Wednesday morning cuteness

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 25, 2021:

Family portrait.

Yet they tell others not to vaccinate

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 24, 2021:

Hypocrisy and lack of shame are core Repub values, haven't you figured that out yet?

Driving in the flatlands Aug 21, 2021.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 24, 2021:

Hey, it looks just like you, Deb. Looking good!

It Took Divorce to Make My Marriage Equal | Glamour

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 24, 2021:

This kind of essay makes me so glad I never had kids, because working out a marriage of equals can be hard enough without bringing kids into the mix, but almost all the women in my state end up so brainwashed with the farmer's daughter mentality, that never having kids never occurs to them, or if it does, they cave into all the social pressure of the mainstream culture here and have kids before their bio clock runs out. And it's also important to remember that there are no garauntees that children will comfort and look after you in old age and sickness, but I have to wonder sometimes if that is the main reason that so many otherwise independent, smart women still have kids despite what it does to their lifestyle. The only couples in my family that had the guts to buck the mainstream culture here in Iowa, are my older sister and her hubby, who use dogs as a substitute for kids, and my godparents, which includes a cousin of mine. They didn't even have pets and are richer than God, California Reaganites, who have had a great life of freedom and tons of world travel, which they never could have had with kids. And, from what I have heard and can tell, they are doing ok with being old and sick, as their younger extended family are giving them emotional support and they are able to hire whatever services they need.

It Took Divorce to Make My Marriage Equal | Glamour

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 23, 2021:

I first heard of this woman when I saw her giving a book reading on C-Span and was awed by her wit and wisdom, which led me to read her book God Land, which was so right on about Christianity and Midwestern culture and values here in Iowa, my state. This essay is just as insightful and on the money as all of her points in God Land. I strongly encourage anyone, believer or not, to read her books for an authentic and honest view of working class life and ordinary marriage in America, esp. in the Midwest, a part of the country-flyover land-that is always ignored in mass media, literature, or movies/TV, except for stories about meth and true crime, at least in my observation. In God Land, she writes about the decay and end of her marriage, as her hubby became a Trumper, and how her local church fell apart over conflicts over power and differences in beliefs, leading her to a search for a Christian church where she felt comfortable, wanted, and heard.

Sporting my godless horde shirt at work today. 😁🤣

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 23, 2021:

Good for you! That takes guts in most American workplaces, where almost everyone claims to be a believer, and esp. if you live in the Bible Belt or a red state.

New Rule: Your Phone is Turning You into an Asshole | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) - YouTube

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 21, 2021:

He's totally right about all of it, and I have been criticized, mainly by well-meaning female friends here on Agnostic, that I am too resistant to new tech, esp. smartphones, and also rejected by women on Match because I refused to have a smartphone, and learn to text or be willing to give them my tracphone number right off the bat after we begin messaging each other, because they would rather text me than keep messaging me on Match or trade phone numbers and do verbal calls. Maybe the latter group rejects me because what matters to them is their personal convenience of texting and doing one way communication on their part, and feeling a need to be able to send me messages at their convenience without having to go thru Match, regardless of what I would prefer. It's all about them. I don't want to join the texting world, as it is too prone to misunderstanding and lacks context. I also want to have verbal phone talk and face to face conversations be a priority with anyone I date, and if that is not ok with them, then they are incompatible with me anyway, as their values regarding relationships are too different from mine. They don't value clear, honest communication as much as me and they clearly don't value face time or emotional connection, because texting is so much worse than the other two forms of communication for that. Healthy relationships involve people commiting time to building them and making the other person one of their main priorities, if not their first priority. And if their first priority is being connected 24/7 to the digital world and social media, rather than being present in person and attentive to those they are meeting, because they are easily bored or afraid they are or might be missing out on something more fun, interesting, or attentive, then maybe they should just stay home all the time and play with their phone from there, instead of pretending to be interested in real offline friendships with others. I have a tracphone for when I leave home and need to make an emergency call or keep up by phone with friends when I am traveling. Otherwise, I make and receive my calls to and from friends at home on my landline and make an effort to keep in touch with all of them regularly. I am rarely active on social media, and use it mainly to message a few friends and keep up on the local karaoke show calender and news about that. So I have no need for a smart phone and I enjoy my peace and quiet at home or away from home when I want to be left to my thoughts or fully attentive and present to other people or an event I am attending away from home. Why would someone want to arrange their life to be constantly interrupted? I just don't get it, unless they are either very insecure, or have an exaggerated need to feel very busy and ...

Maybe karma exists

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 20, 2021:

Darwin award winner!

I wonder what would happen if life insurance companies started putting fine print in saying they ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 20, 2021:

I have heard that some health insurance plans are starting to not pay for hospitalizations related to Covid if the person refused to get vaccinated before being infected. I wish that was enough to get them to get vaxed, but I doubt it will, as they will just assume it could never happen to them...

Scammer messaging me wants to know how I can tell he's a scammer.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 20, 2021:

Is that on a dating site, Deb, or on FB?

Something they should think about

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 20, 2021:

I am glad to see that at least we now are up to almost two thirds of Americans being woke up enough to realize that the Afghan war was a mistake and not worth fighting, it only took twenty years to get there, probably about the same as with Vietnam, but I am not that encouraged that the next war our government gets us into for empire, the next long war, will be any harder for them to begin and keep going. Between the power of the corporate media to sell the American public on wars, and the lack of a military draft these days (altho we still have the Poverty Draft, and that will always be able to fill its quota of cannon fodder, with our shrinking job opportunities and the unaffordable costs of college), only a small slice of our population will be affected by serving in these wars, so we will keep getting them, one after another. So, not long after the next one starts, the public will mostly go back to sleep with the help of the corporate media and government propaganda, and that war will be able to go on for years with no real problem, esp. if a Dem is prez.

"I heard the news today, oh boy.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 20, 2021:

Thank you for all your supportive reactions. It makes me realize how many of you are much like my old friend and coach, which is always good for me to be reminded of, that I am not alone in being a square peg in a round hole culture, at least where I live and probably also where a lot of, if not all of, you live. Life gets so hard emotionally at times when we feel isolated or part of such a small minority. But even tho we are a tiny minority in the US, there are still many of us, and that helps make it feel not quite so lonely or alienating to be a non-believer in the US.

Just a reminder about privilege

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 20, 2021:

Those kind of people never give a rat's ass about any members of minority groups being discriminated against. The meme about white privilege assumes the people who whine about masks have empathy for others. I have seen and known their type my whole damned life, and I assure you they are completely lacking in empathy for those different than them. That is why they are conservatives and racists in the first place. In fact, they have little empathy in general towards other human beings, including those of their own race, esp. if those people are poor and the person lacking empathy is well off. They only understand and empathize with those of their own kind.

Something they should think about

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 19, 2021:

Nope, wasting one's time and breath on them. They think and care only about themselves. To them there is no society, only individuals, and the only individuals that matter are themselves.

Well I'll be damned.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 19, 2021:

Update: For the second time in as many weeks, I have been rejected on Match by what turned out to be strongly religious women who appeared, in their profiles, to not be strongly religious, just average Christian believers, which is why I messaged both of them. as I am open-minded enough to give a moderate believer a chance. I don't have much choice in that, to be honest, since my dating pool is about 80% full of women who are believers, so I have to be accepting of them or be left with very few prospects in my dating pool who are otherwise compatible with me all other things being equal and a match for them and me on looks, and the other usual dealbreakers and preferences for both the women and me. Ah, but the smug confidence and close-mindedness of the believers in my dating pool, as they are well aware of how much the numbers and skew of the dating pool favor them over non-believers, so that these last two times, as always, the believer rejects me no matter how tolerant and open-minded I might be on religious difference between them and me. They know how much of an overwhelming majority they are part of in my dating pool, so they have no need or incentive to be open-minded or tolerant, holding all or most of the cards in my local dating game. But at least now Match has restored their old profile format, so that when I view their profiles, I can see what their preferences are for a dating partner on the trait of religious affiliation. When I originally messaged the LDS woman who finally replied to me today, and then rejected me when I told her I was really an Agnostic, rather than Spiritual, but not religious (a change I just made on my own profile, no more pussy-footing around that hoping to seem more acceptable to women who are more open-minded than most believers), I was not able to view her trait preferences, which said she only wanted men who were believers, but now I can. She also, back then, did not say in her profile that she "strongly believed in God", but that is in there now. I messaged her back today, after she rejected me, and told her she might want to consider putting it right in her profile essay that she is only interested in dating men who are believers, since many men will probably not be diligent and notice her preferences for that trait in the profile list of traits she is looking for, so it might save time for her and some men who would otherwise message her. I held back from also telling her that she might try some site for believers only, such as Christian Mingle, but didn't want to risk Match terminating my membership for being mean and snotty to her.

So who won the war in Afghanistan? This guy nails it.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 19, 2021:

For all the fake talk about seeking bipartisanship, mainly spoken by the Dems claiming they need it from the Repubs, the war machine is the truest form of bipartisanship, and it's lasted for over a century after the US first decided to emulate the British as imperialists. We need a third party that rejects imperialism and wars of choice, and runs candidates who really are anti-war, rather than smooth liars like Obama who claimed to be anti-war, until they got power. The things that are truly wasted in these wars of choice for empire, like Vietnam and this one, are the soldiers who die needlessly for a lie and the profits of the military contractors, as well as the civilians who also die in every one of these wars as collateral damage.

Does your cat do this ?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 18, 2021:

Not pleasant, but it probably beats what a former girlfriend said her cat did to her sometimes, which was to fart into her face...

Dare to question god's wisdom?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 18, 2021:

It's not about feeling protected, it's because, for many of them, having a gun makes them feel like more of a man....

Not a lot of difference is it

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 18, 2021:

I have often said that the Taliban and the Repubs are much the same in their authoritarian traits, and nowadays, the Repubs have added the similarity that they will use violence against their domestic opponents, at least thru their supporters, to achieve their goals. They support the domestic terrorism of their supporters without any sense of shame anymore.

Perspective

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 17, 2021:

No, I think success is more about relationships than achievements or material wealth, but my perspective is influenced by having more "success" at the former than the latter. It appears, from my experiences with online dating, that most women in my local dating pool, at least among the ones who are college-educated and professional class, that success is more about the latter than the former, and that they will only date men who are "successful" in the latter sense. Which is ironic, since all of them are divorced, and one would think that their top priority in trying again with another relationship would be someone with a good record in relationships, both with friends and significant others, but apparently the impressive resume is more important to them in who they choose for their next potential partner. So, in my opinion, they get what they deserve, which, from what I hear, is usually another failed relationship.

To all those democrat supporters whom everytime there is criticism of Biden/ Harris/ Democrats they ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 16, 2021:

I began criticizing Biden as soon as I knew the fix was in with the Dem leaders for him to get the nomination instead of Bernie, so, yes, I was never waiting on this mess to begin criticizing him, esp. with all the campaign promises he has already dropped without even trying to get them passed in congress. Plus, he has had more than enough urging from his supporters to fire DeJoy and save the Postal Service, but he has let that slide too, showing how much of a corporate sellout he is on that crucial issue too.

Let's Start "Nation Building" America, Again.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 16, 2021:

I'm sure the Military Industrial Complex already has another invasion or two planned for the next long war without any real need or purpose regarding defending the US from attack or invasion.

Certainly been my observation.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 16, 2021:

Matches my observations of the rich in what is publicly reported. In my personal life, I have only been familiar with one person who was really rich, a guy that owned a business I used to work for. He was worth 78 million, allegedly. His behavior was sort of twisted, as he would pinch pennies in most ways on how most of his employees were treated, such as the plant having no air conditioning for the factory floor, and barely any heat for the same during the winter, while some of them got treated really well financially, and the office employees had climate control year around. He also went thru the motions every year of having a ceremony every holiday season where all the employees would be gathered together for him to hand out gifts to them on that one day, things like a Wal-Mart gift card for a couple hundred dollars or so. Big fucking deal. I think it allowed him to think he was some kind of generous business owner, but it always struck me as something straight out of Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol. He also was reported to spend way more money on political contributions to the Repub Party than he ever spend on his gifts to employees...

Afghanistan Irag BushSr BushJr DickCheney MedicareForAll NoMoreEndlessWars

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 16, 2021:

Simple. Those 45K deaths are of peasants, while the endless wars were for the profits that wars generate for corporations and a few wealthy individuals. The 3000 dead Americans from 9-11 were just an excuse for beginning endless wars, not the real reason for the wars. But the corporate media and the Bush administration successfully sold the excuse to get most Americans to support the beginning of the endless wars.

I could not resist getting this mask.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 16, 2021:

Similar to Hannibal Lecter strapped to the gurney in The Silence Of The Lambs.

Is ALL that the Qpublicans Bitch about Truly Projection? [rawstory.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 16, 2021:

Gee, and I thought QAnon was only about Dems eating children and running pedophile sex rings. Sounds like projection indeed.

A real nightmare WTF

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 16, 2021:

It's because they aren't really fighting for their kids, they are fighting for their own defiant, angry position that nobody matters but themselves and their own selfish "rights". They do not believe in the existence of any real society or any public good, just the rights of individuals.

Simple premise

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 16, 2021:

So true. While broad statements like the original one, about all being in the same boat, may be comforting to most, and also serve the purpose of the ruling class and politicians to trick Americans into ignoring class differences and inequality, specifics are much more helpful if the goal of communication is to be accurate and truthful. America is very much a class society, with one of the highest levels of wealth inequality in the world for developed countries, but because its class system is denied by the corporate media and not as openly displayed as, say, the British system, most people forget or deny it exists. That is why, for example, the Trickle Down economic policies of the Republicans since Reagan, would be more accurately described as, " A rising tide lifts all yachts, rather than all boats"..

Some random Kittie memes

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 14, 2021:

The Alien one proves that the cat is the only one smart enough to stick with the smart woman....

North Texas runs out of pediatric icu beds

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 14, 2021:

I guess having all those guns doesn't help any in this case...

How many of you can be single and happy

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 14, 2021:

I admit that I don't have as much experience as most people my age with LTRs, as I only had one so far in my life, but I was definitely happier during that than during most of my single life, both before and after that LTR. So that is my answer. Maybe if I had experienced more LTRs in my life, and had more of a variety of experiences with them, my answer would be different.

Nothing like a cheesy pick up line.. and yes, I have actually had this said to me.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 14, 2021:

Love the woman's comeback, very clever.. I am proud to say that, tho I may be a lot of things, I don't use pickup lines. I don't have the looks or the confidence to make it work anyway, so I leave well, or bad enough, alone....

Stupid and religion is a plague. How to tell from the stupid from the smart?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 13, 2021:

I read an opinion piece today in an online news digest I get each day. The guy said, and I agree, that because our hospitals being overrun with Covid cases is being caused by the people who refuse to get vaxed, then standard medical triage would dictate that they get to be last in line for the available hospital beds, treatment, etc. And doing that is not violating the Hippocratic Oath either. Sounds good to me, let them suffer and die for their choice, in order to save those that have tried to stay healthy, same as giving the liver transplant to the person who has stopped drinking alcohol and tried to stay healthy instead of giving the liver to the alcoholic who is still boozing and will damage the transplanted liver soon enough and die. You give the scarce resource first to the patients who are cooperative and most likely to benefit from the resources, and the ones least likely, get to wait at the end of the line.

At this point in my life I’m not going to be able to respect Bible thumpers.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 12, 2021:

I have been doing the same thing ever since I moved to Ankeny, a small city chock full of Trumper Repubs and conservative Christians. I got tired of having to be in the closet about my politics and my non-belief, so I let my co-workers know I was a socialist and an Agnostic. They mostly just avoided me after that which was fine. Have not done that with my neighbors in my condo building, since I have no need, I rarely interact with them in the first place, so it doesn't matter.

I find that it is usually best to date women with low expectations.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2021:

It depends what areas of expectations you are talking about. I don't have high or medium expectations, for example, on how many of my interests they share, as long as they share some of them. I don't expect them to have above average health, since mine isn't either. Same with looks. I don't expect them to have a successful, high status career, either now or before they retired, since I didn't have one. And at my age and being retired, that stuff shouldn't matter at all, (but sure as hell seems to when I encounter educated career professional women on dating sites!) as long as they are well-educated, either formally or by self, and they have enough money to be financially secure and afford the same kind of travel and entertainment as me. Beyond that, the "successful" career history is simply all about status-seeking and impressing others, nothing to do with how well two people would get along or grow a relationship, and much more to do with how important it is to fit into the woman's circle of friends and family in a way that gets their approval and support for the relationship. Too bad so many women seem to still really need and seek that at my age. I still have high expectations for what kind of heart, personality, mental health, and relationship skills the woman has, as those things are really crucial to having a good, lasting relationship, no matter who it is, and I will not settle on those things if there is any way to avoid it and still find a partner. I already went thru several hard years of doing all the emotional work while my wife had dementia, so why would I want to choose someone who I knew already was really lacking in one or more of these areas and set myself up to have to struggle extra hard from the git go to make it work with them?

I'm at a loss on more of these dating profiles. This has to be fake, right?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2021:

He may well be for real, but his pitch seems very suspicious. I would be wary if I were a woman on that dating site.

Just found this poem on my phone.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2021:

Things have changed since then, when Covid was making meeting in person too risky. You can meet in person, assuming both of you are vaxed. The rest of the poem stands as is.

P.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2021:

None of us are getting any younger. You are nice looking and seem compatible on your profile info, but you aren't getting any closer to where I live than several hundred miles away from me, so I'll have to pass. Where the hell is Hurst? I have no idea where you live, but I hope your local dating pool is better than mine is.. Best of luck to you...

Stephen King says Desantis is evil enough to be one of his villains but too dumb

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2021:

I'm just hoping that the next Repub fascist that runs for prez and get elected, as I'm pretty sure will happen, is not smarter than Trump, or we are really screwed, even more than now...

Everywhere we go in Italy there are signs similar to this one, taken in a McDonalds.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 10, 2021:

Where I live, the McDonalds places re-opened their lobbies, after going for many months with only drive thru being open. With the Covid numbers going up again in my state, they will probably go back to just drive thru again sometime soon. I am going to start mostly staying away from dining in restaurants, too much Covid risk, even tho I'm vaxed. I am masking up again when I go to indoor places and may also stop going to karaoke as much. I will continue to go to outdoor concerts, but I'm not sure what I will do this fall when all the music goes back indoors.

Trae Crowder - TWO BAMA BOYS ATTEND MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN RALLY [youtube.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 10, 2021:

Pretty funny. It's always ironic when someone parodies dumb rednecks, because in reality most of the dumb rednecks would probably not get the irony or see the two guys in the video as parody or funny, they would take those two seriously. Same thing used to happen early on when Stephen Colbert started his show playing a fake conservative and lots of Repub pols came on there taking him seriously.

Atheist Agenda How do they know us so well? PS – Not sure what time 8:80 a.m. is. 😄

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2021:

Doesn't fit me. I enjoy sleeping late and am too lazy to do all that stuff...

If Florida Were A Nation, U.S. Would Consider A COVID Travel Ban: Doc

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2021:

Ah, Florida. A state full of lots of corrupt pols, most of whom are good ole boys, and a whole lot of crazy when it comes to its voters and residents.....Only Texas can rival it....maybe Georgia too in past decades.....

The horrible state of affairs today

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2021:

Quite true. Our pols, esp. Repub pols, love to talk about how much they value kids, but the cold hard reality is that they don't, except maybe for their own brood...

Had to post this by a Facebook friend!!!!!

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2021:

Good one. Sometimes even talk which seems to be about sex might be about something else.

How?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2021:

Beats the hell out of me. I just keep trying my best and settle for being happy in stretches here and there.

I am always impressed by the unrivaled stupidity of the religious institution.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 9, 2021:

And yet those same churches will oppose a woman's right to a legal abortion if "God" fails to protect them from pregnancy. Fucking hypocrites!

Let's talk about people who describe their STDS on a dating site.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 8, 2021:

I honestly don't know. Would have to give that some thought. Haven't had partner sex for longer than I want to admit, and it was last with my late wife. Who I know was faithful and we both got tested for STDs before we began our sexual relationship. How romantic it was, lol. I remember how we went together down to the county public health dept. and then back again to get our results.

The Young And Secular Are Least Vaccinated, Not Evangelicals

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 7, 2021:

Very disappointing, you would think that group would be smart enough to get vaxed, but I would mostly chalk it up to how most young adults feel invincible, at least until they start losing some of their young friends to death....then reality finally hits....

Biden Made Big Compromises on Climate — and Movements That Backed Him Are Livid As a ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 6, 2021:

Most "liberal" Dem supporters are too ignorant about what is really going on behind the soundbites to realize when a Dem is lying and selling not only them out, but anyone who is not rich. Trying to talk sense on that or explain to them what is happening with that, and you either get a stare followed by a change of subject on their part, or you get treated like the crazy uncle at the family gathering who went off his meds. I have quit wasting my breath on them because it gets nowhere and makes me angry enough at their denial and condescending attitude that I want to immediately drop the friendship for good. They can all take their EV or hybrid cars, their "Coexist" bumper stickers, and their smug, superior attitude towards true progressives, and shove it. In their own way, they are as bad as Trumpers, and I have little more respect for them than Trumpers. Because the smug liberal Dems are maybe even more phony than Trump supporters when they claim to be so enlightened and part of the good guys, but when it matters, they care only about identity politics, virtue signaling, and their retirement accounts. They are not willing to seriously fight or sacrifice to stop climate change, and they are perfectly content with capitalism as it is, as long as it keeps working well enough for them. They feel no need to protest how capitalism is killing and abusing their class lessers. But then again, Phil Ochs already said this decades ago in his song, "Love Me I'm A Liberal".

True, although my friends are all online so it's not exactly the same.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 6, 2021:

For some people, like my childless older sister, pets act as surrogate children for them.

Say Hello to Alice112, the newest christian troll to post a picture in her profile of her big tits.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 5, 2021:

Well I'll be damned, "she" appears to still be here. We've all been proven wrong and made fools of....

Who did you love the most in your family As for me my mom What about you?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 5, 2021:

It wouldn't be anyone in my family, as my parents are dead and my siblings are pretty much estranged from me, and have been for most of my adult life. So it would have to be my best friend, as my friends have been my real family for a few decades now, with the exception of my late wife, who I loved the most while she was alive.

Ron Paul.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 5, 2021:

If you really believe that, then maybe you should just go park yourself into the middle of a big group of Trumpers and anti-vaxers that are unvaccinated, play Russian roulette with the virus, and see how long you can stay there without getting infected with it. Of course, if you do get unlucky and infected, please don't take yourself to an ER or hospital and trouble them with your own bad choices....

If a woman that's been in a shitty marriage for waaaayyyy too long and has been neglected takes a ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 5, 2021:

I wouldn't know. My only LTR was a long and happy marriage to my late wife. It was great until she got dementia and later died from it. If not for that, I would still be married and happy, instead of dealing with the bullshit and baggage of all the divorced women who make up most of my local dating pool on Match. I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions, but I know little about them as they seem to have rigid, narrow standards which cause them to seldom choose me for potential dating and reply to my messages. Most of the women I have connected with from online dating seem to have lots of baggage and unrealistic standards, so I can only guess that most of them have never gotten any therapy after their divorces, only things like divorce groups or church courses on divorce, etc. Nothing that was professionally run by a licensed therapist or any kind of intensive individual therapy. So maybe that's why I never got the pleasure of being spoiled and adored by a grateful divorced woman, except for my late wife, who had two shitty marriages before me. Maybe she did so because she was a transplant to my backward state, was a fellow non-believer, and didn't have all the usual brainwashing of most women raised in the Midwest,, just a thought, Canndue, in case you are watching......

CLUMSY KITTY FAILS | Funny Cat Videos - FailArmy [youtube.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 4, 2021:

I don't think most of these are funny. I feel bad for the poor cats ending up scared just so the humans can have a laugh at their expense. Bad cat owners!

How many things on this list have you experienced? 34 for me.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 4, 2021:

21

Yes deal with the problem

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 4, 2021:

Feline addicts...

I won't eat 3 items. How about you?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 3, 2021:

Probably half the items on the list are things I won't eat.

Say Hello to Alice112, the newest christian troll to post a picture in her profile of her big tits.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 3, 2021:

My money says "she" will be gone before the end of the day... At least someone knows how to get the attention of the male audience here, lol.

When in Las Vegas, a fellow diner (also from Texas said that he didn't believe the federal ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 3, 2021:

They can never admit when they are wrong. I don't know how anyone could stand being married to someone like that. Must be the attractions of money and power.

When in Las Vegas, a fellow diner (also from Texas said that he didn't believe the federal ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 3, 2021:

That shit is happening here in Iowa. Our Repub governor, Covid Kim is refusing to let school districts require masks or provide only online learning. So much for the longtime Repub policy in our state of local control. They also oppose local control when the citizens or county government try to limit or prevent the building of huge hog lots. But they refuse to ever see or admit hypocrisy in any of that.

Where is the best place to meet members of the opposite sex?

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 3, 2021:

I have to laugh about the voting option of Bars. The only two people I have ever heard say in recent years that they prefer bars for meeting people to date were two women who did not strike me as being the brightest bulbs in the room. One was my age, who said " I would never spend money on a dating site, I'd just go back to the bars to meet men". I bet she had not tried bars for meeting men since she was much younger than now. And trust me, things have changed a lot since then. The other woman who favored bars was working for a cleaning crew that was cleaning my home, since I decided to spend the money to get it done fast and painlessly for me, hoping it will help motivate me to start working on the remaining clutter. The woman said she always used bars to meet men. Both women were not very well educated and I suspect their standards for men were not very high, which might make bars a fitting place for them to meet men. But for me, in the recent years that I have been to bars only to hear live music or sing karaoke, what I see at bars, as far as women who look like they MIGHT be single, as opposed to the ones there with men who appear to be coupled up already, is women who are there to get very drunk and the bar and drinking appear to be a big part of their life, at the least. And women who appear to be there to seek sex, not men to date steadily or for any real relationship. I know I am generalizing, but I don't fit with either of these types, so dating sites would appear to offer much better prospects for the kind of women and relationship I am seeking. The other voting category that makes me laugh is volunteering or political activism. I volunteered for the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016 and met some women during that, very superficially, and the problem with that is that after the campaign was over in my state, everybody left and went their own way, and even the one woman I got to know a little and asked me to Friend her on FB, didn't even remember me a few years later when I messaged her to see what she thought of the current political scene. She said that she "doesn't talk about politics these days except with people she knows really well", as if she was ashamed or embarrassed to have supported someone like Bernie who lost. So much for that way of meeting singles to date, what a joke! Few to no women are volunteering in campaigns to meet men, even if they may run into men they have a lot in common with. So looking there, as man, is a waste of time, because they are not open to or interested in dating people they meet in the campaign. They move on with their life as soon as the campaign in over.

Now for some much needed levity.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 3, 2021:

I would say this group of women pretty well cover the range of crazy in the singles scene. Funny how timeless this stuff is.

In other words - Rules for thee, not for me

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 3, 2021:

Yup, they will always deny their hypocrisy, and do it with a straight face, or at worst, a smirking sneer.

Extremely stupid

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 2, 2021:

It may be stupid, but it is actually logical when you already know, as they did, that the system and the government was very unlikely to punish them for their actions. At the time they rioted, nothing was done by the police or military to stop most of them, so they rightly assumed there would be no consequences. And in my mind, there won't be, unless almost all of them get long prison sentences, the same way anybody from the left would get if they attempted to overthrow the government or seize control of the capital. History shows that if anybody from the left tries that, they will either get execution or a very long prison sentence, probably for life.

Letters From An American 08/01/2021

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 2, 2021:

The article is so right on many points. The few I would single out are how you cannot trust or really expect to bring change within the system. AOC, even Bernie, have sold us out already in the past and we cannot expect to bring change simply thru the one-party system we have already. You heard me right, we have a one-party system with two wings, where the wings distract us from their cooperation and collusion on serving the ruling class, corporations, and endless war, by using their culture war battles between them. We need to challenge the system in the streets and thru revolution, if possible, unless we can finally get most eligible voters to quit dropping out of voting or continuing to vote for the two major parties, and instead vote only for third party candidates in fed elections. And the article is so right about how quickly progress can be taken away thru our corrupt pols in both major parties, partly because the corporate media conveniently either ignores our progressive history or puts out disinformation about our true history.

What is the universe made of ? Just curious

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 2, 2021:

Judging by your profile photos, boobs and penises make the world go round...

Relationship last longer when a man don’t share it out to anyone Or am I wrong ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 2, 2021:

Looks like another scammer, will disappear soon.

Thank France backbone and brains about lockdowns A reported 200,000 protesters hit the street ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 2, 2021:

Duplicate post much?

Most of them wouldn't understand the irony

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 1, 2021:

I have found that most right wingers have no sense of irony, nor of hypocrisy or inconsistency on their part or that of the leaders they support. They seem to subscribe to the attitude of "Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds". To them, great minds and great leaders do not have to be consistent in their beliefs and actions, or even tell the truth.

Most of them wouldn't understand the irony

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 1, 2021:

No shit. And probably also, the person is trying to overcompensate for something, like feeling weak or powerless, or maybe having a small dick. Maybe it would be safer if they just got a huge pickup truck like most of these fools.

Actually dating profile on OKCupid: My self-summary Looking for a casual fling.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 1, 2021:

What an asshole, at least by my ethical standards, but at least they are being upfront. I don't believe in cheating. If you want an open relationship, then be adult enough about it to ask your partner to accept it, and if they don't, be adult enough to either end your primary relationship or respect your partner and be faithful to them.

First Date Question

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 31, 2021:

I would never waste my time on a Trumper, once I knew their politics. As for general rules on dating, I usually settle for or initiate a hug at the end of the first in person meeting, which is usually for coffee. I offer to walk them out to their car and do the hug there, if they are comfortable with it. The man should try to read the woman before that moment for what they seem to be up for or wanting. I know from my point of view, it's really great and helpful if the woman gives some signal about wanting a hug by opening their arms towards me at that time to make it clear they are interested in a hug. I rarely attempt a kiss at the goodbye unless the woman has really been putting out some signals that they are attracted to me, like playing with their hair, looking intently and warmly into my eyes, moving closer across the table, etc. I always meet first for coffee, like I said, and I always offer to pay for it, but if the woman insists on paying for hers, I respect that and let her do so. I don't believe in any of that stuff about a woman "owing" a man anything, whether it's sex, a hug, or a kiss for buying her anything, whether that is a coffee or a meal. But I do avoid meeting first for a meal instead of coffee, because I have learned from experience there are plenty of selfish, cynical women out there who agree to meet a man for a meal, just so they can enjoy the ego trip of getting a free meal and playing a game on him of never seeing him again or savoring his one-sided interest in them while for her the man is just a meal ticket and ego stroke of being wanted and not giving him sex, as he expected, in payment for the meal. I even had a former massage therapist, who I dropped after finding out she was a Trumper, that confided in me how she would play this game for free meals a lot when she was younger and single. Online dating is a jungle out there, Lonnie, and I am on Match now, just like you. I wish you the best and your best is all you can do. So much of it is pure luck and beating the very uphill odds of meeting someone compatible who is smart and offbeat enough to choose you over all the competition that is there on paid dating sites like Match. For what's worth, even tho you are several years older than me, if you lived in my area, I would be eager to meet you.

When a Muslim Woman Was Harassed at a Store, Bystanders Came to Her Defense | Beth Stoneburner | ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 30, 2021:

Hell Yes! Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, whatever. People need to wake up and realize that not standing up to racists and fascists eventually comes to bite everyone in the ass who is not a white male straight Christian in the US. Plus, I just love to confront assholes, whether it's on my behalf or on the side of someone else who is being harassed or bullied. I only regret that I didn't have the guts to do it when I was a kid and being bullied myself.

I can't get my computer to work.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 30, 2021:

Your cat is a cutie..

Received this latest post on my facebook timeline: People mocking the emotions of cops from January...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 30, 2021:

All of that just shows that all the crap from Trump's supporters about being for law and order, backing the blue, etc. is really just about racism and keeping colored people in their place, rather than any real respect or support of law and order, or any real support for cops.

Munchie wasnt thrilled that I sneezed and woke him up. 😹

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 29, 2021:

Cats are never thrilled about being woke up. Munchie needs his beauty sleep and sleep is a cat's main activity anyway....

I am totally aghast and gobstopped today.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 28, 2021:

Your experience reinforces my reasons for the plans I have made with my two closest friends regarding my memorial service after my death. I am all too aware of how common it is for people to take advantage of the situation following someone's death to put out a lot of self-serving, phony baloney stuff at the memorial service or on online obituary sites, where they revise history to pretend like they were chummy or admiring of the dead when the reality is that they were despised by and estranged from the dead person. While I know there is no way to prevent someone from trying to do this with online obituary pages, the people I trust, along with the funeral home, can easily remove these kind of condolence notes once they are spotted. As far as the memorial service, I am particularly concerned that my siblings, who I am estranged from and have little contact with, might try to use an open sharing period in my memorial service to revise history or pretend to have been supportive or caring for me during my life, when that is anything but the reality. So my trusted friends will only have the people I have designated be allowed to speak at my memorial service. It's sad that people cannot be honorable and honest even after death, but I will do what I can before I die to prevent this kind of BS around my death.

Such a lovin' bobkitty..... [youtu.be]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 27, 2021:

Cat kisses. How affectionate...

TX Man Jailed for Setting Home on Fire to Punish Family for Not Following Bible | Hemant Mehta | ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 27, 2021:

This guy's logic makes about as much sense as the WWII Japanese commander who came up with, " The daily beatings will continue until morale improves"....

Tuesday morning cuteness

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 27, 2021:

Sandal warmers.

This was posted by one of my over 50 single groups in NY lol. I am a Virgo lol.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 27, 2021:

I don't think the rest of the Sagitarius traits apply to me, but I do enjoy being in LTRs.

Major turnoff: Obvious copy/paste generic greetings. Just...no.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 27, 2021:

I would agree with that being a turnoff, but I honestly have never gotten any of those, except from obvious scammers. Someone who doesn't mention anything said in my profile or anything that comments on something I said in my message to them, since I'm almost always the one who messages first, doesn't get a reply from me.

Republican says he wasn’t involved in fatal crash despite motorcycle stuck to the front of his car...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 27, 2021:

Only a Repub pol or a sociopathic career criminal, can tell a bald-faced lie with a straight face. Maybe that's why they are sometimes a member of both groups....

This is great real bipartIsan effort

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 26, 2021:

The thing is, lots of time and money will be wasted on this, same as with the two impeachments on Trump, because in the end, nobody will get jailed or kicked out of congress for helping the rioters. While I agree with the intent and goals of this investigation, I am tired of pointless exercises in DC by our congress instead of focusing just on action that will improve the lives of most Americans. I think lots of other people, both on the left and the middle, are getting just as tired as me of this stuff.

Hey guys ♥️ got back last night from a wknd to Annapolis , one of my favorite towns in USA , ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 26, 2021:

Could you explain who or what Diego is?

From the weird mind of Steven Wright.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 25, 2021:

I see Stephen Wright as kind of an off-the-wall twisted version of the SNL sketch, Deep Thoughts With Jack Handy.

WATCH: Disgraced Fox News host Tucker Carlson called out as 'worst human' during Montana vacation - ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 25, 2021:

You can call someone out in public as long as you don't threaten them physically, don't touch them, and don't follow them once they turn around and walk away from you, since doing the latter could be trumped up as a stalking charge. Of course, it's much sweeter if you record it on video so you can post it for going viral.

Anti-vax Hillsong Church member Stephen Harmon, 34, dies of Covid after posting 'I got 99 problems ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 25, 2021:

When people die from this kind of stupidity, it truly seems like nature thinning the herd...

My new little princess Maia..

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 24, 2021:

So cute and elegant. I bet she demands to be treated as the diva she is...

Iowa’s GOP Eliminated a Family Planning Program Only to See Abortions Skyrocket | Rebekah Kohlhepp...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 24, 2021:

It makes sense in their warped mental universe, because, according to them, all you need to do is live right, by getting married young, after being abstinent, then have your kids and then get your tubes tied. Anyone who doesn't practice abstinence before marriage, has sex outside of marriage, or has an unwanted pregnancy, just doesn't have the right values, and deserves to have to suffer thru an unwanted birth. In their minds, abortions only happen because people aren't living right or by the religious right's standards. It's not about really wanting to prevent abortions, it's more about controlling women and forcing them to be good Christians who only have sex within marriage and for making babies. In other words, values that could only be formulated by insecure patriarchal men and incels, which is who Repub men tend to be.

Kitty is pissed at Karen

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 24, 2021:

Guess she had him fixed.

Anti-vax Hillsong Church member Stephen Harmon, 34, dies of Covid after posting 'I got 99 problems ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 23, 2021:

Some people only learn the really hard way.... It's the ultimate example of "You can't fix stupid"..

Persons who form, sponsor, promote LGBTQ+ activities to spend ten years in jail

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 23, 2021:

That's what you get with a theocracy, and it's also the kind of laws and tyranny the religious right in America would implement if they ever get control here.

They only now realized that too many of their voters were dying of the virus.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 23, 2021:

Let's hope they catch on slow enough to cause a big drop in Repub voters there.

They want to require an ID to vote, but don't ask them for proof of vaccination to go mask-less.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 23, 2021:

It's called typical Repub hypocrisy.

Typical liberal hypocrisy, and political posturing.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 23, 2021:

And of course, CF, your Repub pols are never hypocritical, lying or posturing? Didn't think you would ever admit that about your side. I could go on forever about how much of it your side does...

Exposing your anus

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 23, 2021:

You forgot one part incel...

Great sign we need more

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 23, 2021:

Giving them the shoe that fits..