gearl's Profile

I once was a member of a Pentecostal charismatic group.

gearl comments on Feb 2, 2018:

That makes me think that as a former Jehovah's Witness we believed that things could be demonized so that when somebody had something bad happen they would start going through their things looking for something they had bought at a yard sale so they could take it and destroy it. We were all poor enough that we all had to buy at yard sales and this became an ever reoccurring event.

How much stock do you put in a college education these days?

gearl comments on Feb 4, 2018:

My daughter was fortunate enough to get a scholarship and grants so she shouldn't be spending years paying off her education. I agree that college isn't for everyone but I do have a problem with parents actively discouraging education.

Is this the real reason he donated his salary? :D

gearl comments on Feb 6, 2018:

Defense is big bucks for the people promoting war or threat of war. All that talk about the button and making America the greatest military in the world when we are already, many times over.

I get bored in the mountains of boondock Idaho.

gearl comments on Feb 6, 2018:

I'm in the same boat in the mountains of Arizona.

I have basically written that I cannot not grasp the kind of mentality do trophy hunters have that ...

gearl comments on Feb 6, 2018:

I have friends that hunt but none that trophy hunt. I hear the arguments that the money helps endangered species but I just cannot understand anyone's need to kill animals especially those with small populations for no other reason than "sport" whatever that is. I agree "it is not a sport." Go in naked with a pocket knife to hunt lions or that leopard above. That would be sport.

I am a photographer.

gearl comments on Feb 11, 2018:

I've had a lot of great cameras in my life. The one I have now is 24MP and the pictures I get from it all far, far above what I could ever have gotten with film. The ISO aspects,the cost per picture and being able to work on them with a computer using PS just seals the deal.

American found with weapons in Uganda - Daily Nation

gearl comments on Feb 11, 2018:

I hope he is dealt with by their laws.

Have any of you read the book "WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW!?

gearl comments on Feb 11, 2018:

I watched the movie years ago but found it pretty underwhelming.

How much time do you spend on here?

gearl comments on Feb 14, 2018:

The Olympics came through and saved me. I've been weened for the next couple of weeks.

Who gave you the 'birds and bees' lecture

gearl comments on Feb 18, 2018:

Nearly every day, at lunch, in home room, a guy named Paul would get up and tell everybody in the class all the intimate details of his sexual encounters.

Atheists are under threat: discrimination against non-religious people increases - micetimes.asia

gearl comments on Feb 18, 2018:

We never know what the future holds or what catalyst will appear to change it. Most folks would have not foreseen the change in general attitude toward LGBT community coming as quickly as it did. There might be a chance that attitudes on guns could change because of the outspokenness of the high-schoolers in Florida. What if anything will change the poll numbers on 45? Polls can tell us where we are today but they can't predict where we will be tomorrow other than giving us historical trends. Shit happens that change trends.

If you were to be another animal what would it be and which chracteristic appeals to you about this ...

gearl comments on Feb 18, 2018:

I agree with Abbey, the turkey vulture.

5 Founding Fathers Whose Skepticism About Christianity Would Make Them Unelectable Today | Alternet

gearl comments on Feb 19, 2018:

Good talking points in these crazy times.

Favourite Book Genre?

gearl comments on Feb 20, 2018:

Nonfiction then Sci-Fi.

If man doesn't exist does the the universe exist?

gearl comments on Feb 20, 2018:

Somebody typed that question on a keyboard of a computer and uploaded to this website or I wouldn't be reading it. I would say he exists which makes the question nonsensical.

Do you think my position is too extreme? (Warning: graphic descriptions inside)

gearl comments on Feb 22, 2018:

Nah, Sounds good to me.

Religious niece asked to pray with her.

gearl comments on Feb 22, 2018:

My daughter has a young girl about eleven that idolizes her. When the girl asked her a question about god, Sam told her straight up she didn't believe. I guess the young lady didn't realize that there were people that "didn't believe in God." The shock didn't last long and they are still as close. It's usually best to just be honest.

What is your favorite genre of music?

gearl comments on Feb 22, 2018:

I used to listen to a lot of country but because so much music has become politicized I now listen to classic Rock 'N Roll and blues. It's funny how musical tastes could be changed by idealism but most country just sounds awful to me any more.

Atheism

gearl comments on Feb 22, 2018:

I was raised very religious but can't say that I was forced to go. I have to bear that burden all by myself. It took me till I was almost 40 to see the light of the hypocrisy that I had been taught to believe. Guess that I was just dumber than most.

It is frequently asked if we announce that we are atheists.

gearl comments on Feb 26, 2018:

The local library sponsors programs where professors from either ASU or U of A come and we discuss sometimes very controversial topics. I will usually make a few comments and I do usually introduce myself as a liberal. I find that if I do so, people figure I'm being up front and on several occasions I have had people on the other side of the fence approach me with really good discussion points after the program.

Man shoots his penis [chicago.suntimes.com]

gearl comments on Feb 27, 2018:

The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun is a dickhead with a gun.

How many others are offended because of Billy Graham's body being placed in the US capitol?

gearl comments on Feb 27, 2018:

He certainly did nothing to deserve it.

There have been several mentions of the "political compass" in politics discussion recently.

gearl comments on Feb 27, 2018:

Here's mine.

What does everybody think about Richard Carrier and his theory that Jesus was not a real historical ...

gearl comments on Mar 3, 2018:

I've read books by Carrier, Doherty, Price and Ehrman and personally I have come to the conclusion that Jesus was probably much like King Arthur or Hercules, just a myth. Whether there was any real historical evidence for a living person from whom the myth decended, I doubt we'll ever know but I think not. I see every day how quickly people believe in all types of nonsensical creatures, people and events which make a perfect parallel. For centuries the majority of folks believed the earth was a circle with a great firmament over it. I favor Carrier.

Is anyone watching the Sam Nunberg Show on MSNBC and now CNN?

gearl comments on Mar 5, 2018:

Erin Burnett said she smelled alcohol on his breath." The Trump team said ‘You’re drunk or off your meds.’ concerning him." "You talked about Sarah Huckabee Sanders and said she had a 'fat mouth'." "You called her a ‘fat slob’ in another interview." I later watched Anderson Cooper and about the whole show was devoted to him. I'm sure Rachael Maddow will do a number on him. It's fun.

I so like this

gearl comments on Mar 5, 2018:

But he ain't sweet!

Check out the juvenility by the NRA! They know they're in trouble, and instead of wanting to find ...

gearl comments on Mar 5, 2018:

I'm old enough to remember the word patriot not being a dirty word.

Sigh

gearl comments on Mar 5, 2018:

We're just scared shitless!

"We all know Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is a climate ...

gearl comments on Mar 5, 2018:

Tell me one Cabinet position that is a decent pick, just one that supports science. Tillerson would probably be closest because he, I'm sure, believes in technology but probably not the science that created it. Mnuchin, Zinke, Perdue, Ross, Acosta, Azar, Carson, Perry, and especially DeVos all want nothing more than to destroy the agencies they are in charge of.

When will the feds legalize cannabis? When the GOP is defanged

gearl comments on Mar 6, 2018:

Not until.

Atheist that admire Churches and other religious architecture?

gearl comments on Mar 7, 2018:

When we were visiting Cebu, I spent one very long day visiting most all the very old churches on the island. I guess some of my companions thought I must be pretty religious but I did get a lot of great pictures. A lot of them date back to the 1500s.

Minimalism, environmentalism, consumerism, transcendentalism, Platonist, naturalist, romanticist or ...

gearl comments on Mar 7, 2018:

Environmentalist, naturalist, humanist and minimalist.

BOOK: 'godless' by Dan Barker - An interesting & informative journey from preacher to apostate.

gearl comments on Mar 7, 2018:

I really enjoy coming out accounts and this book was well written and enjoyable. I read it a couple of years ago.

In the future it may be feasible to selectively delete an unwanted memory.

gearl comments on Mar 7, 2018:

There may be things I would like to go back and change in my life but I can’t think of any memories that I would want to delete.

Almost two years ago, Dad was in hospice.

gearl comments on Mar 7, 2018:

This is something that really bothers me. It’s always supposed to be the non-believer that buckles under to the believer. It gives them comfort. Your Dad was a non-believer and for once your brother should respect that. I’m getting to the age of facing my morality and have little patience for folks that just flat don’t respect my right to not believe. When I go they can give condolences to my wife and daughter and still respect the fact that I didn’t believe in their god. I won’t know the difference but it is just cruel to push unwanted beliefs at a time of grief on relatives.

Trump supporters. That’s s has pretty much been my experience. How about you guys.

gearl comments on Mar 10, 2018:

Sure fire backup for a lot of folks especially the Orange One.

Nra

gearl comments on Mar 10, 2018:

When they started I really thought they would fade all too quickly. I may have been proven wrong and I'm so very glad.

Sharing one of my favorite political pictures. It makes me laugh always.

gearl comments on Mar 10, 2018:

That one is great, Betty.

Original Sin

gearl comments on Mar 10, 2018:

Sin comes from the idea of missing the mark of perfection which implies that there is perfection which in turn implies a god setting that target. I agree that this is nothing more than a scam targeting gullible people to try to offer them a level that doesn’t even exist.

Trudeau is an insult to feminism – and to seriousness - The Globe and Mail

gearl comments on Mar 10, 2018:

The whole scope of the article is that women are tired of liberals pandering to them. One paragraph states: We have some hard lessons to learn. The India trip exposed Mr. Trudeau and his team as shallow, fundamentally unserious, and seriously incompetent. The budget document was far less harmful; it merely checked off all the usual social-justice boxes. In addition to a new paternity leave, it included more money for female entrepreneurs, $23-million for new multiculturalism programs and a national anti-racism plan, $214-million to remove racial barriers, promote gender equality, and combat homophobia and transphobia, and other funding for “racialized and immigrant women.” I'll bet a whole lot of women in America would like to see those programs here.

Oh man, let's add big tariffs to foreign steel and watch our industry grow --- NOT ...

gearl comments on Mar 10, 2018:

He's also pushing coal while destroying green energy and wanting manufacturing back. There is no need for good educations for our kids as they can all have jobs that are already becoming obsolete. Let’s all live in the past.

Trump and Agnostics

gearl comments on Mar 11, 2018:

There are a few. I also observe that few of us are extreme liberals. I can only speak for myself and I do support the majority of progressive thought but I am also appalled by extreme left wing thinking.

Still new to this site and couldnt help but notice how the people here represent a good cross ...

gearl comments on Mar 13, 2018:

Perhaps people in red states have greater need for like minded companionship that those in more liberal areas.

Are fundamentalist Christians destroying America.

gearl comments on Mar 13, 2018:

Anybody that thinks that the Bible is the literal word of god has problems. Their biggest problem is trying to force everybody else to follow their Biblical rules.

Religious 'nones' could shake up American politics — but many roadblocks stand in their way | ...

gearl comments on Mar 13, 2018:

I would guess that a good percentage of religious nones are in transition. It took me years to really make the transition. I very seldom went to church but was looking until finally it was time to just admit the truth. I didn't believe. During that period I wasn't very political either so perhaps they go together and time will bring changes.

What to say or what not to say?

gearl comments on Mar 14, 2018:

Why is it appropriate for her to tell you about god but inappropriate for you to say I don't believe as you do?

Tempering gun control dialogue

gearl comments on Mar 14, 2018:

Is there really a need for folks to have assult type weapons?

I'm sincerely upset that as an American, I live in a country that values a charlatan (Billy Graham) ...

gearl comments on Mar 15, 2018:

I'm with you and I wish it weren't true. Maybe, just maybe there are more of us than there are of them.

I truly believe the idea of an afterlife was invented by those in power as a way to convince the ...

gearl comments on Mar 15, 2018:

It makes sense to me.

Why would you ask?

gearl comments on Mar 15, 2018:

About 30 years ago I went with a gal for a time that identified as such. She was into the woo stuff and I found it as unacceptable as religion. I know Harris talks about it positively but to me the spirit part of the word is enough to turn me off. It today is like so many other words that can have a myriad of definitions.

When you questioned, was critical thinking discouraged?

gearl comments on Mar 15, 2018:

As I’ve said in the past I was a Jehovah’s Witness and the straw the broke the camel’s back for me was going to an elder’s meeting at an assembly and being told that we could question nothing that came from New York through the publications. I had always questioned things but believed the good outweighed the bad. I was almost physically sick knowing what I had to do. As soon as we got home I wrote a resignation letter detailing why I had to step down from my responsibilities. Things spiraled down very quickly from there and I was cast out within months. It ended with the loss of my marriage and my son and about all acquaintances.

Candidate who slammed Parkland teen as 'skinhead lesbian' quits Maine race - Sun Sentinel

gearl comments on Mar 17, 2018:

I certainly hope so.

So what are you reading?

gearl comments on Mar 20, 2018:

Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump by Michael Isikoff and David Corn. Interesting Book.

Does anyone know of an elected politician who is atheist?

gearl comments on Mar 20, 2018:

Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema is a none and about the closest I know of. https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/01/03/first-member-of-congress-describes-religion-as-none

I’m growing some nasturtiums this year and oh what a feast for the eye! It was a packet of seed ...

gearl comments on Jun 13, 2019:

I've always loved simple flowers more that more complex ones Those are great.

TRUMP AND REV.

gearl comments on Jun 14, 2019:

I sometimes wonder why people follow people like Jones, David Koresh, or L. Ron Hubbard but then I remember that I was once part of a cult and I followed without questioning. The cult is bigger this time and is more frightening. Hopefully those people will wise up like I did and accept that they were lied to.

John Bolton shot by Iranian protester...demand nuclear attack... [politics.theonion.com]

gearl comments on Jun 14, 2019:

Funny if the situation wasn't so damn serious.

[aol.

gearl comments on Jun 14, 2019:

How in the fuck would he know if something were correct or not. He doesn't seem to know how anything works especially the government and he magically could tell if dirt on an opponent is correct.

Seven Reasons To Be Highly Skeptical Of The Gulf Of Oman Incident – Caitlin Johnstone

gearl comments on Jun 14, 2019:

I don't know anything about Caitlin Johnstone but what she says in this article is reasonable. I saw nothing to trigger alerts and from what I understand of the event, I agree with her.

Madison Ave. Rose

gearl comments on Jun 14, 2019:

Beautiful and beautifully done.

Can anyone tell me where the notion that life begins at conception actually came from?

gearl comments on Jun 14, 2019:

According to Wikipedia: The view that life begins at fertilization reached acceptance from mainstream sources at one point. In 1967, New York City school officials launched a large sex education program. The fifth grade textbook stated "Human life begins when the sperm cells of the father and the egg cells of the mother unite. This union is referred to as fertilization. For fertilization to take place and a baby to begin growing, the sperm cell must come in direct contact with the egg cell." Similarly, a textbook used in Evanston, Illinois stated: "Life begins when a sperm cell and an ovum (egg cell) unite. Actually I did find the article you cite very interesting. I spent 40 years learning the Bible and still remember a lot and hate that knowledge to go to waste so I use it in debating with certain Christians. The article was a good list of sources to use in that eventuality.

Make Love, Not War...

gearl comments on Jun 15, 2019:

Gotta love John!

California Wants To Shut Down Christian River View Christian Academy, Accused Of Punishing Gay ...

gearl comments on Jun 15, 2019:

I'm sure they'll cry persecution when they get shut down.

I sense a great disturbance in the force...

gearl comments on Jun 16, 2019:

He looks right at home and the background matches his hair.

The US military is not briefing the US president on major cyber warfare operations against a hostile...

gearl comments on Jun 16, 2019:

When I saw this earlier, the first thought I had was how America is starting to look like a banana republic and powers within are starting to joust for power.

Benjamin Netanyahu's wife Sara admits misusing public funds - BBC News

gearl comments on Jun 17, 2019:

If a poor person stole $99,300, he would go to jail and pay back what he had left. He couldn't just repay $12,490 and say woops! This sounds like about every member in Trumps cabinet so no wonder Netanyahu likes Trump.

Great article in American decline [foreignaffairs.com]

gearl comments on Jun 17, 2019:

I did learn where the term third world countries came from.

Whadaya gonna do whadaya gonna say?

gearl comments on Jun 17, 2019:

I don't think he will. He did lose the popular vote last time so it was without impressive numbers.

How do you teach your teenagers ethics and values?

gearl comments on Jun 26, 2019:

From my experience it's best to be there and listen to their ideas. Tell them that you either agree or disagree and why. Treat their ideas with respect and dignity. Be there to discuss things that may be uncomfortable and don't judge. It paid off for me in the long run. I would guess that a lot of subjects are off limits with their father so be the one to come to.

A brief history of the world, according to Donald Trump - The Washington Post

gearl comments on Jun 26, 2019:

I have run out of free stories with the Washington Post.

Do you know if there is a way to sue WT for the time wasted?

gearl comments on Jun 28, 2019:

I'm 75 and I wasted half of my life in that religion. I also did it willingly as I really believed what I was doing was the right thing to do. Suing for being stupid would make you look more so.

This, along with evidence of kindnesses between animal species, and tool using, ought to upset a few...

gearl comments on Jun 29, 2019:

Although I am a bit paranoid about web-sites like this I completely agree with the premise that animals are intelligent, are able to show what we would consider moral values and kindness and we should be doing everything in our power to protect them along with the environment we all need to survive.

After last night's Democratic Party candidates for President debates, who is your top 3 Best Choices...

gearl comments on Jun 29, 2019:

Elizabeth Warren Kamala Harris Pete Buttiege

This is when I really love being able to claim Portland as my home - World Naked Bike Ride! ...

gearl comments on Jul 1, 2019:

To be younger again.

A high percentage of Trump supporters are marginalized whites who are struggling to get by, and ...

gearl comments on Jul 1, 2019:

I don't really think it is a lack of intelligence but rather a lack of ever learning how to think. Most of those folks I know are proud of being uneducated and tend to teach their kids not to value education but rather believe in an invisible friend, they are pro-life, they are raciest and anti-immigrant and they hate skeptical thinking.

I live in the USA, i am ashamed to be a usa citizen this 4th. Deeply ashamed.

gearl comments on Jul 3, 2019:

I told a friend this earlier today.

I'm putting together a StreetRhythms blog post of my hometown of Royal Oak, Michigan.

gearl comments on Jul 3, 2019:

That perked me up a bit. Thanks!

[alternet.

gearl comments on Jul 11, 2019:

I've been wondering if a whole lot of men including Trump get ousted in this case. If they took part they should fall.

Understanding Unbelief – Understanding Unbelief is a major new research programme aiming to ...

gearl comments on Jul 11, 2019:

In regard to 7, I saw a study the other day about support for the detainment camps at the border and evangelicals were the most supportive of them and nonbelievers were the least supportive.

I just read a news article about "climate despair" which discussed anxiety regarding unstoppable ...

gearl comments on Jul 12, 2019:

That's what I have.

What would you say if you got this survey in your E mail from your church?

gearl comments on Jul 12, 2019:

I would write in "A Parent."

In case people can't see the reality

gearl comments on Jul 13, 2019:

You nailed it.

Ilhan Omar death threat leads to arrest of New York Trump supporter