love_truth, in describing the utter dullness of jw assemblies and conventions, just gave me an interesting idea for a thread.
what were some of the ways you tried to make the hours pass?
some of mine: looking at the interesting refracting patterns the arena floodlights made on my eyeglasses when looking thru them at an angle.looking for people i knew from my congregation and others in the mass of people in the arena.counting the number of people leaving the section to go to the bathroompractice writing people's names in elvish scripthaving a conversation with friends a row behind me by passing notes back and forthseeing how many pages of my bible stick together when i slam a wad of gum in between its pages.. what else?
When I was young it was easy to pass the time by volunteering. When my circumstances changed and I could no longer volunteer then the fight to stay awake in the afternoon was fought with chewing on mints (not gum of course that was not allowed ), looking for people I knew, taking notes to avoid nodding off and clapping! Yes, a good clap every now and then helps to keep the blood going while sitting in those uncomfortable assembly chairs.
Sabrina
i have seen everyone else who posted but finally figured this out this morning!
Beautiful picture, Copsec. Your's too Orangefatcat.
Sabrina
i am very new to the political process and this year will be the first time i enter a voting booth, but something has been on my mind of late and i hope you all can help me sort it out.. if george bush had been a democrat and from day one of his presidency had done everything exactly as he has done would most of the republicans be supporting the war in iraq?
would most of the democrats still be against the war?.
or would each party fall in line with most republicans against the war and most democrats for the war?.
Green,Just vote for who you think is the best candidate, even if its a third party or independant. Much better feeling then the Republicratand the Demobilcan machines.
Thank you.
Sabrina
we've managed to get very heated about the iraq debacle but noone on either side of the debate has come up with a sensible alternative to the mess bush has made.
so what would you have done if post 911 you were president?
i would have invaded afghanistan and destroyed the taliban, have got pakistan onside from day one and ensured that their borders were not porous and would have stayed in afghanistan until the job was done rather than the poor job done so far.
I would have taken care of Afghanistan, making sure it had a stable government and ridding it of the Taliban and Osama.
I would have asked the American people to buckle up and be prepared for sacrifices, both physical and monetary. I would have told the Saudi Government to clean house because we will not deal with any government that harbors or finances terrorists, the same with Egypt, Syria and so on.
I would require that American Corporations show some loyalty to their country and not just to their wallet.
I would have imposed or asked for a national boycott of all products made in countries that harbor or aid terrorists. I would have recalled our ambassadors and envoys to all countries which harbor or aid terrorists. I would instructed our Navy and Air Force to be prepared to bomb all terrorist camps no matter where they are located. I would have warned the people of those countries to be prepared to be bombed if your government harbors or aids terrorists.
I would have closed the Canadian and Mexican borders until they are able to be made safe. I would require all commercial enterprises to inspect their own merchandise coming into the country otherwise they would be unable to bring their merchandise in. I would hold airlines responsible for making sure their passengers and luggage are properly inspected otherwise their license to fly into or in this country will be revoked.
I would have asked the World Council of Churches to become involved in a solution. I would publicly be asking prominant Muslim clerics if they approve of the actions of Osama.
I would publicly ask Congress to leave their partisan politics behind and act for the good of the country.
I would be asking for a major build up of the military. I would stop all sales of military hardware to any country which I even suspected of dealing with or trading with countries that harbored or aided terrorists.
The list could go on but of course I am not committed or connected to big business, big government, and big liars so it's easy for me to say this.
Sabrina
i am very new to the political process and this year will be the first time i enter a voting booth, but something has been on my mind of late and i hope you all can help me sort it out.. if george bush had been a democrat and from day one of his presidency had done everything exactly as he has done would most of the republicans be supporting the war in iraq?
would most of the democrats still be against the war?.
or would each party fall in line with most republicans against the war and most democrats for the war?.
Pork Chop,
I beginning to no longer feel that the politicians are the problem. So many Americans decry their politicians but in the end they get who they themselves put there. I'm afraid I am becoming cynical and discouraged even before I cast my first vote.
Sabrina
a prospect, conn. firefighter, robert griffin, died of cardiac arrest in a training exercise last weekend.
representatives from 45 fire departments attended his wake and a large representation is due for memorial services at kingdom hall tomorrow.
see "firefighter had passed physical.
I know several fire fighters in the northeast. JW or non JW they work miracles everyday.
My sympathies to his family and friends.
Sabrina
i know that many ex-jws have joined various christian denominations or have become non-denominational christians.
do any of you now believe in the hellfire hell of eternal physical torment?
if not, do you now have some other view of hell that differs from the jw view of it?
The hellfire teaching is an insult to God.
Sabrina
this was one of the craziest things i remember about the summer conventions.
i would go into the sister's bathrooms and the mirrors would all be taped up with brown paper so that we couldn't look at our reflections.
were were amish or something?
Nilfun,
A simple "Excuse me, I need to wash my hands" might have worked too.
Yes, that would have worked if the there had been room for the sister who was combing her hair to step aside but that was not always the case.
At one district convention I attended the brothers brought in bathroom trailers in order to accommodate the flood of sisters and small children attending because the bathrooms in the convention center were not adequate to the task. In that case the bathroom mirrors were not covered over because the facilities were more than sufficient for the crowd attending.
Sabrina
this was one of the craziest things i remember about the summer conventions.
i would go into the sister's bathrooms and the mirrors would all be taped up with brown paper so that we couldn't look at our reflections.
were were amish or something?
I used to volunteer in the ladies rooms. Some convention centers were so overcrowded in the ladies rooms the sisters coming out of the stalls had no where to wash their hands because the sinks were all taken up with other sisters who were busy combing their hair or putting on make-up. When a crowded bathroom filled with sisters of all ages and children of all ages became impossibly overcrowded it was necessary at times to cover the mirrors in order to allow those sisters with small children and the older sisters to simply wash their hands.
An experienced bathroom monitor,
Sabrina
i am very new to the political process and this year will be the first time i enter a voting booth, but something has been on my mind of late and i hope you all can help me sort it out.. if george bush had been a democrat and from day one of his presidency had done everything exactly as he has done would most of the republicans be supporting the war in iraq?
would most of the democrats still be against the war?.
or would each party fall in line with most republicans against the war and most democrats for the war?.
I am beginning to believe that political parties do more harm than good. George Washington was I believe against political parties and maybe he was right.
It is hard you know to see the faces of the young people being killed in war while the politicians play games with the American people and with each other. I find it hard to understand how many Americans have so little respect for their politicians but when one of them becomes President they then salute and willingly send their sons to death on his word.
I understand loyalty to country very well, I love my country. But when these young people die for their country while at the same time everyone knows the sons and daughters of the politicians who sent them there are almost certain never to go to war and that the rich will never go to war, most people seem not to notice or care.
I would very much like to see President Bush's daughters volunteer for this very important war on terror and some of the sons and daughters of those in government both Republican and Democrat who supported the war. If fighting the war on terror is such an important thing for the safety of this country than why do we not hear of prominant people and their children signing up for it? If Republicans think this is a good war then they and their children should be lining up at the recruiting stations around the country.
I haven't heard of any rush on recruiting stations by those who actively supported the war whether Republican or Democrat.
Surprising for a war which is so necessary to the safety of America.
Sabrina
