TomMcGiverin's Profile

Govt should make it as hard to get married as it is to get divorced.

Pralina1 comments on Mar 13, 2022:

Nah . I don’t care , and makes the wedding / playing house industry moving . No problem . I don’t care how many x someone gets married either . However , should be licences and tests and mandatory education and health exams and psych Evals b4 people reproduce . Poor or rich , doesn’t matter...

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 13, 2022:

Still glad I reproduced and so probably is the rest of the world, lol...

Maryland Will Become Second State to Prohibit Cat Declawing | PEOPLE.com

TomMcGiverin comments on Mar 12, 2022:

I wonder what is the other state that bans this?

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 12, 2022:

@Killtheskyfairy Interesting, thanks for the info. I was going to guess either that or CA.

Let's demand a windfall profits tax on excess profits.

davknight comments on Mar 10, 2022:

We need rent controls, price controls, and a landlord tax. In addition, we need to confiscate the yachts and mansions of American oligarchs. No mercy. Those who resist go to the guillotine!

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 10, 2022:

We are long overdue in having oligarch heads roll.....

Let's demand a windfall profits tax on excess profits.

Theresa_N comments on Mar 10, 2022:

I say nationalize the oil companies. In this age of rapid climate change we need to get rid of oil barons running the energy companies.

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 10, 2022:

But, but, but..... that's socialism (sarcasm) and we can't have that in America......

Sometimes maybe it’s our card to be meet a few wrong people before meeting the right once ! 🤔 ...

Tejas comments on Mar 10, 2022:

If you're not a scammer, I'd be very surprised.

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 10, 2022:

Maybe, I would rate the odds as a toss up. The OP's point is correct tho, as I can totally support their viewpoint on the uphill battle of the dating game.

Brittney Griner in Russia: WNBA star's wife and congresswoman react

RobertMartin comments on Mar 8, 2022:

That's why I stay my ass in the United States. Not taking any chances traveling overseas these days.

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 9, 2022:

I'm not afraid of traveling overseas, but I sure as hell am not visiting a country that is either authoritarian or having a civil war at the time.

Not having someone to talk to on a romantic level has made me delve into how to find a quality ...

glennlab comments on Mar 7, 2022:

I think it was particularly telling, after telling women how to change everything, that the advice in 11 and 12 was to just be yourself. When I look for a partner, I look for someone that I would want as a friend first. Everything else is just window dressing. My ex and I are still friends, ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 7, 2022:

Typical self help BS, the way they give contradictory advice and most people not only don't notice it, they still accept all of it at face value. And on your last point, unfortunately lots of both genders end up getting sexually involved with the wrong people or hooking up too soon, simply out of lust or loneliness when there is already no basis for even a friendship between them, much less a friendship already developed..

Monday morning cuteness

SkagwayKim comments on Mar 7, 2022:

Fluffy!

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 7, 2022:

Very...

An unsolicited message I received on Match.

TomMcGiverin comments on Mar 6, 2022:

First off, good thing you didn't send the reply, as the spelling and mentally-challenged twat would be able to report you to Match for inappropriate language and possibly get you booted from there. Secondly, who the fuck asked her to send you all of her political opinions? If you feel like it, you ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 6, 2022:

@Sierra4 Interesting that she appeared to be attractive-looking, as I have rarely gotten an unsolicited message from a woman on a dating site like Match, unless they were a scammer. And when I have, the woman was almost always below average looking, a 4 or a 5 at best. On Match, in my experience, you can't find out if a woman is a conservative without clicking into their profile, because almost none of them state their political affiliation at the beginning of their profile essay, which is the only part of the profile you can see without clicking on it and viewing the rest of it. Without clicking on their profile, you are only allowed to read the first couple sentences of their profile essay, nothing else.... Like you, I move on as soon as I read that the woman is a conservative,...

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick of all the anger and hatred in this world.?

K9Kohle789 comments on Mar 4, 2022:

Most people isolate themselves, the internet, so many cheap movies, not having common goals, the economy. Your best friends are from grammar school or high school, maybe college. The older one gets the more people they've lost in their life. A lot of this causes stress and anger. I lost my ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 4, 2022:

@Canndue It sure does, and it's not that I am anti-social. I learned long ago to substitute friendships for family relationships, with my toxic family.

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick of all the anger and hatred in this world.?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Mar 4, 2022:

Yes. Makes me want to move to Tibet and start a pagan nunnery in the Himalayas.

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 4, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 We really don't get extreme heat anymore in Iowa. I can't remember the last summer that had even a couple 100 degree days.

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick of all the anger and hatred in this world.?

K9Kohle789 comments on Mar 4, 2022:

Most people isolate themselves, the internet, so many cheap movies, not having common goals, the economy. Your best friends are from grammar school or high school, maybe college. The older one gets the more people they've lost in their life. A lot of this causes stress and anger. I lost my ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 4, 2022:

I hear you. In the last ten years I have lost my parents and my only wife. My friends are next. I am sick of losing more people these days than ones I gain or add to my life. It is lonely and frightening as a process, as it will only get worse. But I have a lot of company in that among people my age and my smugly married friends will get their share of it in due time. Maybe it will help change their attitude and perspective towards my struggles with being involuntarily single and widowed, as most of my married friends abandoned me after my wife died.

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick of all the anger and hatred in this world.?

Buttercup comments on Mar 4, 2022:

Watching the news does feel like walking on broken glass

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 4, 2022:

John Henry, a modern fictional saint and martyr. It does make one emotionally and spiritually weary.

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick of all the anger and hatred in this world.?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Mar 4, 2022:

Yes. Makes me want to move to Tibet and start a pagan nunnery in the Himalayas.

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 4, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 You live a couple hundred miles south of me, which makes a huge difference in how extreme the cold and heat are.

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick of all the anger and hatred in this world.?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Mar 4, 2022:

Yes. Makes me want to move to Tibet and start a pagan nunnery in the Himalayas.

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 4, 2022:

@Sticks48 I guess I must be cold-blooded or the summers aren't as hot here as they used to be, but the summers here don't bother me anymore. It's the winters that seem to last for seven months, that bother me. Iowa really has only two seasons, winter and summer, as fall and spring seem to each only last a few weeks at most.

3 House Republicans Vote Against Resolution Supporting Ukrainian People

davknight comments on Mar 3, 2022:

Take their yachts and mansions!

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 3, 2022:

That only applies to oligarchs. These guys merely work for our oligarchs.

Man kills 3 children, 1 other and himself at California church : NPR

CuddyCruiser comments on Mar 1, 2022:

These fucks are sick and should be locked up for life.

TomMcGiverin replies on Mar 1, 2022:

Apparently he wasn't willing to suffer that.

I'd like to add California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico.

RussRAB comments on Feb 28, 2022:

Mexico nothing! The Cherokee, Navajo, Hopi, and LOTS of Native Americans would have the first claim.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 28, 2022:

@NostraDumbass Don't bother debating him. He's an ass. I blocked him long ago.

Someone needs to send this to companies that want people to go back to the office even if they are ...

Pralina1 comments on Feb 28, 2022:

It makes the manager figure useless No intimidation and fear if working from home , and they want their workers to have both

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 28, 2022:

It's also the control. Same reason some businesses would rather spend more money keeping unions out rather than just paying more money to their workers, because they would rather pay more to have more control and power over them, rather than less with a union around.

‘Pray for Ukraine’: Religious leaders call for peace and God’s protection In response to ...

Aaron70 comments on Feb 27, 2022:

Wouldn’t it just be wonderful if we could pray away war!!!! We would have been done with that nasty business millennia ago!!!🙃

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 28, 2022:

I remember when the TM movement used to do publicity stunts where they would claim to meditate for peace like it was going to end war, lol...

A recent post from our little community @Unity has spurred a question in my tiny but hungry mind.

dalefvictor comments on Feb 27, 2022:

It seems the different political parties have forgotten what they are to have as a base of thought. Politicians are supposed to be elected by the people who they are to represent, instead, those elected support those with the most money. We should stop paying them since they no longer do our ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 27, 2022:

@Reignmond Good luck on eliminating campaign bribery and gifts to pols. Lots of legal precedents would have to be overturned and it would take a constitutional amendment.

A recent post from our little community @Unity has spurred a question in my tiny but hungry mind.

dalefvictor comments on Feb 27, 2022:

It seems the different political parties have forgotten what they are to have as a base of thought. Politicians are supposed to be elected by the people who they are to represent, instead, those elected support those with the most money. We should stop paying them since they no longer do our ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 27, 2022:

@dalefvictor Yup, a shit sandwich in which we only get a choice over the flavor of shit and how much is in the sandwich. Of course, the more bread you have, the less shit you have to eat, at least in our American system of capitalism.

A recent post from our little community @Unity has spurred a question in my tiny but hungry mind.

dalefvictor comments on Feb 27, 2022:

It seems the different political parties have forgotten what they are to have as a base of thought. Politicians are supposed to be elected by the people who they are to represent, instead, those elected support those with the most money. We should stop paying them since they no longer do our ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 27, 2022:

@Reignmond If we had ranked choice voting, where third party candidates would not be taking away votes from major party candidates, and thus being labelled a spoiler, then people would freely vote third party and we could get rid of the duopoly. But the major parties would never allow this, even tho it would greatly increase participation in voting, since voters would no longer have to choose the lesser evil. They could vote their first choice, second choice, etc... As it stand, the only way we dump the duopoly is a majority of eligible voters getting over their demoralization, ignoring the corporate media and the propaganda of the major parties, and voting in a third party government in DC.

A recent post from our little community @Unity has spurred a question in my tiny but hungry mind.

dalefvictor comments on Feb 27, 2022:

It seems the different political parties have forgotten what they are to have as a base of thought. Politicians are supposed to be elected by the people who they are to represent, instead, those elected support those with the most money. We should stop paying them since they no longer do our ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 27, 2022:

@Reignmond The sad thing is that most Americans never catch on to the bait and switch you describe above. And of the ones that do, most of them simply quit voting, once they realize it makes no difference with the two major parties. If only a majority of the voters would figure out the scam AND start voting for third party candidates who aren't already bought and can't be bought, then we could actually get our democracy back from the plutocrats. But even then, I fear, they would institute a military crackdown and a coup before they would allow the voters to regain control of the federal government instead of the plutocrats.

I Went To A Brothel With My Boyfriend.

Organist1 comments on Feb 21, 2022:

Their body language says some not so great things about their relationship (heads really far apart). As a psych major, I was trained to pay attention to that sort of thing. Of course, they could have been posed that way too. I had a threesome once too in my 20s, but we continued it all summer, and ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 21, 2022:

@mischl I've had an even more sheltered life. Never even had a one night stand, probably could have had a few and in retrospect probably shouldn't have passed them up. Obviously never had any kind of threesome.

I Went To A Brothel With My Boyfriend.

BitFlipper comments on Feb 21, 2022:

Astounding! I still can't manage to find a twosome.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 21, 2022:

@mischl Sometimes I almost wonder if I should too, besides Dave, lol. Better than joining a monastery... $1000 bucks an encounter? Hopefully one on one is cheaper, otherwise for me this would have to be a once or twice in a lifetime trip to Mecca, lol....

Stirring the pot LoL

Retiredsteve comments on Feb 19, 2022:

We listen some of the time. 😁

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 20, 2022:

See my comment above...

Looks like I just got blocked by HippieChick after she posted a rather catty, defensive comment ...

racocn8 comments on Feb 19, 2022:

You might consider asking HippieChick to be unblocked. She is understanding.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 19, 2022:

Can't ask directly if you are blocked, as you can't message them either. I don't care enough either to bother with third party back channel communications. This isn't the Cuban Missile Crisis, lol.

Thought we could use a laugh.

Mooolah comments on Feb 19, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin So you can write but not read this thread?

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 19, 2022:

I can write on it, but I can't read any of the comments by Hippie Chick, nor can I read my replies to her, since she blocked me. I am also blocked by tinkercreek, so any comments she made on this thread are also unreadable to me.

Thought we could use a laugh.

Mooolah comments on Feb 19, 2022:

Youth is wasted on the young. A watched pot never boils. My land line requires a court order to trace & access. A "smart phone" is merely a radio that is "smart" & can be traced or accessed as law enforcement chooses. I am uncomfortable with Big Brother in my pocket. Yes it has profound & ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 19, 2022:

Like I said earlier in this thread, tho I can no longer read it due to being blocked by Hippie Chick, I am too childfree by choice and have no one who is going to be in crisis needing to reach me anytime. Unlike you I am not that introverted, but at the same time, I like having my thoughts and some quiet most of the time I am alone. When I am alone and prefer connection otherwise, I can always use my landline to call someone, tho most of the time, they are not available to talk. Probably talking to someone more interesting and enjoyable by phone, or more likely engaged with someone in person. And if it's the latter, more power to them, why should they interrupt that for me? Like you, I do not prefer most of the common uses practiced by most of the human herd with their smartphones. I am not that selfish, nor do I need to have the phone as a constant aid for entertainment or inquiry in to what others are doing on social media. If I get bored at home and want some stimulation, there is always my laptop, the TV, my music collection, books, or attempting to call someone. Why anyone would want to have their smartphone as an entertainment backup when they leave home and go to a social gathering or a public event, is beyond me, as in those situations, if I had or have no one to converse with, I would simply bring a book and read that to fill the time I ended up with needing to fill without a conversation partner.

Looks like I just got blocked by HippieChick after she posted a rather catty, defensive comment ...

Mooolah comments on Feb 19, 2022:

I would answer you but you wouldn't like my response as in the past. So I defer to decorum, & will spare you the tirade I am prone to. Plus, I am ignorant as to the incident.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 19, 2022:

Do as you like, but I have no grudges with you, Moolah. The incident is pretty easy to find. The most recent post, by UrsiMajor in the Online Dating group. Her post is titled, " Thought we could all use a laugh".... As long as it's not a personal attack leveled at me, I am fine with tirades, Moolah, as I've done plenty myself, lol...

Thought we could use a laugh.

HippieChick58 comments on Feb 18, 2022:

I doubt if anyone that age has a rotary phone, or even a land line.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 19, 2022:

@HippieChick58 I am different than you. I have no kids and am estranged from my family. And until or unless I find another life partner, nobody really needs me like your family does you. And I am just fine with not being greatly needed by anyone for the time being. Even when I may find another partner, they don't need 24/7 access to me by phone, because if they did, I would probably be living with them by then. I am not eager to live with anyone again anytime soon either. So you may take that as defensive or not, but it's honest. I care about my friends, but neither they or I feel the need to have constant total access with each other by text. Different strokes for different folks. "You sound a bit defensive and hostile and I don't even want to go down that rabbit hole".... Gee, Paula, how am I exactly supposed to take that, as a compliment or something like that? You sound a bit defensive and hostile here, as well as sort of criticizing and insulting to me. Project much? Maybe try caring for yourself first and judging me less....

Thought we could use a laugh.

HippieChick58 comments on Feb 18, 2022:

I doubt if anyone that age has a rotary phone, or even a land line.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 18, 2022:

I agree, but I am 63 and still have a landline, but no smartphone. I have a tracphone that I use as my mobile phone when I am away from home, but I refuse to use it to text. If I am away from home when someone calls my landline, they can leave an old school VM on my digital answering machine. And when I get home, if it's in time to call back appropriately, I will return the call. The old school phone manners are not that hard to respect or cooperate with. Texting appears to be all about the convenience and time saving for the caller, which seems a bit selfish to me. I give my tracphone number out to almost nobody, because when I am away from home I am usually driving or at something where I don't want to be interrupted by a call or text. If that is too selfish or inconvenient for younger folks or even my age peers, that's just too fucking bad.... Few communications are so important, despite people's personal feelings about it, that they can't keep until the next day to be shared or responded to, esp. personal ones that are not medical or business calls. Too many people like to imagine or think that they and their communications are just so important or busy that they can't wait on doing or saying something.. They need to get over their own egos...

Oklahoma bill would fine teachers $10k for teaching anything that contradicts religion More ...

Garban comments on Feb 18, 2022:

Sounds like a Taliban policy?

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 18, 2022:

The evangelical Repubs ARE America's version of the Taliban.....

🤣 In New Yorker interview, Ocasio-Cortez defends Biden and Pelosi, urges readers not to lose ...

Piece2YourPuzzle comments on Feb 18, 2022:

10 years from now when AOC is the 1st woman "socialist" president and she hasn't fulfilled any promises on her way to the presidency, people will still gush over her because she talks a good game. Then when her 8 years of platitudes and mediocrities are over while she continues the U.S war machine ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 18, 2022:

@William_Mary Precisely, the same playbook, script and path as Obama. And to this day, I still can't honestly discuss his betrayals of progressives and his corruption with liberal Dems without them threatening to drop me from friendship as well as them questioning my sanity. They are so deluded and brainwashed by the media and the Dem Party.

Humanists UK In 2014, a young man in Greece made a joke on Facebook about a Greek Orthodox elder ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 17, 2022:

Sounds like the stoning scene in Monty Python's Life Of Brian....."Blasphemy!.. He said the word Jehovah!!"........ Some people really lack a sense of humor....

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 17, 2022:

@RhondaShotwell Esp. the way the patriarchs of the day don't allow women to participate in the stoning, so there are all these women wearing fake beards so they can have the privilege of stoning a man to death, lol!....

I don't know if or who has blocked me, just who I have blocked.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 13, 2022:

I'm up to almost the same total. All I can say is, "Well done sir!" I need to get going and do more of them, lol.....

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 17, 2022:

@AlbertSchepis Yup, my mistake..

I don't find it lonely at all but I suppose some people do and for those people there is church.

BufftonBeotch comments on Feb 17, 2022:

Many Unitarians are Atheists. But grew bored with those meetings too.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 17, 2022:

Quite true, and also about the boring part with many UU congregations. It's hit and miss, but you're right, Unitarians are mostly Atheists and Agnostics who want a church simply to enjoy some community and also have a place for their kids to get some form of religious ed and community without going to a Christian or Catholic church for it. Also, like Sticks would say, for many non-believers, bars are a secular form of church for them where they can enjoy familiar rituals and experience community with like-minded folks....

It's one of the things I look for in a partner 🤷‍♀️

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 15, 2022:

Me too, but unfortunately, my local dating pool appears to offer almost no women that are radical or socialist like me, at least ones that are interested in dating anyone at this time. It appears that about all the women who are lefty like me, are either already taken or else not interested in ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 15, 2022:

@JonnaBononna They don't own your vote, they don't deserve it, and they sure as hell don't care about earning it! They aren't even that concerned about winning federal elections, just about raking in all the corporate cash they can get, because that is their real constituency, the one they care about pleasing. Because even when they are out of power and in the minority, they still enjoy the corporate cash and all the perks of being in congress, while their kids still get the sweet jobs in corporate America and the fed govt. courtesy of their parents connections with the DC power structure. Same thing with their kids getting into all the Ivy League colleges. They win either way, no matter how the elections go, same with Wall Street and the MIC. Actually, the Dems prefer to be out of power and in the minority in congress, so that way they can pursue the same corporate agenda as when they are in the majority, and then blame it all on those mean Repubs, instead of on their own loyalty to their corporate donors...

It's one of the things I look for in a partner 🤷‍♀️

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 15, 2022:

Me too, but unfortunately, my local dating pool appears to offer almost no women that are radical or socialist like me, at least ones that are interested in dating anyone at this time. It appears that about all the women who are lefty like me, are either already taken or else not interested in ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 15, 2022:

@JonnaBononna I totally agree, and so did Susan Sarandon during both of Bernie's primary runs. She made the provocative campaign ad for Bernie where she said she voted based on her brain rather than her vagina! But unfortunately, my experience with liberal Dem women around here is that they are so obsessed with gender and wanting to elect a female prez, that they overlook policy, character, and record completely and instead supported Warren totally out of gender solidarity. And no amount of pointing out to them the contradictions between their choice and their progressive values seems to make any difference. They can't handle cognitive dissonance, at least not consciously, it seems.

I’ve got to admit I enjoy blocking.

Sticks48 comments on Jan 21, 2022:

It is a great tool.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 14, 2022:

@Sticks48 And yet, even tho I have no clue why she did it, as I believe I even agreed with everything she posted, JennyRad blocked me recently. Go figure......

Happy single person's awareness day 🤣🤣🤣

UUNJ comments on Feb 14, 2022:

Hallmark certainly changed its image, but the origins of the holiday goes way back. Valentine performed marriages to prevent men from having to go to war, since only single men were allowed to go into battle. A pissed off emperor beheaded Valentine for his actions. Not very romantic at all!

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 14, 2022:

Talk about a buzzkill, literally.....

I don't know if or who has blocked me, just who I have blocked.

Marionville comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Fear not…there are plenty of others here who are not haters and who are ready to listen to a variety of opinions and views…even welcome them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 14, 2022:

True, but they are becoming a rare and endangered species. I only block people if they become constantly harassing or argumentative with me, as I enjoy arguing, as long as someone maintains intellectual honesty and doesn't fall into name-calling and personal attacks. Getting harder to find those types here, but I think it's a good thing that we don't have all the heavy-handed moderating like in the past. At the same time, it has also resulted in a lot of cool people leaving the site for good, as they are either tired of the fighting in the forums or, more often, feeling cowed about being honest and open about their opinions for fear of being attacked.

I don't know if or who has blocked me, just who I have blocked.

racocn8 comments on Jan 29, 2022:

I'm up to 31 blocked; I endorse your philosophy.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 14, 2022:

I'm up to over 60 blocked and probably at least 30 have blocked me, but the latter is trickier to determine.

So this group goes a month without any new posts, until Mary Christmas, aka Proud Merrie, posts a ...

Tejas comments on Feb 14, 2022:

She didn't delete her post, its still there for everyone to see. When someone blocks you it hides their posts to you.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 14, 2022:

@Tejas I pretty much agree and have had the same experience with being blocked. All I ask of people and the system here is to be treated equally and fairly compared to others and to be able to defend myself and my views without some moderator taking sides against me simply because of my gender or my views making too many of their fellow women uncomfortable so that I am censored or censured simply because I am outnumbered by others willing to take sides. People need to remember, esp. here in dysfunctional America, that the majority is not only often wrong, they are also most of the time toxic in their thinking.

So this group goes a month without any new posts, until Mary Christmas, aka Proud Merrie, posts a ...

Tejas comments on Feb 14, 2022:

She didn't delete her post, its still there for everyone to see. When someone blocks you it hides their posts to you.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 14, 2022:

@itsmedammit, @Tejas See? I bet they have succeeded in cowing you as well as most of the other men to not dare to buck the sisterhood on Agnostic.

So this group goes a month without any new posts, until Mary Christmas, aka Proud Merrie, posts a ...

Tejas comments on Feb 14, 2022:

She didn't delete her post, its still there for everyone to see. When someone blocks you it hides their posts to you.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 14, 2022:

@itsmedammit Suit yourself. I will not let misandrist women like Merrie bully me into shutting up about her behavior and attitude towards men that disagree with her. I wouldn't be surprised if she is talking shit about me behind my back in her post that I can no longer read or comment in. Why don't you tell HER to let it go or move on? Didn't think you would..., few women have the guts to openly buck another member of the sisterhood. And so I guessed wrong about your position on the past squabble with someone, whoop-tee-freakin'-doo? Something I bet lots of people on here have done when they checked in with another member of Agnostic for an opinion.... I had no need to block her, as I can defend myself just fine one on one in a thread where I am allowed to comment. Guess she couldn't take it, but I was just getting warmed up and having plenty of fun. As to your ? about high school, no, this is an internet community, with its share of factionalism and taboo subjects which few are willing to discuss openly and honestly, such as misandry by some of its members, so I suppose in some ways, it isn't much more evolved than high school....

So this group goes a month without any new posts, until Mary Christmas, aka Proud Merrie, posts a ...

Tejas comments on Feb 14, 2022:

She didn't delete her post, its still there for everyone to see. When someone blocks you it hides their posts to you.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 14, 2022:

Ok, that's what I suspected. It figures she did that, can't handle me being able to defend myself on there. I hope someone has the guts to defend me if she talks shit about me on that thread, but I won't hold my breath. I let racocn08 know about the situation, so he can report to me about it. Typically gutless of her... So then, she can't see this post. Wonder which of her gal pals will be reporting about it to her, hee, hee.....? You have any opinion on the matter, Jeff?

I don't know if or who has blocked me, just who I have blocked.

FvckY0u comments on Jan 29, 2022:

I don't care about changing the world. I'm good with arguing with people still at my age so I've not blocked anyone. I don't see a point in it unless they are harassing me. But if I were 67 I'd probably rather block someone that argue with them.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 13, 2022:

I'm with you, I love verbal combat, and am told I can hold my own with the best of them, including lawyers, who are paid to argue, lol....

Hey you guys! Good to see this group is still up and running.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 13, 2022:

It's still here, but it's pretty dead most of the time. Probably because most people got tired of being slammed and blamed for any dating woes that they posted about here, so they either left the group or decided to keep their dating experiences to themselves. You are no longer the moderator, Mary, ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 13, 2022:

@MaryChristmas Block me, don't block me, I don't give a rat's ass. I'm having fun as it is.....

Hey you guys! Good to see this group is still up and running.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 13, 2022:

It's still here, but it's pretty dead most of the time. Probably because most people got tired of being slammed and blamed for any dating woes that they posted about here, so they either left the group or decided to keep their dating experiences to themselves. You are no longer the moderator, Mary, ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 13, 2022:

@MaryChristmas Well congrats on the wedding. Guess it proves there is someone for everyone, lol...maybe even me AGAIN, someday. As I have only been married and widowed once, in my only LTR, which is a record that most divorced people should envy and that few on here can match, being one for one on LTRs. It just shows I am fairly unique and have high standards as well.

Hey you guys! Good to see this group is still up and running.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 13, 2022:

It's still here, but it's pretty dead most of the time. Probably because most people got tired of being slammed and blamed for any dating woes that they posted about here, so they either left the group or decided to keep their dating experiences to themselves. You are no longer the moderator, Mary, ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 13, 2022:

@MaryChristmas Looks like I struck a nerve, Merrie. I will edit to my heart's content, as there are no rules against it. You can always block me, since you dislike me so much, but I will not give you the satisfaction of me blocking first or giving you the last word. I don't cave easily and can do verbal combat with the best of them, hee hee.... If the parties I mentioned don't like my referring to them, they will let me know. They don't need you speaking for them. If they don't like it, I will make my apologies to them privately, not to you, as it's none of your damn business... Do you always say " Buh-bye" and then NOT go away, lol? Sounds to me like you just can't stand not having control over me....

Hey you guys! Good to see this group is still up and running.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 13, 2022:

It's still here, but it's pretty dead most of the time. Probably because most people got tired of being slammed and blamed for any dating woes that they posted about here, so they either left the group or decided to keep their dating experiences to themselves. You are no longer the moderator, Mary, ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 13, 2022:

@MaryChristmas Your opinion and perspective, Merry. I still have my friends on Agnostic, male and female, who don't agree with you about me, so you can shove your judgement. Block me or not, I won't take any crap from you or any of the other women on here who are so quick to call men incels whenever we cross you. And as far as dating woes, I have dated two women for six months each during three years active on Match. Each ended amicably and by mutual agreement, so that disproves your reach of calling me an incel. What can you say about your own behavior and track record with dating? Care to match me? racocn and Sticks don't agree with you and the rest of the incel-labelling women on here that are your pals and have privately said so plenty of times to me, among other friends of mine on here, such as Pralina and Hippie Chick on the female side, and several others I could name from both genders, so stuff it.... The fact is, as plenty of other men on here have said, is that many women, like you, are not able to accept or deal with any general criticisms of other women or the sisterhood in general, so they attack all men who make those criticisms and are quick to label them misogynist, incel, or both. By doing so, you only show your own weakness and insecurity. If anything, you are guilty of misandry.... Sucks for you to not be in charge anymore, but you're the one, unlike me, who chose to leave here...

Hey you guys! Good to see this group is still up and running.

TomMcGiverin comments on Feb 13, 2022:

It's still here, but it's pretty dead most of the time. Probably because most people got tired of being slammed and blamed for any dating woes that they posted about here, so they either left the group or decided to keep their dating experiences to themselves. You are no longer the moderator, Mary, ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 13, 2022:

@MaryChristmas I will hold it, but I don't need to block you. You never apologized for banning me, so I don't owe you squat, much less forgiveness. I'm just glad you are no longer able to exercise being power-mad or abuse your past authority. I don't need no stinking mods to protect me nor a block to deal with people like you. All I need is free reign to give it back better than I get.

Christina Wallace: How to stop swiping and find your person on dating apps | TED Talk

Sticks48 comments on Feb 12, 2022:

I prefer the organic way of meeting women. I don't think most people are very honest about themselves in print., and if you meet someone who lives very far away, which l have on this site, that creates a whole new set of problems. It is not for me.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2022:

@Sticks48 I'm not as comfortable with or into bar people as you, but then again, I don't drink and never enter bars except for live music or to sing karaoke, so we are different that way. I have seldom ever met any compatible women, at least for me, at bars since I became middle aged and quit drinking, so we each need to go with what works for and is comfortable for each of us. I do agree with you that bar people often seem to be more open and " real" about who they are than people who won't go to bars. Those people, in my experience, tend to be rather pretentious and snobby, but sometimes they have way more in common with me than the typical women, like barflies, that I commonly run into at bars. The women who regularly go to bars just don't seem to have compatible qualities for me.

Christina Wallace: How to stop swiping and find your person on dating apps | TED Talk

Sticks48 comments on Feb 12, 2022:

I prefer the organic way of meeting women. I don't think most people are very honest about themselves in print., and if you meet someone who lives very far away, which l have on this site, that creates a whole new set of problems. It is not for me.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2022:

@Sticks48 And because of how low and scattered the membership of this site is, LD relationships are the only options available, unless you either live in a very secular part of the US or in a very large metro area. I live in neither of those, like most of the members here, so it's either a paid site like Match, or nothing... And you are so right about being up front about who you are in your profile. Because if you aren't, you are simply delaying the rejection until a bit later, rather than right off the bat. I would rather have my rejection right off the bat than after some pointless messaging or even an in person meeting, if there is incompatibility on something basic like politics, religion, kids situation, or drinking habits, or country music, for that matter..

Christina Wallace: How to stop swiping and find your person on dating apps | TED Talk

bobwjr comments on Feb 12, 2022:

Gave up

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2022:

I hear ya. I have wanted to give up a few times now, out of three years active on Match. Online dating is mostly an emotional rollercoaster, in which things can radically change, for better or worse, on a dime, so quickly. I think the only way to stick with it is to somehow have low expectations without somehow also coming off as pessimistic or negative. Much easier said than done...

Christina Wallace: How to stop swiping and find your person on dating apps | TED Talk

azzow2 comments on Feb 12, 2022:

I am still not convinced that the effort is worth the reward. It seems that most people are superficial and that nobody takes time out to get to know each other.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2022:

Research studies on online dating have always borne these points out, arrow. Both men and women focus pretty much on the most attractive looking people, based on their profile photos, and ignore the rest of the person's qualities, traits, or profile info...

Christina Wallace: How to stop swiping and find your person on dating apps | TED Talk

Sticks48 comments on Feb 12, 2022:

I prefer the organic way of meeting women. I don't think most people are very honest about themselves in print., and if you meet someone who lives very far away, which l have on this site, that creates a whole new set of problems. It is not for me.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 12, 2022:

I think you and arrow are both right, but I have no choice. My networks for meeting women organically are pathetic or non-existent, so I have no choice but to use online dating. A woman I was really interested in, but ended up mutually rejecting-because she was a Trumper and also loved country music- asked me if I had ever considered using a local matchmaking service, but I had already heard stories from other women on Match that said it was a scam and so I told the woman I had looked into it, but did not feel it was worthwhile. This latest woman was the latest of several I have run across on Match that list their political affiliation as Moderate, even tho they are really conservative Trumpers, probably because they are embarrassed or afraid of being rejected if they were open about it in their profiles. I told her it might be a good idea to state her political position openly in her profile, as well as saying how she loves country music. She said she might do so. I don't see why people hold back stuff like that and waste both their time and that of others by attracting incompatible people.

Study: Black and Latino Churchgoers Turning to Pastors for Mental Health Services

jlynn37 comments on Feb 11, 2022:

I would say that the primary reason for this is financial.

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2022:

That could well be true in many cases. Some folks are too poor or without decent insurance coverage for mental health services, so they go to clergy instead. But that is still a lame excuse for many people as most poor folks qualify for Medicaid, which does cover mental health services, plus, for the working poor without mental health coverage there are often publicly funded mental health clinics that operate with a sliding fee scale to be able to serve the working poor or those without insurance coverage.

Our friend @sookiesue has returned.

Sookiesue comments on Feb 11, 2022:

Aw…. such a shame so many friends have left. We do have a large bunch of us on the face place…. but the religious folks make it shitty at times. I am glad you are all still here! I hope everyone is healthy and happy! Thank you all! Maybe with less members I won’t get blocked so much! ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2022:

@Sookiesue Beats me. Jo also blocked me on FB, besides banning me, and was too chickenshit to even notify me or inform me why she booted me. I had a third party, another member of the FB group reach out to ask her and she simply told them it was a "boundary issue" and would not elaborate further. She is a crazy bitch and I'm not surprised she got banned from Agnostic. Obviously power goes to her head and it's silly that she has all the power over the Agnostic FB group. Since she has me blocked on FB, I can't ask her why she booted me.

Our friend @sookiesue has returned.

Sookiesue comments on Feb 11, 2022:

Aw…. such a shame so many friends have left. We do have a large bunch of us on the face place…. but the religious folks make it shitty at times. I am glad you are all still here! I hope everyone is healthy and happy! Thank you all! Maybe with less members I won’t get blocked so much! ...

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 11, 2022:

Funny you should bring up blocking and the FB group for people who left Agnostic. I was on there for a few weeks before Jo Slaight, who got banned from here long ago, went on a power trip and banned me from the FB group. So now I am either stuck with just this site or having no place to interact with non =-believers.

Republican Party is coming apart. [youtu.be]

LucyLoohoo comments on Feb 8, 2022:

We can only hope!

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 10, 2022:

@LucyLoohoo Suit yourself, as my grandpa used to say....

Republican Party is coming apart. [youtu.be]

LucyLoohoo comments on Feb 8, 2022:

We can only hope!

TomMcGiverin replies on Feb 9, 2022:

@CuddyCruiser Hope is an illusion that keeps people trapped in the habit of voting within the duopoly and thinking that simply voting and electing corporate Dems is ever going to change or improve anything....