i had a random thought this morning about clapping.
growing up in the wt culture i learned the proper protocol for clapping.
before the assembly speaker gave his talk, but not after.
I went to nearly a half dozen JW devivals and I could never figure out the cue for clapping. It was obvious during the drama at the end of an act, I got that, but the clapping that erupted mid talk was confusing to me, and it felt tacky to clap in the middle of a spiritual talk, as if it were some kind of entertainment.
I never clapped for anything, I was just there observing. That turned out to be a good thing, as I might have been exposed to a dose of spiritual clap had I not been so careful.
1. thirty-nine percent of adults who make more than $100,000 have used entitlement benefits at one point, compared with 70 percent of people who make less than $30,000, according to the pew study.. 2.. the average monthly food stamp benefit is $133.42 for an individual, according to the department of agriculture, which administers the program.
the rate is highest in hawaii ($213.65) and lowest in minnesota ($115.98).
in fiscal year 2012, 46.6 million people (in 22.3 million households) received food stamps, and the federal government spent $74.6 billion on the program that year.. 3. .
Social security is supposed to be self contained, like the highway trust funds. Money paid in is what goes out, with it not being diverted to anything else, nor it diverting funds from any other budget item. As long as this is respected, it will never have any so called crisis. Usually when someone says it is in crisis, it is because they want to tinker with that simple formula and are trying to scheme a way to get access to the fund for their own ends. Social security doesn't promise you anything specific beyond that it will pay you some benefits when certain conditions are met. The amount it collects can be changed, and the amounts it pays out can be adjusted, so that it is always liquid as long as someone outside of it doesn't raid it.
I don't happen to like it, or think it is the best way to fund retirement, but that is personal. My dad worked hard his whole life and paid in, then when he died it paid a paltry sum and everything else he paid in was evaporated, so my siblings and I were denied what would have been our inheritance. My personal grudge aside, if not tampered with by robber barons, social security is on a solid financial footing.
i feel like i did when i first read ray's book crisis of conscience"; like i was punched deep in the gut and can't catch my breath.. i took someones suggestion here to call the: .
charitable planning office.
watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania.
They still talk out of one side of their mouth about not taking a collection of money, while on the other side they beg more vigorously than any church I have ever seen. A tithe is usually about 10% of income, but this corporation shoots for 100% of what you own.
This is from the November koolaid edition.
genesis identifies four rivers that went out of eden, pishon,.
gihon, tigris and euphrates.
clearly known to us, but the gihon is described as being in.
While Eden is certainly a mythical place, I wouldn't make too much about the rivers mentioned.
Place names are often very dynamic and subjective to who is telling the story.
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Hey, don't be hatin' on Marky.
He has an honest bald head and not a faked up combover.
get on the anti gun bandwagon,.
it is not the middle ages, the rrvolutinary or civil war time- it's now - 2012 and soon to be 2013. america needs to become like canada, now now now.
you can argue all you want, but if you can't open your eyes, you have some deep dark issues that require a shrink.. i will not answer you or taunt you.
Kurt, your story, though tragic (J/K), says nothing about banned books. Some Customs Agent thought your brother's survival books, along with military MREs, could indicate you planned to disappear into the mountains - it happens. Oh, and your travel guides, too. Canadian Customs Agents are known for being assholes sometimes (you'll get no argument from me on that level - been there, ayup *snickers*). But that has absolutely NOTHING to do with 'banning books'. tsk tsk
The agents made it very clear that they were taking issue with the books. So do you want to do some semantics? How about that the books weren't banned, but we were banned for having the books? Does that work for you?
I get it that some people disappear into the mountains and it might be on their minds, but we were not provisioned up for that. I only had a single change of clothes and a day bag. I never criticized them, they were doing their job of banning potential trouble, and they made it clear that the books were involved. I am talking about both customs agents and immigration agents. I even complimented one of the immigration agents, and told her I wish she were working on our southern border.
what's wrong with this picture?.
the watch tower society claims that its members are united spiritually despite ethnic and cultural diversity; they speak a "pure language.
" an anglo-american religion, whose mother tongue is english, jehovah's witnesses see paradise - in saturated color - as though already "present.
Their idea of cultural diversity is very superficial, mostly dealing with clothing and perhaps a few trinkets. Morality, ethics, religious views, grooming and interpersonal relationships are highly regimented to follow the dictates of some of the most benighted American men you can imagine, short of outright warmongers.
A man growing his hair out to a natural length is bad, according to these dupes, but hair that is even longer and greased up for a combover is perfectly fine.
in the dark age of europe, the introduction of perspective changed the visual art for the better.. before starting any discussion, can somebody bring todays jan 13, astrononmy picture of the day up and comment on it?
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I feel like I am in a relatively calm spot in the midst of a several billion year old nuclear explosion, and I kind of like it anyway.
i was raised as a witness in canada all my life.
the majority of my time attending watchtower meetings i was essentially never exposed to how spiritual beliefs relate to political belifes, even in terms with jw watchtower doctrine.
i grew up understanding that some witnesses had diffrent ideas on things, but was made to feel that the watchtower established many key beliefs that are required for witnesses in good standing.
That is a generalization to think that guns are something that "the right" like to have and "the left" dislike.
Attitudes about guns are shaped by how you were brought up to associate with guns, as a tool, a protective item, a scary violent item or however else you perceived them to be. The politics come in later. Even most people who think you shouldn't have guns have no problem with themselves having guns, either in their possesion, or by proxy in the hands of bodyguards or police. Like many other issues, it is the fringes who capture most of the discussion and are heard the most. With guns, the fringes are those who support a total gun ban, and those who think everyone should have a gun. Those two groups drive the dialog, which is actually more about lecturing than discussion.
I am very antiwar and pacifist. I think for the most part I have no use for a gun. But I don't think I have the right to tell some person I don't know, and have no idea about the threats and dangers in their life, that I can deny them the right to protect themself in whatever way they determine to be best for their situation.
One other thing, when people get all alarmed that the government will ban guns, I think that is hilarious. I am speaking about the US government here. These clods are so inept, that if they ban guns then it is a sure bet that there will be more of them in people's hands. Look how they botch things up so badly, like getting water and supplies to disaster victims that would welcome them at the door, can a rational person think they would accomplish doing anything for people who do not want their intervention? Too funny to ponder that one.
how long do you think the watchtower can speak about 1914 and have followers think it relevant?
i think for people born in the 1900's, it feels like an acceptable year.
but what about those born since 2000, will 1914 seem like a year of relevance?
1914 became irelevant in 1915. All the blatherspeak suggesting otherise is trickery.
