Basic Income?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 12, 2019:

You need to allow for multiple votes per person. I would vote for both of the first two options. We need a basic income, as prez candidate Andrew Yang has proposed, and it needs to be paid for with taxes on the super wealthy and with a tax on Wall Street firms speculating on trades. Between automation and AI, most jobs will be eliminated over time, so better education for all is not the answer as most jobs will be actually lower-skilled and lower-paying in the future as more are eliminated. Having free college available would be a social good in itself as we would have a more informed and more critically-thinking public, but it will not help us in finding employment for everyone, that's why we need a UBI. The rich, however, have no interest in paying for it, as it would benefit only unneeded workers that don' help them make profits. They don't even want to pay their fair share as it is to fund Social Security and Medicare, as they don't need it themselves at all.

Theatre Folk and Friends is a new group- and we love musicals. Please! Come and visit!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 11, 2019:

Tried looking for your group on Agnostic and can't find it. How would one join it then?

6 Easy Exercises That Anyone Can Do (LOL).

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 11, 2019:

I rarely hear voices in my head, but they don't concern me because I've been told you don't need to worry as long as you don't do what the voices tell you to do...........

6 Easy Exercises That Anyone Can Do (LOL).

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 11, 2019:

Sounds like the Sloth Olympics.....

I've posted this quote before.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 11, 2019:

My brother turned me on to HST back when I was in college and I went to see the Gonzo give a lecture at my university. He was doing his whole gonzo journalist schitick back then, with lots of booze onstage. He was acting like his caricature from Doonesbury then, but it was entertaining. Many years later my brother gave me a baseball cap from Thompson's favorite bar in Colorado a few years before Hunter checked out of this life. I still wear it some and it was the best gift I ever got from him.

anyone like Hardcore? Punk? Metal?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 11, 2019:

I liked the older punk bands. Not familiar with any of them past the 90s. Not into hardcore or metal, but even they, like anything, are better than country, which to me is music for hicks, rednecks, and idiots.

gasps for air I can't stop watching this 😂🤣😂🤣 Caution; swear words [youtu.be]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 11, 2019:

That is one strange-looking, angry cat. It reminds me of a white-furred version of the late Grumpy Cat.

STANDING BEHIND YOUR EMPLOYEE My day job as some of you may know is printer repair tech.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 10, 2019:

I can't remember a single job where an employer stood behind me in any beefs with a customer. Employees have been disposable since before I became an adult. The only non-management employees who get backed by an employer are those who are either related to management or the owner or else close friends of the same.

What do you think are some of the root causes of apathy in our society?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 9, 2019:

Combination of people feeling hopeless that anything important can be changed thru the political system or even mass movements, coupled with ever-increasing callousness that occurs from the struggle to survive and a toxic culture in our social and mass media.

For those of you that don’t live in Michigan this is a real road sign in Troy Michigan.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 9, 2019:

In that same vein, my late wife's niece visited my wife and I soon after my wife got dementia and we gave her a short tour of the Des Moines area, including passing an all too-common convenience store chain called, I kid you not, Kum and Go. Only in the Midwest could you get away with a brand name like that. She had to take a pic next to their store sign so she could share the joke with her friends back in Atlanta, where no one would be able to mention the store name with a straight face.

Best Idea I had seen in years...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 9, 2019:

Wouldn't make any difference in most cases. The parents of the bad kids are usually in complete denial about their kid's behavior. I worked for several years as a school bus driver and even when we had video evidence of the kid's behavior, the parents would usually refuse to believe their kid was misbehaving and instead bully the general manager of the bus company and blame the driver for lying about their kid or somehow provoking their kid into acting badly. The main reason I quit driving the bus is that I got sick of how the bus company, pressured by the school district, kept increasing the survellience on the drivers while at the same time we drivers got less support each school year from the school district officials, including the principals, in dealing with student discipline on the buses. I got sick of how many times I would write up a kid for conduct violations and never get any action on the kids, even if I had video evidence of it. But if we ever acted inappropriately towards a student on the bus, there was always hell to pay for it and very quickly too. I got sick of the double standard. The kids all knew they were above punishment, but we sure weren't, so we had no authority with the bad kids. That's why a lot of the drivers I worked with quit recently and more will quit in late August. The real problem is the school district won't stand up to the bad parents and bad kids. Instead they side against the drivers and that's why we quit. It all began when they outsourced the busing a decade ago, making the bus drivers third party employees of the district instead of part of the system. Made it much easier for them to throw us under the bus, pun intended. It pissed me off that the school district would not let parents see the video evidence, citing privacy rights of other kids on the bus, but would let the principals see it. Many times the principals refused to watch the video evidence after we wrote kids up because they didn't want to have to act on the evidence. Chickenshit cowards.....Outsourcing busing service and the first line of the bus discipline process to a contractor company may distance the school district some from handling the problem of bus discipline, but it doesn't solve or remove the problem. But it helps the school district take less heat from the parents, which, besides lowering costs for the school district, is why they outsource.

I'm anxious.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 9, 2019:

I thought mine was bad. Now that my parents are both dead, I can now avoid seeing my siblings for a while and that's what I plan to do until one of them or their spouses die. I do have a cousin near Chicago that I would like to go see sometime that is a cool person, as is her hubby. I also have my godparents in California who are old and sick, probably the next ones to die. They are richer than God and think that Reagan was the best prez ever. Not sure if I will bother going to their funerals or not. I admire your guts for going to the party even tho you are struggling.

Short legged kitty jumping [facebook.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 8, 2019:

I used to see a dwarf Persian cat that was so cute when it would run across the room with its short legs. This cat does look majestic.

That might give you a bit of a start:

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 7, 2019:

Fluffy kitty fur just like a towel.

Men find it hard to connect with plus-size women in the same way that women don't seem attracted to ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 7, 2019:

I have always been tall. But for the last couple decades I have been bald or balding, so my attractiveness has probably been a wash once I hit my late 40s.. I also used to be more athletically built too, until my early 50s. I know these appearance things make a great difference, as when I was younger and had more going for me in appearance, I could get dates with not that much effort. Of course, that was before online dating. In online dating, I get very little interest, probably because of all the competition from men with better builds and more hair on their heads.

Likely story...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 6, 2019:

How dare you accuse me?

For those who hate comparing Trump to Hitler, look at this: [thehill.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 5, 2019:

One fascist apparently admiring another one, imagine that......

Does anyone actually meet anyone from here?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 5, 2019:

From checking your profile and the nearby members listed who are interested in dating, you appear to have somewhat better than normal options for local dating than most members of this site. Myself, I have made some online friends here, never met anyone in person, and never connected with anyone where there was mutual interest in dating. For almost all of us, the only real dating options with this site were if you were willing to date LD, and I am not.

What do you think?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 5, 2019:

This is a form of jury nullification, which is a good part of our legal system when it is exercised properly. It allows the common people a way to overrule unjust laws indirectly in the interests of justice.

Disclaimer: the following is based on several years of personal experience with online dating and ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 4, 2019:

Ok, ready to give a more thorough reply, altho the others here have said some of what I would have. BTW, wise move to have added a full body shot to your photos as one of the women suggested. Body type first. Yes, most men do want a woman with some curves, as long as they are not more than moderately overweight. Same way women want men with muscles and a six pack, goes both ways and is fairly true even at my age. As far as the rest of your list of turnoffs like being intelligent, articulate, sexually open, etc., I don't concur at all with that, based on my experience and the men I know. Not wishing to live together or be financially controlled (do you mean rather financially dependent?), also don't think that applies to most men either on the financial issue. Not wanting to live together probably would be a turn off to most men, but is more common than you think for our age. Last woman I met from online said she felt like you on that and I am not eager to live with anyone soon either even if we clicked and dated for a couple years.Same with women enjoying "manly" stuff like your list of outdoor activities, at least in my area. Those activities are commonly listed by the women's profiles I see on Match and they say they are seeking only men who enjoy lots of those same outdoor activities. I have to believe that most of them are getting lots of interest from men in my area, all other things being equal about these women. As far as wanting women who are strong, independent and not jealous of a man spending time with his male friends while the woman spends time with her gal pals, that describes my one, happy marriage to a T, as well as the male friends I have that are all married. The baldness issue, I covered below, except to say that I don't try to hide mine. I am tall, but even with that I get very little interest from online dating, probably because of my baldness, build, and how I dress, I don't look that impressive in my pics. I totally agree with you about how superficial online dating is and how much the profile pics determine a huge amount of how much interest you get from other people, at least to start with, on dating sites like Match. It goes both ways tho, in my experience, and women can be just as shallow about it as men when it comes to screening completely on looks without giving any real thought to whether the rest of someone's profile info is interesting and compatible with them. What is my evidence for that? The fact that in almost two years of online dating, only about half of the women I message even bother to look at my profile after I've asked them to. Why don't they? Because after seeing my main profile pic that accompanies my message, they decide, based on that pic, that I don't meet their standards for looks, so they don't ...

Disclaimer: the following is based on several years of personal experience with online dating and ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 4, 2019:

You have said so much I will need to read this again a time or two before giving a longer comment, but one thing I will say now is that not all men are able to re-partner in 6 months. I've been trying online dating for 21 months and am still back at square one. Haven't met anyone I saw more than 3 times. Maybe your sample of guys that re-partner that quick as you say are all way better looking than me and/or way more mainstream for their local area in culture and lifestyle, which I most certainly am not for my area.

Christian School Teacher, Who Lectured Girls on Modesty, Accused of Sexually Assaulting Students...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 4, 2019:

She even looks like a fucked up meth addict.

Mazie is snoozing in my chair. I don't think I can use my computer for a while.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 4, 2019:

The cats all know they come first.

Well.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 4, 2019:

Fucking idiots. I am a former professional driver and very skilled at avoiding accidents, but even I feel often scared about whether I can avoid hitting all the idiots I encounter of the road these days as a civilian driver.

I have a question that maybe you all can help with.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 4, 2019:

Stay the hell out of Iowa. Hard to find decent-paying jobs. Too Bible Belt, and Medicaid is not very generous here plus the Medicaid system is now shit thanks to our Repub governor who privatized it.

I Didn’t Die Today, AKA trip to The Badlands of South Dakota.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 4, 2019:

Scary shit. I've survived a couple of severe Iowa snowstorms where I fully expected to die when I was foolishly out on the roads and hoping I did not crash, slide off the road, or get stuck so that I did not freeze to death out there waiting for help. I didn't pray about it, but I can see why believers do in those situations. Never stared down a tornado like you did. That must have seemed very surreal...

I vaguely remember, years ago, having days like this:

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 3, 2019:

You can tell this cat is really faking the smile, when inside it probably wants to bite someone. I know the feeling.... glad I am retired....

To fellow scientists: How do you deal with people in social settings that speak with authority ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 3, 2019:

I'm the last one to ask. I still like being right more than being liked. Fortunately, I sometimes find people that are so full of it that I don't want to bother correcting them. I just passively move on and avoid them.

You know, I did not blame ALL men for what went wrong in my marriage.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 3, 2019:

I sure as hell don't want to be hated. I can feel bad about myself just fine on my own without someone bashing me. You seem to be choosing the wrong kind of men if that is your experience. Sorry you have been so disappointed.

Why cat racing is so boring

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 2, 2019:

Cats would rather stay in the box....it's more fun.

These were some old bands that were popular in the 1980s [youtu.be] [youtu.be]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 2, 2019:

To be honest, I never really liked either band much.

How do you respond when somebody you have never met in person and only exchanged a sentence or two ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 2, 2019:

Deb- I know from what you have told me about yourself that you have reason to doubt your judgement about men, but in this case the rash declaration from the man that he is honest does sound inappropriate.

Some here, will understand:

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 2, 2019:

The cat is Hunter Thompson from Fear And Loathing.....

Has anybody dealt with a passive aggressive partner?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 1, 2019:

Not in a dating relationship, I wouldn't stand for that shit long enough to end up with that kind of partner. In work situations or in a social group I was part of, you bet your ass I ran across passive aggressive types. They are very common in my area where people play Iowa Nice instead of being honest and direct. Drives me up the wall sometimes.

Tyrion's new favorite place.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 1, 2019:

KItty likes getting his fur dirty. He is really big and has such fluffy fur..

When you feel lost or disconnected, what's something you do to help you feel grounded?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jul 1, 2019:

I read, listen to music or go sing at karaoke.

Happy Caturday + 1! It's been a particularly entertaining weekend around our place as numerous ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 30, 2019:

That first cat in the photo group looks bad and sneaky.

For you single/dating folks : I've been pondering some past interchanges with potential partners,...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 30, 2019:

In my area, a motorcycle-riding man or woman, esp. a man, would find plenty of interested people on dating sites. I'm surprised that in Florida that's a strike against a woman.

WARNING! WARNING! DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER! So I had a desperate thought today.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 30, 2019:

I think you are being way too self-critical. I agree with rogueflyer about you joining some sort of non-believer group or a Unitarian church if they have any in your area. There is nothing wrong with getting some emotional support with what you are going thru with your own depression and the stress of dealing with your mother's problems. As long as you are not attending or joining some Christian church where you would be lying or faking belief to get that support, what is there for you to apologize for or feel bad about yourself for just because you are being honest with yourself about needing more support than you currently have from friends and family?

For you single/dating folks : I've been pondering some past interchanges with potential partners,...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 30, 2019:

Easy. Almost all of these make finding someone compatible in my area seem pretty impossible due to how far out of the cultural and lifestyle mainstream I am.: Not family-oriented- Meaning, I don't want to spend most of my time with a woman visiting her adult kids and grandkids. Being non-religious- Only about 25% of the women my age in my area will date a man who is not religious. Hate country music,- Only a small minority of women in my area my age do not like country music at all or not very much. Am a non-drinker- Almost all the women in my dating pool on Match are at least social drinkers and want only men that are at least social drinkers. Am childless by choice- Almost all women in my Match dating pool, even the ones who are childless, only want family men with kids. Am not real big on college sports or doing outdoor activities most of the time together with someone. Reason is because I have allergies and don't like bugs or being cold. Most women in my area have college sports as the center of their social life and also want to be outdoors as much as possible. I want someone who is more intellectual than those who make college sports the center of their social life. Watching college sports and drinking while doing it seems pretty immature at my age. Most women in my dating pool are liberal or middle of the road, but my being very liberal or socialist also limits me from being compatible with many women on Match as well, since I could never date a conservative and they would never accept me politically. As you can see, several of these are areas where I am willing to be tolerant and open-minded about dating someone different than me in that area, but that really doesn't matter if that difference is a dealbreaker with the vast majority of women in my online dating pool. Because if they are way in the majority of the culture and lifestyle for my area, they really don't need to be open-minded or accepting of someone who's different in that area when they have so many other men to choose from that are similar to them in that area. In other words, most people are only as open-minded or accepting about differences with others in the dating game as the market forces them to be, since most are not willing to settle for being alone.

Cat sitting sister's felines while she is away.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 29, 2019:

What breed is that?

Orwell’s 1984 no longer reads like fiction. It’s the reality of our times — RT Op-ed

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 29, 2019:

We have been living in Oceania for some time now and I don't see any happy ending occurring in our real life experience of Orwell's world.

We're catifying!! First shelves went up tonight.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 29, 2019:

On the Animal Planet TV show, My Cat From Hell, the cat specialist always recommends catifying the homes of cat owners.

Tyrion decided the tissue box must die. He grabbed it and threw it off the table and ... ATTACK!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 29, 2019:

Cats always have a method to their madness.

Where's your stupid little spray bottle now, Karen?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 28, 2019:

We saw this before in FF group, but I still love it and all the Karen memes.

I'm not smart enough to take sides on this one.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 28, 2019:

Unbelievable, she seems to have the perfect man, at least according to what feminist women say they want, and she is bored with him. The research about women wanting bad boys and sexists over respectful men seems to match what I have seen in my past and current life as a single. She seems to be already at the stage of Gottman's ingredient of contempt for her hubby, which means, divorce, here we come.

Did any one watch Harris destroy Biden during the debate? It was a beautiful moment!!

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 28, 2019:

For a moment there, he almost looked like he was going to cry. I was hoping he would and that would have ended his chances for good.

What’s in the mind of a Trump supporter? [psychologytoday.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 28, 2019:

They are a spooky bunch...

NC lawmaker says Lincoln ‘unjustly invaded’ the South, a ‘sovereign nation’

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 28, 2019:

I admit that I have never liked the South of the US and during my life it has been more and more obvious that in the minds of many or most Southerners, the Civil War never really ended, it just continued to be fought using other means such as Jim Crow laws, the Klan, etc.. If the South and their often clownish politicians ever decide again to secede from the US, please let them leave. It would greatly improve our politics and allow way more progress to be made than we have had from having them with us since 1865. As far as the article, this Pittman guy sounds like an even bigger asshole than the notorious Steve King from my state, and that's really saying something. Of course, both are Repubs...

This Group has the most general members, which is why I chose to ask this question here.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 28, 2019:

Not at all in my area. The UE rate is lower, but I really think from talking to people and what I have read about my state is the reasons are more due to people giving up and no longer looking for work or retiring early out of desperation as soon as they are 62 and eligible for SS. Also, most of the jobs available are low wage, no benefits so they ensure poverty and struggle for those who get them. I see more automation and elimination of jobs at McDonald's and grocery stores and Wal-Mart and Target eliminating cashiers with scanner machines. Welcome to the future......Even in my suburban town, we have more poor kids who can't pay for lunch at school so even my town is now letting all kids that need to eat free for lunch. That would have been unthinkable ten years ago.

How to recognize a good man

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 27, 2019:

This is quite true. It is called rankism, a form of classism, in which someone mistreats or acts out their prejudices on those who are below them in status. People who work in service industry jobs like waitressing know all about it. In the dating game, both men and women are wise to closely observe how their new dating partners treat wait staff or clerks in stores, etc., because it will eventually be how they will treat you in most cases. My recently deceased father was someone I had conflict with for most of my adult life. It was ironic that at his visitation and funeral there were so many complimentary things said about him as far as how he treated his law clerks, friends, and legal colleagues, etc. and also how he was so humble, never complained, etc. But I know better as I remember how he not only was as a father, but how he was frequently such a demanding bully to wait staff at restuarants, because there he saw the staff as inferior servants. It was so bad that a few times I actually got up and left the table after apologizing to the staff about his behavior. My mother and siblings felt the same way, but they usually didn't have the guts to confront him or walk out about it. Ever since those incidents, I have always made sure I treated wait staff and other service people well and tipped accordingly. His case shows how someone can put on a public act and seem like a great guy with their so-called equals, but be a total prick with their perceived inferiors. I've spent plenty of time on both ends of the rankism and classism dynamic and that's why I am so much more aware and sensitive to issues of both isms than most white people. We are all worthy and deserve respect and dignity no matter where we are in the job heirarchy or the economic ladder. Watch out for people in the dating game who are very classist or rankist, because, like my father, they are likely to end up abusive to you as my father was to me, my siblings, and my mother. They will eventually see you as inferior too if you disappoint them very often or stand up to them.

This is a crossover post about politics, religion and dating.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 27, 2019:

I agree with you, I couldn't. Could I be friends with someone like that, maybe. I have in the past, but only if we avoided discussing those issues, and still, the length of the friendship was limited.

"Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 27, 2019:

The US has been in permanent war since 2001. The world of Orwell's 1984 has been here for quite a while now. "How many fingers, Winston (or Julian, for that matter)?"

You are enough

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 27, 2019:

Sounds a lot like Stuart Smalley from SNL "I'm smart enough, I'm good enough and, doggone it, people like me..."

With these trying times i want to bring up a old 2006) movie good night and good luck about edward ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 27, 2019:

In that same movie, Morrow also warned about how mass media would become propaganda vehicles for the ruling class and demagouges like Trump and many before him, like McCarthy.

I was 13 years old ✌❤

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 27, 2019:

I was 10. My late wife was 26. Go figure.......I heard about it later. She was at Woodstock.

As an Atheist who just turned 40 and is single I am now for the first time really grappling with my ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 26, 2019:

I have neither also, welcome to the freaking club. If you are estranged from family, as I and apparently most of us on Agnostic are, your friends are everything. Hope you have some good ones.

Who is planning to watch the Dem primary debates next week?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 26, 2019:

Watching the first debate right now. I can't remember the name of the country in The Hunger Games, but we are clearly living in that type of society. The debate looks like the same kind of fucking game show that everything in that movie was as far as politics and government.

Since my wife passed I've met many women but so far nothing clicked.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 26, 2019:

Wish I could say I have met many women, like you have. If I had, maybe I would have found someone right for me and be dating now instead of sitting on the sidelines being constantly rejected. I agree with the other guy, this is way too short for it to be a rant.

Rigby surveying his kingdom between shenanigans.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 26, 2019:

Rigby is so cute with his innocent " What, me?" look....How old is he?

Since this is a quasi dating site, may I make a suggestion?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 26, 2019:

You are a man after my own heart. I don't play games either with dating, but it seems like most do. I've been stood up twice in a four month period from meeting women thru Match. Some people just don't have any empathy for how their behavior affects others. Others maybe do, but they rationalize in some sick way that they are entitled to be jerks to the other sex as some sort of payback for how they have been treated by other members of the same gender, which, of course, is bullshit when you do that to someone you don't know at all that is guilty of nothing but being interested in you.

Would Like A Response From Anti Trump Posters

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 26, 2019:

I agree with everything said here by Trump's critics about the appropriateness of vulgarity and his deserving of it. I just don't get that involved in Trump bashing because I do my best to not get that focused on him or bitching about him either as I know it won't change anything by itself, that it won't change the minds of any of his followers, that he is really more of a symptom of the fucked up system than the real problem or cause(s), and that venting about him might feel good but is really just preaching to the choir. Like Sticks and others have said, I have talked that way most of my adult life, as do some of my friends, and all of us are way more intelligent and knowledgeable than most sheeple Americans. Just because I have a vocabulary of 10K or more doesn't mean I have to limit myself only to polite language if I am expressing contempt as emphatically as possible or interested in entertaining myself as well as others while expressing myself.

The Cruelty Is the Point - The Atlantic

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 26, 2019:

Birds of a feather tend to flock together. Whether it's the sadists that support Trump or the ones in Nazi Germany that enjoyed torturing and killing Jews, they all have the same mindset and bonding over abusing their common enemies.

The Boomers Are to Blame for Aging America - The Atlantic

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 26, 2019:

First off, I am very distrustful of any research funded by The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative, pro-business think tank founded in the 70s and tied to the Repub party. Secondly, propaganda like this is designed to create generational conflict for the purpose of dividing the masses against each other, besides the way they are already turned against each other thru the corporate media on issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion, instead of being focused on their real enemies, namely the 1% and their corporate politicians that serve them instead of the interests of the 99%. I don't buy this generational warfare crap because I am a woke socialist, not a liberal. I have some hope that many of the young also see thru this con too, as they also appear to have realized that socialism is not the scary taboo thing that most older Americans have been conned into thinking it is. And, BTW, any future problems of SS and Medicare being underfunded could easily be solved by removing the cap on taxing earned income, which is currently something like 135K or so per year and making the rich pay the same % of tax on all their income towards these programs, like the rest of us slobs. Studies have already shown this to be the case, but you won't hear either of the major parties propose this, at least not their mainstream candidates, because it would offend their rich donors.

Name Something Christians say when they know they are losing an argument with an atheist.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 25, 2019:

My favorite insult to fling at arrogant, self-righteous fundies who try to bully me is to reply to their whole superiority trip by saying, " You may think that Jesus loves you, but personally, I think you're garbage wrapped in skin".

Who else here lives on a basic income?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 25, 2019:

I get $1400 a month in Social Security benefits, so that is my basic income. I live pretty simply and frugally, always have. I won't say how much I have in savings and retirement funds, because that's nobody's business, but I have enough between what I saved and inherited, that I can supplement my basic income with another $20-25K per year for as long as I'm likely to live. So I am very fortunate on that front. I will never be a high roller or a good target for golddiggers, but I will have financial security as long as SS and Medicare are around. I get the feeling, from having been on these boards a while now, that on Agnostic we have quite a range of members as far as financial status. Lots of people who regularly take expensive vacations to lots of people who are just scraping by. Reflective of America in general, I suppose.

Name Something Christians say when they know they are losing an argument with an atheist.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 25, 2019:

I don't debate them, remembering " Confuse not the minds of the ignorant, they will only hate you for it".

Frederick Douglas, who was once a slave, wrote that slaves were intentionally kept ignorant, and ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 25, 2019:

Douglas was the Malcom X of his day, and likely the inspiration for Malcom X. I also agree that radical change in America, at least when it comes to real power, is not going to happen non-violently, much as liberals think it can and will happen that way, because the rich and corporations will never allow that.

I'm categorizing this under Religion and Spirituality for lack of a better one.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 24, 2019:

Since I live in Iowa, which is semi-Bible Belt, I have run into this a lot over the years from attending funerals. I guess I just don't get too fazed over it as it seems to be SOP for any Christian church doing a funeral. So I just show up out of respect, love, or friendship with the deceased and blow off or tune out all of the God and Jesus talk. The way I see it, they get to have it their way at their place, I (and the rest of us non-believers) get to have it our way at memorial services for ourselves and our fellow non-believers, whether we have them at a Unitarian church or a funeral home. I feel that when you're a visitor to a foreign or alien culture or tribe, your role is to be a polite, respectful guest and hopefully, but not always, when they are on your turf, their role is the same. In my experience, when believers have showed up at a Unitarian memorial service, they have quickly figured out that the service is secular and they have behaved themselves respectfully and politely, as they realize they are the foreign minority there. They may privately feel the same way as you did about this fundy funeral, but the point is, they didn't raise a fuss about it. The best we can hope for is mutual respect and peaceful co-existence. As long as we are able to honor and celebrate the lives of our loved ones our way when we are the ones entrusted by them to make the service arrangements, why should we care what the believers do in the services they hold for their dead loved ones? I don't.

Sunday schools. Is it a form of child abuse?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 24, 2019:

I've never been a parent and I've never wanted to be one. So maybe I'm not qualified to have an opinion here, but as a citizen and an adult who votes, I don't want to see a theocracy for a government nor do I want a government that bans religion or takes away the rights of parents to raise their kids without religion or with the religion of the parent's choice. We either have a free country or we have totalitarianism. I prefer the former, with appropriate safeguards, of course, to protect children from illness, death or abuse as we already have with child welfare laws, child protective service agencies, and laws to protect kids from being denied medical care by parents who are Christian Scientists or other wacko religions that don't use doctors.

Yesterday's Taboos Now Gone 01.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 24, 2019:

Currently it is taboo to oppose any part of PC, even when it's carried to a ridiculous extreme. Also Boxdoc is right about criticizing or even disagreeing with many feminists gets you labeled as a misogynist.

We can all live without God, but what is one thing you can't live without?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 24, 2019:

Music. If I went deaf, I would probably be suicidal about never being able to hear music again.

Doesn't look like the most comfortable pillow in the world, but you do you, Munchie.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 23, 2019:

Munchie has such great coloring and cute.

Perfect harmony, with a dog.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 23, 2019:

I'd settle for that as long as it was a cat instead of a dog.

Propaganda Is The Root Of All Our Problems [caitlinjohnstone.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 23, 2019:

This article says what I have thought and said for many years. The duopoly, as Ralph Nader told us long ago, continues to win as long as most voters stay locked in the two party system. I think that even millions of our eligible voters who no longer vote do so because they have given up hope on voting changing anything and, in that sense, they are more informed, not less, than the average person who still votes and thinks that their votes actually make a difference, esp. in prez elections. The non-voters may well be more "awoke" even if not in a very conscious, articulate sense. Between the collusion of corporate media, the two corrupt major parties who pretend to ferociously oppose each other while behind the scenes they collude and practice Kabuki theater in front of us, and finally the majority of voters who keep choosing the lesser evils of the two parties, both bought off by the same people, we are so fucked.. The only things that would really change this would be a mass rebellion by voters to vote only third party in federal elections and then later for the courts to overturn precedents that equate money with speech, which would finally allow big money to be outlawed from elections and replace it with public financing of election campaigns, something third parties have been pushing for decades.

Elton John's "Rocket Man" movie is a blast. His new "Diamonds" CD of greatest hits is wonderful.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 23, 2019:

I'm looking forward to seeing it soon. I really enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody and am a bigger fan of Elton than I was Queen. I hope that sometime before I die an equally good movie is made about David Bowie. It's missing some other great songs, like Levon, Burn Down The Mission, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, and Empty Garden.

When a person cannot control you they will attempt to control how others see you.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 23, 2019:

I don't know about people who want to control you, but I do know from group experience that people who do not like you will usually try to gossip and lie about you to others in the group to control how others see you...

Parents brawl over a 13-year-old umpire's call at a youth baseball game - CNN

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 22, 2019:

Scratch deep enough into a group of middle-aged fathers raging at a youth sports event and undoubtedly you will find some former jocks who are still trying to live out their fantasies of athletic glory thru their innocent kids. I can only imagine how embarrassing it's got to be for those kids to see. The sad part is that often the kids of those parents are removed from the team for the sins of the parent.

Alcoholics Anonymous... Is a religious cult?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 22, 2019:

I don't think it's a cult. It does have religion in most of the its groups here in the US, but not all. It does serve a good purpose in providing people with a ready-made support network while they work on their problems. It also helps them get past their own ego and pride to start seeing how they affect others and also provides opportunities within the program to help others. All these things are part of a process for people to grow emotionally and spiritually as they stop drinking and heal. The ideal of the program is to eventually have little need for the meetings, but continue to grow and stay accountable by giving to others in the program by helping. A man I know who seems to have gotten the healthiest of anyone from the program eventually quit going to meetings and continued to get his spirituality from his church.

Has anyone actually tried using this app as a means of dating?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 22, 2019:

Never met anyone in person. Messaged with three of them in my area soon after I joined. No new women my age group have joined in the last two years or more, so, unless I try dating LD, which I won't, it's not going to happen. And even if I tried to date out of state, I doubt anyone would be interested in me from here, because I'm not willing to move and nobody would be willing to move to the Des Moines area from somewhere out of state.

Why do so many women suffer from 'Bad Boy Syndrome'? Is stable too boring?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 22, 2019:

I'm not a woman, but that seems like too sweeping a generalization. Also, I think that women being attracted to Bad Boys, when it does occur, is more often something that occurs when they are younger, rather than middle-aged or older. Will be interesting to hear the women weigh in on this. My guess is that by the time women reach middle age, they want stable, but they also want a man who is charming, fun, confident, and adventurous, as well as attractive looking. Good luck if your looks are just average and you are a nice, nurturing and supportive guy, but don't have the other qualities. That is how you are seen as boring, not because of your stability.

This guy is my hero of the week

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 22, 2019:

I appreciate the irreverent humor on the part of the guy in the Satan outfit, but I don't know that I support doing the in-your-face type of protest like that. Glad to see the guy hugging him has a sense of humor, which would be pretty rare about that kind of thing in my area.

I'm trying to put my singing out there more, so I thought I'd share here too.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 20, 2019:

I used to be a member of an online karaoke site called Singsnap. There is another one that a couple online friends of mine use to post their recordings called Singer's Showcase. Your vocal stacks up with some of the better ones I've heard from both. I sing a lot of karaoke myself, but I would not risk posting something here for comment, so props to you. This song is maybe not the most wide open type of song to show off all you can do, so I would be interested in hearing you sing something more challenging. But on this you sound as capable as Nora Jones or Sheryl Crow, to name a couple.

Over the years I have realised that my motivations are more philanthropic than for material ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 19, 2019:

Was never happy working for the man in the large business work world. Everything is too impersonal.

It’s been a rough day, various reasons, but I shared on my Facebook that I was sad and asked my ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 19, 2019:

Tell me about it, I really miss that too, more than sex, to be honest. It's about the worst part of being widowed and alone.

The pros and cons of being single! Just ran across these today.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 19, 2019:

Don't get me started.....

Hey folks.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 19, 2019:

Was he LD or local? I'm guessing the former....I've been on here two and a half years and have never met anyone in person. Not willing to try dating LD, so I really doubt it will ever happen for me with no new women my age joining in my area for the last two years.

Anybody seen “THe Lavender Scare” last night?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 19, 2019:

In terms of social stigma and needing to be in the closet about who we are, atheists and agnostics are often in the same place as gays were back in the mid part of the last century.

Is hell for me

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 19, 2019:

I know this sounds like a rationalization, but the great playwright Tennessee Williams once wrote that beginning at birth we are all sentenced to a life of solitary confinement.

This world is getting too politically correct. [lfpress.com]

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 19, 2019:

I often get annoyed at people who carry PC to an extreme, even tho I am a progressive, but I read the guy's speech and he does seem to be a bit of a dick when it comes to women, but I would not label him a misogynist, tho I am sure there are more than a few women here who would and are way too loose and quick about using that term.

Do you suspect there is an evangelical arm of atheism that wants to convert religious practitioners ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 18, 2019:

I am very aware that there is and it disturbs me, as they are no better or really that different than the religious fundys they hate. Live and let live.....

The Anger of the White Male Lie – Ijeoma Oluo – Medium

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 18, 2019:

Very accurate. Many white men who are angry due to their overblown sense of entitlement, just like many poor white folks, have or feel they have nothing left but their pride about being white, or male, in the case of white males. People like that are too proud to ever admit to others they have been conned by the system and their betters, if they are even willing to admit it to themselves. They are hurting and in denial about how false their whole belief system is, which is what makes them dangerous and explosive.

A hugely blaring difference between Capitalism and Socialism that Americans seem to miss (and very ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 18, 2019:

I would generally agree with that. It explains why critical thinking skills are reserved for only the managerial and professional classes by being taught only at the college level and not in high school in the US. The same with most social sciences which the ruling class would not like the masses to know too much about sociology and economics, or poli sci..

Finding love between an agnostic and a religious person.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 18, 2019:

In my experience, the male non-believers are way more tolerant of that kind of difference than the female believers, so it ends up being a dealbreaker on the part of the believer, which is all that matters. In my online dating experience with Match in my area, only about 25% of the women my age will accept or be open to dating a non-believer as indicated in their profiles. As far as believer males, I don't know enough about their attitudes on this kind of difference to comment.

Are their any normal functioning, real guys out their! having been on tinder, my hopes are fading.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 18, 2019:

I'm one but I'm probably a little too old for you and live half a world away. Also, the good ones will probably look more average than the ones you are attracted to.

Some of these are true, but I don't think all of them are. What do you think?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 17, 2019:

Tell me, my fellow Tom, which ones do you think are not true? I really am curious....

Some of these are true, but I don't think all of them are. What do you think?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 17, 2019:

Yup, I think the translations are pretty on the mark of how people, both male and female really feel, even tho they don't have the guts to say it. Not me, I am honest, but kind about it. In my opinion lying like the people do that use these lines, is really not being kind to others. In my case, at least when I am on the receiving end, it feels like an insult to my intelligence and nothing pisses me off more than that. So if someone gives me those kind of lines, I confront the shit out of them. At this point in my online dating experience, I don't honestly know which is worse, being ghosted or being given these kind of lines. I guess maybe being ghosted, if only because when someone uses the lines I have the opportunity to confront them either in person (unlikely and rare), over the phone, or thru messaging on a dating site. But they are about equally unkind in my opinion.

"You shouldn't do that" is a challenge. Is "Watch me" your response?

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 17, 2019:

My answer is "You shouldn't do that" is often not meant as a challenge, so I don't take it as one at all most of the time. I assume that most of the time it is meant well as a warning to me with my safety in mind. I don't care much about proving things to people, esp. as far as my physical capabilities. We do seem to have very different mindsets and personalities.

Elizabeth Warren’s Rise Is a Plus for Issue Politics—And a Bad Sign for Billionaires ...

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 17, 2019:

The more time goes on, the less I trust her. I am starting to think she might be a plant or ringer for the ruling class the same way Obama was, just a fake progressive designed to con people into thinking they were voting for real change that would benefit the 99%.

TMI but good to know up front. I'm not sure I'd even want to talk to him/her....

TomMcGiverin comments on Jun 17, 2019:

Sounds like they have issues....