Why don't we teach coping skills in schools?

MissKathleen comments on Feb 2, 2019:

It would also serve to teach them nutrition and gardening. But education has been delivering less and less over the years. You know, I do think coping skills were taught in school when I was a kid, but I do not think we were aware of it. It was just part of our culture where all adults helped ...

greyeyed123 replies on Feb 2, 2019:

"where all adults helped everyone’s kids learn them...everyone’s mom was your mom, everyone’s dad was your dad. Adults helped kids learn to cope...and kids helped other kids." ... This is actually a substantial part of my experience as a teacher currently. There are problems, but in my small sphere of experience and influence, this is largely still the case. Anecdotal, but positive.

There was a discussion on FB about this article so I thought I'd share it here also.

greyeyed123 comments on Feb 2, 2019:

It's not so much that one is happy because they have that much money, but happy because that much money takes care of everything that would worry you otherwise by not having it. And if memory serves, the 75 grand number was from a few years go. It's probably 80 or 85 by now.

greyeyed123 replies on Feb 2, 2019:

@mojo5501 If you look at it terms of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, economic security would be needed for the foundation of all the others. The less and less money you have, the less and less likely you are to have any level of those needs, much less the highest levels. Even something like "love and belonging" is difficult to achieve if you have no secure home, no guarantee of food, etc.

There was a discussion on FB about this article so I thought I'd share it here also.

DenoPenno comments on Feb 2, 2019:

What if you only have 2 thirds of that? Are you happy?

greyeyed123 replies on Feb 2, 2019:

You are one third less happy, if I did my math correctly, lol. I didn't read the link, but I have read about this before. There is research that indicates people are happier when they have enough money to be comfortable and without any financial worries. There is also evidence that making enormous amounts of money above that does not make one any happier.

Fascinating America is falling out if love with billionaires, and it's about time.

WilliamFleming comments on Feb 2, 2019:

IMO the reason some people are poor is not because other people are wealthy. Money is not wealth, rather it is an accounting system whereby contributions to society are repaid in kind. If a person wants more they ought to think of ways to contribute more. Sitting there in envy will get you ...

greyeyed123 replies on Feb 2, 2019:

Some problems with that is that some people contribute almost nothing, and get huge financial rewards (simply by virtue of luck, or inheritance dividends), while other slave away at jobs that have actual value to society, but which do not pay anything because society doesn't recognize them as actually valuable (or the value isn't immediate but cumulative, so society doesn't care until a huge problem develops). Moreover, depending on your circumstances, there may be nothing you can contribute that is of any more monetary value to anyone than what you are already doing, and no way to improve that circumstance under your own power alone. Simply having food, shelter, and a car to get to work may trap many people in debt (just to be able to keep working, eating, and being sheltered), so that they are trapped in an endless cycle. Indeed, many elements of our financial systems are designed to do exactly that. ... Productivity is higher now than it has ever been. Wages adjusted for inflation have been flat for 40+ years. CEO compensation and profits have skyrocketed over that same time. In 1978, CEO pay was about 30 times the pay of the average worker. Today, it is almost 300 times more than the average worker. ... Learning to be happy with little and blaming yourself for not contributing enough or not being productive enough, while not thinking about money, will only make the problem much, much worse.

Fascinating America is falling out if love with billionaires, and it's about time.

Mooolah comments on Feb 2, 2019:

Why am I rich? Because I don't spend money I don't have,on things I don't need, to impress people I don't like. No phone, no pool, just pets. And some cannabis cigarettes. I did without then, so that I do anything I choose now.

greyeyed123 replies on Feb 2, 2019:

Exactly.

Fascinating America is falling out if love with billionaires, and it's about time.

Varn comments on Feb 2, 2019:

It’s Capitalism. We’re fed the line that if we do what we’re told, work hard, we too can get rich! And, anyone who’s rich is obviously more deserving than us; cleverer, harder working… Communism fails due to collective laziness and few incentives. ***Socialism*** is the answer, as...

greyeyed123 replies on Feb 2, 2019:

I read Piketty's very long book, which was actually very interesting. It basically boils down to the fact that all economic data anywhere and at all times tells us that money made from money (rent, investments, business, etc) always increases over time at a faster rate than money earned from work. So basically it means that the rich get richer and fewer, and the poor get poorer and more numerous over time, unless there is a means imposed upon the system to even things out. If things get really bad, it's a revolution, as the money and power increasingly gets concentrated to fewer and fewer people while greater and greater numbers suffer. (As I have heard some say in the last few years, the economy isn't there to serve itself--it's there to serve the people.) Anyway, Piketty's data suggests that if things do not change substantially in some way, the entire system will collapse by 2100.

Why don't we teach coping skills in schools?

greyeyed123 comments on Feb 2, 2019:

I teach at a high poverty high school. Kids have lot of stress. One teacher used mindfulness exercises for 1 minute at the beginning of each class, and had positive results in reducing stress, reducing classroom management problems, and increasing grades. ... I am aware that other teachers did not...

greyeyed123 replies on Feb 2, 2019:

@RawBacons I teach high school English, so philosophy always comes into everything I teach. And empathy, as such, underlies the reading of all great literature. (I actually have on my board right now, "The great philosophical questions: What is beauty? What is truth? What is goodness? What is wisdom?" Everything of any importance to humanity always boils down in some way to those four questions.)

Sarah Sanders: God wanted Trump to become president

wordywalt comments on Jan 30, 2019:

Only a demagogic, evil liar could say that

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 30, 2019:

These are the same people who said Obama was probably "the One"--ie, the antichrist. (I just searched the ad on youtube to post here, but so many dozens of search results with Christians explaining how Obama is the antichrist seems to have cluttered the search that I couldn't find it. That seems to make my point better, I suppose.)

Trump has been a lot better president for business than Obama ever was as Obama was a regulation nut...

CommonHuman comments on Jan 29, 2019:

Even a cursory search proves this wrong.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 29, 2019:

But it feels true, though, and isn't that what really counts? (just kidding)

OK, I stole this off FaceBook, fair and square: .

Jolanta comments on Jan 29, 2019:

I am not so sure about that, would that not depend on ones sexual orientation?

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 29, 2019:

I'm guessing...but I'd say probably not. lol

A young filmmaker/critic tears apart the blockbuster Christian propaganda movie "God's Not Dead 2" ...

altschmerz comments on Jan 29, 2019:

Ha ha, this is how the real world works: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2015/07/10/the-sequel-in-my-classroom/

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 29, 2019:

This is a significant reason why I have no facebook page. I remember pretending to like "The Passion of the Christ" (a movie I still haven't seen, BTW) so students wouldn't suspect I was an atheist. I was only two years into my career and I didn't want to deal with it. Most of the time I still don't. I can remember years ago students guessing if I was Muslim because I don't drink, or Mormon because I don't drink coffee, etc. I always told them none of those things were very good clues because I could be a BAD Muslim or BAD Mormon, or a good one at some things and bad on others, etc, lol. Christopher Hitchens said that religion poisons everything. I know it has poisoned education in this country.

Fake it till you make it: New documentary claims acting happier may make you happier "Fake it till ...

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 26, 2019:

There was an episode of "Northern Exposure" where Maggie was pretending to be happy (or good, I can't remember which) all the time. It made her sick. Finally she stopped pretending and told people what she really thought, and felt better. I miss "Northern Exposure". :-)

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 28, 2019:

@mojo5501 I think DVD is the only format it is available on, but much of the original music was changed.

Fake it till you make it: New documentary claims acting happier may make you happier "Fake it till ...

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 26, 2019:

There was an episode of "Northern Exposure" where Maggie was pretending to be happy (or good, I can't remember which) all the time. It made her sick. Finally she stopped pretending and told people what she really thought, and felt better. I miss "Northern Exposure". :-)

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 28, 2019:

@mojo5501 Last I heard, a revival is in development at CBS as we speak. There have been problems releasing the original show since all of the music (that was often so central to the show) was only authorized for broadcast--not for video, DVD, blu ray, streaming, etc., as no one was really thinking that far ahead at the time. Many episodes on DVD are ruined because the original music is replaced with something far inferior just because the license holders of the music demand a huge payment and (CBS?) won't pay it. My guess is this is likely way it hasn't been released on any streaming service or blu ray. Although I did read in a couple of different places on the net that people had seen HD versions on Universal Channel, but that the run of episodes was short. If I remember correctly, those people also claimed the original music was intact...so maybe that was covered under the original broadcast contract? I don't know. I do remember making brownies on Monday nights in college, and watching Northern Exposure. (Regular brownies. I wasn't that hip.)

Is A Tax On The Ultrarich The Best Way To Eradicate Extreme Poverty? : Goats and Soda : NPR

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 27, 2019:

Maybe we could use that happiness number from a few years ago? I think it was $75,000 a year, so up to that number people actually get happier in their lives, and after that number it plateaus. So just to be safe, we could tax everything above 10 times that number at 70-80-90%.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@icolan I read that Piketty book a couple years ago, and all the economic data available says that making money off of having money (through rent, stocks, business, etc) always grows faster than making money off of work. Therefore income inequality is not just inevitable, but inevitable and guaranteed to worsen over time...unless something is imposed upon the system. The problem now is even starting in the top 1%, where the top tenth of 1% is growing faster than the bottom tenth of the top 1%. If I remember the book correctly, if current trends continue, the system will be unsustainable by 2100 because the number of super rich will be very small, and the number of extremely poor will be very high. (This is why I am so dismayed by my cousin who makes 10-12 thousand a year, and complains about his 50 cent raise due to the new minimum wage law because it "will hurt people". Good grief.)

what does peace look like for you? for me, it's this:

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 27, 2019:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRXUBgfUIAAIqkZ.jpg

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@sweetcharlotte It's the bridge of the starship Enterprise, NCC-1701-D.

Rules set by true fans: 1.

Pedrohbds comments on Jan 27, 2019:

Nope, I am not obliged to go over painful boring stuff to see the end to tell it is bad, for my taste. What people don't know how to separate is personal taste and quality.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@Cuberon_Blocket Can you be a true fan and a true Scotsman at the same time, is what I'm wondering.

Rules set by true fans: 1.

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 27, 2019:

And you have to understand basic things about it, like what happened. lol If you hate a show because you misunderstood something, well, that can hardly be blamed on the show.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@Cuberon_Blocket I've rarely encountered people who offered improvements to a particular criticism of a show, though. And when they do, it is often so bad that it makes me realize why creative people sometimes get the big bucks. Reminds me of this Seinfeld exchange... ... ELAINE: How am I ever gonna turn this into a book? JERRY: Well, just shape them - change them. You're a writer. ELAINE: Yes! I'm a writer. JERRY: Make them interesting. ELAINE: Interesting! Of course! People love interesting writing! ... Sounds perfectly easy...until you try to do it yourself. Or this painting: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/09/20/161466361/woman-who-ruined-fresco-of-jesus-now-wants-to-be-paid Where the woman thought it would be a snap to fix a painting. It wasn't.

Is A Tax On The Ultrarich The Best Way To Eradicate Extreme Poverty? : Goats and Soda : NPR

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 27, 2019:

Maybe we could use that happiness number from a few years ago? I think it was $75,000 a year, so up to that number people actually get happier in their lives, and after that number it plateaus. So just to be safe, we could tax everything above 10 times that number at 70-80-90%.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@Closeted Often we hear this argument that massive amounts of money is why innovators create new things. The only reason innovators want more money is to create more innovation--not be to super rich. They have a vision they want to bring to the world that has little or nothing to do with a money motivation. *Everyone* has a money motivation, yet some people are inventing the future and some are not.

I’ve been dating for about a year now.

Amisja comments on Jan 27, 2019:

Saying grace would freak me out. Its just not a thing here. When I did the match.com thing I was specific about my politics and religious non-belief. That was never a problem what was, was all the old fellas wanting to get inside my knickers...eeeuuuww oh n the married ones!

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@linxminx "At lover's perjuries they say Jove laughs."

At the risk of upsetting gun owners, Have everyone noticed that we are having multiple murders ...

dahermit comments on Jan 27, 2019:

How does the number of gun deaths compare with other causes of death? 250,000 to medical mistakes, 70,000 per year for drug overdoses. How many people have had their lives shattered, probably forever, from those causes, yet you do hear any mention of them in the media. Do think that the lack of ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@OwlInASack "If I choose to eat shit food, I did it to myself." I'm not sure that is entirely the case either, lol. Children generally eat whatever their parents eat (ever see the family portrait of the Huckabee family?), and have no control over eating anything different (or even having basic nutrition knowledge; I think I was an adult before I even thought about protein, carbs, fat, sugar, calories, vitamins, etc). Food that is terrible for us is marketed directly to us constantly. Often, unhealthy food is cheaper than healthy food, and in many cases there are poor areas where healthy food is not even available.

At the risk of upsetting gun owners, Have everyone noticed that we are having multiple murders ...

dahermit comments on Jan 27, 2019:

How does the number of gun deaths compare with other causes of death? 250,000 to medical mistakes, 70,000 per year for drug overdoses. How many people have had their lives shattered, probably forever, from those causes, yet you do hear any mention of them in the media. Do think that the lack of ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@dahermit Your source is biased, and the data is incomplete. If you disagree, fine.

At the risk of upsetting gun owners, Have everyone noticed that we are having multiple murders ...

dahermit comments on Jan 27, 2019:

How does the number of gun deaths compare with other causes of death? 250,000 to medical mistakes, 70,000 per year for drug overdoses. How many people have had their lives shattered, probably forever, from those causes, yet you do hear any mention of them in the media. Do think that the lack of ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@dahermit So you are saying the statistics are distorted except on the "Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership" website? How do they have magical powers to collect data that isn't being collected by anyone?

At the risk of upsetting gun owners, Have everyone noticed that we are having multiple murders ...

dahermit comments on Jan 27, 2019:

How does the number of gun deaths compare with other causes of death? 250,000 to medical mistakes, 70,000 per year for drug overdoses. How many people have had their lives shattered, probably forever, from those causes, yet you do hear any mention of them in the media. Do think that the lack of ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@dahermit You may have missed this in the very link you sent me: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States#Research_limitations

At the risk of upsetting gun owners, Have everyone noticed that we are having multiple murders ...

dahermit comments on Jan 27, 2019:

How does the number of gun deaths compare with other causes of death? 250,000 to medical mistakes, 70,000 per year for drug overdoses. How many people have had their lives shattered, probably forever, from those causes, yet you do hear any mention of them in the media. Do think that the lack of ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@dahermit So why is the NRA lobby continuing to block the gathering of statistics? And how are these private sources gathering data if the data isn't being comprehensively gathered by law? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickey_Amendment Again, it's not a Red Herring when the gathering of the statistics is indeed being blocked. What we have available is not all the data we need. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-we-dont-know-about-gun-violence

At the risk of upsetting gun owners, Have everyone noticed that we are having multiple murders ...

dahermit comments on Jan 27, 2019:

How does the number of gun deaths compare with other causes of death? 250,000 to medical mistakes, 70,000 per year for drug overdoses. How many people have had their lives shattered, probably forever, from those causes, yet you do hear any mention of them in the media. Do think that the lack of ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@Gooniesnvrdie I wouldn't say we are doing NOTHING to curb heart disease, diabetes, unhealthy eating, etc. I also do not think anyone thinks we should do nothing about childhood obesity, the explosion of childhood diabetes, etc.

At the risk of upsetting gun owners, Have everyone noticed that we are having multiple murders ...

dahermit comments on Jan 27, 2019:

How does the number of gun deaths compare with other causes of death? 250,000 to medical mistakes, 70,000 per year for drug overdoses. How many people have had their lives shattered, probably forever, from those causes, yet you do hear any mention of them in the media. Do think that the lack of ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

The slight of hand in this debate is pretending we have good statistics...because why wouldn't we? "How the NRA Worked to Stifle Gun Violence Research" https://www.npr.org/2018/04/05/599773911/ "How the NRA Suppressed Gun Violence Research" https://www.ucsusa.org/suppressing-research-effects-gun-violence#.XE3F7lxKjIUhow-the-nra-worked-to-stifle-gun-violence-research "The Government Won't Fund Research on Gun Violence Because of NRA Lobbying" https://www.newsweek.com/government-wont-fund-gun-research-stop-violence-because-nra-lobb "Gun Violence Research Has Been Shut Down for 20 Years" https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/04/gun-violence-research-has-been-shut-down-for-20-years/?utm_term=.afc8159404ab

Why would anybody vote for the looney democrats??

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 26, 2019:

Naw. Number one on our agenda is to teach grammar to Republicanics so they know it is the DEMOCRATIC agenda.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 27, 2019:

@Captain_Feelgood Now people will think you are a jerk for using so many colloquialisms. Too bad.

A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials

azzow2 comments on Jan 26, 2019:

Ergot was a major problem way before that. Just think all the people that wrote the book of lies were all loaded on ergot.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 26, 2019:

People seem to forget that all manner of uncontrolled mental illnesses were present when holy books were written.

Why would anybody vote for the looney democrats??

Wildflower comments on Jan 26, 2019:

I'm thinking the troll is a follower.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 26, 2019:

@Freedompath "Once you start down the Dark Path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will!"

Why would anybody vote for the looney democrats??

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 26, 2019:

Naw. Number one on our agenda is to teach grammar to Republicanics so they know it is the DEMOCRATIC agenda.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 26, 2019:

@Captain_Feelgood Ellipses that end sentences require four periods. Ellipses within sentences do not include spaces on either end. "Main" is redundant when it is the number one item on the agenda. Responding to passive-aggressive straw manning with a lighthearted joke is hardly coming across as a jerk. Besides, Trump doesn't need the Democrats help in impeachment. He's doing a bang-up job getting himself impeached.

North Carolina 3-year-old Casey Hathaway says he hung out with a bear after he vanished from his ...

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 26, 2019:

It's a good thing it wasn't one of those she-bears. 2 Kings 2:23-24 New International Version (NIV) Elisha Is Jeered 23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 26, 2019:

@Bendog I'm on the east side of Washington, so in the middle of a sage desert. More coyotes than bears. But I would assume this is hibernation season. I don't know.

There was a time when we valued wisdom… but then all the stupid people complained.

Lillyfield41 comments on Jan 26, 2019:

When i saw the movie Idiocracy, i was frightened. The fear has grown every day since as i see it becoming reality. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 26, 2019:

"It's what plants crave."

West Wing - Bartlet & the Bible - YouTube

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 25, 2019:

I used to listen to Dr. Laura on the radio years ago (I could only assume she was whom this character was based on--at least it seemed obvious at the time this episode aired). Mostly overly simplistic solutions to problems that seemed simple. I'm sure many were, but some were likely very complex, ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 26, 2019:

@snytiger6 Maybe she got caught up in the rise of conservative AM radio. By the time I quit listening, I remember thinking that her show more and more just seemed to be a means for her audience to look down on other people. The advice she gave was often facile, and more and more she seemed to be putting herself on a high horse (once you call her show--or go on Dr. Phil--you must be both desperate and unaware of any other means of help). I also never understood why she liked Star Trek so much (I think it was right as TNG was ending or had just ended). All the values she always pointed to in Trek seemed anathema to the values she actually had. I don't remember any episode where Picard called someone the n-word over and over because you hear it in rap music and on HBO comedy specials. Telling a black woman that her white husband's white friends calling her the n-word was her fault for being too sensitive...was bizarre advice on any planet, but I think again revealed Dr. Laura's own psychological problems.

You know, once 45 has been removed from office, I think we should do like the ancient Egyptians used...

davknight comments on Jan 26, 2019:

Unfortunately, historians 500 years from now, will be laughing at us, for having elected the Orange Dingbat in the first place!

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 26, 2019:

Historians NOW are laughing at us. This was from a year ago, but I can't imagine his ranking has *improved* since then: http://time.com/5165686/donald-trump-last-place-presidential-greatness/ "He also ranked in the bottom five among all categories of respondents including Republican, Democrats, independents, liberals, conservatives and moderates."

It’s hard to believe that in 2008 I was canvassing for Obama. What changed?

heymoe2001 comments on Jan 25, 2019:

Both sides have gone off the deep end. There is no way conservatives at the moment can be considered reasonable but the other side is equally ridiculous. There seems to be an all-or-nothing, us-against-them manner of thinking. It is dangerous and it got this country a baffoon in the whitehouse....

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 26, 2019:

@heymoe2001 I'm fairly liberal, but I would have been fine with Bob Dole as president in '96. I would have voted for McCain over Gore in 2000 if Bush hadn't pulled the dirty trick of saying McCain was for breast cancer. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/04/us/2000-campaign-ad-campaign-making-breast-cancer-political-issue-against-mccain.html I would have considered voting for McCain in 2008 if he hadn't picked Palin as running mate. I like virtually everything John Kasich said on Bill Maher a couple weeks ago. But I think Kasich has as much chance of winning the Republican nomination as I do. But if he did, I would vote for him. I don't think marijuana cures everything, but I do think it is effective in pain management, which does seem to be a huge problem in this country considering the "opioid epidemic". I do think racism is concentrated in the Republican party, which is why they continually shrug off birtherism, "good people on both sides", "get that son of a bitch off the field right now", etc. He knows exactly what he's doing--fanning the flames of latent racism to gin up his base. The tone is set from the top. Are we Democrats to blame for our reaction to it? Maybe. But maybe it is to a large extent also justified. As many have said, not all Republicans are racists, but if you are racist...you are probably not a Democrat. Is that reverse racism? I don't see it that way, as prominent leaders in racist movements all publicly support Trump. Trump even pretended he didn't know who David Duke was during the campaign, and refused to reject his support. (Soon after a video surfaced from years before where Trump clearly knew who both David Duke and the KKK were; pretending you don't know who prominent racists are in order to garner their support and those who support them--ie, racists--is a bit racist too, isn't it?)

Roger Stone has been arrested.

Sofabeast comments on Jan 25, 2019:

Who is Roger Stone?

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 25, 2019:

He's Sharon Stone's brother. (Just kidding. Please don't believe my sarcastic jokes.)

For those of you outside of the United Kingdom.

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 21, 2019:

You want us to send you Trump? He'll propose a big, beautiful wall to build down the middle of the English Channel--to keep out the Guatemalans. 30% of your population will love the idea.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 24, 2019:

@Sofabeast Because the memory of the public only goes back a couple of hours. They don't remember who was going to pay for what when.

Dunning-Kruger Effect [youtu.be]

powder comments on Jan 23, 2019:

This I can buy. Puppet of Putin, no. A bit of a Dunning-Kruger thing happening there too. But not Trump. Irony.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 24, 2019:

Good grief.

Is Netflix worth having?

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 23, 2019:

I don't understand those saying they are slow to add new content. There are literally thousands of hours of content I am interested in watching on Netflix, but don't have the time. I have a student who binged whichever season of Supernatural was released over a weekend a couple of years ago. On ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@Gwendolyn2018 Or sleeping, apparently.

How long should two people be in a relationship before the idea of marriage is brought up, assuming...

Anonbene comments on Jan 23, 2019:

If you're a guy, Never.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 23, 2019:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GPUXYYMJFY

Just bear with me.

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 23, 2019:

If the premise of the question is that if she (or we) were rich, would we really, really want to pay more taxes? I was in the top 3.5% last year. I made more money last year than anyone in my immediate or extended family has ever made in one year. And I'd be happy to pay more. But before you say ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@IamNobody So my very personal story had no affect on you, eh? Plenty of people become rich and don't think like rich a-holes. Warren Buffett? He still lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31,500. Do you really think AOC's personal values are so shallow as to become something akin to a Republican on fiscal issues? Good grief. Not everyone is consumed by the love of money--not even everyone who actually has money. (Suzy Orman: "people first, then money, then things." Words I have lived by for close to 20 years.)

Just bear with me.

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 23, 2019:

If the premise of the question is that if she (or we) were rich, would we really, really want to pay more taxes? I was in the top 3.5% last year. I made more money last year than anyone in my immediate or extended family has ever made in one year. And I'd be happy to pay more. But before you say ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@IamNobody Why would you think she would change?

Polls show anyone and everyone else beating Trump [realclearpolitics.

dahermit comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Nevertheless, all the polls had Hillary beating Trump, and look what happened.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@LimitedLight Someone went back in time to hunt a dinosaur that would have died anyway, stepped off the path and crushed a butterfly. When they returned, Trump was president. It's the only explanation.

Polls show anyone and everyone else beating Trump [realclearpolitics.

TomMcGiverin comments on Jan 23, 2019:

Biden would not do any better in a general than Hillary did, but that's probably who all the superdelegates and Dem leaders want, very establishment and pro-corporate. Bernie or Warren tho, would actually win, but I doubt the party establishment would ever allow them the chance. I've seen this ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 23, 2019:

None of them really excite me at this point for any reason except that they are not Trump. I think Bernie would have handily won in 2016, but in 2020 the board has changed. Warren reminds everyone of Clinton, except more stiff. I have no doubt Warren feels strongly about the working class and middle class, but she expresses it with academic anger that doesn't translate very well (strangely, she seemed a better communicator in that documentary "Maxed Out" from 2006 about credit cards, personal debt, etc.--that was the first time I took note of her). ... Right now I'm thinking someone young, and bright, who is an extremely effective communicator, and who can rally younger voters and some significant fraction of those who don't vote. I don't see anyone matching that description right now.

Polls show anyone and everyone else beating Trump [realclearpolitics.

maturin1919 comments on Jan 22, 2019:

I thought that was the case in 2016 as well. Never underestimate stupidity in large numbers.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@maturin1919 The numbers showed some insanity in the mix. My hope is that sanity is going to push back this time, and not simply shrug and say it's pointless. (As I heard a teacher once absently tell his class, "Don't just sit there and let the idiot determine how everything goes.")

Polls show anyone and everyone else beating Trump [realclearpolitics.

dahermit comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Nevertheless, all the polls had Hillary beating Trump, and look what happened.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 22, 2019:

If I remember correctly, they gave Trump a 30% chance of winning, and Hillary a 70% chance. That's not the kind of analysis that says she will definitely win. If he puts in 3 lottery tickets and she puts in 7 lottery tickets, picking his out at random shouldn't be completely surprising, just less likely.

Polls show anyone and everyone else beating Trump [realclearpolitics.

maturin1919 comments on Jan 22, 2019:

I thought that was the case in 2016 as well. Never underestimate stupidity in large numbers.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 22, 2019:

The polling was ambiguous over those last few days before the election. I had a student ask me if Trump was going to win the day before. I told him probably not, but maybe. Stranger things have happened, so don't be surprised. I think polling showed something like a 30% chance for Trump. That was low, but it wasn't so low that anyone should be surprised. (Let's also be a little more optimistic two years out, lol. We can do this people!)

Does the way you accept criticism tell a great deal about you?

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 21, 2019:

I don't know if it's criticism per se, but when someone tries to correct me incorrectly (in my area of expertise), it drives me up a frickin' wall. And it's not ever on an issue where there are shades of possibilities. It's just a plain fact. Someone's name. A number of something. A year of ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 21, 2019:

Example if I was unclear... Me: The Challenger Disaster was in 1986. Coworker: I think it was in '87. Me: No, it was in 1986. Coworker: Are you sure? Because I think it was in 1987. Me: No, I was in 6th grade. I remember it like it was yesterday. All of my grade school years ended in the same number. First grade ended in '81, second in '82, etc, and January of '86 was the end of that year, and I was in 6th grade, and it is a commonly known fact. Peggy Noonan wrote the Reagan speech for it. She's famous for writing that speech. It was in '86. Cowork: I'm looking it up because I'm fairly sure it was in '87 because I was in middle school. (Looks it up.) Me: No, you were right. Weird.

Does the way you accept criticism tell a great deal about you?

zeuser comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Yes, it does. To set some context, not all criticism (of anyone, not just me) is necessarily valid, and you get criticism from people with varying degrees of competence at providing it. Some people are awful at giving criticism, others are just biased, or narrow minded, or have no standing to ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 21, 2019:

I just rewatched "The Empire Strikes Back", and never fully appreciated how influenced I was by Yoda, lol. Patience. Finishing what you begin. Believing you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. That the easiest path is rarely the best path. Keeping calm and clear of mind to make the best decisions. Don't simply try, but DO. Make it happen. ... I took ALL of those things into my personality at 6 years old, and it has certainly paid off.

This is an example of the simplistic nonsense Sky Fairy addicts spread around in a sorry and ...

jlynn37 comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Any student, in any school, in 'merca can read a bible or pray anytime they want or feel like it and always had that right and always will have that right. It is against the US Constitution and the first amendment to be a school sponsored event.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

Students can pray or read the bible at appropriate times. They can't claim they can't take a test or do their homework because it's time to read the bible. My experience as a high school English teacher is generally the inverse of what I expected or others expect with regards to religion in public schools. Whenever we touch on religious symbolism, allegory, etc., the religious students seem to know the least (or indeed, get annoyed a novel may have the gall to draw on religious imagery, symbolism, etc.), while the nonreligious students don't care. Years ago I taught world lit to seniors, and there were a couple of very small bible passages in their anthology book. I seem to remember Psalm 23. The kids complained to their history teacher...THAT IT WAS TOO HARD TO READ. He told me to get a more modern translation. When I explained we were not reading it as a religious text, but as literature, I just get blank stares. Nowadays I teach "Of Mice and Men" to Honors 9th graders, and the religious students complain about the "goddamn" and "Jesus Christ" swearing, completely missing Steinbeck's emphasis on the fallen nature of man (something I thought they would recognize), and instead complaining that Steinbeck and the characters must not believe in god or they wouldn't swear so much. Good grief.

Conspiracy theorist trends.

SCal comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Chemtrails are not a conspiracy. How you lump proven science in with the rest of those nonsense topics is comical. Govt agencies around the world have admitted they have been involved in weather modification. Numerous govt agencies have public contracts witgh companies like 'Weather Modification...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

@BryanLV I have no idea why you are so defensive. I am not engaging you. I am not making any claims. I'm simply pointing out that you seem very angry about a claim that seems completely ordinary to me. The reason that I'm not scouring the internet for proof of your claim is that the two links you provided so far do not support anything extraordinary, and you yourself have not claimed anything extraordinary here. So far there doesn't seem to be anything to be extraordinarily upset about, so I don't know why you are so angry. Cloud seeding occurs. Sometimes it might work. Sometimes it might be on large scales. China claims it worked for them after a drought. Maybe it did. Maybe it didn't. Ok. So?

Conspiracy theorist trends.

SCal comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Chemtrails are not a conspiracy. How you lump proven science in with the rest of those nonsense topics is comical. Govt agencies around the world have admitted they have been involved in weather modification. Numerous govt agencies have public contracts witgh companies like 'Weather Modification...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

@BryanLV But you see, the article you link to says that no single storm can be attributed to cloud seeding. The Chinese storm you allude to was after a long drought, so the Chinese government wanted to take credit for it (and droughts always end eventually, so taking credit for it is not hard to do). I don't see anything extraordinary here, or anything worth getting so defensive about. Certain areas want more water. Cloud seeding occurs to try to accomplish more precipitation. We can't tell exactly how effective it is (according to the article you just linked to). And...? So what...?

Conspiracy theorist trends.

SCal comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Chemtrails are not a conspiracy. How you lump proven science in with the rest of those nonsense topics is comical. Govt agencies around the world have admitted they have been involved in weather modification. Numerous govt agencies have public contracts witgh companies like 'Weather Modification...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

@BryanLV I'd be happy to believe whatever it is you're claiming (given it has sufficient evidence to support it), I'm just not sure what it is yet. "Cloud seeding" is different than every claim I've ever heard about "chem trails". The first link you posted seemed to be promoting "cloud seeding", and not much else. To my skeptical mind, that's not terribly impressive. What nefarious deed is being committed by a vast government conspiracy that is also widely known by a simple google search? You see, you seem very defensive about something that on one hand you seem to claim is ordinary, and on the other may not be ordinary but is also ambiguous. Why not just tell us what it is, and what the evidence is?

Covington Catholic could expel students who taunted Native American man

TheMiddleWay comments on Jan 20, 2019:

"It's very doubtful that the school is surprised at the behavior" Perhaps not but keep in mind that until a student acts in a way that endangers the school or puts the school in a bad light (optics), there's nothing for the school to do. So for example, all of the students could have expressed ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

If it's a private school, they could be expelled for pretty much any reason.

"The Americans will always do the right thing.

JeffMesser comments on Jan 20, 2019:

well, for all Winston's genius he was also an elitist and a drunk. So I take his words with a pinch of salt.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

But the man could turn a phrase and make it seem as if he had just made it up...rather than reveal he had toiled over it for hours the night before.

"The Americans will always do the right thing.

UpsideDownAgain comments on Jan 20, 2019:

If only that were true. What I've seen is that generally people, of whatever nationality, if they try something and it doesn't work, they try the same thing harder. It seems to take an incredible amount of difficulty for humans to realize that they were wrong in the first place.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

I read somewhere that the longer you believe something on bad or no evidence at all, the stronger you believe it...even in comparison to things you believe based on more and more evidence over time. So it seems the things we are most certain about are the things for which there is little or no evidence, yet we have believed it anyway all our lives.

Donald Trump and his supporters show by their words and behavior that they lack the intelligence, ...

gater comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Trump, that stupid billionaire.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

@jlynn37 I was being ironic. He was making money off his father's money at two years old. I got the age, wrong, though. He was 3. "By age 3, Mr. Trump was earning $200,000 a year in today’s dollars from his father’s empire. He was a millionaire by age 8. " https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html

Donald Trump and his supporters show by their words and behavior that they lack the intelligence, ...

gater comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Trump, that stupid billionaire.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

@gater He might be a billionaire, but that wouldn't be too surprising since he was making 200 grand a year at two years old.

Conspiracy theorist trends.

webbew1 comments on Jan 20, 2019:

I always enjoyed listening to Coast To Coast AM with Art Bell when I worked the graveyard shift. He brought all of the loonies out of the wood work for public display. I miss that show. Wish Art Bell was still with us. RIP, Art. There will never be another like you, as George Noorey proves...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

Remember the prank caller J.C. who always pretended to be an hysterical, slightly effeminate Christian man outraged about everything? I loved how Art would allow calls by people who were clearly doing a bit, as long as the bit was entertaining. I remember once, J.C. was going on a very long rant about Jesus, how great Jesus was, etc., and ended with, "Without Jesus? Whadda ya got? Huh? Whaddaya got? Whaddaya got?" And Art, without missing a beat, deadpanned a hilariously disinterested, "Buddha." The silence on the phone line was the funniest thing I've ever heard.

Trump cites San Antonio as an example of a city where a border wall has worked.

Holysocks comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Surely there is some sort of wall there... The zoo? See? It has kept illegals out after hours!

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 20, 2019:

I know you were making a joke, but... https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/09/donald-trump-jr-compares-border-wall-zoo-instagram-post/2523385002/

What book (or series) would you like to see made into a movie?

ipdg77 comments on Nov 18, 2018:

The entire Dune series, all 500 million books worth. Yes I know we had a film and a TV mini series but I want the whole kit and caboodle. I'll especially looked forward to Dune XVII, it should get really interesting by then :-)

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 19, 2019:

I have a good feeling about the Denis Villeneuve version coming up.

Does Game of Thrones get better after episode 1? Because I keep falling asleep....

RavenCT comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Best soap opera - fantasy ever.... but if it bores you? I mean it shouldn't be a hard sell? There's already incest and intrigue - what other shows have that? Attempted murder... And rumor of the undead.... And swords. I had a roommate in college who wouldn't try Star Wars. She thought ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 19, 2019:

@Paul4747 If you think that is a description of "soap opera", do you think any given Shakespeare play is a soap opera? The reason everyone in Game of Thrones is duplicitous and underhanded is because, well, they are playing A Game of Thrones (or they are caught in the game others are playing). Setting all that aside, another reason Game of Thrones works is because the magical elements are all latent--so much so, that most people in the story don't remember anything magical of much significance ever happening. The stories have become legends and myths. Slowly, that changes over time. And it is very effective dramatically. Anyway, I suggest you watch the first season before tossing the show. It really is among the best television of the last 20 years (although as I said before, it is not without its flaws--but as someone who has both read the books and watched the series, your criticisms are either not founded or--in the case of criticizing the nature of the show itself--not fair).

Does Game of Thrones get better after episode 1? Because I keep falling asleep....

RavenCT comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Best soap opera - fantasy ever.... but if it bores you? I mean it shouldn't be a hard sell? There's already incest and intrigue - what other shows have that? Attempted murder... And rumor of the undead.... And swords. I had a roommate in college who wouldn't try Star Wars. She thought ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 19, 2019:

@Paul4747 A "soap opera" has negative connotations and implies the story is facile and goes on forever. This story has a beginning, middle, and end, and the seeds of the ending are planted from the beginning (it never makes a promise at any point to go on forever, and nothing of consequence is placed in the story just to fill time). No character is safe from death, every major action has consequences for the story as a whole, and the drama for the most part is genuine in a world that is dangerous, wondrous, deadly, and unsympathetic. It has won 47 Emmy Awards, among literally hundreds of others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Game_of_Thrones#References The show is not without its quirks and flaws, but the two criticisms you pointed out are simply not among them. (If you do not believe me, finish season one and see if you still feel the same way.)

M. Night Shyamalan- Love him? or What in the bloody hell was that?

Novelty comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Half suck hard, half are really good. I think I liked "Lady in the Water" best, for all the same reasons critics hated it. I think the one where pollen was making everyone kill themselves sucked so bad I can't remember the title.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 19, 2019:

The Happening?

Does Game of Thrones get better after episode 1? Because I keep falling asleep....

RavenCT comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Best soap opera - fantasy ever.... but if it bores you? I mean it shouldn't be a hard sell? There's already incest and intrigue - what other shows have that? Attempted murder... And rumor of the undead.... And swords. I had a roommate in college who wouldn't try Star Wars. She thought ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 19, 2019:

@Paul4747 Game of Thrones is many things, but The Walton's in Middle Earth is not one of them (rated R or not).

Does Game of Thrones get better after episode 1? Because I keep falling asleep....

RavenCT comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Best soap opera - fantasy ever.... but if it bores you? I mean it shouldn't be a hard sell? There's already incest and intrigue - what other shows have that? Attempted murder... And rumor of the undead.... And swords. I had a roommate in college who wouldn't try Star Wars. She thought ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 19, 2019:

It occurred to me over the last few seasons of GoT that I occasionally have the same sense of fun and emotional attachment to the story as I did with the original Star Wars trilogy as a child. I'm really looking forward to a few of those "feels" in the final season. (Season 7 was ok, but I kinda felt they pulled some triggers on things many of us had long suspected. But by this point, the number of possibilities have narrowed...so probably not too many big surprises.)

.

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 18, 2019:

I would read your post, but I have to polish my Polish furniture while deserting my dessert in the desert.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 18, 2019:

@actofdog I took a linguistics class in college. I can remember thinking that television/movies must have some kind of affect on regional dialects, but when I stayed after class one day to ask the professor, she told me that generally they have no effect. How we speak and how we understand what we hear spoken are apparently not directly connected. I guess that makes sense as we Yanks have been sending our crap over movies and tv for decades, lol. We still think the English sound smart, Australians sound cool, and US southerners sound dumb.

.

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 18, 2019:

I would read your post, but I have to polish my Polish furniture while deserting my dessert in the desert.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 18, 2019:

@actofdog We're humans, and we're creative with our communication. The language drift is inevitable. In 1000 years, "English" will probably be a dozen different languages, or morph into something else entirely (if it's some form of texting, let me die now). I seem to remember reading somewhere that Ben Franklin wanted to make all English spelling phonetic. But the idea went no where as everyone who was already literate were not inclined to change how they spelled things, all the existent literature was in the weird spellings, etc. I tend to just ignore the spellcheck/grammar check stuff anyway. Occasionally I'll use an idiosyncratic word that the computer tells me is wrong, or an uncommon form of a word that is perfectly acceptable...except for the fact that no one put it in the spellchecker. I'm better, smarter, faster, stronger than the spellchecker!

.

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 18, 2019:

I would read your post, but I have to polish my Polish furniture while deserting my dessert in the desert.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 18, 2019:

@actofdog I lied. I read it. Well, 80% of it. lol But I'm a language nerd.

On the subject of atheism, I found this of interest.

greyeyed123 comments on Jan 18, 2019:

I always thought this was one of the funniest things on the Internet. The length, stupidity, and psychological make up of those who would compile such a long, stupid page is infinitely interesting and funny to me. https://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_obesity

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 18, 2019:

@thinktwice Even the pictures are hilarious. Scrolling down awkward pictures of overweight atheists, you get to the picture of a svelte Chuck Norris beaming a smile, lol. Then scroll through more pictures of overweight atheists, then a skinny Christian fitness instructor with her children, lol. Am I really supposed to believe I can't go anywhere in Mississippi, Alabama, or Texas, throw a rock into a crowd, and hit an obese Christian? The entire page is supposed to make me think that Christianity is some kind of diet magic, whereas atheism makes you fat and lazy and sick. Clearly the entire thrust of the page makes me think it was written by overweight Christians for overweight Christians to make them fear atheism because it will make them even more overweight, lol. It's so transparently bizarre. I wonder why there are no pictures of the Huckabees?

And - in other news.

twshield comments on Jan 8, 2019:

I will put myself in Time Out.....which consist of me sitting the corner of my room, rocking back and forth as i recite over and over " Next time, choose the Red Pill! "

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 8, 2019:

It still feels like an alternative universe to me. Remember that Ray Bradbury story where those dudes when back in time to kill dinosaurs, stepped on a butterfly, and switched the president to an evil dick?

Trump can't declare a national emergency to build a wall

jerry99 comments on Jan 7, 2019:

I thought Napolitano was one of the more rabid right-wingers on Fox. Did something change?

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 7, 2019:

@david75090 My comment was unclear. I wasn't talking about negative comments from Shep, Wallace, etc.. Kennedy said a couple of weeks ago that "Mueller might have something", and Napolitano has been invited on many of the more rabid shows to explain which way the legal winds are blowing...while everyone else on the show questions everything he says as a legal expert. There have been other random comments on shows that are normally wall-to-wall Trumpism and white rage.

Trump can't declare a national emergency to build a wall

jerry99 comments on Jan 7, 2019:

I thought Napolitano was one of the more rabid right-wingers on Fox. Did something change?

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 7, 2019:

@david75090 There have been a few random negative comments about Trump, and a few random positive/luke warm comments about Mueller in the last few weeks. I think Fox is trying to hedge its bets. If Trump goes down, they will be back pedaling like crazy, and you can bet all these negative comments about Trump will be trotted out as PROOF Fox was completely evenhanded...and predicted Trump would go down.

Why is Christianity called a monotheistic religion, when in church every one chants they believe in ...

motrubl4u comments on Jan 6, 2019:

Their God has multiple personality schizophrenia?

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 6, 2019:

That would explain Jesus talking to himself.

Why is Christianity called a monotheistic religion, when in church every one chants they believe in ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 6, 2019:

Don't expect logic or reason, the whole point is to make it difficult, so that those in control of the religion have a baffle screen to hide behind when they want to, and so that they can claim to be special because they claim to understand it, which helps to keep the sheep in the pen.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 6, 2019:

It's baffling to me when people who seem to lack all critical thinking skills will tell others that god's ways are beyond human understanding...as if they know things beyond human understanding and then can tell everyone else that is why we humans don't understand it. It's not just an argument from ignorance, but a kind of argument from no-thinking-skills. It's like saying, "The answer is that we don't know the answer, and that's the answer to why we don't know the answer, because we can't answer what we can't answer, so that's the answer. Make sense?" No.

Why is Christianity called a monotheistic religion, when in church every one chants they believe in ...

Beowulfsfriend comments on Jan 6, 2019:

Yeah. One of the reasons that helped the rise of Islam after the cat church threw out a number of eastern xtion sects. Great dialogue in Things Fall Apart when an African village elder compared Christianity with their religion and their little gods being like saints and angels.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 6, 2019:

Is it weird that when I read "cat church" I envisioned something quite odd?

Why is Christianity called a monotheistic religion, when in church every one chants they believe in ...

Pedrohbds comments on Jan 6, 2019:

Trinity explanation. Difficult concept but with some omnipotence makes sense. The son is the power, he is the verb (YHWH power acts uding words and commands, he never do, he says and things happen) , he creates the world (genesis is YHWH giving orders to the world be created) and is the engine. ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 6, 2019:

@John_Tyrrell Now I understand. Or is it "understand"?

Nearly 3 Million People Expected to Go Vegan In 2019, Survey Finds

twshield comments on Jan 6, 2019:

i wouldnt do that because its way too restrictive and i have yet to read proven facts to suggest there is a benefit to health. I have only read opinions and no scientific facts.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 6, 2019:

@SkotlandSkye My great grandfather ate whatever he wanted for 93 years. (No, I'm not going to say, "He then became a vegan and died", but wouldn't that be a cool argument?) But I will say he was a bit of an ass toward animals generally. And he always wanted everyone to eat peanut butter and eggs for some reason. Maybe that's how he stayed so strong well into his 80s.

Why is Christianity called a monotheistic religion, when in church every one chants they believe in ...

Pedrohbds comments on Jan 6, 2019:

Trinity explanation. Difficult concept but with some omnipotence makes sense. The son is the power, he is the verb (YHWH power acts uding words and commands, he never do, he says and things happen) , he creates the world (genesis is YHWH giving orders to the world be created) and is the engine. ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 6, 2019:

@Pedrohbds My critique was not on the claim of understanding. I understand how it is described as well. The problem is that it doesn't make sense. It doesn't scan to anything in reality. It's the same kind of "understanding" we have when a schizophrenic relative says we cannot watch tv because the aliens gave the FBI mind-ray photons to put in everyone's tv to steal their brainwaves and sell them to Disneyland. I can repeat this, and claim I understand why we can't watch tv, and repeat what the schizophrenic relative has said...but to call that "understanding" is (to my mind) to eviscerate language, truth, and reality while pretending we haven't. (BTW, the one piece of advice professionals give family members when dealing with someone with delusions/hallucinations is to NEVER agree with them that what they are seeing is real. That only makes it worse. I think using "understanding" in this way is only one step removed from explaining to others our understanding of why we can't watch tv.)

Why is Christianity called a monotheistic religion, when in church every one chants they believe in ...

Pedrohbds comments on Jan 6, 2019:

Trinity explanation. Difficult concept but with some omnipotence makes sense. The son is the power, he is the verb (YHWH power acts uding words and commands, he never do, he says and things happen) , he creates the world (genesis is YHWH giving orders to the world be created) and is the engine. ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 6, 2019:

Sure, but I think we have to warp the term "understanding" in order to make this work. You can play this game with any bit of metaphorical, poetic, imaginative concept you want. But it has no relationship with truth or reality. One is not three and three is not one. It SOUNDS interesting when we use paradoxical metaphors such as, "Then two became one" when describing love. But we are talking about two people becoming one couple bound by their love of each other. And as others have pointed out, humans are always going to see three as a magical number, since mother-father-child is the origin of all of us. The fact that religions steal natural, inborn relationships (father, mother, sister, brother, son, daughter) is no different than stealing the three and repurposing it.

So seriously, I think this is the root of our problems.

marmot84 comments on Dec 28, 2018:

So yeah, I think we see a crises coming ... maybe the immigration crises from hell. I mean the folks down south are going to want the stability that we in the Northern Hemisphere have. I hate the whole "wall" crap since is it is simplistic to the extreme but the truth is that immigration is coming...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 5, 2019:

@marmot84 If they really wanted to curb illegal immigration, they would have onerous fines on any employer who hired them without e-verify, etc., but no one will do that because they want the cheap labor AND the political fear mongering to distract from serious issues.

Deadline White House on Twitter: ""I don’t mean to be an alarmist but.

PBuck0145 comments on Jan 5, 2019:

Not everything Putin says or does is evil. Not everything DJT says or does is evil. We need to be more open-minded and judge individual statements and actions on their own merits.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 5, 2019:

@PBuck0145 But it is relevant to this thread, no?

Deadline White House on Twitter: ""I don’t mean to be an alarmist but.

PBuck0145 comments on Jan 5, 2019:

Not everything Putin says or does is evil. Not everything DJT says or does is evil. We need to be more open-minded and judge individual statements and actions on their own merits.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 5, 2019:

Indeed. But many things they say are wrong, and when Trump is repeating things only Russia is saying (such as Russia having invaded Afghanistan due to terrorism)...when no one anywhere else at any other time has ever said such a thing, it is ODD, wouldn't you agree? It seems Trump is relying on the general ignorance of the populace to think, "Afghanistan? Terrorism? Russia stopping terrorism? Sounds right. Who would be against Russia stopping terrorism? Must be liberals." Except it is completely false and idiotic and ahistorical.

Are we really rational?

DenoPenno comments on Jan 5, 2019:

As I examine this I see the first example as wrong. Let's just say the answer is correct but it was misleading to have Chris in that picture at all because we cannot assume anything about Chris and he was simply put into the example as a distraction.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 5, 2019:

I think the problem is that we have to think about two contradictory relationships at the same time. When I made the same mistake, I only thought of one relationship and two possibilities stemming from it, instead of the situation as a whole. Also, the pace of the video gives you no time to think about it, which implies to the viewer that you don't need time to think about it, which sets you up to make the mistake.

I am not a cruel person.

Summer72 comments on Jan 5, 2019:

I can't wait to see what's in Trump's taxes!!!! I used to have Soo much faith in our checks and balances but I'm starting to get jaded. I fear nothing will happen.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 5, 2019:

@Bigwavedave They already discovered this several times over.

Who Will Be Left?

TheDoubter comments on Jan 4, 2019:

i share your sentiments. i think there is a little cracking in the GOP now,

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 4, 2019:

I think they are suspecting there may not only be a smoking gun in the Mueller investigation, but a few gaping nuclear craters. They have to be ready to shift gears as smoothly as possible.

Who Will Be Left?

silverotter11 comments on Jan 4, 2019:

The gop will desert him - they must if they have any hope of resurrecting their image. They are going to have to clean house, all those people who ran on hating Obama/immigrants will have to go. There is the problem of who is really running the show - corporate money and the wealthy. They know ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 4, 2019:

@silverotter11 "At least 3 million illegal Martians voted in 2016! Area 51 has the proof! I sent some guys down there, and you wouldn't believe what they are uncovering. You wouldn't BELIEVE it!"

I write as an English observer across the pond.

ToakReon comments on Jan 4, 2019:

Absolutely not. Being an atheist means you don't believe in the existence of any supernatural god (I shall avoid putting an extra word in there, it causes needless debate). Not believing in any god does not NECESSARILY mean you oppose Trump - but, to be honest, if you're rational of thought ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 4, 2019:

@Paul4747 And now Dirty Harry's an 85 year old drug mule, lol. Times have changed.

The Psychology Of Materialism, And Why It's Making You Unhappy | HuffPost Life

linxminx comments on Jan 4, 2019:

Great article, and I so agree with its message! Materialism seems to be fueled by competitive and insecure natures and personalities. So, I have to ask, why are we Americans so competitive and insecure?

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 4, 2019:

I'm sure someone smarter than I am could figure it out better, but I know history has a major psychological effect on a culture and a people. The Great Depression caused one of my grandmothers to save everything "for good", so when she passed, all of her "good" stuff was stored in closets (not that she had much anyway, but it was sad she never used her best things). My other grandmother also lived through the Great Depression, never had much, but always valued rich people, the appearances of wealth, etc. And on a less personal scale, the Civil War and slavery still have consequences on our entire society--political, social, psychological, economic. Maybe we are still competitive and insecure from our founding? The signers of the Declaration of Independence were not just signing it to ratify it in some cold, legal way. They were quite literally committing treason against England, signing their name to it, and mutually pledging to each other their "lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." If it didn't work, they would all hang for treason. It's hard to imagine an act of more competition or more insecurity. The fact that it worked, and we indeed became our own country under those circumstances, would seem to reinforce the competition and insecurity in a vicious/virtuous cycle (depending on how you look at it).

I write as an English observer across the pond.

Varn comments on Jan 4, 2019:

Republicans represent aggression. In order to promote capitalism over ‘godless communists’ during the cold war, a mantel of ‘christianity’ proved you weren’t “A Red” (or communist pinko)... Religion was further injected into our schools, public buildings & meetings, our money, even ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 4, 2019:

I see things the way you do, but I know plenty of people who supported both Bernie and Trump and saw no contradiction there whatsoever. People listen for things that they like in a candidate's message, and they listen to see if they have a caring message. Does it seem like they actually care about people like me? Both Bernie and Trump pulled that off for many people. My hope is the Democrats learn that lesson.

I write as an English observer across the pond.

ToakReon comments on Jan 4, 2019:

Absolutely not. Being an atheist means you don't believe in the existence of any supernatural god (I shall avoid putting an extra word in there, it causes needless debate). Not believing in any god does not NECESSARILY mean you oppose Trump - but, to be honest, if you're rational of thought ...

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 4, 2019:

I'm not sure if it is all gullibility. Many Trump supporters know many of the things he says are lies, but they are lies about things that either A) they don't personally care about, or B) they know liberals DO care about them and lying about it drives us crazy, which they amuses them to no end. My perception, and it could be wrong, is that they see Trump as a strong man who breaks rules to defend them (against Mexicans, liberals, blacks, terrorists, whatever). I think that's completely idiotic, but most of these people aren't thinking about issues in any complex way.

Truth..........

MrBeelzeebubbles comments on Jan 4, 2019:

You judge a society on how it treats those at the bottom, not the top.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 4, 2019:

@OwlInASack To big to fail...or be arrested...or release tax returns...or be impeached...or held accountable...or...

The Loony Tunes Deal With Science, But Not As We Know It! The United States is supposed to be one...

creative51 comments on Jan 3, 2019:

That we are one of the most educated nations in the world, is a statement which I feel is open to a very lively debate in regard to its accuracy.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 3, 2019:

@Gwendolyn2018 It is whom you know. I got hired at my first school simply because they were absolutely desperate (and so was I) and it was already August. My impeccable credentials lacked only full time experience. (They didn't know me at all, but hired me. I must have interviewed at a dozen schools that summer...and was getting a little bit terrified I had put all my chips on "teaching", and it seemed life was telling me it might not matter.) I got hired at the second school because that is where I did my student teaching 9-10 years previously, and everyone still loved me, lol. Luckily those were baby boomers who were still there, otherwise I might have been out of luck (all the administrators were not there 10 years ago, and they were doing the hiring; it also seemed they wanted a couple of bullet points to sell me to the district office, so I'm not sure how much power they had either). I didn't bother applying anywhere else as I figured by then it was "whom you know" and nothing to do with my impeccable credentials. There was a huge amount of "good ol' boy" stuff going on at my first school as well. I'm a white dude, but nerdy, skinny, and well educated. Everyone in charge were former PE teachers, health teachers, and shop teachers that knew very little about anything academic. All I know from all of these experiences is that, turning 45 in a few days, I just don't have enough energy to pretend to be dumb anymore. I'm doing my best at everything, and if it happens to be far better than the person next door can do...too bad. As I tell my students, "Life's hard sometimes."

The Loony Tunes Deal With Science, But Not As We Know It! The United States is supposed to be one...

creative51 comments on Jan 3, 2019:

That we are one of the most educated nations in the world, is a statement which I feel is open to a very lively debate in regard to its accuracy.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 3, 2019:

@Gwendolyn2018 What annoys me is that I always wanted to teach honors classes, was promised I would be in a year or two in my first school...then after 8 years got one period, and the year after that I was scheduled zero. Unfortunately my mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and I had to switch schools to live closer to home anyway. After 7 years at my current school, I now have 3 honors classes (I had 3 last year as well). And last year they hired a guy with one year teaching experience in 5th grade, a journalism degree, and no teacher certification. He's apparently got an emergency certificate and is working on the actual one. They flew him to Florida for IB training over the summer (I couldn't go due to my mother's health, although the principal did want me to go), so now he has one year high school teaching experience, and is teaching honors 9 and IB 12. My sense is that he is getting preferential treatment because he is into sports and sports broadcasting (I was passed over at my second school for the first opening because the one person I was up against had 10 years experience at 6 or 7 different schools, but wanted to coach wrestling; I had 8 years experience at the same school and no interest in coaching; he quit in one year and I'm still here 7 years later). Anyway, this current teacher with the journalism degree is pressuring me to make my honors 9 class easier, and telling me the IB 12 class is structured to be easier than what my curriculum is for honors 9. If that were the case, I would think most of my students would be failing, when in fact only 0-4 have ever failed in any of them. He also suggested we teach fewer literary terms...because he doesn't know them all. I know they are desperate for teachers, but not one person who was actually qualified and certified was available in the entire state? Really? I'm not sure I believe it.

The Loony Tunes Deal With Science, But Not As We Know It! The United States is supposed to be one...

creative51 comments on Jan 3, 2019:

That we are one of the most educated nations in the world, is a statement which I feel is open to a very lively debate in regard to its accuracy.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 3, 2019:

@Gwendolyn2018 I use google docs because I can monitor their progress in real time, until each of them has 3-5 pages, and then I just don't have enough time. But I do edit the first couple of paragraphs, and then instruct them to continue on their own. Google docs does not have auto correct, etc., so they have to do everything themselves. When I told them they have to learn how to do this for college, their next high school classes, and their state test next year, they told me the state test will automatically correct for spelling, grammar, etc. I told them it most certainly will not. They said it did in 7th grade (or 6th grade, or whenever the last test was). I told them they are not taking the same test they took back then ("for cryin' out loud!" I wanted to scream). And since virtually all of them were under this impression they wouldn't have to spell anything correctly on their high school state writing exam, I double checked. And, of course, it does not auto correct for anything. They have to do it themselves, obviously. (And in regard to knowing the real world and the consequences of failing, I found out after college that there were very few jobs for highly educated people in my home town--when moving wasn't an option for me at the time. I was told over and over again that I was overqualified, so ended up working at a grocery store for 3 years because they didn't care that I was overqualified. THAT felt like a failure. As a consequence, I got straight A's in all my post grad classes, while prioritizing learning above the grades.)

The Loony Tunes Deal With Science, But Not As We Know It! The United States is supposed to be one...

creative51 comments on Jan 3, 2019:

That we are one of the most educated nations in the world, is a statement which I feel is open to a very lively debate in regard to its accuracy.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 3, 2019:

@Gwendolyn2018 I got my undergrad in English lit. in the '90s. I'd say it was a mixed bag of who wanted to learn vs. who wanted to get through it. I almost always wanted to learn, and my only concern for grades was to get an A or a B--I generally didn't care which. There were classes where I worked my ass off and got a B-, and classes where I learned much but didn't have to work as hard, and got an A. I also took a 4 year "great books" course with my undergraduate degree (50+ started as freshmen, and only 5 of us finished as seniors). After struggling in dead end jobs for a few years after college, I went back, took my teacher certification classes, and some grad classes in English lit. just in case I didn't get a job right away (I figured I'd just take a year to do a MA in English lit if needed). But I did get a job, and was told by several teachers that my education was better than those with an MA so not to bother finishing, as I'd only get a few hundred more a year anyway. Now I struggle to figure out how to get students to think when all they want me to do is tell them step by step what to do next. I fear they not only depend on their phones and computers to correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc., but more and more they depend on them to know basic facts, and the trend (in my mind) is that they will soon want tech to do their own critical thinking for them as well...because it's too hard.

The Loony Tunes Deal With Science, But Not As We Know It! The United States is supposed to be one...

creative51 comments on Jan 3, 2019:

That we are one of the most educated nations in the world, is a statement which I feel is open to a very lively debate in regard to its accuracy.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 3, 2019:

@Gwendolyn2018 I'm working on finishing up some essays my kids were supposed to be finished with a week before Winter Break. I told them if they didn't finish, or if it was too sloppy to grade, they would have a zero in the grade book until it was finished and/or cleaned up. I told them to start checking their essays in googledocs Dec. 26th. It's now Jan. 3rd and only 5 (out of 80 in 3 classes) bothered to check at all, and they were astonished they had a zero (even though I told that that's what I would do a million times). I generally use the zero in the grade book to motivate them to push themselves...or their parents see the zero and push them for me. Again, even in the honors classes, the parents and students value grades...but not the learning attached to them. I will do a massive amount of editing in google docs, and instead of reading the edits, mostly they just hit the check marks on the "suggestion" so my edits replace the mistakes. I'm not sure what the answer is to get them to read/edit their own writing. When 70% of the time they capitalize names, etc., and the other 30% of the time they don't...I know they are A) being lazy, and B) not reading what they are writing at all. I told them that makes me frown, and their grade go down. The should want me smiling when I'm grading their essays.

The Loony Tunes Deal With Science, But Not As We Know It! The United States is supposed to be one...

creative51 comments on Jan 3, 2019:

That we are one of the most educated nations in the world, is a statement which I feel is open to a very lively debate in regard to its accuracy.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 3, 2019:

@Gwendolyn2018 There is a sense in many of the students that they could EASILY do what is at the very least very challenging...if they wanted to. And this, they think, makes them equal to those who actually did accomplish that very challenging thing. They are ASTONISHED when it doesn't--that those who actually worked hard and studied hard are moving ahead, while they are standing still.

Tucker Carlson Blames Higher-Earning Women For 'Men In Decline' | HuffPost

wordywalt comments on Jan 3, 2019:

I cannot believe Carlson. He is an educated, but demagogic buffoon.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 3, 2019:

He seems desperate to keep his show, so turns the snark up to 11. I understand when conservatives say some liberal commentators act "smug", but however you would characterize Tucker's sarcasm, it's much worse than any on MSNBC. It's the tonal equivalent to a straw man argument (or the mind games of an abusive husband).

The Loony Tunes Deal With Science, But Not As We Know It! The United States is supposed to be one...

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Jan 3, 2019:

As an educator on a collegiate level, I have had some students who must have read some of these works. I had one who used Noah's Ark as proof that global warming did not take place--even after I told him that he could not use The Bible as a source or argue based on religious beliefs.

greyeyed123 replies on Jan 3, 2019:

@Gwendolyn2018 We discuss religious symbolism in literature, but I've found that most of the "religious" students don't know much about their own religion anyway. We read "Of Mice and Men" in Honors 9, but most students seem to completely miss the point on most of the symbolism and allegory. They tend to have a fuzzy, god-loves-everyone view of Christianity, so Steinbeck's subtext of original sin seems to go right over their head. They think the only reason the characters swear (Goddamn, Jesus Christ, etc) is because they are not religious, because Christians don't sin like that, lol (some religious students seem upset we are reading it at all). When I point out the Garden of Eden allegory, they think it's a coincidence...as is naming George "Milton" (after John Milton of "Paradise Lost")...as is the repeated references to a "manger" at the end...as is the references to snakes...etc. Last year I tried to make a parallel to a movie with a pregnant woman who would give birth to the savior of humanity in a war against killer robots--"The Terminator"--and that it wasn't a coincidence that his name of John Connor, initials JC, (John being biblical also), or that his mother's name was Sarah, same as the wife of Abraham, etc, etc. (We only discuss this in a list of other motifs from the novel, and when they write their papers on 3-4 motifs, they can choose to write on the Christian symbolism as one of them if they want. I thought I was being generous to the religious students...since the symbolism is actually in the book, and they can make a good case for it. But most of the time they avoid it.)