I bet waiting in line at DisneyWorld is even worse. =P

I've done some work for the VA in the past, under contract, and the crying need at many of these centers is more staff. =( The equipment and facilities are amazing; just not enough people to go around, and the government won't pay for more.

Obviously, Nero wasn't that involved in the incident. The fact however that they want to keep Nero as a witness for future trials leads me to believe Nero's about to throw someone under the bus pretty hard.

The question now will be which officer. Or officers.

Freddie Gray's death was unfortunate and shouldn't have happened. But let's make sure we get the right people responsible and not turn this into a witch hunt.

Why do men cheat?

Because we like to win. =)

I was thinking someplace more like Sweden. =)

But I'm not ready to throw in the towel on my country yet.

If it really does get too bad here, I'll not have any qualms about giving up my citizenship. I'm not being a fair-weather fan, I just know that if it gets bad in this country, I mean really, really bad, to the point where I do not feel safe?

I'm out. =)

It's a possibility.
Just look at the Nazca lines of Peru, for example.
Someone made those, and they weren't meant for anyone else to see - except something up in the sky. Whether or not they were drawn to appease sun gods is a mystery. Seems like a hell of a lot of work to impress the sun. =)

Well, I'll play more nicely. =)
Thanks.

I may have been a little unfair to a lot of people, and want to apologize. I reminded myself I should be celebrating the differences, because if we all thought the same things, this would be an incredibly boring place to live.

What I have learned in my 50-plus years here on this blue-green spinning world is that we're all of a different mind. Opinions, facts, juicy articles, theories, these are pretty much useless to us, if we feel a certain way about something.

It's difficult for us to believe one thing, hear a few things from others, and suddenly think "wow, was I wrong!" *laughs* Of course it doesn't happen. Or if it does, I've yet to see it.

So, yes, maybe I think Hillary is a better choice than Trump.
Or believe abortion and many other human rights belong with the people not the government.
Maybe I believe in gun control, and giving all genders, races, and religions fair rights.
Maybe I believe in climate change, or alien beings, or ghosts and other mysteries.
Maybe I believe in a higher power.
Maybe I believe that the Republican Party has momentarily lost its direction.
Maybe I believe the Democratic Party is a nation of kiss-ups and kowtowers.
Maybe I believe in a whole lot of others things.

I don't think I'm a liberal though. I'm not sure what I am. Am I all for making this country is fantastic as I can, hell yes.

Universal healthcare.
Free education for all.
Free Wifi from coast-to-coast, even underlying areas, and low-populations.
Less banks and power-mad money-men. Tighter banking regulations.
Research and then re-evaluate all trade laws/regulations with every country America does business with.
A complete evaluation of endangered animals and newer, more stricter laws to prevent animal cruelty at home.
A completely re-built waterway and electrical grid. We need this badly.
A dismantling of the IRS, and going to just one simple yearly tax based on income only.
Stricter control not on guns, but the people who use them. Including annual mental health physicals and tests for all gun-owners of suspect mentalities.
Legalization of all drugs. Dismantle the DEA and add over 500,000 FBI forces. Crime will drop like a stone.

So, yes, I don't think I'm a liberal. I'm more of a conservative progressive. I believe in less government interference in our lives, I believe in spending less, and allowing more freedoms. I also believe that free enterprise and capitalism are the laws of the land. =)

Geez, I should have ran against Trump. =P

Anyway, I'll try to celebrate differences from here on out. Sorry, all. =)

Well, bear in mind, the way we are built now is NOT how we were built way back when. I firmly believe Neanderthal man may very well have demonstrated some of the most amazing things, like extra-sensory perception, telekinesis, telepathy, etc. It may sound far-fetched, but if you think about how little we use our brains now, and how many more distractions we have since way back then, it's possible.

What did God supposedly say? He made us in the same image as God? If that's the case, look through the Bible and you'll find all these stories about people doing incredible things, vanquishing foes, seeing visions in the sky, all SORTS of goodies.

It's conceivable God didn't do ANY of these things. Man did, through their own mind powers, and these powers were attributed to God, or A god. =)

My Dad, who passed in 2011, told me a story. He went hunting with some friends in the woods, to go after deer. Everyone seemed really gung-ho about it, drinking beers around a fire, sleeping under the stars, laughing, having a great time.

The next morning, they got an early start and Dad found a deer, an 8-point busk I think it was, about a half-mile from the camp area. He aimed, took his shot, and hit the deer. It didn't make a sound at first - until Dad and his friends got close to it.

It started to scream, looking wild-eyed up at them, bleeding from a wound near its neck, thrashing around on the cold ground. Dad said he couldn't get the sound out of his head.

Well, one of his buddies carefully shot the deer to put it out of its terrible misery and then they all wordlessly went back to camp and packed up.

They hardly said anything all the way home - and my Dad never touched a gun again.

True story. =(

Although it is a bit fishy for someone to consider you a match without looking at your profile. Looks aren't everything, believe me. =)

Word of advice: focus on the people who view your profile first. I wouldn't put too much stock in the mutual matches just yet. Do an advanced search, where you can choose a variety of factors, and then see who turns up.

Remember, it's free to message people here. So if someone really appeals to you, just break the ice.

I could never handle fishing as a kid.

Shoving a hook into a worm's face and then watching it still wriggling was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach. *=)*

And then I add insult to injury by drowning the poor thing, and then letting fish rip it to shreds...

*gag*

It's like a horror movie!!!!!

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/19/478720206/how-the-wrong-verb-meant-the-texas-gop-called-most-texans-gay

Maybe not gay, but certainly illiterate. =)

Yes, to be clear here, I'm not suggesting taking it away. I'm simply saying get everyone to re-apply for coverage, preferably after their last welfare check.

Suppose I was paid on May 1st for a welfare check. (which will never freaking happen, because I have no desire to ever sponge off this government). With that check would come an application to re-apply, which as I recall requires financial documents, expense sheets, etc.

Unless I filled out the forms, dotted the i's and crossed the t's, I would not receive another check on June 1st. =)

And how would you intend to do that?

You want to monitor every man and woman claiming welfare? Because that's clearly the only way to make the system work better. We've been imposing stiff penalties on people for decades whom commit welfare fraud, but it hasn't done a bit of good.

Enforcing regulations is exactly my point. By forcing all people to re-apply, and under new regulations, a lot of the fraudulent claims should sift out. =)

Simple. With welfare cut-off for millions, those that don't really need it might be prodded into seeking employment and joining the rest of earners in this country. I don't agree that people should get a "free ride". It's not fair to the millions of us who have worked hard to get where they are. I can understand poor families, single mothers, the incapacitated or disabled, people like that who absolutely need a monthly stipend, but the sad truth is a lot of people receiving these stipends don't need them.

I worked in a convenience store, a fast-food restaurant, on an assembly line, and other rather menial jobs. If I can do them, I don't see why someone can't buck up and do it as well, if just to put food on the table for a family.

Is it fair? Of course not. =) Life isn't supposed to be fair.

As far as bankers go?

I agree with the notion that the major banks should be torn to the foundations and forced to split apart into several smaller banks. these mega-banks are way too powerful, and corrupted to the bone.

Spoken like the true bully behind the chain link fence wanting inside. =)

Are you telling me to leave? I believe that violates certain terms of service around here, especially about attacks on other users.

Oh, I'm not here to impress any of you. =)

I have absolutely no reason to seek your approval of whatever I type here in these forums. After all, I have a much larger stage.

I'm simply on Mingle2 because I want to meet someone who shares my interests, the same as the bulk of you.

Having fun fencing with you all on political matters is simply frosting on the cake.

Well, actually. no.

I can point to several news reports stating how the Republican party, before Obama took office, would "not let him pass anything".

You need to just get used to the fact that the Republican Party in office is nothing but a derelict, racist, lower-class of individuals with money. =)

Obama being elected as President of the U.S. brought the racist core of the House and Senate Republicans out in full force, and there is nothing you can say or show me to prove otherwise.

Go ahead and tell yourself Obama's skin-color didn't mean a thing if it makes you sleep better. You just don't want to believe for a moment that your faithful governmental Republicans could be so evil as to allow a country to fail economically because of deplorable bigotry.

Guess what?

They are. =)

And I find it fascinating that you support them.

That would be "Commando (food)"

Could work. =)

I do want to point out that I do believe in an intelligent being far greater than us. Whether or not it is truly God, that's something for which we just have to rely on faith.

I just don't see how evolution can prove ALL of this. Our bodies are incredible. I said this before, but we breathe air, we process the elements around us, and we can use our sense, and our whole nervous system is a complex, intricate mesh of "wires" and "electrical charges".

There are really only two real conclusions I can draw from this.

a) We were either built, for some purpose, by some power we cannot even begin to understand or;

b) We are not real. Everything around us is nothing but an intense, deeper level of some kind of existential plane that we cannot grasp.

I'll opt for choice a, on the contention that if something DID build us and build this world for us to live upon, one can only assume it was done with love, and the hopes we would show mutual love to others.

And that's what God has always been about. =)