well, i wake again to the feeling of ther is nothing that guides you but yurself.

wordywalt comments on Dec 2, 2018:

Only you can determine why you are here. Find purpose by resolving to doing something of value, and actually doing it. Act with purpose and persistence,

Active shooter drill at my grandkids school.

wordywalt comments on Nov 29, 2018:

It is a shame that we even have to have active shooter drills simply because the NRA promotes an irresponsible arming of people in public places.

Arizona Man Accidentally Shoots Himself in Groin in Walmart

wordywalt comments on Nov 29, 2018:

He deseerved it by carrying a gun on his person.

Both the collusion and obstruction cases get stronger - The Washington Post

wordywalt comments on Nov 29, 2018:

The walls (and Mueller) are closing in on the idiot Trump. Expect him to become even more irrational and stupid than he is normally. I predict that he will be out of office before summer.

Conclusions and not beliefs.

wordywalt comments on Nov 29, 2018:

I am an atheist, but I disagree. Atheism is a conclusion without absolute proof. Ergo,. it is also a belief.

Why Dont We Ever Call White Extremists Terrorists? [news.vice.com]

wordywalt comments on Nov 29, 2018:

A lot of us do call white extremists terrorists. Unfortunately, few Republicans do. The Republican party has become the party of ethno-centrists and the greedy.

Vocabulary Quiz

wordywalt comments on Nov 28, 2018:

At age 81, I got 34 of 35.

What would you do? Christmas Day and a family in distress.

wordywalt comments on Nov 28, 2018:

Angel has caused his own problems and those of his family. There appears to be little one can do for him, given his current attitudes.

Linguist George Lakoff on what Democrats don’t understand — and Republicans do — about how ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 28, 2018:

Well stated and valid message. We Democrats have to point out why our message is in the interest of ALL people, and why most Republican message s are simply con jobs which try to take advantage of the people.

I wrote this a long time ago in a dark time.

wordywalt comments on Nov 28, 2018:

I am glad that you made it back from that dark place. I've been there,too -- and it hurts so deeply.

So after last nights interesting discussion whats everyones opinion on this ?

wordywalt comments on Nov 28, 2018:

I do not understand trans=sexuality , but will not demean it. I simply do understand the desire to be something that we cannot biologically ever be. I am what I am biologically.

Yes I'm spiritual .

wordywalt comments on Nov 28, 2018:

If by spirit you mean attitudes, beliefs, values, developed cognitive structures, or developed patterns of meaning, then say so. There is no need to use a term which carries religious connotations.

... but at the same time, there are people that don't want to be educated.

wordywalt comments on Nov 28, 2018:

I will correct you by giving you the truth or facts, if your words are incorrect. But, if you choose to ignore the facts, I will also make it clear that you choosing to be ignorant.

Majority Leader (this is a leader?

wordywalt comments on Nov 28, 2018:

He is a leader, but not of the Senate or of the American people. He is a leader in today's morally and financially clrrupt Republican party.Get Repubplicans out of office, and we get rid of this charlatan.

So, what are people's feelings about Manafort meeting with Assange?

wordywalt comments on Nov 27, 2018:

It is a definite link in teh chain of crime.

I have to agree with this:

wordywalt comments on Nov 27, 2018:

Absolute truth.

Just Imagine The Right's Reaction if Obama Had Disrespected The Military Like Fuhrer Trump Has?

wordywalt comments on Nov 26, 2018:

Trump has no respect for anything except wealth and his massive ego.

In the absence of any empirical rules that apply to everyone, each person is free to form her or his...

wordywalt comments on Nov 26, 2018:

I find you moral relativism abhorrent. There can be no civil and democratic society with a base of treating all others with full dignity and respect.

So my “major internet outage” turned out to be just me.

wordywalt comments on Nov 26, 2018:

Good for you!

Former Trump Campaign Manager Admits There Was, in Fact, a 'Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy' to Undermine...

wordywalt comments on Nov 26, 2018:

That is not news. It has been true for over 20 years.

U.S. Healthcare Ranked Worst In The Developed World - The Intellectualist

wordywalt comments on Nov 25, 2018:

That is not a surprise. The USA is the only industrialized country that does not consider adequate health care to be a basic rand universal right. We simply have too many people who are easily terrorized by the word "socialized" without even attempting to understand facts and principles.

Why do you think there are more men than women that are agnostic/atheist?

wordywalt comments on Nov 25, 2018:

Probably.

I am a veg gardener

wordywalt comments on Nov 25, 2018:

Welcome. I have also been a vegetable gardener for over 40 years, in 3 states -- Florida, Illinois, and Kansas.

There seem to be more and more tinfoil hat wearing people on this site lately.

wordywalt comments on Nov 25, 2018:

Huh?

U.S. soybean exports to China dropped 98% in 2018

wordywalt comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Yeah, and too damned many farmers think Trump is on their side.

The fastest cure for fundamentalism is a thorough reading of the Bible.

wordywalt comments on Nov 24, 2018:

That is true only if one's reading is heavily influenced by scientific knowledge, critical analysis, and application of reason.

10 Greatest American Philosophers [youtu.be]

wordywalt comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Pretty good choices./ I would also consider Reinhold Niebuhr.

Schroedinger's Cat walked into a bar

wordywalt comments on Nov 24, 2018:

The correct spelling is Heisenberg. A good play on the uncertainty principle.

I'm a bit more left than right, but this is hilarious.

wordywalt comments on Nov 24, 2018:

As a lifelong Democrat, I feel that it is time for Hillary to bow out of the scene gracefully, rather than making a nuisance and a fool of herself. She had two shots at the presidency and screwed up both times.

Is it against site rules to have two accounts?

wordywalt comments on Nov 24, 2018:

One person having 2 or more accounts on the same site provides more than ample reason to be suspicious. Should not be permitted.

Mar-o-Lago is a problem.

wordywalt comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Mar-a-Lago is not the problem. The self-indulgent sociopath Trump is.

What is the value of life, the value of morality, the value of science, the value of responsibility,...

wordywalt comments on Nov 23, 2018:

Life, in and of itself, has no value. It simply is. Morality, science, responsibility, helping others, and justice all add value to life through the impact of our thoughts and actions -- as does well grounded critical thinking and decision-making (judgment). The only value that attaches to your life comes from the impacts of your thoughts and actions.

After estrangement, Thanksgiving dinner with family

wordywalt comments on Nov 23, 2018:

You are a good, gracious, and forgiving person. We need more people like you.

How does a writer point to white male dominance?

wordywalt comments on Nov 23, 2018:

Easy. Point directly to the behavior and words of specific men and social groups.

The Kalam Cosmological Argument Debunked.

wordywalt comments on Nov 23, 2018:

Why must here be a beginning? I believe that the ig bang was simply the beginning of an expansion phase of the universe, in an endless cycle of expansion and contraction.

Sadly true.

wordywalt comments on Nov 22, 2018:

I find such sour cynicism distasteful. We do need to treat others with dignity, respect and empathy. We can do that without being stupidly gullible.

Its another late night office session.

wordywalt comments on Nov 22, 2018:

I was a fast reader -- up to 70 pages per hour. But, over the years I developed macular degeneration, which produces both blind spots in the center of the field of vision and spacial distortion. Over the years, it decreased both the rate of my reading and my concentration. It got progressively worse, until I virtually gave up serious reading over a decade ago.

Well, my brother is at my house, not really for the holiday, just happens to be here, but I still ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 22, 2018:

If he were my brother, I would say to him: "You are my brother, and I owe it to you to be honest to you. You are a guest in my home. As a guest, you have the obligation to treat all others here with civility abd respect. If you can't do that, get the hell out -- now. You will always be welcome if you can observe my guidelines in my home, but if you cannot, you are not welcome. .

Crops are rotting in fields as Trump's trade war bites US farmers

wordywalt comments on Nov 21, 2018:

Some of these fools will eventually wise up, But,m will it be before they go bankrupt?

Trump reportedly 'afraid' to visit troops in combat zone | MSNBC

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

I believe it. The man's absurd emotional makeup makes me want to retch!

Florida: Rocket Launcher, Pipe Bombs, Firearms Seized in Raids on White Supremacist Gangs

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

Throw all of their sorry asses in jail for years!

Ex-Judge Who Spent 9 Months In Prison For Beating Wife Is Arrested After She's Killed : NPR

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

How do such violent men ever get into judgeships?

A Press Corp that takes it's job seriously... too bad for Trump's stooge... [youtu.be]

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

Damned good!! Our press corps needs to emulate Dutch journalists.

"Unacceptable and horrible crime" says Trump.

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

Trump has no regard for either truth or morality. To him, only profit matters and he will sell his soul it makes a profit for him.

Have you noticed this common logical fallacy?

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

It is an intentional tactic often used to try to reduce guilt.

How can we change peoples actions and allegiances?

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

We don't change other people's beliefs and allegiances. What we can do is to treat them with dignity and introduce them to accepting groups with different beliefs, attitudes and sources of information and make them feel comfortable in dealing with doubts. When we are able to chang them to change.

An interesting essay on the relationship between science and religion.

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

There is no real relationship between science and religion. They are mutually exclusive. Only those people who want to accept scientific principles and processes, but cannot wean themselves off emotion dependency on religion attempt a relationship between science . and religion

When did racism become an acceptable plank in a political platform?

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

As a native southerner, I can say with certainty that racism has always been acceptable in the Amer can south. Ir became acceptable in the broader American political system when the American south reacted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and white southerns flocked in droves to the Republican Party. Unfortunately, the Republican Party bought into that poison and sold its soul to southern bigotry in a lust for partisan power. It is just becoming more and more evident.

Men and women who served in the military - what’s the biggest misconception of war?

wordywalt comments on Nov 20, 2018:

People simply do not understand how true Gen. Sherman's statement is ("War is hell.") -- even for the winners.

Texas politics: Houston pastor calls Democrats ‘godless’ | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

If the Southern Baptist Convention had any real morals, they would remove such lying demagogues from the pulpit.

Cryogenically frozen?

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

Absurd.

What is your favorite season and why?

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

Autumn -- coo,l weather, fall colors, pleasant nostalgia, long shadows, fall odors and tastes, pleasant memories.

Safe spaces.

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

I am a strong advocate for a battle of ideas. A demagogue should be allowed to speak on a college campus only when he or she faces an opposing speaker who can and will truly debate him or her.

Is Pelosi good or bad for the parties future ?

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

Unfortunately and despicably, Republican ideologies have demonized Pelosi, just like they did to Hillary. Still, her organizational and political skills are very usefu for the time being. It will not be long before she is replaced .

Why must so many choose ignorance when knowledge is so readly available?

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

Two major reasons: They believe in a political and/or religious ideology which denies knowledge and does not encourage one to seek knowledge, and/or (2) they are members of social group whose norms and behaviors punish people for seek ing and expressing fact-based knowledge.

Is it possible to have a deep intimate relationship, as an atheist, with a catholic person?

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

I have been happily married to a devout Catholic for 23 years. We each respect the other's right to believe as we choose. That is all it takes.

Cyclical theory of history: After reading through many history books, there is a distinctive ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

Paul Bohannan's concept of "the curse of culture" applies. Over time, slavish devotion to was of thinking and doing can develop and will inevitably result in the decline of that social unit.

PragerFU: Does Science Argue For or Against God? - misterdeity [youtube.com]

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

Science does not argue either for or against God. The god concept is entirely irrelevant to science.

Crimea has a referendum to join the Russian Federation.

wordywalt comments on Nov 19, 2018:

Natanyahu is an aggressive nationalist with aims of territorial expansion. The Crimea situation is analogous to the American south seceding from the Union and being annexed by Great Britain.

Are There Really Advantages When You're Over 50?

wordywalt comments on Nov 18, 2018:

At the age of 81, I am a better person intellectually, emotionally, and morally. I also have a better perspective on life due to a stored lifetime of experiences to guide me.

What will $20 (USD) get me in your hobby?

wordywalt comments on Nov 18, 2018:

You seem to be trying too hard to earn points. Points are not the real point. Meaningful communication is.

Question: Do you accept what you have been taught about freedom in the US?

wordywalt comments on Nov 18, 2018:

Only that which experience has confirmed.

A bit of a slow Sunday morning on the site.

wordywalt comments on Nov 18, 2018:

No. We are sleeping late, and simply taking it easy. I don't feel compelled to anything on a Sunday morning.

I think the entire american public is being played?

wordywalt comments on Nov 18, 2018:

I disagree almost totally. The gridlock is due to (2) the political culture which has evolved from the efforts of Dick Armee, Tom Delay, and Newt Gingrich, (2) Fox "News" and other right wing propaganda machines, (3) he combination of racism, being "bought" by the culture of greed, and dogmatic ideology characterizing today's Republican politicians, and (4) Trump's constant appeal to the basest of political instincts. At my age of 81, I have never before seen such divisiveness, and that diviseness is coming almost completely from the political right.

Anyone gardening in Florida? 'Tis the season!

wordywalt comments on Nov 17, 2018:

Yes. I have green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage growing now in Tampa.

RIP Republican Party

wordywalt comments on Nov 17, 2018:

I would change the "cause of death" to severe and unrealistic hardening of dogma and gorging on the culture of greed, followed by an acute attack of Trumpism.

The U.

wordywalt comments on Nov 16, 2018:

Deeply troubling.

McConnell needs to have an "accident".

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

It sure as hell wouldn't do any harm./

I personally never met a racist atheist.

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

What are you referring to when you say "It"?

It's time for a different economic system:

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

Capitalism has no dogmatic inherent design. At times, it has shown a social conscience and some sense of social responsibility. Unfortunately , that is not happening today.

Deputy National Supervisor forced out today.

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

This was a second tier national security protegee of John Bolton; known for a closed mind, a sharp tongue, and a mean streak. She is no loss.

" .

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

:Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

We Are In Mourning At My Job

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

You mean mounring, not "morning.

Rick Scott hasn't even been declared the winner of the election in Florida yet, and he's in DC, with...

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

Scott is an arrogant, self-absorbed and morally bankrupt crook. He has used a huge golden parachute from being fired from his health insure company (he led over 1.9 BILLION of medicare fraud) to finance his entire political career. It is amazing to me that anyone could vote for th slimy slug.

What proportion of "White Privilege" is due to a white majority?

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

NO ethnic group is due ANY special privilege.

Apparently, a lemon is not naturally occurring and is a hybrid developed by cross breeding a bitter ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 14, 2018:

I doubt that this is true. I do not believe that a citron is even a citrus fruit, and is, therefore, genetically incompatible. Don't believe everything you read.

I've been on the go all day.

wordywalt comments on Nov 8, 2018:

He s breathing, isn't he?

"Wherever morality is based on theology, wherever right is made dependent on divine authority, the ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 8, 2018:

Feuerbach was a brilliant German philosopher who had a great understanding of rthe causes of the birth of religion among humans and of the negative effects of religion.

I have believed in existentialism pretty much since freshman year of college.

wordywalt comments on Nov 8, 2018:

We do need to learn to live in the moment while building a future. We also need to learn that we will encounter unanticipated opportunities and travails, and be able to adapt.

Given (hypothetically or literally) that there is no afterlife, does life have meaning?

wordywalt comments on Nov 8, 2018:

Life has no inherent meaning. What meaning it has is that which we create by our thoughts, decisions, and actions.

Did you know that the US government planned to stage an attack on the US soil and civilians to ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 7, 2018:

Just another damnably false conspiracy hoax. These days, fake news comes from all sides -- Trump. Fox News, Russia, Iran.

My wife, Anna is a K-5 special education, bi-lingual teacher.

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

I am not a special educator, but was housed in a special education cooperative for 10 years. Unfortunately, under the beureucracy sset up under PL 94-142, excessive paperwork is the norm and has been for years.

You are all kidding yourself as we are here in Australia, if you think we live in a Democracy.

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

Democracy is a worthy ideal which must be fought for and defended every day.There are always those who try to impose their will and power on others so that they can use and manipulate us.

MOST atheist try to use reason and logic when debating a religious person.

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

I find your statement to be biased and false. It is much more likely that you are attempting irrational thought, which is an entirely different realm than logic and critical thinking.

Trump said, "I keep more promises than I make."

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

What an absurd lie!

Did you read 1984?

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

All too true,

[yahoo.

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

That is all that one can expect of a bigoted moral idiot. Let's simply get the SOB out of the public eye.

Do you think I look old?

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

Hell, yes, you are getting old. So what. This is from an 81 year old man.

I have always wondered if there was a god.

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

Why does there have to be a creator or a beginning or end?

Can we ever reach beyond human understanding?

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

Huh? How?

If there is no reason for existence, then is there no reason for reasoning and hence no reason for ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

Huh? What is your point?

Do you think our voting pool needs purging?

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

Yes, you are off base. Voting is a constitutional right, and is not to be impeded. Allowing any arbitrary limitation on that right invites th advancement of authoritarian governmeent. I wish that some people would not vote in a reactionary or racist pattern, but I would NEVER attempt to limit ANYONE's right to vote.

So I just joined here. Is it worth it?

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

Not absolutely necessary, but it doesn't hurt.

What is a commercial or other fertilizer, phosphorous rich to feed a jasmine in zone 8b?

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

If you are looking for a fertilizer rich in phosphorus, there are 3 numbers listed on the fertilizer baf, like 4 10 4. The middle number is phosphorus. Any with a high middle number will work. Don't worry about brand name.

Liberals Are from Mars, Conservatives Are from Venus - Scientific American

wordywalt comments on Nov 6, 2018:

Of course, culture shapes thought. Anthropologist Paul Bohannan wrote a brilliant small tract in 1972 entitled "The Curse of Culture". In that piece, Bohannan pointed out that culture can be a curse, in that it prescribes accepted ways of seeing and doing things, channels thought and action, and limits that which can follow. I reject the premise that liberals do not see the interconnectedness of things. I believe the reserve to be true.

Do any politicians in any party really care about "making America great again" or do they only care ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 5, 2018:

The phrase, "make America great again: is simply a false fascistic slogan designed to appeal to white etyno=centrists feeling forgotten or threatened. That is all that it is, and its sole purpose is to delude people to aid Trump and his allies.

Inspired by Trump, right-wing militia groups head to the border to confront the migrant caravan – ...

wordywalt comments on Nov 5, 2018:

And, the ugliness starts at the top with the moral imbecile Trump.

What would happen if, when mankind final acquires the technology to build functional habitats on the...

wordywalt comments on Nov 4, 2018:

I do not see the sense in your question.

Important atheist question: When you die, would you let them bury your body or cremate it.

wordywalt comments on Nov 4, 2018:

I will be cremated and my ashes scattered on the shore of one of my favorite fish spots. I have visited my father's grave no more than 4 or 5 times in in 46 years, primarily to show other family members where the grave is.

Anyone have plantar fasciitis?

wordywalt comments on Nov 4, 2018:

I had plantar fasciitis, but have no problem today. I saw a podiatrist who measured my feet and shaped a fitted pair of orthotics to insert in my shoes. Since using the orthotics, I have had no problem. They have already lasted 10 years.