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.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@LiterateHiker What are the questions on your pop quiz?

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

Trajan61 comments on May 29, 2022:

The Washington establishment people like Joe Biden and the Clinton’s are stoking fear. They hated Trump because they were afraid he was going to mess up their party.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@KKGator I second that emotion!

Ragged Glory

HippieChick58 comments on May 30, 2022:

America is a gd gun.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

It's a lot of things. It's complicated.

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

skado comments on May 30, 2022:

Beliefs are built on a substructure of unconscious assumption. It’s possible to flip the switch of dichotomy and still be as alienated from reality as before. As long as the unconscious assumption is that religious texts were meant to be understood literally, the rejection of the text ( ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@skado When the church officials are the ones who are pushing the false interpretation, how do you separate the chicken from the gumbo?

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).

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@misstuffy Oh yeah! George rocks! And I'm speaking as geologist and an agnostic! 😂

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

skado comments on May 30, 2022:

Beliefs are built on a substructure of unconscious assumption. It’s possible to flip the switch of dichotomy and still be as alienated from reality as before. As long as the unconscious assumption is that religious texts were meant to be understood literally, the rejection of the text ( ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

Yes, in other words, maybe the text was never meant to be taken literally. Maybe there is some value in non-literal interpretations. Which, in the case of the Bible, I think there are. However, as Chris Hitchens aptly pointed out, religion poisons everything in great part because of inappropriate literal interpretations of scripture.

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

Trajan61 comments on May 29, 2022:

The Washington establishment people like Joe Biden and the Clinton’s are stoking fear. They hated Trump because they were afraid he was going to mess up their party.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@FrayedBear There is no doubt that America has done some very stupid and destructive things. But at least we are free to criticize ourselves, our leaders, and our government. We have a mechanism for self-improvement. Not so in Putin's Russia! Anyway, two wrongs do not make a right. Putin's project in Ukraine is definitely a wrong. He went too far this time. I feel for those poor kids Putin conscripted to carry out his maniacal genocide as much as its victims. But the project is very expensive in rubles as well as lives. Hopefully Putin will go broke soon.

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

Trajan61 comments on May 29, 2022:

The Washington establishment people like Joe Biden and the Clinton’s are stoking fear. They hated Trump because they were afraid he was going to mess up their party.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@FrayedBear Sounds like a thinly-veiled threat to me. Well I don't think Putin wants Armageddon any more than we do. There is certainly nothing to be gained by it. And democracy in Europe and America is worth preserving. And we all know that if you don't stand up to a bully he will never quit pushing, and taking, and inflicting himself on the innocent.

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

Matias comments on May 29, 2022:

Torturer and murderer ? Never heard about it... Rumours or evidence ?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@Matias Point well taken. But if you read my comment you know I am not exactly jumping on any bandwagons here.

Personal tragedy, national disgrace, international embarrassment.

Garban comments on May 29, 2022:

Luckily I haven’t been doing international travel for the past 8 years. I’d probably be ostracized, or worse, if I told them the truth that I lived in Florida. Can I tell people I’m Canadian?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@FrayedBear Me too. I read Daniel Ellsberg's book, btw. We are all lucky to be here. We dodged some bullets for sure.

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

BD66 comments on May 29, 2022:

It's the US Media. They generate their profits by stoking anger and hatred.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 30, 2022:

@Trajan61 Hunter's laptop, Hillary's emails, blah, blah, blah. If there was really something there then we would probably have heard SOMETHING definitive. But no, just the same old "Lock her up" refrain from the right. But with Trump and Russia there actually was something there. The Mueller Report detailed many connections/contacts between Russian operatives and the Trump Campaign, but the conversations were all private and those involved lied under oath. Rodger Stone was convicted of perjury and witness tampering, then conveniently pardoned by the Done Cheato. The Report also detailed ten instances of obstruction of justice by Done Cheato himself, and he would have been indicted if not for a Justice Department white paper opining that a sitting president cannot be indicted. By the way, Trump and Kushner and others used private email accounts and cell phones for official US business all the time, and Trump, when he lost re-election, stole 15 boxes of official documents and secreted them away at Mar-a-Lago. In the boxes were many documents labelled Top Secret. Then, we hear that both Kushner and Minuchin secured huge (YUGE) funding from their good buddy MBS of Saudi Arabia, a very generous quid pro quo for the Cheato Administration having looked the other way when MBS murdered a Washington Post journalist and for supporting Saudi Arabia militarily in the war in Yemen. Done Cheato's Administration was not only the most incompetent, but also the most blatantly venal pack of hounds to ever occupy the White House. Luckily, there were a few people who were not total brown nosers and put the brakes on some of His Majesty's more inane ideas (like building a moat at the foot of the would-be border wall, and filling it with snakes and aligators 😂), or deploying the US Army, with orders to shoot to kill) against Americans protesting in the streets. Jesus, don't get me started. The sheer volume of Cheato's misdeeds is staggering; it boggles the mind. But that's all part of his MO: keep the outrages coming so fast that the public cannot possibly keep up with it all, hoping they will just throw up their hands and give up. It almost worked. But a convincing majority of voters (7 million +) understood the danger he posed and fired his dumb ass. And that is the America that I love and admire. ✊

I'm with her.

rainmanjr comments on May 29, 2022:

I'm looking forward to that vote, this week, and hope every single Con Senator votes no. This, along with the SCOTUS decision, might hopefully inspire some liberal turnout. We had 40 people at today's Primary early voting. 151 yesterday.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

Fingers 🤞 crossed

This American life:

HippieChick58 comments on May 29, 2022:

Especially in Texas, America is a gun.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

We need to load it with love instead of lead.

How many have to die?

HippieChick58 comments on May 29, 2022:

It isn't HOW MANY, it is WHO is dying. Let the child of a politician get shot and you'll see all sorts of weeping and wailing, AND change.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

Gabby Gifford survived to tell about her attack. How many years ago was that? What has been done in that time?

How is it this is a even political issue?

HippieChick58 comments on May 29, 2022:

Common sense is very uncommon, especially amongst politicians.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

The Republicans are showing a great genius for self dealing.

Fact: a gun in the home is much more likely to harm someone who lives there than an intruder.

HippieChick58 comments on May 29, 2022:

I don't have a gun in my home. I'm fairly sure I wouldn't freeze up based on my past training, but there are small children in my house from time to time and the risk of them finding anything hidden like a gun goes up every year as they get older and quicker. I have not had a gun in my home since my...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

Very understandable. 😎👍

Personal tragedy, national disgrace, international embarrassment.

Garban comments on May 29, 2022:

Luckily I haven’t been doing international travel for the past 8 years. I’d probably be ostracized, or worse, if I told them the truth that I lived in Florida. Can I tell people I’m Canadian?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

At least you are being nice to the environment. Jet planes have he biggest carbon footprint per passenger mile.

Personal tragedy, national disgrace, international embarrassment.

HippieChick58 comments on May 29, 2022:

I have an adult child considering moving to the Netherlands. And of course the two babies will go with her. I don't blame her, I'm trying to figure out how I could go. I don't see that happening.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

I hope you all can find a way to stay close.

This pretty much says it all. What else do you need to know?

HippieChick58 comments on May 29, 2022:

And sadly they don't choose the ones that don't have money.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

They have a mantra they repeat endlessly: me me me me me me me...

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

KKGator comments on May 29, 2022:

Rational thinking isn't an American trait. At least not that I've seen.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

@KKGator Yes they feed on it...its like candy, except it rots your brain not your teeth.

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

Matias comments on May 29, 2022:

Torturer and murderer ? Never heard about it... Rumours or evidence ?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

I've been hearing about it for years.

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

KKGator comments on May 29, 2022:

Rational thinking isn't an American trait. At least not that I've seen.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

@KKGator I totally agree that too many people believe the lies. Let's put a number on it. Recent reporting says it's ¾ of Republicans. So that's somewhere south of 50 million, in a country of 330 million. And they're the most mercurial, hot-headed, and well-armed civilians in society. So this isn't just a disgusting rash of stupidity, but a decidedly dangerous one too. It looks like we may be faced with the choice of either successfully disabusing them of their wacko notions or going to war with them. I soooo hope we can manage to do the former.

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

BD66 comments on May 29, 2022:

It's the US Media. They generate their profits by stoking anger and hatred.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

@BD66 Oh nice! And what is your method of prognostication? Crystal ball? Taroh cards? Ouija board? Or are you just pulling this out of your butt?

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

BD66 comments on May 29, 2022:

It's the US Media. They generate their profits by stoking anger and hatred.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

@BD66 Yes but lately the murder rate has been going up. And sharply up. But is that the main source of fear in America? No. The main fear today, at least among white Republicans, is fear of immigrants, fear of being "replaced." It's a ridiculous fear. It's a manufactured fear. But it's the biggie. It's also a distraction from things that we should really worry about, like fascism, theocracy, climate change...

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

BD66 comments on May 29, 2022:

It's the US Media. They generate their profits by stoking anger and hatred.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

You paint with a broad brush. Not all the media is bad. But there is really a lot of bad stuff to report on. And it should be reported. If we just ignore bad stuff then it just gets worse. So we have to grapple with it. Life is not all butterflies, moonbeams, and fairy tales. We have nothing to fear from straight, factual reporting. It's the lies that are pavkaged to look light factual reporting thst we have to worry about. The kind of stuff we get from Fox News, Newsmax, One America News, and of course the fulminating demagogues like Alex Jones and Rush Limbaugh (rot his wicked tongue).

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

Trajan61 comments on May 29, 2022:

The Washington establishment people like Joe Biden and the Clinton’s are stoking fear. They hated Trump because they were afraid he was going to mess up their party.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

Among the many many norms that Trump broke was the peaceful transition of power. Now we are in a much more dangerous situation than if Trump had never held office. There was a malignant strain that was mostly tamped down, and Trump let it out of the box, gave it wings.

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

KKGator comments on May 29, 2022:

Rational thinking isn't an American trait. At least not that I've seen.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

I know what you're saying: it's a screwed-up country. But there are plenty of rational people here. You and me, and most of the folks on this site, for instance. Let's not paint woth too broad a brush.

This is exactly what the gun nuts want:

HippieChick58 comments on May 28, 2022:

I have handled an AR15. I was active duty Army for 6 years. I'd hate to see a bunch of teenagers with fully automatic weapons. That would be a nightmare scenario. It was bad enough for Drill Sergeants with recruits.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

@CourtJester Without getting too technical, "Every M16 is an AR15, but not all AR15s are an M16."

From our Screwed-up Priorities Department:

CourtJester comments on May 29, 2022:

But you’ll cry over Row vs Wade because you can’t kill babies……

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

An embryo is not a baby.

This is exactly what the gun nuts want:

HippieChick58 comments on May 28, 2022:

I have handled an AR15. I was active duty Army for 6 years. I'd hate to see a bunch of teenagers with fully automatic weapons. That would be a nightmare scenario. It was bad enough for Drill Sergeants with recruits.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 29, 2022:

@CourtJester AR15 is essentially the same as M16 with the main difference being fully automatic capability in the M16.

Amid all the carnage and tears at home, let's not take our eyes off the unfolding atrocities in ...

yvilletom comments on May 28, 2022:

@Flyingsaucesir I want to know how to proceed. Are you an anti-semite?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@yvilletom I will cop to being anti-religion in a general, in an equal opportunity kind of way 😂

Amid all the carnage and tears at home, let's not take our eyes off the unfolding atrocities in ...

yvilletom comments on May 28, 2022:

@Flyingsaucesir I want to know how to proceed. Are you an anti-semite?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

Why?

Amid all the carnage and tears at home, let's not take our eyes off the unfolding atrocities in ...

yvilletom comments on May 28, 2022:

@Flyingsaucesir I want to know how to proceed. Are you an anti-semite?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@yvilletom No! 😂

Amid all the carnage and tears at home, let's not take our eyes off the unfolding atrocities in ...

AnneWimsey comments on May 28, 2022:

Kissinger and his outlook have been in the back of the pack for decades....do you think somehow his ideas/actions could now be changed or reversed? Time to start examining/changing/ influencing what is going on Now, methinks

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

I only brought it up because he was widely quoted this week as saying that Ukraine should agree to give up territory to Putin to bring an end to the conflict. I don't know why he thinks appeasement will do anything but increase the vampire's thirst for blood.

Amid all the carnage and tears at home, let's not take our eyes off the unfolding atrocities in ...

yvilletom comments on May 28, 2022:

@Flyingsaucesir I want to know how to proceed. Are you an anti-semite?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

WTF?

From our Screwed-up Priorities Department:

HippieChick58 comments on May 28, 2022:

Republicans seem to love their guns more than their kids. Since this recent shooting was in Texas where men are judged by the size of their guns, it will be morbidly interesting to see if any of the slain children had parents who were gun nuts. And if so, if this changes them. I wouldn't wish this ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@HippieChick58 "somedays I have to limit my intake of news reports to maintain my sanity." I hear that! 😵‍💫

From our Shocking Disconnect Department:

HippieChick58 comments on May 28, 2022:

Our Republican "leaders" are a threat to the lives of many.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

I'm glad you put that word in quotes, 'cause those bastards are anything but.

Filthy rich Moscow Mitch, bought by the gun lobby without a hitch, and school kids end up face down ...

HippieChick58 comments on May 28, 2022:

Mitch the b--ch is why we need term limits.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

One of the reasons, that's for sure!

Sick, phony sanctimony:

HippieChick58 comments on May 28, 2022:

Love the depiction of blood on their hands.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

It could be a bit redder...

From our Screwed-up Priorities Department:

HippieChick58 comments on May 28, 2022:

Republicans seem to love their guns more than their kids. Since this recent shooting was in Texas where men are judged by the size of their guns, it will be morbidly interesting to see if any of the slain children had parents who were gun nuts. And if so, if this changes them. I wouldn't wish this ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

Uvalde is a largely working-class Hispanic community. They mostly don't have the money to blow on a gun collection... they're try to pay the rent and put food on the table.

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 ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@Charlene Not excusing it, but was it was a different time.

The cartoonist does not identify the individual(s) and/or organization(s) who are spewing the ...

rainmanjr comments on May 28, 2022:

How's this?

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

Yup, that's one!

The cartoonist does not identify the individual(s) and/or organization(s) who are spewing the ...

HippieChick58 comments on May 28, 2022:

Fer sure! Call out the BS for what it is, label it, and defeat it.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

Name that demagogue!

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

silverotter11 comments on May 28, 2022:

Makes me wonder if these small head traumas in our kids who played football is now impacting our society today.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

CTE has been found in high school players. As for violence in society, that is mostly an artifact of our culture. We are a warlike nation. Football is popular because Americans are morbidly fascinated with violence, and the game has many of the characteristics of war.

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

Normanbites comments on May 28, 2022:

I guess I'll be one of the few dissenters here. IMHO, the problem is with the FOOL, not the TOOL. Let's assume for a moment you could wave a wand banning all guns in the US. .... You still have a lot of whacka doos running around with a strong desire to kill. HOW have you solved anything? Next ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

The wacka doo's killing potential goes way up when you let him have a military style assault rifle.

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

Normanbites comments on May 28, 2022:

I guess I'll be one of the few dissenters here. IMHO, the problem is with the FOOL, not the TOOL. Let's assume for a moment you could wave a wand banning all guns in the US. .... You still have a lot of whacka doos running around with a strong desire to kill. HOW have you solved anything? Next ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@Barnie2years In California the waiting period to buy a gun is two weeks. And there's a background check.

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 ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@Barnie2years I was a member too once, long ago (mid to late 80s). No more.

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

linxminx comments on May 28, 2022:

"...greedy, ignorant, self-serving assholes." That pretty much describes corporate America.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin I would not even say the majority of Americans. After all, the majority kicked Trump out of office after only one term. Ok he never should have been elected in the first place, but at least they (we) finally figured it out. I think America has great potential for good. But we have a lot of skeletons in the closet, and demons to deal with. Perhaps too much emphasis on individual liberty, not enough on the common good. I think that can change, but the culture comes down from the top, and the elite class, by and large, demonstrates over and over that they don't care about the rest of us. Ronald Reagan started us on this path with his trickle-down economics, explosion of the military budget, and gutting of social programs. It has been mostly downhill with every Republican administration since.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

TomMcGiverin comments on May 25, 2022:

I have little doubt things will only get worse during the rest of my life, unless the masses wake up and start voting third party in fed elections to get us out of the corruption of the duopoly. And even then, if by some miracle, the majority of eligible voters did that, and managed to elect an ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin I can't argue with any of that. If we pull it off, it will be close. I'm just hoping to peel off enough independents and undecideds to squeak by.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

TomMcGiverin comments on May 25, 2022:

I have little doubt things will only get worse during the rest of my life, unless the masses wake up and start voting third party in fed elections to get us out of the corruption of the duopoly. And even then, if by some miracle, the majority of eligible voters did that, and managed to elect an ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 28, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin There gas been a shift in the party lately. Progressives are beating out more moderate primary candidates in many races. You can feel it in the air. Democrats are getting fired up. They're going to take it to the enemy, and take some scalps. The Republicans are vulnerable, because they have no platform and aren't for anything. They won't support gun regulation and they want to take away a constitutional right. All they have is the culture wars, and on that they're dead wrong too.

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on May 27, 2022:

Go figure--and I already vote democrat, not that it does much good in Missouri.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 deep sigh

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on May 27, 2022:

Go figure--and I already vote democrat, not that it does much good in Missouri.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 I never understood why they left his body lying in the street for so long.

The guy holding a Q Anon sign is out of frame because he tripped over his own shoelace.

Garban comments on May 27, 2022:

Maybe he tripped over his knuckles dragging the ground.😉

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

Neanderthal arms aren't that long. Must be Pan troglodytes.

The guy holding a Q Anon sign is out of frame because he tripped over his own shoelace.

HippieChick58 comments on May 27, 2022:

Yep, sad how the USA has dumbed down.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

Teaching high school over 20 years, I saw the levels of engagement, motivation, and discourse steadily decline. The deterioration exactly tracked the increase in ownership and sophistication of cell phones.

From our Role Reversal Department:

HippieChick58 comments on May 27, 2022:

I feel that very deeply. Glad my grands aren't in school yet.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

I bet you are. Scary times.

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on May 27, 2022:

Go figure--and I already vote democrat, not that it does much good in Missouri.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 When I think if MO I picture two things: the arch in St. Louis, and the riots in Ferguson.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

Trajan61 comments on May 26, 2022:

I’m sure it will get better after the republicans take over in 2022 and 2024.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Trajan61 You do realize, I hope, that there was a time when most people thought the Earth is flat. And a majority still believe in god(s). Just because a lot of people buy into a brain fart doesn't magically make it a good idea. It's still a stinker.

Arizona lawmaker Rick Gray: Atheism caused the shooting in Uvalde

racocn8 comments on May 27, 2022:

Perhaps someone can ask him to name an atheist. Any atheist, but preferably one that contributed to that or any other shooting.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

Yeah, let's see your evidence Rick!

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

Trajan61 comments on May 26, 2022:

I’m sure it will get better after the republicans take over in 2022 and 2024.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Trajan61 I KNOW there are a lot of people who think like you. That's what is so effing scary.

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

Dyl1983 comments on May 27, 2022:

You've got hiii-i-igh hopes. You've got hiii-i-igh hopes. You've got the hopes, that are higher than the skyyy-y-y hopes.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

Might as well think big, right?

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

TheMiddleWay comments on May 27, 2022:

I agree with everything you say but every time someone uses "common sense" in their argument, I shudder.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@TheMiddleWay Funny you should mention it. Look at this tag I just got from Trajan61. He was forecasting that a Republican will be elected president in '24 and then the economy will be better. when I asked where he is getting this, he replied, "Just common sense. The economy was definitely doing better under Trump than it is under Biden."

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

Trajan61 comments on May 26, 2022:

I’m sure it will get better after the republicans take over in 2022 and 2024.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Trajan61 You remind me of a cave man who is frightened of thunder, thinking that the gods are angry.

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on May 27, 2022:

Go figure--and I already vote democrat, not that it does much good in Missouri.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

Hopefully more of your neighbors will come around and follow your lead.

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

rainmanjr comments on May 27, 2022:

I advise everyone to teach their four year old children how to hold a pistol and, when they go to fish-barrel schools, arm them. Don’t let them attend the danger zone without possession of that pistol. Take them home and file a complaint against The District. I’d bet something gets done quicker....

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

I know you're kidding 😂

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

TheMiddleWay comments on May 27, 2022:

I agree with everything you say but every time someone uses "common sense" in their argument, I shudder.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@TheMiddleWay Oh yeah I feel you! They want to shut down debate way before they have heard all the facts. Probably because their processing power is maxed out. 😂

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

TheMiddleWay comments on May 27, 2022:

I agree with everything you say but every time someone uses "common sense" in their argument, I shudder.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@TheMiddleWay Who said that? It sounds like Mark Twain.😂

The vast majority of Americans (90%, according to some polls) are in favor of common sense gun laws.

TheMiddleWay comments on May 27, 2022:

I agree with everything you say but every time someone uses "common sense" in their argument, I shudder.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

Yeah it's usually some wacko conspiracy theory they're calling "common sense," right?

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

Trajan61 comments on May 26, 2022:

I’m sure it will get better after the republicans take over in 2022 and 2024.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Trajan61 Economies run on long cycles of years and decades, and are subject to global forces that no one man or administration can control. The best any president can do is nudge, and hope for the best. I think Biden is doing fine. Especially given the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Trajan61 Two things: First, "irregardless" is not a word in the English lexicon. The word you want here is "regardless." Second, Biden DID pick the best candidates for the job. Both are highly qualified; you could not ask for better in terms of education and experience. And they both are aligned with the ideals that Biden wants to promote in our government. As president, it is his prerogative to choose who he likes. And in this case he chose to make a symbolic gesture as well as fill a slot with a qualified person. He wanted girls and women to see that they can rightly aspire to these high offices. And he especially wanted black girls and women, a group that has been kept down for centuries, to know that there are no artificial limits being placed on them now. And really every American can look at this and say that this country is indeed great, that anybody can make it to the top if they have the grit and intelligence and really try. Biden's gesture is not racist. Just the opposite. It's all about freedom and equity.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 27, 2022:

@Trajan61 Yeah, why do you suppose no one was calling for some white men be chosen? Because that would not have been anything new! It was about time that some black women were chosen. It was symbolically important. Installing some white men would not have been just more of the same, when the times call for a change in the status quo.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

Trajan61 comments on May 26, 2022:

I’m sure it will get better after the republicans take over in 2022 and 2024.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Trajan61 What is your method of prognostication? Crystal ball? Taroh cards? Astrology? Or are you just pulling this out if your ass?

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Trajan61

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Trajan61 You have a very myopic view of recent history vis-a-vis race relations. For a ling time white antipathy towards blacks lay hidden beneath a thin veneer of respect and comity. Then Barak Obama was elected president, and what had been somewhat under wraps suddenly surged, like a lidded pot boiling over. Donald Trump emerged as a leader of the racist backlash when he loudly and persistently insisted that Obama was not a native-born American. Now with a leader with wide name recognition (and an internet rife with white nationalist propaganda), the racists ramped up their activity. Whenever an unarmed black man was killed by a white police officer, there were, predictably and understandably, street protests. White nationalists often showed up intent on disrupting the marches and beating up protesters. All the while, racist demagogues like Tucker Carlson and Rush Limbaugh were trafficking in the mythical "Great Replacement Theory on prime time TV and on conservative talk radio. A moment of clarity occurred when white nationalists chanted "Jews will not replace us!" in South Carolina, and one white guy drove his car at high speed into a crowd of counter protesters, killing one and injuring many. Trump later said there were "fine people on both sides." The white nationalists heard Trump's dog whistle loud and clear. The situation has only deteriorated. Racially motivated shootings, like the one in Buffalo, are occurring with more frequency. The FBI has identified white nationalists as the greatest terrorist threat facing the United States. After hundreds of years of slavery, followed by jim crow laws, and a reign of terror where thousands of black people were lynched, and others were arrested on trumped up charges and made to toil on prison farms, or were beaten and often killed for accepting a job that had been previously filled by a white man, segregated and treated as second class citizens, forced to live in the least desirable locations, attend substandard schools, disenfranchised by many methods including poll taxes and literacy tests where the clerk would require the would-be black voter to use a ballpoint pen to write something on a piece of wax paper, we finally arrived at the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Only after LBJ signed civil rights legislation into law did the United States, for the first time, start to live up to its reputation as a democratic republic. It has only been 50 years since Johnson's Great Society was born. And in that 50 years, some progress has been made. If you weren't paying attention, you could almost believe that racism in America was a thing of the past. Then a black man was elected president, and whitey went ape shit. And here we are. Don't give me this malarkey about Democrats being racists. Don't ...

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Trajan61 The people that Biden chose to fill the positions of VP and justice of the supreme court are eminently qualified. That was, as it should be, the primary consideration. But it was also important symbolically, to show that black women could serve in those positions. The fact they were both THE FIRST black women to serve in those posts EVER, after 246 years, is a wrong that cried out for correction. It was about time.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Trajan61 A silly fear of gender fluidity is no reason to ban books that discuss the real history of this country.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Trajan61 ". I’ve often wondered where he got the money to buy they stuff..." Financing is available; payments as low as $100/month.

"In America right now, it's easier to get a gun than baby formula." -- Christine Amanpour

linxminx comments on May 26, 2022:

We gave up manufacturing/producing years ago and became the world's biggest consuming nation so corporations could be in charge of our country. The US federal government helped this along, as did the state governments. Except for....gun manufacturing. The biggest producing gun brands are in ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@linxminx Couple of bright spots: 1. Select Committee on J6 public hearings begin in June. 2. DOJ is investigating Trump and co-conspirators over J6. Also: overturning Roe and renewed interest in gun law reform should spur libs & indies to turn out to the polls. It ain't over til it's over.

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!

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@anglophone I'm not there yet. Are you?

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Trajan61 Many of the books being banned deal with topics like slavery, jim crow, apartheid, inequities in criminal justice, lynching, massacres of black people and total destruction of their homes and businesses, redlining, genocide against native Americans, and other subjects that might make white kids feel "uncomfortable." It's a gutless position to take. To those parents that say their kids cannot deal with such subjects, I say they underestimate the children. And if we do not deal honestly with these subjects then we will never heal from it and they will have to continue to deal with the kind of horror visited upon their peers at Sandyhook Elementary, and the school in Uvalde, Texas.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

With cultural literacy what it is in the US, we are going to be reinventing the wheel very soon.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Trajan61 CRT is a graduate-level course. It is jot taught in K-12 classrooms.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

Trajan61 comments on May 26, 2022:

I’m sure it will get better after the republicans take over in 2022 and 2024.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

Because there would be more guns around? (Notice my use of the conditional tense.)

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

Alienbeing comments on May 25, 2022:

Easy to explain. We are merely animals.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Atheistic If you read what I have written, you will see that my position is that I'm not seeing the evidence supporting the proposition. i read all the articles that were suggested, and what I found there was misleading language (e.g. the word "murder") used liberally, but the behaviors that were described tend to support different interpretations. So no, I am not convinced that animals kill merely for fun. The fox-in-henhouse cases do not qualify, because it is an artificial environment. And I did make an exception for our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, Pan troglodytes. Now you do raise a valid point. How could I, or anyone, know for sure what is in the mind of an animal? I am not pretending to know. I am maintaining a healthy skepticism.

"In America right now, it's easier to get a gun than baby formula." -- Christine Amanpour

linxminx comments on May 26, 2022:

We gave up manufacturing/producing years ago and became the world's biggest consuming nation so corporations could be in charge of our country. The US federal government helped this along, as did the state governments. Except for....gun manufacturing. The biggest producing gun brands are in ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

And yes, it is scary....as hell.

"In America right now, it's easier to get a gun than baby formula." -- Christine Amanpour

SeaGreenEyez comments on May 26, 2022:

Sad isn't it. And not to bag too much on the Republican light Biden, but I'm here in the hub of the formula coming in from abroad and.... It's a shit show. The first AND ONLY shipment contained ONLY prescription formula. That's right. The FDA had to test it and thus far, it is unusable by ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

Biden would pass a progressive agenda if the Senate Republicans didn't kill every bill. Just replace two nominal Democratic senators (Manchin & Sinema) with real Democrats, and we could flush the filibuster and finally get something done. Let's see what effect the Select Committee hearings, the overturning of Roe, and the ongoing string of massacres has on voting patterns. This could be a midterm election like no other. Let's rally our forces and beat these assholes!

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 ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Redheadedgammy Me too dear. Me too

"In America right now, it's easier to get a gun than baby formula." -- Christine Amanpour

SeaGreenEyez comments on May 26, 2022:

Sad isn't it. And not to bag too much on the Republican light Biden, but I'm here in the hub of the formula coming in from abroad and.... It's a shit show. The first AND ONLY shipment contained ONLY prescription formula. That's right. The FDA had to test it and thus far, it is unusable by ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

I put the angry red face (🤬) but it's not the Administration I'm mad at. The almighty market was supposed to take care of this. And now the same people who want to de-fund, hamstring, and hogtie government want instant results. Well it doesn't work that way.

Whoever gives aid and comfort to the enemy IS the enemy.

nogod4me comments on May 26, 2022:

They have been an enemy of the people for a long time.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

Too long.

"In America right now, it's easier to get a gun than baby formula." -- Christine Amanpour

linxminx comments on May 26, 2022:

We gave up manufacturing/producing years ago and became the world's biggest consuming nation so corporations could be in charge of our country. The US federal government helped this along, as did the state governments. Except for....gun manufacturing. The biggest producing gun brands are in ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

I think the term you are searching for is "theocratic autocracy."

"In America right now, it's easier to get a gun than baby formula." -- Christine Amanpour

HippieChick58 comments on May 26, 2022:

Yes, we're the greatest country in the world. smh

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

Treading on the myth? Tsk tsk. 😂

"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.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@FrayedBear If you didn't like K in Chile, you should have seen him in East Timor.

If we don't grapple with our bloody past, our future will look just like our bloody present.

TomMcGiverin comments on May 25, 2022:

I have little doubt things will only get worse during the rest of my life, unless the masses wake up and start voting third party in fed elections to get us out of the corruption of the duopoly. And even then, if by some miracle, the majority of eligible voters did that, and managed to elect an ...

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin We have literally everything to lose. Now is not the time to he divided and conquered. You guaranteed? There are none. Have Dems been pulled to the right? Yes. But try to see the glass as half full. Despite of a very uneven playing field, we have held our own. We're down by 5. It's 4th down and we're on our own 20 yard line with 1 minute remaining. Punting will solve nothing. We have to go for it.

A match made in Hell:

HippieChick58 comments on May 25, 2022:

Republicans love Automatic weapons more than they love children.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@CourtJester Aw come on CJ, she's just a girl, she don't know guns. (But except for the slight error in nomenclature, she's right, and you know it.) Anyway, you're talking to me here. Stay focussed.

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

Alienbeing comments on May 25, 2022:

Easy to explain. We are merely animals.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@creative51, @FearlessFly This article talkd about female spiders that eat their mates (the nutrients from daddy's body nourish the next generation), and male otters with raging hormones and no females around to mate with raping baby seals. If it's true, it sounds much more like desperation than fun. Then there are the meercats ...which kill each other frequently, but for control over territory and limited resources or to establish a social hierarchy (pecking order). This kind if behavior has evolutionary advantages. It insures that the area does not become so overpopulated and resources so scarce that all die of starvation or disease, and that only the best genes get passed along to the next generation. Did you read these articles you recommended? They don't help your case. They may use words like "murder," but the behaviors they describe are anything but. 😂 https://www.livescience.com/60431-do-animals-murder-each-other.html

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

Alienbeing comments on May 25, 2022:

Easy to explain. We are merely animals.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@creative51, @FearlessFly This whole article you provided is about the various species that HUMANS hunt for no reason other than just for fun. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/thirteen-unlucky-animals-wildlife-killing-contests

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

Alienbeing comments on May 25, 2022:

Easy to explain. We are merely animals.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@creative51, @FearlessFly This entire article you provided refutes the idea that animals kill for no reason or just for fun. https://animalworldfacts.com/are-there-animals-that-kill-for-fun-or-for-no-reason/

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

Alienbeing comments on May 25, 2022:

Easy to explain. We are merely animals.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@creative51 Well I haven't finished yet. But if you have been reading my latest, I am reading the articles Fearless recommended, and finding all kinds of holes on the proposition that animals kill just for fun. I have neatly refuted the fox in the henhouse claim. We have seen orcas kill seals and play with them like a football before eating them, and multiple dolphin are known to play keep away with prey fish before eating them, or kill porpoises who are in a contested area and compete for the same prey fish. I'm not comfortable assuming that kind of behavior is malevolent, evil, or ultimately wasteful. I think it is simple joy of the hunt. Any sport hunter or fisherman will know what I'm talking about. There is a sense if exhilaration and accomplishment when you are able to catch your dinner. Now a good sportsman, while enjoying the challenge and bringing all necessary skills to bear, he also respects every life he takes. Not all human hunters are good sportsmen, but probably most are. Now the last thing I read was an article about how aggressive and warlike chimpanzees can be. And I know that is true and agree that it is malicious behavior. And yes, chimps are animals, but it should come as no surprise that they display the same kinds of malevolence as humans. After all, we share 98.5% of our DNA. We are members of the same family (Hominidae). We share a common ancestor with chimps that lived only about 8 million years ago. I'm going to read more of what FF recommended, but what I have seen so far is not very convincing. I'm just calling them as I see them.

Whoever gives aid and comfort to the enemy IS the enemy.

CourtJester comments on May 25, 2022:

I’m a life time member of the NRA. If things went to shit, the liberals would lean on people like us.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@Lorajay 🎯

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

Alienbeing comments on May 25, 2022:

Easy to explain. We are merely animals.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@FearlessFly honey badger in the henhouse is like fox in the henhouse, not a good example because it's a man-made environment.

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

Alienbeing comments on May 25, 2022:

Easy to explain. We are merely animals.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@FearlessFly Apparently foxes have been "reported to attack small babies in our homes." Is there any compelling reason to think that the fox's intent was nothing more than a simple attempt to get food?

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

Alienbeing comments on May 25, 2022:

Easy to explain. We are merely animals.

Flyingsaucesir replies on May 26, 2022:

@FearlessFly I have seen orca play with a seal a bit before eating it. Not sure if that is malicious. It seemed more like a celebration.