Posts by betterdaze

44

Is anyone here hooked on Downton Abbey?

by exwhyzee in

my wife got me started watching this show last year.

we've downloaded the previous seasons on netflix and have found it to be really well done.

the story line, scenery,costumes,old cars and compelling characters have us hooked.

betterdaze

For those who fashion of the Downton Abbey era, the Allentown Art Museum is hosting Fabulous Flappers: Fashion from the Ellie Laubner Collection, now extended through April 21st.

Just visited yesterday… free street parking and free admission on Sundays (donations accepted). It goes without saying that the beadwork on some the evening gowns is exquisite! They've included some menswear and all sorts of jewelry, shoes and other accoutrements of the period as well.

Here's a local write-up with some photos: Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley debuts 'Fabulous Flappers' exhibit

535

AAWA is here!! (The Association of Anti-Watchtower Activists)

by cedars in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcic4g5tulw.

http://www.jwactivists.org.

facebook the association of anti-watchtower activists.

betterdaze

Max. Not arguing with you at all, and thanks for helping broaden that point.

535

AAWA is here!! (The Association of Anti-Watchtower Activists)

by cedars in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcic4g5tulw.

http://www.jwactivists.org.

facebook the association of anti-watchtower activists.

betterdaze

Max Divergent said, Other board members might engage in debate if they wish, preferably with members of the association,

ARTICLE V in the Articles of Incorporation clearly states, "The Corporation shall have no members."

56

If you started an organisation (related to exposing the Watchtower, helping Jw's who are disfellowshipped, or any other worthy cause).. What would it be called and what would you aim to achieve?

by The Quiet One in

jw
friends

...?.

betterdaze

Watchtower Resource Group, Inc.

It's main aims as a non-profit and/or NGO would be:

• To act as as an educational clearinghouse for non-JW's and the media about the harmful effects of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society's policies

• To address human rights violations perpetrated upon it's adherents

• To seek remedy for victims of abuse in the courts

• To generally expose how the Jehovah's Witness sect is a front for the Watchtower's global media and real estate business, masquerading as a faith.

It would provide an array of referrals for those adversely affected by the Watchtower and their loved ones, but no direct counseling or endorsements for certain treatments.

And of course, it would be 110% non-religious in nature.

Thanks for asking.

535

AAWA is here!! (The Association of Anti-Watchtower Activists)

by cedars in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcic4g5tulw.

http://www.jwactivists.org.

facebook the association of anti-watchtower activists.

betterdaze

When I say "committed" I mean people who are actually legally tied to the organization through its articles of incorporation.

This may help clarify: The Articles of Incorporation for the Association of Anti-Watchtower Activists. (Scroll down to click button under Scanned Documents.) Three directors are listed.

And this topic, from a few months ago, appears to show the germination of the "Modern-Day Truth-Seeking Internet Vigilantes" who make up most of the current officers.

IMHO, it's a fabulous idea whose time has come, but they're shooting themselves in the foot with an Anti-anything name and "vigilantes" would hardly serve any better.

Especially in the U.S. press, and in this post 9/11 era.

5

Jerry Bergman book ... Need HELP

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

i need help with a resource.

anyone here have access to a book by jerry bergman titled: .

blood transfusions: a history and evaluation of the religious, biblical, and medical objections.

betterdaze

If no one here has the book, you may be able to borrow it from one of these libraries, or ask a librarian to scan some pages for you: worldcat.org/

7

The Challenge and the Result

by stuckinamovement in

jw
friends

i remember being late for my senior year chemistry class.

as i grabbed the last seat in the back of the room i could tell that a boy in my class was engaged in yet another debate with the teacher.

jim was a bright student but he felt that he knew more than mr. roberts our chemistry teacher.

betterdaze

And did Mr. Roberts ever return as promised? How many generations of students still await his arrival?

70

Unemployment is down, but why did America set a record 47.8 million on food stamps?

by moshe in

in the usa a new record was set on food stamp enrollments, which seems ironic.

you would think as unemployment drops , food stamp usage would be dropping, too.

maybe those government unemployment numbers are fake numbers.

betterdaze

Not everyone fights for payments, some are solicited and coached.

Moving People From Welfare To Disability Rolls Is A Profitable, Full-Time Job

Planet Money looks at company called PCG which state governments hire to move people off of welfare and onto disability. States hire PCG to do this because states pay part of the bill for welfare, but don't pay for people on disability.

26

In All Honesty Would You Have NOT Given Blood To Your Child If He or She Needed it?

by minimus in

jw
friends

as a "faithful witness", i never had to deal with this on a personal level.

i imagine the pressure must be extreme with the elders and others "supporting" you to do the right thing.. do you think you would have given blood to your family member, especially your child if you were in that situation..

betterdaze

I reflected on the fact that my parents would rather have seen me dead than transfused. I asolutely know this.

Me too, Sulla.

It's poor enough the Watchtower regarded us as mini-adult, child-units who didn't deserve birthdays. They nurture a weird sort of sociopathy in Jehovah's Witness parents so that you can never, truly, expect them to look out for their childrens' best interests.

My JW parent had/has a Munchausen's by Proxy thing with me, and only me, to the point where I can never fully trust her inclinations with my healthcare. That warrants a topic unto itself that I'd like to explore here sometime but it's just too raw for me even in midlife.

Anyway, I have directed Mr. B to tell the hospital I am an orphan with no "next of kin" because I am positive even my siblings (neither of which are baptized JWs) would accept the blood directive to this day. It is that ingrained.

We've discussed it. They would deny themselves, they would deny our parents, they would deny me. I have made it clear that I will take blood. Yet I am squeamish just considering it. Children of the pre-1975 era, that lethal "blood is bad" indoctrination runs so deep.

I am grateful to live in an area that has two excellent hospitals providing alternatives: Englewood and Hackensack. I encourage anyone to look into their programs if JW family is in need of bloodless surgery, blood management, or whatever it's being branded now.

11

Social aid and the Witnesses

by Aaron Eldridge in

*** g 5/08 p. 21 is philanthropy the answer?

***by fully addressing the root causes of human suffering, god will accomplish what is well beyond all humans, individually and collectively.

accordingly, rather than set up philanthropic organizations, jehovahs witnesses, in imitation of jesus christ, prefer to devote their time and financial resources to announcing the good news of [gods] kingdom.matthew 24:14; luke 4:43.. i have collected a few quotes like this one but could use some more.

betterdaze

THE NEEDIEST CASES
Despite Hard Times, Veteran Still Lives Independently

Recent NY Times story about a 94-year-old JW gentleman with no family support system in place. He is an only child, single and childless himself.

It makes my heart glad to know that this man has reliable resources available to care for his needs. Shamefully, the Watchtower is not one of them.

Some excerpts:

"He is helped by a small army of support coordinated by Dominican Sisters Family Health Service." A Catholic institution.

"Meals on Wheels delivers daily lunches." Worldly.

"And after Mr. D. lost power during Hurricane Sandy, brothers from his denomination, the Jehovah's Witnesses, came over to assist."

The article doesn't describe how they assisted. Maybe to hand-off the latest magazines? See if he wasn't deceased yet, so they could be off the hook for tiresome shepherding calls?

"The reverse mortgage he took out in 2000 augments the $860 in Social Security and $130 in food stamps he receives monthly. Still, with his annual income less than $18,000 and with his savings gone, his expenses began to eclipse his resources." Social programs he himself paid into all his working life. He inherited the home as an only child from his parents, who "had saved, scrimped and borrowed to buy it."

"Last fall, he fell behind on his heating oil bill. So Dominican Sisters, an affiliate of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York, called upon the organization for help. Catholic Charities, one of the agencies supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, drew $680 from the fund to help pay the bill." Religious agency supplemented by worldly, corporate funding.

"Afterward, his fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses helped Mr. D. to successfully petition the bank for an increase in the mortgage payout, as well as to secure money from a pension fund for aging veterans."

They went to straight to his bank. Plus tapped the gubbermint for veterans benefits he earned when he was obviously not yet a JW. There's a teaching/scripture about that... something about ill-begotten gains and how we should reject them.

When he later fell ill:

"He was admitted to a hospital, and then to Cabrini Eldercare in Dobbs Ferry for short-term rehabilitation." Cabrini is *yet another* Catholic-run institution.

There you have it. The Witnesses use the world to the full, relying upon much-vilified Catholic charity, plus Satan's worldly institutions, before they will ever cough up a dime to help one of their own.