under the radar

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Posts by under the radar

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  34

  Caleb & Sophia RC badges

  by oppostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  take a look at this caleb & sophia rc badge for children.. .

  what's the motivation to make special childrens' badges?

  i smell indoctrination!.

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  under the radar

  Outlaw, that was by far the best graphical analogy I've seen in quite a while. Brilliant! Thanks so much for taking the time to put it together and share it with us.
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  28

  Ran into some JW's.......but this time I did the teaching ;) x

  by snare&racket in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i went out today with my broken leg and got accosted by an old lady, with some magazines.. it was my first ever encounter with a jw in ten years, and i had said 'i know you are jw's, i'm not interested thank you.

  " twice.....then she started talking about my broken leg and how wonderful we are made and how amazing the healing process is.... and that's when it all started...."i used to be a bethelite pioneer, now i'm an atheist doctor...".

  she was with me a good 30 mins, her elder husband left very annoyed but she stayed, and she was dying to hear everything i spurted out, despite aggressively defending every point, from military engines to paedophilia.

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  under the radar

  Well done, Dr. Snare. I hope your leg heals very quickly so you can get back to your regular routine. My hat's off to you, sir!
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  18

  Time Magazine Article: Now’s the Time To End Tax Exemptions for Religious Institutions

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://time.com/3939143/nows-the-time-to-end-tax-exemptions-for-religious-institutions/?xid=newsletter-brief.

  june 28, 2015 .

  nows the time to end tax exemptions for religious institutions.

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  under the radar

  I could not agree more. I have long felt that giving religious organizations tax exemptions violates the Establishment Clause. No religious property of any kind should be exempt. This should alleviate the huge burden born by local communities when conglomerates, operating under the guise of "religion," gobble up sometimes huge parcels of land and take it off the tax rolls. That is simply not right. It has the effect of government "establishing" the religion by giving it special consideration and forces the local populace to underwrite its activities, even though some may vehemently object to them.

  While we're at it, I believe that no charity should have a tax exemption greater than the amount they actually spend on charitable activities, plus maybe 10% for administrative costs. And non-cash gifts and services received and redistributed as charity should not count towards that amount. If charities had to prove they gave out at least 90% of what they took in, it would cut back a lot on the number of scams masquerading as charities.
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  34

  camping information.

  by James Brown in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i are planning on taking a year off and taking a jeep and a camper through all the 48 contiguous states and alaska and some of canada.. living in florida, i have always had guns and a concealed carry permit.

  but researching for our upcoming retirement vacation, it seems to me that i might not be able to legally carry firearms on my upcoming expedition.. it seems every state has different laws and licenses.

  what does a camper from florida do when he goes to new york or california?

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  under the radar

  There is an iOS app called Legal Heat that gives you the basic gun laws and carry requirements in all 50 states. It's updated as necessary. I'm sure there are plenty of others. And of course, there are lots of web sites with the same information.

  Many states issue non-resident permits, but requirements and costs vary significantly. For example, a Utah non-resident permit is honored in 31 states. There probably is some combination of state non-resident permits that would cover almost all states, but there are some states that only honor permits issued to their own residents. Be very careful in those states.

  Bottom line: know before you go. In states where you aren't covered by a valid permit, just keep the gun(s) secured in accordance with the federal transport laws until you leave that state.

  Even in states where your permit is valid, there may be certain places where carrying your gun would still be prohibited, like schools and colleges, churches, bars, etc. Each state has its own rules about "prohibited places." For example, some states allow you to carry while in a restaurant where alcohol is served as long as you yourself are not drinking. Others do not. Some states are very strict about "concealed means concealed," and consider it a violation if your gun is even inadvertently revealed, such as by the outline being visible under your clothes. And federal law always prohibits guns in post offices, federal courts, and several other places.

  Again, know before you go. It will take time and money to acquire the optimum number of state permits. Then you will need to plan your route carefully to know when you have to keep the gun locked up and when you don't.

  A local gun club or shooting range would be a good place to start your research and planning. Here in New Hampshire, a local gun dealer regularly offers courses that qualify you for specific state non-resident permits. The Utah non-resident permit course is particularly popular.

  Be careful out there...
  
  
  
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  31

  Crisis Of Conscience In Audio Format?

  by dubstepped in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i'm just wondering if the book is available to be listened to in any format?

  i know that it can be found online and read freely, and i've been through some of it, but i just wondered if it was available in any other way.

  i guess it would be lacking some of the copies of articles and such that were in the original book, but it would still be interesting.

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  under the radar

  Thanks for your efforts. I was opening the zip file on my MacBook Pro with Archive Utility. The Dropbox files seems to be ok, but I haven't listened to every one of them yet.

  Again, I appreciate your taking the time to make the files available.
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  31

  Crisis Of Conscience In Audio Format?

  by dubstepped in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i'm just wondering if the book is available to be listened to in any format?

  i know that it can be found online and read freely, and i've been through some of it, but i just wondered if it was available in any other way.

  i guess it would be lacking some of the copies of articles and such that were in the original book, but it would still be interesting.

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  under the radar

  Thanks, GodZoo, for uploading that file. I downloaded it as a zip several times, but every time I tried to unzip it, it failed and said a certain directory does not exist. Am I doing something wrong, or could the upload be corrupted?

  Thanks for looking into this when you have time. I'm looking forward to putting this high quality narration on my iPhone.

  Radar
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  18

  Changes for Volunteers at Conventions and Assemblies in Spain

  by RayPublisher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  someone sent me this from jwtalk.

  a guy on there just posted this regarding changes to the way the jws volunteer at conventions in spain and the changes seem fairly major:.

  we had a special meeting today called a training session for volunteers.

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  under the radar

  There may be several reasons, but I can think of at least two. One, the liability involved when a volunteer is injured or injures someone else while "on duty." Two, it may a way to gouge even more contributions from the "brothers."

  I can just hear them whining about how high the expenses are now, and that they should be grateful that the Governing Body has lovingly relieved them of all this hard work that would have prevented them from enjoying every morsel of fresh steaming Spiritual Food©, and that they know the brothers will respond with an open hand to cover these expenses. Blah, blah, blah...

  One things for certain: the changes will benefit the Society in some way, either through more contributions extracted from the masses or through reduced liability and insurance costs, maybe both. I doubt the effect on individual members was even a factor.
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  36

  Small details...

  by Garrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a witness friend wanted to meet up recently and talk.

  since this person was a close friend and who i thought had a level head, i'd go ahead and speak with him.

  our conversation actually helped me figure a few things out not only for myself but also about the witnesses.. so we're talking and i'm telling him my experience and the doctrines that i disagreed with as well as the scandals that made me disgusted with the organization.

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  under the radar

  By golly, I guess you could say it really is the same bicycle or hatchet or whatever under the "overlapping parts" doctrine. Hmmm...
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  31

  and Moses came down the mountain on his....DUCATI

  by snare&racket in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  worst day in the last ten years, was the day i hit 0.00 with one and a half years of university to go.

  nobody to turn to, nobody to ask for help.

  i was 32 and as an ex jw had two family members in contact with me.

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  under the radar

  Congratulations, Snare! Maybe not so much for getting another bike, but for persevering with your education in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. My hat's off to you, Sir!
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  7

  Question for non-jw spouses

  by FreeGirl2006 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  a dub i know was recently reinstated.

  she was dfd for leaving her hubby for another man.

  she married the other man and then began the process of being reinstated.

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  under the radar

  In some cases, the people involved as just as vulnerable to the pie-in-the-sky promises of the Truth™ as anyone else. Some may be seeking to assuage their "guilt" over past "sins."

  I left the organization back in 2000, though I have never been officially DA'd or DF'd. But I digress. Back in the 90's, there was a new Circuit Overseer appointed and everyone was abuzz about him and his wife. Turned out she did not like being asked about how she "came into the Truth™." When cornered, she would admit that she was picked up in a bar by a JW who was "on his way out." Though I doubt he was actually "witnessing" to her at the time, she was intrigued by some of things he told her about the JW's. She stopped seeing him and eventually "studied" with the JW's, and the rest is history.

  Genuinely good people can sometimes do things that they are later ashamed of, perhaps deeply regret. That can make them susceptible to tales of a Sky Daddy who will forgive their "sins" and bestow blessings galore upon them. Maybe it's a way of distancing themselves from their past.