 8, 2020:

@SeaGreenEyez It's sad and, also completely predictable to me, that the corporate media now ignore the BLM protests that are still going on. They don't cover them because they have become routine and also don't pose the newsworthy threat of violence like they did early on, which is what the media were hoping to capture live in their coverage.

I noticed that Agnostic now has a Biden 2020 group.

RoboGraham comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Maybe a Biden pinata group? Such a group will become even more necessary if he manages to win.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 8, 2020:

@RoboGraham I don't think the site was around yet back then. Thanks for creating the group, Robo. You the man..

I noticed that Agnostic now has a Biden 2020 group.

LovinLarge comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Do you really think "angering" other members is a productive use of this website?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

@LovinLarge I'm afraid that ship sailed a long time ago. You should read Chris Hedges. Even Jimmy Carter said years ago we no longer have a functional democracy.. In my opinion, we already had fascism before Trump. It's called rule by corporations merged with the security state.

This is Professor Morris Plumpkin.

HippieChick58 comments on Aug 7, 2020:

I am in love with this guy!! He is adorable!! I have a ginger, she weighs about 10 pounds, so Morris must be a load of love!

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

I have heard gingers are the most friendly cats.

I noticed that Agnostic now has a Biden 2020 group.

LovinLarge comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Do you really think "angering" other members is a productive use of this website?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

@LovinLarge Suit yourself...

This is Professor Morris Plumpkin.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Morris is cute and looks like a friendly cat. it's not his fault that he thought he needed to be fed four times a day.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

@Sonja44 Oh, oh... That does not sound like a responsible cat guardian..

I noticed that Agnostic now has a Biden 2020 group.

LovinLarge comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Do you really think "angering" other members is a productive use of this website?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

@LovinLarge He may be somewhat more progressive or to the left of Trump on abortion and climate change, but on the usual stuff that the Dems and Repubs make a big deal out of showing differences on, like identity politics and culture war stuff, like crime, The War On Drugs, and foreign policy like wars in the Middle East, he and Trump are pretty much the same. Same thing with tax policy and civil liberties. Biden voted for the Patriot Act, remember? Biden is not as openly hostile to minorities and women as Trump, but he supported Clarence Thomas over Anita Hill in the SC confirmation hearing, as well as the crime bill in the 1990s and Obama's NDAA, which paved the way for Trump's use of fed troops domestically. His immigration policies don't differ that much from Trump as far as deportation. Black people give him way more credit and support than he deserves with his record. He refuses to support M 4All or legalizing weed. Biden also voted for the Iraq War and supported Obama's policies of staying in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of getting out. Finally, there's his longtime loyalty to corporate America and his private comment to rich donors that "nothing will fundamentally change", meaning economic and tax policy. Biden also supported NAFTA and the TPP, as well as other neoliberal trade policies that Trump supports, leading to outsourcing of American jobs. As Nina Turner, Bernie's campaign co-chair and likely VP pick if he had been nominated, said about Biden, "Biden is just half a bowl of shit, while Trump is a whole bowl". I love her bluntness. Either way, you are voting for shit and that's what you will get for policy after the election. The main difference you might see if Biden got elected is that he would not be hostile to science or experts, and therefore, we might get better policy and leadership on dealing with Covid. Outside of that, I wouldn't expect much difference in policy if I were you.

I noticed that Agnostic now has a Biden 2020 group.

LovinLarge comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Do you really think "angering" other members is a productive use of this website?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

@LovinLarge I don't try to tell people not to vote for Biden. They can do whatever they want to, as will I. All I ask is that they don't tell me who to vote for or tell me that Biden is really that better than Trump. In other words, just be honest about their reasoning, like the Settle For Biden campaign is.

I noticed that Agnostic now has a Biden 2020 group.

RoboGraham comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Maybe a Biden pinata group? Such a group will become even more necessary if he manages to win.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

@RoboGraham I could have used an Obama pinata group back when he was prez. I got so sick of his supporters accusing me of being racist or unfairly blaming him for how the big, bad Repubs wouldn't allow him to do anything, even when he was elected with a supermajority until he disappointed enough voters early on that he lost that, justifiably, in 2010. It seemed to me and many others that he was relieved that he could now blame everything on the Repubs instead of his own habit of negotiating with himself and doing the preemptive cave on every issue he agreed with the Repubs on. I also got tired of his supporters always playing the race card and/or blaming the Repubs when it was clear that he only really cared about Wall Street and corporate America when it came to anything involving money and power, vs. the usual distractions of identity politics, where he was, of course, all in for playing to his base.

I noticed that Agnostic now has a Biden 2020 group.

RoboGraham comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Maybe a Biden pinata group? Such a group will become even more necessary if he manages to win.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

I totally agree and would be glad to join if he ended up winning.

I noticed that Agnostic now has a Biden 2020 group.

LovinLarge comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Do you really think "angering" other members is a productive use of this website?

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

I don't know, seems as appropriate as a Trump Pinata group.. Also is just as appropriate as all the vote-shaming I have regularly experienced here from Biden supporters.

Hey! Feeling exhausted this morning 😔 but here you go, wanna know if I am not the only one ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 7, 2020:

This reminds me of the scene in Office Space, where Peter Gruber stays in bed the whole day after being hypnotized the night before by the therapist who died of a heart attack before he could wake Peter up from the hypnosis. Meanwhile, while he sleeps, Peter is supposed to be at work that Saturday ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 7, 2020:

@Boomtarat03 Like the movie says, we all have the ability to live our dream of doing nothing..

Voters are driven and herded to the candidates of their choice--that is the media's ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 31, 2020:

The corporate media sure as hell were against Bernie once he seemed to have a good chance of getting the nomination. Interesting that Yang would not call out the Bernie Blackout or the bias against him in what coverage Bernie did get from the corporate media. He also didn't mention the obvious bias ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 3, 2020:

@linxminx Yup, that's all true. The whole process this time around has shown that while the internet has evened the playing field somewhat between establishment candidates and radical candidates, the corporate media is still the dominant force in choosing who most American voters are exposed to and who they will vote for. And I doubt that will change much in the next two prez cycles.

Yet another reason why on line dating rarely seems to work. [inverse.com]

BitFlipper comments on Jul 30, 2020:

There's one important difference between online dating sites and the real world: people on dating sites are all "looking" and can't call the cops on you for merely talking to them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 3, 2020:

And even with online dating, you can't always be sure they are actually looking to date someone. In my experience as well as what's been shared on this site, some women use dating sites just as entertainment and food for their egos to see who is interested in them.

Some assistance please.

Unpretentious comments on Aug 3, 2020:

I think those of us who are single should all have questions for online dating sites, like: How many active paid-up males are there on your site? How many active paid-up females are there on your site? How many of your active paying members have actually gone on a date with someone they met on ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Aug 3, 2020:

Too bad that even a Freedom Of Information Act filing would ever get you an answer to those ?s.

Yet another reason why on line dating rarely seems to work. [inverse.com]

mischl comments on Jul 30, 2020:

After multiple tries, I came to the same conclusion. What works is carefully cultivating a relationship with the best candidate I'd known over the decades, which included patiently waiting until her marriage played out. (Well, not all that patiently. But patient enough to be at the right place at ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jul 30, 2020:

A therapist once told me that successful dating, as far as finding compatible partners to date, often comes down to mostly timing, like waiting for the next round of divorces, etc. that effectively increase the pool of available singles in one's age group. Then of course, there's that other main factor, widowhood, that also grows the available pool once one is over 65.

From the Elephant Journal: dating tips for men in their 40s and 50s [elephantjournal.com]

BitFlipper comments on Jul 28, 2020:

I wish women would take some of the same hints. Why are all your pictures of you with other people? Is this a game for us to guess which one you are? And pictures with your daughter, you know that makes you look even older, right? Why show us your grandchildren? You don't want to see pictures of ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Jul 28, 2020:

So true! Here in Iowa I was beyond able to keep count of all the women's profiles that had pics of their kids in there, as if to say that either they were running for mother or grandma of the year or else that they were making a declaration that their kids and grandkids were their first priority by far and any guy that wanted to date them would be merely auditioning for a position as their escort to family visits. As someone who is childless by choice, I found this to be offensive and a bit arrogant. I also lost count of the women's profiles showing them out at the bar with their girlfriends. As Sticks48 says, it goes both ways...

I just watched Soylent Green on TV last night.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Jul 24, 2020:

On the other hand, I will have no problem in eating another human if he/she is in the form of a cracker. Just sayin'.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jul 24, 2020:

@Gwendolyn2018 Same way, I suppose, with many cat owners. The dead owner won't know about the cat eating their face out of hunger...

Trump Returns to Do White House Coronavirus Briefings Solo Three months after he abandoned the ...

Beowulfsfriend comments on Jul 21, 2020:

If those militia guys were true their beliefs, they would be in Portland against the US secret police.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jul 24, 2020:

But they aren't against fascism or fascists, they are just against government by those they perceive as lefties, whether they actually are or not. They have no problem with government by conservatives or fascists.

I just watched Soylent Green on TV last night.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Jul 24, 2020:

On the other hand, I will have no problem in eating another human if he/she is in the form of a cracker. Just sayin'.

TomMcGiverin replies on Jul 24, 2020:

Today's young children may get the chance to try the cracker...