genessa's Profile

[kveller.com] 12 Interfaith celebrity couples are raising Jewish kids.

genessa comments on Jul 28, 2019:

of kyra sedgewick, this article says "... the actress loves telling people she’s Jewish, especially because, with her blonde hair, she doesn’t 'look' the part." what a stupid, offensive thing to say! the article is kind of fluffy and silly to begin with (it begs the question of why it needed ...

genessa replies on Jul 29, 2019:

@dan325 sorry about your cats, present and past, and your dog, as well. love stinks! the temple i almost never go to is not like that. it's actually interesting. if i fasted, i would endanger myself, and that's against the rules, but that's not why i don't endanger myself lol. i don't forget major holidays. shevuot... i never know. oops. but the biggies? yeah, i remember those. they tend to be fun, or interesting, or both. christmas makes me nuts. it starts the day after hallowe'en and seems to continue into february, and everyone ASSUMES it's everyone's holiday, and if you mention that it's not, omg you're fighting a war on christmas! it makes me want to wage war on christmas. (maybe i could set santa's beard on fire?) g

Dogs should be banned from stores except for certified, seeing-eye dogs.

genessa comments on Jul 28, 2019:

i disagree. it is irresponsible dog-owners who should be banned. there are well-behaved dogs who would never poop or piddle in a store because they've been trained not to and/or their owners made sure they had done so out of doors before entering the shop. there are others whose owners would ...

genessa replies on Jul 28, 2019:

@K9Kohle789 those people were indeed insane. g

Dogs should be banned from stores except for certified, seeing-eye dogs.

genessa comments on Jul 28, 2019:

i disagree. it is irresponsible dog-owners who should be banned. there are well-behaved dogs who would never poop or piddle in a store because they've been trained not to and/or their owners made sure they had done so out of doors before entering the shop. there are others whose owners would ...

genessa replies on Jul 28, 2019:

@K9Kohle789 true enough, and i was assuming hiker knew that since she had known and loved dogs at one time, but it doesn't hurt to remind, of course. this is only true of normal dogs though. some owners really do raise their dogs to be vicious, regardless of fear or lack thereof. not many -- but some. g

Dogs should be banned from stores except for certified, seeing-eye dogs.

genessa comments on Jul 28, 2019:

i disagree. it is irresponsible dog-owners who should be banned. there are well-behaved dogs who would never poop or piddle in a store because they've been trained not to and/or their owners made sure they had done so out of doors before entering the shop. there are others whose owners would ...

genessa replies on Jul 28, 2019:

@LiterateHiker her keeping the dog is her business. her exposing the public to that dog is not her business; it's the public's business. i totally understand your fear. i think from what you just said that you also understand that your fear cannot be the criterion for how shop owners (for example) run their shops -- but there is logic too to controlling how dogs behave in public, and which dogs get to BE in public. i am sorry that your fear interferes with some of your enjoying of hiking (for example) and being in public in general, since from time to time there will be dogs. i am truly sorry. look, i have a phobia myself -- ptds from awakening during an eye operation when i was three. i am terrified of needles and of anyone's touching my eye, and of anesthesia while we're at it. this makes my medical care precarious. lots of people are scared of needles; they do what they need to do anyway. no one likes surgery; they have it when they need it. i am actually not getting care i desperately need due to my ptsd-induced phobias. i'm working on it, not with much success so far but still. so i getcha. i really do. all i can do is wish you the best. i don't know the solution, if there even is one. g

Dogs should be banned from stores except for certified, seeing-eye dogs.

genessa comments on Jul 28, 2019:

i disagree. it is irresponsible dog-owners who should be banned. there are well-behaved dogs who would never poop or piddle in a store because they've been trained not to and/or their owners made sure they had done so out of doors before entering the shop. there are others whose owners would ...

genessa replies on Jul 28, 2019:

@LiterateHiker i am sorry about your experience. mine is different and i do not find dogs obnoxious, not have i ever been bitten by one, my own or those of others. none of mine has ever bitten anyone, either.i blame the humans. dogs are not naturally obnoxious but obnoxious people raise dogs badly, just as some do children. i understand that you find dogs obnoxious and that you have had bad experiences with them. nothing i say will change that and probably therefore nothing i say will change your feelings about dogs. however, realistically, this is not most people's experience, nor most dogs' characters or behavior. you cited only the poop problem in your post. i suggested a solution to that. naturally, people with vicious dogs should not be allowed to bring said dogs into shops (or into public at all, for that matter). people who raise vicious dogs should not be allowed to raise dogs at all. exception: people who adopt a dog raised to be vicious and try to change that dog with love and patience. kudos to them -- but they still have to be responsible about exposing the public to such dogs. the people who would not leash their dog and claimed he was friendly should be prosecuted for their irresponsibility and your injury. however, they are the exception, just as all lawbreakers are. g

[kveller.com] 12 Interfaith celebrity couples are raising Jewish kids.

genessa comments on Jul 28, 2019:

of kyra sedgewick, this article says "... the actress loves telling people she’s Jewish, especially because, with her blonde hair, she doesn’t 'look' the part." what a stupid, offensive thing to say! the article is kind of fluffy and silly to begin with (it begs the question of why it needed ...

genessa replies on Jul 28, 2019:

@dan325 my two cats, now both gone, survived the burnings without so much as a stressed meow. rossini just had a little singed fur and penny, who died only a month ago (minus two days) really set her whole side aflame and caused me almost to have a heart attack (i still don't know how i put it out -- i just remember waving my hands at her, but i know i didn't get burned) but just gave me this "what???" look. nope, one doesn't need candles to eat latkes, but the candles don't ruin the flavor either. i actually like matza! i know -- i'm weird. bitter herbs -- i have chronic sinusitis. i NEED a little chrain now and again. (besides, i like the flavor!) oh, and being diabetic, i do not fast on yom kippur; it's not a bad idea, if one isn't endangering one's life or health, to remember what it feels like to be hungry. (it's a feeling i am sure trump has never experienced and he'd only whine about it if he did.) nonjews sometimes think yom kippur is a bit like catholic confession, but to me it's a reminder to ask forgiveness of people (not god, PEOPLE) one has wronged, whether or not the forgiveness is given, and, if possible, to forgive people who have wronged one. i don't think i am far off the mark considering that the gist of it. the thing is to mean it, and not just say oops sorry and then continue whatever it is. i also like the jewish concept that god cannot forgive sins against others, only against him/herself. (the jewish god is noncorporeal and has no specific gender; new prayer books avoid gender-specific pronouns, i've noticed -- haha, as if i go even as many times as once a year! it's more like three times every four years, but my math is bad so don't hold me to that. but i actually enjoy going when i do. the last sermon i remember had something to do with recycling....) g

[kveller.com] 12 Interfaith celebrity couples are raising Jewish kids.

genessa comments on Jul 28, 2019:

of kyra sedgewick, this article says "... the actress loves telling people she’s Jewish, especially because, with her blonde hair, she doesn’t 'look' the part." what a stupid, offensive thing to say! the article is kind of fluffy and silly to begin with (it begs the question of why it needed ...

genessa replies on Jul 28, 2019:

@dan325 hahahaha you look jewish, because of your italian side! people are so weird, aren't they? i like the idea of a pushka. you put your loose change into a box and when it amount to anything at all you donate it to charity. that's a cool tradition. you don't have to believe in a god to do that. i like the seder. some say the jews were never slaves in egypt. i don't care. there are slaves all over the world RIGHT NOW, and the usa is not an exception. i like a ceremony that reminds people to fight slavery and leaves the door open, however briefly and symbolically, not only for elijah and miriam (anyone ever had either of these two characters show up? not i!) but for any who happen by and are hungry. end slavery, feed the hungry, yep, those work without any gods too. my haggadah focuses on those things. and yeah, i am in favor of any holiday that involved food! that's why i also like purim, the only holiday that has no mention of god anywhere in it, is a feminist holiday, with the usual message (they tried to kill us again, we didn't die again, let's eat!) and it has cookies! yay cookies! everyone likes chanukah, another historical celebration with the abovementioned theme, and you don't have to believe in the little miracle at the end to enjoy it. note that the military victories are not attributed to god; only the day's worth of oil lasting eight days. surely a little detail like that doesn't ruin the candle-lighting, which is pretty, and the eating of fried foods, diet be damned? you don't like latkes? sacrilege! but we're already had two cats set themselves on fire in different years. maybe we need to rethink this. the idea that who saves one person saves the world doesn't require a god either and is a good think. we should care for one another. by the way, i love ham. i love seafood. i would rather eat a cheeseburger than a hamburger. my alzheimer's-stricken guy and i attend adult daycare thrice a week (he won't go without me). it's a jewish daycare; the kitchen is kosher. (but we aren't proselytized and bothered as we would be at a christian daycare.) there are nonjews and jews as clients; none of the staff is jewish. it doesn't bother me that they're never going to serve me a cheeseburger. i can eat one at home if i like. it's not a tradition about which i have any feelings, nor one i honor, but it's an easy one to refrain from violating and their beef tips in gravy on egg noodles are really quite good. there is more but that's what springs to my alleged mind at the moment. g

Here's an argument you can use on your religious friends. God is perfect?

abyers1970 comments on Jul 27, 2019:

When I was a Christian I always struggled with if god is perfect then how could he have made something evil like Satan. And if god loves us so much why would he send majority of people to hell. The doozie yo me is the trinity and how God Jesus and the Holy Spirit are 3 separate entities but also one...

genessa replies on Jul 28, 2019:

@abyers1970 possible but not likely. revelations much? no, i think it's the opposite. they needed a villain all right, and a hell (also not in the ot) so they created that. maybe the ot god wasn't quite vicious enough! we will never know. g

Here's an argument you can use on your religious friends. God is perfect?

abyers1970 comments on Jul 27, 2019:

When I was a Christian I always struggled with if god is perfect then how could he have made something evil like Satan. And if god loves us so much why would he send majority of people to hell. The doozie yo me is the trinity and how God Jesus and the Holy Spirit are 3 separate entities but also one...

genessa replies on Jul 28, 2019:

@abyers1970 there is a reason for that. ha-satan is not a name but a title, something like prosecuting attorney. he works for god and isn't evil at all. (i am speaking of course from within the storyline, because that's the only place any of this exists; yes, i'm a good atheist!) for some reason, christians glommed onto ha-satan as a guy named satan, some kind of angel, gave him a big push and made him fall down go boom. there is no explanation for this plot leap, but then, that's par for this particular course. i know, i know: thou shalt not mix metaphors. g

Is it just me or do Christian movies always have terrible acting?

genessa comments on Jul 27, 2019:

christian movies? never touch the stuff. apart from being an atheist, i am jewish. christian ANYTHING is of no interest to me. g

genessa replies on Jul 27, 2019:

@UpsideDownAgain de nada. we'll start over from scratch :-)) g

Is it just me or do Christian movies always have terrible acting?

genessa comments on Jul 27, 2019:

christian movies? never touch the stuff. apart from being an atheist, i am jewish. christian ANYTHING is of no interest to me. g

genessa replies on Jul 27, 2019:

@UpsideDownAgain you're welcome. any time. of course that's not what i did, but you apparently only want answers that meet your expectations. neither life nor social media is like that. i wasn't rude or anything. i didn't diss your question. i answered it the best way i could. silly me. g

Is it just me or do Christian movies always have terrible acting?

genessa comments on Jul 27, 2019:

christian movies? never touch the stuff. apart from being an atheist, i am jewish. christian ANYTHING is of no interest to me. g

genessa replies on Jul 27, 2019:

@JacobMeyers the ancient greeks don't knock doors or try to convert me or try to put prayer into city council meetings or violate the separation of church and state or tell me i am going to hell or redefine atheism (or judaism for that matter, or jewishness either). so yeah i am a little biased against movies whose purpose is to do any of that. fantasy movies tend not to do that and i can enjoy some of them. if they are trying to convince me they're not fantasy, that's different. movies about christians, that's different too -- as long as the movie doesn't assume everyone is or should be christian. the post wasn't asking about movies about religion (or fantasy). it was asking about religious movies. g

There is officially an investigation in to whether to recommend Articles of Impeachment.

genessa comments on Jul 26, 2019:

i don't see a date on this so i can't tell whether this is the one that already got tabled or a new one. g

genessa replies on Jul 27, 2019:

@mcgeo52 actually i heard nancy speak since asking about the date (sorry, my eyes are quite bad) and she said she had no problem with this. it is true they do not need her approval but she is not withholding it either. she is not the enemy. g

🤣🤣🤣 truth 🤣🤣🤣

altschmerz comments on Jul 26, 2019:

Whereas the GOP will bring a gun to a knife fight, the Dems will bring a wet noodle.

genessa replies on Jul 26, 2019:

@altschmerz results are a different story. but the implication that the dems are unprepared, lethargic, uninterested or inept is wrong, regardless of who wins. g

🤣🤣🤣 truth 🤣🤣🤣

altschmerz comments on Jul 26, 2019:

Whereas the GOP will bring a gun to a knife fight, the Dems will bring a wet noodle.

genessa replies on Jul 26, 2019:

nice soundbyte but in fact that's not true, and anyone who is observing actual proceedings knows it's not true. those who would rather let others reach conclusions and not bother with details may believe this. g

there are many reasons the house should impeach, and a few not to as well (and not a single ...

StarvingArtist comments on Jul 26, 2019:

I wish the impeachment process had begun the day the Mueller Report became available,,,IMHO,,it would have shown strength in the belief that Trump should not be president. But then I also think that Pelosi is much more in-tune with the political situation (game), than I. So for as for me,,I am ...

genessa replies on Jul 26, 2019:

@StarvingArtist 'blush you're welcome! g

"From The New York Times: The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded Thursday that election ...

MizJ comments on Jul 26, 2019:

We should be terrified by this. The senate continues to block bills to rectify this threat to our democracy.

genessa replies on Jul 26, 2019:

@MizJ i would be surprised if a decade were enough. g

there are many reasons the house should impeach, and a few not to as well (and not a single ...

StarvingArtist comments on Jul 26, 2019:

I wish the impeachment process had begun the day the Mueller Report became available,,,IMHO,,it would have shown strength in the belief that Trump should not be president. But then I also think that Pelosi is much more in-tune with the political situation (game), than I. So for as for me,,I am ...

genessa replies on Jul 26, 2019:

@StarvingArtist this is why "vote blue no matter who" is so important -- up and down the ticket, not just at the top. that doesn't mean we should not vote for the person we think would be best for each job in the primaries, but it does mean we have to oust as much of the criminal organization as possible. that's why infighting is so destructive and -- ta da! -- that is why i created this group. g

"From The New York Times: The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded Thursday that election ...

MizJ comments on Jul 26, 2019:

We should be terrified by this. The senate continues to block bills to rectify this threat to our democracy.

genessa replies on Jul 26, 2019:

@MizJ true, and it's even worse than that, because voter suppression is real and people NEED to know that in order to combat it. they also need to know that the apathy that is not a side-effect of this but an intention second benefit of this to the republicans is self-perpetuating, and that if they overcome it and vote in droves, as happened last year, we can get enough blue tushies in seats to combat it effectively. g

there are many reasons the house should impeach, and a few not to as well (and not a single ...

StarvingArtist comments on Jul 26, 2019:

I wish the impeachment process had begun the day the Mueller Report became available,,,IMHO,,it would have shown strength in the belief that Trump should not be president. But then I also think that Pelosi is much more in-tune with the political situation (game), than I. So for as for me,,I am ...

genessa replies on Jul 26, 2019:

i agree largely with what you've said, and i think i can give a sad answer to one of your questions. how many republicans will stand behind trump once he is out of office? personally, maybe a lot, maybe a few, but in terms of policy and agenda, the republicans have been a criminal organization for a while now and trump didn't suddenly turn them into one. they enabled trump; trump didn't create them. they will still be a criminal organization when trump is out of office. g

"From The New York Times: The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded Thursday that election ...

MizJ comments on Jul 26, 2019:

We should be terrified by this. The senate continues to block bills to rectify this threat to our democracy.

genessa replies on Jul 26, 2019:

trump is beyond awful and we need to oust him, but we must not forget to vote the senate not just blue but 60+ blue, or this horror will continue. bad enough how hard it will be to fix it if everyone's on board -- but not everyone IS on board. that is truly terrifying. g

Does Uncle Sam Exist?

BestWithoutGods comments on Jul 25, 2019:

He exists as a mythical character. He does not exist in reality. In this way Uncle Sam is just like God, Jesus and the Holy Spook.

genessa replies on Jul 25, 2019:

... except that everyone knows he's mythical and that is not so of the other characters you named. they are widely, albeit incomprehensibly, believed to exist by a huge number of people. g

After Mueller testimony, Pelosi says Democrats still waiting on impeachment [youtube.com]

Charlene comments on Jul 25, 2019:

She's a corporate shill And needs to go, last election cycle..😠

genessa replies on Jul 25, 2019:

@chalupacabre if you think she is that controlling then you have not been paying attention. she didn't stop al green from submitting articles of impeachment. another house member, i forget her name, said she asked pelosi about something pelosi herself didn't want to do that this member did, and pelosi was respectful and didn't stop her. i am sorry that i don't remember her name; it was a progressive member. you take ONE little incident that aoc herself says was just grown women having a disagreement and turn it into a character referendum on pelosi? no. sorry. and corporate shill she is NOT. it is misleading and incorrect to say so, regardless of how you feel about her leadership. g

After Mueller testimony, Pelosi says Democrats still waiting on impeachment [youtube.com]

Charlene comments on Jul 25, 2019:

She's a corporate shill And needs to go, last election cycle..😠

genessa replies on Jul 25, 2019:

this is a common tune i hear from rightwingers posing as far left, and from people who are fooled by same. she is NOT and her voting record and her record of mentoring younger progressives shows. this tale is meant to divide liberals and i see it's working. g

My relatives, when they find out I'm an atheist:. "Do you worship the devil?

genessa comments on Jul 24, 2019:

do they not have dictionaries? they can't look up "atheist"? g

genessa replies on Jul 24, 2019:

@StrongBow 1. one can find dictionaries online from one's phone as well. 2. that is indeed their attitude. that does not stop us from trying to correct it. g

I feel guilty.

Ruby_Slipper comments on Jul 23, 2019:

The advice I give here is coming from my years of experience counseling families and kids. You might not like it, but I write here because I believe it's what's best for your daughter, and isn't that the most important thing in this conversation? Not what's best for you, but what's best for your ...

genessa replies on Jul 23, 2019:

@Ruby_Slipper sarcasm isn't necessarily clever, and in this case it's not accurate either, but hey, if you WANT to feel as if you were attacked even though that was neither my action nor my intention, feel free. your emotions are your business. i wouldn't want to stand in the way of them. g

I feel guilty.

Ruby_Slipper comments on Jul 23, 2019:

The advice I give here is coming from my years of experience counseling families and kids. You might not like it, but I write here because I believe it's what's best for your daughter, and isn't that the most important thing in this conversation? Not what's best for you, but what's best for your ...

genessa replies on Jul 23, 2019:

@Ruby_Slipper take things a TINY bit personally, do we? my comment was not a personal attack. g

I feel guilty.

Ruby_Slipper comments on Jul 23, 2019:

The advice I give here is coming from my years of experience counseling families and kids. You might not like it, but I write here because I believe it's what's best for your daughter, and isn't that the most important thing in this conversation? Not what's best for you, but what's best for your ...

genessa replies on Jul 23, 2019:

yes she has the right to decide what she believes but information is power and she can't make good decision even from her own standpoint without information. it is the parent's job to guide, and that is not the same as standing in her way. g

I feel guilty.

ToolGuy comments on Jul 23, 2019:

Lots of advice from others. My advice. Ignore the advice. I just had a conversation with a young girl of about 22 who has lived next door for half her life. Her parents have always taken her to church and I have had discussions with her dad about religion and he is Irish Catholic. He is adamant. ...

genessa replies on Jul 23, 2019:

@ToolGuy i see your correction and it's a very good one :-)) g

I feel guilty.

ToolGuy comments on Jul 23, 2019:

Lots of advice from others. My advice. Ignore the advice. I just had a conversation with a young girl of about 22 who has lived next door for half her life. Her parents have always taken her to church and I have had discussions with her dad about religion and he is Irish Catholic. He is adamant. ...

genessa replies on Jul 23, 2019:

i would not under any circumstances ignore your daughter's thoughts, fears and feelings. she needs to know she can talk to you and be heard, and that also will encourage her to listen. g

I have a question for the people that are 100% certain that no gods exist. How are you THAT certain?

genessa comments on Jul 22, 2019:

being open doesn't mean believing. if i had to reserve a little space in my brain for the possibility of the existence of a god for which there is absolutely no evidence, then i would have to reserve a little space in there for santa claus, the tooth fairy and trump's heart. there is just no ...

genessa replies on Jul 22, 2019:

@JacobMeyers lol if i were in company, sure! though ergotamine can cause mass hallucinations too. (i have not been exposed to that.) but i spend a lot of time alone with my cats; my guy sleeps a lot. if i were confronted with a god i might have to make a phone call and "do you see that" would only be good in a skypish communication. since i don't wear clothing in the house, i do tend not to skype. oh, the details, it's all in the details! hey, wouldn't we also first tend to pinch ourselves? hmm. g

I have a question for the people that are 100% certain that no gods exist. How are you THAT certain?

Heathenman comments on Jul 22, 2019:

With 100% certainty I can say the Jewdaic god does not exist. Is there another type of god? If so, define it. If you define it as an all knowing creature, capable of creating, life, death and the cosmos, you may have described an advance extra terrestrial race. Does that count as a god?

genessa replies on Jul 22, 2019:

@Leeshi prove that the three-headed progeny of a dinosaur and a blue pig doesn't exist. why does someone have to prove no gods exist? it is not up to the person laughing at the ridiculous assertion. it is up to the person making the ridiculous assertion. g

I have a question for the people that are 100% certain that no gods exist. How are you THAT certain?

JacobMeyers comments on Jul 22, 2019:

Are you 100% certain the sun will rise tomorrow? Are you certain you can not jump to Saskatchewan? It’s possible that we are about to get knocked out of orbit and our rotation halted so there will be no sunrise. It’s entirely within the realm of known physics that a wind of perfect force could ...

genessa replies on Jul 22, 2019:

@Leeshi yes that WOULD have been a better question, because it does not mean the same thing as what you asked, and is less ridiculous. one hundred percent may mean unchangeable to you but it doesn't mean that to everyone else. if you ask a certain question, then that is likely to be the question that is actually answered. no one can guess that you mean something else. g

I have a question for the people that are 100% certain that no gods exist. How are you THAT certain?

Pralina1 comments on Jul 22, 2019:

Man . I can think at least ten things that I am certain of , and will take less than 10 seconds 😂 And I have to say , the gods issue won't even make my top ten list , who gives a rat's behind 😂🙌 I cant imagine a life that u are " uncertain of anything" . Wow . I knew my life was boring ,...

genessa replies on Jul 22, 2019:

@Leeshi -- @Pralina1 did not actually call you boring, and your legitimate question has been asked here about a thousand times, so i think if she WAS bored by your question (which is not the same thing as calling YOU boring) she could be forgiven. as for being laughed at, please try to get over it. it happens to all of us in life, not just here, and not just online. if you wanted to control the nature of the response to your question, you should have joined a religion. obviously you give a rat's ass; obviously she cared found your question lively enough to come and answer it. and if you do not find her jokes amusing, perhaps you should apply to yourself the same yardstick you applied to her for not finding your question fascinating. g

Dumb question from an inquisitive idiot.

Our_existence comments on Jul 20, 2019:

Interesting! Never thought about it. Puerto Rican's are however very distinctive. They also speak Puerto Rican which is not Spanish or central American dialects.

genessa replies on Jul 21, 2019:

@TheGreatShadow they are not like portuguese! portuguese is a whole different language! they are dialects of spanish. there is no such language as austrian. in austria they speak german. in australia, which i think you meant, they speak english. it is not called the australian language. it is a variation of english but it is still english, just as puerto rican spanish is still spanish. and ice agents STILL don't know or care. g

Dumb question from an inquisitive idiot.

Our_existence comments on Jul 20, 2019:

Interesting! Never thought about it. Puerto Rican's are however very distinctive. They also speak Puerto Rican which is not Spanish or central American dialects.

genessa replies on Jul 21, 2019:

@Our_existence south african english is english. afrikaans, the other language in south africa, afrikaans, is mostly from dutch. south african english is not from dutch, and there is no language called south african. it's called afrikaans. as for puerto rican spanish, how would this even affect whether puerto ricans are or are not detained. do ice agents know the difference between puerto rican spanish and guatemalan spanish? do ice agents even care? g

Dumb question from an inquisitive idiot.

Our_existence comments on Jul 20, 2019:

Interesting! Never thought about it. Puerto Rican's are however very distinctive. They also speak Puerto Rican which is not Spanish or central American dialects.

genessa replies on Jul 21, 2019:

@Our_existence no i disputed your point and still do. i was referring to their spanish language evolution too and i contend it is not puerto rican. it may be puerto rican spanish but it's still spanish. you said puerto rican was not spanish. it is. g

Dumb question from an inquisitive idiot.

bobwjr comments on Jul 20, 2019:

None one would hope they are citizens be a real shit storm if they did

genessa replies on Jul 21, 2019:

like the shitstorm that isn't happening even though american citizens ARE being detained, sometimes despite having their passports and driver's licenses on them at the time they're picked up? alas. g

Dumb question from an inquisitive idiot.

Our_existence comments on Jul 20, 2019:

Interesting! Never thought about it. Puerto Rican's are however very distinctive. They also speak Puerto Rican which is not Spanish or central American dialects.

genessa replies on Jul 21, 2019:

@Our_existence everyone's spanish has, as has everyone's english and everyone's french, but although someone from alabama may speak english nearly incomprehensible to someone from liverpool, and in johannesburg it's different again (and i mean vocabulary, not just accent), and the french doubtless still spoken by some in vietnam might be hard for a parisian to comprehend, they are both still english and both still french, respectively. puerto rican spanish is different from spanish spanish, and in ecuador it will be different again, but they do not speak puerto rican or ecuadorian. they speak spanish. g

Religion is the most hideous invention in the history of Mankind.

genessa comments on Jul 16, 2019:

religion is annoying and how people use it can be awful, but the single most horrible thing ever? seriously? worse than the guillotine? there is only one way to use a guillotine and you have to take it seriously. people who go to church and listen to the music and donate to the church food drive...

genessa replies on Jul 21, 2019:

@PontifexMarximus and they'd wear little guillotines around their necks, without a hint of irony. g

It’s interesting to me that saying anything remotely positive about religion brings accusations of...

Sgt_Spanky comments on Jul 20, 2019:

Based on that quote it sounds like Einstein was speaking of the NT Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount Jesus, the love and help your fellow man Jesus -- that Jesus doesn't exist anymore. The character of Jesus has been revised into a modern, Libertarian leaning free-market capitalist who preaches a ...

genessa replies on Jul 20, 2019:

i don't see it. in addition, it is not impossible but quite unlikely, since einstein was born and raised jewish (and was hated by the nazis for that reason). to my knowledge he never embraced any kind of christianity. that doesn't mean he was ignorant of it -- but nothing in what he said suggests he was referring to it. g

Dumb question from an inquisitive idiot.

Our_existence comments on Jul 20, 2019:

Interesting! Never thought about it. Puerto Rican's are however very distinctive. They also speak Puerto Rican which is not Spanish or central American dialects.

genessa replies on Jul 20, 2019:

the official languages of puerto rico are spanish and english. there may be an indigenous dialect of spanish but it's still spanish, and there is a kind of pidgin called spanglish, but i cannot find any indication anywhere that there is a language called puerto rican, not any indication that puerto ricans speak a language other than english that is not essentially spanish. g

Capitalism is so ugly A bunch of 25 grapes sold for 11000$, Someone pays 11000$ for a bunch of...

genessa comments on Jul 20, 2019:

there are shocking food inequities worldwide but this is not one of them, and it has little to do with capitalism. i lied in japan for a decade and there were certain luxury foods that made expensive and thus impressive gifts, but food for us to eat every day had normal prices. the poor were still...

genessa replies on Jul 20, 2019:

@NR92 oh god, the neo-liberalism thing again. no, that's a made-up thing and i have never seen anything that convinces me that it's real. in fact i have seen a lot to discredit it (like the assertion that the trickle-down theory belongs to bill clinton -- it's reagan's horrible little invention, not clinton's). so that aside, why do you think i do not understand, nor have i studied, capitalism? ANY system will in the end allow individuals to waste money, if they have it to waste, on stuff you consider nonsense, but in a democracy, we have a right to be stupid and that goes with the territory. if it doesn't, then we have a bigger problem than capitalism, and unbridled capitalism is a big ENOUGH problem, thank you. and i would prefer not to look at the current president; i am about to eat dinner and he makes me physically ill. and the russian people are neither stupid nor blind; they are oppressed. they know if they protest they will be murdered, and yet some do protest. how does that make them stupid or blind? finally, why are you asking me if i can find a perfect, intelligent and deep thinker rules (badly phrased but i know what you mean). why are you asking it, and why are you asking ME that? what has that got to do with what i said? i stand by everything i said. maybe you need to stupid democracy as well as capitalism. g

Did we eat Neanderthals?

genessa comments on Jul 20, 2019:

i don't think that theory has anything backing it up. @EMC2 has described the situation correctly. there is no evidence that we ate any similarly advanced hominids (if any). g

genessa replies on Jul 20, 2019:

@NR92 it did not in fact happen at the same time we reached their territory. your first and second assertions are in conflict. how could there have been rivalry for a long time if their extinction happened at the same time we reached their territory? that makes NO sense. we coexisted for a period of time. i don't know what constitutes "long" but long enough to mate with them over a period of many generations, and we could not have done that if they went extinct just as we got there. we did not eat them, either; i have never heard a lick of evidence to support that. we may not even have outhunted them; if we intermingled and our genes were stronger, we just diluted them away. yes there would have been some rivalry; that goes without saying. there are even rivalries within exact species, so of course between similar species that are not exactly the same. g

there are many reasons the house should impeach, and a few not to as well (and not a single ...

Sticks48 comments on Jul 19, 2019:

I am torn at this point. I don't know anymore. I am just so tired of this and want it to go away.

genessa replies on Jul 19, 2019:

alas, it won't go away by itself. i wish it would but my wishes don't work half as well as votes :-)) g

there are many reasons the house should impeach, and a few not to as well (and not a single ...

Allamanda comments on Jul 19, 2019:

Yes I think it's possible she's afraid that would be misconstrued - but more likely just that impeachment cannot be guartanteed to work as Republicans can in effect negate it and pardon Trump during/after the process. It's not the bomb we need...

genessa replies on Jul 19, 2019:

i don't know her motivations, can only speculate, and am a bit horrified at those who are so confident that they DO know, when they have no more (and sometimes less) to go on than i do that they are willing to condemn and slander pelosi. i can only go on what i know of her character, which is positive. no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes; that doesn't mean they have their heads up their asses, are corporate shills or suffer from cowardice. g

"I'm voting Democrat from now on," a Trump voter told me today.

genessa comments on Jul 18, 2019:

this is such good news that i would bite my tongue and not correct him with "democratic, not democrat." the latter is what republicans use as the adjective for democrats. "the democrat party," they say, and we have picked it up. but as i say, go easy on him. he's making progress. tell him ...

genessa replies on Jul 18, 2019:

@LiterateHiker ah my bad. when you think she's ready you can take her through that next step about democratIC. for now it's good she knows the right way to vote! g

Does anyone here worry or care about the ripples their actions make, or are you more of a boulder ...

genessa comments on Jul 17, 2019:

in essense you're asking us whether we are good or bad people. do you think most bad people will, if they bother to answer at all, say "yeah, i'm bad"? if you think most people are bad (a view i do not share) then this question is useless. if you think (as i do) that most people are good, then ...

genessa replies on Jul 17, 2019:

@callmedubious correct. most people are not very smart. that is not the same as being bad. g

When Non-Jews Wield Anti-Semitism as Political Shield [gq.com]

genessa comments on Jul 17, 2019:

it's twisted, isn't it? i have met ilhan omar and like her, and i have also heard what she said: she railed against a bad organization, aipac, which claims to support israel but in fact supports bibi netanyahu, who is BAD for israel. it uses the power of money (benjamins, that's ben franklin, who...

genessa replies on Jul 17, 2019:

@chalupacabre there are lots of adults in the room. what we need are adults in the senate. also the white house! also the state houses and state legislatures! also the courts! hell, if you can find an adult who wants to be dogcatcher, vote blue there too! g

How do my fellow progressives feel about this?

genessa comments on Jul 16, 2019:

if a used piece of toilet paper wins the nomination, remember that a used piece of toilet paper won't put children in concentration camps, surround itself with criminals (including child rapists), alienate all our allies and suck up to dictators, consider starting wars to distract folks from his ...

genessa replies on Jul 16, 2019:

@slydr68 amen to that bottom line! g

How do my fellow progressives feel about this?

genessa comments on Jul 16, 2019:

if a used piece of toilet paper wins the nomination, remember that a used piece of toilet paper won't put children in concentration camps, surround itself with criminals (including child rapists), alienate all our allies and suck up to dictators, consider starting wars to distract folks from his ...

genessa replies on Jul 16, 2019:

@MojoDave that's who the orlando sentinel endorsed: "not trump!" g

To be clear, Trump said that women of color were not qualified unless they stopped crime and ...

genessa comments on Jul 16, 2019:

he is right, of course, though he has no clue how right he is. three of the four women of color whom he attacked were born in the united states, and they certain are trying to stop crime and corruption in their place of origin, as is the fourth, a u.s. citizen since her teenaged years. that crime ...

genessa replies on Jul 16, 2019:

@TelefunkenU37 feel free to post more (if you feel it). :-)) g

How do my fellow progressives feel about this?

genessa comments on Jul 16, 2019:

if a used piece of toilet paper wins the nomination, remember that a used piece of toilet paper won't put children in concentration camps, surround itself with criminals (including child rapists), alienate all our allies and suck up to dictators, consider starting wars to distract folks from his ...

genessa replies on Jul 16, 2019:

@slydr68 i did not say, nor do i believe, that the system functions as it was designed. election interference didn't come from the dnc; it came from the russians. voter suppression didn't come from the dnc; it came and comes from the republicans. both parties gerrymander but the republicans have codified it as their way of taking the majority with only the minority behind them. disinformation is rampant and yes, it IS a partisan issue; there is a fake news contingent among the far left but i can't help noticing that its origin is the far right (i've been paying attention). i have NO idea why you would gather from my simple statement that the dnc didn't make everyone vote for hillary instead of bernie that i think the system functions as it was designed. that is a bit of a leap, isn't it? can nothing be taken at face value? my words can. g

How do my fellow progressives feel about this?

genessa comments on Jul 16, 2019:

if a used piece of toilet paper wins the nomination, remember that a used piece of toilet paper won't put children in concentration camps, surround itself with criminals (including child rapists), alienate all our allies and suck up to dictators, consider starting wars to distract folks from his ...

genessa replies on Jul 16, 2019:

@slydr68 well, you are extrapolating something local into something national, but you know what? you were STILL dealing with individuals, not the dnc. so what has your experience actually got to do with the dnc? anyway colorado isn't the world. and how does not thinking bernie could win equal not having your best interest at heart? wanting a candidate they thought could beat trump, whether or not they were correct, IS having your best interest at heart. being wrong isn't the same as being uncaring. and again, the party itself did not control for whom people voted. in a caucus or in a primary, that was done by the people. that includes you. you didn't get your way; that doesn't mean the other people didn't care about you (insofar as they knew you individually existed). g

How do my fellow progressives feel about this?

genessa comments on Jul 16, 2019:

if a used piece of toilet paper wins the nomination, remember that a used piece of toilet paper won't put children in concentration camps, surround itself with criminals (including child rapists), alienate all our allies and suck up to dictators, consider starting wars to distract folks from his ...

genessa replies on Jul 16, 2019:

@slydr68 news flash: WE voted in the primaries and more of us voted for hillary than for bernie and even if the dnc expressed a preference, we're the ones who voted. if bernie had won i'd have voted for him in the general. as it worked out, bernie voted for hillary in the general. meanwhile, if we all vote for the same progressive in the primaries next year, we will have a progressive candidate. the dnc doesn't choose. we choose. g

Technology may seem to be the enemy cz it continuously and successfuly replaces humans.

genessa comments on Jul 16, 2019:

i don't see either as true. if technology takes human jobs it created other human jobs, and it's a human decision, but technology isn't good on the basis of replacing humans. it's good on the basis of prolonging human life and quality of life (at least theoretically, since rich people hog this for...

genessa replies on Jul 16, 2019:

@Neenz i know you meant human brains. i was talking about human life in a different context. i stand by what i said. g

Fox News Hasn’t Asked Paid Contributor Ken Starr About His Pedophile Client Jeffrey Epstein ...

genessa comments on Jul 12, 2019:

just to remind everyone who ken starr is: apart from the slime he has been since and is now, he is most famous for being the special counselor investigating bill clinton for having consensual sex with an adult -- oops, i mean lying to congress in response to a question congress had no business ...

genessa replies on Jul 15, 2019:

@EllenDale ask the same of fdr, eisenhower, pappy bush and omg jfk screwed anyone in a skirt. and clinton did not take away anyone's rights. now back to ken starr.... g

Tell us about your first time ...

genessa comments on Jul 15, 2019:

i realized there were no gods when i saw the monkees' tv show. my mom and dad had told me that long-haired boys were dirty and rebellious. these guys clearly were neither. i thought, what else have i believed that maybe i should rethink? god went out the window right away. i told my best friend...

genessa replies on Jul 15, 2019:

@Ms_McSteven lol! i liked davy, but when i matured i realized nesmith had the talent. now i am engaged to a guy who is not only tone deaf but actually deaf. g

Tell us about your first time ...

genessa comments on Jul 15, 2019:

i realized there were no gods when i saw the monkees' tv show. my mom and dad had told me that long-haired boys were dirty and rebellious. these guys clearly were neither. i thought, what else have i believed that maybe i should rethink? god went out the window right away. i told my best friend...

genessa replies on Jul 15, 2019:

@Fernapple my guy always asks me how i can remember stuff that happened what seems to him a long time ago. i remember being in the crib! i don't know why. i can't remember where i'm supposed to be at any given moment but i can remember with whom i was in love with (gene autry and jimmy dodd) when i was three! g

Why would, or wouldn't, you date a believer?

genessa comments on Jul 15, 2019:

i don't date. i am spoken for. my guy happens to be of the belief that there is a god. when pressed to say what his god was like he balked but finally told me he believed in a god who created evolution. ooookay. it's not a big deal in either of our lives. it isn't a dealbreaker. if he was ...

genessa replies on Jul 15, 2019:

@greyeyed123 ah okay. well, i had never met anyone before who confessed to believing that, until my guy blurted it out lol. g

Why would, or wouldn't, you date a believer?

genessa comments on Jul 15, 2019:

i don't date. i am spoken for. my guy happens to be of the belief that there is a god. when pressed to say what his god was like he balked but finally told me he believed in a god who created evolution. ooookay. it's not a big deal in either of our lives. it isn't a dealbreaker. if he was ...

genessa replies on Jul 15, 2019:

@greyeyed123 i don't know what he believed at eight. i didn't know him then and he didn't have alzheimer's then. i do now and he does now. one doesn't stop loving someone just because they're ill. g

[paction.

genessa comments on Jul 14, 2019:

i would except you KNOW he is not going to pay any attention to petitions. he is beyond that. getting him the hell out of there and into an orange jumpsuit is our only reasonable option. g

genessa replies on Jul 14, 2019:

@sassygirl3869 no complaints there. just reminding everyone whom they're petitioning. g

So do we atheists, agnostics, own the privilege to examine others negatively, own the privilege to...

genessa comments on Jul 14, 2019:

well, we wouldn't be judgmental if it were not for posts like this, and the believers i have encountered, whom i have never ONCE attacked or lashed out at, don't want to be my friend; they want to convert me, or damn me to hell, or (worst of all) bless me and pray for me. you're being awfully ...

genessa replies on Jul 14, 2019:

@theatreskill how snarky of you. you know, you talk about how rude atheists are to others and you're the rudest one here. i think i am through with you. yeah, i am. BYE. note: anyone else who wants to reply to me or tag me here, i won't see it because i will be blocking this rude person and that means the whole post will be invisible to me. so if i don't answer i am not ignoring you. g

So do we atheists, agnostics, own the privilege to examine others negatively, own the privilege to...

ToakReon comments on Jul 14, 2019:

I have, myself, been accused of being 'negative' towards religious faith. "Why can't you just say what tou believe without having to always trash the beliefs of the religious?" The problem is that atheism is DEFINED in negative terms - a theist is someone who believes in (at least one) god, ...

genessa replies on Jul 14, 2019:

@irascible the original post, with its unfounded accusations (and i am ANYTHING but thin-skinned) was spoiling for a fight. some of her replies have been downright snarky. that's odd for someone who claims to be petitioning for us to be nice to each other. g

So do we atheists, agnostics, own the privilege to examine others negatively, own the privilege to...

dave1459 comments on Jul 14, 2019:

In a more general we have become less civil toward different people and ideas. In a system that values free speach, we do not want to hear different opions. Anything that we do not like, more often than not, gets labeled as hate speech. Too many feel that expressing our selves in strong terms is ...

genessa replies on Jul 14, 2019:

@theatreskill correct, they don't have to. but sometimes they are. it is not always a matter of thin skin. on the other hand, sometimes just saying who one is or what one thinks, even gently, evokes not just hurt feefees but rage. generalization is not generally a good thing. g

So do we atheists, agnostics, own the privilege to examine others negatively, own the privilege to...

genessa comments on Jul 14, 2019:

well, we wouldn't be judgmental if it were not for posts like this, and the believers i have encountered, whom i have never ONCE attacked or lashed out at, don't want to be my friend; they want to convert me, or damn me to hell, or (worst of all) bless me and pray for me. you're being awfully ...

genessa replies on Jul 14, 2019:

@theatreskill i said no such thing. i said the ones i have encountered. i didn't say all. YOU are the one who generalizes, not me. i spoke only about my own experience, and i can assure you i am telling you the truth. if you choose to disbelieve me, that is not not my problem at all. g

So do we atheists, agnostics, own the privilege to examine others negatively, own the privilege to...

genessa comments on Jul 14, 2019:

well, we wouldn't be judgmental if it were not for posts like this, and the believers i have encountered, whom i have never ONCE attacked or lashed out at, don't want to be my friend; they want to convert me, or damn me to hell, or (worst of all) bless me and pray for me. you're being awfully ...

genessa replies on Jul 14, 2019:

@irascible extremely cool! i read and heard a good definition of respect in the fixer, the book and the movie respectively (pun intended). "it's what you have to give to get!" g

Purely stupid stuff /pet peeves of daily life.

genessa comments on Nov 7, 2018:

most of my peeves have to do with language rather than action, and they are too numerous to list, but i'll mention some that appear to be newish, all of them heard on my tv: 1. eschewing superlatives, what's wrong with -est? he's the most tall. it's tallEST, folks. 2. eschewing the ...

genessa replies on Jul 12, 2019:

@Geoffrey51 awwww lol. i just saw, for the gazillionth time, another commercial that annoys me, and i wonder if anyone else has noticed the thing that bugs me. it's an ad for good rx, and it begins with a mother bringing her child to the pharmacy and thinking to herself, sotte voce so we can hear her thoughts, about how she hopes the meds are not expensive, how she hopes they're covered by her insurance. then she gets to the pharmacy counter and asks how much the drug is... in the SAME SOTTO VOCE she used to think! so either she talks to herself aloud in public or she was communicating telepathically to the pharmacist. whoever made this commercial is an IDIOT. g

(The pit and the pendulum) [youtu.

genessa comments on Jul 10, 2019:

as usual, the original is better. https://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Poe/Pit_Pendulum.pdf g

genessa replies on Jul 11, 2019:

@RichCC no problem. i figured you'd mistaken it for a movie link. hey, we all get tired and distracted! i've napped since we last communicated and i probably should still be asleep! g

(The pit and the pendulum) [youtu.

genessa comments on Jul 10, 2019:

as usual, the original is better. https://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Poe/Pit_Pendulum.pdf g