US Navy confirms UFO videos are the real deal - YouTube

David1955 comments on Sep 22, 2019:

I do wish all you UFO aluminium hat wearing cranks would understand that UFOs are nothing more than ball lightening, the planet Jupiter, clouds, reflections of the moon, secret military aircraft travelling at unobtainable speeds and doing gyrations that defy known physics, and shooting stars ( that change course and go up and down a lot). You would be better served by using your time by doing something useful, like watching FOX news. Honestly. :-)

Why why why do religious people think they can make a believer out of an atheist?

David1955 comments on Sep 22, 2019:

Don't tolerate it. I don't. Set them straight. From my experience there is no-one a believer will run away from faster than a commited atheist.

Australia is a secular country isn't it?

David1955 comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Make no mistake, this prick is a soft-sell evangelizer, he'll insert his religion wherever he can. I've been disappointed with the political decisions of Australians all my life, but as pathetic as the ALP is now, I don't think I will ever forgive Australians for the last election, Queensland in particular.

Let the Saudis defend themselves.

David1955 comments on Sep 20, 2019:

It's not like they were complicit in the 9/11 attacks on America, or anything like that. Oh wait, they were.

Anyone having issues with the app?

David1955 comments on Sep 19, 2019:

Ive given up on the Agnostic.com App on Android with Google Account log in. Never worked on my Galaxy Note. Now I have the latest Android Tab from Samsung running Android Pie. Same thing. Will not work. Admin seems uninterested in the problem, so I've given up on the App.

A mystery object from deep space from another solar system is coming towards our solar system, this ...

David1955 comments on Sep 19, 2019:

Don't worry. Neil Degras Tyson will be wheeled out by mainstream media to remind us that there's nothing to see here folks, none of that strange footage people take all the freaking time means anything, and you can totally believe your government, the military and NASA. What would we do without him? Lordy only knows.

It's not newsworthy until biased right wing news runs with the story?

David1955 comments on Sep 18, 2019:

When you're right, you're right. The corruption of our politics by domestic and international money is rampant. Worthless ALP is no better.

What's your favorite atheist/skeptic YouTuber?

David1955 comments on Sep 18, 2019:

Kyle Kulinski. Secular Talk. Love his atheism. Love his politics. Love his humour.

Where is the flaw in the following proof for God's existence?

David1955 comments on Sep 17, 2019:

First flaw is not stating *which* god you want to prove exists. Choose one from 3500 or so made up by people and proceed from there. Immediately the absurdity of the exercise is apparent. Why that one?

This fucking asshole Jeff Bezos would rather have you subsidize food stamps for his workers than pay...

David1955 comments on Sep 16, 2019:

If I had my way, no individual would be able to accumulate more than 500 million dollars in private wealth. Effectively I would prohibit being a billionaire. Wealth and social justice tax would return all surplus wealth to the economy and the general good. Clever dick lawyers and accountants barred from clever schemes. If any person cannot live on 500 million, then that's their problem. Should this de-incentive-ize them, they are welcome to lie on the beach on their half billion bucks.

Trump says of Kavanaugh, "He is an innocent man who has been treated HORRIBLY," He is really a ...

David1955 comments on Sep 15, 2019:

After Kavanaugh was confirmed I wrote here that history had not finished with this guy, and that enterprising journalists would dig away for some time and come back with new info about him, and indeed I read this week that this is happening now. Whatever the truth about the sexual allegations, he lied under oath about his past, his diary, and his previous work in the Bush Administration. He's got it coming.

Words.

David1955 comments on Sep 15, 2019:

I agree, and I add the use euphemisms, which I loathe. Ethnic cleansing, enhanced interrogation, extraordinary rendition, and stuff like this. The corruption of language is a reflection of corruption of discourse and power.

Sorry sorry sorry!! This arrived a while ago and I am only getting to it today.

David1955 comments on Sep 14, 2019:

Me this week too. I would like to buy a few of those pens. I like it. Congrats.

Trump is facing ‘very unpleasant’ jail sentence in New York after Michael Cohen flipped again: ...

David1955 comments on Sep 12, 2019:

I've heard too many stories over the past two years about how the law is going to catch up with Trump. It never happens. I'm sorry, I just don't believe the law applies to big fish in America. Scapegoats, yes. These things can be dragged out and appealed until nothing happens. Except for scapegoats. I said this during the Mueller Kabuki show. I got criticized, but i was right. Only scapegoats. See if I'm right again. Sorry, but this fantasy that Trump will get his legal just desserts is just that: a fantasy. Only scapegoats. Cohen, Manafort.....Roger the moron what's his face...General Treasonous...etc

At the risk of sounding unpatriotic,.

David1955 comments on Sep 12, 2019:

The big lie I am hearing today is about this foolish nonsense about Trump considering meeting with the Taliban just before the 9/11 remembrance, is the falsehood that the Taliban attacked the US on that day. Lets not forget.... the media cry. Utterly nonsense. The Taliban were and are total religious bastards, but they were not responsible for these attacks. Yes, they allowed Bin Ladin to stay there, but he might have been somewhere else, and the attackers were Saudi and Yemeni. My understanding is that Bin Laden told Mullah Omah just after the attacks and Omah's response was like 'Are you crazy? You're going to bring the Americans down on our heads!' which is exactly what happened. It was the last thing the Taliban wanted. But it was exactly what Bin Laden wanted, and the US blundered in, thoughtlessly. But in the Fake History that the Right now peddles, that war in Afghanistan is equated with preventing another 9/11 attack. And the irony is, if there were another attack, it wouldn't be from the Taliban, who are fighting a nationalist war against what they see as invaders, but from other middle eastern countries that hate the West. What point is mainstream media when all they do is peddle Establishment spin.

Is your carrier doing the right thing by you or ripping you off?

David1955 comments on Sep 9, 2019:

All big companies are bastards. Carriers are big companies. Therefore all carriers are bastards. Everytime I call mine, internode, I say, " nothing personal, you are in support, but your company charges me too much for too slow a speed and I know it and resent it, and it's only because in Australia we get ripped off for everything including this. Now having said that, here is why I'm calling..." At least I get the satisfaction of letting them know we are not all stupid in Australia, just powerless. That's why we need good government regulation and oversight of all essential services and protection of consumers against bastard companies, which is only all of them.

My understanding of the law regarding taking another life is very confused.

David1955 comments on Sep 9, 2019:

If you were at a bar and some guy made you so angry you shoved him and he tripped and hit his head and died, then the difference between manslaughter and first degree murder would feel very real very quickly I suspect.

Next Friday is Friday the 13th AND there's gonna be a full moon.

David1955 comments on Sep 9, 2019:

Dang. I wish I still had a black cat!

Since it's controversial, I'll join in. New profile picture:

David1955 comments on Sep 8, 2019:

This guy is a full-on religious bore, is he not?

Catholics to gather near Vatican next month to pray for Church in her hour of crisis | News | ...

David1955 comments on Sep 7, 2019:

Let's hope their prayers are not answered. I do wish someone would send in a criminal investigation team and some forensic accountants to investigate this church and its activities.

The Case for Sanders/Warren 2020: The Populist Dream Team Ticket to Win A Green New Deal | Common ...

David1955 comments on Sep 7, 2019:

If they can avoid serious rifts, keep to polite differences over policy, and make it genuine, then they can be a formidable team or partnership. But it has to be genuine. People and media will smell it if phoney. And Bernie on top. He led the way. He made it possible for her to be.

Who likes Bill Mahr?

David1955 comments on Sep 5, 2019:

The left have taken up against him, which is a pity. I hate to see the Left turning on each other. There is always going to be a spectrum of opinion, just like in the non religious community. I never miss his show. He's a great atheist brother.

The coming death of just about every rock legend

David1955 comments on Sep 4, 2019:

Yes, and they are not being replaced by new rock legends. Now they are all corporate computer "muzac" creations, leaving little foot print, I suspect. Hank Williams once said you had to have smelt a lot of pig shit If you wanted to sing like a real hillbilly. Well, I suspect it's the same with Rock. The age of great Rock is over, I'd say.

Stupid heartless bastard only cares about himself period!

David1955 comments on Sep 4, 2019:

Increasingly I just see Trump as pathetic and lame. If he weren't President, it wouldn't matter much, but he is. If it weren't for the Republican Party he wouldn't be President.

Community Senate The literal meaning of the word "senate" is Assembly of Elders.

David1955 comments on Sep 4, 2019:

This site is a small oasis for the non-religious, mostly, in an internet of blather. Focus on the positives here, I suggest.

While Trump enjoys golf, former president Jimmy Carter, 92, is building homes for the poor | The ...

David1955 comments on Sep 4, 2019:

While Rome burned, Nero fiddled. Dictators are all the same. :-)

Bernie Receives "Several Standing Ovations" For Powerful Appearance - YouTube

David1955 comments on Sep 4, 2019:

The rest of them pretend to be progressive, claim to present progressive policies, but Bernie is the ONLY one who has the history, the consistency, the record, and the authenticity to make this claim. He's a role model of what the Left should do and hasn't done (in any country) for decades: stake your policies and principles, stand by them, even when the mainstream laughs, keep standing until they stop laughing, and believe in what you stand for, and change the debate and the prevailing orthodoxy.

Remember this- last May MSNBC and every network was happy the judge said they had to show Trumps ...

David1955 comments on Sep 3, 2019:

Remember when they said Mueller had all that info from Cohen? Nothing. Remember when they said Trump's financial guy at Trump Corp had immunity? Nothing. Remember when the Southern District of New York were doing all these big investigations on Trump? Nothing. Remember when they said the best financial crime people were working for Mueller? Nothing Remember when they said General what's his name was singing like a bird to avoid jail? Nothing, Remember when they said there were more legal cases against Trump than most of us have had not dinners? Nothing. Remember.... oh what does it matter. It's always nothing. The US system of legal nothing, except for a few scape goats like Manafort and Cohen. Kabuki and nothing, and the US Ruling Class mainstream media reporting daily on the nothing and making millions. I don't believe any of it anymore. Enough of nothing.

[afr.

David1955 comments on Sep 1, 2019:

Not much point adding a link for which you need an subscription. I'll have to find the story elsewhere. For the record, I believe the ALP should pack up their photos of Hawke and Keating from their HQ and send them to the Liberal Party HQ to hang there. That's where they belong.

US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a 'Russian asset' or a 'useful idiot' for ...

David1955 comments on Aug 30, 2019:

Either / or? More like both asset and idiot. I wrote here two years ago that Trump was a Russian asset . "Don't worry, Mr Mueller will get to the bottom of it" came the comments. Right. Well, he couldn't say for sure, apparently. If you don't really look then you won't find something. Now, if Mueller had investigated a Democratic President, well, that might have been different. So, Comrade Donald marches on. Cohen in the slammer. Manafort in the slammer. But Agent Orange marches on. What a Kabuki Show.

Socialism no longer scares people. Has the word lost its power to scaremonger? [twitter.com]

David1955 comments on Aug 30, 2019:

The Left, as I have long said, need to neutralize the power of the Right to wield this word as a weapon by flinging back with assertions about corporate socialism, military socialism, industry socialism, business socialism, and all the other forms of socialism that are acceptable to the Right, namely transfer of resources to things they like, whether useful or justified. People will get to see that the only socialism the Right objects to is socialism for the benefit of the majority of the population who create the damn wealth in the first place through their hard work. I think this is getting through now.

Brace for Impact. Progressives are going to win. [washingtonpost.com]

David1955 comments on Aug 29, 2019:

The question I have is: What dirty tricks, false flags, counter-intel, and /or Special Ops, will the US Ruling Class conjure up, that people will fall for, as they always do, to neutralize the rise of progressive politics in the US? Even if the US R C dislikes Trump, their first and major priority will be to maintain their hegemony, in a "Republic" that passes only slightly for a real democracy. If US people wish for a better deal, then they will have to do more than just vote: they need to mobilize and prepare for the Counter Op their Ruling Class will throw at them.

Those were the days … Once upon a time the was a real culture in Oz … [ro.uow.edu.au]

David1955 comments on Aug 28, 2019:

In these politically correct times, in a new age of political puritanism, yes, forget it. Takes me back.

You are comletely alone in the Universe.

David1955 comments on Aug 26, 2019:

"....So, always look on the bright side of death A-just before you draw your terminal breath Life's a piece of shit When you look at it Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true You'll see it's all a show Keep 'em laughing as you go Just remember that the last laugh is on you..." Mr Idle's got it about right, don't you think?

This afternoon, I was playing games on my computer while overhearing programs about serial killers ...

David1955 comments on Aug 25, 2019:

A further point here that one of the most insidious things about monotheistic religions is that they create a god with rules and commands, punishable by all kinds of terrors, but god itself is immune to its own moral and ethical laws. It can kill and punish with impunity, because god is always "good" no matter what. It has a kind of cosmic diplomatic immunity from all crimes. So then, when god "tells" its celebrants and followers to kill and do violent acts against transgressors, then the immunity flows on to them: god is always good and so are they, no matter what they do. The crimes of religions, cults, god- hearing loonies and all the rest are justified on the basis of this twisted, sick logic. And it stems from a belief in a single, true and always "good" god. Its gotta go!

No one can tell me why I am here in this mystery.

David1955 comments on Aug 25, 2019:

Beautiful fairy tales? According to Christianity god turned up and we tortured and murdered him, because it was good for us. Not much beauty there. Religions are based on violence, repression, fear, guilt and ignorance. Whatever we might make of life and reality, religions offer nothing to help. They're just in the way.

Just finished the DS9 documentary "What We Left Behind".

David1955 comments on Aug 25, 2019:

I never really connected to ST DS9. I think I like dudes in spaceships going out to the universe, not odd types turning up at space stations. One exception: when captain Frisky or whatever his name was, biffed Q in the nose in anger. "Not even Picard did that!," Q retorted. "I'm not Picard," came the reply. I love Q, but he did have it coming. :-)

This afternoon, I was playing games on my computer while overhearing programs about serial killers ...

David1955 comments on Aug 25, 2019:

I agree with you, and a particular grievance for me is the glorification of the Manson Cult and his murderous moronic followers. Between the media and Hollywood they have turned these cowards into dark celebrities, oblivious to the facts and truth about the greater crimes. That's spree killing not serial killing, but the evil is the same. As for God, if there is one, and I totally do not believe there is, it is as oblivious to criminal acts as it is to genocide. When people ask me when I became an atheist I say slightly tongue in cheek that it was in 1969 when I was 14 and God allowed Sharon Tate to be murdered. In fact I have always been non or anti religious, even before then, so not strictly true but I guess I'm making a point.

I would like to make a suggestion that when an Opening Post is made it cannot be deleted after ...

David1955 comments on Aug 24, 2019:

Yes, it's irritating. Agreed.

Just as an fyi, there is NO way 45 can actually DO anything about overturning the 14th Amendment.

David1955 comments on Aug 22, 2019:

Problem is, US institutions have proven to be so weak (and revealed to the world) over the Trump period, I don't think anything is impossible, especially with Trump's enablers, legal and political, who seem determined to bring about white nationalist rule to the US. The insipid Meuller report, after all the huffing and puffing and claims about what a great "institutionalist" he is, was the last straw for me, though I predicted it here months before and was mauled for it. What a Kabuki show your politics is, and poor Kabuki at that. Sad to say.

Well, perhaps there is s god Pell going down! [google.com.au]

David1955 comments on Aug 20, 2019:

I'm just glad that Pell has been neutralized in religion and politics, forever. I recall his debate with Dawkins on that absurd ABC Q and A show back about 5 years ago. It was an embarrassment to have this pompous arrogant ignorant man taken seriously. I cringed watching it. Pell downed is good for his victims and good for the country. Mind you, there are Catholics who believe he was set up and framed by the right-wing in Catholic Rome because he was reforming the church with Pope Frank. Seriously, I've heard them. Preposterous.

Sanders sucks and main stream media isn't biased.

David1955 comments on Aug 18, 2019:

So, corporately owned and self- interested mainstream media skew political coverage towards candidates and issues and debates that serve their agenda and corporate interests. What a shock!

There are no words horrendous

David1955 comments on Aug 15, 2019:

If the US doesn't do something soon about Trump, it will end up with concentration camps. There already are some on your southern border, by all accounts.

Well, I did it! I binge watched both seasons of Star Trek Discovery.

David1955 comments on Aug 15, 2019:

I agree with you on most of that. Anson Mount was an inspired choice. However, bitchy Anthony Rapp in engineering and babbling Tilly what's her face are SO annoying to me, and I can barely stand every scene they are in. If I were a Captain of a Star Ship, and I had a bitchy engineering officer and a babbling member of the Bridge, I'd bust their asses back to the Academy so fast their feet would hardly touch the ground. I'm hoping they will both be sucked into a black hole is season 3. Also, the actor playing Spock is quite good, but I cannot reconcile him with the Spock in the TOS. Just can't.

Jeffrey Epstein's suicide: Don't turn to conspiracy theories - The Washington Post

David1955 comments on Aug 12, 2019:

And the best part is, all those rich powerful people who partied with him, and who may have been implicated, can all sleep soundly tonight. It's all for the best I suppose. :-<

Only atheists.

David1955 comments on Aug 11, 2019:

Good for you. I hope someone comes along. I always like to read fellow atheists who say, no religion, no spiritual mumbo-jumbo, no woo woo; none of it thank you. Best of luck.

Well now, it seems that Prisoner 666, George Pell, convicted Catholic Cardinal and Paedophile is now...

David1955 comments on Aug 11, 2019:

It's alright. It'll come to him from another way of knowing. :-)

Define Cult.... Define Religion.... Describe the differences:

David1955 comments on Aug 8, 2019:

I know I loathe both equally. The Manson cult killed up to 40 people, truth be told. Early Christian cult did the same. Remember Hypatia of Alexandria? Cult: small unpopular religion. Religion: large popular cult.

Sitting minding my own business and debating how long will I put up with the cold before putting the...

David1955 comments on Aug 8, 2019:

Let all unknown calls go to message. I do. Legit callers you can always call back. That's me.

Watching former FBI and Security Specialist on MSNBC says we don't have the tools or the security to...

David1955 comments on Aug 4, 2019:

It sometimes amazes me that some do not see the rise of Trumpism, BREXIT, the resurgence of right wing nationalism in Europe, and other similar events, for being what it is: the most successful counter-intelligence operation mounted since WW2, by Vlad Putin, to undermine the West, NATO, the western liberal-democratic alliances and democracies, in pursuit of 21Century oligarchic authoritarianism. Of course, exposing the US to external and internal threats by undermining security systems is part of that. And worst of all, the enablers of this are parties on the political Right/far Right, the same parties, or fellow-travellers, who banged the drum against "lefties" and "liberals" and "commies" and "socialists" in past decades, and kept themselves in power through such fear. And now this. As a student of history I am flabbergasted.

Why should agnostics/atheists hide this about themselves?

David1955 comments on Aug 3, 2019:

Who's hiding? If I were any more open about my atheism, I'd have it printed on my head. But you're right. Atheists and those of us who have a clear, open attitude on religion, namely, totally rejecting and criticizing it, should boldly state it. That is what is happening now more and more. Sadly, there are equivocators who are half baked in their non religious view, half apologize for it, still have a yen for religion, and can't quite find the confidence to stand up clearly against religion. I'm hoping that will change.

Germany’s Catholic Church lost more than 200,000 members in 2018 - Vatican News

David1955 comments on Aug 1, 2019:

Keep -a-leavin' This way... This way........

@Admin 1.

David1955 comments on Jul 29, 2019:

Yes, this shouldn't have happened, as I noted in an earlier thread. Shoot from the hip actions like this don't enhance the site.

This announcement may bring delight or dismay.

David1955 comments on Jul 29, 2019:

Surely banning here should only occur either after deliberate and repeated inappropriate behavior, or when found out to be engaging in deception, such as creating more than one membership. I would have thought.

Dogs should be banned from stores except for certified, seeing-eye dogs.

David1955 comments on Jul 29, 2019:

Agreed and agreed and agreed and agreed. Dogs should be banned.......(period/ full stop) Yes I'm not a "dog person".

This announcement may bring delight or dismay.

David1955 comments on Jul 28, 2019:

Pity. He could be a bit snarky at times, and it wasn't necessary. Often times though, I found his comments interesting.

Tarentino's new one is a must see. Great cast and riotous ending

David1955 comments on Jul 27, 2019:

I care too much about the real history of this subject. I care too much about the real human being who was Sharon Tate. My loathing of Hollywood is all but complete. Tarrantino's revisionist film making has worn out on me.

Mad at god or don't believe?

David1955 comments on Jul 25, 2019:

I'm mad at the *concept* of god, as it is one of the most dangerous concepts ever invented by humans, responsible for such misery, especially a mono-theistic god which inevitably leads to heretics, factions, rival theologies, and war and death. That does *not* equate to being mad at a god that I somehow secretly believe in. No sir.

@Admin Please tell me the difference between humanist dot com and agnostic dot com.

David1955 comments on Jul 25, 2019:

Don't forget to go to settings and opt out of Humanist.com if you wish, but check from time to time because I have found it can become un-checked, though why I don't know why.

Mueller's Testimony Revealed the Conspiracy-Theory-Driven State of American Politics ...

David1955 comments on Jul 25, 2019:

So now we see the essence of why the Mueller investigation was such a failure: The wrong man was at the helm. Past his prime; his heart not in it; lacking the courage needed to take on a bully and a thug like Trump. The wrong man from a past time in the wrong place. I predicted this a long time ago, and on this site: a few scapegoats, no real action against Trump and his crime Inc... no action on finances. All shipped out to someone else.... nothing, I guarantee you. One can decide if it's because Mueller is such an 'institutionalist' or because Trump and the Republithugs spooked him. I know what I think. Mr. Mueller, for lack of courage or some other reason, failed what would have been the greatest service to his country -- standing up to Trump and his thugs. He most assuredly will have to live with it. The look on his face yesterday shows he already is.

I have a question for the people that are 100% certain that no gods exist. How are you THAT certain?

David1955 comments on Jul 24, 2019:

The problem is in the phrasing of the question. The question is not "why are you 100% certain that no Gods exists?" but "why are you certain that there is *no evidence whatsoever* that Gods exist?" Answer: "Because no one has presented any, ever. Believers always reply on supernatural arguments, and these are not evidence, but assertions and faith-based beliefs. That's why I don't have the same problem that agnostics have with this question. It's not a belief plucked out of the air, but rather a position based on the fact that no evidence exists, to date. Should anyone find such 'evidence' then we would look at it. I'm not holding my breath.

I am not an atheist.

David1955 comments on Jul 17, 2019:

"*Why is it that everyone thinks that agnosticism and atheism are the same thing?*" No, everyone does not think that, or say that. "*I need more information to have an opinion.*" No, you have already expressed an opinion. What you mean is you need more information to make a definitive statement that there is no God.

UK secularism on rise as more than half say they have no religion [theguardian.com]

David1955 comments on Jul 11, 2019:

I congratulate my British cousins for moving in the right direction. I have read before that the actual functional participating Christians in the UK, compared to notional census form Christians, is very low. I think this is true generally speaking in so-called Christian countries. However, Islam is on the rise. That's a worry.

Understanding Unbelief – Understanding Unbelief is a major new research programme aiming to ...

David1955 comments on Jul 11, 2019:

This reminds me how much I like the term "Unbelievers" and wish it had been the name of this site, instead of the more specific Agnostic.com. By the by, I note that the link "Unbelieve.org" to this site has been abandoned. Shame.

Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific ...

David1955 comments on Jul 10, 2019:

I see you've found another bright shiny thing to get agnostics and atheists at each other's throats again on this site, Middle. Of course. Well, I'm not going to be distracted from MY goal: opposing religion!

For the past week I've been beside my best friend and his 2 sisters as their mother entered the end ...

David1955 comments on Jul 9, 2019:

I went through the same thing for my own mother only last January. The whole week time stopped. All of the arguments evaporate, and you just deal with it, believer or non believer. My siblings are believers, while I am defiantly not. We all went through it the same. In the end, for all of us, that's the reality of it. I like to think that the non religious face these things as honestly as we can. Like you are.

Is Socrates right about Democracy?

David1955 comments on Jul 8, 2019:

Looking at these MAGATs -- Make America Great Again Trumpsters -- and similar delusionals in my own country, perhaps he was right. Democracy is based on the assumption that people might actually think sometimes. Sadly, that's too hard for many, addicted to reality ? television and internet froth. Depressing.

if there is not God, I would like to know where did everything come from?

David1955 comments on Jul 2, 2019:

Carl Sagan nailed that one back in the 80s. If god created the universe, then who created him? In turn, who or what created the thing that created the thing that created God? On it goes. Nothing explained. As he said, why not save the step of creating an imaginary thing and say, for now, the universe's creation is a mystery, but perhaps science will solve it. They've made a lot of progress since his 80s Cosmos series. A god explains nothing. Shame that religious people can't see that. I guess it makes them feel better, like children believing in Prince Charming and Cinderella.

My husband says, google is his god, because it knows everything and always has an answer for his ...

David1955 comments on Jun 29, 2019:

The Google thing is indeed tricky. I used to be a Mac guy; have been since the 80s. Now I'm a Google guy. I'm every bit as aware of the dangers of Google, but they give me what Apple does not -- all the online Google functions, Android phone, Google home, and I've just bought a Chromebook which was great value for money and fast as a rabbit. My expensive Mac died and I've had it with Apple and their over priced poorly made stuff. It's a whole set of integrated functions that I really like. But... but..I manage my Google account options carefully, and I use a private browser for most searching. I encourage others to do that also So, I exercise what control I can. God? No. But I cannot find a better alternative. And I don't refer to myself as agnostic, but atheist. My reasons are quite clear and ultimately stem from a total lack of evidence, and a rejection of all mysticism, supernaturalism and magic.

The Australian branded honey saga continues with Capilano Honey failing to provide evidence that ...

David1955 comments on Jun 23, 2019:

Dang! I used to eat their honey. I like honey a lot. I stopped buying their honey some time ago, though, when I read rumours it was full of junk.

From your personal experience, are some people simply not wired (say, neurologically or ...

David1955 comments on Jun 22, 2019:

I've been criticized before for saying something like this might be true. The 'born hard wired believers' notion. Some say we are all born atheist and socialisation is sorely responsible for religious belief. They criticise any idea that some people are born neurologically disposed to religion. I understand their objection. But I'm coming up to my 64th birthday (will you still love me....when I'm 64...!) and I have to say, from my experience, I really do think this, from the people I've known and observed. Yes, this is only subjective thinking, and experiential based, but I cannot deny it. It's depressing, since it suggests religion in some is in their wiring. On the bright side, I do think that the great majority of people are not born this way but acquire religion through family and culture, and mostly go along with it. If that is true, there is hope this might change over time in our evolution and future.

I’ve been claiming to be Agnostic for over a year and a half now, but I’m leaning more towards ...

David1955 comments on Jun 22, 2019:

Walk right this way....just a little bit further...pleased to have you in the fold.

Which famous atheist/nonreligious person do you admire the most.

David1955 comments on Jun 20, 2019:

There are many, but I have to say Bertrand Russell. His logic and thinking was exceptional on religion, as in so many things.

I am wondering to what extent people decide to be atheist/agnostic or just grow out of religion

David1955 comments on Jun 20, 2019:

There are some people who kind of out grow religion and become sort of non religious but a bit neutral about it. But I find when people declare openly that they're agnostic, and even more so atheist, it's a clear statement about where they stand, and it's more than just out growing religion. In my view, anyway.

Cool, just noticed the Star Trek fan part.

David1955 comments on Jun 20, 2019:

May the force be with you....Oh Dang.. wrong group.... Live long and prosper!

I have just encountered my first Newfoundland word jillick and what a smasher it it is.

David1955 comments on Jun 19, 2019:

What does the word mean? I assume it is not the contraction of Jill licking. :-)

Do you suspect there is an evangelical arm of atheism that wants to convert religious practitioners ...

David1955 comments on Jun 19, 2019:

Is that what you think? If so, how about coming out and saying it, instead of "Do you suspect....( because I do.) No, by the way, to your question. Evangelical Atheists? Convert? Come on man!

Fuck. We are in trouble. Chaplins in public schools. Fuck. [thebigsmoke.com.au]

David1955 comments on Jun 17, 2019:

Australia has been in trouble for years, because it believes its own bullshit. Delusional countries, like people, find reality crashes in eventually.

Definition of "The Law of Attraction": The law of attraction suggests that you can attract ...

David1955 comments on Jun 17, 2019:

So, The Universe is just another word for God, basically. I'll pass on the new age religion thanks. I wonder if Donald Trump got all his inherited millions by sending out positive vibes to the Universe?

Does anyone else struggle with hating religion?

David1955 comments on Jun 16, 2019:

I strongly oppose religion. I hate what it does in the world. I don't hate people for being religious. I strongly condemn religious hypocrites and phonies who exploit and use religion for financial or political gain. I focus on exposing religion for the delusion that it is, and believe religion should be criticised, condemned, exposed, and actively fought against in all constructive ways, and never give in to religious trickery or emotional blackmail, at which they excel. That what I focus on.

Overtime with Bill Maher.

David1955 comments on Jun 15, 2019:

It was a great episode.

Atheist media?

David1955 comments on Jun 14, 2019:

I like Secular Talk on YouTube, though Kyle K mainly talks about politics. Not a criticism, I share his left politics. Bill Maher. Essential watching.

How to murder children - Bible Style

David1955 comments on Jun 12, 2019:

Honestly, what would we do without Christianity? Oh, I know, we'd be thousand years ahead in progress in the Western world. I like Deuteronomy 21.21:. Stone them to death. The old ways are the best. :-) Revelations 2.23. Kill them with death. As Nathan R. Jessop, AKA Jack Nicholson might say, "Is there any other kind?"

What is the main difference between Social Democracy and Social Liberalism?

David1955 comments on Jun 12, 2019:

The latter isn't an established political theory, unlike social democracy. Social Democracy is a theory of system of government and society, based not on extreme socialism but a mixed economy and directed to fair social and economic outcomes. The word liberalism has been contorted badly by conservatives. Look at Neo-Liberalism, which had nothing to do with liberalism except to destroy it.

How would you score the mental gymnastics here?

David1955 comments on Jun 11, 2019:

An utterly reactive mind, devoid of contemplation or thought beyond immediate response based on self- interest. Sad and dangerous.

So, God is in control.

David1955 comments on Jun 11, 2019:

Yes, I think you are on to something but there, namely the total absence of logic and consistency in religious thinking. It first occurred to me as a teenager, 50 years ago. The second thing I discovered all those years ago is that never ask religionists about such questions; it only upsets them, unless you enjoy upsetting them, which I do.

I have been asked this question and don’t know the answer so I am wondering if any of you guys do...

David1955 comments on Jun 10, 2019:

Bob Hawke, said he was an atheist in the 80s, I think. Gillard too.

Or Jiffy Pop

David1955 comments on Jun 10, 2019:

Dang! I hope this poor actress was comfortable wearing this somewhat less than flattering costume. I heard the ST TOS was made on a shoestring, but alfoil bras?

Questions.

David1955 comments on Jun 10, 2019:

Yes, the site is America-centric and Christianity-centric, but it reflects the current membership. I would very much like it to be even more global in the future and standing up to religions generally. I wonder how many out there are afraid to criticize Islam like they do Xianity for fear of being called Islamaphobe? These politically correct times...

Just curious. Who would not have joined this forum if it was called atheist.com?

David1955 comments on Jun 9, 2019:

I wish it was called that.

Being agnostic and being a close-minded dick are 2 different things

David1955 comments on Jun 7, 2019:

Wow! What a strawman post. The points made by others dismissing the questionable assumptions in this post are well made. I've noticed more of these knife in the back posts recently about non-believers, coming more to bury than to praise Caesar.

PELL - the prick’s going to get off isn’t he!

David1955 comments on Jun 7, 2019:

Whatever happens, Pell is a finished discredited man. Only Catholic true believers could believe otherwise, and like all cultists there's no getting through to them.

A couple of times, in the movie, "Religulous," Atheist, Bill Maher, is asked, "What if you're ...

David1955 comments on Jun 5, 2019:

Richard Dawkins gave the most brilliant answer to that question some years back. It was perfect. Any atheist who doesn't know or hasn't heard it isn't fit to call themselves an atheist. The best answer in Maher's doc, in my view, was when some religious Johnny tried that old religious emotional blackmail trick of saying that nothing but religion fills the 'empty spiritual void inside' and Maher cut him of with a "Well can I at least try?" Took the wind out of that religious dude's sails. I really like BM.

A Sham Election In Australia I believe there are literally millions who are concerned at the depths...

David1955 comments on Jun 5, 2019:

I share your anger or frustration. Truth is, the Labor Party sold its soul to the "devil" in the 1980s. I mean Hawke / Keating. The devil was right wing economics. In return they won a few elections as they did the bidding of Corporate right wing Australia who tolerated them. It has been largely dispatched politically ever since. A deal with the devil never ends well. Having sold its soul, Labor is lost between a discredited ideology on the one hand, and zero credibility on progressive politics on the other. I see only massive reorganization of the ALP away from union factional control, and an ideological rejuvenation, as a path forward, but I have no confidence that it will work, and even less that it is capable to doing it. The ALP has allowed the Right to rewrite the Australian mindset towards gross individualism and self-interest, and a myopic view of the world. You can't ideologically gut a political party on the left and expect it will end well. As a progressive Australian I find it depressing. There's little point criticising the Right wing parties on what they do. They are there to defend Capital. Dirty politics is their playbook. It's the ALP that deserves our contempt, and we need to be clear where the blame lies.

Deadwood, The Movie. I've waited a long time for this.

David1955 comments on Jun 3, 2019:

Al's final words and the end of the film are perfect. He had his faults, but Al knew BS when he heard it. I won't spoil it if you haven't seen the movie. Overall, it's hard to recapture lightening in a bottle after so long, but they did their best. PS. I don't think the Hearst family will be pleased.

Who said “There is a sucker born every minute.” Or worse to that effect?

David1955 comments on Jun 2, 2019:

Trump says it everyday, everytime he thinks about his "base".

I have gravity issues: I’m always dropping things, knocking things over, ...

David1955 comments on Jun 2, 2019:

I totally get you. Me too. I have a theory that some of us don't belong in this universe. We belong in a universe where there is *selective gravity* - meaning it's there when you need it but not when you don't. It's hard for us, having it working all the time, I mean it's not natural for some of us. Whether we fell through the wrong portal, or what not, I don't know. So, you're not alone....... Oh poop, I just dropped my coffee mug... again! :-)

I've posted this before but every time I do I get berated for doing so.

David1955 comments on Jun 2, 2019:

As @AnneWimsey said, this again? You know, you could call them fairies, flibbies, floonties, flubbies or flappies, but if any or all of these words meant little ladies with wings that fly, then it would still be unproven nonsense and anyone who believed in such things would be a believer in unproven nonsense. Linguistics or otherwise.

I don’t believe in god, but I do think that there is something either spiritual or universal going...

David1955 comments on Jun 1, 2019:

To me this is a classic residual religionist viewpoint. "I don't believe in God or religion, but I think there's something 'out there' " Honestly, there is no link between finding personal happiness or feeling at peace or whatever, and believing in things out there or up there or wherever "there". All my life I've heard religious people try to convince that they have some peace or comfort from their 'faith'. It's one of their delusions. We can't be fooled by any of that.

Just presented to me on f'buck, I don't know how or why:

David1955 comments on Jun 1, 2019:

It's funny, when I hear the phrase, The Christian Right. I always say, "Is there any other kind?" As if there's the Christian Left or the Christian Centre. I believe at one time there was a left wing Catholic group called Liberation Theology. (My friend wrote a Thesis on them. No doubt they've all been shot by now.) These Christos make me laugh. They prattle on about Jesus and the poor, all those dreary Hollywood movies with their Jesus sticking it to authority and the saviour of the poor and meek, but universally modern Christianity is the religion of right wing moralistic elitism and oligarchy and reactionary politics. Name the country, Australia included, it's always the same. I spit on them for their fragrant hypocrisy.