pridemonth lgbtqiacommunity

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 7, 2022:

What is falling from the sky in the 4th panel? Candy? Confetti? Brimstone? 😂

I was not surprised by this.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 7, 2022:

Here is evidence that fake conspiracy theories (in this case, anti-vax) kill.

Firearms: What you can do right now YLE

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 7, 2022:

All good measures HC! Hear her! 🤓

Did anyone else get a complaint warning message?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 7, 2022:

No, but I found some text in one of my posts got altered mysteriously. I do not think God did it. 😂

How do you respond to negative comments about your body?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 7, 2022:

Not something you have to worry about LH! 😉

Poland's Boy Scouts will no longer have to say 'God' in their oath

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 6, 2022:

The religious establishment doesn't like the new rule? Tough shit! The Polish Scouts may attract many more recruits now.

I'm 17 years past cancer!!! My mantra... doctor......clergy......?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 6, 2022:

Congratulations! 👏👏👏🎉

Mark Twain's way with words

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 6, 2022:

Second only to Satan 😂

American Theocracy

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 6, 2022:

Buckle up kids, we are in for a hell of a ride.

That crazy finicky god.....

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 5, 2022:

For Christian nationalists, being anti-"socialist" things like public health mandates (because they supposedly threaten our freedom), and pro-gun (because they supposedly ensure all our other freedoms) are tribal markers. And people are more afraid of being shunned by their in-group than they are of dying from either covid or gunshots. And they don't really think deeply about any of this stuff. They are already programmed to take things on faith.

Owning Guns Puts People in Your Home at Greater Risk of Death | Time

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 5, 2022:

I've know about it for years. Hell, when I was just a baby my dad accidentally discharged a pistol in the house, only missing mom by inches. When I was older, I was teasing my little sister and she angrily picked up a loaded rifle and pointed it at my head. Don't ask me why the rifle was loaded.

I find myself wondering how a suicide or self murder as it is called in Scotland of a prominent ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 5, 2022:

Depression is a killer.

White Christian Nationalism Is a ‘Threat to Democracy’

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 5, 2022:

Thank you snytiger6 for the relevant post! This anti-democratic white Christian nationalist project is now the issue of the day. The only other thing more pressing is the growing climate catastrophe, but that will apparently have to wait for real action until we have put this fascist movement to bed. It's a shame, because the climate clock is ticking (klanging!), and we should be hitting it with a full-court press now. I sincerely hope that the coming Select Committee hearings serve to wake people up to the danger we face from the neo Nazis and their ilk. I hope we can snuff out their movement through legal means, and not have to take up arms to do it. I hope.

Letters From An American 06/04/2022

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 5, 2022:

It's important to remember that small "d" democracy is a liberal ideal. When today's Republicans talk about "owning the libs," when members of their extremist wing fantasize about turning the USA in theocratic dictatorship, they should remember that libs won the Civil War AND the two World Wars. We liberals don't like to play with guns; we don't don't don military gear to play soldier on our weekends. But if forced to, we will take up arms to fight for democracy. We are going to try and snuff out the current anti-democratic project of the Done Cheato and his minions through our institutions and legal system. If that should fail, and force of arms becomes the next necessary step, we will take it. And woe to thee who opposes us. The silent majority will roar.

Link between religious fundamentalism and brain damage established by scientists [rawstory.com]

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 5, 2022:

What I find most fascinating is the possibility that it may work both ways. Trauma to the prefrontal cortex can impair mental flexibility, but apparently so can early indoctrination in fundamentalist ideology. In other words, extremist ideologies and religious fundamentalism may cause, if not brain damage, at least a significant reduction of cognitive potential. This is what science is hinting at. And it sure seems that way to this casual observer! 😂

Here's a sick and perverse way to start your Sunday: Twas’ 24 days into the month of May, ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 5, 2022:

The idea that the slain are "in a better place now" is supposed to assuage the pain of loss, to take the edge off, as it were. I am all for minimizing suffering. But I think in this case it is better to feel that pain keenly, and let it spur us all to rectify the great wrong that is the root cause of the tragedy: too easy access to guns in general, and weapons of war in particular.

Here's a sick and perverse way to start your Sunday: Twas’ 24 days into the month of May, ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 5, 2022:

Pablum. Opium. Sick fantasy.

The human brain and religion are in conflict

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 4, 2022:

God did not give us our fine brains; 3½ billion years of biological evolution did. Then our brains gave us God. 😂

"It is written...."

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 4, 2022:

Not exactly the Prince of Peace we are all familiar with, is he? That's because the words in Luke 19:27 were part of a parable about usury that Jesus told, which began at Luke 19:11: "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear." Jesus did not actually call for anyone to be slain before him.

Police Search For Wisconsin Cemetery Shooter [npr.org]

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 4, 2022:

Mass shootings are now quotidian occurrences in the USA. However, the one described in this post does not fall into the "mass" category, because the number of people shot is under three or four, And some definitions require that the victims die. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting

Being an Atheist isn't always an easy path to walk, so many people will criticize and attack you for...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 4, 2022:

What a coincidence! I just heard some interesting commentary on the role of tribalism in the current gun violence crisis. I posted it only a moment ago. 😂

WATCH: Marjorie Taylor Greene's Promises For Christian Nationalism Are Truly Chilling

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 3, 2022:

To call MTG a "lawmaker" is a misnomer. She is nothing but a rabid, barking, right-wing demagogue.

It’s hard to explain (and fix) evil

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 3, 2022:

As the article's author states, "negative, antisocial thoughts, feelings, and actions associated with typical human functioning, such as anger, aggression, hate, envy, grievance, impulsivity, and reactivity" are usually not the result of mental illness. Only "15-20%" of mass shooters in the US "had a diagnosed mental illness before the event." The self-serving Republicans in Congress (and the NRA) know this. They are just trying to deflect attention away from the their own culpability. Republicans' continued insistence on lax gun regulation has led us to where we are now, and they need a scapegoat to distract the public from their bloody red hands. And so Republicans point their bloody fingers at a convenient scapegoat, the mentally ill. Circular thinking is an easy sell in the USA. So when Republicans claim that the act of killing a bunch of innocent people is "crazy," therefore the shooter mus be mentally ill, it resonates with many. So let's not describe it as "crazy." We should probably also avoid using the word "evil" to describe mass shootings. That will lead many religious believers to assume that the shooter was possessed by the Devil, or some such nonsense. There are many other words in the English lexicon that we can use to describe mass shootings without connoting either mental illness or possession by a malevolent supernatural being: deplorable, reprehensible, hateful, iniquitous, vicious, rotten, abhorrent, sickening, repulsive, and loathsome, to name a few.

Hobbyist DeWitt “Old Dog” Boyd began building pebble houses as toys for his kids decades ago.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 3, 2022:

Gives me inspiration to finish my house remodel project! 😂

Graduation speaker tells students to honor the Bible by avoiding gay marriage

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 2, 2022:

Jim McGuire is obviously a knuckle-dragging cave man. Who the hell gave him the microphone?

Letters From An American 06/01/2022

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 2, 2022:

With the Republican Party effectively highjacked by Trumpism, we are currently beset by Smith's "Four Horsemen of Calumny—Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear.” "A fleeting victory for the Republican [P]arty, it would be a more lasting defeat for the American people." What she said! Hear her! "I condemn a Republican Fascist just as much as I condemn a Democrat Communist” And that is exactly what Trump is: a fucking fascist. “It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques—techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.” So true. Today's closest analog to Smith in the Republican Party is Liz Cheney. And I'm no fan of her old man. But I do admire her standing up for what is right. Adam Kinzinger is also a good man. I wish he was not leaving Congress. I wish he could win a Republican primary. The fact that he can't, and Cheyne may not either, is a serious indictment of the GOP and its voters.

([dailykos.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 2, 2022:

How come I log on and find this post one time, and then log off and when I log on again I can't find it? Weird!

"Want to dance naked with me after dark?" he asked.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 2, 2022:

I believe he is what, in an earlier time, would have been called a "masher." 😂

This should be the preaching

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 2, 2022:

Nice graphic! You do that yourself?

([dailykos.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 2, 2022:

Ya'll know I been saying it. And it isn't just their anti-gun control stance the Republicans are wrong on. It's also reversing Roe, falsely accusing election fraud, climate science denial, inaction in the face of ecological catastrophe, voter suppression, book banning, anti-CRT, anti-LGBT, anti-BLM, anti-immigrant, anti-semitic, anti-democratic ideology, and belief in idiotic conspiracy theories. That's what Republicans are all about.

I stated 10 years ago that we could have a shooting damn near every day in this god infested ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Jun 1, 2022:

You called it homie. Do you have to be so right all the time? Damn.

So next week I'm picking up a canvassed reproduction of "The Starry Night" by Van Gogh.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 31, 2022:

One of my favorites 😍

Your Local Epidemiologist COVID State of Affairs: May 31

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 31, 2022:

Interesting info. (e.g. "unvaccinated people had 17 times higher risk of dying in March and April 2022..." Thanks for the update.

Useless Jesus

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 31, 2022:

I have heard of studies indicating that sick people in hospital do worse, or have worse health outcomes, when they know that people are praying for them. We can speculate on why that might be the case, but one things seems clear: prayer does not cure disease. That being said, the language in this meme is a little jarring to me. I get that the joke sort of depends on the shock value, and it's not that I disagree with the premise. Jesus is not going to cure leukemia. At the same time, I don't think open hostility to Jesus the icon moves us forward in any way. I think the Christian institutions certainly deserve criticism, but even then, it should be measured and rational, and not overly emotional and hostile. IMHO

How many children is Congress prepared to sacrifice on the altar of its own ego before it enacts ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 30, 2022:

I'd like to see a modification in the wording before I vote. Instead of "Congress," it should be "Congressional Republicans," or "Republicans in Congress." If it was up to the Democrats alone, it would already be done!

Do you think this message will offend men on Fitness Singles?

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 30, 2022:

The thing is, you can put a lot if effort into crafting the perfect message and get no response at all. You begin to think you're wasting your time. So your icebreakers get shorter and more workaday.

Students protest against Seattle university's ban on hiring LGBTQ employees : NPR

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 30, 2022:

Here's a shining example of the teachers needing to learn from the students! 😂

A little Spinoza for your Memorial Day from Will Durant’s “The Story of Philosophy” ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 30, 2022:

Nominally Christian men (and women) do certainly "quarrel with...rancorous animosity, and display daily toward one another...bitter hatred..." Hence their obsession with guns. I'm pretty sure Jesus would not approve. 😂

Rocks: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Web Exclusive) - YouTube

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 30, 2022:

As a geologist I have to give this video my unqualified stamp of approval. Not that I'm not qualified, because I definitely am, but that my stamp of approval is at 100% strength, undiluted, without equivocation, which means if it were an alcoholic drink it would be 200 proof, which is not the kind of proof that scientists require in order to accept s hypothesis. In fact, scientists really try to avoid using the word "proof" because it implies that the case is closed, which it never is, because the nature of science is to always leave the door open a crack in case new, compelling evidence is unearthed, requiring the scientist to either modify or discard the hypothesis or theory. And geologists are scientists, which qualifies me to give this video my unqualified endorsement. 😂

One of the channels on YouTube I really like is The Clergy Project.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 30, 2022:

The guy is very smart and articulate (and funny!). Possibly his best line: "Christianity is a cult of human sacrifice." Also liked the idea of the lights coming on with the loss of faith (as opposed to a candle being blown out).

The Roman Catholic Church saw fit to canonize the torturer and murderer known as Mother Terese of ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 29, 2022:

I have read all the comments and links in this post and wind up pretty much where I was before. That is, Theresa was no saint, but neither was she a monster. She's somewhere in the middle, and deeply flawed. Maybe even vindictive. Certainly wrongheaded when is comes to abortion and contraception. But that's pretty much the whole Catholic Church. Did she withhold proper care from people on purpose? Or did she do the best she could in a difficult situation? I don't know. I think it's worth getting to the bottom of it, but until a definitive study is done, witnesses are deposed, and all the facts are laid out I am going to remain agnostic. Besides, this is all rapidly disappearing in the rear view mirror. We have bigger fish to fry right now. Like how to avoid climate catastrophe, or civil war in the USA, or global nuclear war.

Firearms were the leading cause of death in children in 2020, researchers say : NPR

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 29, 2022:

This is completely avoidable! No other developed country has as many shootings. And no other developed country has as easy access to guns. The NRA, the gun lobby, the gun manufacturers, and the politicians in their pocket are as responsible for the mass shooting victims as the shooters themselves.

Reading so much on this site, I have become interested in why a culture of fear and hate seems to be...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 29, 2022:

I don't know if this "cycle of fear" applies to ALL Christian sects. I rather doubt it. There is quite a bit of diversity there. (By some estimates, upwards of 40,000 different sects.) But it does seem to be a prominent characteristic in Evangelical Christianity. A giveaway is in the language that they use, e.g. if you "accept Jesus as your savior," being "saved." Saved from what? From eternal damnation. From spending eternity in Hell. That sort of thing. Blah blah blah. 😂

The Founding Father That Wanted the Constitution to Change Every 20 Years | Synonym

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 28, 2022:

The whole idea of "originalism" in constitutional law is deeply flawed. Times change, conditions differ, and society has to adapt in order to survive. It's rather like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, who famously said you have to run as fast as you can just to stay in place. Thomas Jefferson was indeed a forward-looking man.

Trump tried to kick people out of office and face-planted.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 28, 2022:

Cracks are appearing in the facade; more people are noticing that the emperor has no clothes. And the Select Committee's public hearings have not even begun yet! Stay tuned! We may yet see the dam break.

The response of the NRA to the Texas school shooting is nothing short of irrationality moral ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 28, 2022:

I agree with most if what you say but the last word I heard was that the Uvalde shooter was not confronted outside the school, and that he entered completely unchallenged through an unlocked door.

Question : Is something morally wrong, reprehensible, because individuals , or a whole society, ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 28, 2022:

When you say "universally accepted," does that include the slaves themselves? Or are we just talking about the non-slave part of the population? Notwithstanding that bit of ambiguity, I tend to think that morality is, to a certain extent, relative, and judgements upon it rather arbitrary.

My friend and I were discussing music with a group of young people when I mentioned Roger Daltrey.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 28, 2022:

Who's on first? 😂

In front of the White House today

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 28, 2022:

Yup, the wealth gap is large and continues to grow. Especially with Trump's huge (yuge) tax break for the rich. It's disgusting.

Concussions with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Leonard Marshall, & Heather Berlin

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 28, 2022:

I love NDGT! 😎👍 The NFL needs to step up and start protecting players from CTE with rule changes and better equipment, and health insurance in retirement. The game itself needs to fundamentally change. Even better, fade into history.

The refusal of the NRA to acknowledge its part in the mass murder of children in the U$A merely ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 28, 2022:

Yup, I agree 100%. The outfit should be permanently shut down. Its assets should be distributed to the families of the victims of gun violence. It was once à reasonable organization mostly concerned with gun safety education. Most of the members were sportsmen, women, and children. Now its a political organization that feeds red meat to people in the thrall of wacko conspiracy theories.

In order to perform marriages in my state, I am a minister of the "Church of Spiritual Humanism.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 27, 2022:

I like! 😎👍👍

Arizona lawmaker Rick Gray: Atheism caused the shooting in Uvalde

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 27, 2022:

Arizona State Senator Rick Gray is obviously an ignorant SOB.

Southern Baptist leaders release once-secret list of accused abusers | nbcnews.com

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 27, 2022:

Yikes. What an ugly stain. Now watch their membership ignore it.

Letters From An American 05/26/2022

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 27, 2022:

The real Marlborough Man may well have been black. 😂

Christian predator Josh Duggar sentenced to over 12 years in federal prison

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 26, 2022:

Jesus may forgive him, and I might too...AFTER he has paid his debt to society.

It is so evident, Beto and most Americans are furious over the killing of people, while the the ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 26, 2022:

Go Beto! ✊ That's what we need! Direct confrontation! Give 'em hell!

It is so evident, Beto and most Americans are furious over the killing of people, while the the ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 26, 2022:

Go Beto! ✊

Letters From An American 05/25/2022

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 26, 2022:

Bingo! 🎯 A very accurate explanation for how we got here. One thing I would add: it's not just capitalism that the right has been touting; it's UNREGULATED capitalism they want. They want corporations to be able to lay waste to the Earth with impunity. They don't care if they leave nothing for future generations; they want maximum profit now. So they foul the air, despoil the land, pollute the water, all the while privatizing the profits while the public picks up the tab for their mess. They are nominally against the welfare state, want to dismantle the social safety net, such as it is. That is, with the exception of corporate welfare. It's just fine for huge corporations making obscene profits to suck the government tit. The fossil fuel industry receives tens of billions in subsidies from Uncle Sugar every year. Meanwhile, student debt skyrockets. I'm so glad she mentioned Rush Limpdick, that "conservative" scourge whose award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom was a slap in the face felt around the country. It still stings, and it's little consolation that the son of a bitch is rotting in his grave. The damage is done. With his specious arguments demonizing the welfare state, the "dangerous" liberal elites, and the unwashed hordes of immigrants, he ginned up fear better than Orson Welles with his seminal broadcast of the radio play, War of the Worlds. Limbaugh, with help from that raging demagogue Newtie Gingrich and smooth operator Grover Norquist, got every rancher, farmer, construction worker, and oil man running for his gun. Meanwhile the Supreme Court gave the green light to corporations to flood the political system with dark money. And it's not like conservatives didn't already have the huge advantages of an electoral college AND a Senate designed at first to keep slavery in place and now serves to maintain minority rule. The Dakotas, with only 1.5 million people, are represented by four senators, while California, with 40 million people, only gets two. And so the Senate is where bill go to die. And that is exactly what the right wants: for government to be as absolutely ineffective as they can make it. Then they can say, "Look! Government doesn't work!" The self-fulfilling prophesy; the true lie. Ronald Reagan famously said the scariest words he ever heard were, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." And 50 years later we stand at the edge of the anarchic abyss. The fools don't realize they better be careful what they wish for. The Pandora's box they are opening is full of unpleasant surprises. They may succeed in dismantling the regulatory state, but they, we all, will literally reap the whirlwind. We have already fought one Civil War. We may fight another, this time on a battlefield where climate change-induced crop failure...

Spirituality is emotionality.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 26, 2022:

...and financial buoyancy 😂

10 Reasons Why Christianity Is Declining—and Atheism Is Growing - Soapboxie

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 25, 2022:

Joseph Cambell wrote, "Myth basically serves four functions. The first is the mystical function,... realizing what a wonder the universe is, and what a wonder you are, and experiencing awe before this mystery.... The second is a cosmological dimension, the dimension with which science is concerned – showing you what shape the universe is, but showing it in such a way that the mystery again comes through.... The third function is the sociological one – supporting and validating a certain social order.... It is the sociological function of myth that has taken over in our world – and it is out of date.... But there is a fourth function of myth, and this is the one that I think everyone must try today to relate to – and that is the pedagogical function, of how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances." -- Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth In short, religious myths have largely been supplanted or made irrelevant by advances in science and civil society. The disappearance of religious belief is part of a natural progression. It's progress! 🙂

"Ukrainian presidential advisor Alexey Arestovich resorted to obscene language to criticize those in...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 25, 2022:

I agree with Ukranian presidential advisor Alexey Arestovich. Russia should not be rewarded for her bad behavior by gaining territory. Don't give Putin an inch. Like the shitty president under whom he served (Richard Nixon), Henry Kissinger is an asshole.

Although, i'm an agnostic i'm kinda leaning towards God as a malicious prankster.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 25, 2022:

The trickster god motif is as old a Methuselah. Older, in fact 😂

Your Local Epidemiologist: A note... and Q&A boosters for 5-11 year olds

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 25, 2022:

Very informative and relevant post! Thank you! 🤓

It's not a perfect rule, but it's as close as we've gotten.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 25, 2022:

"The Jewish Talmud tells of Rabbi Hillel who lived around the time of Jesus. A pagan came to Rabbi Hillel saying that he would convert to Judaism if Hillel could teach him the whole of the Torah while standing on one foot. Rabbi Hillel replied to the pagan, “What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and study it.”" 😎

"At work they are doing a game where they guess our baby pics before age 3," my daughter said.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 24, 2022:

Cute! 🙂❤️

I am not a Conservative (at least not in the American meaning of this word), but I have to ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 24, 2022:

That is a very dark (and in certain instances, accurate) view of idealism and values. Before I say more I would make a tiny modification to the thesis "values and ideals are tools to gain and to maintain power." In place of the word "tools," I would use the term "stepping stones." I make this modification because those who use ideals and values only to propel themselves upward into positions of power tread upon those values, sully them with their muddy feet, bastardize them, and pervert them. Power corrupts not only the powerful, but also everyone and everything it touches. I'm sure that George Washington appreciated this when he voluntarily relinquished power even though many of his admirers wished he would not. And in so doing, our first president vested power back in the ideals and values that birthed a nation. Washington led by example, and made it possible for a vast, interesting, and worthy experiment to be carried out, with no fixed end date. All we have to do to end the experiment is allow shallow, venal, self-interested, misanthropic, and mediocre people to distract us with fear and loathing of our fellows while they seize power for themselves. Or we can keep the experiment going by using the power of our values and ideals, and the institutions we have created to preserve them, to fight rot and corruption, and hold criminals accountable. It only takes a little faith. Well, maybe a lot. But it's not like we haven't been here before.

[lexfridman.com] Big picture of Russia and Oliver Stone.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 24, 2022:

I didn't hear every word of it because I fell asleep near the end. But I heard enough to know that Oliver Stone is ready to give Vlad the Invader a pass for his genocidal project in Ukraine because....why? He interviewed the vampire and found him to be "balanced." I found most of what Stone said rather thin and unconvincing; a lot like his shitty movie on JFK.

Southern Baptist Convention leaders mishandled sexual abuse allegations, report says - CNN

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 23, 2022:

I wonder how Q Anon managed to get Christian churches confused with the federal government. It's pretty obvious where the pedophiles are.

As absurd as the whole concept of the "Trinity" appears, I thought one way to maybe make it somewhat...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 23, 2022:

I'm sure that Tyson and Nye are honored to be in company with Sagan, but I doubt that any of them would approve of their deification, even in jest.

Now they say science and religion are the same

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 23, 2022:

Who says science and religion are the same?

Small Step for Man, Giant Step for the Mankind

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 23, 2022:

We are moving in that direction (away from religion and toward free thinking), but our progress is agonizingly slow.

[ancient-origins.net] The killer rabbit from the holy grail movie had historical connections

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 22, 2022:

Wow, I never knew! Cool 😎

Just learned of the death of an iconic American retailer.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 22, 2022:

I can't think of any cucumber jokes, even though my mind is running like a pickle seeder.

Well I'm sure this completely ruined her day Nancy Pelosi denied Holy Communion by San Francisco ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 22, 2022:

If I know Nancy she will stick to her guns.

I appreciate the responses to my latest blog concerning my promotion of my blog site at agnosic.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 22, 2022:

You're alright with me buddy. Congratulations on your liberation, btw.

Wow.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 22, 2022:

Is this a put-on? What are you, five? 😂

Who remembers "The George Carlin Show?" [youtu.be]

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 22, 2022:

I didn't know there was one. Damn! What did I miss? Around the time that show aired my family lived waaaay out in the boondocks. Our telephone was on a party line (one line shared by multiple parties, each with their own ring; any of the other parties could listen in on your calls), and our TV only got one channel (6). The bus ride to school was 15 miles up a winding mountain road, and took over an hour each way because of all the stops.

Some are predisposed to believing in superstitions, blind faith and ignorance

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 22, 2022:

That sounds about right. The term of art is "confirmation bias."

Nowadays it is fashionable to constantly pillory white people and to put Western culture in the ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 22, 2022:

Yes, there is criticism of white people. And it is well deserved. The indigenous people of North America were the only people who lived sustainably on this continent. And while slavery and genocide have been practiced by many cultures, Europeans did these things on a larger scale, and through colonization, exported their culture to the four corners of the globe. You obviously feel the criticism of white culture acutely. I think you should not worry about it too much. Self criticism is, as you pointed out, an important part of the culture. The culture can survive it. In fact, I suspect that it (self criticism) is a key to the continued flourishing of the human civilization that white culture has helped to build. Right now we stand at a crossroads. This wonderful civilization that we have built with energy from fossil fuels is in grave danger of collapse. Not today or next week, but within only a few generations we could see this planet become largely uninhabitable. A mass extinction of animal species is already underway Burning fossil fuels is rapidly heating up the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. And the oceans are becoming more acidic. We are rapidly approaching natural tipping points in the climate system which, if crossed, will accelerate the warming beyond any possibility of reversing it. If we fail to change course in time, if civilization collapses, if we drive ourselves to extinction, it will be on the heads of the white men who own and operate the fossil fuel industry, the mostly white men who the fossil fuel industry hires to lobby Congress for lax regulation of their industry, the mostly white congresspeople and presidents who have failed to enact stricter laws regulating fossil fuels and failed to fund the technological transition necessary to avert climate catastrophe, and the mostly white American electorate that has failed to see through the lies and obfuscations of the fossil fuel industry as represented by the think tanks (disinformation mills) they fund. We are hurtling towards a cliff with our foot on the accelerater. If we go over, it will be on the people most responsible for inventing, building out, using the fossil fuel infrastructure, i.e. white people. I say now is not the time to suspend criticism. Let's see civilization saved first. Then we can celebrate our accomplishments.

Poll Reveals American Church Membership Is At An All-Time Low

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 21, 2022:

This is good goddamn news! 😂

17 Sex Tricks Men Learn From Porn That Women Wish We Could Wipe From Your Brain

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 21, 2022:

Points well taken. Especially relevant in the age of the "smart" phone.

Vadim Shishimarin's commanding officer needs to be captured, tried, convicted and punished, which ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 21, 2022:

Shishimarin is just a kid. What a waste.

Now what?

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 21, 2022:

It's been almost 16 months since the J6 insurrection, and it still feels raw, like it was yesterday. Trump continues to claim that he won the election. In a few days the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection will begin to hold public hearings. Adam Schiff and others on the Committee have asserted that there is ample evidence that Trump is guilty of attempting to defraud the United States. And we have recently learned that the Justice Department has empaneled a grand jury and has been quietly investigating Trump and his minions. Tension is rising as expectations of bombshell revelations rise. Meanwhile, a white supremacist with an AR15 just murdered ten black people in Buffalo. The mid-terms are still 5 months away and I'm already exhausted.

What do you expect to happen in the upcoming election in terms of being conducted fairly?

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 21, 2022:

With all the voter suppression laws that have recently been passed around the country, I don't see how any national election can be fair.

Democrat waited for bicyclist. Republican aggressively cut me off.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 20, 2022:

Par for the course, unfortunately.

But we are now civilized

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 19, 2022:

Funny that he lumps two legitimate natural sciences and a natural biological function together with supernatural nonsense. What a gibbering idiot. Sigh.

Is it ok to affirm someone's untrue beliefs?

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 19, 2022:

Q: What if you were talking with an acquaintance and they started telling you that the Earth is 6000 years old? Would you politely tell them that their belief is wrong - possibly bringing up evidence such as fossils and DNA? A: Yes Q: What if they insisted that you affirm that their belief in a young Earth was true? A: They would go away frustrated Q: What would you do if they were your employer? What if they made such affirmation a requirement of you being employed there? A: If it was a government employer, I would get the ACLU to file 1st Amendment law suit on my behalf. If it was a private employer, I might quit, but maybe not. If they harassed me at work I would file a hostile workplace lawsuit. Q: Have you ever felt that you had to affirm something you didn't believe in yourself? What was it? What did you do? A: Not that I recall

WV school district finally settles case involving Bible indoctrination classes

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 19, 2022:

West Virginia: the state that gave us that fossil-fuel magnate, the Republican Senator who calls himself a Democrat, Mr. Joe Manchin!

Judge halts Christian-only prayer at Parkersburg (WV) City Council meetings

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 19, 2022:

It's about time! Hooray for FFRF!

How much do you agree with this assertion?

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 19, 2022:

The proposition is quite an oversimplification.

Anyone else lost your sense of taste or smell from COVID-19?

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 19, 2022:

Not so far. Don't think I have been infected.

In the middle of a severe baby formula shortage, many have suggested mothers should simply switch to...

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 18, 2022:

All the things that could help us avoid undue reliance on a manufacturing supply chain, such as paid parental leave, free lactation consultants and breastfeeding education, pumping rooms and the right to breastfeed in public to encourage more mothers to breastfeed, these things have all been proposed by Democrats and shot down by Republicans. Just sayin.

Abortion is an Atheist issue.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 18, 2022:

Actually, I think to the extent abortion is an issue, it's a religious issue. It's believers in a mythical sky daddy, with their crazy notions of "ensoulment" who are sticking their noses into what is essentially a private matter.

You can get out': Lyft driver stands up against passengers' racist comments.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 18, 2022:

What the woman said was indeed inappropriate, but I could see most people shrugging it off and just going on with business as usual. What is remarkable is the driver's sensitivity to that ugliness and his willingness to call it out. And then, sealing the deal, you can hear the guy off camera call the driver a "n****r lover." I think the last time I heard anyone utter that phrase I was in junior high, nearly 50 years ago. Thanks to assholes like the Done Cheato, what was once on the fringe has now become mainstream. On his cable TV show, Fox News' Tucker Carlson has spoken of the mythical "great replacement" of white people by people of color over 400 times. You can draw a straight line from Trump and Fox News to the recent massacre of black folks in Buffalo. Trump, Carlson, and his boss, Rupert Murdoch, all have blood on their hands.

Mrs Betty Bowers on abortion, God & Jesus.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 17, 2022:

A 40% miscarriage rate may be a low estimate.

I guess to a conspiracy theorist, you'd have to be "intelligent" to know how doors work.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 17, 2022:

The idea that Mars is a viable option for colonization is utter rubbish.

You understood wrong all along

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 17, 2022:

Silent about what? About abortion, yes.

Lying smart is a skill, and humans failed

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 17, 2022:

I agree with the proposition. The probability that it was the other way around is vanishingly small.

A school board member justified bigotry with Jesus. This mom wasn't having it.

Flyingsaucesir comments on May 17, 2022:

To the student and parent who spoke up, I say right on!