Congrats! I filled mine out a couple weeks ago, before the deadline. I haven't received my registration card in the mail yet, but the online site shows me valid to vote, effective 10/30/08! Now I need to go research all the OTHER names that will be on the ballot--it's not just the Presidential election, there are Senators, House members, State reps / senators, etc...
TJ - iAmCleared2Land
JoinedPosts by TJ - iAmCleared2Land
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Hyperventilating here - please hold my cyber hand
by Dagney ini am filling out my first voter registration application.
i''ll be fine.
but i feel like i need a drink.
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Other ways the Society discourages college
by TJ - iAmCleared2Land inas my daughter prepares for college, i'm discovering other subtle ways the society discourages college... beyond the "don't go" messages.. as students apply for college and scholarships, the schools like to see:.
volunteer time with community involvementleadership activities by involvement in school clubs and civic organizationsjob experience sports involvement in all of these areas, my daughters are facing handicaps.
for each of the above, the society discourages witness involvement:.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
Daniel, yes, they are first generation college in our family--nobody in the past 3 or 4 generations has gone.
Sylvia, we're confident, too. The oldest scored VERY well on her SAT's; 2320 out of 2400. She made National Merit Semifinalist, and if she's selected as a Finalist in February, she should be able to get a full ride. (fingers-crossed)
It's just that filling out these applications really made me realize how little they've been able to experience.
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Daryl Tucker commits suicide.
by dogon ini do not know if anyone knew daryl tucker of vanderbuilt, congergation in michigan.
i just got word that his wife of 28 years left him and he shot himself.
even though he was a witness he was one of the good ones.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
I am sad that another one was lost, and was hurting.
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Other ways the Society discourages college
by TJ - iAmCleared2Land inas my daughter prepares for college, i'm discovering other subtle ways the society discourages college... beyond the "don't go" messages.. as students apply for college and scholarships, the schools like to see:.
volunteer time with community involvementleadership activities by involvement in school clubs and civic organizationsjob experience sports involvement in all of these areas, my daughters are facing handicaps.
for each of the above, the society discourages witness involvement:.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
As my daughter prepares for college, I'm discovering other subtle ways the Society discourages college... beyond the "don't go" messages.
As students apply for college and scholarships, the schools like to see:
- Volunteer time with community involvement
- Leadership activities by involvement in school clubs and civic organizations
- Job experience
- Sports involvement
In all of these areas, my daughters are facing handicaps. For each of the above, the Society discourages Witness involvement:
- Volunteer time should be spent in the ministry, not in community activities. Volunteering for social organizations like Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, hospital volunteering, etc., is viewed as supporting a dying cause--we should use our time to teach people the permanent solution, God's Kingdom.
- Need I say more on leadership activities? Students are discouraged from any extra-curricular or student leadership / student body activities.
- Summers should be spent pioneering or working where the need is great--our girls didn't get summer jobs.
- Sports?! LOL. This has affected not only their application to college, but also their health. They are overweight and don't understand team dynamics very well, tending to be solitary individuals.
Just makes me sad, and mad, and I needed to vent... we're trying our best to get them in on academic merit.
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I ran into some other JW's Sunday and you wouldn't believe what happened...
by Quirky1 inwell, a jw couple that still like to hang around even though i haven't attended a meeting since february invited the jw wifey and i to lunch.
we decided to go to a popular restaurant in the neighboring town.
we went right after their meeting was over.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
I could have said "Boo!" and I think they would have shit their pants.
LOL! Next time, DO... I'd like to know if they jump. :-)
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Bill Mahres Religolous movie
by dogon ini highly recomend bill mahres movie religolous.
i saw it yesterday in little rock, only one theater played it.
it was very very good.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
Agreed! I first heard about it earlier this week on NPR (listen to the story here), read about it online, and snuck out of the office for a few hours this afternoon to go see it.
Well, I won't give it a "review"--you'll find plenty of those online. But I can say that the only thing that would have made Bill Maher's Religulous (a telling play on the words "Religion" and "Ridiculous") better is if he'd grilled some JW's on their beliefs, too.
Notwithstanding that omission of laden opportunities, Maher's satirical look at the world's religions, as seen through the interview-driven corners the adherents themselves back themselves into in response to Maher's questions, is outstanding.
Rated "R" for subtitled language and a briefly depicted scene from Mormon theology of God (as a physical man from a planet orbiting the star Kolob) having sex with Mary to conceive Jesus.
Maher travels the world to take us on personal visits with politicians, religious leaders, followers, scientists, and others; he gains unprecendented and unrehearsed access to these individuals, which makes the interviews raw, entertaining, and totally "off the cuff"--which is evident when some of his participants get uncomfortable and leave, rather than confront the uncomfortable questions about beliefs to which they have no answers, but to which they nevertheless cling.
Subtitles and "zinger" shots intersperse with the interviews, giving us comic relief and an insight into the thoughts going through Maher's mind as he listens to the answers some people use to defend their beliefs, regardless of how irrational he believes them to be.
Even without an analysis of JW beliefs, this film is worth seeing. It helps one to see how religion is affecting mankind at all levels--from politicians that believe in the "end times" and feel that the world will end (so why should they bother to try and fix it?) to people who believe that a man is Jesus Christ, returned in the flesh, just because he says he is. From Christians to Muslims to Jews, and Mormons and others, Maher visits them all.
As a recently or long-departed Witness, I think you'll find the film enlightening... and his final appeal, at the end of the film, may finally spark some to think about their position, and possibly help start some much-needed changes.
For more information on this film, see this Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religulous
To find a showing near you (this film is in selected theatres only, for a limited time), click here.
Official movie site with trailers: http://www.religulousmovie.net and http://disbeliefnet.comP.S. -- the movie's site, www.disbeliefnet.com, DOES have some information on Jehovah's Witnesses, including that famous picture of Jehovah's "righteous rage against mankind" at Armageddon.
http://disbeliefnet.com/article.php?page=up_and_coming_religion -
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WATCHTOWER COMMENTS is getting a WEBSITE
by V inin the works, watchtower comments will soon sport a webpage under an prominent counter-jw website.
toying with the design, let me know what you think.
site will have embedded videos, links to high-quality downloads and pdf supplimentals.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
If there is a risk of copy infringement, couldn't something very similar such as Announcing the kingdom of Jehovah be used?
I like the fact that you pulled V off the stage; I agree it would send most JW's running. V could have a cameo, though. Put him, as an archer, on the top of the Watchtower (on the magazine), shooting an arrow... faded, very subtle, not dark black, but almost like you have to search to find him, peeking out between the keep's battlements. Perhaps change "Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom" to "Denouncing Jehovah's Witnesses" or something, as it's likely to be a copyright issue otherwise.
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Losch reveals newer new light at Australia Zone Visit
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite inokay everybody, grab your barf bag because i just got a steaming shovel full of craptastic notes from gerrit's zone visit to the land down under !!.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ read at your own risk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~puke.
zone overseer was losch and his side kick was a big black guy, quite a scolar, cant remember his name though.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
Brilliant comment on the "judging" about motives, Besty. Shows how subtle their reasoning can be--I totally missed that one.
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Losch reveals newer new light at Australia Zone Visit
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite inokay everybody, grab your barf bag because i just got a steaming shovel full of craptastic notes from gerrit's zone visit to the land down under !!.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ read at your own risk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~puke.
zone overseer was losch and his side kick was a big black guy, quite a scolar, cant remember his name though.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
The part I love most about his bullet illustration--likening the "bullet operation" to college--is that he missed the irony of this statement:
After he recovered, he was normal.
Go to college, young JW's! Yes, it will be a shock to your protected culture. After you recover, you'll be NORMAL!
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Losch reveals newer new light at Australia Zone Visit
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite inokay everybody, grab your barf bag because i just got a steaming shovel full of craptastic notes from gerrit's zone visit to the land down under !!.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ read at your own risk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~puke.
zone overseer was losch and his side kick was a big black guy, quite a scolar, cant remember his name though.
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TJ - iAmCleared2Land
Most of what has been outlined above about this discourse is pretty accurate. He's a bit melodramatic... I'll pull out some of the "juicier" bits later into a shorter soundbite segment so you don't have to listen to the entire talk. He continually talks about how "very, very scary" it will be. Sounded like Elmer Fudd at one time: "it'll be VEWY VEWY SCAWY!!"
Here's a transcript of one part at the end of the talk, when discussing college education... he literally likens it to shooting yourself in the head with a bullet. This is not taken out of context; it's his entire discussion on higher education. Before this, he talks about the Branch recommending "personal territories" instead of "group witnessing" in scattered territories, and after the comments quoted below, he moves on to talk about Baruch.
If you have the file above, you can find the following at 1:08:28-1:11:50:
Well, generally speaking, what effect has the conviction that the Great Tribulation is near [had on you]? Do others see that we really believe it? It is not wrong to have money. It's not wrong to be rich. But not at the expense of spiritual things. Otherwise, you know, we'd be like the man in the parable of Jesus at Luke 12:21 that eventually died and Jesus said 'so it goes with someone that is accumulating riches but is not rich toward God'--that's the key, to be 'rich toward God.'
And to that end, we really want to be balanced as to what we want to pursue in this system of things so shortly before the Great Tribulation. In one study 200,000--in the U.S.--200,000 university students in 390 institutions were surveyed, and the result was that 71% admitted that they go to college for the money they hope to earn after they finish. See? So most of college students go for that reason, to have a higher living standard. Some go for the fame, but most go for the money. Sometimes the children wouldn't even go, but the parents PUSH them to go; they want to be able to say "My son is a DOCTOR!"
So, is this really the thing to pursue this side of Armageddon?
Now, some have good motives: if they do, we will not judge them--it's a personal decision. Some pioneer throughout college, and have good motive. But we have lost, really, too many to the world already. And so it is a--kind of a danger.
This reminds me of an experience that was mentioned in our literature about a young man that had a compulsory [sic:compulsive] behavior. He was always forced, like, to wash his hands--many, many, many times a day--just couldn't stop doing that. He hated himself so much for it, that finally he decided to kill himself. He bought himself a gun, and he pulled the trigger, and--uh--the bullet went through his head! But he survived.
And, some went to college, and survived. Now, this young man survived, and the bullet had hit this part of the brain that was responsible for his compulsory [sic] behavior. After he recovered, he was normal.
So, the question is: yes, he survived colle--in that case we can apply it to college--he survived that "operation", the bullet operation. But would we recommend that to others?! That's a different matter!