"Leave 'em laughing" or "Leave 'em thinking" ???

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

People like Train and Carlin id both at the same time. That is what made them so great.

What is your conspiracy fear that seems like nobody else thinks about?

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

All conspiracy thories I have ever heard of are sheer bunk!

Hey! I just made level 8! That means I'll get a T-shirt, but I'll have it sent to the US.

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

You'll be okay. People who live in conservative areas are safe unless they wear their atheism on their sleeeves.. You don't need to hide it, but you also do not need to trumpet it.

Anyone married to a person that doesn’t share your religious views?

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

I am, and it is not an issue. We each simply respect each other's right to believe as we choose.

Time to vote all these treasonous Fascists out of Office as soon as possible! Trump and the ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

Vote all of the damned crooks out of office.

As a modern, tolerant and fairly well balanced person, I find it extremely hard to have any kind of ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

I never relied on my parents of sister for intelligent conversation.That I found elsewhere.

Over Spring Break, I took a road trip by myself.

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

When I was in Kansas, my work with public schools took me across the entire state for meetings and in conducting training. When I travelled, I ususally travelled alone and NEVER took a cell phone with me.That time on the road was MY time. I would turn the radio to classical music and enjoy the scenes of the prairie. It was also my time for thinking. I also took a number of long trips v(1.200 - 1,400 miles) across the country by myself. Although I sometimes got tired, I did not mind either long distance driving or travelling alone.

According to reports a few weeks ago, there was an accusation the rebels were bringing in chemical ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

The report that Syrian rebels were bringing in chemical weapons is a damnable lie! Why would they do that? They do not even have any delivery systems. Sounds like another unconscionable Russian fake news ploy. Truly reprehensible!!

More People Believe in Ghosts than Darwin.

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

I find it difficult to believe that so few people believe in evolution. It is an estabnlished scientific principle that any intelligent person should acdept.

Does anybody else here think that your atheism/agnosticism is actually a pretty uninteresting part ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

My atheism is a central part of who and what I am. If it is uninteresting, then so am I.

It's never too late for ________ (fill in the blank).

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

Try "learning" and "the Truth."

My mother died last evening of cancer. Though we were estranged to some degree I am terribly sad ?

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

Sorry for your loss. We understand.

Anyone else notice the link between conservatism and crisis around the world?

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

Throuout history consevatives have sought to repress change which would allow a nation and culture to adapt to new conditions. The results have almost always been negative. In more than a few cases, such conservative actions have caused the collapse of the country and/or civilization.

Raising a decent human being

wordywalt comments on Apr 13, 2018:

First and foremost, you model the behavior. And, you ask a lot of questions wich get them to think about lissues and behaviors.

Should we have intelligence thresholds for voting?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

While I have some emotional leaning toward such a requirementk I am old enough to know how southern states used such requirements to disenfranchise Black and Hispanic voters. That knowledge makes me think that it is better to tolerate some stupid people to prevent discrimination against specific ethnicities.

Should all drugs be legalized?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Not the addictive drugs.

What good has come to the citizens of the United States because of the current administration?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

NONE! Trump and his administration are disasters in every sense of the word. Sie sind Dreck!

Footprints

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Our city has a once-a-week recycling service for paper, glass, metal, and plastic bottles.

What’s your views on the death penalty laws?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I believe that the death penalty swhould be reserved for those cases involving deliberate and vicious killing, probven by physcial evidence such as DNA and videotape. We have no obligation to keep such people alive at public expense. All cases without such irrevocanle evidence should be given a life term, as there is always a chance of overturning the original verdict.

Hi, so I had a sad day.

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

As a man of age 81, I empathize with your mother. I will end my own life before I will go into a nursing home.

Registering Journalists

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I do believe that journalists need thorough training and a commitment to objectivity. Many in the right wing media, including Fox News, are not journalists, but propagandists.

A question for the guys: What qualities most impress you in a woman?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Intelligence, emotional warmth, sincerity.

What, me worry?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

S9me people's personality is such that they are chronic worriers -- including some otherwise bright people. That is not me. If I sense a problem, I try to figure out what I can do about it and I act. I don't dwell on things which I annot influence.

Yup, that about sums it up!

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I damned sure hope so!

History repeating itself? Different face same mind set!

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

That has been the strategy of Fox news. It was also the strategy of Mitch MCConnell some 30 years ago when he began saying that dollars equal speech and that corporations are people. People shook their heads and laughed then. But more and more Republicans began repeating the lie. Now, the ideologues in the Courts like Scalia, Thomas, and Aleto, it is now the law of the land. With Trump, everything is a lie.

"So you think you understand Evolution?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Of course, Darwin's full understanding of the entire process of evolution was limited by the tools at his disposal. He dis not have the venefits of understanding DNA, genetics, and mutation -- or of the environment's effects in producing muttations. But, he did get the broad outlines correct.

What do you say to your son if they start gravitating toward evangelism.

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I would sit him down and ask him many probing questions about what he understands about the ideology he is buy in to. The choice is his. Your job is make sure that he is making an informed choice.

Put on your hip boots, it's getting deep! He blames the sixties.

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

It is amazing how "true believer" demagogues can distort reality.

Since this is a mainly US-oriented site, I wondered if there were any other fans out there of The ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I am happy to see Paul Ruan retire from Congress. He was a hidebound right-wing economic ideologue not at all interested in people. He also lacked the moral integrity to stand up on immoral and illegal actions by Trump and others. He is a moral weakling with little wisdom.

Do you believe there are aliens walking among us?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Of course not'

What are some ways to fight depression?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Two ways" (1) get busy doing something -- anything, (2) do something that stimulates your emtions -- either anger or joy. Intense emot. Intense emotion stops depression.

Family's out of town for a week starting today.

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Find something that occupies your mind in a relaxing and positive manner. Binge drinking ain't it.

Religion has always been about saving people or trying to convert others into their way of ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Thre is no sense into trying to distance a "true believer" from his or her religious beliefs. Their attachment is irrational and emotional, not rational.

Is "following", in the context of this site, the equivalent of "friending" on FB?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

No. It simply means that what that person posts triggers an alert to you, so that you can see it.

Garret's Thermodynamics of Civilization vs McPherson's Near Term Human Extinction

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Yes, we can stop the carbon-based fossil fuels expansion -- if we have the political will to do so. An equally important, if not more important question is whether we have the will to stop the mushrooming rowth in human population. It is that population sexplsion that is fueling the destruction of our environment. The two cannot be intelligently separated!

Do you have compassion for the believers?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I do feel a bit sorry for them -- until they try to push their beliefs into my life space.

Conspiracy Theories.

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Politely end your relationship with this guy.He will contribute nothing to your life but dismay and frustration. There is nothing that you can do to enlighten such an irrational mind.

All abroad!

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Most apt!

The truth hurts those who are too moronic to realize they are being fleeced and taken to slaughter ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I would modify that to say stupid and/or gullible people.

ADVERTISING MY AGE Despite my many years and rapidly advancing decrepitude have forgotten my age ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

At age 81, my body remindsme of my age often -- whether I like it or not.

Twisted Sister front man dedicates ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ to teachers

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

My applause to the Oklahoma teachers for standing up to the reactionary Republican politics of the past 20 years.

Philosopher Kings or Democracy?

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

No.

What do you do - from a social perspective - when you discover that someone you know is ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Let them know that you think their anti-vaccination stand is irrational and totally irresponsible.

I think honesty is a virtue.

wordywalt comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I sagree.

What have any of you used as a spiritual outlet

wordywalt comments on Apr 11, 2018:

I do not use the word spiritual. Iuse weight lifting, vegetable gardening, and writing as a means of enewal of energy.

Paul Ryan.

wordywalt comments on Apr 11, 2018:

He is a dishonest hypocrite.

Have you ever met anybody who actually believed the Earth was 6,000 years old?

wordywalt comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Yes, real religious "true believers" who totally sold their being to religious dogma.

As a child, the earliest memories of a TV show that made the most impact on me was MASH .

wordywalt comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Bobby Kennedy.

I think that most people have a "go to" comfort food that connects us to others in our families or a...

wordywalt comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Acre peas (a small, white southern field pea) with skillet cornbread.

Just finished reading "The Virtue of Selfishness" by Ayn Rand.

wordywalt comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Back in the 1960s I read wverything that Rand wrote. I found her writing interesting, but somehow off key. After thorough analysis, I determined that her main points were (1) I can do anything I want to and dno one can limit that, (2) greed is good, and (3) all governments are bad. Anyone who reads Rand should understand her personal history. Rand was the child of a family or Russian oligarghs during the Czarist era. When Lenin and the commuynists took over Russia, they took the entire land and wealth of Rand;s family. All of her writings and her entire philosphy is simply a reaction to that facr. She had a right to be angry with the Bolsheviks, but no right to come to the extreme, entirely self-centered conslusions which she espoused. The fact is that she was an entirely self0-centered, self-pitying person. Her priliosophy was nothing more than anarchistic, self absorbed libertarianism taken to its ultimate, amoral extreme.

I'm pretty sure most, but not all, atheists, agnostics, etc.

wordywalt comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Primarily because they are skeptical of ideological dofgma, whether religious or political. Most conservatives are ideologues.

Does it matter how a gift is wrapped or is it only the gift that matters?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Your quesrtion does not matter.

I am wondering why this site isn't called non-believers.com?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

I think that ther are actually more of us atheists on this site than agnostics.

Is She All There?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

I wonder what it feels like to be a knowing professional liar for a living.

When religion is more important then education?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Education is ALWAYS more important than religion.

Where do agnostics go when they die?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Like all of us, they don't go anywhere. They simply cease to exist.

If it's on the Internet,it must be true, right?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Most intelligent and critical thinking people.

Terrorizing Children in the Name of God is Legal in the U.S.

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Much of "Christian" rhetoric is vengeful and does not make intellectual or moral sense.

Do you have nightmares?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

As a child, I had recurring nightmares that were like a Salvador Dali painting. After my divorce from my first wife (who had borderline personality disorder and made life miserable), I had nightmares involving her for almost 20 years.

Confirmation Bias: Why You Should Seek Out Disconfirming Evidence

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

A good post! That is the only way that we can be somewhat sure about the accuracy of our beliefs -- if we search for and cannot find disconfirming evidence.

It’s time to unplug and escape this nightmare we live in - The Globe and Mail

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

I have never texted, ur used Twitter, and am using Facebook less and less. I really think hey have little to offerof value, and are harming social interaction.

The Nation indulges in fear mongering about cell phones and cancer – Science-Based Medicine

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

There always seems to be some irrational fear mongerers among us about many things -- cell phones, power lines, vaccines, GMOs, or whatever.

Anyone else go on to this or any other social media outlet and just feel really old?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

I think many of us have experienced the feeling of being born in the wrong time and place.

Childhood mementos. Do you have any mementos from your childhood?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Of course. I have vivid memories from my childhood going all the way bvack to age 4. At age 81, part of me is still that kid.

Can we have a civil conversation about American policy without getting emotional?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Excuse me, but it is terribly hard to understand how any rational and moral person can fail to understnad whata despicable and sociopathic person Trump is and actually support this traitor and moral disaster.This man will destroy our democracy, given half a chance. Similarly, I am also a gun owner, but it is also equally as hard to understand how any rational and moral human can fight against control of weapons designed primarly to kill humans. In short, I find your positions irrational, immoral, and unpatriotic.

What was your “ah ha” moment when you realized religion was bs?

wordywalt comments on Apr 10, 2018:

There was no "a ha" moment. It was a graduaal realization beginning at about age 15 through about age 19..

Is it o.k. to have a "crush" on someone while in a relationship?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Yes, so long as you do not act on it .

Have you ever felt yourself being pulled from your body, when you look up?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

No, I have never felt that.

Favorite duets?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Simon and Garfunkel above all others.

Opinions about Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

I took it and studied it years ago. I did not find it useful.

This is a dictator which 45 admires.

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Trump admires vicious power because he is a coward and weakling at heart.

Unconstitutional

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Sessions is a despicable little physical mental, and moral dwarf.

Texas Bill Prohibiting Male Masturbation Moves Closer To Becoming Law

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Ibsanity.

Liberal Ideals

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Your question is so wide open that there is no way that I can respond to it.

What are your views on Paganism..

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

I do not believe in anything which calls for dogma, rituals, lsupernatural superstitions, or anything of that iilk.

What would cause you to lay down your life willingly?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

As a former soldier, we all knew that could be asked of us, and accepted the fact. If I were convinced that my action would result in saving someone else, I would so act. If my death would advance a human cause I truly believe in as moral and needed, I would.

If God made himself known to you one day and said, "You must sacrifice the life of your child for ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

It ain't gonna happen. But, if it did, my answer would be "hell,no!

Do you stand for the anthem?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

I attend no events anymore where the anthem is played. If I did, I would probably stand.

This is an important anniversary for me.

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Good for you! That takes will power, courage, belief in yourself, and persistence!!

Don't you hate it when you think of something good to say and then you forget it completely?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

That is the reason I have developed strategies for combing my memory to find or reconstruct the thought.They usually work.

Who's been the best President of the United States in your lifetime?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Harry Truman, without a doubt.

Does the thought of dying alone scare you?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

No.

Do you find yourself spending more time on Agnostic.com and less time on facebook and other sites?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Yes. I encounter fewer more rational, more intelligent, more caring, more ethical peope on this site.

Who do you support, the teachers of Oklahoma or the Republicans and Betsy DeVos, who claim the ...

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

As a retired educator, I support the striking teachers in all states in which this action is occurring. For far too damned long, morally and patriotically bankrupt Republican legislatures in far too damned many states have gutted and decimated public education -- as most of the other essential public services -- except prisons. The fact is that they want a relatively uneducated public that they can manipulate. I hope so much that the activism of the "me too" movement, the youth anti-gun movement, the striking teachers can merge with the revulsion against Trump to drive Trump and the Republicans out of power across the entire country. We, the American people, NEED that to happen!

Webster's will be updating their definition of hypocrisy by adding a photo/picture of donald trump.

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

They will add the same update to their definition of evil.

Is sports useful?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Yes, sports ARE useful, both in helping to keep participicpants healthy, and for recreation. I do not, however, have much use for professional sports.

Do you believe all children are naturally born Atheist?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

They are neither born atheist nor born religious. They are simply born.

What is the one creature, snake, spider, rodent, bat, etc, that creeps you out the most?

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

scorpion

Ted Nugent

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Putin shares NRA values.

Challenge of the day.

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

An impossible task.

This is another giant of a man who has such insight and greatness.

wordywalt comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Every word is true! Brownback was absolutely the worst thing that ever happened to the state of Kansas.

Do you raise your kids atheist?

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

I raised my daughters without religion and knowing that I was an atheist. Still, I let them make their own choices. Both are agnostics today.

What's something that many people haven't done, but that you have?

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

Yes, I have been over the Gliedecke bridge (in the movie "Brodge of Spies" with Tom Hanks. It was the dividing line between West erlin and East Germany from 1945 and 1989.I still remember the Russian sentries with submachine guns and the sentry tower with machine guns.

How many of you have read the bible completely?

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

By the age of 15, I had read it from cover to cover 3 times.

What do you think of neoreligions?

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

Just like att opther religions, an "escape from freedom" (see Erich Fromm's book by the same name).

If it were possible, would you live on the moon or Mars?

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

Hell, no. Why would I ever want to?

If we ever officially devolope time travel, when would you go to?

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

It'll never happen!

I believe that if I expect people to respect my right to be an atheist, then I have to respect other...

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

YES!

Would it be beneficial to separate out the philosophies of religions from the supernatural aspects?

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

I don't believe that can be done. If you want to find standards to live by, try reading in the psychology of interpersonal relationship, the issues of values and the self-system, and the existential philosophy.

Hi everyone.

wordywalt comments on Apr 8, 2018:

There are many people on this site who will be glad to share thoughts with you and provide encouragement to each out and grow.