Is the President a Big Fat Liar? Or Is he misunderstood?

genessa comments on Jan 15, 2019:

none of the above. trump is IN putin's pocket and he's doing obscene things there (and here). if he said the sky was blue i'd bring an umbrella, and i don't even LIKE umbrellas. misunderstood? what is he, six years old and bullied at school? he WAS the bully at school. he ADMITS it. it's probably the only true thing he's ever said. g

Would someone be considered religious if they don’t necessarily worship any gods/goddess, but only...

genessa comments on Jan 15, 2019:

it depends on the definition of worship. in the usual sense, then yes, it would be religious. if it's just in the sense of "i worship the ground you walk on" then no. g

Is it better to have loved and lost, or better to not have loved at all?​

genessa comments on Jan 15, 2019:

anyone who has loved and lost a pet knows it's better to have loved. g

Under your libertarian statement of principles you deny the government to restrict in any way the ...

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

again, who are you calling a libertarian? you're addressing the general ag dot com public here. your point about libertarians in this case (not necessarily in your other posts) is apt but your presentation is offensive. most of us bothering to read them obviously are not libertarians and wouldn't be libertarians. g

Libertarians support the rights of the smallest minority the individual.

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

your first sentence is untrue. libertarians support the rights of an even smaller minority than the individual. a libertarian supports the rights of him/herself and no one else, and sometimes can't really distinguish what those are from what anything else is. it's not my system and never will be. g

As a Libertarian you own a large lot of property and a gun.

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

i can imagine the scenario just fine but i could never begin to imagine being a libertarian. as a human being not having my life threatened, i can't imagine shooting anyone. who would try to hgld me liable depends on which state is involved. but since when is trespass a capital crime? g

Affects of shutdown on benefit programs.

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

that would be me and my guy. we're seniors and we get a minimal amount in food stamps, plus a meals-on-wheels-like service. if funding is cut or halted for any of that, we don't eat. g

Can anybody ever remember being told not to read the Old Testament of the Bible?

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

i'm jewish (atheist, though). for a jew, there is no old testament. there's just the bible. it's a mixed bag at best and the only part i can imagine taking literally is the begatting chapter, since it's so boring, no one could've made it up to teach anyone anything. that doesn't mean i do take it literally; it just means nothing else lends itself at ALL to literal interpretation. anyway, so no, even had i been raised religiously, i would not have been told not to read the old testament because there's no such thing. i didn't have to be told not to read the christian bible; it was never of any interest to me. but my folks never forbade me to read anything. my mom did get a bit worried that i was reading grownup stuff at the age of eight, so she did give me some bobbsey twins and nancy drew, but they just weren't my thing. i don't remember anything at all from my dutiful reading of the former, but from nancy drew, the one book i read (the secret of larkspur lane) i learned that the larkspur is a blue flower, that amber is both a color and a substance, that some people believe in reincarnation (of which i had not previously heard) and that some people believe that a magic substance can bring the dead back to life. the "some people believe" bits didn't particularly tempt me into believing those things, myself, but i found it interesting that some people did. i have no idea what my mom would've done or said had she caught me reading the christian bible (theoretically, since, as i have said, i had no interest in it). she probably wouldn't have stopped me, but she might have had some kind of talk with me about it. i'll never know. g

Would you consider yourself more of a fan of David Letterman or Jay Leno?

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

is that the choice? really? and are you talking about the shows, neither of which i watched regularly or even enough to say i watched them, or the people? i think letterman's show was intolerable. leno's was tolerable. but as people, i think they're probably both pretty cool, albeit not of any especial interest to me. i am not a fan in any sense of the word of either of them. if you mean talk show hosts specifically, i am a dick cavett fan. g

In China, they’re rewriting the bible | World news | The Guardian

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

well, it won't be the first time it's been rewritten (and by the way, which bible is "the" bible?) g

Do you believe aliens exist?

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

of course there is life "out there." it is probably microbial. the thing is, if you want to define life as something that resembles us, or even other animals, then it becomes less and less likely. life can come into being with the right chemical and environmental conditions. intelligent life... that takes more special circumstances, very specific courses of evolution that are unlikely to occur (evolution yes, those specific courses no) elsewhere. so if you're looking for someone who's looking for us, that's quite unlikely. and our existence isn't proof of anything relating to anyone else's existence. it might or might not be evidence. evidence and proof are not the same thing. g

I don't want another mad girlfriend.

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

don't make her mad. g

What place most influenced you at en emotional level?

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

my sister and i, both living in maryland and working in d.c., were driving home together through d.c. and found ourselves in a neighborhood we'd never seen before. we saw a rat the size of a possum running in the gutter. my sister wanted to stop and buy some food so we stopped so she could run into a grocery store. the produce was all wilted; the meat was rotten. what they sold to the people in that neighborhood was stuff that would never have made it to the shelves of our local grocery stores. it was shocking. sometimes people say that poor people can't afford to eat well, and this is true enough, and that they don't know HOW to eat well, which for a variety of reasons could be true too, but do people know that the stores are charging more for spoiled food than comparable stores in less poor neighborhoods charge for fresh food? you can be as educated as you like and know everything there is to know about nutrition but if you're poor and stuck in a poor neighborhood, and all they sell you is rotten food and they charge you double for it at that, what are you supposed to eat -- and should you then be criticized for eating it, whatever it is? g

Never can tell the true nature of and individual by there accomplishments.[cnn.com]

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

sometimes you can. sometimes you can't. it depends partly on the nature of the accomplishment. g

Equal Opportunity Hater.

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

by the way, how can you be an atheist and religious? your profile says you are both. that's like being a vegetarian and a carnivore. g

Equal Opportunity Hater.

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

yes, you're wrong. sometimes you don't have to see both sides. sometimes one side is wrong. no one is right all the time but there is a difference between sometimes getting things wrong and being a corrupt criminal organization with bad intentions. if the right and left look the same to you, there is something wrong with your vision. g

Is Trump working for the Russians?

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

it's an insulting question only in that we all KNOW he's working for russia. what took everyone so long to figure it out? g

Can Reality be defined by the variable amount of pain an individual can endure before it breaks?

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

no. it can't. i mean it can, but not reasonably. i've seen people define pretty much anything they want in any way they want, but usually it's not reasonable. this isn't either. g

So let's cut to the chase here - Who actually believes that the Earth this World is flat, and that ...

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

no one who is sane. speaking of which, regarding your profile, do you always refer to yourself in the third person? g

What if, unbeknownst to us, we are already in Hell?

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

what if there is no such thing as hell and, unbeknownst to us, we're right here on earth speculating about a fictional place. besides, isn't the point of hell that you KNOW you're there? what's the point of punishing someone without their knowing it? g

What books do I need to read?

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

the rabbi j. by johannes lehmann -- there is nothing that annoys christians more than remembering that jesus, if he existed, was jewish the naked ape, by desmond morris -- evolution is equally annoying cosmos, by carl sagan -- even simply logic and historical facts irritate evangelicals i don't know what the cell thingie is. g

Does any one understand this point system?!

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

this is the point system: you get better access to the site as you continue to participate. this is measured by the points you get for participating. you're not participating for the points; you're getting points for participating. if someone doesn't actually have anything to say, or doesn't want to be on the site, or is a scammer, chances are that person won't stick around long enough to get enough access to be truly dangerous, so it's kind of a way to cut down on all that. it doesn't work perfectly but it helps. so the best thing to do is forget about the points and just participate the way you'd like to, and the points will add up and give you better access as you go along, and some nice gifties at level seven. g

US astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson targeted by MeToo campaign - World Socialist Web Site

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

yes he was targeted. i read his response. i believe him. wait, i believe a MAN? not a WOMAN? well, the women who accuse him are not, in this case, believable, and i am saying this AS a woman and as a woman who knows that rape is underreported, that women who are telling the truth tend not to be believed, and who wants to believe women for those reasons, but in this case, NOT because i like tyson (i like dustin hoffman too, after all) but because i trust my observations, i believe tyson. the one woman with the worst accusation can't even remember if she was raped, much less who did it if it was done. his response is credible. g

Ted Cruz: People outside DC are not concerned with Russia investigation - CNNPolitics

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

how would he know? and if he know, why would he tell the truth? and isn't he an immigrant? g

Comey, who has a contentious relationship with the man who fired him, to say the least, appeared to ...

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

i think it is understandable for comey not to be terribly fond of the guy who asked for his personal loyalty, asked him to halt an fbi investigation as a personal favor, fired him for not complying, confided in russians that he considered comey a nutcase, and continued to slander comey relentlessly ever since. g

Trump wants $5.

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

i think impeaching/indicting his ass will definitely affect his chances for reelection. g

Evangelical group says it's getting 'death threats' after leader's lynching bill remarks

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

in what way, i wonder, are the lynching remarks not death threats in and of themselves? g

Trump sidesteps yes-or-no question on Russia from Jeanine Pirro - YouTube

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

and of course pirro isn't going to push him! g

I love wolves. Feel free to post pics of your favorite spirit animal.

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

i don't have a spirit animal but i happen to be quite fond of foxes. g

Boones farm apple was my fave. What was yours?

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

pot. g

Has your cat ever done this?

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

mine pulls my ponytail... HARD. g

Have you ever had one of these as a kid?

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

noooo! i had a chemistry set. if i played doctor, i guess it was dr. jeckyl, not dr. kildare lol g

In africa when you say your not a believer they see you as someone possesd by demons ??‍♂️

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

africa is a big continent. did you have a particular country in mind? g

Capital Punishment?

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

it is precisely because i would feel the same way that teacher felt that i am against capital punishment. if my feeling that someone deserves to be dead is okay, then how is the feeling of the murderer that his/her victim deserves to be dead any less okay? there are practical considerations too; too many innocent people are on death row, and there is not enough funding (or justice) to get dna testing done to exonerate them all. is it okay to kill the innocent just to make sure the guilty also die? and the legal system being what it is, it actually costs less to imprison someone for life than to kill that person. in addition, capital punishment, far from reducing capital crime, has the opposite effect, for a variety of reasons, some practical (recidivists needing the protection of prison more than the scary responsibility of freedom) and some emotional (the thrill of risk-taking). on top of all that is the horror of what prisons have been doing in light of the difficulty of obtaining approved poisons for lethal injection. there've been some dreadful botches, and a lot of law-breaking. set those practical considerations aside. my main reason is what i said: i don't have any more right to act on my wish for someone, however deserving i think that someone may be, to be dead, than that object of my wish did in committing the murder to begin with, and by extension my representatives do not have that right either. g

[friendlyatheist.

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

i would have to go back to the bottom of a long, long list, some 60 years back, to recount my first. it would be nice to think i still had lots of years ahead of me and yet no additions to the list. i am not holding my breath. g

Hypothetically speaking...

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

mulletasaurus roamed freely too. g

YES, YES, YES... SHE'S RUNNING!!!!!! [tulsi2020.com]

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

i'd vote for her against trump. hell, i'd vote for any democrat against any republican, and that's not blind party-line lockstep; that's recognizing that the republican party is a corrupt organization that works for russia. but in the primaries i am unlikely to vote for her. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tulsi-gabbard-homophobic-remarks_us_5c3a6030e4b01c93e00a5952 g

After reading the bible 3 times in my whole life .

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

i think satan was nonexistent and i have never been christian anyway. in the hebrew bible, the one with which i am somewhat familiar, there is no satan. there is ha-satan, which means "the prosecutor" and is a title, not a name, in the book of job, and that was not an evil character; he was doing his job. it's all fiction, though. g

Who is God

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

god is a made-up thing that doesn't exist. the nature of this made-up thing depends on what you happen to believe. g

Hello to anyone that may share some of my beliefs.

genessa comments on Jan 13, 2019:

only ONE fault? g

Mystery Solved; There is another instrument playing Feeling bad blues by Ry Cooder [youtu.

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

and the artist is apparently jim dickinson. g

What bothers you most about your political position?

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

nothing whatsoever bothers me about my political position. i believe in what is good for human beings, other species and the planet. i believe there is no such thing as perfection and i refuse to be "purist" at the expense of everything i actually believe in. why should any of that bother me? g

Wonder if there is a possibility I could be gifted with a version that disallows old entitled racist...

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

rt, the russian propaganda machine. and we are sharing rt articles WHY? g

Trump and his followers make the critical error that a "wall" will stop immigrants from coming in ...

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

i agree wholeheartedly with everything except the penultimate paragragh. i think most of us are the generational offspring of immigrants (not aliens, which is not the basis for my disagreement but i thought i'd mention it) who were either documented or undocumented but at any rate did NOT come here with the intent of genocide. by this i mean most of us are not descended from the early settlers who slaughtered the indians or allowed others to do it for them. i think more of us came later, perhaps escaping genocide. i know my grandparents came over as children, with their parents, or with one parent, to escape pogroms in ukraine. they were documented to the extent that this was possible in their time; that is, they came over, went through proper channels (fortunately before the quota system was put in place for jews entering the u.s.) and became citizens. that was possible then. today they'd be tear-gassed, or detained; perhaps my grandparents would have died in detention. then i would not be typing this. g

It’s fucking winter. Why are people wearing shorts? WTF

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

i assure you i am not wearing shorts... or anything else. g

Which leg do you put in first when putting on pants?

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

pants? not for me! g

Is evolution an accident or a plan?

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

i think your friend needs therapy, or at least a lecture on the differences between cause and effect (a lot of people apparently get those mixed up). meanwhile, fruit flies keep mutating regardless, and evolution chugs along even without your friend's understanding. g

Have you ever expressed an opinion or stated something that proved highly unpopular?

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

(you think hitler is going to give himself a bad reputation?) i was placed into a feminist facebook group without my permission and when i went to check it out, i thought about whether or not to stay in it. i mean, i am a feminist, but not everyone who (or everything that) called herself a feminist actually is what i consider one. a lot of so-called feminists backpedal quite a bit, and they have no idea they're doing so because they take so much for granted for which i and my peers actually had to fight. so i checked it out. while i was considering whether or not to stay, i saw a meme showing a picture of adele and quoting her as saying something about being yourself, not caring what others think of you, etc. the picture showed adele wearing a ton of makeup, dressed to the nines, looking very much the opposite of what the meme was apparently trying to say. now, i have no feelings about adele at all. i don't hate her music, i don't enjoy it, i barely know it. i won't knock her and i won't go out and buy her stuff either. i don't care about adele, no offense to adele. she does nothing for or to me, positive or negative. i happen to enjoy many kinds of music and whatever you call what she does isn't among those kinds. it's not a reflection on her. i can't emphasize enough that i have no reason whatsoever to put adele down just because i don't happen to be a fan. it is with this attitude that i pointed out the discrepancy between the words of the meme and the picture the mememaker had chosen to illustrate it. adele didn't make the meme. my comment wasn't about her. it was about the meme. i was treated as if i had said i ate christian babies for lunch (they're awfully hard to digest first thing in the morning). i was told i was a horrible person for putting adele down (i had done no such thing, and had gone out of my way to say that adele was not to blame for the meme), i should really try listening to her music (that had WHAT to do with the meme?) and that i was closed-minded, nonfeminist, you name it. i was a nazi because i noticed that the mememaker had chosen the exact wrong picture to illustrate adele's words. not a single person defended me. i was roundly attacked. since i hadn't chosen that group to begin with and had not yet decided whether to stay, i decided to leave, and said so, and said why. the owner of the group pm'd me and begged me to stay. she was friendly and apologetic. we began to chat regularly about other things. she was a little taken aback that i had no interest in becoming a vegan, but she got over it. not long after that, though, she tried to rope me into some conspiracy theory. i forget, now, which one. was it chemtrails? the twin towers imploded on their own or were blown up by whomever...

This is a continuation of my last post.

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

disagreement about how to interpret scripture? since when have we agreed about what IS scripture? g

The unified universe living in the food chain in a body samely lovrrrd butt differ ;) from w0n a...

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

could you translate that into english? g

Just another rant, never mind me,.

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

so in other words, youtube is just like real life. g

It would be awesome to sit in a darkened room, with few candles lit, mind and soul conjoining to ...

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

most people need to find the mind before conjoining it with anything. once it's found, it is hard to conjoin it with a soul since what most people call the soul is generated from the brain anyway, so it's already conjoined. regarding the truth of the universe: anyone who thinks they've found it has lost it, and there is no ONE truth for the universe -- not even the known universe. as for a darkened room, most rooms are too dark for me; my eyes are bad. g

Why does justice exist?

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

who says it exists? g

Gosh, I'd like to find someone progressive with similar values (not Trumpian) to enjoy ALL aspects ...

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

the best way to use this site to achieve that goal is to enjoy the community and make friends. that way you may find someone you actually like, instead of matching up wish lists. g

[yahoo.

genessa comments on Jan 12, 2019:

it's not because she's bipolar. it's not because she's ex-mormon. it's not because she's female, because she's fat, because she's old, because she's white or even because she's (self-hatingly) jewish. it's because she's a nasty, unhappy, belligerant, not-very-bright, not-nice-at-all person. the only antisemite involved here is rosanne herself. g

Don't talk about the Donald! Someone threatened to shoot Ben Gleib after jokes about Trump.

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

talk MORE about trump. they can't kill us all! oh wait... trump is already trying to do that. well, talk more about trump just 'cause! g

Create an emergency so you can declare an emergency.

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

we've been in constitutional crisis since the 2016 election. g

Just so I have this straight.

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

no. all budgetary bills begin in the house. the house passed a cr. then the senate passed it. yes, the republican senate! trump wouldn't sign it. then the new house came in. they have passed some bills to reopen the government. mcconnell refuses to bring any of them to the floor. that is where we stand now because he wants to do what the president wants (since when is that congress' job?) g

DID YOU KNOW .

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

i have diabetes. i will not be indulging in any high bangs. g

Earlier this week, I pointed out that AOC’s bluster and unwillingness to compromise would cause ...

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

bluster. unwillingness to compromise. hmm. you sure that of the two people you mentioned, you're applying those words to aoc? g

Do you still believe in marriage?

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

i never DID believe in marriage. so why, you ask, am i engaged to be married? well, it's mostly because my guy and i are old and poor and have medical issues and one of us could die at any second. being married would interfere with our skimpy benefits but guarantee the survivor some minimal security that our current relationship would not. as it stands now, we've been engaged since 2004, and we have a plan that if one of us is dying, we get married immediately. in the meantime, we have for some time now been cohabiting, and sometimes folks think we're married. our relationship is not defined by someone else's marriage, or a standard view of what marriage should be. it is what we make of it. g

Weve talked about best and fave episodes. What about worst?

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

ha, i don't even remember that one. my least fave is likely the seymour episode from season one. g

Why Trump’s Unusual Leadership Style Isn’t Working in the White House

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

i'm sorry, does this imply that trump has a leadership style? g

[jta.

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

that makes them LESS safe. g

I like the notion that if you look in the religion and spirituality section of this site it says ...

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

we are whovians, are we not? g

Remember these? My mother still has some that she's kept through the years.

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

haha i've seen them around, but thankfully not at my house! g

Maybe they should just give him the money and let the public see how stupid his idea really is and ...

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

fabulous. that way while we're waiting he can displace people who currently live and work where the wall is to be built, whether or not they want to move; monarch butterflies and other wildlife can be pushed further toward extinction as their habitatrs are destroyed; and meanwhile much of that money will go not to actual construction but to building more detention centers (to profit trump's friends) so that more little children can die, instead of to hiring more people to process the legitimate asylum-seekers now being tear-gassed and turned away. g

So you are a "liberal/socialist" You invent a widget that is inexpensive to build.

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

why would i invent something for an industry in which i didn't believe? g

Who else wonders why people are so stupid to believe in gods when there is no proof of their ...

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

not me. i don't wonder about that at all. people can be intellectually and emotionally lazy and it is of great comfort to them to think they don't have to make their own decisions, that they can live forever, or that some imaginary being loves them and cares about their every burp and fart. g

Thousands of federal workers file for unemployment [a.msn.com]

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

who will process their claims with the government shut down? g

What do you believe in?

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

in the sense of a religious belief, nothing. in a practical sense, i believe my guy loves me, and i believe a good number of things that require long explanations and are subject to revision with the advent of new information. i believe my right to swing my arm ends where your nose begins, and vice versa, but if i was in the middle of a shooting war and i knew someone was about to shoot me if i didn't shoot first, that belief might not apply just then. i believe donald trump is a horror. i can't even imagine any new information that would change that belief. i have too much information already in favor of my current assessment. g

It seems that being atheist or agnostic is now looked at as a type of religion

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

it is only looked at as a religion by people who cannot comprehend not believing in a religion. but actually atheism isn't the absense of a religion. it's the absence of a deity. there are plenty of people who don't belong to a named religion but still believe in some kind of deity. i like this old chestnut: atheism is a religion the way bald is a hair color. g

Relationship

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

so... all men are alike and all women are alike, that men find certain things more interesting in women? ask a man. then ask another man. you may get different answers. generalization is generally useless. g

How do you visualize the perfect mate? What attributes does your virtual mate possess?

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

he is exactly like god: he doesn't exist. i'm not knocking an exercise in imagination but if we pull it down to reality and still look for a perfect mate, no one will qualify and we will die alone. so i am glad you added "virtual." g

Good Morning.

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

pleasant thoughts come with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhL03mLfu2I=OLAK5uy_lTLgsVtg_PpTAsUc28RW2V5YyWlUnXB88 i couldn't find the whole album in one video but this starts off the playlist that encompasses the whole thing. good morning! g

It is now a proven fact that our galaxy is but a single cell in a massive brain.

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

obviously we do not have the same definition of "proven fact." g

Report on dating scammers! I just went back on Plenty of Fish, and I have the latest updates on ...

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

on this site i notice that some of them, particularly the women, use model pictures also used by other women on other sites, and they similarly lift long, dreamy profiles about how much they enjoy life and want a man they can lean on bla bla bla, and then they post here asking if we believe in love at first sight, or that we should believe in ourselves, or something equally generic. they watch to see who's buying this and then i suppose they message those folks. the men are a little more direct here: they flat out ask for immediate intimacy or even money to emigrate. g

This question is more aimed at anti-theists, why do you take that sort of position of anti-theism?

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

i don't know whether i am an anti-theist or not. i know i am an atheist, and i know i am fervently in favor of the separation of church and state. i am also for the separation of church and my face. so when religion gets into my state or my face, then i may seem more militant than otherwise. if i run into someone who says, when asked, that she is episcopalian, but who wouldn't dream of asking jesus whether or not she should accept a job, or insisting that jesus loves me even after learning that i am not only an atheist but a jewish one, then why should what she believes bother me? if she votes for trump because, even though he stands against everything she claims to believe, at least he will appoint judges, however corrupt, however evil -- rapists, even! -- who may overturn roe v wade, so that because SHE is against abortion, no woman who feels differently about it has a choice in the matter, then yes, she bothers me; she is interfering with other people's freedom. g

Curious how long before the Democrats give in.

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

nancy won't be giving in. g

Are relationships and dating in 2019 changing the way we think of each other??

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

everything changes everything, but i really don't think any of this is so new. i think the problems we have of rejecting people for things that don't really matter, or being attracted to a face or body and finding out only too late there is no compatibility, or any of the rest of it we blame on technology, or new generations, or old generations, are actually old problems that will be with us forever because we are who we are. g

How did you deconvert?

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

i never had to deconvert and this site is showing me how lucky i was. i was raised a secular jew and when i discovered there was no god, i didn't even think how it would affect my being jewish (not at all) since i wasn't religious to start with, and to me jewishness (not judaism) is more a cultural thing. if i'd been raised christian i imagine things would've been quite different. g

"IRS data from 2015 showed, according to Vox, that it received about 4.

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

they pay income tax, they pay sales tax like the rest of us, and they get nothing in return that we citizens get. they do NOT get welfare, free cell phones or any of that crap the rightwingers are duped into believing) and they commit crimes at a far lower rate than american citizens. for dreamers, by the way, that rate is approximately zero percent. yet the myths persist, don't they? i also want to point out that those 4.4 million income tax returns were not for one buck each, so that is a lot of money the government gets from undocumented workers!, not $4.4 million but a hell of a lot more! g

Do you think atheism can lead to higher consciousness?

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

1. depends on what counts as higher consciousness, and higher than what. 2. atheism itself? i have evidence all around me that it does not. however, the things that lead to atheism may also lead to higher consciousness, dependent on what that is. g

[yahoo.com] Jenna Jameson?

genessa comments on Jan 9, 2019:

she is a porn star. twitter is not antisemitic. many twitter users are, as are people who use any other venue. twitter doesn't make comments. people on twitter do. g

What can we do about the Russian puppet in the White House? Where is Mueller?

genessa comments on Jan 9, 2019:

mueller and his team are working their ass off. you want it done fast or you want it done right? g

Trump babbling the same lies again

genessa comments on Jan 9, 2019:

it was short. i listened. he droned a bit. he doesn't read well. i forget whether he said "hello." if he did, it was potentially the only thing he said that wasn't an outright lie. g

If necessary to testify in court would you put your hand on the bible?

genessa comments on Jan 9, 2019:

no, and by the way, it is NOT necessary. court does not require that. you do not have to swear. you only have to affirm. so it's moot. g

With the way we behave, the human race deserves to go extinct. [smithsonianmag.com]

genessa comments on Jan 9, 2019:

we? i'm not identifying with that. g

Any one feeling like all hope is lost with the new generation?

genessa comments on Jan 9, 2019:

not at all. it's not a generational problem. i know smart old farts like myself and stupid old farts too. i know stupid young people and incredibly smart and heartful young people. every damned generation decries the fall of civilization thanks to the younger generation. they're always wrong. g

Secular humanism?

genessa comments on Jan 9, 2019:

you can be a humanist if you subscribe to a religion. you cannot be a humanist if you place that religion above humanism. reform judaism is humanistic. westboro christianity is not. g

Fact checking Trump's address

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

wouldn't it be easier just to list things he said that were true? thinking.... let's see. he didn't introduce himself so "i'm donald trump" is out. that would've been true.... yeah, short list, right? nice blank space. g

If only you will accept it.

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

um, having been killed would kind of prevent a present-day presence. a coma would do the trick too. g

Who should inherit the throne?

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

i do not care a whit, but with regard to how these things are done, prince charles is the heir apparent. g

Are you smarter than a Christian?

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

generalizations are generally wrong. there are christians who don't let their religious beliefs run their lives and there are those for whom their christianity is everything. they are both christians. are they the same? they are not. in addtion, people compartmentalize. i like to use the example of frank zappa. he was brilliant on so many levels. with regard to tobacco he was a fucking idiot. he believed tobacco was harmless and that the campaign against it was a hoax, to the day it killed him. so was he stupid or brilliant? yes. he was, in general, brilliant, and about tobacco he was stupid. g

I was, I AM, I will be.....is everyone God?

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

there is no god. there are people. therefore everyone is not god. easy peasy. g

Learning. Women's rights. Human rights.

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

okay. what about them? g

I'm agnostic because Who Cares.

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

obviously whole bunches of people care. i cannot name them all. g

Internet medical advice are a bad idea, but.

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

they need to do a complete immune system workup, with an eye toward sle (lupus) but an open mind (could be almost anything, from a brain tumor to a thyroid problem). the main problem is usually getting the doctors to share information and look at the big picture. you need an eye doctor, an immunologist, a rheumatologist and a sleep study. you need ONE doctor to COORDINATE what everyone else finds, and if that doctor says it's all in your head, you need a new coordinating doctor. g

As atheist and agnostics what in your opinion is the odds of there being a afterlife ?

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

to me, "spiritual" means "religion light." i am convinced there is no personal afterlife. the brain generates who we think we are. when it dies, we are gone. our bodies decompose. worm food is useful, and we are eventually recycled, somehow, despite all the stuff that's done to preserve us (unless we're king tut) but apart from whatever legacy, large or small, we've left, we're just gone. gone is gone, dead is dead. rebirth, reincarnation, all that, not possible. there would have to be a soul, and while i like aretha franklin as much as the next person, that's not the kind of soul that would make reincarnation possible. it's all fantasy. odds for any of it: zero. unless you're laying the money down on my table, in which case go for it. i need the dough. g

Are the majority of people really that obtuse and is higher education just a form of indoctrination ...

genessa comments on Jan 8, 2019:

the majority of people are obtuse. higher education is NOT a form of indoctrination. if it was, college would be free for all. this is a republican talking point and a lie. higher education can be good or bad depending on the individuals involved, but there is no big ol' plan to brainwash everyone through higher education. quite the opposite. exception: christian universities. those are definitely into brainwashing. and by the way, i am a retired educator and yes i wanted students to learn not WHAT to think but HOW to think, and worked my ass off toward that end. g