It's Thursday! What are your plans for today?

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

if i can sleep for another hour and then not be so out of it i can't get up (finally feeling almost human after over a month of being ill) i will pack up my laptop and my phone and my guy and get picked up by metro mobility to go to his adult day care, which is also my adult day care because when we set it up he declared he wouldn't go without me. he's been going without me for a month but i am used to it now, the food is generally good, and the laptop helps (i'm the vj there). besides, i do have fibromyalgia and i need help caring for my hair; it's a mess now, all matted and none too clean, because i've been home sick. so i'll go there, play music for the gang, have a nice lunch, play on the computer, keep an eye on my guy, maybe have some lotion rubbed on my dry, dry hands and get my hair detangled if possible, come home with my guy, make dinner (not sure what yet), lie down and listen to msnbc, get up and have my guy read trivial pursuit cards to me (he has alzheimer's; we try to keep our minds sharp) and then go back to bed. g

Being new here, I am curious how many of you have come to the realization that Partisan Politics is ...

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

nope, not me. making legislation for partisan reasons is alas a thing, and the republicans do it, but that doesn't mean recognizing that one of the parties really does match you in its goals for the country and how to get there is a delusion. the way things stand now, we have one major party and one criminal organization posing as a political party and the latter is in power (a little teeny bit of that will change in january but it will still basically be in power). thinking both parties are the same, or voting as if it doesn't matter who is in control, THAT is delusional. do i adore every single politician who calls him/herself a democrat? hell no. do i think democrats as a group, as a party, try to do things for the people they represent instead of lining their own pockets and egos (or those of their foreign masters)? hell yes. no, recognizing the difference between the parties is NOT the same as pretending one imaginary god is better or worse than some other imaginary god. there are real-world consequences to voting, and not voting. g

This is something that crops up before Christmas in the U.

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

we have charities all over the place (from the u.s.) that go to other continents and provide food and medical relief... but there is a price, and it's not monetary. they evangelize. i was looking for a nonprofit from which to buy some trinket on ebay a couple years ago, by way of donating something, and i asked each one point blank whether this was the case. i was told the only group that does not make the charity contingent upon at least being receptive to conversion is the jews. christians ALL make that stipulation. therefore if i were even inclined at all to donate to a religious charity it sure wouldn't be to a christian one. surely there are groups that do charity work without any religious affiliation at all? i mean, there must be! i don't know any offhand specifically for giving gifts to children, but christmas IS a christian holiday, so organizations that do that are very likely to be christian. they might not all be blatantly homophobic and racist, but they're still going to preach. g

I just recently had a conversation with a lady that says God, angels, devil and Higher spiritual ...

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

1. the amount of fluoride in water is negligible, but enough to do a little good to our teeth. of course conspiracy theories abound. 2. every vegan i have known personally has become very ill and had to go back to being an omnivore. they didn't overdo it and go back to eating the tons of meat most americans eat, but they got animal protein and their health returned. 3. spirulina may or may not be good. i don't think it's harmful. i wouldn't count on its detoxifying you. 4. did she ask if you were diabetic, hypoglycemic or suffering from anything else that might make water-fasting at best harmful and at worst deadly? i bet not. of course she has already discredited herself, even without the above, by claiming all that spirit/god/devil/higher spiritual dimensions crap. g

If there is a God and you could ask God one question what 1 question would you ask God and why?

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

"are you a doctor or a nurse?" i would just assume i was in a mental hospital. g

I often wonder how people can justificed unfair treatment of another group.

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

it takes deliberate objectification of whatever the group is. people are taught that members of a certain group are "other" and then "other" becomes "subhuman" which then becomes "things." it happened in nazi germany. it happened here to justify slavery, an unjustifiable institution. it is happening here now on so many levels. even those who experience it as its objects can be persuaded to turn around and lay it on others. i refer you to voltaire, and i am quoting from memory so there may be articles missing or added, but approximately "those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." g

"Who are you?" Phone or computer? There might still be a few PC folk out there too.

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

i use my laptop as if it were a desktop. i do not do things that are typing-intensive on my phone. g

What are the biggest things you’ve learned in life to date?

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

one of the biggest things one can ever learn is that you can't learn anything important by asking someone else what the biggest things they've learned in life to date are. g

What's the right thing to do when you do all the right things for a good period of time but don't ...

genessa comments on Nov 8, 2018:

if you are doing the right thing in order to get certain results, you're not actually doing the right thing. g

What's your generation? What do you think about the generation before yours?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

traditionalists? i have not heard that. war generation is a better description i think. what i think is they got so hung up escaping the depression and fighting the war that they forgot that making sure their kids (me and the rest of the boomers) wanted for nothing materially was not enough -- that there is more to life and we would explore the brave new world for better or for worse. not everyone from the war generation was horrified by rock n roll, civil rights (including for women and lgbtq) or anti-war protests. we had a lot of allies from that generation. "don't trust anyone over 30" was one circulating catchphrase but it wasn't the only one, and it wasn't adopted by everyone. the generation gap was real but it was wider at some points and narrower at others. i was a tad too young to be a hippie, was more of a flower child, but i still consider myself an old hippie. i wasn't one of the rotc, ricky nelson young republicans, that's for sure. they horrified me then and their modern counterparts horrify me now (hmm, what would they have instead of ricky -- donny and marie, themselves now somewhat elderly?) g

If you don't believe in life after death, how do you deal with the idea that someday you will no ...

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

it's hard, but wanting something doesn't make it so. so... some of us are scared. that's how it is. g

Jeff Sessions Fired

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i despise sessions but at least he kept himself recused from oversight of the mueller investigation. whittaker will likely not only have no reason to recuse himself but actively carry out trump's every little wish. g

I once had a woman tell me that I needed to find Jesus in order to be happy.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

not me! but then, i was raised in a secular jewish family. faith, as christians know it, isn't even part of the deal. being secular, although we were strong on cultural identity, we never talked about religion that i can think of. no one we hung out with did either. so no, although i also have some pretty bad clinical depression, no one has suggested curing it with prayer or anything like that. i am glad this site is helpful to you! g

Are aliens out there? what do you think? tell me your favorite story about aliens

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

no. there are no aliens out there. there is certainly life. it is likely microbial. it night be other than microbial. but aliens, as in humanoid, technological folks who might visit, or communicate with us? nope. my favorite stories about aliens are all episodes of doctor who. i like the episode called "midnight." is it nonfiction? nope! g

Kim Davis, Anti-Gay Clerk from Rowan County (KY), Has Lost Her Re-Election Race ...

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

another win for the good guys in this somewhat disappointing but still useful midterm election. g

I’m in the hospital for the second time in one week.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i have asked people not to pray for me. i don't know why i care if they do (as long as they're not my doctor, or my pilot!) somehow, i do. g

[friendlyatheist.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i think that moron is a moron! g

I attended an exclusive all-boys Catholic high school back in the Philippines.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

she didn't have an answer and was mad at you for catching her out. she was also an asshole. g

Has anybody else here practically abandoned social media?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

not me! this IS social media and here we are (and i am still on facebook too). g

How do you respond to the “what church do you go to”? Question? Just out of curiosity.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i've never been asked! maybe it's my jewish surname. i suppose i should think of an answer in case i ever AM asked. "i am an atheist" would be the most convenient answer, i suppose. it would depend on who was asking. i might instead ask "why?" (it depends on whether the person was being friendly or snoopy!) the assumption that i went to any place of worship would be competing for my attention with the assumption that if i went to one it would be a church. i probably wouldn't feel that i owed a long explanation to someone who knew me little enough to ask the question to begin with and yet felt it was okay to ask it. i guess i would stick with "i am an atheist." g

This is what I need!

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

it is as good a place as any to start! g

I'm not quite sure what to say here.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

interesting. any clue what they plan to do? there are intuitive people in the world and their intuition is often mistaken for/labeled psychic ability. but no matter how intuitive someone is, s/he can't communicate with the dead because they're dead, ya know? so i'd be curious as to what the psychic night consisted of. if it's all seance-y, yeah, bogus, silly, but maybe amusing, like a game of dungeons and dragons (theoretically no one actually BELIEVES in the game but it's fun for those who like it, right?) if it's people trying to read each other's minds, then it may be more amusing because it's really about how well y'all know each other. for me it really would depend on whether it was serious and believed or just done for fun. i don't mind fiction as fun. g

Ann Druyan on her husband Carl Sagan.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

beautiful, and very much like her. she is special. he was special. they will always be special. g

YOUR PERSONALITY TYPE IS: EXECUTIVE (ESTJ-A) What's yours? [16personalities.com]

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

my personality type is me. i don't take personality tests or believe in their results. i have just as good a chance of finding out who i am by reading my horoscope, and we all know that's garbage! if we could divide humanity into 16 personalities, you know what would happen? advertisers would go nuts. oh wait, they already have done that. well, anyway, that doesn't sound realistic at all! g

How accurate is the amount of a medicine in a pill (is 20 milligrams of Aspirin really 20 ...

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

there are usually inactive ingredients as well. i don't know whether the labeled weight is the total weight of the pill or the weight of the active ingredient. this information is available in the paperwork that comes with the drug. my eyes are bad. i can't read that tiny print. it's there, though. g

Does anybody else continue to type their full sentence even when their keyboard freezes so they can ...

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i don't do it for that reason, but i do it and then tolerate it. g

If you had a nickel for each person who found you unattractive, would they eventually find you ...

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i have no idea who finds me attractive or unattractive, nor do i care, so i cannot assess my potential richesse in that scenario. i think people who get to know me find me attractive. people who won't get to know me because i don't look like a movie star don't have a nickel's worth of sense or character. g

Mother Jones is pleased with the election results. I am still a grumpypants. What say you?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

well, i cannot vote because there is no option for having mixed feelings. of course not enough will be done, not immediately, to guarantee an eventual impeachment. however, it is most certainly not business as usual either. we can really block a LOT of bad legislation. all budgetary bills must originate in the house; we simply will not write any tax cut bills. we may even write some that reverse some damage, but the senate will not likely pass any of that and trump wouldn't sign it if they did. however, all the house committees will now be headed by democrats. waters will surely subpoena trump's tax records. other actions and investigations will be undertaken. bad legislation will not make it to the floor; the senate's bad legislation will not pass the house. there is more, but i think this is enough to show that it's not business as usual! g

Aristotle said "Manly men are attracted to manly things", and the manliest of things are men.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

possibly. greek culture approved of sexual relationships between men and adolescent boys, so it's not impossible that aristotle is indeed recommending male-male relationships as being the most manly. you may agree or disagree with him, keeping in mind the culture that produced him, but that does appear to be what he is saying. plato certainly agree with him on this point. g

How do you deal with people who won't text you unless you text them first, on every instance?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

you stop texting them. why do you want to communicate with that person anyway? g

Drinking alcohol to get drunk is just drinking poison in the right dose to mess you up but not kill ...

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

this is not true for everyone or in every instance, but it very often is true. i personally do not like the feeling of drunkenness (and i have diabetes anyway so drinking would be off limits even if i enjoyed it), but some do. if they like it beyond reason, and drink regularly and/or harm themselves or others, then your statement is true for them, but if they do it once a year, do not get drunk enough to feel ill or have a hangover but do have a pleasant drunken feeling, then how are they messed up? everything in moderation (if at all) even excess can be okay in moderation! g

What's a NSFW fact about your family or a family member you wish you didn't know?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i don't think we had any secrets. g

Remember these stores?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

on the flip side, remember that in our lifetimes there was a time when a black person could not sit at a woolworth lunch counter without at best tossed out and at worst harassed and physically abused and THEN tossed out. g

Yes we won the house but I sit here in pain and frustration.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i am sorry. i really am. you guys did get screwed. it's not your fault; you did your best but the repugs cheat. try to take comfort in the house majority. it's not everything but it's something! g

Remember these stores?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

yep, i remember. five and dime. now we have dollar stores lol. g

Purely stupid stuff /pet peeves of daily life.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

most of my peeves have to do with language rather than action, and they are too numerous to list, but i'll mention some that appear to be newish, all of them heard on my tv: 1. eschewing superlatives, what's wrong with -est? he's the most tall. it's tallEST, folks. 2. eschewing the word "twice." why is everyone saying "two times" all the time? 3. not so new but still annoying: the subject's not matching the modifying clause. "when six years old, my father taught me to throw a ball." really, your dad had a kid when he was six? that's a lot more interesting than whatever he taught you! 4. your chariot awaits. you'll transform into a pumpkin. those verbs are transitive folks, and make no sense without objects! your chariot awaits YOU. you'll be tranformed (or your fairy godmother will transform you) into a pumpkin. somewhere on the web, someone claims that the oxford english dictionary calls it intransitive. that person is at best mistaken or at worst a liar. i looked it up! oxford, like all the other dictionaries i've seen, validate my understanding. 5. we need a law against, and fine for, using "literally" to mean its opposite. also related to television, specifically advertisements: 1. hey consumer cellular: i'm a senior, i use the computer all day long, i've used a computer since 1976, and this is not a whole new world. i did not fall asleep in 1980 and wake up yesterday. the world changed slowly for me as it did for everyone who doesn't live under a rock. talk down to me and be assured i will never buy your product/service/shtick, 2. fake insurance search companies: obamacare isn't a health plan. it doesn't have a price, cheap or otherwise. it's a law and it's still in effect. trump's fake tax cut didn't make health insurance cheaper and we know you just want people to give you their contact info so you can sell it and/or spam them. stop lying. it's annoying -- nay, disgusting. that goes for the rest of you advertisers who make fake claims, from the tv thing that supposedly gives you cable channels for free, claiming that the law says all cable companies have to broadcast digitally (if they broadcast they have to do it digitally, but they do not have to broadcast! they can just be on cable, for a fee!) to the "man-boosting" drugs that make an over-the-hill baseball player "leaner" (than what? he looks pretty chunky to me!) i've tried reporting some of these but no one is interested. lying, it seems, is just fine. 3. trumpy bear is disgusting. go away. ugh.. out in the real world? oh i don't go there much. when i do, i try to be patient with people. sometimes i succeed. g

Who's ready for some coffee and conversation?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

drinking coffee now, weirdly enough since i am about to go back to bed. so conversation with me would have to be quick lol but maybe the vapors, all full of caffeine, will stick around in my stead. for the kind of conversation i suspect you want, i recommend one of three or four things: 1. find an open chat room. best for random chat. 2. make a post on some topic of interest to you (other than the topic of "conversation") and see who responds. more my style, which is why i don't go into chat rooms, but there is nothing wrong with chat rooms for those who like them. 3. find a post on some topic of interest to you, and respond! 4. find a group on a topic you like, and repeat #1, #2 and/or #3 there! you will see a lot of conversation emanating from those actions :-)) g

"One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests." Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

paine knew whereof he wrote. g

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense - Scientific American

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i see a lot of "science" articles presented on agnostic dot com (and facebook to a lesser extent) and they're usually badly written (and apparently unproofread, let alone edited), don't even match their titles in what they're about, and leave the reader either convinced of falsehoods or half-truths because the reader has not recognized inconsistencies (usually assumptions based on facts not in evidence) or frustrated because the reader has indeed either recognized them or intuited them. this article is not one of those. this article is WONDERFUL. it's from a reputable source, it is exactly what its title says it will be, it has been meticulously thought out and well written, and it's fascinating! i love it! it gets technical as necessary without being inaccessible, and it really does go after all the arguments you hear from sophisticated (read "dishonest" as opposed to "delusional") creationists. (i have to admit i hear the monkey argument a lot, and the macro/micro thing a lot lately too, and have found it easy to counter for former but not so easy, since i'm not a scientist, to counter the latter. now i have a reference! i almost said a quick reference but this is beautifully explicit and detailed. i highly recommend that EVERYONE read this, whether or not you've been annoyed by self-admitted creationists or those tricky intelligent-design-promoting creationists (oh and by the way, if you see ben stein, please tell him to go to hell! oh wait, there is no hell. well, we'll think of something!) g

The mid term elections won't stop Trump.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

not so. first of all, although the senate is still in charge of confirming nominees, all budgetary bills have to be initiated in the house, and the bills trump wants will NOT be initiated. yes, he will blame the dems. TOO BAD. and the house committees can investigate trump, demand his taxes, even impeach kavanaugh, or start that anyway. one of the most important things we need to do is end voter suppression. surprisingly, we got past gerrymandering (or we would not have taken back the house) but north dakota is a prime example of SHAMELESS suppression. we'd have one more blue seat in the senate if the repugs had not cheated. STILL, this IS progress, it IS better than before, and his blaming the dems won't impress anyone but those who already believe him. that isn't a big enough issue to say we did the wrong thing. we did the RIGHT thing. g

How Glad Are You That the Midterms Are Over?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

wait... they're over? now we have to light a fire under the right people to get them to protect mueller, reverse whatever horrors can be reversed with only one house under the control of noncriminals, and especially to get rid of gerrymandering and other voter suppression before 2020! voter suppression even took its toll yesterday, but huge turnout can counter some of that. it couldn't counter the suppression in north dakota, and i don't know WHAT happened in texas but i smell fish.... no, it doesn't end with an election. there is work to be done every day! g

Book Recommendations

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i have so many faves i barely know where to begin, but in no particular order and with no disrespect to those i leave off the list, here are some writers, sometimes with a specific book recommendation (which may or may not be in print) and sometimes just "whatever you can get your hands on": carl sagan, t.h. white (the once and future king), stephen becker, robert a heinlein (stranger in a strange land, the door into summer, the moon is a harsh mistress, podkayne of mars), rachel carson, harpo marx (harpo speaks), oscar levant, t.e. lawrence, chaim potok, james baldwin (the devil finds work -- his other books are good but i would start with that and/or the short story "tell me how long the train's been gone")barbaba tuchman, aleksandr solzhenitsyn (cancer ward, the first circle), joanna russ (the female man, any of her nonfiction), lewis mumford, bernard malamud (the fixer), charles dickens (our mutual friend), thomas hardy (jude the obscure), jane austren, fran leibowitz, ursula k leguin, dostoevsky (try NOT to get a translation by david magarshak; i like andrew mcandrew a lot better), maya angelou, primo levi, elie wiesel, carson mccullers (the heart is a lonely hunter), harper lee (to kill a mockingbird), laura z hobson (gentleman's agreement), robert graves (i claudius, claudius the king), john lennon, lucy davidowitz (i am sure i misspelled her name lol but anyway she wrote the war against the jews), john steinback (the grapes of wrath), j m barrie (peter and wendy -- make sure it says peter and wendy, not peter pan or something else), edgar eager (half magic and some sequels to that lovely children's book), danny kaye (the danny kaye around the world story book, editor) okay that should start you off, anyway! g,

Well tonight neither wave flushed out the other.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

no, it might not have been a wave, but both houses were red and now one of them is blue. that's the beginning of an improvement -- but the senate still confirms appointees all by itself. g

Intel Withdraws Funding For White Supremacist GOP Congressman Steve King | HuffPost

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

why were they funding him to start with? it's not as if he wasn't a vocal, visible white supremacist before! g

Democrats Projected To Win Back The House Of Representatives | HuffPost

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

we flipped it! but we didn't get mcconnell out of power, and that's annoying, especially since heitkamp was robbed of her seat by the senseless last-minute rule about street addresses on i.d. cards. judges won't overturn such things too close to the election but it's okay to make such rules too close to the election? and it is SENSELESS... unless you admit that the reason is to suppress the native american vote, which is what would have kept heitkamp in her nice blue seat. g

THE RELIGIOUS PROBLEM AND THE POLITIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE RISE OF BLIND FAITH ON THE WORLD ...

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

there is no rise of blind faith. it was always high. what has risen is the boldness of those who want to legislate, execute and adjudicate religion (usually christianity) instead of keeping church and state separate. it's the power of religion that has risen, not religion itself. that's worse! g

I just watched the senator from North Dakota tearfully thank the sky pilot junior for his win in the...

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

what do you expect from a republican't? heidi heitkamp might not be the most progressive democrat but she 1. didn't vote to confirm kavanaugh and 2. would have helped to flip the senate. they screwed her out of her seat by making a stupid rule that prevented native americans -- who all support heitkamp -- from voting at all. g

I decided to go out for Chinese for dinner.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

i bet he wanted their money, too! g

Anyone else have family that says "im going to miss you when you're in hell?"?

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

not me! i was raised a secular jew. i didn't even know whether my parents believed in god or not until i was in my 20s. (they weren't sure.) g

Trump said, "I keep more promises than I make."

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

when i was about nine, i am told, i declared "i am young for my age." i had an excuse; i was about nine! trump has an excuse too: his iq is about nine. g

What is your way of coping with trauma and grief of losing someone (in my case a child, a family ...

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

first, please accept my condolences; it is sometimes harder to lose someone this way than to death. second of all, drop that group. it won't help and it will drive you nuts. i have no advice about reunification. it may not be possible. children go their own way and you may never know their motivations. so the thing to do is lessen the pain. that's rough, but time can do that. focus on the good times. stay available if you feel that you want to, but don't expect anything. you still have a life; fill it with things that make it worthwhile. don't feel guilty if you have moments of happiness. g

My wife, Anna is a K-5 special education, bi-lingual teacher.

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

not ALL politicians. republican politicians, yep, and the head of all of them is a nonteacher (and pretty uneducated person, come to think of it), a trump appointee named betsy devos, who wants to end public education and make all education private and christian. g

I said this before and I feel like I should say it again.

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

i didn't choose a part. i realized that there were no gods, that's all. nobody told me so. nobody convinced me so. it's not as if i read something that convinced me, or heard someone give a speech. i just realized. nobody brainwashed me either way; i wasn't raised religiously so i wasn't rebelling against anything. i never prayed so i couldn't be disappointed in prayers' not being answered, and anyway, if i was disappointed in some god, i guess that would be believing that god existed. sorry, but i do not identify at all with what you're saying. g

MOST atheist try to use reason and logic when debating a religious person.

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

really? generalizations are tricky, aren't they? because i have not found that atheists suffer from a superiority complex. i find that MOST humans don't like being told there's more to an issue than they may know; i have not found that this is either specific to atheists or more prevalent in atheists. in fact i have found the opposite to be true. g

Christians claim god made the universe and everything in it. What did he make it from? Nothing?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

i WILL add, though, that the SAME christians who don't mind god's making something out of nothing can't get their brains around the big bang.... g

Christians claim god made the universe and everything in it. What did he make it from? Nothing?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

lol you'd have to ask a christian. most folks here don't believe that stuff. g

Hello is anybody out there?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

you can see that we are because a lot of us are making and answering posts. g

Did you read 1984?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

yes, i read it long ago, reread it in my middle years, and reread it online last year for obvious reasons. here is a link so that anyone who wants to reread it or read it for the first time may do so: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt g

Can we ever reach beyond human understanding?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

not as long as we're human! g

To my democratic and independent friends in west virginia (yes i am interfering -- i am not from ...

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

good for you guys! it won't always be this way... unless the republicans hold power, of course. g

What's your favourite 80s song?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

i don't like much from the '80s but i do love everything by r.e.m. and joan armatrading. g

Being a freethinker...

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

that doesn't happen often because i am always examining and learning. g

Old diseases make a reappearence!

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

thank you, anti-vaxxers. herd immunity IS a thing, whether people like to think of themselves as herd animals or not. not only do old diseases, all but extinct, reappear, but some of them are reappearing in drug-resistant forms. g

Why do people believe politician's only when they are running for office?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

i have not found this to be true, actually. i wouldn't even generalize about what people believe. my friends believe politicians who back their words up with actions, and whose statements can be supported with facts. other people seem to believe ridiculous lies. i do not find that these beliefs change according to election season. the lies get more intense, but the beliefs stay the same. either you can tell when someone is lying or you can't. some can. some can't. g

Why do I keep hearing that voting conservative is good for your money?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

there are no conservatives anymore. they're all regressives, and profligate, and do not conserve anything. theoretically they are financially conservative but in fact handing out tax breaks to people who barely (or don't) pay any taxes and then saying OOPS, this pushed the deficit up, we'd better take it out of social security and medicare and medicaid is NOT conservative. if you look at the financial records of democrats and republicans in the past half-century you'll see republicans are not financially conservative -- except when it comes to actually spending money on things the general population needs. they're not conservative when it comes to lining their own pockets! as for democrats and big government, the first government hiring freeze i experienced was courtesy jimmy carter (and i wasn't resentful, even though i was a temporary government employee at the time and would have loved for my job to become permanent). so what you keep hearing is dead wrong, as i see you suspected. g

How many of us have posed this question to the religious -family and friends If it could be shown ...

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

not me. my family wasn't religious, and neither are my friends. g

Ah! Election Day, the day when you get to choose the lesser of two evils.

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

first of all, i have voted for some people i really LIKE. but if that's not how you feel about it, then hold your nose and vote for the lesser of what you consider the two evils, because (second of all) it MATTERS. right now we have one party, and it's not in charge. who is in charge is a criminal organization posing as a political party. if you think that it makes no difference whether or not a criminal organization is in charge, then you need to look a little more closely at how things are. g

Do you think our voting pool needs purging?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

yep, way way WAY off base. there is already too much purging going on. if the idea is to have educated voters voting, then educate the voters. that means voting for people who will allow and voters to be educated, rather than purged. g

Justification of human existance

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

what's a sence? g

Find Your Subconscious Core Life Commitment

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

she lost me at about a minute and a half by saying we have ONE core commitment. that can't be true. humans are not like that. she also defines "commitment" so loosely that i could say my commitment at any given moment is to dinner, or to petting the cat. okay, so then there's the CORE commitment, just one, right. nope. i'm still listening (despite poor sound quality) but it's getting worse and worse. her examples, seeming to try to be specific, are more and more general (being committed to one's own happiness? how general can you GET?) and is this all about relationships, or should it be? ach, no, i can't listen anymore. she's all over the place. sorry. there may be some good advice in here. it's buried in the generalities. okay, six minutes was more than enough. sorry. if it's meaningful to you, great! i am not listening any more. g

Time to vote! Unsure about the candidates on the ballot?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

ballotpedia is a good resource. so is congress dot gov but it's a little late to be drilling through people's voting records one bill at a time! a good shortcut to voting for good people who will try to fix the damage that's been done so far is to vote straight blue. and yep, look up those judges too! i did :-)) g

I this heathen facebook?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

no. we're not heathens. we're agnostics, atheists, freethinkers and such. the superstitious ones are the heathens. it's also not facebook. no ads here. g

Americans, I hope you exercise your vote today! It's the one thing that is uniquely yours that ...

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

it can be taken away and from many it has been taken away. if you can still vote and you don't, you may have missed your chance to secure your right and restore the rights of others. it is not an exaggeration to say that this election is THAT important. g

So I just joined here. Is it worth it?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

worth what? it's a free site! worth your time and effort? that depends on what you want from the site. if you want intellectually stimulating answers, you may wish to try an intellectually stimulating post, but it's up to you. as for the comment below that you should not waste intelligent comments here because many will not understand, that's crap because many WILL understand. if you don't speak because many won't understand you won't speak at all, anywhere in the universe. like anywhere else, find what and whom you like. g

So I have been thinking about traveling at the beginning of next year.

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

tintagel (village, castle, cliff above) g

So I have been thinking about traveling at the beginning of next year.

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

portmeirion wales. g

Quick poll. Do you believe in "man made global warming"?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

it's like asking if you believe in gravity. whether or not you believe in it, you'll fall down go boom if you jump off the roof. why not ask if you believe green is a color, or if typing on your computer puts words on the screen? it's not a matter of opinion! there are facts involved! g

For those of you agnostics who find the whole God thing as silly as I do: Remember, being an ...

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

slacktivism. VOTE instead. g

Who's voting ? For what exactly?

genessa comments on Nov 6, 2018:

i already voted. i voted to get the criminal organization posing as a political party out of office and start repairing the damage it has done so far, and to act as a check on the idiot in the white house, and maybe -- as mark dayton rued at a bbq this labor day -- instead of spending all their time stopping bad things from happening, even start making some good things happen. that's for what. g

Is there anyone you now envy and why?

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

i don't envy any particular individual. i do rather envy people who are healthier than i am. g

I love to eat despite the skinny., lets go eat

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

i am eating a macaroni pesto chicken broccoli shaved brussels sprouts onion apple casserole. i didn't have pine nuts and my blender is broken but i had some chopped walnuts and i used those as is. g

I realized that if Eve came from the rib of Adam, why didn't all other human beings come from the ...

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

talking snake. g

Shun the non believer! Sshunnn!

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

he's no shun; he fell right over! g

So today at the mechanics I'm sitting in the waiting area with several men, including employees.

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

i was at a party once a million years ago. i was in my 20s, and the partiers were both younger and older than i. we were standing/sitting around in small groups, talking and listening, and some guy was talking to the guys in the small group in which i stood, and said something he apparently thought was too rough for mixed company, because he immediately turned to me and apologized. my response was "damned right, fuck that shit, there's a goddamned lady here watch your fucking mouth." my point was that if he cared THAT much about offending people -- anyone, not just women, in ANY way -- then he should have watched his mouth. if he didn't care, then he should not have apologized. i've seen it too many times not to find it hypocritical... on TOP of the fact that he just assumed that a female would be shocked, SHOCKED, i tell you, at whatever it was he uttered. so it was, for me, a double whammy. in your situation -- haha, it might or might not have gone over my head, as i haven't heard that exact version. (i'd have recognized something closer to "said the whore to the john") how he said it might have given me the clue. had i caught on, i probably would have said something and who knows -- it might have been gentle or it might not have been so mild. i like to think i am not totally predictable! g

Voting is your right

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

good advice for voters! now some advice for nonvoters: voting is also your duty! g

Without religion, what is sin?

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

i don't have a concept of sin. i have a concept of law, and of ethics, and sometimes those are at odds, but sin is something someone tells you an imaginary god doesn't want you to do, and i don't hold any of those either. g

What’s the worst that could happen??

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

in the universe? it's subjective. if we're all destroyed, and some new species rises, however far, maybe not farther than the dinosaurs, still, that will be good for that species! g

A friendly reminder for everyone to vote tomorrow lol

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

already voted, absentee ballot, weeks ago! my cats would never forgive me if i hadn't. g

OK folks, lets see how many here think they have this Figured out.

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

i have a better idea. instead of trying to guess, make it happen. VOTE. not here. in real life. g

“Presidents should tell the truth, but sometimes they make mistakes.

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

no. facts are facts. there are no alternative facts. when trump says the washington post is fake news, he's lying. when he says an invasion of hostile terrorists are coming to our borders, he is lying. when he says some white supremacists are good people, he's lying. g

What is/are your favourite Christmas song/s?

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo3jLbJ_DpQ g

Post in a specific group

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

most groups only accept posts from members. some few are okay with the general ag dot com population posting. it'll say. g

Meet Lilith, the original representation or icon of feminism i.

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

lol cast as a demon by religion. what invented her to begin with? religion! so i should trade one myth for another? i should care what religious scholars say? i like fiction but prefer real people as heroes. hypatia fits the bill. g

[friendlyatheist.

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

i think that children need to be vaccinated and the COMMUNITY needs to be vaccinated, so it's not the decision of the parents any more than any other community matter. if it endangers the community, the parents can sue all their want but they should lose. but the headline here is deceptive. it should read "orthodox jewish parents sue orthodox jewish school...." the school is orthodox jewish too, and does not want unvaccinated children endangering its students. this headline makes it sound as if orthodox jews are anti-vaxxers. from the article: "This case is particularly interesting because the parents and the school share the same religious beliefs, yet they are on opposite sides of a “religious freedom” debate. Aron argues that that mandating the religious school to accept unvaccinated kids would 'interfere with the school’s free exercise of religion and consequentially their responsibility to protect other students.' So their religious conscience trumps the parents’ beliefs." chabad, a very orthodox jewish organization, has pros and cons but mostly pros, and notes that it is an OBLIGATION not to let a plague spread but to protect oneself and others. the parents suing the school do NOT represent jewish thought. i am a good atheist but i believe it is important to be fair. anti-vax is not a jewish thing. if some individual jews are anti-vaxxers, that does not redound to the jewish community. g

I think I heard a recording on the radio where Demos were giving the mob headed to the border, money...

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

the only mob headed to the border is the collection of vigilantes believing trump about the desperate men, women and children escaping certain death on foot, intending to present themselves legally at the border and legally request asylum. trump wants these people shot and the vigilantes are eager to shoot pretty much anyone; they like shooting people and this would be such an opportunity! i'm not talking about the military people trump is actually sending. i'm talking about folks who are talking it upon themselves to go shoot the "invaders." there are no invaders. don't believe everything you hear on the radio. g

Does it piss off anyone else when people unapologetically make science claims that are wildly ...

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

gee most of the folks i find making bad science mistakes just say evolution isn't real because they are not descended from monkeys (thus proving they have no idea what evolution is) or believe in the 10-second rule for dropping food on the floor! g

I'm always open to book suggestions.

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

a lot of my favorite books are out of print, such as how to suppress women's writing by joanna russ, and harpo speaks by harpo marx. however, one can still find cancer ward by aleksandr solzhenitysn, davita's harp by chaim potok, and the once and future king by t.h. white, to name a tiny selection. randomly from the top of my head i also recommend i claudius and claudius the king, both by robert graves; anything you can get your hands on by barbara tuchman because she has written no bad books whatsoever; the war against the jews by lucy davidowicz, whose name i have probably misspelled; both books by t.e. lawrence -- one of them is the seven pillars of wisdom and i forget what the other one is; the seed and the sower by laurens van der post; oh, if you respond to this maybe i'll come back and name some more! g

Tommy Robinson

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

i am always against fucking nazis, whether or not they come to spread their poison here. we have enough nazis here thanks. g

What were some of the outdoor games you baby boomers used to ?

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

as a child i played chess, and monopoly, and read a lot of books, but outdoors, apart from hopscotch, my best game was running around pretending to be a dog. i was a part-time golden retriever, part-time collie for a year, and then went full-time collie. i was a weird kid. g

Life Choice Have you made a choice about what direction to take?

genessa comments on Nov 5, 2018:

i have made a gazillion such choices and i can't tell you how they worked out because i will never know what would have happened if my choices had been different. i refer you to robert frost! probably the most dramatic choice i ever made was to go to japan to visit for half a year to a year. i uprooted my whole life to do that, and i ended up staying a whole decade. i don't know what my life would have been like had i not done that, but i can assure you it would have been QUITE different! g