While this seemed even tempered if you read her reasons all seem to boil down to "They're idiots"...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 15, 2020:

I respectfully disagree with your commentary. The point of the article is that Trump voters' reasons make sense, *to Trump voters*. They may not make sense to you or me (and I'll wager good money they probably don't), but then again, politics are now so polarized that the reasons I voted for Biden seem obtuse and ridiculous to Trump voters, too. More and more, many people who think about politics at all seem to commit to a candidate or party for almost religious reasons, and won't even hear an argument against them. Statistics and history are waved away as products of biased liberal universities. The candidate's own words are ignored, or they become a game of "whataboutism"- "my candidate may have said this, but yours said something ten times worse!" That doesn't make them "idiots", it means they're so committed to this particular view that they aren't going to change for anything or anybody. You or I might think that's idiotic, but a person might otherwise be very intelligent. That's what's so damn frustrating. In Trump's specific case, his boorishness is exactly the reason many of his supporters think he is "authentic"; they actually believe *everyone* is like that, deep down. It was maintained to me, by a black man at my workplace who also likes Trump, that "Everyone's a racist;" in other words, I presume, he's biased against me because I'm white and assumes I'm biased against him because he's black. He just feels Trump is being honest and forthright when he's openly racist. It doesn't enter his worldview that there are people who genuinely are not racist. This would be one of many examples where someone could support Trump (and Republicans generally) for what they consider perfectly good reasons, where someone like me would argue (and did argue) "That's just not reality." But all evidence to the contrary is dismissed.

Landslide! Joe Biden won 306 Electoral Votes. Hooray!

Paul4747 comments on Nov 15, 2020:

It's too bad, though, that we have to go down the road of quoting Trump's own lies against him. Claiming that he'd had "a tremendous landslide, Electoral College victory like people haven’t seen in a long time," when in fact President Obama had won the two previous elections by greater totals (his first election with 365 votes, putting Trump's mere 306 to shame), was just one of his uncountable attempts to rewrite history. The true pity is that Trump's true believers will never ever bother to look up the actual numbers. They just believe history is what he says it is. I know Joe gets carried away sometimes, too. The difference, and this is a *HUGE* and *VITAL* difference, is that when Joe is caught out on an untruth- or, let's go ahead and say it, a *LIE*- he *stops telling it* and often even *apologizes*. Trump never admits he's wrong, because he considers it a sign of weakness. It is, in fact, a sign of strength: the strength of character to own up when you screw up, and do better from now on. Trump will never have that, since he already considers himself perfect, when any objective observer has to conclude that he is the most deeply flawed president in American history.

All this sudden craze about hole food. I have been eating hole food all my life.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 13, 2020:

Me too. I shove it in my mouth hole, and it comes out... well, let's just say a different hole.

On dating sites, I often wonder about people's objectives after seeing the kinds of photos some of...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 13, 2020:

I don't *mean* to look angry in my pictures. It's not my fault; I don't smile well for the camera. I've been diagnosed with RSBF (Resting Son of a Bitch Face).

How divided is Washington State?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 13, 2020:

Michigan has a mere 11 counties that swung for Biden, yet they had enough population to make up over 50% of the vote, while the remainder voted overwhelmingly for Trump; by 70% margins or more in most cases. And the blue counties are mainly a cluster in the South and SouthEast part of the state; Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids, with just a couple of outliers to the north, notably Marquette county, home to a big college community. What you see in Michigan is huge rural sections of the state where the voters are overwhelmingly white, blue collar, and with a low proportion of college education, voting Trump; while the urban areas, where there's a large proportion of Hispanic and Black voters, more professional and service industries, and notably where the universities are clustered and where people are more likely to have either been to college or at least have family members who have, voted for Biden. My county is one of the 70% red ones, and only 30 miles away from a huge Democratic stronghold where the vote was 80% for Biden. You could almost see the difference crossing the county line. I have a suspicion that this is the sort of divide that's going to be found almost everywhere when the analysis is over.

No, I Will Not Be ‘Reaching Out’ To Trump Voters, Now Or Ever.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 12, 2020:

I refuse to give up on 47% of the nation (by voting mass). Yes, they were wrong. Twice. Horribly, awfully, jaw-clenchingly, teeth-grindingly wrong. *But they think the exact same thing about us*, and they are far less likely to have an open mind about it. One at a time, as the opportunity comes up, I'm telling people the truth. "Absentee ballots are not 'illegal votes'; this is how they work and how they've always worked." "Joe Biden and the Democrats do not have a secret plan to confiscate your guns. We would have done it back in 2008 if we'd been planning to do it at all." "Here are the statistics about the economy that prove Donald Trump was lying to you for the last four years. if he lied to you about that, what can you trust him to tell the truth about?" If they're willing to hear the truth, then just maybe I've brought someone a step closer to rejoining the reality-based community. If not- it's still important to speak the truth, and more so to those who don't want to hear it. It's not about forgiveness. It's about deprogramming. They have been victims as well, on some level: even if they went along willingly, they were still victimized by the cult of Trump. They trusted him to tell the truth, and he betrayed them. He betrayed the whole country, but no one more than his followers, who've died in disproportionate numbers, because they believe his lies about the pandemic.

BREAKING NEWS!!! A Brief Coronavirus Update

Paul4747 comments on Nov 12, 2020:

You're being surprisingly rational lately. Are you feeling okay?

Dance like no one is watching.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 12, 2020:

My motto is: "Dance like it hurts Work when people are watching Love like you need money" I think some of those may have got switched around somehow....

Great color on her!

Paul4747 comments on Nov 12, 2020:

Just thinking aloud... How does it look off her?

Although I don't believe the world is ending soon , I believe there's a God, a force that has power ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 12, 2020:

We have superiority over animals? Go tell that to the brown bears that have been raiding a town in NH for so long they've lost all shyness and actually break into houses and have attacked people. Better yet, tell the Covid-19 virus how superior we are. We have technology. That doesn't make us "superior" to anything else on the planet, and it doesn't imply that any other beings have to exist to be "above" us. Even if they were, what's above them, and so on and on? It's an infinite regress that doesn't solve anything. By that rationale, it's just gods without end. (Edited: I misspelled "rationale". Not very rational of me, I know.)

Yeah what is this?....

Paul4747 comments on Nov 11, 2020:

They got my complaint at last?

Postal worker admits fabricating Pennsylvania ballot tampering claims, officials say - The ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 11, 2020:

So he then recanted his recanting, apparently. But has he recanted his recanting of his recanting yet?

Great comment from a Republican supporter who, for the first time in his life, voted Democrat:- I'm...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 9, 2020:

Trump may be gone but Trumpism is alive & well in the Republican party. And they're already talking about the possibility of him declaring a campaign on January 21 for the *2024* election. :|

Two for the price of one offer!

Paul4747 comments on Nov 9, 2020:

Sold to the man in the back row

Honestly, what do you see in me?...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 9, 2020:

Let me count the ways

My encounter with two cougars, age 22.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 9, 2020:

Last summer I had an encounter with a self-described cougar, age 61. It didn't work out past the first date.

I got this

Paul4747 comments on Nov 8, 2020:

Now I'm remembering when John Ashcroft spent $3000 or some obscene amount to have a drape hung over the bare breast on the statue of Justice in the Justice Department's main briefing room. I guess he didn't want to be photographed next to another boob.

I spoke to someone today who said that they liked trump just because he was amusing to watch.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 8, 2020:

Maybe he can have a lucrative career post-politics hosting reality shows or wrestling or something. *Oh, wait*......

Joe Biden is now President Elect.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 8, 2020:

Well, I think I would have made a fine president, but I'm humble enough to know I don't really have the judgment needed for the job. Unlike some candidates who have run recently. *coughDonaldcough* My Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, might make a good candidate in another 4 years, but she needs a little more experience running Michigan first... I kind of liked Cory Booker. Whitmer/Booker 2024? or Booker/Whitmer, whichever.

World Reacted to Biden Win Like America Has Overthrown a Dictator.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 8, 2020:

The Russian state media is especially *un*happy. They must expect a price to be paid for meddling in American (and other) elections, not to mention their warmongering in the former Republics. And let's not forget that they can't look forward to the disintegration of NATO anymore.

If it helps people at all with understanding someone sees things differently than you, I will tell ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 8, 2020:

What bothers me in the red voters is the unspoken assumption (or often the outright statement) that Democrats *don't* care about our security, babies, and the economy. Of course we do. We just disagree sharply on the means to the ends. (And we tend to be more worried about the babies that have already been born.)

Kamala Harris makes history as the new vice president-elect

Paul4747 comments on Nov 7, 2020:

It's historic; but is it historic *enough*? Still wanted President Clinton in 2016, dammit. This is some compensation, but not yet enough for 4 years of Trump.

We're no longer gloomscrolling. Now we're gleefreshing.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 7, 2020:

I dunno. I'm still watching warily for the next move out of the White House. He's not going gracefully. Hopefully his closest friends (well, associates; Trump doesn't really have friends as such) are explaining to him that he doesn't want to go down in history as the first president to be forcibly removed from power. But past evidence suggests that he stops listening once someone starts telling him something that goes against what he wants to hear.

Some in GOP concede Trump's election attacks are 'getting insane'

Paul4747 comments on Nov 7, 2020:

> Both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump posted messages on Twitter complaining that Republicans were not standing with their father, especially those who may want his support if they run for president in four years. This is the problem, in a nutshell. No matter that Trump & family are leaving the White House; as long as they have Twitter and Facebook accounts, they're going to continue as a force in the Republican party unless said party can collectively find some intestinal fortitude and say aloud, "We're not listening to you anymore." The odds of that are low, considering Trump managed to draw 47% of the popular vote and so energizes the Republican base that they would likely form an insurgency inside the party if the leadership shuts him out at this point. They will be looking for revenge for the next 4 years.

BIDEN WINS! 😀 IT'S MORNING IN AMERICA!😃 THAT SHINING CITY ON A HILL IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

Remember this?

This last Wednesday, the US set a new record of 107,000 new Covid-19 infections in a single day.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

I read 160,000 in the Post. Their figures are from Johns Hopkins, I believe. Different surveys come up with different numbers. But whatever the number, it's far too many.

BIDEN WINS! 😀 IT'S MORNING IN AMERICA!😃 THAT SHINING CITY ON A HILL IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

I hate to say it, but with these words- > Despite what some say, my pronouncement makes it official. you're going down the same road as Trump. I'd rather take a page from Uncle Joe: Democracy "sometimes requires a little patience." And, in the words of one of the *great* Republicans, “The hen is the wisest of all the animal creation, because she never cackles until the egg is laid.”

Farm girl, cooling off after a hard day at work.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

Looks like she's eying the river and thinking about taking a dip

I get it, a lot of people hated him 4 years ago and still hate him now.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

This is a sport reference, is it?

Thanks to all of you that helped 8645120!

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

Until the count hits 270 I'm still a little testy.

While we were counting the record number of votes, America broke another record: 116,000 confirmed ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

I don't understand how it happened, but my post that originally read "116,000" somehow changed to "1,000". Fixed it.

Some in GOP break with Trump over baseless vote-fraud claims

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

"Stop the Bravo Sierra" indeed. "A military euphemism for falsehoods..." what a polite way to say "bullshit".

Paula Bulczynska Happy Friday!

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

She looks about as tired as I feel. About 3 hours of sleep a night this week...

I heard Angela Merkel had 13 tweets of hers flagged/hidden for misleading content related to their ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

The hardest thing for me is trying to decide if he really believes the tripe he's spewing, if he thinks it's going to provoke his followers to stir up trouble on his behalf, if he's just trying to maintain his image of "strength" by refusing to give in and admit he's going to lose, or if he's simply completely ignorant of how voting works. Then there's the ever-popular "All Of The Above".

Businsess Insider has called the election. Game over. [businessinsider.com]

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

This right here.... > While a candidate has the legal right to request a recount, Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally demand that legally cast ballots be discounted. I wanted to see Republicans outraged that a sitting president is trying to disenfranchise hundreds of millions of American voters. Instead, there was a deafening silence, with the honorable exception of Mitt Romney, and even worse, Graham and Cruz supported his attempt to take his ball and go home... because they want his fans' backing for their runs in 2024. What utter fucking cowards. Cowards and traitors.

We Were Wrong About America

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

Hate and ignorance die hard, but so does optimism. It's a long fight but we will win it.

Is it late term abortion or euthanasia if it is the point where the human could breathe on their ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

First off, there are almost no cases where an abortion is performed after the 2nd trimester except to save the life of a mother. Pregnant women may experience conditions such as “premature rupture of membranes and infection, preeclampsia, placental abruption, and placenta accreta” late in pregnancy that may endanger their lives, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). “Women in these circumstances may risk extensive blood loss, stroke, and septic shock that could lead to maternal death." In these cases, an abortion is an emergency procedure. It's not a choice. There's very limited data on abortions after the 2nd trimester, but it's believed that abortions for fetal anomalies are a small minority. "Late-term abortion" is a political construct, not a medical term. It's basically a non-issue. According to the CDC, about 1.3 percent of abortions were performed at or greater than 21 weeks of gestation in 2015. In contrast, 91.1 percent were performed at or before 13 weeks and 7.6 percent at 14 to 20 weeks. In the case of the "otherwise healthy young lady", obviously there are risks in any surgical procedure. If she was otherwise healthy, why did she have an abortion? At what stage of pregnancy? There are missing pieces of the puzzle there and it may be that her family doesn't have the full story.

America has become a failed state / from Alternet [alternet.org]

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

Another author who's upset that Biden ran to the middle and Sanders didn't get the nomination? Cry me a river. The Democrat platform isn't liberal enough for him; tough. He vastly overrates the number of liberals in this country if he thinks a far left platform would have let the Dems sweep the board.

Some much needed laughter to mix with our painful reality

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

I'm glad I made it into Canadialand. When do we start building the wall?

Anyone else refreshing this image all day!?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 6, 2020:

4:41 AM EST: ***Georgia has turned blue!!!!!!***

Black hole revelations win the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics | Science News

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

> Question: Is there a type of weak black hole that something could travel into and also escape from? Disney's *The Black Hole* (1979) was very weak, and I believe several of the cast's careers did escape it eventually. Ernest Borgnine's may have been lost forever, though.

Just a wee thought/point of or for discussion here IF anyone feels like reading/discussing it.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

As pointed out below, there are two different lineages described in two different books, with differing numbers of generations. This is a minor detail compared to the main point that the "lineage" from David was conjured up to fulfill messianic prophecies from the Torah in the first place. The NT was explicitly written to tie in the books of the OT, which is why so many Bibles have footnotes pointing out precisely which verses are being referenced. For example, in John 12, Jesus is said to ride into Jerusalem on an ass *specifically* because it's a prophecy from the Torah. "And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. (John 12:14-16) This is a paraphrase of Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." Another way to sum up all these "prophecies" is, "Jesus did it because it was written, and because it was written, he did it."

My mother's brother is in the hospital with some sort of bleeding issue.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

Words fail me about this. I can usually talk about this kind of Christian attitude in the abstract, but all I can think of right now is my feeling for what you, your aunt and uncle are going through. I just hope medical science and luck will prevail and he will be well again.

Find This Ironic?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

It's ironic, but by now it's expected that the Republicans want to follow the rules when it's to their advantage, and ignore them when it's not. To be fair (although, what's the point these days, except the sheer mental exercise?), Democrats are guilty of this as well often enough; but the sheer scope and scale of Republican hypocrisy has blown away anything the Democrats have ever done. Announce your "principle" in 2016, discard it in 2020 (and blame the Democrats for good measure, "because of the horrible way they treated Brett Kavanaugh"). Denounce BLM for protesting, but encourage the right wing when they plot to kidnap governors. Stop the vote counting in MI, PA, NC and GA!! But keep counting in AZ and NV because there are bound to be some Trump votes somewhere!!! The Republican party is a disgrace to the nation, and they've now managed to make us an international laughingstock. Not a single Republican voice reacted in outrage when Trump suggested stopping the vote count and disenfranchising hundreds of millions of voters. They are all complicit now.

McConnell reportedly eyes constraints on possible Biden cabinet picks

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

Trump stocked his Cabinet full of "acting" officials who didn't need confirmation. McConnell never even whispered about it. Fuck him, we have precedent.

I'm thinking it's going to boil down to the 6 electoral votes of Nevada. What do you think?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

Pennsylvania, the last I checked, had some 880,000 ballots outstanding. The absentee ballot has been going 80% Biden's way. By my math, if that holds up, the final tally would put Biden up by about 80,000. Nevada may be where he hits 270, but PA would be the clincher; too decisive to argue over a number like that.

GOP Candidate for Virginia Senate: The Ten Commandments Will Stop Gun Violence | Hemant Mehta | ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

Really... “we didn’t have school shootings before the Supreme Court removed the Lord’s Prayer from public schools.” Well, we didn't have school shootings before the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition either. Or before the Rush Limbaugh show. Care to debate cause and effect some more, moron? Bet I can pick off more sacred cows than you.

The importance of knowing when to stop on a project.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

I'm a dab hand at modifying and painting prop replicas, but I'm not going to post any pics here since what I'm into are science fiction sidearms, which I know are probably not to your taste. :)

I have an interesting thought concerning morality and I would like to see what other people's ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

Morality, like everything else, is ultimately a product of human evolution. Our ancestors survived only through cooperation and tribal living, as Edward O. Wilson points out in *The Atlantic* for April 1998. Those who resisted a selfish urge to go off and hunt alone, and instead shared their risks and rewards with the rest of the group, not only stood a greater chance of survival, but probably passed on a genetic propensity for cooperative behavior to their ancestors. "Now suppose that human propensities to cooperate or defect are heritable: some people are innately more cooperative, others less so. In this respect moral aptitude would simply be like almost all other mental traits studied to date. Among traits with documented heritability, those closest to moral aptitude are empathy with the distress of others and certain processes of attachment between infants and their caregivers. To the heritability of moral aptitude add the abundant evidence of history that cooperative individuals generally survive longer and leave more offspring. Following that reasoning, in the course of evolutionary history genes predisposing people toward cooperative behavior would have come to predominate in the human population as a whole." These basic sentiments would become more complex as we evolved, and things like honor, loyalty, courage, altruism, and mercy would become codified as "morality". We all have an instinctive framework for moral behavior. We know how we want to be treated, and feel instinctively that we should treat those close to us the same way. Unfortunately, our evolution brought with it such things as tribalism and xenophobia, since loyalty and generosity are most directed to one's kin. This is a natural result of genetic favoritism; it helps ensure the survival of one's own gene pool over competitors. That's the dark side of evolutionary morality. Tribal mythologies of defeating enemies grew into religions and myths of being a "chosen people"; these overlaid the instinctive moral framework and made it easy to treat outsiders as "others" not worthy of moral treatment. It is truly a mixed bag; our instincts are towards moral, compassionate behavior, but only to those we see as belonging to our own tribe. The answer is to see all humanity as one. Then morality will become universal.

Pastor Who Blamed COVID on People Who “Committed Fornication” Dies of COVID | Hemant Mehta | ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

Well dang. It's all *my* fault, then. I apologize, everyone. My only excuse is, at least I got laid.

6 Proofs of God's Existence - DEBUNKED - YouTube

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

It's easy to prove God exists, if you ignore science and basic logic. :P

Kanye West Campaign 🤣😂 [variety]

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

I have yet to see where he pulled in any votes, unless he's in the category "other". :P

Any US constitutional experts out there?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

Equally good question; what if Trump were to win, but be impeached and convicted (this time around) for high crimes and misdemeanors (namely, attempting to steal a presidential election by authoritarian pronouncements and vote suppression, undermining our democracy, and attempting to use the courts as his personal partisan tool) in the interim? Would Pence then be president? I expect he would.

BIDEN WINS! Now can I go back to sleep?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

When did this happen? My tracker (AP map) still shows Nevada undecided, Biden/Harris with 264.

Good morning President Biden! 😘😘

Paul4747 comments on Nov 5, 2020:

It's now the 5th, still waiting for Nevada to count... Come on Nevada!!! Get the lead out!!

ATTENTION.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 4, 2020:

I'm kinda getting fed up with the caricature of Democrats who point out that both Trump and Bush were minority presidents (in the sense that a minority of the electorate voted for them, not that they did a damn thing for minorities) as "whining". It's a bitch move on conservatives' part to pretend that they won some kind of popular mandate or great victory when in fact they squeaked by on a technicality. On the other hand, you are following the Trumpian tradition of "When I don't have a valid point, just insult somebody."

Have You Ever Heard The Right Wing Say Democrats Will Turn Us Into Venezuela?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 4, 2020:

In that he's trying to steal the election, like a tin-pot dictator? Yeah, I can see that. Chris Christie, who worked with Trump on debate prep, criticized the president’s White House speech on ABC: “It’s a bad strategic decision. It’s a bad political decision.” Chris Wallace, on Fox News, reacted to Trump’s speech by saying: “This is an extremely flammable situation and the president just threw a match into it. He hasn’t won these states.” When *both* Chrises are criticizing you, you *should* know you're fucking up.

But their imaginary friend will take care of it.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

Someone told me yesterday that his voting decision came down to, "Who's going to put money in my pocket?" And then he complained, "Biden wants to get rid of oil! What if we have to fight a war?" Fuck sake, man. Florida will be underwater in 50 years. There are more important things than a $50 tax cut. And someone somewhere is inventing solar-powered tanks as we speak.

VOTING REPORTS.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

I handed in my absentee ballot in person at the City Clerk's office maybe 3 weeks ago? maybe more? So I know for a fact it was received. I've been drinking coffee, watching Monty Python (happened to see the Election Night Special episode- "Arthur Negus has held Bristol; that's not a result, that's just a bit of gossip"), just ate lunch, and now it's time to get ready for work. Sort of dreading work actually; I work with a diehard Trumpite who doesn't know any better and is completely resistant to facts, so I sort of expect to be trolled today. It's going to be a long day of keeping my temper in check.

Winston Churchill on Islam

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

Women didn't have the vote in America in 1899, either (the year said quote was first published). Social views change over the years and centuries. Islam, like any religion, reinforces the prejudices of its own followers, while opposing religions tend to reinforce prejudices against it. Since all religions are invented, we can only judge by the behavior of their followers. On that score, all religions fare equally; all have had models of humane and decent conduct, and all have had murderous villains. One need only look at the war in the former Yugoslavia to see examples of this on all sides. As Christopher Hitchens wrote: ***Religion poisons everything.***

Potential Scenarios for the Election How do you think it will go?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

Just one question- What's wrong with dogs & cats living together?

North Carolina Deputies Pepper-Spray Demonstrators Marching To Polls | HuffPost

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

We shall overcome.

Wow... I never thought of it this way.. Okay, I get it now. 😃👍 [youtube.com]

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

No you don't. If WalMart could still get away with paying $7 an hour, that's what they'd pay.

It looks like Republicans are proud to be jerks.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

It's hard to see any coherent goal behind this behavior. There's no way this could be thought to convert anyone. It's most similar to a pep rally before a football game, where the goal is to whip up enthusiasm in your team's fans. The goal of a pep rally isn't to persuade the other team's fans to change allegiance; if anything, they just root harder for their *own* team, meaning in this case it will increase commitment among any Democrats watching. The only possible thinking behind this must be, like the Trump rallies, to try to draw independent voters via an Appeal to Popularity; seeming to have more people on your side than the other team does. That's why Trump makes such a big deal about crowd numbers and insists on holding superspreader rallies despite the obvious health hazard; psychologically, people want to be on the winning team, and he's gambling that *looking like* more people are on his side will sway the uncommitted. But the way they're going about it is just so loathsome that the only voters it will attract are likely to already be voting Trump anyway. And independents who are still thinking things over may be driven away by this kind of boorishness.

On election eve, this country is just unbelievably stressed out.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

I just came across the phrase "It's been an overwhelming decade of a year".

Witches Outnumber Presbyterians in the US; Wicca, Paganism Growing 'Astronomically' - The Christian ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

Ordinarily I would post a link to the "How To Tell A Witch" bit from *Monty Python & The Holy Grail*, but I think I used that just a couple of days ago, and I don't want to get repetitive.

On election eve, this country is just unbelievably stressed out.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 3, 2020:

You may or may not find reassurance in this scholarly analysis from Henry Olsen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/02/henry-olsen-2020-president-congress-election-predictions/?arc404=true=wp_post_most=email=newsletter=nl_most-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F2c77a11%2F5fa03cd69d2fda0efb5ab8c2%2F5b475f99ade4e277955ae72b%2F15%2F71%2F28496e8a6b6aa4fcefeaee0c0c32df91 "Democrats need not fear. This, my sixth published biennial election prediction essay, is perhaps my easiest: Former vice president Joe Biden will win comfortably unless we experience the greatest polling failure in modern history. Democrats will also gain control of the Senate and expand their majority in the House. While not the landslide that some hope for, Democrats will simultaneously control the presidency and both houses of Congress for only the third time since Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980. That alone is a historic achievement that will give them the upper hand to determine the next stage of our ongoing national crisis. For all the disorder and uncertainty from the pandemic and our summer of racial discontent, Biden’s victory will be the result of long-established truths about American politics. To borrow from Paine’s most famous work, it will be a case of common sense. It is common sense that a president running for reelection will be judged on whether he handled the job well enough to deserve another chance; reelections are always referendums on the president. It is common sense that a president deemed to have failed his biggest challenges will have lost his fellow citizens’ trust. President Trump has failed both tests in the eyes of the American people and will lose as a result. Trump’s job approval ratings show this. Historically, presidents who run for reelection receive a share of the popular vote that is remarkably close to their final job approval rating. The RealClearPolitics polling average has tracked Trump’s job approval throughout his presidency. He is the first president to have never received a 50 percent rating; indeed, he has never come close. Trump’s highest marks came this year between March 26 and April 2, when he topped 47 percent. As of Sunday morning, his job approval stood at 45 percent in the RealClearPolitics average. Given that there won’t be as much third-party voting this time around, that just won’t be good enough to win. Trump’s mediocre handling of the coronavirus pandemic probably sealed his fate. It’s no coincidence that his high-water mark came at the pandemic’s onset. Politicians around the world saw their approval ratings rise as scared citizens “rallied around the flag” to support their leaders. Trump’s handling of the pandemic was initially viewed favorably by...

Pastor Rick Joyner, Who Said the U.

Paul4747 comments on Nov 2, 2020:

You know, you don't see many barber-shop quartets these days..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9cWKAAvg1c

Lindsey Graham Says Young Women Can 'Go Anywhere' If They're Pro-Life and Embrace Religion, Points ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 2, 2020:

Just like when I was in the Army; I could wear any color clothes I wanted, as long as they were camouflage green. I'm not going to sit here and claim that the Democrats are a "big tent" these days, but there's certainly more room for conservatives in the Democratic party than there is for liberals in the Republican party. Dems basically *don't care* if you're religious or not, just don't try to put that religion into law or discriminate against those who don't share your views. Repubs want to legislate religious "morality", at least their version of it.

WITCHES - here are some witches (Remember I am an ATHEIST, I do NOT believe in witches!) Kitchen ...

Paul4747 comments on Nov 1, 2020:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g

Trump delivers a curious pre-election pitch to the Supreme Court

Paul4747 comments on Oct 31, 2020:

He's given the Court every reason to turn down any case he brings before it, simply in their own interests of preserving judicial independence.

Puzzling bumper sticker: 864511320.

Paul4747 comments on Oct 30, 2020:

Not just mafia, it's a general term for "get rid of". Trump complained because Harris had an "86 45" ornament on her desk behind her in a recent interview. He tried to say it was a signal to assassinate him. The man who has blatantly encouraged right wing militia violence is upset about a desk ornament. :|

Idaho Lt.

Paul4747 comments on Oct 30, 2020:

I guess you should screen your running mate more carefully before you put them on the ticket....

Sen. Kelly Loeffler Says She's 'Not Familiar' With Trump 'Grab 'Em' Tape | HuffPost

Paul4747 comments on Oct 30, 2020:

Of course she's not. That whole month she had her fingers in her ears and was singing "La la la la la" as loud as she could. And only watched Fox news, too. > “I agree with the approach President Trump has taken since day one to put America first,” she told reporters Wednesday. Okay, so name me a President in history who has put America *last*. Or even in second place. "America First" is just a dog whistle for nativists, isolationists, and racists.

Trump voters will not understand this...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 30, 2020:

Oh yeah. Putin *hates* Obama, and to be fair, Obama doesn't think much of him, basically because a lot of Russians are incredible racists. And you will hear them say it themselves. But also because Putin is determined to flex Russia's muscles, and act as they did in the '70s, and Obama was determined that he would not get away with it. Expanding NATO, resisting Russian aggression in the former Soviet states- Putin hates him. And he hated Clinton for being his SecState.

Finally.... a solution to the fitted sheet problem [google]

Paul4747 comments on Oct 30, 2020:

Is it the problem of getting all 4 corners stretched over the mattress without giving yourself a hernia?

Christian “Prophetess”: God Told Me All Those Early Voters Are Supporting Trump | Hemant Mehta ...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

Is she a liar? or just schizophrenic? Only the doctors know for sure.

Bitter Christian Activist: Joe Biden and Both Clintons “Are the Illuminati!” | Beth Stoneburner ...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

Damn she looks angry. Somebody get that woman to a massage therapist! She needs to chill the hell out!

Majority of Gays Are Possessed by Ghosts, So-Called Study Says

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

I was going to repeat an old Gallagher joke here, but I thought better of it...

Good afternoon all.. Boda Boom..my last post here. i'm leaving..good bye all...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

Aww

Here is why Republicans are blocking this 2 trillion dollar congressional bill.

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

No, not really. Let's unpack your argument a little and see what happens. Yes, we could give $6,000 to every person in the nation; from infants in diapers to Sean Hannity; but there are practical difficulties. It's (comparatively) easy to send a check to everyone who filed a tax return. It's a lot harder to go through every single tax return and see how many dependents are in that family, how many people total should get a check, make sure they actually exist (people have been known to claim fictional dependents); and how does a child sign for a $6,000 check anyway? Then there's this question- does Sean Hannity, for example, really *need* a check for $6,000? Send straight cash payments to everyone in the country (which Republicans *really* wouldn't go for) and you leave state and local governments without funding at the time they need it most, a time of declining revenue and growing expenses. Small businesses would have to count on people spending that money at every one of those businesses, rather than going out and buying a damn boat or something. My point is, you don't just hurl money at the economy; you target it at the sectors that need it. You keep open the things that are in trouble. It's actually been made very clear why Republicans don't want to pass this package; they've said so out loud. They regret signing the last one because it increased the debt (which they've suddenly started worrying about) and now they're fiscal conservatives. The hidden reason is that they don't want to give the Democrats in Congress an accomplishment before the election, regardless of the fact it would be their accomplishment as well. They're fighting Pelosi for the sake of fighting Pelosi. It's not that complicated. Actually- Yes, I'm angry. At the Republicans.

Nice attack: France raises alert status to 'terror attack emergency' after three stabbed to death - ...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

Awful. The only slight positive note out of this is the Saudi government condemning the acts.

"Boogaloo Boi" arrest for attacks on Minneapolis police station confirms far-right role in protest ...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

That is without a doubt the chubbiest revolutionary I've ever seen.

Trump Has Weaponized Masculinity As President. Here's Why It Matters [npr.org]

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

One thing I disagree with in that commentary- the idea that Biden hugging a kid was "feminine". That's not masculine or feminine; it's what we call "human".

Trump Recklessly ‘Jokes’ That Joe Biden Will Be ‘Shot’ Three Weeks After He’s Elected | ...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

Of course he'll explain it away, that "shot" is a saying meaning "worn out". But that's clearly not what he meant. Jerkass.

I have a rabid, yep rite word, brother in-law Trumper, he has locked his door, good sign.

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

I think you took a wrong turn. You'll get a lot more agreement over in the Conservative Atheists group.

They've voted, have you?

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

Yes I have. Also, 2nd from the right, that's a nice setup on the rifle, but I criticize using that high magnification scope. I would use a simple red dot or a 4x at most. That thing looks very topheavy. He's just playing soldier. It would be better off in my hands. (Safer, too.) And the neckbeard next to him... don't get me started on the personal grooming. Buy a beard trimmer, man, they're not that expensive.

The socialism debate...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 29, 2020:

I wish I could throw a chair during arguments where I work. That's how you can tell the difference between real life and "reality" (note the quotation marks) TV. They do things absolutely nobody would do in real life. Because in real life, nobody has a crew to come in and clean up after them.

My mother was a devout catholic.

Paul4747 comments on Oct 28, 2020:

Oh... a MUSICAL organ... I was thinking kidney or something when I first read this.

As a group host I can usually deny a post that I find inappropriate.

Paul4747 comments on Oct 28, 2020:

I would love to help, but I'm completely ignorant on this subject. In fact, I don't even know why I'm commenting, except that it establishes my humility to admit that I don't know everything. ;)

I suspect the only reason Pence hasn’t tested positive for COVID-19 is because COVID only affects ...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

So what are you thinking, alien hybrid like *The X-Files*? Or lizard with a skin suit like *V*?

How much are the people who stand behind Trump get paid?

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

Say what? I'm pretty sure they're sincerely there because they support him. Although apparently he did hire a PR firm to provide people to applaud at his 2015 announcement of his presidential campaign.

I just read a comment that “Americans can’t catch a break” in reaction Amy Coney Barrett’s ...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

Remember that it was a minority who voted for Trump. As @RoboGraham says, the system was set up so that smaller states would have an outsized influence due to their Senate seats, but Trump did not win the small states; he won in the Rust Belt and the Plains States, which have a medium population. It was a fluke of electoral college numbers that gave him the win. There are legitimate reasons for equal representation in the Senate and the Electoral College. Direct democracy results in a tyranny of the majority, who may not respect the rights of the minority. The system is not fundamentally broken. The real problem is that American democracy works under the assumption that voters will study the issues and act in their enlightened self-interest and the interest of the nation. They did not foresee something like Trump coming along. Nor did they expect blind party loyalty to keep him in office after impeachment.

E. Jean Carroll lawsuit: Judge rejects DOJ effort to end suit - CNNPolitics

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

If only he had also admonished Barr for patently acting as Trump's private attorney and fixer, instead of an Attorney General of the United States.

Trump signs order to ease packing government with loyalists

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

This is revenge against the professional civil service which he feels has tried to thwart him for the last four years. Biden can undo most of it with another executive order; a Democrat Congress can codify protections for the civil service into law to protect against future wannabe dictators.

Trump says that if Biden is elected, seniors will have 'no air conditioning during the summer'

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

And once again Trump displays his ignorance of how wind power works... same speech. Wind power is only part of an overall electric grid....

Trump says that if Biden is elected, seniors will have 'no air conditioning during the summer'

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

Trump has no plan whatsoever, he's just peddling fear everywhere he goes along with a couple vague promises. Pretty much 2016 again.

A REAL president speaks.

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

This is the one that Trump referred to as the "no crowd, fake speech"? Because the crowd was following social distancing instead of clustering together like a covid incubator experiment?

Chachi Is Furious About "Marxist" Happy Days Reunion - Joe.My.God.

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

Just because his spinoff series tanked..... Also, a stinging commentary from Richard Marx on the twitter feed. > I’m also someone who’s never been vile enough to imply Sandy Hook was faked and also never bashed the parent of a murdered child. You?

Ex-Christian: My Faith Shifted After Seeing Ken Ham Get “Destroyed” by Bill Nye | Hemant Mehta ...

Paul4747 comments on Oct 27, 2020:

The essay itself is very good to read. https://www.christianpost.com/news/i-lost-my-faith-in-a-chick-fil-a.html The following reminds me of the time I was struggling to "try" to be a Christian, for my wife's sake: > It’s impossible to say when doubts first began creeping in. I remember spending hours on my knees in prayer, my entire emotional focus pinned on talking to God, only to hear nothing back. I would feel my stomach churn wondering if there was nobody there to hear me, then convince myself it was my fault that I didn’t believe hard enough, or that I was trying to connect with God on my own strength, or something along those lines. Then, I’d redouble my efforts to connect to God more strongly in worship, or in Bible reading. If I ever felt doubts, my focus was to study to show myself approved, a workman who need not be ashamed. Well, apart from the hours on my knees, but the spirit of trying to hear some reply from something, anything, resonates with me.