aka Contrarian

In 2024 AD, it's not relevant where Christianity originated inasmuch as it has undergone so much modification. But, as usual, a straw man argument is trotted out, polluting this discussion, supplying answers for questions that weren't asked, blurring the issue with a lot of geographical subterfuge, while over looking the simple question I asked pioneer. Which was: why do you question the devotion of black folks to Christianity when you, yourself, are so attached to the Bible and its fables and so firm in your belief in God? Can't you figure out that the degree to which people embrace their creed is commensurate with their need to be blessed? Your motivation seems to be a need to dispute anything connected with the Bible which doesn't comply with your interpretations, in order to give the impression that you are omniscient. tsk-tsk

Black people who fall under the sway of Christianity do so for the same reason as white folks do. After all, as ProfD infers Christianity is just a whitewashed version of an Egyptian religion whose Jesus counterpart was Horus. You are all familiar with that claim. Same guy, different color. These "buddhas" like Christ and Horus are central to all religions, all charismatic figures offering salvation. Obviously, religion fills a need. It's the "opiate of the masses". When you tell down trodden people of all colors existing in the throes of oppression/depression, that they will be justly rewarded when they die by going to heaven, a paradise that washes away all their cares, and that all they have to do to get there is to pledge allegiance to a father figure and his son, then gullible desperate people believe it! That, along with endeavoring to resist the evil perpetrated by the satanic enemy of their savior, becomes a way of life that helps them cope and survive, as flawed a formula as this is, it offers HOPE. I don't know why pioneer poses this question. Does he ask himself why he reveres the Bible and believes that God exists. What he criticizes is an off shoot of his mind set, cloaked in faith. Nobody asked me, but from my own personal experiences, I imagine that there is a higher power which you can download into your spiritual computer and program the daily miracles that get you through life. Feel free to remind me how "I know that I know nothing". źzzzzzzzz

If you're like me, currently impaired by a short attention span, you want a quick fix - immediate gratification when catching up on the news. If anything is too long and drawn out I, and a lot of other people, are not motivated to read it. We want instant gratification. A headline is not a title. It's a concise summary of what the article is about. Editors often make them clever and provocative to catch the reader's eye. Nowadays I get most of my news from TV. I take it all with a grain of salt. Most people do. I don't know anybody who totally trusts the media anymore except maybe the Yahoos who watch Fox "News". Bottom line, folks eventually end up gravitating toward the outlets that tell them what they want to hear. Things that reinforce the opinionated conspiracy theories that everyone harbors in an ongoing pursuit of the "truth" which is simply a word and, unless it involves math, is more-or-less a concoction of cherry-picked factoids made up of other words that are just words. Yada, yada, yada. I will now step down from my soap box and move on... Good Night. zzzzzz

A lot depends on whether or not the powers-that-be want America to remain the leader of the free world. National pride and tradition wiil play a part. Altho Trump is a meglo-maniac, he's an isolationist when it comes to global affairs. He just wants to be America's dictator. And if elected, he is salivating over the chance to punish all of his political enemies. Then there's the question of preserving democracy. America is not handling well the idea of an all inclusive society that has spawned a cancel culture and political correctness. It is basically a tribal nation full of bigots and religious hypocrites. Democracy has become expendable. Maybe things will sort themselves out and if they do, niggaz will have to settle for maybe moving up a notch on the totem pole. Forget reparations.

Am I making myself clear when I compare humans and ants? The simile I was trying to make was as a child, I wondered if there are entities observing and controlling the fate of humans the way humans can look down and affect the fate of ants - an infinite scenario that makes humans both omnipotent and insignificant, depending where they are in the pecking order.

@ProfDAmerica is currently involved in a political campaign not a cold war. But a cold civil war becomes a possibility if Trump is put back in office or refuses to accept defeat. If Trump is re-elected, a global threat would ensue because of the effect it would have on the NATO treaty and the aid to Ukraine, both of which he opposes. The Retrumpican's threat to end Social Security and Medicare and their abortion policies could also trigger domestic upheaval. Things could really get hectic if Trump and his Congressional flunkies refuse to certify a Biden win. It's not about what America is; it's about what America may become. And what it becomes could involve an ongoing hostile conflict: a cold war.

When I was a precocious little girl, once while observing the ant hills thriving in the crevices of the sidewalks around my neighbirhood, I found myself wondering if there are to humans, what humans are to ants... So, I went in the house and came back with a teaspoon of sugar and sprinkled it all over the ant hills. And, although I felt omnipotent, the ants just scrambled around. Now I feel a kinship with ants, although I don't do alot of scrambling at my age, with my sore knee and all.

America and Russia were involved in "cold" war for 30 years. There were no battlefields or armed attacks. These 2 superpowers just rattled sabers and engaged in one-upsmanship confrontations within the confines of the UN. The Cuban crises during JFK's presidency was the closest the USA and the Soviet Union ever came to a hot war. Fortunately a trade off was agreed upon to avoid a nuclear holocaust. In the present, a war between the blue states and the red states could take place in Congress between the Retrumpicans and Democrats which would involve each side trying to invoke the Constitution to justify their devious shenanigans, These tactics could result in a permanent stale mate that would, in turn, lead to the country slowly collapsing. This is pretty much what happened to the Roman Empire. The alternative would be for a few courageous statesmen to step up and put country above party and attempt to initiate compromises. This would entail neutralizing those jackals who have taken over the Republican party along with the "woke" left wing Progressives. A recipe for chaos. Time will tell. Maybe a Phoenix will rise from the ashes. Meanwhile my knee continues to slowly heal. But like America, I will never be the same.

I didn't watch the State of the Union address. I figured I could catch the sound bytes and high(?) lights later. The reviews, which all seem to be limited to Biden supporters, said ol Joe gave a good accounting of himself. But from what I saw, he came across as a crotchety ol geezer telling kids to stay off his lawn. I don't believe he changed many minds, and I just think the Dems could pick some one more impressive to run against tRump. This spawn of Satan looks like he might reclaim the presidency. And if he gets back in, he has promised that heads will roll, as he goes on a vengeful rampage. If he loses he will, of course, claim the election was rigged. And all hell will break loose! Heaven help amerika Oh well. I'll just count on the outcome being predetermined, and I won't worry. November's a way off, and I don't make long range plans at my age. Y'all have fun. See ya but I wouldn't wanna be ya!

So it is debatable that in a set of circumstances having a variety of outcomes, the final result is dependent on which choice your freewill enabled you to make. To me , this raises the question of whether we are dealing with multi-verses instead of a single universe; parallel worlds that we can, and do shift between via the decisions we make. If that be the case, what seems to be pre-determined would differ from world to world. It's all very mind boggling. And I remain entangled in my mind-set of knowing nothing. I stumbled, and fell on my way into a supermarket and busted my knee cap. Now I'm hobbling around, battling the pain. I wonder if in a parallel world I decided not to go grocery shopping, and my knee is fine.

@franksterif you have decided "its all a dream" , then all of the rebuttals, explanations, and conclusions that you put forth in response to our assertions, explanations, and conclusions may not apply in the reality of being awake. Knowing that we know not, would hold true, however.

Well, alright. Y'all have served up a subject that's my cup of tea, gone to a place where I dwell... Too bad I can't contribute something profound to add to the provocative ideas the 3 of you have set forth. But, when all is said and done. this "cynical contrarian" agrees with what you've said and I have nothing original to propose. All my life I have pondered and contemplated and now, in the twilight of my years, have ended up as mystified as ever. I know that I know nothing. I suspect certain things, however. One of which is that I'm not alone is my journey, that there is an invisible force that shows up in my time of need and helps me; even protects me. Guardian angel? Spiritual guide? God? Who knows? Am I even alive, or is this all a dream. Why am I here? Damned if I know. Dare I further suspect that there's more to our existence than meets the eye. A lotta stuff we can't see or comprehend. Down through the ages men masquerading as sages have ventured to solve life and condense their conclusions into words that other men have defined, - the sounds of "idiots saying nothing"? (Notice women have been conspicuouly absent among famous philosophers.) I am currently dabbling in Existentialism which asks the question does life have any meaning. To which I reply: "Maybe." Sooooo, here I am, left to ramble snd babble and - not wake up one morning.

Well, we can all agree that Wendy's situation is tragic but - that's show biz! She joins a long line of celebrities who crashed and burned. At least she's still alive. Hope she gets the help she needs. @ProfDWe cool. And your comments about da BEARS echo the sentiments of Chicago fzns, many of whom also want the coach fired.

@ProfDWell you can act the gentleman and still be condescending when it comes to women. I was nonplussed by the way you went inside Fani' s head. as if you were privy to her thoughts, going into great detail about her sexuality, a breakdown that was akin to describing a bitch in heat. And of course Wendy was ridiculed and compared to a Pez dispenser, who being categorized as trash got no disagreement from you. But, you're entitled to your opinionated assessments. Just as you're entitled to refrain from singling out a member of the herd whom you deem worthyou of marrying. You owe me no explanations. The Bears have first pick in the upcoming NFL draft so unless they decide to keep Justin Fields as QB, the Commanders won't have a shot at Caleb Williams. Chicago fans are really in an uproar about what their team should do. Both players have their supporters. @Troy My remarks weren't directed at you. Your persona is different.

@ProfD& pioneer: It's bad enough that poor ol Wendy is seriously ill with aphasia/early onset dementia, is an alcoholic, and suffering with that thyroid condition that makes your eyes bulge, now she has to be sliced and diced by 2 males who look upon women simply as objects that exist for their gratification and critiquing. ( Fani, whats-her-name being another target of their chauvinism.) I'm assuming neither of you 2 watched the documentary about Wendy that appeared on the LifeTime TV channel, because such pop culture fare is not your cup of tea and, of course, Neely Fuller hasn't issued an opinion about her yet. Anyhoo, the chances of Wendy recovering are slim; she's in pathetically bad shape and, yes, all of her chickens have come home to roost. She was catty and bitchy which was why she had such a large following of sistas and gay men. She turned herself into a caricature and made millions doing so. Now the tables are turned and she inspires nothing but pity. Pray for her. Yeah, she had a good run. She never wanted for anything - except happiness. (Yet, like Barbra Steisand once quoted, "I've been rich, and I've been poor, and - rich is better." ) And speaking of rich, Wendy has also become a football between her salivating family and the court-appointed guardianship handling her financial affairs. And speaking of football, ProdD, who you got? Justin or Caleb? I'm done.

@ProfDdemocrats might be secretly planning a counter defense. Why would they publicize what their planning to do? What grabs me is that I may be around to witness the fall of the United Stares of America. This country is "a house divided against itself". Half the nation is no longer enthralled with democracy which could be supplanted by a fascistic theocracy, a change that might be preceded by a civil war. How cool is that?

@ProfDto me, this is more about fascism than racism. It will victimize anybody who doesn't get with the prpgam. May even reward boot lickin negroes..

Here is a report posted on a thread I was participating in on Facebook. I found it not only interesting but frightening. Check it out The Hartmann Report DAILY TAKE The New "Over the Top" Secret Plan on How Fascists Could Win in 2024 Here’s what I’m hearing Republicans are planning in the event Joe Biden wins re-election & Democrats hold the Senate and take the House this November… THOM HARTMANN FEB 26, 2024 576 140 Back on March 13, 2020 — almost exactly four years ago — I wrote an article that was published at alternet.org laying out how Republicans were then, ten months before January 6th, planning to partially repeat the debacle of the election of 1876 by having Vice President Pence refuse to certify swing state votes and thus throw the election to the House to keep Trump in office, no matter how the election went. When I published the article ten months before January 6th, I received concerned and even alarmed communications from several Democratic strategists and a few elected officials who basically said they didn’t think there was any way Trump would try such an audacious move and, if he did, he wouldn’t get away with it. But I was right and that was exactly what Trump had up his sleeve. We saw it play out on January 6th. The only thing that stopped him was Pence’s unwillingness to go along with stealing an election. Now I’m hearing a new story from those same GOP insiders (as well as other commentators) about Trump’s schemes for 2024. Here’s what I’m hearing Republicans are planning in the event Joe Biden wins re-election and Democrats hold the Senate and take the House this November: First, Republicans need to make sure they’re in control of the House of Representatives on January 6th, 2025, when the new president will be certified. To do that, even though Democrats might have won enough seats to take back the House in the 2024 election, Speaker Johnson will refuse to swear into Congress on January 3rd a handful of those Democrats, claiming there are “irregularities” in their elections that must be first investigated. Consider that Johnson is still refusing to swear in Tom Suozzi (who recently won George Santos’ old seat), something Johnson apparently did to maintain enough Republican-majority votes to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas. (Johnson says they’ll swear him in this coming Thursday, but nobody’s holding their breath.) Like Mitch McConnell withholding Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court for over a year, withholding certification of a handful of Democrats would be easy, legal, and completely immoral. There’s nothing Democrats can legally do to stop Speaker Johnson from pulling this off: he can postpone swearing a member in for as long as he wants. That keeps Speaker “MAGA Moscow Mike” Johnson in charge of the House, so they can also refuse to accept the Electoral College certificates of election from a handful of states where they claim there are “problems.” Keep in mind, Johnson was the guy who organized the wave of 138 House members who voted not to certify Joe Biden’s election in January of 2020. That’s why Trump wanted him as speaker. Elise Stefanik, the number 3 person in House Republican leadership, has already refused to say whether she’d vote to certify the presidential election results this November. Others, like Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, are repeatedly mentioning their belief that the House gets to decide who’s president, not the people or even the Electoral College. As Massie posted on X: “Maine, Colorado, and other states that might try to bureaucratically deny ballot access to any Republican nominee should remember the U.S. House of Representatives is the ultimate arbiter of whether to certify electors from those states.” In response, Elon Musk posted a one-word comment: “Interesting.” Then, regardless of how many votes Biden won by, electoral or popular, the House simply refuses to certify the electoral college votes of enough states that the minimum of 270 isn’t reached. Under the 12th Amendment, like with the election of 1876, that throws the election to the House, where each state has one vote. While a majority of Americans live in a state run by Democrats, a majority of the states themselves are run by Republicans. Each state gets one vote for president in the House, and right now 26 state delegations are GOP-controlled, meaning that a majority of the House would simply vote to put Trump back into the White House, 26-23 (Pennsylvania’s delegation is 50/50). All totally legal. The Putin/Trump caucus in the House — led by Speaker Johnson — has largely given up on democracy when elections don’t give them power. As outrageous as this scenario sounds, they justify it to themselves as being essential to “save America” from “woke” Democrats. Johnson has repeatedly said he thinks God Himself put Johnson into the speakership to fulfill some great destiny, comparing himself with Moses: stealing a presidential race “for the greater good” almost certainly qualifies as that. And, although Congress in 2022 raised the number of congressional objectors necessary to stop the certification of a presidential vote, Johnson himself was able to round up more than that number in 2020. This is eminently do-able. Finally, the Supreme Court long ago ruled that they and the entire US court system have no jurisdiction over “political issues” that the Constitution says must be resolved by Congress. This issue of Congress’ certification of electoral college votes certainly qualifies, so, no matter what the courts might want to say or do, there’s probably no legal tool they can use to block a second Trump presidency under these circumstances. Rightwing billionaires and neofascists within the GOP are salivating at this prospect. Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller must be giddy. In one fell swoop they’ll “take back” the government, putting an end to that pesky problem of democracy and voters wanting nice things. President Trump issues a new Schedule F executive order and suddenly 20,000 or so of the top management of every federal agency find themselves out of a job, being replaced by conservative ideologues who are being vetted by Heritage and other conservative think tanks as you’re reading these words. Once they have control of both the political and the “deep state” or administrative government, these conservatives intend to set about making the changes they’ve been pushing for years: — End gay marriage and criminalize being trans. — Outlaw abortion and most forms of birth control. — End the teaching of Black history. — Outlaw DEI and affirmative action of any sort. — Shut down most functions of the EPA so the fossil fuel and chemical industries can do whatever they want to our air and water. — End enforcement of our anti-monopoly laws. — Fire thousands of IRS investigators to make America safe for morbidly rich tax cheats. — Shut down all “green” initiatives and instead “drill, baby drill.” — Sell off public lands and parks to the highest bidders. — Privatize Social Security and end traditional Medicare. — End federal funding for public schools and colleges. — Outlaw unions. It’s truly breathtaking. They’re committed to abandoning America’s historic embrace of democracy, the “radical new form of government” that our nation’s Founders brought back into the world after it had vanished for almost 3000 years. But, as Americans have figured out the GOP’s priorities and are disgusted by their obeisance to great wealth and Vladimir Putin, Republicans have decided that winning free and fair elections is for suckers. Stealing them is so much easier. I don’t see any legal way such a strategy can be stopped, because it’s all based on “legal” technicalities. Like the legal technicality that George W. Bush and Donald Trump both lost the national popular vote but became president anyway (without significant protest from the American people). When I wrote that article laying out Trump’s plan to have phony electors, et al, back in 2020, people were upset I was “giving him ideas.” Some may similarly say about this article, “Don’t tell them how to do it!” But this has already been written about extensively by Newsweek’s editor-at-large Tom Rogers, Mark Medish & Joel McCleary for the Washington Spectator, and covered last Friday night an an opening monologue by Joy Reid. It’s public knowledge, although the media seems unwilling to discuss it. The best way to prevent this from happening is to widely publicize their scheme so public opinion will become so intense that they fear the consequences. It’s a thin thread holding our republic together, but at least it’s something. Pass it along.

Change is inevitable and goes hand in hand with freedom. Fads and trends just come natural to a species of sociable beings with imaginations. Like now, beards are "in" and all the fellas are wearing them. They don't flatter everybody but being able to cultivate one seems to bolister a guy's self esteem. Boys will be boys... Clean-shaven dudes , however, can still pull the thick babes with false eyelashes and ropes of hair who are currently in vogue, - unless they prefer petite pixie types. No accounting for taste, and individuality ain't completely dead.

Smh. Will folks ever learn? "Never have your honey where you make your money." When issues arise, this always taints your credibility. Good thing Fani wasn't prosecuting Trump for sexual misbehavior. His legal team could've chanted "it takes one to know one". Fani's father got it right when he told her "a man is not a plan."

That's what existentialism posits with its "existence" being followed by "essence" debate. Your assertion is challenge by some. "I know that I know nothing" is starting to become my mantra.

There are rumors circulating that a coup of moderate Progressives are planning some backroom shenanigans at the Democrat Convention wherein, under the guise of passing the torch, Biden will nobly step aside in difference to the overwhelming rejection of his candidacy because of his age. This would then be followed by the party uniting behind a younger, dynamic, candidate, possibly Gavin Newsome, who would be far more viable and appealing than tRump or Nikki. Considering how bad Biden's poll numbers are, this doesn't sound so far fetched or like wishful thinking. It makes no sense for the Dems to run someone who is so overwhelmingly rejected by voters. Kamala Harris is, unfortunately, also a liability. If ol Joe dies in office, she hasn't done much to instill confidence in her leadership ability. Not to mention that she's a woman. And "black" Look out, Hell. Here comes America!

@TroyI'm not a big fan of YouTube videos, but I made an exception for you. My feed back would give you a thumbs up *** for the info you you dispensed, especislly about AI and I was impressed by your heartfelt back story and your sincere dedication when it comes to making a difference in a world that stacks the deck against "the little guy" at the mercy of the monopolies. What I would observe, however, is that after all this time, most adults aren't that gullible and naive when it comes to social media and search engines. Nobody trusts them anymore. We know they mean you know good and are just trying to exploit you. I no longer answer any questions or take surveys posted on Facebook or bite their click bait ploys or "like" the memes posted. I do argue with people whose politics I reject, but I also do a lot of deleting and blocking of what this sets off. And, yes, I do a lot of Googling but this is mostly about about subjects that don't generate ads. Nor do I detect a NY accent in your speech, the way I do with Rappers and celebs from Brooklyn and the Bronx, - JayZ, in particular. Bottom line I wouldn't classify your video as boring; just a tad technical in some areas.

@Delano I got all wrapped up in existentialism, and once I started pondering about whether life has any meaning , the futility of it all kinda neutralized my spirit. I even started wondering if, as Poe wrote, "all that we see or seem, is just a dream within a dream".

@ProfD& Troy: I thought it would be great to live a long life and reach 90. But, suddenly, I'm not impressed over having achieved this goal. Others in this category thank the Lord and aspire to reach 100 and are eager to tell what they attribute their longevity to. Me, I'm fighting boredom and depression. I really feel as though I've over stayed my time here and am trapped in a state of limbo I've lost interest in a lot of things and what others find interesting and exciting I find mundane. I spent a lot of time pondering about life after death and whether there is one. I've been told this all might be hormonal. And, of course, I'm very pessimistic about the upcoming presidential election and the future of the USA. Hopefully you both will be able to handle old age better than me. I'm certainly not an inspiration. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. N c Hi Chevdove and Mel. Glad to see you're still "holding down the fort."