Gregg R Thomas

Ceasefires depend on both sides believing the other will abide by what they agreed to. The  track record isn’t great here. If Hamas remains in power and still armed, that undermines the logic of the ceasefire. They still don’t accept Israel’s right to exist. The Hamas Covenant of 1988 endorses an armed struggle until Israel is obliterated. It sof…[Read more]

Yes, they always do it publicly. How else can they win a free and fair election every 20 years.  Their god is great and their fan clubs in the West will continue to justify their support for them.

Unseen wrote:
The “cafeteria Christian” picks and chooses what to believe. The problem is that there is actual scripture.

The problem is, there’s “something for everyone” in the scripture.  God is both vengeful and merciful.  Now, in real life, that is what is required to enforce proper behaviour.  It’s just that some people love the “venge…[Read more]

I am trying to explain to an Irish-American MAGA supporter that it is not the fault of the Democrats that there is a government shutdown. I explained it along the lines of the following:

“That’s not how it works. The House — which the Republicans control — is where all spending bills start. If the House GOP can’t agree among themselves on a budg…[Read more]

Strega wrote:
Simon, with the introduction of ‘a personal relationship with Jesus’ concept, no two Christians have the same set of strongly held views – your post seems to imply that it’s a set based on the religion, rather than on the individual’s pick-and-choose approach to what God wants 🙂

The “cafeteria Christian” picks and chooses what to b…[Read more]

Simon, with the introduction of ‘a personal relationship with Jesus’ concept, no two Christians have the same set of strongly held views  – your post seems to imply that it’s a set based on the religion, rather than on the individual’s pick-and-choose approach to what God wants 🙂

Unseen wrote:
One embodies an irrational belief with no need to support it in any way

I think there’s more to it than that.  Religious people usually have a strong “conscience” – whether that means humble self-guidance on one hand, or entitled, authoritarian meddling in the affairs of the rest of us, on the other extreme.  They have strongly h…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
What the difference between a religious exemption and a philosophical one?

One embodies an irrational belief with no need to support it in any way and the is based on facts and a rational argument in support of the belief. Of course, that would mean that someone qualified to examine those the arguments would be…[Read more]

Bondi managed to get through her hearing without answering any substantive question, the list being detailed by Adam Schiff:

Re the AI video, it is not possible to jailbreak ChatGPT or any LLM either. The presenter is being disingenuous. At best he has modified the way the “voice” reacts to him, which anyone can do in settings.

Most commercial AI systems like OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), Microsoft (Copilot), Perplexity, etc.  all work the same way: the…[Read more]

Yay!! Thanks Reg!!!

Have a great week!

Vaccine rates are well below average in the ultra-orthodox communities at about 77% and they are closely grouped the risks of measles spreading is higher. Herd immunity should be 95% or greater. Similar numbers in the US this year too. Gaines County in West Texas really suffered. Two children in Texas (unvaccinated, no underlying conditions) died…[Read more]

Thanks Enco. I am very experienced in spotting the narrow-minded and dangerous idiots who get frustrated and angry when finding themselves incapable of responding rationally to facts. I have manned Atheist Ireland tables around the country over the years and encountered all types of weirdos and religious bigots. I usually take a Socratic approach…[Read more]

I don’t think I did Jake, but I did rattle their echo chamber with external inputs. She was willing to listen. My comments would sound forthright and assured rather than combative because I generally only talk about things I have a understanding of. I don’t have “isms” that I believe in. Rather, I have “considered opinions on topics I have made…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
Unseen, You didn’t even read my questions, though you did answer them despite yourself.

I’ll humor you.

So, this is the sort of thing that goes on around the ICE facility in Portland. It’s very localized. Portland is not burning. It’s simply the sort of protest that has happened innumerable times in America’s history.

Now, there are circumstances when a governor might want to call in Federal help. One…[Read more]