Rick Fearon - HELLO!!! Are you there? If so, take a moment and please consider what I have to say.
You know that I have supported you many times in the past. I've participated on your conference call a couple of times. I've enjoyed listening to some of your guests like Barbara Anderson, Cochise Pendleton and others. Sometimes your call-in programs are quite interesting. I'd hate for you to lose all your credibility and your audience because of journalistic ineptitude.
Rick, I have asked you, as have many others, to please explain exactly how you vetted JTB. I am asking you again to clearly tell us how you managed to be so convinced that Johnny is legitimate. At one time you were going to meet him near the Brooklyn Bethel, interview him and check his bona fides. But I've searched this site and Six Screens and I can not find a single article or post where you have explained how you managed that. Did that ever really happen?
While the rest of us scratch our heads trying to figure out how JTB can pull off his little anti-JW scam while being a member of the Watchtower's IT team and do it from his room or a Bethel closet using toss-away or flat-fee cell phones (which are not that cheap) - you continue to treat him as if he is totally credible and thus an expert on all things Bethel.
It's not working, Rick. If you think you are not getting a fair shake here on JWN, then I invite you to PM me or email me at editor@ex-jw.com and let me help you tell your story. I think we'd all love to know that there really is a mole at WT HQ that is willing to share insider information and nasty Governing Body secrets. But we also need to be assured that "mole" is not a fake, a flake, or a double-agent trying to get our confidence and then lead us down a path to destruction by feeding us damaged or notoriously false information.
I've been contacted by many persons who have claimed to be JWs or ex-JWs who want to share information with me to "expose the Watchtower." 80% of what I get is simply BS - or someone pushing their own religious quackery - or trying to get me to expose myself to a charge of libel by trying to get me to publish accusations against local elders or specific traveling overseers. On the other hand, as in the case of the Menlo Park Kingdom Hall, I sometimes get proof that is credible and can be verified by talking to people on the phone or in person. Or, as in the case of "Shadow Elder" and his son, I have actually called his Kingdom Hall and verified his existence, his position, and his name and can therefore publish his story with confidence.
Likewise those who publish articles on my websites are personally known to me, have a known reputation on this and other websites, or have confirmed their identities to me to my satisfaction. I won't disclose their identities and won't retain anything that could harm them on my computers, but I feel comfortable presenting their stories on my websites.
So think about it, Rick. Send me a PM or an email and let's discuss how I can help you confirm that Johnny the Bethelite is exactly who he claims to be. If you are willing to give him his own call-in show or let him monopolize hours on your regular show, then I think you should also be willing to take steps to confirm his actual existence to someone else who has established a level of credibility among former JWs. I offer myself to fill that role, but if my reputation isn't strong enough, then consider Paul Grundy or Randy Watters or ???
JV
