Gas verses electric cars?

govols comments on Apr 23, 2019:

Almost every car or truck I've owned has been a tool, and little more. One that I own is right now is for pleasure and I'll convert it to alcohol and build a still before I quit driving it.

Is this reliable?

govols comments on Apr 23, 2019:

polling is really more about the next data point than the last. is it predictive? usually not.

TWD fan memes

govols comments on Apr 23, 2019:

See? That's just wrong...in such a right way.

Why must so many distort and lie about the truth?

govols comments on Apr 23, 2019:

Still, we tend to trace our roots back to the Greeks rather just to the Romans.

IDW Community

govols comments on Apr 23, 2019:

The IDW is liberal; it's open to new ideas. The IDW is conservative; it seeks to preserve the ideas that led us to here. I think most people are conservative, but that progressivism dominates the public forum. It seems like progress is an idea worth conserving, to many, because that's part of what got us here. The big deal right now is how to deal with novelty that erupts far more quickly than most of us are yet evolved to adapt to. Humans are evolved to adapt to, and cause, change, but we've now managed to change our environments in sometimes overwhelming ways to the tune of multiple times per decade rather than over the evolutionary span of multiple generations.

Facts vs Feeling

govols comments on Apr 23, 2019:

Feelings. No fact you offer will persuade a disagreeable person who doesn't trust you, feel in some way kin with you. part of our problems currently are associated with most people feeling oppressed. Some have been persuaded that society is oppressing them, while others have persuaded themselves. Each have facts on their side. Neither will accept that their facts are wrong unless you get to them emotionally, first. In a debate, in real life, the only way to persuade is to make them feel doubt by being an example that draws into question their existing conceptions.

Admin - I do take seriously your post and your concerns about maintaining a standard of decorum here...

govols comments on Apr 23, 2019:

dear lord....

Who feels like a pretender?

govols comments on Apr 22, 2019:

I sorta loathe the word. The idea, even. The definition aside, the notion of "other with brainlyness" or "other not so nearly well minded" is just Fu@king offensive. We have among us individuals who are poking at the edges of their own understanding and people who are making a living and doing the best they can with the knowing they have at hand. The vast majority of us aren't overly smart. The vast majority of we who are curious aren't overly smart. Yes, we want to know more, but most of us have just a curiosity...a questioning mind. But mostly we have a willingness to challenge... to call Bullshit when convention goes off the rails. Most of us aren't intellectuals. Most of us are bullshit detectors and question askers.

How did Mad Maxine Waters ever get elected, she is off the charts crazy.

govols comments on Apr 22, 2019:

All it takes is the right district.

Political Correctness runs contrary to the rights and principles set forth in the First Amendment.

govols comments on Apr 22, 2019:

I never saw that quote until now. Thanks.

I just don't think people understand how they have been played, and it makes me very upset they have...

govols comments on Apr 22, 2019:

The whole of western civilization is a game being played. I give you "widget spinner." Behold! The Joneses have two. Shop accordingly.

Does the term white privilege exist in America?

govols comments on Apr 22, 2019:

The term exists; the phenomena is a fiction.

Ok we get it a large number of users are very critical of islam.

govols comments on Apr 22, 2019:

The problem with Islam isn't with Muslims, it's with Islam being a political system and a cultural system that, given a certain critical mass within a society, has proven incompatible with the social systems into which it is introduced.

Political Correctness

govols comments on Apr 19, 2019:

PC is anti-social thought control. We've always had "Socially Correct" enforced through tradition and normalization. It's the "Political" that makes the modern censorship so petty and dangerous. PC attempts to control, manage, direct social norms and mores by and for expansion of political control and dominance. It's the use of political power to dictate and mandate social normalization of not yet assimilated ideas, ideals, and standards. And it's evil.

Was Jesus human?

govols comments on Apr 19, 2019:

I'm punting this one back to the top for Good Friday and Easter. Even given a mind full of doubts my heart still gives humble thanks.

Converting to Islam

govols comments on Apr 18, 2019:

You wouldn't convert if you were without faith or committed to a different faith, but many of us might *submit*. In the end, that's all that matters to some of them: submission.

Feminists Celebrate Sexually Transmitted Diseases! - YouTube

govols comments on Apr 18, 2019:

This cannot possibly be a truthful expression from rational individuals.

The Mystery of Human Agency

govols comments on Apr 18, 2019:

I'm attached to the notion of free will, and while I understand the deterministic theory, I'm not convinced of its truthiness.

Cruz Threatens more swamp draining

govols comments on Apr 18, 2019:

He's getting better at seeming human.

What brought you to this website?

govols comments on Apr 18, 2019:

It was Eric Weinstein who applied the phrase to the lot of them. I'm here because somebody offered me the link at another forum after I whined that nobody talks anymore, but instead just bicker.

Let me set the tone here: I voted Libertarian, for Gary Johnson, in 2016 because I wasn't too fond ...

govols comments on Apr 18, 2019:

I think Trump is by nature an asshole and a troll--and I mean that is as good a way as the terms allow. He has an instinct for poking people and it just really, really amuses him to do it. I think he mostly has the good of the country at heart and he's one of those stubborn old bastards who thinks anyone not aligned with him is not bet be argued with, or persuaded, but mocked. The far-left (and squishy republicans) makes it so easy he simply can't help himself.

Is it time to halt all immigration?

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

I'm certain that the US needs to stop the flow of migrants. We need time to assimilate those who are here and to normalize the workforce. I've got a guy cutting dead trees on my property this week, an American, negotiating a deal I would never in a million years do the work for unless starving. It's a good price for me, but not a "living wage" for any who are assimilated into Western society. He's offering work at a wage that doesn't pay for the stuff most of us consider necessities. He's competing with migrant labor among a people who are supposed to prefer countrymen to cheap.If he gets the work done he's going to be stunned at the tip I offer, but in the end it will be fair wage for fair production.

From the “For Whatever It’s Worth” file: I just found this site a week or so ago.

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

I wonder if that isn't up to us. Engage in good faith the lone voices who don't quite fit in, but don't feed trolls.

Medicare for all in the US (single-payer system): Yay or Nay?

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

If one considers that "progress" is just a fact of life, we WILL enjoy government health care eventually. Maybe we should be looking for ways to make it work rather than ways to obstruct it. The fact is there will be a public program eventually. Insurance is a non-provider and has become basically a rent-seeking industry. Ponder "single-payer" as insurance with all of the citizenry as part of the group, under a single coverage plan; then ponder how it might be made functional.

Washington Post says that Ben Shapiro and others saying that Notre Dame Cathedral was an iconic ...

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

Do Jews really believe in "Judeo-Christian," or is it a word game. Christians hold the OT in regard, but Jews really have no use at all for the NT.

Any COS supporters here?

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

COS?

Summer 2019 California Visitors Bureau posters just released:

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

I'll take "Shithole Counties" for the win, Alex.

PRESIDENT TRUMP With his hands being tied at every turn has done a great job for the country.

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

Um, you're not suggesting that illegal migrants are a danger to the citizenry, are you? Diversity is our greatest strength, after all....

How long before IDW puts T & FB out of biz?

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

Compared to them, we're like 12 people.

They carry the hate deep and it's hidden so when they finally show it to you believe them.

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

Dear God, please, help us be just...

Arguments Against

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

The best I've ever been able to come up with is that the presidency is the only elected office that represent all of the States and all of the people. Given that Senators are now elected by statewide elections as representatives of each State's citizenry (rather than the States themselves), a line in the philosophy of government sand has been crossed: the people ought to be doing the electing rather than slates of party picked electors who don't even have to cast ballots based on the will of the voters. That's how I would tackle it. Now, how to refute it? I like the argument that we don't want near totalitarian urban rule over a largely rural populace.

Statism is the most widely practiced and accepted Religion on the planet.

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

The next step will be off a cliff, I'm afraid. We're not going to give up on the idea that one day it might be we who rule.

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govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

People who dis emotion (I'm one of them; emotion is a terrible master) tend to forget that most of what we think tends to stem first from how we felt about something.

Can we please have a discussion about the Electoral College?

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

I'm not sure this thing will withstand an eventual challenge on Constitutional grounds. Article 1, section 10 (in part): No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation;

Why so civil??

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

I'm a member of a few boards. Back in the 90s, I think, MSNBC (I think) had lots of news reports and opinion columns and the "comments" section was a bunch of forums. Race in America, Social Issues, etc., and each story linked you to an appropriate forum for the topic. They shut it down. Too much drama. Well, the refugees all started opening new forums at the various hosting sites and I wound up over the years losing all of those people and was with a few new people at obscure places with few members. Over the years every other place I visit has become just a bitching bicker fest. It was bad with Bush, worse with Obama, and just a bloody $h!t show now, with Trump. I just want some occasional adult conversation trying to solve the world's problems like we used to do at the local bar before even the local bar got stupid. Adult conversation is usually civil, even when heated.

Does anybody really think that there’s going to be any evidence of collusion or obstruction in the...

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

I'm not sure what the report will have to say. I mean, it will cover all of the indictments, for sure. It better cover Russia and the social media campaign. It will cover every single conversation between anybody who knows Trump and anybody who knows a Russian. It will cover every time Trumps said the investigation is a fraud, etc. The left will call it a slam dunk case and scream and rage about no charges being brought against Trump or his family. Then the impeachment hearings will begin.

What do people mean when they talk about "white culture"?

govols comments on Apr 17, 2019:

"White Culture?" Not sure such a thing exists, but millions of migrants are leaving their own cultures to look for it.

On a scale of 1 to 5, how disappointed will you be if it turns out that the Notre Dame fire wasn't ...

govols comments on Apr 16, 2019:

This is an odd question. Should we be vested in a cause we may never know to be? If it was intentional, demonstrably so, a price must be imposed. If it was an accident? If it can be shown who screwed up a price must be imposed.

What is so tiring lately is the subject of offense everyone seems to take offense so easily and take...

govols comments on Apr 16, 2019:

What pisses me off is that I really enjoy having my head twisted, and so many are scare to.

Imaginary Muslims: Part 3.

govols comments on Apr 16, 2019:

I don't think I know any Muslims, and I don't really talk about Muslims. Islam, though, is a political system every bit as much as it is a religion. Faith is individual in nature; religions are organizational.

What is the most important personally value or moral trait in your opinion?

govols comments on Apr 16, 2019:

I'm gonna go with discernment.

What do you all think of the coins?

govols comments on Apr 16, 2019:

I use mine on the juke box.

In your opinion what makes something a "right"

govols comments on Apr 16, 2019:

What make something a right is nature. Children get the notion instinctively, as in "mine,"and "No! You can't make me." It takes years of socialization to beat it out of them, and then years more of education to put it back in, with the caveat that, "and he does, too."

Does having formal education cause cognitive dissonance?

govols comments on Apr 16, 2019:

It depends on the education. By definition CD is about holding conflicting/contradictory ideas of how the world "is." It requires you, for example, trust authority yet believe the system is corrupt. If you trust an authoritative expert who shows you information that the system functions as designed it confirms trust but violates belief in systemic corruption. If your education is limited to that which is taught you wind up in a fallacy from the get go: appeal to authority. Something that strikes me is that "critical thinking" doesn't mean what it used to. It used to mean something like unbiased, open-minded evaluations of information leading to conclusions that are then held up for reflection rather than as doctrine. Now it seems to be to criticize all established notions as suspect, of even to question whether any "knower" can ever know anything more than what has been imposed upon them by society. One thing for sure about education: it changes you now and it changes who you might be. One of the issues going now is that "formal" is taken wrong. Instead of being in accordance with convention or officially recognized, many institutions are attempting to "form," or re-form, scholars into followers of the diversity faith instead of passing down the institutions of learning and knowledge to worthy and well-rounded thinkers.

If the election were held today, who would you vote for?

govols comments on Apr 12, 2019:

Under no circumstances will I vote for any of the current candidates for the Dem party nomination. The DNC (and RNC) is corrupt, and filled with people who would rather me die than vote.

Why are you guys here ?is it really what you expected it to be?

govols comments on Apr 12, 2019:

Mostly I stopped in to see if maybe a place existed that wasn't a shit-show. I don't do any of the "social media," except forums like these, and all of my old favorites have turned into war zones with no thoughtful conversation.

What do you think the earthly positive and negative ramifications would be if no human had a child ...

govols comments on Apr 11, 2019:

I think we'd all miss watching people who love them, love them. It wouldn't be good for the human soul to be without babies for a decade. I'd be okay with it, but it would really screw with most of us.

Ok, who gets this? (yes, I do!)

govols comments on Apr 11, 2019:

Ha!!!! That's pretty good.

Was Jesus human?

govols comments on Apr 11, 2019:

I shouldn't do this--it's been a while and I'll screw it up--but what the heck. Jesus was a person, in every way that we understand the term. Most of what we read begins as a fully developed man, after decades of following God. Not *being* God, but *becoming* God. Imagine God; think for just a minute on the immensity of what that means, the scale and scope of the consciousness of God. Now, put that in a human infant; put *all of that* in the wonder-filled boy; consider *all of that* in a hormone laden youth. It took a while for our divine young Lord to become *fully formed and conscious*.of Himself. Think about all of the temptations you faced growing up--becoming fully you--and imagine facing those temptations exemplarily, God's own Word, Love, and Law embodied. God came into the world just like the rest of us, not yet ready for the purpose He planned. Just like us, it took a while for Him to prove worthy of the sacrifices our higher callings demand. You have to be fully you, fully formed, to make such sacrifices willfully and willingly. Besides, it takes even God a while to piss off the powers that be enough they they actually crucify you. Jesus was as human as the rest of us and faced all of the same crap we all do and then some...and He was God.

Tell me - Is it OK to talk about socialism and communisms like synonyms?

govols comments on Apr 10, 2019:

The thing is, both are economic models based on ownership of the means of production, and really consider each individual and his labor potential to be the means of production. Under socialism it is owned by the State; under communisim it is owned by the collection of economic units. Neither are competent managers of production.

Do you think Biden will really beat Trump if he runs?

govols comments on Apr 10, 2019:

It would be the most entertaining possible result of the primaries possible.

Want to get your feedback on two simple designs for our swag (T-shirts, mugs, etc).

govols comments on Apr 10, 2019:

The lower left looks like a bullet list with nothing else to accentuate. The upper right looks like a declaration, punctuated, and a reason.

North America does not have the same history with "ethnic nationalism" that Europe and the rest of ...

govols comments on Apr 10, 2019:

I have problems with civic nationalism but not with nationalism as the best way to think about anti-globalism. Civ-nat seems too friendly with globalism and open borders, the idea being that "multi-culturalism" can work within a civic framework and even given geopolitical and geocommercial expansionism. Growth is necessarily good, free-trade, population move to where the jobs are, the production moves to where people are, etc.; the civic nature of a nation will remain stable no matter what people populate its towns, cities, communities and factory/office jobs. I'm skeptical. I think Nations are populations with a mostly shared identity, and the land they control. Nationalism isn't about what best for "the country," but about maintaining that shared identity. It's an idea that requires a certain amount withdrawal and introspection regarding trade and migration. It requires far less concern about growth and GDP than about prosperity and well-being for "The People." Governments of Nations are tools "of The People" for a purpose, the preservation of the sovereign People. We're not interchangeable economic units; we're countrymen; we're A People. The economy is our tool, not our purpose. Trade is a tool, not a purpose. Nations of Peoples don't need prefixes and hyphens to sum up identity, or to derive meaning from the part they play in its prosperity and preservation. America can assimilate trickles of migrants on a near continuous basis. It can *TOLERATE* waves on occasion. At some point, though, the waves must be defended against and reduced again to a trickle--even stopped--so that the American identity can assimilate the Other. It would help if we'd drop the bloody prefixes and hyphens.

Is socialism a desirable economic system?

govols comments on Apr 10, 2019:

It isn't an economic system, but a way of life the ceases to function beyond small tribal groups of a few hundred, max. It doesn't seem to work, ever, under any cultural structure, for a "modern" economy.

The more I follow politics and the News the more I am convinced that we must rebuild our societies ...

govols comments on Apr 9, 2019:

The problem with "reboot" is that we're not smart enough to build from the ground up. I mean, if you look at the evolution of western societies, the invention of moral agency and accountability, the ideas of people having a say in their rule, governing through representatives of the general politi, the Christian notion of "in each person a spark," popular sovereignty, social contract, personal liberty, personal responsibility...All of that getting us to safe spaces and consumerist globalism...and you want to tear down the social structures and let the "elite" among us build it anew from scratch? Our civilization rests on the shoulders of giants, trembling at their burden, as our best and brightest have removed their teachings from the curricula of some our most respected institutions. Yeah..... No.

The word "tolerate" is used 4 times in the New American Standard Bible and all four times it is used...

govols comments on Apr 9, 2019:

Tolerance is what one builds slowly on small doses of poison; it's the ability to withstand higher and higher doses of poison until the minimum effective does is the lethal one.

How can i watch my wife slowly Die

govols comments on Apr 8, 2019:

How can I watch my wife slowly die? With love, anguish, and compassion, if you're really lucky. With support. With rage. With fear. With grace?

Coming from Australia, the terms "left" or "right wing" are not thrown around nearly as much as say,...

govols comments on Apr 8, 2019:

Dog. Cat. Book. Table. Me/we. Us/them. It's how we assimilate society and it assimilates us. We think in labels and without them we don't think at all. We can't ponder ideas until we have know what "ponder" and "ideas" mean. One of the reasons the anonymity of the internet makes for such crazy talk is that it's impossible to label the infinity of who you expressing them to, and we hold a notion that we can't be subjected to the horrors of someone hanging us by their own label for us...in the real world.

What I want to know is why everyone talks about what should be done but nothing ever gets done.

govols comments on Apr 8, 2019:

What's happened is philosophy stopped reflecting and went into full critical mode. Yes, criticize established understanding, but quit with the theorizing on oppression. It is said sometimes that you can't make an ought from an is. Philosophy quit pondering ought and went back into exclusively is. Blacks are oppressed, women oppressed, colonized peoples oppressed...it's all about pointing it out and explaining "bad." Well, bitching about "is" doesn't lead toward innovative ideas on ought.