[washingtonpost.com] Its all about benjamins baby Ihan Omar apologizes for accused Anti-Semitism ...

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

i am not anti-zionist. zionism, whatever everyone THINKS it means, simply means being in favor of israel's continuing existence. people try to make it mean being against israel's policies. that is NOT what anti-zionist means. it means being against israel's existence. i wish people would realize this. meanwhile i don't even understand the benjamin's baby reference. i don't know what that even means. g

It's possible to be against the Israeli treatment of Palestinians without being anti-semitic. It's ...

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

it is a very narrow road, because there is a difference between believing israel has a right to exist and believing israel is treading the palestinians badly. the palestinian leadership doesn't want a two-state solution and never has; it has always wanted itself to be the only state, and has called not only for the demise of israel but the demise of jews worldwide. the current administration of israel, and indeed trump as well, also does not want a two-state solution, but other israeli administrations have. meanwhile, the israeli people and the palestinian people get the shaft from their own governments and from each other's governments. republicans support the current israeli administration not from any love of jews (spare me!) but from the love of israel's fascist current leadership, and from any residual belief that when the jews all gather in israel, the end of days will elevate them all the heaven (presumingly leaving said jews behind). some liberals fall into the trap of hating israel because of what it is doing now. does this mean the world should hate america because of trump? i don't want to be hated; i despise him and want him in an orange jumpsuit behind american-made steel bars. if north korea or russia happen to bomb where i live, they won't care about that. so yeah, it's an extremely narrow road. g

Who Hates America?

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

who hates america? well, just off the top of my head, putin... trump.... g

Religion/Agnostic/Atheist

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

nope. i was raised as a secular jew. secular jews focus on tikum olam, whether we call it that or not it means fixing the world, specifically working to end poverty, slavery, hunger, bigotry and bullying, and to promote education, freedom, democracy and charity. i don't see the point of rejecting those concepts. the god thing? yah, well, not so much lol. but you don't need a god to continue tikum olam. you can even try to help the world be a better place while eating a cheeseburger. g

What if magic erasers are dimensional cleaners and that's where all the dirt and stains go.

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

what if no one made ridiculous, meaningless posts, miscategorized at that, just in order to get points? g

[jta.org] I was barred from becoming a foster parent in South Carolina because I am Jewish.

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

while i was living in japan, my sister asked me to find her a baby to adopt. i knew nothing of such things but set out to learn and to find her a baby. she didn't care about gender or ability or religion or anything; she just wanted a baby. in japan, there are, or were when i was there, very few adoption agencies; children in orphanages were expected to stay there until majority. there was one agency, a lutheran one, but when i contacted it, its representative told me that it could not possibly adopt a child out to a jewish family. i finally found the missionary sisters of charity (mother teresa's gang) who did not run an orphanage but did run a shelter for unwed mothers. (this was long before the current scandal involving nuns selling babies!) okay i'll cut to the chase: they said, more or less, "jewish, shmooish, y'all gonna love the baby and give it a good home? great!" upshot: i have a japanese niece g

Television commercial music.... How much do you like it? There are some that stick in my mind for...

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

i pretty much hate all commercial music. some i hate more than others. that doesn't keep the worst of them from sticking in my head, and i hate that too. exception: two suburu commercials have good music, one a song by gregory alan isakov, and i forget the other but i have a vague recollection that i liked it. there is one commercial, i forget for what, that misuses the queen of night's song from the magic flute. whoever is singing it sings it so sweetly, and it's pretty, but damn it, it's not supposed to be sweet and pretty -- it's a threatening song and it should be scary and strong! anyway i will post the link to isakov's song. i bet you'll recognize it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFoENVgNGFE g

[jta.org] Upstate NY Yeshiva set on fire and covered with swastikas. Were they attacked because ...

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

people who set fires and paint swastikas do not know the difference between jews and jewish extremists, whatever that means (what, they're extremely jewish? how does that hurt anyone?) they just hate jews. the perps ARE extremists. i don't hold with victim-blaming. g

" ... love, it is only in some body else’s heart. Right now some one you know is looking every ...

genessa comments on Feb 11, 2019:

nope, not buying it, not even the spelling (it's peyton place, unless someone has made up a joke name). love is NOT only in somebody else's heart. it's in mine, for example. and right now no one i know is looking everywhere for me, because everyone i know knows where i am, and WHAT is in me? this makes NO sense. g

Is the concept of monogamous marriage secular or religious

genessa comments on Feb 10, 2019:

ir is neither secular nor religious. it didn't even start as an idea. some species are monogamous because that is what helps the species survive, and some species survive better polygamously. humans survive better monogamously, especially since our progeny remain helpless for much longer than the young of other species. g

How do you honor family and friends at weddings, baptism, bar mitzvah, etc. without participating in...

genessa comments on Feb 10, 2019:

i don't mind bar mitzvahs or other jewish ceremonies; my atheism wasn't a matter of rebellion. i just realized there were no gods. i still enjoy some of the rituals. i'm not offended by them. i just take the god stuff allegorically or outright ignore it, and the rest of it -- being kind of people, protecting the planet, working to end slavery and starvation worldwide -- i certainly have no objections to those things. g

Goofy church signs...... Worry less Pray more [no need to worry about that mortgage--just pray]...

genessa comments on Feb 10, 2019:

i never see goofy church signs. admittedly i have never been a christian so i have never gone to churches and don't get out much so i don't get driven past many, but i do sometimes get driven past one near my home that says something like "immigrants welcome here." i can't say i find that goofy at all! g

Can a woman enjoy her life fully without a man?

genessa comments on Feb 10, 2019:

of course she can. many do, and i mean many straight women as well as lesbians. can every woman do so? i don't know. maybe, maybe not. it depends on how she was raised and what she wants from her life. i spent most of my life without a man and got a lot done, and enjoyed a lot. now i have a man and i am getting less done, not because of the man but because we're old and not well. romantic love is a good thing. it is not the only thing. g

I just wanna go on record and say, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at...

genessa comments on Feb 10, 2019:

also... if you can't take the heat, stay out of the forum! (we're cookin' here!) g

I just wanna go on record and say, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at...

genessa comments on Feb 10, 2019:

then we can't talk about trump at all! g

Due to the overwhelming hatred of Trump on this site, would you vote for the genius Ocasio Cortez ...

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

by the way, aoc will not be old enough in 2020 to run for president. she will still be five years too young on election day. that is not a judgment; that is a fact, according to the specifications set out in the constitution. g

Is this thing still valuable?

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

i do not see a picture or description of a thing, or your finger pointing to a thing, so i do not know which thing you mean. g

I am level one and hopefully will stay on it.

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

why would you want to stay on level one? the levels slowly grant you more privilege to interact on the site. this is a flawed but nonetheless somewhat effective safeguard against an influx of trolls and scammers. there is no advantage to you for you to stay on level one. if you were a scammer, there would be an advantage to the rest of the community for you to stay on level one lol. g

I don't pick on the people in religion I do pick on all religions equally. I am sure they all pick ...

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

ALL? don't be so sure. not all. religion has it problems. it doesn't need more. those commands to wipe out entire villages were about land, not religion. g

is it time to put a cap on the number of posts someone makes everyday. some of us have other lives ...

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

i disagree totally. why should someone not express him/herself because you don't feel like clicking? don't click! problem solved! g

Due to the overwhelming hatred of Trump on this site, would you vote for the genius Ocasio Cortez ...

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

i would vote for a used piece of toilet paper against trump. i am neither dissing nor endorsing aoc by saying that. i am just saying that in the primaries i will vote for whoever seems as if s/he would make the best president, and in the general i will vote democratic, period. g

God does exist . I know that god exists because i know " what " god is . To know what something is ,...

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

you are most certainly not a fountain of infinite understanding and knowledge. you are a person who deliberately comes to a place where agnostics and atheists can feel comfortable not being harassed by believers and harasses us with your assertions that we're wrong. guess what? that is, at best, a bore. no one here needs your nonsense. seriously. g p.s. those with knowledge are feared? people with knowledge should be admired, learned from, protected from anti-intellectual assholes, encouraged to share their knowledge and not hide it, treasured by society, NOT feared.. when i say "people with knowledge" i am not referring to you. i am referring to people with actual knowledge, not egotists who want people to think they're being done a favor by being preached to with total nonsense. pps. you talk about the true god, but look at all those gods (including satan) in whom you purport to believe. not too choosy, are you? which one is your true god? your intellect was in doubt from the word go. now so is your sincerity.

How a day

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

your post has no meaning. what are you trying to say? g

Do you believe in homeopathy?

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

homeopathy definitely exists, whether or not we believe in it. does everything labeled homeopathic work, and if so, does it work for everything? there is no such thing as a panacea and growing out of the ground instead of being compounded in a lab is no guarantee of effectiveness or even harmlessness. i use goldenseal as an anti-infective. i can tell you that when i had a raging, festering infection on my toe for a MONTH, and no topical or oral medical treatment would cure it, and doctors were baffled, i put some goldenseal powder on the wound and it stopped festering within an hour; in three days the wound was totally healed with barely a scar showing. but that doesn't mean some other herb is good for whatever it is people say it does. when i have bronchitis i let my doc choose an antibiotic for me. goldenseal isn't going to touch it. if i have cancer, i may or may not agree to chemo and/or radiation but i'm sure as hell not going to go on someone's hinky diet and expect the cancer to be cowed. so when people say they do or do not believe in [the effectiveness of] homeopathy, what are they talking about? the whole concept of using herbs at all for anything but flavoring, or the avoidance of chemicals, including lifesaving ones, or...? i don't think most people even KNOW what they mean. when they embrace it, they naively embrace everything "natural" (poison ivy is natural; death is natural!) or condemn the idea that anyone could possibly benefit from something a doctor didn't prescribe (kind of a blanket condemnation). life doesn't work that way. g

Do you support the idea that we are all created equal as stated in the constitution? Or have times ...

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

i support our all being equal. it needs work; we are not treated equally. i try to ignore the word "create." g

Instead of voting along the party lines either Democrat or Republican, how about us citizens start ...

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

how about meaning "why," i have a pretty good answer. you see, we have one major political party at the moment, and one criminal organization (i am neither exaggerating nor slurring; i am telling the truth) posing as a political organization. so things work out one of two ways: either the criminal organization retains power, or it loses power and we can start to get the country back together again. if people ignore party lines, vote for their great-uncle's wife's daughter's ex-boyfriend because he seems like a really good guy and you just don't trust politicians anyway, then the republicans keep control, because your great-uncle's bla bla bla isn't going to win, and if he did, he would have no power anyway because you have to have the majority to get much done. if the majority plays fair, the minority can have a say, but if the majority is republican, that just doesn't HAPPEN. they write bills without any democratic input, in secret, and won't let anyone read the bills before they vote! it's insane! also, the purpose of electing a president is not to teach bigots a lesson. it's to take power away from them. so instead of electing a black woman for president to teach someone a lesson, how about electing someone who will get good things DONE (and try to fix the bad stuff that's already been and is still being done), and if that's a black woman, COOL, and if it's someone else, COOL. i'd rather vote on party lines than vote on racial or genderic lines! parties have platforms. races and genders and ages and hair colors and shoe sizes don't. g

I sadly encountered anti-Semitism in my home in NH. I reported it to the police as a hate crime. One...

genessa comments on Feb 9, 2019:

i am saddened, and feel for you, but i can't say i am surprised. it's never been gone, and it's coming back in force, with blessings from the powers that be. hang in there. we're working on changing things. g

What's the one line that made red flags pop up and your brain say... "deal breaker"? There have ...

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

well, i live with my guy and i don't date, but i can safely say that anything that sounds like a line is a dealbreaker by virtue of being a line. i certainly would never have gone out with, or refrained from laughing at, someone who tried to make me wear makeup. i don't mind when folks don't use my name. in fact, i think it's overused and can be a tactic. if someone used my name a lot in writing, or if not actually trying to catch my attention in oral speech, i would find it irritating, kind of fake. so i feel differently about that. i do recall once i met a guy at a party my then-roommate also attended. i may be remembering wrong but i think i was invited and brought her along because she begged me to do so. anyway, we both met this guy and liked him, and she threw herself at him. we both gave him our numbers. he called me, and i invited him to my house (by that time i was living alone). he told me how turned off he was by my ex-roomie's having thrown herself at him. he expressed interest in me, and how i lived. he didn't seem fake. i usually have pretty good radar for that. my radar isn't perfect, though. we ended up in bed and after we had made love he said he had to tell me something. uh oh. he said he was in a relationship. oh, i said -- i thought you were going to tell me you were married. yeah, he said, that's it. sheesh. so i didn't want to see him anymore (right?) but he kept calling me and asking me if i liked it when he did this, or did that, sexually, that one time. i had to tell him, look, i enjoy doing it, not talking about it -- but because he was married, and even more importantly, because he didn't come clean BEFOREHAND and give me a chance to decide whether to sleep with a married guy, i wasn't going to be doing it with him anymore. he declined to "just be friends" -- he didn't see the point. well, that was strike number three: if he doesn't want to be my friend, he sure as hell isn't qualified to be my lover. g

Would you say that, given your knowledge, etc, of the Goat-herder's Guide to the Galaxy ( Bible) and...

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

i am not familiar with most of what christians call the new testament, and of course old testament does not describe the hebrew bible, with which i am more familiar, and which is the only bible on which judaism is based at all (i think islam gives a nod or two to jesus). i agree the god of the latter is a rotter. g

my advice to all you people out there. watch george carlin. there is no better person on earth who ...

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

carlin is wonderful. he's truly wonderful. however, i would not go as far as to say NO better person on earth talked about and explained, when he was alive, the behavior and psyche of man and mankind. carl sagan was no slouch, you know. g

whats important in life ? why do we live and what for ? what is reason ? what is common sense ? ...

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

what is important in life is up to whoever's life it is. what is important to me might not be important to you. this is not something that can be decided for you by strangers on a website, or even by people you know. you decide. likewise why we live and for what. why, of course, is because our species procreates. for what is up to you. reason is the ability to look at evidence and figure out what it means. common sense is uncommon. a dictionary will help you define it but not to have it. why mankind keeps on going is because that's how we're wired. g

Why is the hard-Left so conservative? - UnHerd

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

they're not. and who in the world is unherd anyway? the question in the title is loaded, like "when did you stop beating your wife?" g

Planning to stream some Albert Finney movies this weekend. Suggestions? I'm more familiar with ...

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

saturday night and sunday morning; tom jones; the dresser (you'll become a tom courtenay fan too -- come back and ask for a list of his best, and meanwhile watch unforgotten on pbs). g

On the Zodiac I'm a Gemini. Whats yours?

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

i was born on a day that people who follow the zodiac consider to fall under the sign of pisces. i am not one of those people. g

What is the future of western Europe without God?

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

europe has always been without god. europe might not have KNOWN it, but since there never was a god, why would the future be different now? g

Is it just me, or do people seem less polite than they used to be before social media?

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

it's just you. before social media, people were rude but only had access to a limited number of venues in which to express their rudeness. now we see them more easily. but those people were always rude. g

How Can Someone be an Agnostic and an Atheist at the Same Time? | Courtney Heard

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

i will belatedly add a thought: atheist has two definitions. one is someone who does not believe there are any gods. the other is someone who believes there are no gods. either way, the atheist doesn't claim knowledge, just belief of lack thereof. an agnostic is also someone who does not claim knowledge. there is no definitional aspect of agnosticism with regard to belief. an agnostic can be either kind of atheist, or undecided or indifferent, neither of those last being compatible with atheism, so an agnostic might or might not be an atheist. asking how you can be both agnostic and atheist is like asking how someone who likes potatoes can like rice. you can like either, neither or both, or one better than the other.... g

My belief, my faith, my hopes, my trust are all in in Humans. How difficult should that be to get to...

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

why? i don't think i need to belong to a group because i think or don't think a certain way regarding the universe. it's not as if we would have rituals, or need to confirm what was or wasn't acceptable to the group. as for believing in humans, anyone can see humans exist. believing in our goodness... well, some people are, some are not, most are a mixture. i don't need to get together with a gang to confirm this! g

Are we in the Anthropocene. I think we are clearly in a new age, if you don't think so I ask you to ...

genessa comments on Feb 8, 2019:

madagascar g

How do you have sex with someone without sexualizing them? In other words, how do you have ...

genessa comments on Feb 7, 2019:

there is no such thing as nonsexual sex, nor does there need to be. treating someone as an object is sexualizing them. you can make love with someone and not treat that person like a thing instead of a person. it does involve caring about the other person. how does caring about your partner equal nonsexualization? g

I'd love to hear from single adults who live alone by choice. Do you think there any truth to the ...

genessa comments on Feb 7, 2019:

it may be true of many. i thought it might be true of me. however, after a lifetime of almost always living alone, i find myself living with my guy, and no, it's not true of me after all. g

I am repulsed by the view that since this is the only life we apparently have that we’re supposed ...

genessa comments on Feb 7, 2019:

name someone here who came crying to you. hint: it wasn't me. further hint: it'll never be me. oh and since you mention it (i am too kind a person to bring it up myself, but you did open the door) fuck you too. g

Pelosi: "The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they're for it, ...

genessa comments on Feb 7, 2019:

and your source for this? i see several sources for it, and they're all suspicious. mother jones, on the other hand, has a pretty level-headed take on it: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/02/is-nancy-pelosi-opposed-to-medicare-for-all/ but by all means, let's panic and diss pelosi because... because.... y'all will surely think of something.... g

Trump Has Nothing Left to Say

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

with nothing left to say, he will nonetheless say it. it will come out "bla bla bla." g

Just had a weird conversation with a co-worker. He said atheism is a religion. I said the same way ...

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

he is the one who is not logical but because he isn't, he'll never see it. pat him on the head and say "there there, it's all right" and walk away. he'll never ever get it. g

Do you tell yourself what you love about yourself?

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

1. brr, go away february. 2. i'm not irish and i've never been christian, so NO imbolc for me. 3. i do. my bladder wakes me up in a couple hours. 4. it is spelled stretch, and my body hurts. 5. i can't drink more water. i already drink a LOT of water. i mean a WHOLE lot. and anyway this is the day my cat died. 6. too distracted by the death of my cat yesterday. 7. i don't have one favorite movie and if i did it probably would not be available to watch. 8. i can't walk well and it's ICY and dangerous out anyway, so if i could walk well, i sure wouldn't pick a day in february in minnesota to do so. 9. NO. i am disabled and this is my lifeline. 10. i can't. i need help. 11. not joking, i will not meditate, EVER. ugh. 12. i don't like tea. 13. i have asthma. 14. i don't have a car. anyway i am engaged. he doesn't have a car. what he has is alzheimer's. if i had a date with someone i'd ask that person to take me food shopping. 15. i always have a wholesome breakfast. 16. most of my time is ME time. 17. i don't need to write down anything like that. that's a nice exercise for someone else. 18. to WHAT? 19. last time i lit a candle (this past chanukah) one of my cats set herself on fire. 20. see #10. 21. see #4. 22. gratitude? to WHOM? i find that people who say that do not have a recipient in mind. well, you know what? i consider that an oblique reference to a deity. feh on that. 23. every day; i don't need a special day for that. 24. i nap all the time but see #3. 25. i learn something new every day. i learned what imbolc was tonight. 26. i need help with that too. 27. i can't hold a book. i have arthritis in my hands. 28. that's pretty general. how about i just follow my own schedule without any suggestions from people who don't know that i even exist but just throw out lists as if one size fits all? no offense, but that is how it feels. g

If you don't agree, I'd say you're not human.

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

yesterday my golde died... at home. the vet wanted to put her down and i said no. i took her home and she died hours later, as expected, but we had some snuggles. at one point she emerged from the safe, soft, warm place i had put her, so that she could put her paw on my shoulder and lay her cheek on my cheek. i'll remember that forever. but that's not always an option for everyone, and we should be considerate at the vet in case someone has no choice but to say goodbye there. g

NY Abortion Law, governors article [nytimes.com]

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

for those who have run out of free nyt reads: Opinion Andrew Cuomo: Trump’s Assault on Abortion Rights Must Be Rejected The president and the religious right are spreading falsehoods about abortion laws to inflame their base. By Andrew M. Cuomo Mr. Cuomo is the governor of New York. Feb. 6, 2019 687 Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times Image CreditCreditDamon Winter/The New York Times In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Trump attacked the law that New York passed last month codifying a woman’s right to an abortion, and he proposed federal legislation to roll back the protections provided by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The president’s diatribe was part of the far-right’s escalation of its assault on a woman’s constitutional rights. It’s worth recalling that in 1999, long before he ran for president, Mr. Trump described himself as “very pro-choice.” Today he claims to be anti-choice, and he shamelessly courts the religious right to win votes. Too much of today’s political discourse is extreme. But emotions run especially high when politics and religion intersect — as in the debate about a woman’s right to choose. As a Roman Catholic, I am intimately familiar with the strongly held views of the church. Still, I do not believe that religious values should drive political positions. I just signed the Reproductive Health Act into law to protect against the Republicans’ efforts to pack the Supreme Court with extreme conservatives to overturn the constitutional protections recognized in Roe v. Wade. Roe has been repeatedly reaffirmed by the Supreme Court, in multiple decisions, as recently as 2016, and has been supported by justices selected by both Democratic and Republican presidents. In fact, Roe was decided at a time of Republican control of the White House, under a chief justice, Warren Burger, who was nominated by Richard Nixon. The decision’s author was another Nixon justice, Harry Blackmun. As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a Republican appointed by Ronald Reagan, stated in 1992 in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, the court recognizes “the right of the woman to choose to have an abortion before viability and to obtain it without undue interference from the state.” She also confirmed “the state’s power to restrict abortions after fetal viability, if the law contains exceptions for pregnancies which endanger the woman’s life or health.” You have 1 article left. Create an account or log in to get more As part of their attack on women’s rights, Mr. Trump and his allies are intentionally spreading lies about New York’s Reproductive Health Act. Their goal is to end all legal abortion in our nation. The Reproductive Health Act ...

Hello everyone! Just wanted to say hello to everyone. I’m hoping to meet people with similar ...

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

we can't know what's in your mind, to let you know. but you do, and you can :-)) so you let US know! g

Do other people on this site frequently edit their profiles and bios? Every now and then I think of ...

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

i edited mine yesterday for the first time, and i hope for the last time in a long while. yesterday one of my beloved cats died so i adjusted the number of cats mentioned in the profile. g

I watched 45s state of the union. All the calls for unity boil down to "Okay you beat me but can I ...

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

it was actually more insidious than that. it boiled down to "if you don't stop investigating me, i will start a war, and i won't sign any legislation." there was also a bit of "immigrants are murderers and new york lets doctors murder babies minutes before they're born," neither of which is true of course. g

And elected politician who believes that the earth is flat. Amusement only! [msn.com]

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

would you like to give us a clue so we know whether or not we want to click? g

Agnostic ladies, when all else fails to discourage that "dating stalker":

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

a long time ago, in a galaxy far away (los angeles), when i was young and shy and stupid, i was helping out a friend at a yard sale and a dorky guy came by and tried to chat us up. he asked for my number and... did i mention i was stupid? i was too dumb to give him a fake number and too shy just to tell him to fuck off. so of course he started to call me regularly and he was the boringest idiot you could imagine. naturally, he always wanted to turn the conversation to sex. one day he called and was nattering on and he said something about "gentilia." i said "what?" "gentilia." i couldn't understand what he was getting at. finally he explained: "sexual organs." "oh," i said, "you mean genitalia! i thought you were talking about christians!" he never called me back. i never even needed a blade. g

Hiding your lack of faith at work

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

i had many, many workplaces in my life. only once did i ever have to hide who i was, and it wasn't that i was an atheist. (at that job there was no coworker to talk to about any topic at all much less religion; i had a lonely reception/phone job.) i had just moved to l.a. and had been beating the street for a week, about five interviews a day, trying to get a job. finally, on friday, i was hired by a photographer's studio to book appointments for the photographer and greet anyone who miraculously turned up off the street. monday i reported for work and the boss took me into his office and mentioned my surame, adding, "that's an overtly jewish name, isn't it?" i admitted it was. "have you ever thought of changing it?" i confessed i never had. "WOULD you change it?" and i had a different surname for the long, torturous month i worked there, calling mostly jewish doctors to ask if they'd like to be in a yearbook, for free (the photographer would then try to sell them copies of the yearbook pictures). the boss, too, was jewish. he would introduce himself by his real name to anyone with dark hair, and to blondes he introduced himself with a less jewish-sounding name. self-hatred is the worst kind of hatred. it made me physically ill to work there (and that's not even taking into account his bitch of a wife who was abusive to the undocumented workers they underpaid because they could get away with it). if anyone had asked me if i was jewish, or an atheist, or anything else, i'd have been honest about it, but nobody ever asked. g

[msn.com] Stupid woman. Why doesn't stick to acting in crappy movies ?

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

you think that because she is an idiot, at least in this regard, and sells a potentially harmful product, that means her movies are crappy? what does one thing have to do with another? stick to the issue. g

Do you think you are genuinely seeking an intimate relationship? Or are you just looking to fill a ...

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

neither. i live with my guy and we love each other. i spent most of my life unattached, though, because i was never looking for a "someone." i wanted one, but i wasn't going to decide that because i wanted one, any old one would do. so i didn't have a lot of lovers in my life -- a lot fewer (and farther between) than most people i know. guess what? i actually had other things to do and think about and didn't feel i wasn't a person unless i had some guy, ANY guy. g

My father died believing the catholic bible which we know is full of errors and evil. If there is ...

genessa comments on Feb 6, 2019:

sorry about your dad but this is a question that depends on accepting a fantasy. it's like asking "if my father was a bird and flew away, where do you think he flew?" he was NOT a bird and did NOT fly away, so the question can't be answered. there is no life after death except the natural recycling of basic materials -- no afterlife, no heaven, no hell, no god, no reward or punishment for dead humans who believed crazy things, none for humans who didn't have those beliefs either. g

my cat golde just died. i held her in my arms and then i had to get up as nature called, and so i ...

genessa comments on Feb 5, 2019:

some pictures of golde including a baby picture of her with her brother tevye, who is slowing down but still okay. g

State of the Union addresses are just glorified political rallies. As such, personally I'm wholly...

genessa comments on Feb 5, 2019:

i will be watching nancy pelosi's face, behind him, and listening to stacy abrams afterwards. g

How US led coups work. Funny read but very accurate. [truthdig.com]

genessa comments on Feb 5, 2019:

it would've been nice to tell us what this was about, even briefly, even with one line, so we'd know whether we were interested. not everyone likes to click some strange link to some site we've never heard of without the tiniest clue. g

Are any of you gonna watch the presidential address tonight or will you wait for the summary on the ...

genessa comments on Feb 5, 2019:

i will be watching on msnbc. those of you worried about trump taking some joy in ratings should note that he wouldn't be happy to know msnbc got those ratings. the commentary will be apt. i want to hear abrams' response. i know that they can't write a response that is precisely a commentary on the address, since they would not have heard that when the response was written, but i think the dems won't go around saying trump said things he didn't, like the republicans always did to obama. they would claim he said the opposite of what he did say. that's not a function of having to write the speech in advance. that's a function of deliberate lies and propaganda. we won't be having that in the response tonight. in the address.... if trump says it's tuesday i will have to adjust my calendar to say it's any day BUT tuesday, because i don't think he ever knows what day it is, and if he did know, he'd lie about it. g

Okay, so there ain't no God. No old man with gray hair sitting in a chair in the sky. So who's ...

genessa comments on Feb 5, 2019:

what makes you think there has to be someone running things? what makes you think there has to be a reason why we're here? okay with WHOM is it okay to be a murderer and/or a rapist? do you REALLY think that if there is no big punisher in the sky, it's okay to hurt people? what a ridiculous and disgusting idea THAT is. you must think human beings have no inner resources and only behave well, if they do, because of some god or other (and look how well THAT proves out -- ever see the stats on who's in prison? those murderers and rapists are mostly christians!) no, there is no right or wrong to the universe, but there is right and wrong to humanity, and you'd have to be blind not to see it. g

What does it mean when a user is not available

genessa comments on Feb 5, 2019:

it means either they blocked you or they quit or they got banned. g

Star Wars is just Dune for kids.

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

star wars is just three bad men in a hidden fortress for americans. the original is better, too. g

Geez, I'm so confused navigating this site! All the Groups say you must join but aren't we already ...

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

you have joined agnostic.com and/or humanist.com. if you want to post to a group WITHIN that site, you have to join the group. this is partly a dating site. it is mostly a community, a social medium. the dating part is best experienced by contributing to the community part. and yes, we tend to be agnostics, atheists, etc., here, but just like everyone else, we don't want to talk about that one topic all day long. the only thing we have in common is a lack of belief in a god or gods. we vary wildly from that point on, and have many interests. if you were looking for a mate, would being a nonbeliever be enough? wouldn't you want her to have a whole slew of interests, with some of them matching your interests? g

A Christian friend of mine tried to justify to me several years ago why men should be the ...

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

i've never heard a good argument in favor of men, but i can think of a good one in favor of women: god made man, and then he tried again and got it right! g

So, you know how you can see all the folks who visit your profile page. Well, I'm new here, day ...

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

1. it's an international site. 2. ONLY 44? 3. the site is relatively new. 4. should people not look at your page unless they live around the corner? some people may be curious about who you are without specifically planning to visit you. 5. some people hover over your name by accident. g

How to shut people up when they bitch about black history month. I don't know if any of you have to...

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

tell them every month is white history month and surely they can spare ONE for black history. g

Do you think that standing up for Freedom of Religion helps promote Freedom from Religion? What are ...

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

freedom of religion INCLUDES freedom from religion. g

My Latest Rebuttal to a Dogmatic Atheist: As many atheists (as theists) are drunk with power, ...

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

i don't know who you've been hanging out with. the atheists i know are not drunk with power; what power do atheists have anyway? we can't even run for office in seven states. some power. as for washing, what a stupid thing to say. how do YOU know whether atheists wash, and if some don't, what has that got to do with their being atheists? you may as well say some blue-eyed people don't wash. it's not because of their eye color either. jews don't actually socially engineer populations, not as part of judaism anyway. i don't know what you think judaism is, but it doesn't do that -- and it doesn't proselytize or encourage conversion either. jews don't want you to convert. if you don't want to be an atheist, don't be an atheist but don't go dissing atheists ridiculously for things that have nothing to do with atheism. atheists don't wash, atheist is like wearing the same bad suit, that's just ridiculous and offensive. your experience with "too many atheists" is obvious experience with NOT ENOUGH atheists, but you generalize, and rudely, anyway. g

So this is a Text I got from a young "Christian" woman I was friends with... "I have to say this....

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

let her use religion as a shield. she obviously has some psychological problems and it's not your job to get her help. she'll work it out -- or she won't -- but without you, and that's your lucky break. g

Caesar’s Messiah: “the Roman conspiracy to invent Jesus” (YouTube) The gist is, the Romans...

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

there may have been a roman conspiracy to FURTHER deify the newly invented jesus, but if the apostle paul existed (never mind if jesus existed), he and the greeks started that up. (of course the romans copied everything greek!) jesus is even a greek name. thing is, there is an old (i mean OLD!) jewish expression that translates as "he's a real son of god!" it was said of someone who was pious and wasn't meant to be taken literally. when paul went to greece to get everyone there on board, he told them about judaism (they were really not interested in getting circumcized as adults, and they were loath to abandon their only real industries: raising pigs and fishing, including for shellfish. however, the idea of a "real son of god" was just the kind of thing they already believed. zeus was always coming down to earth and raping/impregnating human women. this concept they could dig. so paul had a choice to make: convert the greeks to judaism, which not only were they not going along with at all but which just isn't done (jews don't proselytize!) or get them to worship jesus (not, as i've mentioned, his real name, if he even existed, but that's a whole OTHER ball of wax). he chose the latter. christianity is born! anything the romans did after that is reinvention, not invention. g

25 Obscure English Words

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

i already knew aglet, tittle, defenestrate, bruxism and phosphene (though i wouldn't have remembered that those lights are called that, i knew what it meant when i saw it), and although i had not ever heard or seen preantepenultimate i could tell what it meant. ag dot com's spellcheck has not heard of four of those. g

Ok so now you all know how i feel bout punctuation well heres a question for ya all Do any of you...

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

if i don't think we have a creator, why would i believe in any theory about who the nonexistent creators were? you may have made some kind of an explanation after you asked your question but i am not going to wreck my eyes because you don't feel like punctuating. g

Do you remember having/using this?

genessa comments on Feb 4, 2019:

my mom had one of those! g

Hi world and make believe characters.

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

i don't know about you, but i'm real. g

I suppose I’ve always been an Athiest, but for years I was happily non-religious and didn’t give...

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

i don't care what nonsense people believe until it affects their behavior with regard to others. if they're not legislating, executing or adjudicating their religion, or either pressing it upon others or discriminating against those who don't share their delusion (or who maybe even do, but happen to be gay or whatever the deluded ones thing their god doesn't like) then let them be. when they start interfering with the real world, then it's time to say and do something. g

So, why are you an Atheist?

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

because there aren't any gods and no one has any evidence, or a convincing argument, otherwise. we can't see dark matter but we can measure its effects. i can't say as much for any gods. g

I don't want to spark an outrage but what are your thoughts about Colin Kaepernick and the massive ...

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

nonviolent protest of a terrible thing is not only fine, it's necessary. he's not hurting anyone; he's not disrespecting the (piece of cloth after all, known as) the flag (whereas what he is protesting is real live people being harassed and even killed for no reason). he's not hurting the racist national anthem (check out the fourth verse), which shouldn't even be SUNG at a damned football game; the pentagon asked the nfl to add that to promote enlistment, i forget during which war (the first ww maybe). football isn't a patriotic event; it's a game. a GAME. g

Am I the only one that's sick and fucking tired of post from sadistic assholes that express their ...

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

i actually liked her. i still do. and yes, those assholes are sadistic, but then, you know, they're assholes. g

I really dont get the point of this site

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

it's a social media site, with a dating component. the point is to communicate socially, and maybe find a date/lover/whatever. the thing that makes THIS site different is that you almost never get people praying at you lol g

Definition of Conservative Bad-tempered, ill-mannered and uncooperative

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

actually that is the definition of a regressive. there are no more conservatives. the regressives continute to call themselves conservative but it's not true. they're not conserving a damned thing except the false memory of a fictional past where everyone was happy -- and white -- and women and minorities knew their places. that's not something we wish to conserve. g

So, I see everyone is well educated, either through education, life, or both. Anyone not taking ...

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

i don't take myself overly seriously. i take some things seriously. my own persona isn't one of them. but not everyone here or anywhere else is well education, by any definition. i encounter a lot of ignorance everywhere, and it is hard not to take that seriously. g

What are the great books that explain stuff well?

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

the naked ape by desmond morris the rabbi j by johannes lehmann (out of print but you could get lucky) how to suppress women's writing by joanna russ (also well out of print) (no it's not a science book but it beautifully explains something surprisingly technical) pretty much anything you can get your hands on by ashley montagu g

GLOSSARY Some terms you are likely to encounter here: A/S/L: Age/Sex/Location; originated in...

genessa comments on Feb 3, 2019:

gaslighting. a psychologically abusive technique, actually a collection of techniques, in which the gaslighter makes you doubt your own perceptions. in social media a gaslighter will tell you what you said when you know you didn't say it and can quote yourself saying something quite the opposite, and tell you s/he didn't say something you can quote him/her as saying. i've seen people make statements that say one thing, and when you challenge them, they say "i was only saying that...." and they never actually said (or even implied) that at all! g

Voter identification

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

every state requires identification. some states make you jump through so many hoops, and are so restrictive about what kind of i.d. they take that legitimate voters are disenfranchised. for example, texas won't let married women vote unless they can show their marriage certificates to explain why their names are not the same as they were on their birth certificates. many states will take a gun registration (without a picture!) but not a college student i.d. issued by that very state. why? because they think gun owners will vote republican and students will vote democratic. there is more, much more, but those are some examples. g

I saw this post in the list: I have always said that all Muslims are dangerous if they are given ...

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

lol slumming? nah, i know, we see what's on the list whether we want to or not. it's a strange setup in some ways, and refreshing in other ways (at least we can CHOOSE whether to see pictures of frozen puppies). anyway, good job hurting their tuchoses. they need to be poked mercilessly. people who say stupid shit like that aren't just naive and in need of education. they're dedicated haters and they treasure their ignorance. g

Court-appointed guardians, teen accused in death of 7-year-old Manitowoc County boy – FOX6Now.com ...

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

let's even imagine for a wild second that it was REALLY IMPORTANT to know bible verses. i know, it's a stretch, but humor me. imagine it was. why wouldn't someone who really cared about that TEACH the boy some verses instead of murdering him? g

What do you do when a believer gets offended by your question?

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

nothing. why should i? it's not MY problem, is it? but are you talking about a question i make of a believer's belief? why should i question a believer's belief? people have a right to be stupid, or do stupid stuff, as long as it doesn't interfere with anyone else's rights. if they're not legislating, adjudicating or executing their religion, i don't care what they believe and i don't interfere with it, not for fear of offending someone but because i don't care. it's none of my damned business. g

How dare you talk about God's chosen ones! LOL!!! [msn.com]

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

the word "chosen" isn't even IN this article. so whom are you addressing with your "how dare you"? there is no such expression as "god's chosen ones." jews are sometimes referred to as "the chosen people" because of the part of the hebrew bible in which god offers abraham the choice of entering into a covenant with him. this means that "choosing people" would be an equally accurate description. it has nothing to do with being better, superior, going to heaven instead of anyone else (judaism doesn't actually deal with heaven, at least not in the christian sense, although individual jews have sort of absorbed the christian vision without knowing it). judaism doesn't say jews are superior. it says jews have extra obligations. i am not defending religion or any kind of theism, but i am also not happy when people have false views about judaism and even about jews -- or any religion, or group, or people, for that matter. it is no less offensive, and no truer, than thinking all muslims are terrorists, or that all christians are westboro assholes (or that atheists eat babies). meanwhile, the article isn't about that! so that's your comment, something mocking about jews, instead of something about the actual issues involved in the israeli/palestinian conflict, or about the attitudes of various elected officials? g

When religious practice moved from the temples and the priests to the private homes and individual ...

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

i don't think so. we need to be careful not to be accused of brainwashing. just saying "there is no god, those other folks are crazy" over and over again, or making a useless ritual, will just breed rebellion, and we'll end up with kids in cults. what we need in the home is normal behavior, and be ready to have discussions -- planned, spontaneous and when asked -- about why people take refuge in religion, about how to be respectful of those people without having to respect the religions themselves, about how to tell when religious people are crossing the line and invading your lack of belief, and more. furthermore, i think it should not be announced and drilled that "we're atheists." that makes it sound as if atheism is our religion, or even our belief system (it's not a system!) instead, families should be given to know "we don't have any religion, because we know/believe/whatever there are no gods, and people like us are called atheists/agnostics/whatever, but that's not the name of a religion or anything. it's just a word that means we don't believe in any gods. so if someone asks you what religion you are, you say you have no religion, and if they ask you what god you believe in, then you say you're an atheist, which means you don't believe in any gods at all. i would hate to see families develop atheist rituals, such as repeating, before dinner, "this looks yummy, and there aren't any gods, amen!" rofl rofl! g

How do you quit smoking? My girl friend is dying from smoking and won't quit. Help! Anybody know?

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

i helped many of my students quit smoking. they asked for my help and i told them this: 1. count how many cigs a day you smoke. 2. divide that by 24. 3. smoke that many cigs per hour, without fail. do not miss a smoke. if you're sleeping, wake up and smoke. if you're in class, excuse yourself and smoke. if you're making love to someone, stop and get up and smoke. do not miss a smoke. 4. at the end of the week, or sooner if you can't take the sleep deprivation, the mockery and the inconvenience anymore, reduce that number by one. if it was one to begin with, cut the cig in half. 5. at the end of a predetermined period of time, perhaps a week, certainly not longer, cut by one cig again, or adjust as in #4 6. throw the cigs away. you will be so happy to be rid of them. it works! it worked for my students. they were so happy, they came and told me! g

Would you pay extra taxes so that all can get health care?

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

in what universe would that be considered extra? does anyone ask this about wars? road repair? is healthcare less important than road repair? it's not extra... and it would be cheaper per person than paying for health care out of pocket. by the way, america is not asking kamala harris how she would pay for health care. republicans who want more tax cuts for the super-rich (not for US, just THEM) are asking. they never ask this about, oh, the WALL, or a war, or their tax cuts. g

My landlord and I just had a discussion about Northam. He doesn't think he should resign. He's a ...

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

there is also another factor, unless your landlord went to med school or some other extended postgraduate entity. he was likely still a teen. that doesn't excuse it; that's not why i mention it. but northam was in medical school. he was an adult. and yes, being either in blackface or a kkk hood and robe is not the same as being in a confederate uniform -- or we have to condemn civil war reenactors as well, right? it depends on the intent. there is no mistaking the intent of northam's pose. i don't think they were learning about the medical risks and benefits of minstrel shows (or lynchings). g

Why don't we teach coping skills in schools? We have physical education, I assume because of ...

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

it's a good idea but first we need to fund public schools, and that would include paying teachers enough that actual qualified educators could afford to BE teachers, and not have to choose between feeding their families and providing pencils for the students. this would also require having a secretary of education whose stated goal is NOT to bring everyone to christ, and whose apparent goal is NOT to kill her department, and all public schools along with it. i am not dismissing the importance of coping skills, or of teaching them. i was not being sarcastic when i said it was a good idea. but first we have to save schools, in order to teach ANYTHING in them. g

Governor in "clearly racist" photo; vows to serve out term amid calls for resignation | Virginia ...

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

al franken didn't even DO what he was accused of doing and he saw what his party would suffer if he stayed in office. he graciously backed out, even though he SHOULD have had an investiation (which he requested repeatedly and never got) and been exonerated. he didn't even have assurance his replacement would be a democrat, yet he did what he had to do. northam's position is clearer: he does not deny his bad behavior, he admits it WAS bad behavior, he makes (because he has) no excuse for it (to his credit, he doesn't claim that it's okay because he was young, which actually he wasn't), he has a good democrat waiting and ready to take the helm, and the ONLY thing standing in the way of his resignation is his concern for his own career. he has no reason not to resign; he has every reason to resign, and immediately. if franken, who was innocent, could make that sacrifice, northam should be doubly eager to make it. it must be awfully disappointing to have campaigned for him as you did, and trusted that he was the kind of man he presented himself to be. it has to be disappointing that on top of that, he won't do the right thing. g

On another post I had someone argue that Trump wasn't pro Russia with this line.... "If he’s so...

genessa comments on Feb 2, 2019:

this is a gift to putin. instead of insisting that they comply, trump says okay, well never mind, then. ridiculous! g

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Friday acknowledged appearing in a “clearly racist and ...

genessa comments on Feb 1, 2019:

exactly! i just posted this, but will put it here to, as it agrees with what you said: there are headlines stating that republicans are calling for the resignation of the democratic governor of virginia because in his yearbook (from the 1980s) he posed in blackface (he's a white guy) standing next to a guy in a kkk hood and robe. that's bad. that's VERY bad. he definitely SHOULD resign. the thing is, though, that the headlines are wrong by omissions, because they don't mention that DEMOCRATS are calling for his resignation too, unlike the republicans who have stood by every disgusting republican that "dated" a young teen or put incel-like lines in THEIR yearbooks (before there was an incel) or stood silent while trump said that some kkkers and nazis were "fine people. they're wrong by omission because they defend congresspersons like steve scalise, who has kkk connections, not in costume, not in a yearbook (which i repeat is VERY bad), but for real. so those headlines are deceptive even though the facts in them are true enough. the implications (that democrats are NOT calling for his resignation, that maybe this is typical of democrats, that democrats protect their bad'uns the same way republicans do) are not. g

It has come to my attention that some people think bernie sanders wants to tax rich people at 99 ...

genessa comments on Feb 1, 2019:

for any bill, all info about it: congress.gov. very useful nonpartisan site, part of the library of congress. g

What are you working on

genessa comments on Feb 1, 2019:

why is this in love and relationships? (by the way, that is not a stupid question.) if you mean what are we working on with regard to relationships, please note that no one seems to be understanding your question that way. since i don't either, but will take it on face value and ignore the category. i will answer accordingly: i am trying to find out why i was denied payment by my health insurance provider for a service they didn't even provide; trying to find out why the furnace is making a noise like a running toilet the size of peru so that if my guy and i can't fix it ourselves the company that sold it to us not long ago will come fix it without charging us; playing three or four games; poking around here; trying to get my dying cat to eat; getting ready to go out or to change that plan and stay home so the furnace people can come and fix the furnace for free after we've used up their suggestions; trying to explain it all to my alzheimer's-stricken guy; cleaning the occasional dog poo; trying to keep records of some of that (not the dog poo). g