TomMcGiverin's Profile

Did anyone watch last night's Democratic debate? Any opinions? Observations?

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 8, 2020:

I think Biden's campaign is starting to be in trouble and that Mayor Pete and Bloomberg are the new hopes of the centrists and party leaders who want to stop Bernie. I thought Klobuchar did well, but I expect she will drop out after she finishes out of the first tier again with New Hampshire. If Biden does not do well here or in Nevada, he may well drop out after SC. Warren did not do well and seemed to be gone for much of the debate. The moderators ignored her a lot. Bernie did as well as he usually does and it seemed to be a battle between him and Mayor Pete most of the time. Steyer said a lot of intelligent things and did well, but I don't think he will ever have a chance, same with Yang. I am waiting for more to drop out and watching where their support moves to after they drop out.

Most Ag members are probably not aware of the news from France? [leftvoice.org]

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 7, 2020:

The American media would never report something like this because it might give the American peasants bad ideas like general strikes here. I have long been wanting to see American socialists finally try to organize general strikes to try and end corporate rule here, but it'll never happen. Americans are too cowed and scared. The rest are apathetic with their video games and smartphones...

a cold/flu remedy that worked quickly for me.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 7, 2020:

Sounds like as good a reason as any to drink....

Do you think it’s possible to have a life partner if she is Christian and you are an Atheist??

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 7, 2020:

It really depends, on how tolerant and open-minded each of you are as well as how extreme or passionate each of you are in your respective beliefs or lack of. Each pair of individuals is different.

The scammers have been busy today my phone has rung several times.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 6, 2020:

I've been getting them too lately. It's always a recording saying I have been charged $200 to my credit card for computer maintainence services.

I see the Republican snowflakes are whining about Pelosi tearing up Trump's speech.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 6, 2020:

Pelosi showed far more self control than I would have, but that's why I would never run for office and don't do any type of diplomacy in my personal life. I tell it like it is and if people don't like it they can fuck off....

What do you make of the Iowa caucus clusterfvck?

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 6, 2020:

The initial problem was incompetence and poor planning, but after that, esp. once the DNC got involved, I think the delays in the release of results past the first 24 hours after the caucuses were more about sinister stuff, like the party wanting to control the narrative of who won and got the media bounce from it. At that point, I think it became about releasing the results selectively to show only the precincts they wanted to that would give them the winner they wanted, Mayor Pete, rather than Bernie... Fortunately, they couldn't prevent the news getting out clearly that Biden did really poorly...

Duo funny .

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 6, 2020:

Cats love to curl up in boxes or bags..

Surprise! Surprise! (not!) 47 guilty, 53 not guilty in vote 2 Vote 1 hardly any different.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 5, 2020:

I think that line was by Judge Roy Bean, who said something like, " We'll give him a first class trial followed by a first class hanging"...We're talking about a quote from the old west and cowboy days...

See: factcheck.org/stateoftheunion

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 5, 2020:

With Trump the lies are so numerous and constant, that it's past the point of fact-checking, plus most people who like him on personality and support him do not and will not ever care or be swayed by whether he lies or not. I saw the same thing in the 80s with Reagan. They are fools and they cannot be reasoned with. Like Reagan, we are experiencing a dark time that won't pass, even temporarily, until he is gone.

I have copied the concluding comments from the article linked below.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 5, 2020:

Bernie is the only candidate who is trying to address the real problems, rather than the usual identity politics, that led to Trump. Besides the fact that I think he's the only one who could beat Trump, the fact is that even if one of the other candidates somehow beat Trump, it would be a replay of Obama with more neoliberalism and feel-good identity politics that would give us someone even worse than Trump in 4-8 years after the voters realized they'd been conned again, as they did after Obama...

I would like to know how many of you would vote against someone soley due to their open religious ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 5, 2020:

It depends on how strongly religious they are and how rigid they are in their religious beliefs.

Video shows Iowa caucus-goer trying to change her vote after learning Pete Buttigieg is gay

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 5, 2020:

It's infuriating the people who are that ignorant (how could she be unaware that Pete was gay, when it's one of his main selling points in his campaign?) are allowed to vote at all. Her bigotry is a separate issue that disgusts me as well, but it should not be disqualifying from voting.

The 2020 Iowa caucuses

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 5, 2020:

Call me paranoid, but I feel that part of this was not just incompetence and poor planning, but was also a deliberate effort to make sure Bernie didn't get a clear win on Mon. night that would have helped him in NH. In other words, it was to blunt the media effect that he would have gotten with a win on Mon. night. By Wed., with all the other stories in the news cycle by then, the winner won't really get much bounce or benefit from winning Iowa. The Iowa Dem party was afraid Bernie would win and were holding back the results after the FU because of that, otherwise they would have released the results sooner after verifying the paper trail.

Off to Washington!

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 5, 2020:

Not all of us Midwesterners are ignorant bumpkins, but a lot are....

What an ignorant President.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 3, 2020:

To people like him from the coasts, we are all just part of flyover land, which they don't give a damn about. They are proud and willful about their ignorance regarding the middle of the country.

How much longer will we have to endure minority rule in this country?

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 1, 2020:

Update: After years of trying from time to time to get on air as a caller to C-Span's Washington Journal, today I manged to get on air as a caller to C-Span during a program on the Iowa Caucuses. I got to speak uninterrupted for about two minutes and made most of the comments I have made on this thread. I consider it a personal triumph. Wow, I am almost speechless about a new development here in Iowa. The Des Moines Register, the statewide newspaper that has a highly respected polling service, just announced that they are cancelling the final Iowa Poll which was to be released tonite about the prez numbers here, because of "problems with respondents which might have corrupted the accuracy of the poll". Sounds very fishy and vague to me. The Register endorsed Warren, BTW, and my guess, paranoid or not because of the Bernie blackout which we have all seen as a documented fact, is that Bernie won the final poll and they didn't want him to get a boost from it. This is the first time that an Iowa Poll was ever cancelled.....

The Electoral College, the Senate, & other ways our democracy is rigged - Vox

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 1, 2020:

I don't know about the relocation idea, but it's very obvious that the coasts, as well as urban areas of America vote Dem and the rural areas all vote Repub. Whether the representation of those respective areas is fair and balanced probably depends on which party you support and whether it helps or hurts them in getting power at the federal level. I do know that as rural America continues to depopulate, the Senate as a body and the presidential elections will be the only parts where rural America is over represented..

IS THE TIME NOW? [youtu.be]

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 1, 2020:

Great speech! It really lays out how what really matters is class and economic inequality, not bullshit identity politics that are used to divide us by centrist Dems and Repubs...

How much longer will we have to endure minority rule in this country?

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 1, 2020:

Sad to say, I don't think peaceful revolution is possible in the US, like it might be in Europe. The 1% has the military and police firmly on their side, as we saw with the Occupy movement about ten years ago. Also, I don't think the American public is ever going to be ready to get out in the streets and raise hell like the Europeans. They are too selfish, lazy, beaten down and atomized to come together. Even if they did, the military and police have many toys to use against them, like water cannons, heat lazers, noise weapons, etc. that they have already tested on protesters and are itching to use. I don't care how many gun-loving rednecks and militia types there are in the US, they will be no match for the military and police with their weapons, communication networks, and numbers. I really doubt the military and police here would stand down in favor of the protesters like they did in the last days of the Soviet Union. That is what would be necessary for peaceful revolution to happen thru elections. I promise that if Americans were close to electing a true government for workers and the people, rather than the rich and corporations, at the federal level, prez and congress, the PTB would cancel elections, declare martial law, and impose the crackdown. It would be Tiannamen Square all over again here in America.

Sanders receives most campaign contributions from active duty military.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 1, 2020:

I suspect the reason Bernie gets so many contributions from active military is because they know he is against continuing the endless wars in the Middle East for oil and empire as well as his record on advocating for veterans benefits. They also know he is the least likely candidate to start wars that are stupid or unnecessary. Call me a cynic or an elitist, but I doubt most active duty military are deep or critical enough thinkers to support him due to his policies on student debt or working for economic equality to provide the poor and working class with better options than the military....

How much longer will we have to endure minority rule in this country?

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 1, 2020:

Unfortunately, my money would be on fascist dictatorship, which is what we are already close to with Trump. Bernie would mean going the other way, at least for a while. The problem with electing another centrist, corporatist defender of the status quo like Obama, Hillary, Biden, Warren, etc., is that settling for the status quo is what gave us Trump, because it allowed him as a lying demogage to appeal to the anger of working class whites who know they are being screwed by the status quo of neoliberalism. If we elect a centrist Dem we will pay for it in 4-8 years with a Repub who is even worse than Trump. As long as the Dems keep nominating centrist defenders of the status quo in trade and economics and taxes, we will see the voters ping ponging every 4-8 years between the parties for prez while meanwhile the voting participation keeps getting lower as more voters drop out, seeing the two parties as too similar on what really affects people: War, taxes, economics, trade, etc. Identity politics as substitute for real differences between the parties can only fool people for so long in getting them to vote for prez or get interested in prez politics...

Manufactured Perception

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 30, 2020:

Reminds me of the Overton Window and Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent. Dems need to grow a pair and also wise up about labels. Repubs are going to call them socialists and far left no matter what positions they take, so quit being cowardly and acting like pussies for fear of being labeled...

A question for republicans; At what point do you jump ship or do go all the way down with it?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 29, 2020:

In modern times, the Dems are not nearly as partisan and disciplined as the Repubs. What has changed since Nixon is that the Repubs now have no shame and are so partisan and disciplined that it doesn't matter how guilty Trump is or how much evidence there is against him, his party members in congress will never admit Trump is wrong or guilty of anything. The last Repubs that would be honest about those things were Jeff Flake, who left congress, and John McCain, who died several years ago. Nobody else in the Repub party has that kind of courage or integrity.

Good Afternoon Everyone! Spent the day driving around the huge hills of Syracuse and some not so ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 29, 2020:

Personally, I can't stand Jimmy Buffet, his music, or the whole Parrothead thing, but then again, I'm a terminally serious person most of the time...

Soooooo true....

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 29, 2020:

That's because when you settle for being a rat in the race or the hamster on the wheel, you will always be in that state.

Coronavirus is a punishment from God: Conservative Christian TV Host Rick Wiles claims that the ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 29, 2020:

Same bullshit as the Christian propaganda back in the 1980s that AIDS was a punishment from God for gays gaining more rights and acceptance in America.

So.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 29, 2020:

I normally will not vote in a general election for any corporatist, war-mongering Neoliberal centrist that the Dem party tries to shove down my throat. So I usually vote Green on the prez part of the ballot. This time, because of how dangerous Trump is, I will vote Dem for prez no matter what. But we already know that, despite all the years the Dem establishment has been telling progressives like me that we must support the nominee, no matter who it is, Obama and Hillary have already said they will not support Bernie if he is the nominee and will actually campaign against him in the general election campaign. Is that hypocritical or what? It tells me that all these years the centrist have really meant, support the nominee as long as its a centrist corporatist that is acceptable to the party leaders and establishment, not support the nominee no matter what, period. That is why I hope the Dem party blows up if they screw Bernie again...

The hypocrisy of those church pastors.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 29, 2020:

I can already visualize the Arby's commercial playing on this story, " Arby's... We have the meat".....

Reasons Not To Vote For Joe Biden: • He opposed Busing as a means to fight segregation.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 28, 2020:

Bernie or bust! Also, I and other progressives (code for socialists) are really fucking sick of this double standard when it comes to being forced to support the Dem nominee no matter who it is. We get this demand from the centrist, corporate part of the party every election cycle no matter how corrupt or damaged the nominee ends up being, yet, at the same time, people like Hillary and Obama have already come out and said that if Bernie is the nominee they will not support him and will work against him. Fucking hypocrites....

CAMPAIGN 2020: Michael Moore rallies for Bernie Sanders, urging voters to 'take a risk' in election...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 27, 2020:

Thanks for posting this. The speech, I believe, was at the city auditorium in Ames, Iowa. I used to live there and saw a couple concerts in that room. I heard the place was packed and overflowed, had a couple thousand people in cold, slick icy weather. To be fair and accurate, I, like Moore, voted for Obama in 2008, because he gave me hope of better than we had with W. But, like Moore, I quickly realized once Obama was elected, he was just another sellout, corporate warmonger. Moore was very critical of Obama during most of his presidency, and I kind of wish Moore had been honest enough to admit that in his speech here. Obama was, at the time of the election in 2008, a risk or bold choice for prez based on identity politics and its own standards of electability, but, as it turned out, he was a very safe, status quo choice when it came to what the ruling class wanted out of a prez. We should all remember those things and that history when we evaluate Bernie, both on how he has a very long and clear record of being on the right side of issues and history in favor of the 99% and equality, unlike Obama and Warren, who did and do not have long records on the right side of issues, but instead were good at saying whatever they thought people wanted to hear so those voters could project their own wishes onto those two candidates, only to be conned and later realize they had been conned. Same thing with Trump, for that matter. It's also important to remember how Bill Clinton was a safe choice back in 1992 and he turned out to be a sellout corporatist who signed NAFTA and ended welfare rights, among other sins. Identity politics is all bullshit anyway, to begin with. It's a way to distract from the real issues of class warfare, climate change, and endless war, among other things. Sadly, most Americans are too shallow and lazy to focus instead on the real issues rather than fall for identity politics and get conned by the pols, like Mayor Pete and Warren, in particular, that use identity politics as their main appeal to voters. Because of the Dem party's addiction to identity politics and the corruption of almost all their presidential candidates, I have usually voted Green in presidential elections, but this time will vote for the Dem candidate no matter who, since Trump is really that dangerous.

At our city’s Reframe Film Festival this past weekend, there were at least 4 movies that I saw all...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 27, 2020:

We can have real democracy or we can have rule by corporations and the rich. We can't have both..

I met a promising-sounding one for lunch today.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 24, 2020:

Sorry that happened to you. In my mind, you are entirely in the right and this person misrepresented themselves to you. If they hadn't, no doubt you would have spared yourself the drive and the expense of the lunch. Try to see it as practice and a learning experience which will make you more wary and avoid this happening in the future.

I'm watching the start of trumps impeachment trial I'm struck by the conversation about will ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 21, 2020:

You sound hopelessly naive...

The world needs more of this!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 21, 2020:

Does sound more like a pet/owner or guardian relationship than two soulmates..

The speech MLK Jr. gave the night before he was assassinated. [facebook.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 20, 2020:

Bernie Sanders is the only pol I have seen in recent decades with even a fraction of the courage of MLK in speaking truth to power. Sadly, even he doesn't have the guts to oppose the MIC like King did, as he knows it would not only get him thrown out of office, but also killed.

The speech MLK Jr. gave the night before he was assassinated. [facebook.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 20, 2020:

Maybe it's just me feeling blue today or the fact that I live in a 97% white state here in Iowa. Or maybe because I grew up in much more hopeful and inspiring times regarding civil rights, but it seems today like the MLK holiday has run its course, sort of like Labor Day, and there is no longer any specialness or meaning to it like the old days. Here in Iowa, the only holiday aspects of it are the schools being closed and no postal services. All the banks are still open, as are all the businesses, except maybe for the few black owned businesses. When I look on the TV today, even there there appears to be little in the way of programming that draws attention to the holiday. Maybe one could say that in present day America, as far as race relations, with the fraud of Obama becoming prez and turning out to be some sort of moderate black Republican followed by Trump turning out to be an openly racist user of racial division, there no longer seems to be any point of looking back on MLK for pride and inspiration or hope, since both parties have now reached Mission Accomplished in destroying any hope of the Beloved Community that King was proposing.....

Bill Maher focuses on the problem if the Republican Party and not to accept the leveling approaches ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 20, 2020:

Both parties are the problem, but the Repubs are somewhat more hostile to the masses and are more open about their hostility. Those are about the only differences.

File under "my cat is weird"... (Jasper, yet again)

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 20, 2020:

Jasper has such unusual markings on his otherwise white fur.

You know it!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 20, 2020:

Like most of us, cats are creatures of habit....

"Homelessness, hunger and shame: poverty is rampant in the richest country in the world.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 19, 2020:

When you are living paycheck to paycheck, as most American peasants are, all it takes is one, or at most two, bad breaks, and you are on the road to homelessness....

75% Of GOP Voters Believe They Face Racial Discrimination For Being White

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 19, 2020:

Poor babies...Boo hoo. We all know that MAGA really means "Make America White (Dominated) Again"...

if Parnas ends up going to prison I won't be surprised if he hangs himself in his cell and there's ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 17, 2020:

Beginning with Oswald's convenient murder while in custody back in '63, nothing surprises me since about people dying conveniently before they could implicate powerful people for their crimes.

I see so many men say nice guys get overlooked.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 17, 2020:

I am aware of one beautiful looking woman who is engaged to an average-looking, bald guy. I know her from the local theater scene and she is studying to become a therapist. She also has a history of dating other men who are average looking or worse. She is quite an exception in my experience and I am also aware, due to a series of FB postings and comments by her female friends, that her female friends, who are mostly good-looking, are much more shallow than her when it comes to who they consider attractive enough to date. So there you have it. It goes both ways, as Sue said below. BTW, I have also seen hot guys with average-looking women, but it doesn't happen much more often than cases like the woman above that clearly puts heart and character above looks...

Guess we're keeping this Amazon box. Might be useful for returning the cats. 🤔🙀🙀

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 17, 2020:

Kitties like their new playpen. Good luck shipping them to Amazon in the box, just kidding.. That would be cruel..

According to the FTC, people over 60 years old reported $56,000,000 scammed from them by romance ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 15, 2020:

A fool and their money are soon parted......

Last night. Twice. 🙄

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 15, 2020:

Naughty kitty...

Lucky says that Munchie gets all the attention.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 13, 2020:

Lucky looks fat and sassy!

What's really wrong with online dating.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 13, 2020:

The link forces you to sign up for a trial subscription in order to read the article. No thanks. Please don't post these types of links.

I hit the powerball yesterday I only had one number the power number though it did pay 8$.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 12, 2020:

Can't lose if you don't play. Same thing applies to winning tho...

Recently Martina Navratilova came under fire for her comments that transgender women should not ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 12, 2020:

We already ban the use of steriods and HGH treatments by athletes for the same reason, that they provide an unfair advantage to those who use them. Athletic competition should be decided by athletic performance, mainly by talent, training, technique and strategy, not by drug use or hormone levels. These are also why swimming banned the use of ultra-fast swimming suits a couple decades ago, because world records were commonly being set by wearing the suit, rather than by talent, training, etc...

Remembering Janis... [youtube.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 12, 2020:

I never heard any other singer, male or female, who could convey hurt so powerfully thru their singing voice..

Considering how rampant scammers and predators are, one would think that men would be a teensy bit ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 12, 2020:

I would always message at least several times thru the dating site's messaging system with someone. Then, the next step would be meeting for coffee in a public place. If someone didn't want to follow that method, such as wanting to draw out the messaging for a couple weeks or more, or refusing to meet after the messaging seemed to have run its course, I would give up on them and move on. It seemed like some women were more just out to pump up their egos with the attention of men, or maybe just wanted to find text buddies, rather than men to meet and date. I dunno, but either way, these kinds of delaying tactics about meeting in person were a turnoff to me and made me wonder if they were insincere about wanting to meet men, too insecure to handle dating at that time or both. The bottom line was, I was not going to waste my time on them.

International Olympic Committee prohibits kneeling, hand gestures

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Fascists...

Interesting article about positive and negative outlook and how they shape relationships.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Coping strategies are very important. Both people need to have healthy strategies and agree on using them.

Bernie Sanders on Stephen Colbert.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2020:

I was really enjoying the interview until Bernie brought up the idea of using private jets to travel between DC and Iowa. Right now that looks way too convenient for the PTB to arrange a crash for him along the lines of what happened to Wellstone and before that Carnahan back in the 2000s. The establishment would love to get rid of him or stop him and they are not above using assassination thru plane crash to do it. If it happens, you heard it here first.....

Why Bernie, Not Warren (Definitely worth reading)

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2020:

I totally agree. Warren not only isn't as progressive as Bernie, she's also not as trustworthy. On top of that, as a man, I am well aware of how most men think, esp. blue collar men. The last kind of female candidate they would vote for is someone like her who comes off like a schoolmarm. She would drive those voters to Trump, who comes off more as a warrior and personality they could respect and identify with. Between her and Bernie, it is no contest as to who should drop out and support the other. Bernie has been taking the same positions for decades and been on the right side all the time, while Warren has come to these positions late, at best, after taking them from Bernie. He's earned this nomination, she hasn't.

So I had a date today, I got all prettied up and went to the local sports bar that he suggested.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Does that mean you already qualify as a crazy cat lady, lol? Seriously tho, that really bites to get stood up for a first meeting. It's happened to me several times with online dating and I am still baffled that people are that rude and cowardly.

A belated post to express my pleasure in being a part of this group.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 11, 2020:

"Welcome to the camp, I guess you all know why we're here...." - Tommy by The Who.

Andru Volinsky Endorses Bernie Sanders for President [youtube.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 10, 2020:

Who are these people? If most people, like me, have not heard of them, their endorsements don't really help.

Today's Amerika. A good discussion of the issues neither party cares to address. [nytimes.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 10, 2020:

Ain't that the truth. Most Americans don't give a damn about the whole impeachment circus, they want candidates that will deal with these issues. Too bad neither party wants to give them a candidate that they can vote FOR that would deal with these real issues. Instead they want to distract us with impeachment and Russiagate, etc. Neither party dealing with these issues is why we got Trump and now with the new NAFTA agreement that only continues the loss of good jobs here, the proof is right there that both parties support that bill and the status quo.

It'a 8:05 PM EST USA and we are now at war with Iran.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 8, 2020:

I don't know if Trump has actually started a war with Iran, but if so, it would be par for the course these days with American presidents who are chicken hawks- men who never actually served in combat when their opportunity came around, but are eager to beat the war drums and start wars. I hate the chicken hawks in both parties for their hypocrisy. Trump is an even bigger draft dodger than most of them..

That's a whooooooooooooollllle lotta word-age for "I'm so celibate even my right hand told me no."

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 8, 2020:

Might want to start by learning how to spell. After that, there's the issue of being way too specific and demanding, but it's his life......At least the name wifehunter is honest, even tho it smacks of something like serial killer...

Lou Dobbs: Americans Don’t Understand Their Obligation To Serve Donald Trump

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 7, 2020:

Lou Dobbs used to be ok, but he's been full of shit for quite a while now...

The constant worry about food.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 7, 2020:

Cats have it so rough. The stress must be overwhelming....

Lawmakers chant 'death to America' in Iranian parliament - YouTube

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 6, 2020:

Can anyone really blame them? The US is probably the greatest exporter of terrorism in the world, it's just that with our corporate, nationalism-promoting media, you're never going to hear about it.

I'm curious what people here think about online dating in general and more specifically what the ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 5, 2020:

I hear you. I was stood up a few times in the last year by women I had made plans with to meet the first time in person for coffee. Two of them even each stood me up within a four month period, so I was getting really anxious about trying to meet anyone in person for the first time. I have no idea why people do that kind of thing, but I have never stood anyone up or ghosted anyone in my whole dating career. Probably because I am a very honest person who always keeps my word and takes great pride in those things.

'A Face In the Crowd' and the Unfulfilled Prediction of a Better America

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 4, 2020:

I agree, half, if not most Americans, are gullible suckers.

It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood... [youtube.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 4, 2020:

I saw that sketch on SNL. Still funny after all these years.

My neighbors are aware of this:

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Always a wise policy. Who wants to go to prison anyway?

How do you cheer yourself up when having a horrible day??

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Listen to music at home. Call a friend or two.

Would Trump Go to War With Iran for Political Purposes? - Rolling Stone

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Does a bear shit in the woods?

Will hostility towards the US be reduced if the sitting president is removed?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Couldn't hurt, that's for sure.

I just want to be cuddled and spooned for a few hours. To feel safe and cared for.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Won't get that from someone who just wants to hook up, that's for sure.....

This is getting so scary!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 3, 2020:

If only most Americans were smart enough to see how they are being played with these wars of convenience for political gain, but they aren't, probably because we now have a poverty draft and only a small percentage of the population is affected when we go to war in the Middle East each time. Suckers...

So.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

I see it as sort of presumptious to ask someone out for a romantic holiday like NY eve or V-day unless you have been dating for at least a few weeks time and there seems to be fairly equal interest. Otherwise, you may get turned down because the other person either sees you as too serious about them, desperate, or that they are also dating others and hoping for better offers on the upcoming holidays above. Sounds like this guy was maybe seeing other women besides you and his plans for NY with another one of them fell thru. At the same time, maybe he suspected you were doing the same thing and ended up going out with someone else that evening. I think it's naive and unflattering early in the dating process with someone to assume that each of you are only dating each other. I wish more people would act like adults and recognize the reality of parallel dating being a very common occurrence and in doing so be grown up enough to either accept this reality quietly and let things play out naturally as they get to know each other or else speak up to the other person if they are concerned about whether the other person is seeing others early on. Be enough of an adult to ask the ? and also be adult enough to honestly answer. That discussion does not have to end or harm the relationship as long as both recognize that people deserve to know after several dates, or at least after things have become sexual, where they stand with the other. Are they seeing other people and is this going somewhere or not? These are appropriate ?s after a few months if one or more of the couple are seeking a LT. If they have only seen each other a few times, this stuff is too premature and being concerned with it is needy, desperate, a turn-off and not the other's business if things have been strictly sexless...

Religion in the workplace

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Good luck. If this job is important to you, it sounds like you're going to need it.

I'm sharing this from the Oddities and Anomilies group... [coleandmarmalade.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

He looks like the feline version of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust.

One of the reasons I prefer to keep to myself. They were once friends.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Members of the ruling class are all one big club of friends and allies. They usually don't depart from that except for when they decide to publicly get involved in the kabuki theater of taking sides in the two party political system in which the ruling class pretend to be opponents when in fact they are united in oppressing, controlling, and exploiting the lower classes. My friends are honest, moral people who do not adore or identify with the ruling class, which is why they are in my life.

Finland solves housing crisis?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

I think the UK tried something along the line of providing home ownership for all that wanted a long time back, but I don't think it worked. You are right, Finland's program is totally incompatible with Libertarian thinking in that it supports the ideas that all people have value and deserve to live in dignity, that the government should provide for needs that the private sector fails to meet, and that the whole society is in it together, as evidenced by the use of lottery revenue to fund the housing. Libertarians, however, would probably argue with the point that housing is cheaper for the state than homelessness because they would say that all the costs of " emergencies" such as accidents, assaults, etc. could easily be eliminated by just turning a blind eye to the homeless and letting them suffer on the streets and then die in the gutter. The only problem is that occaisionally one of those homeless might assault or kill some proper person like the Libertarian or their loved one, in which their viewpoint of neglect would suddenly get turned on its head and they would demand the death penalty for the homeless killer. In other words," I don't care about anyone outside my circle until something affects me....."

My Semester With the Snowflakes

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

I totally agree with the line about dishonor in willful ignorance and deliberate disrespect for others. I am very intolerant towards those that practice either of those traits. I won't hassle them, but I sure don't want to be around them. Now that I am retired, I don't need to be.

My Semester With the Snowflakes

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

I think the author shows genuine humility and open-mindedness, not a very common thing among people in the military and law enforcement, which is one reason I stay away from those types and don't seem to relate very well to them, another reason is my own issues with authority, mainly a strong distrust and skepicism of it. The author's politics are probably very different than mine, but if I met him personally, I think we would probably get along and have mutual respect. It should always be remembered that Yale or any elite school may have a majority of students and faculty that are liberal or PC on social issues, but, make no mistake, these schools for the most part of populated by members of the economic elite and thus, they are not all or even most that liberal or lefty on economic issues. The Ivy league schools and most of their students are mostly just fine with economic inequality, capitalism, and globalization of the economy. They are SJWs, but not that interested in helping the poor here or abroad, nor do they care much about economic inequality here or abroad. I hope I am wrong, but most people stay loyal to their class when they grow up very privileged, like most of the students and faculty of these schools.

Happy New years to all and Happy birthday to me woohoo! I'm 30 years old, an official adult ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Happy you are now financially independent and secure. In my case I had to be twice your age to reach that point, but, better late than never. Now the challenge is to remain healthy for twenty years or more so I can enjoy that money.

Cute bunch of trouble.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Kitty has a wicked look in their eye.

57 percent of voters say they won’t support Trump in 2020 | PBS NewsHour