impartialobserver

notice how a certain troll has not posted...

Do you ever notice that he creates a lot of threads that have 0 replies? Most of his threads have less than 40 replies. I would think (I know what I get for thinking...) that he would see and realize that relatively no one reads his threads/posts

Was in Southern California just last week and saw a few in Bishop, CA.

The other poster is a classic internet troll who exaggerates everything in order to show a stark narrative. Yeah.. the current situation in Iran (and even worse in the past) is not at all similar to our current situation in the US. The two are apples and oranges as you know.

I do think that we will not see tangible effects for at least another 10 years. When the data starts making change not just abstract but reality.. the changes will be both interesting and baffling. Most social safety nets are based on the assumption of steadily increasing population growth.

Not exactly about Israel but a book that will really clue you in on Middle Eastern politics is Cities of Salt. It is the Mein Kempf of the arab/muslim world. Yes, it is fiction, but the reason that it is so reviled is that it does not vilify the West. it is part of a trilogy but the first book, Cities of Salt, is the one that will really illuminate things.

Another aspect to the rabid, adamant internet forum poster that is perplexing is their love of fantasy. They harbor these grand and completely unrealistic ideas. Ideas that have 0% chance of ever coming to pass. Yet they waste their time writing post after post about it... One example is eliminating the IRS. Not going to happen. The name may change and they may downsize but there will always be a revenue collecting portion of the government.

I think we have some folks on here who are hyper-sensitive and/or are masters of the art of hyperbole and exaggeration. According to them.. transgender types are everywhere. Every city, every county, every state.. are filled with them. And yet I was just in Southern California for 9 days and only saw one that could have been trans. This can't be though. In this most liberal of areas.. i should have inundated with them and yet none.

The internet has made everyone instantaneously into experts on every topic. Its quite remarkable honestly. They did not care in the least about a topic and had not given it a second of thought for decades but now it is in the news and all of a sudden.. there are passionate, adamant, outspoken, and an expert. Being that folks are anonymous.. there is no way to verify this supposed expertise. Also, folks tend to be vastly more outspoken and confrontational when they can hide behind the shield of anonymity than in person.

And I do not find being religious to be credible. I have no reason to try to convert you or anyone else. I doubt that you have the courage to admit it..but you would be more than happy to convert myself or someone else. I find that way of being to be self absorbed and hypocritical.

oh come on now.. you can't be playing stupid now and not expecting it to get caught. There is zero chance of someone converting you to atheism. I can discern this and hence have made zero attempt at it. Unlike others.. I do not get the security blanket of a group of like minded types. I do not care if someone is atheist or not.

That is a matter of opinion. So in short.. you expect others to listen to what you say and hopefully convert yet you are will not or do not listen to their opposing views. So in short.. you violate the Golden Rule. Hmm... Proselytizing in the name of religion is ok but not if not it is in the name of non-religion.. not sure how much more hypocritical one can get.

Our love of style over substance predates the internet. We simply did not possess the conduit for it. If you want to test this.. talk to someone about something and only give them objective data points. Examples would batting average, hits, wins above replacement, touchdown passes, etc. They glaze over and fall asleep in 2 minutes. Now.. tell them that player xyz is the best of all time or that team xyz is going to win a championship. They wake right up and are ready to "debate".

being that I do not believe in it.. that means nothing. There are things that you do not believe in and no matter how many times I repeat it, you would not change your mind. How is that any different? Think about this one hard...

And I believe that life ends when the body does. So why not make the best of what I have? To be an atheist automatically means that one is self destructive according to you.. who knew that you were so funny.

translated... to be an atheist is to be self destructive. Well, my first 46 years have proven otherwise. Also, I get the impression that you think that the only way to have a satisfying, rewarding life is to be religious. Well... 46 years down and I have a great life all in the complete absence of religion

precisely.. do not need religion. In the complete absence of religion.. I have risen out of poverty, earned a Phd, live a comfortable existence in Nevada, am in good health (did a 600 mile bike ride through the desert 3 years ago), and have a wife and kids. I do believe that everyone is flawed. Here is where we differ.. I do not think that religion makes a person less flawed. Its like two rocks.. one wrapped in blue and one wrapped in yellow. Same rock but different wrapper.

believe it or not.. you are not the core demographic. The halftime show and commercials are not aimed at the die-hard NFL fan, they are there to bring in the casual fan or non-fan. And if ratings/revenues are evidence.. their strategy has worked.

there is this thing called the internet... Any time that you want to see a set of boobies, you can find it in seconds. Why wait for the Super bowl halftime show?

I am poking a bit of fun at a certain internet troll who posted a thread about Jason Aldean/Oliver Anthony being the halftime show and a whole diatribe about mediocre R&B acts being the halftime show in the past.

who could have guessed? The NFL supposedly is not a business and therefore only has "mediocre" R&B acts for the halftime show.

Today's selection is the almighty Bob Mould

Before I do so.. lets be crystal clear, I am not going to debate/discuss my beliefs or lack thereof after this? Why do I not believe in God? I will make it short and succinct. Because there is no evidence and i do not buy into something simply because someone says it. Second, my life experience has shown that not being religious has meant nothing when it comes to my moral code and work ethic. Came from a very poor background and have since earned a phd in economics and have a much more comfortable existence than what I came from.

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/1201396367/usher-will-headline-the-2024-super-bowl-halftime-show-in-las-vegas#:~:text=TED Radio Hour-,Usher will headline the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show in,11%2C 2024 game. Well.. the halftime show is not going to be oliver anthony and/or Jason Aldean. It appears that the NFL is catering to its core demographic.. not just to internet trolls.

Back to the topic, It is unlikely that a statistically significant (greater than 5%) of Conservatives is going to pass away due to Covid this time around. Also, even if it did occur.. there are always going to be a subset of any population that are relatively Conservative. Nothing all that revelatory about that. I find it comical when one side of the aisle claims that the other party is going to die, meet their demise, and blah, blah, blah...