I’ll just keep your pizza warm for you…

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 1, 2023:

I don't doubt there are cats that will eat a pizza, if they can find a way to chew it, they will eat it. I already saw a cat eat lasagna on TV.

Governments don’t want an intelligent population because people who can think critically can’t ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 1, 2023:

The collarary to this is that they want people just smart or trained enough to run the machines and keep the profits of capitalism being made, but too dumb and scared, to ever think of rebelling and revolting against their ruling class masters.

I've moved to Vancouver, BC.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 31, 2023:

I think the accountability group for women to call out and identify the men on dating sites that are fakes, assholes, scammers, cheats, etc., is a great idea and hopefully a counterpart group is out there or will be formed for men to do the same for the women who act badly as well, on dating sites. Because the dating sites themselves, are reluctant to get involved in that, except for the ones who are obvious fakes and scammers, as well as those who are abusive, harassing or stalking someone. But I think those groups like the one you joined are a good thing, because they can also identify who is simply a bad actor, like those who play games, string people along for weeks with messaging, and then ghost them, or stand them up for the first in person meeting, etc. I can't count the number of lying, game-playing, ghosting with no legit reason women I encountered in my four years of online dating. The only thing the groups need to be concerned about is to avoid lawsuits for libel, slander, defamation, etc., from the people they call out, by not using anyone's full real name, and that way they should be in the clear from that, as long as they use the offender's screen name or dating site usernames, etc., instead of their real full name.

It still amazes me how much more the typical agnostic/atheist knows more about the Bible than a ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 31, 2023:

It's the same thing as how so many foreigners who are well traveled and intelligent are actually much more informed and insightful about the US than all the native citizens here, who are instead ignorant and brainwashed about American exceptionalism and superiority. It is usually those outside a culture and a group that are the most objective, informed, and astute when it comes to seeing what's going on and and what the object group is really about.

55% of adults think Jesus will return to Earth (this includes 1% of atheists. [allisrael.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 31, 2023:

I'm an Agnostic, not an Atheist, and I don't believe in Jesus, but do think if he did exist as a supernatural being and returned to earth, I have a feeling he would be very pissed off, esp. at his supposed followers...

Students at Sydney private school told sex before marriage makes you 'dirty and unusable': ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 30, 2023:

The same type that gives guns more rights than women.

I've moved to Vancouver, BC.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 30, 2023:

It's still worth the risk, you just have to be thick-skinned, determined, discerning about the profiles you encounter and the people you actually connect with thru messaging, then, along with all that, have the patience to weed thru and screen out all the liars, scammers, cheaters, and other people who are either too damaged or not serious or sincere enough to be interested in the type of relationship you want. I know of what I speak, I have been doing online dating actively for four out of the six years I have been widowed, been ready to give up a few times, never did. Dated two nice women for six months each, at different times, recently joined three additional sites, in addition to my longtime paid subscription to Match, one paid, to E-Harmony, and two free, Bumble and POF. And, lo and behold, I appear to have finally found my unicorn, on Bumble, where she and I connected about a week after NY, messaged for ten days, met a week ago, and have gone out on four real dates since then. So, it only took four years, but it looks like it can happen and did happen, even for someone as mismatched as me with my local dating pool. Why did she and I click so well and have such good and obvious compatibility? Because, as I alway knew my unicorn would probably need to be, she is a transplant to the Midwest, from MA, who came here in her early thirties, after already being culturally and socially formed in her lifestyle, from out there, instead of Iowa, raised in a blue collar family, so she wasn't into being very materialistic or concerned with social status, etc. In other words, not made incompatible for me with all the usual Midwest values that I hate so much and have rejected all my life, etc. So there is hope for outliers like me who don't fit their local dating pool, but it obviously involves a lot of time and luck waiting for the stars to align enough for the right person to end up on the same dating site as you, at the right time as well, which is something really rare, when most of our fellow outliers are rarely willing to use dating sites, and even when they do, like the woman I just started dating, they usually experience so much rejection, frustration, and disappointment, that they don't stay very long, and instead just quit trying, give up, and drop out, at least temporarily, and usually for good. That is why, for us outliers in our local dating pools, we have so few prospects that fit us at any given time in the online dating pool. So it is truly a waiting game and a numbers game. The rest of the dating pool is always full of the incompatible mainstream folks, as well as all the damaged, toxic, and dishonest. I wish you well and the best of luck.

When the heck is Trump going to be indicted in Georgia?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 27, 2023:

My magic eight ball says "Never going to happen", the same way he will never see the inside of a prison.

I won't go into too much detail but, I've been sick for over 2 months now and mostly bedridden.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 27, 2023:

He knows his job and cares about his mommy...Glad you have him..

Relationships What are your views on remaining in contact with ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 25, 2023:

Depends on how things were at the end of the relatonship, friendly vs. bitter and resentful. I am still friends with a woman I met from Match and dated for six months, nothing serious, but we are clear with each other on where things stand, and were also, at the time we broke up. She is occasionally dating another guy she met on Match, after me, and I just recently met someone I am really attracted to and compatible with, so we are both good with continuing to be friends with occasional contact thru messaging. No issues or jealousy, even before I finally met someone else after her to date steadily.

I consider myself equal parts jock, hippie, business professional, and nerd.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 25, 2023:

Rotsa ruck, Bill. This site was never much good for finding dating partners, but in the last few years it has dried up completely as a dating pool, even for LD dating. My advice, based on recent experience with dating sites, would be to try Bumble, Zoosk, and E-Harmony. Best wishes...

Japanese Man Spends Rs 12 Lakh To "Become" A Dog

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 25, 2023:

Sometimes the truth is even more surreal and bizarre than a story in The Onion. At first I thought this was a fake story from The Onion..

Wednesday morning cuteness

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 25, 2023:

One of these is different..

Monday morning cuteness

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 23, 2023:

The ma and pa have different markings, interracial feline couple?

Jesus is the reason for the treason

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 22, 2023:

I really don't think religion was a motivation for most of the rioters on Jan. 6, unless you count Trump worship as a religion, which I suppose you could. Their motivation was their love of and loyalty to the Trump cult.

She still hides alot and doesn't want to be petted, but came out to watch the aquarium with me in ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 19, 2023:

They do love watching fish and birds, cat TV...

Games not to play

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 19, 2023:

They will, because most of them are way cuter than most of us hoomans..

I think a part of the appeal of religion is from nostalgia.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 19, 2023:

I don't listen to the same music over and over, and neither did my late wife, who was 15 years older than me. She loved listening to modern singers, like Bruno Mars and Adele, etc., just as much as oldies, and really liked alternative and indie bands of today, same as me. But what really irritates the hell out of me, as a music and karaoke snob, is all the singers I see at karaoke, of all ages, but most noticeably and more commonly, the older people, is how many of them sing the same damned boring, stupid songs all the time there, every week, which gets really boring when you go to the same shows every week, and can usually predict exactly which songs they will sing, within an array of the same five songs or less. You can't tell me that these people only know five songs that they could sing as well as any other. I can't understand how they can't get bored with themselves or their repetition, but they don't seem to care and they sure don't care about boring the audiences at the shows. I just refuse to condone and approve their selfish boorishness, so when they sing, I duly ignore them, and then give them the perfunctory pity clap when they finish, no matter how well they sing. Because, whether they recognize it or not, this ain't American Idol, and they aren't singing it perfect, nor do they get any better at the songs with the repetition...

Monday morning cuteness

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 16, 2023:

Halloween colors..

Alabama Attorney General Wants Women Who Use Abortion Pills Prosecuted Alabama Attorney General...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 15, 2023:

Until men can get pregnant, they all need to STFU about abortion, unless they want to support women and be pro choice.

My son's houseplant, in full bloom.....

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 10, 2023:

Apparently, no boxes were available at the time...

The ginger genes run strong in this family 🥰

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 10, 2023:

Gingers tend to be very loyal, loving, and affectionate.

You have to understand that most people are not ready to be unplugged.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 9, 2023:

Sad but true. To me, a lot of people seem to be so consumed by social media and the internet, that for them those things are like The Matrix, and they don't even realize how dependently plugged in they are to it. And that's also true for all the reality TV and celebrity-worshiping junk TV they are also hooked on.

Feed me NOW hooman!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 8, 2023:

The cat is always right, rather than the hooman..

My ice cream cone! Mine! [twitter.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 7, 2023:

The hooman has forgotten their place in the proper order of things... Kitties like milk, which ice cream is a form of, so why wouldn't they like it?

What is the most bizarre dream that you've ever had?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 6, 2023:

The most frequent dream I have had over the years is an odd and negative one, but not that surprising for me. In a couple variations of it, I am back at one of a few old jobs I had and grew to not like. And in each dream I end up having to go back temporarily, for some indeterminate amount of time, and work at that particular job. I suppose the dreams are all about some form of regret or feeling I had some unfinished business at each job, maybe feeling that I wish things had gone better at them, etc. But in each case, I wake up later, remembering most of the dream, and conclude that my unconscious was probably processing some unresolved feelings about that particular old job I was in.

Mister turned 3 a few days ago.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 6, 2023:

Already enjoying the easy, leisurely life of most human retirees...

I want to get off my chest, it seems like a disproportionate amount of time I run into arguments ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 6, 2023:

I voted for the first one, because these are always people who don't really know me at all, much less what I have experienced, so they usually make an argument that boils down to, "Be grateful for what you have and thank God for it, etc. because it could be worse, other people have it worse, etc.". And that is bullshit, because unfairness is something real and not easy to be happy about. Secondly, even if I need to adopt that attitude, it's already all there in psychology and therapy, that does not have to involve religion or a God in any way, so they can blow it out their ass, as far as I'm concerned, with their grateful to God and believing in him will solve all of your unhappiness crap. To me, that would be using religion as an anti depressant drug, and just another addictive crutch, same as Marx's remark about religion being the opiate of the masses..

We're not human beings having a spiritual experience.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 4, 2023:

Who fucking cares, either way? Certainly not me..

Why are Lyft and Uber letting Christian drivers preaching at passengers? - YouTube

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 4, 2023:

I will stick with rides from friends, or, if not that, take a taxi. The cab companies still have some standards, and I would always rather support them, rather than the more exploitive ride share companies. I almost never need rides with friends these days, and so I will mainly need taxis if I end up traveling by air, in the place I fly to, as that is far better than renting a car, if I'm going to visit a major city, or esp. if i finally go overseas somewhere.

Tuesday morning cuteness

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 3, 2023:

Maine Coons are so furry and majestic...

The sad truth!!!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 3, 2023:

And I'd be willing to give my life to fight the fascists that support Trump and want to turn this country into a fascist, white supremicist, Christian Nationalist dictatorship. That is a cause worth finally dying for, unlike all the wars of choice during my lifetime, that were for oil and empire.

Nostalgias nice, but it was never as rosy as we remember.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2023:

The good ole days were great, as long as you were white, male, straight, and religious. Not so much if you were something different than that...

More people need to hear this.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2023:

Ever since Reagan, the above philosophy was replaced with Greed Is Good....

Thought this belonged here...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 2, 2023:

I wish I still had the confidence and swagger of that kitty...

It'z my burfday! I iz ayt!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 1, 2023:

Such a cute birthday boy or girl.

Cheaters are going to cheat, big surprise.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 1, 2023:

To Repubs and their followers, cheating, and esp. getting away with it, is a badge of honor, rather than shame, despite all their phony talk about being morally superior to Dems and liberals. We all know that is crap, but many people lack critical thinking skills, so they are gullible to all that phony talk about morality from Repubs. To entitled, privileged rich brats like Trump, the rules are only for other people who aren't like him, suckers, slobs, etc., who don't have or deserve his status. He laughs at people who take any rules seriously, sees them as naive and stupid. At his age, going to prison and doing real time, would never improve his character, but it would rub some of that arrogance off of him, from finally getting caught at and punished for something..

Cheaters are going to cheat, big surprise.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 1, 2023:

Well duh... In my experience, by the time someone gets out of college, if not before then, their character is already pretty much set for life, so who they are back then will tell you everything you need to know about who they are now, and have always been... I have seen very few people change over their life, as far as their character, between their 20s and their middle aged selves. Changing in other ways, sure, but not as far as their character... And that is also why, at least for me as a voter, I want to know about someone's past behavior, going back to their young adult days, esp. if they have never run for office before, because I want to have some idea about their character as a private citizen first, before I trust them with the power of elected office.

Happy New Year kitty lovers!

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 31, 2022:

Too cute! I want to pet them all..

Just think how much better the years 2017 -- 2020 could have been.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 31, 2022:

I think more how much better the last six years would have been if we'd had Bernie as prez, but, suit yourself.

I guess they put him in his place.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 30, 2022:

Appropriate shelf placement, for a human douchebag...

Don't blame the wrong people.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 30, 2022:

So true, but the haters never are deep enough thinkers for that, and they are also too chickenshit and selfish to bother with actually opposing those who are powerful and connected enough to create refugees... Same as seeing the poor as their enemy, instead of as fellow victims of the system and the rich, same as them, but that would mean actually opposing and blaming those they envy, admire, and aspire to be someday, and would also involve making some personal sacrifice to practice class solidarity. It's much more effortless and convenient to just bash the poor and vote for whoever is cruelest to them. The people who create refugees are in both major parties in DC, and they collude to create trade and foreign policy that cause wars and economic dislocation..

When corporations are convicted of felonies, their CEOs should also be charged for the crime.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 30, 2022:

Agreed, but don't doubt for a minute that even if going to jail might be an occupational hazard for CEOs, there will still be plenty of them willing to risk it, in exchange for the obscene money they are paid... They can still easily afford early retirement in prison, with a golden parachute awaiting them after they are removed from their position...

The poor little rich boy entitlement is strong with this one.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 30, 2022:

Which makes you wonder why so many "regular people" keep voting for Repubs, since it never results in lower taxes for the peasants. My guess has always been that their motivation for voting Repub is either their delusion that they will be rich someday or, more likely, that the Repubs do a better job than the Dems of playing to their hatred of those who are different than them, ie, immigrants, colored people, queer folk, liberals, etc. With the latter, even tho the Repubs will never help them economically, they at least get the satisfaction of feeling they are sticking it to The Other-their perceived cultural enemies.... as well as owning the libs, etc.

🚨 Chris Cuomo on No Lie Podcast

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 30, 2022:

I would love to have RCV here in the US, because it's the only way to break the stranglehold of the duopoly on fed elections, by allowing third party candidates the chance to win, instead of being seen as spoilers that people are too afraid to vote for. The only other ways to do it would be eliminating big money from politics or having fully funded campaigns for fed elections, and we all know that neither of those is going to happen, until both major parties are thrown out of power.

We all have our personal standards, some of them are more realistic than others.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 30, 2022:

On the one hand, I can see ending up alone as the crazy cat lady being a sort of karmic justice for women who are too demanding about who they will date. On the other hand, it is a positive for all those cats, that they have a home and are loved, presumably. The point is valid tho, for men and women, that having unreasonable standards will ensure you ending up alone in the dating and mating game, unless you are very rich, great- looking, or both.

With age, the things that are really important seem to become much more clear.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 30, 2022:

I wish I had one more year with my late wife, alive and still healthy.

Good Samaritan finds cat frozen to the ground in Muskegon | kens5.com

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 27, 2022:

Glad he didn't end up as a catsicle. A neighbor of mine across the street from where I lived many years ago, would cruelly leave her cat out in the cold and not let him in, because he kept wanting to go outside on sunny days during the winter. I would let him go inside our garage to get out of the wind, and would bring him back home later, making them let him back in. My wife ended up reporting them to Animal Control for abusing him.

Continued Gains for Humanists and Atheists in the 2022 Election - TheHumanist.com

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 27, 2022:

I can tell you that the lone pol from Iowa is pissing in the wind at the state legislature, where she will serve, since Iowa is very much a one party state these days, and the Repub Party here is very controlled by the religious right. My state is very religious, and intolerant as well, of those who are non-religious. No doubt this official happened to be from one of the very few districts in the state that is blue and not so religious.

I have 4 cats and had many failed attempts at a group photo for Christmas.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 26, 2022:

I love how grumpy all of your cats look. They are all so adorable..

Conservatives are upset their kids don't want to spend Christmas with them

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 25, 2022:

All of it is so well said, and it also explains why I will not be friends with or date any conservatives or evangelical Christians, as they live in alien silos from me and share none of my values, so why waste the time and effort with them? Same as with my family of origin, who never shared my values, even the siblings that shared some of my politics, I realized long ago the less contact and relationship I had with them, the happier I would be, so I cut my ties pretty much with them.

As someone that spent too many years not doing this, I encourage everyone to begin as soon as ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 23, 2022:

I adopted that attitude many years ago, when I became a proud socialist, while others would instead bash me and insult me for supposedly being lazy or lacking ambition, because I didn't join the bandwagon of being a submissive, loyal, deluded wage slave. I had plenty of ambition tho, ambition to be my own man and not be owned by anyone. And I inherited enough money that I even got to retire early, so my plan to eventually retire and tell the bosses to kiss my ass, finally happened. It's so nice to no longer live in fear about anyone having power over whether I could have the money to pay my bills, eat, or survive. But so many Americans of my generation bought into the con, that if they worked hard, were loyal to their employers, etc., they would eventually be rich someday, or at least be able to move up the ladder and be the boss someday, or at least get a cushy job in management or something better than entry level jobs their whole life, sort of like a plantation slave buying into sucking up to the master or the overseer and moving up from being a field slave to a house slave. The actual terms for those last ones involve the N-word, but you get the point. Ain't no diff between being a wage slave and a plantation slave these, days, except that you do get paid in money these days, and you are free to move on to the next wage slave job, instead of being tied to the same plantation your whole life. But either way, you spend most of your life, just working for the man, every night and day, etc., like John Fogerty used to sing in CCR.

How any woman can make herself instantly unattractive to any thinking man: wear a necklace with a ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 23, 2022:

Unfortunately for me, the vast majority of women in my local online dating pool are religious, and usually strongly so, so they always reject me, even the ones who are only moderately religious, that I am willing to accept and tolerate, because, why should they be open-minded and make it a two-way street of tolerance and open-mindedness, when they have three other men, usually fellow believers, to choose from instead of me, in our local dating pool? I am so screwed in my local area, and even with a larger dating pool of two hours away, because almost always, the women there are not willing to date long distance, even if I am and I am otherwise compatible with them.

I bet they feel betrayed, it breaks my heart (not).

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 22, 2022:

Fundamentalist religion, just bigotry dressed up in Bible drag, a line stolen from the comedy character Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian...

You got all that?

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 22, 2022:

Serial killer of birds, lol...

I'm tired of being single I needed a companion

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 19, 2022:

"I'll take Scammer for $500, Alex"...

Such a nice, thoughtful kitty.....

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 19, 2022:

Hopefully, the mouse is smart enough not to fall for it..

After eviction, Christian hate-preacher Jonathan Shelley can't find a new home

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 19, 2022:

They have no shame, but they do get angry as hell after they say the quiet part out loud, and justly get called out as the bigots they are. In other words, I have the right to free speech, but you don't, because I'm right, you're wrong, so you have no right to call me a bigot, etc. To them, it's all a one-way street... Once a shithead, always a shithead....

I have been reading the dating profiles on Facebook.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 18, 2022:

I think you are being too technical in your interpretation. Like many dating profiles I have seen from women, the women may be either not quite as literate and educated as you or I, so their wording is rather misleading and imprecise. What it appears, at least to me, that they mean is, that they are serious about getting married to someone compatible, instead of just dating indefinitely or casually. Some people, men and women on dating sites, are just not that good at using language clearly or precisely, so they are often misunderstood, even if the writer is being honest and sincere. Your example also shows, the hazards of not having someone literate and at least as smart as you, or smarter, proofread your profile, before you finalize it, because that way the obvious and less obvious errors will be found and corrected. I recently saw the POF profile essay of a male buddy who got me to join POF, after he was already on there. He was a newbie himself, to online dating, and it showed, in his profile essay. A woman on there had replied to his initial message to her with a one word reply, "Fake!". Her reason for that was understandable, after all the scammer profiles I have seen, both on here and real dating sites. He said in his essay, three things that were inappropriate and suggestive of being a scammer, so she tagged him as one, even tho all three things were the truth, but they were what I called rookie mistakes. He said that he had worked in Antarctica, was 195 pounds for his weight, and that he had no prison record. The second item was just unnecessary, unusual and weird, so she was suspicious of that, the first one sounded like typical scammer stuff about working abroad, and the last one, even tho it was meant to be humorous and light, seemed very inappropriate and suggested he was lying and probably had done time. I told him to eliminate all three of those things in his essay, and he would be fine, as his photos were good and the rest of it was fine.

From our Stark Contrast Department:

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 17, 2022:

I wouldn't get too cheery about the Dem record. Food prices are still sky high, Assange is still getting shafted, DeJoy and Powell are still in their jobs, as Trump appointees, we traded Afghanistan for Ukraine, in the MIC making their profits, our manu jobs are still all overseas, corporations still have way too much power to price gouge, and the Dems do nothing about that, or even talk about it, health care costs are still way too high, Medicare and Social Security are still way too inadequate to give everyone decent healthcare and a decent retirement, the mass shooting continue every day, and are getting worse..... I could give you a lot more. The Dems are marginally better than the Repubs in DC, but not much.

Cat safe after hair-raising rescue from Pelican Bay storm drain

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 17, 2022:

I am very happy for the cute kitten, but I am disgusted at how likely these same people wouldn't care a fraction as much about some adult person, or possibly even a child, who was poor or a racial minority, for example, who needed to be rescued from poverty or homelessness. Something to think about...

Saturday morning cuteness

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 17, 2022:

A Lynx?

Looking for a new profile photo which one works the best?

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 13, 2022:

For what my opinion is worth, as a man, I would go with the second one. All I do know is that I am turned off by women with profile photos that have the fish lips or duck lips face, as well as other goofy faces. It makes them seem either spacey or trying to be showing off. I prefer just a warm smile, as if they were being comfortable with a friend, or maybe a bright, big smile. I stay away from women with no smiling photos or no teeth showing, because that could mean missing or bad teeth, or simply their bad personality, that my female friends call "Resting Bitch Face".

Said every cat at 3 am

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 13, 2022:

It's nothing personal...

Before we criticize, the current generation for their enthrallment we should remember

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 12, 2022:

To be fair, some of the Gabor sisters did have talent as entertainers, the Kardashian kids, not so much...

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will...

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 12, 2022:

Something tells me the OP is way under 50 yo...

Don't forget your little ones this Xmas

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 12, 2022:

Hard to tell if the kitty is excited or scared, lol..

Has anyone seen the new friends feature on the Facebook dating?

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 12, 2022:

I am on FB, but know nothing about it. Does it cost you any $ if you are already on FB? I am wary of using it, as I could see the potential of scammers using it even more than normal dating sites. Scratch that. I looked it up on Google, there is no web version of it yet, probably never will be. You need a smartphone to use it, which I have no interest in getting.

A very interesting discussion and worth the watch although it is a bit long.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 11, 2022:

In some ways, I feel it has already begun, at least on the part of the right wingers. Witness the steep increase in attacks on places where black, queer, Jewish, and immigrant people are gathered, and it's clear that one side has already begun fighting a civil war against the groups that they feel are their cultural, racial, ethnic, and political enemies. As to a point made in the video, I am retired, widowed, and not nearly as busy as most Americans, and I am also a born pessimist, so am also not inherently hopeful. Maybe that is why I tend to see things more clearly and realistically about how America is falling apart, saw Jan. 6 coming, and, like Chris Hedges, tend to see things coming more clearly than most Americans. I do know that I see things way more clearly about what is going on than my married friends with kids, who are totally clueless about what the author in the video calls, "the nuances of what's going on in politics herea". I only wish that everyone was required to be aware of those nuances, in order to get to vote,... As for the video overall, I generally don't have the patience to watch anything over a half hour long, since most times the videos are too long, either from repetition, or the presenter having too much filler or elaboration of their points being more detailed than it needs to be.

Who’s giving Americans spiritual care?

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 11, 2022:

As far as providing spiritual care, ministers are being, and have been replaced, for some time now, by mental health workers, like social workers, therapists, and counselors. It used to be that most religious people went to their ministers for counseling, because it was less embarrassing to them and they already knew the person. Nowadays, as more people become secular, and mental health therapy is less stigmatized, they go to secular helpers.

Here's a chestnut that often comes up when a religious person finds out that I am an Atheist.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 11, 2022:

Going to church, or even simply claiming a religion, makes someone a moral person no more than sleeping in a garage, makes you a car...

FreeLeonardPeltier

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

Same with Julian Assange, but neither one of those will every happen.

There is something very affirming when, as a heterosexual man, a woman is happy to confide in me ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

I can relate, somewhat to that, as I have been the confidant of many platonic hetero female friends, about their past relationships with men, including their stories of rape and sexual molestation, because, I guess, they feel safe with me. But I haven't had them confide that sort of sexual history with me, as far as how men have rated with or been involved with them sexually in the past, as far as normal relationship sex. Probably because I am clear that I am not interested in hearing it and that it's not my business. I am fine hearing from them about the emotional business of their past romantic relationships with men, because listening to them and then them hearing my perspective on it, helps both me and the woman learn from their past, and also hopefully from making similar mistakes on our part in the future, with other partners.

I took my Range Rover to a specialist mechanic 2.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

Sounds like someone needs to learn to keep their religion to themselves. I would have reported him to whatever authority there is, and I'm sure there is one in Ontario, that issues his cabbie license, and have them lean on him. I believe that they can yank his hack license if he is abusive to customers. Congrats to him, NOT, for living up to every stereotype that white people have of immigrant Muslim cabbies.

This exquisite amicus brief was submitted to the US Supreme Court, by the Onion.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

Maybe I'm too ignorant, or thick, as the British say, but is there any particular case that this brief is supposed to be in reference to?

I love how old people solve their problems

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

Any old guy that would say that to his longtime wife, deserves to be murdered in his sleep, for at least the insurance money, lol. If I were him, I would be sleeping lightly with one eye open, as she would likely be solving both their problems, promptly....

The hazards of growing up before the EPA.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

I survived lots of parental abuse, but I paid the price, and chose to never have kids or be a young parent. It also scarred me a lot emotionally. But I did end the cycle and that was worth it. I cringe at the people who survive spankings, but carry on the practice and cycle of abusive parenting...

The hazards of growing up before the EPA.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

Or for that matter, growing up now, where much of those regulations are being reversed or eliminated. For example, how is growing up now, in Flint or Detroit MI much safer or healthy than before the EPA?

Cheato's diabolically clever hiding place for classified documents.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

That's my parody title for that retarded country song, "Digging Up Bones", which I call Picking My Nose..lol..

This just in...

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 10, 2022:

I think the ketchup on the wall story, pretty well settles that ?....

Civil wedding Vs Traditional wedding.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 9, 2022:

I didn't vote and have no real interest in getting married again. The one time I was married was in 1999, at a Unitarian church with two Unitarian ministers officiating, one from her church and one from mine. My only LTR, because here in Iowa, as a young man who didn't want to have kids or be a stepparent, that pretty well disqualified me from marriage or an LTR, since young women here seem to all have kids on the brain, at least then, if not even at my current age. We were both Unitarians who were active with our neighboring churches. That was when I was 41, working poor and had nothing to really lose in a divorce. Now I am 64, financially secure, and comfortably retired, so no way I am getting married without an airtight prenup, since I can't afford to lose half what I have, with a heart condition and the possibility of a stroke from it down the line, costing me expensive care for possibly the rest of my life. So most likely if I find a partner, she needs to have her own money and place to live, and I will keep mine. What my late wife, in her community college course on Courtship, Marriage, and Family, called "Pension Pals", people who are a couple, but remain unmarried for mutual financial advantages... Even with a prenup and such, I would not get married again unless the woman really insisted on it.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona: Why I’m registering as an independent

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 9, 2022:

You're right, she will not even run for re-election. She already has her cushy corporate or lobbyist job lined up, secretly. In the meantime, she loves the spotlight, and will suck up all she can of it until she leaves office. The Dems should have wrote her off long ago, same with Manchin, but behind those two, there are plenty of other centrist, corrupt, corporate Dems to take a hit for the team and play the villain, so that voters think the rest of the party is actually on their side and responsive to us peasants... And the rubes who vote Dem, of course, keep buying the act...

See you later Mom! My ride is here! [twitter.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 9, 2022:

Ever since those vaccums came on the market, I have imagined cats riding them as Ubers. Now I've seen it with my own eyes.

Beauty, family , movie, traveling ,work ,dance , music,games ,shows,fun

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 8, 2022:

And our latest scammer takes the stage...

Do you give money to the red kettle bell ringers outside every store?

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 8, 2022:

Thanks Julie, very informative. I never give to anyone who is ringing bells, or otherwise panhandling, because I only give to charities I already have researched and then either give online or by mailing them a check, not spontaneously giving in person. I also find it annoying that they and other charities hang around outside stores, often enlisting children to assist them and add to the appeals to your guilt and conscience to give to them. Same with boy scouts, girl scouts, veterans groups, and Shriners. etc. In recent years, the only charities I have given to have been a local food bank, public radio in my state, and Planned Parenthood. Nothing else either appeals to my values or seems legit and valuable enough in their service to justify it on my part. And I sure as hell won't donate to the Dem Party, since for all I know, most of it might end up just going to help elect more corporate Dems to congress..

Georgia Senate runoff vote: What Warnock's win means for him, the Senate and Georgia [bbc.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 7, 2022:

What a joke, so they picked up one more Senate seat. I can already see how little things will change with either of the two they picked up this time, as Manchin and Sinema will still always be there to take the blame for the Dems never delivering anything good or substantial, plus they can always blame those meanie Repubs, as well as the fillibuster that the Dems refuse to abolish. "Nothing will fundamentally change", that should actually be the new Dem Party slogan. They should thank Biden for giving it to them.

Do you think "micro donations" in politics contribute to polarization and the vilification of the ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 7, 2022:

I am all for micro donations, like Bernie had the last two times, for almost all of his campaign funding. It is positive if, like Bernie, they use the money to fund their campaigns instead of selling out completely to corporations and the rich for all the funding of their campaigns. Almost all the other pols in DC, Dem or Repub, sell out to all the same donors I mentioned, unlike Bernie, so there are exceptions, and I would much rather support them than all the Repubs and corporate Dems I see in federal office, because we all know that voters don't matter to these pols, just their donors. Same for either party.

Time spent together

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 7, 2022:

Not really, in my book. To me, it is something to use intially to test for chemistry or positive vibe between two singles who either are too unavailable to meet in person for the first time, either due to distance or time commitments that are in the way, or, in the case of a long distance relationship with limited opportunities to meet up in person, it compensates for that. But so do and so can phone calls, this is just an enhancement of the old LD relationship phone calls, for the modern age. To me, after the couple have met in person and established a mutual interest and commitment to date, from then on, the video chatting is a pretty poor substitute for spending actual time together in the same place. It can be too artificial, compared to spending time together most of the time in the same location, and can lead to relationships dragging out while deteriorating while the couple grows apart, but is able to cover up and deflect from separation issues longer than they should.

Vandalism is getting to be a lot less in my area.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 6, 2022:

I would never live out in a remote or rural area, because I do not trust most people enough, esp. these days, with the right wing, violent nuts out there, to be at the mercy of strangers who might attack me or vandalize my property because they don't like my politics or non-belief. I would always rather be in a suburban area, like I am now, where crime is low. I live in a condo apartment building, with security doors and an underground, indoor garage, so if anyone who doesn't live here wants to get at me or my car, they would need to follow me after I left or look for me somewhere outside here. My neighbors know that I never have almost never have any visitors here, so they would be very unlikely to ever let anybody in the building, if they used the intercom and asked them to buzz them in to see me. And they know that I would be just as vigilante in protecting them. So, unless one of my neighbors develops a serious grudge against me and decides to vandalize my car or the door of my apartment, I have nothing to fear happening to me, my car, or my door from my neighbors. Because they also know that if anything like that did happen, it wouldn't be that tough to figure out who did it, and for me to retaliate. Mutually assured destruction, like the old Cold War days, lol...

Cat Will Do Anything To Fit In This Box | The Dodo - YouTube

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 5, 2022:

That is mean and deliberately frustrating the cat. It needs and deserves a bigger box and it's not right to frustrate the cat just to amuse the human. Cats seem to like boxes big enough to hug their whole body, because it gives them a full body snug feeling they like. Most likely it's a way for them to relive being in their mother's womb..

Hi, I was curious if anyone else felt as i do about birthdays.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 5, 2022:

My parents are dead, so my three siblings really have nobody left, except maybe their own guilt or sense of obligation, to have contact with me in recent years. My two sisters have some limited contact with me, initiated always by them, not me. My brother contacts me sporadically. I have never really been close to them after reaching middle age, and that is fine with me. In recent years, I have exchanged B-day cares with my two sisters, no B-day cards with my brother in a very long time. Also fine with me. I like my dealings with people to be completely straight up and honest, whether it's with family, friends, or acquaintences. I like it all clean and honest, no games. Life is too short to spend playing diplomat with people, and having to calculate or strategize how you deal with them, if it's with someone ongoing. Either I can be myself with them, or I don't need them in my life. So I guess, Lonnie, is that you and I are more alike than different on this score.

It’s official.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 5, 2022:

Like in the Mormon church, you are one of the elect, lol. Best wishes in retirement.

I just saw this.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 5, 2022:

Look an awful lot like the principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association Of America, which is the denomination of the Unitarian church.

Quick! To the Cat Cave!

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 5, 2022:

They do love to perch up high, plan their attack, and then pounce!

Time for some lanes to merge. Time for some worlds to collide.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 4, 2022:

We used to tax the shit out of the rich, esp. the multimillionaires, but then we stopped doing it. Back then there were very few billionaires, now there are way more. That's why, not so much because of inflation.

Judge blocks Indiana abortion ban on religious freedom grounds | Reuters

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 3, 2022:

This will never hold up once it gets to the top court..

Republican Elites Are Drawing on a Bizarre Blend of Cultural Weirdness

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 3, 2022:

Sounds like Amalric's motto lived on after him, like during the Vietnam War, when the bomber pilots said, " Kill them all, and let God sort out the mistakes"...

Re Kanye (Ye),

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 3, 2022:

I feel the same about MAGA hats, it saves me time and lets me know immediately who the idiots and assholes are. Kind of like someone wearing a special ed tag, it saves time, tho I don't despise them like the MAGAs.

Hey, How's everyone been?

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 2, 2022:

Well, you live in the US, like me, where we have had uniparty rule, at least since the late 80s, ever since. The only real differences these days, at the fed level, for the major parties, is the identity politics and culture wars, otherwise, the policies and agendas are pretty much the same, serving corporations and the ruling class with tax cuts and eliminating regulation of business, marching us to climate disaster, feeding the MIC and endless wars for oil and empire, etc. Right now, the Repubs are also moving towards open fascism and the end of elections, with a permanent dictatorship, while the Dems want to keep up the charade of democracy, with elections within the duopoly, instead of risking civil war and the disruption of civil war,, for their corporate masters to deal with. Both parties support the neofeudalism we have here, with neoliberal economics and trade policies, all to serve the rich and corporations, over the masses. I see no hope for getting out of this death spiral, unless either the masses collectively ignore the corporate media, quit believing in the major parties, and vote third party only in fed elections, throwing out both major parties in DC. Not very likely and the only way we can vote our way out of this. The other way would be tens of millions no longer cooperating with corporate control of our government, long general strikes, and massive protests, but I am afraid that if the masses took that first route, and voted in a true labor or worker's party, the ruling classes would have the major parties implement a military crackdown, declare martial law, and then we would have to either fight it out in the streets against the now openly fascist government, or else end up under permanent dictatorship.

Bipartisan bollocks.

TomMcGiverin comments on Dec 2, 2022:

Yup, two parties, both owned by and serving only the rich and corporate masters, but at least one of them offers some identity politics to the rubes in the 99%, who still think they are on their side, instead of just the 1%.