Mrs. "Viejo" and I wish SD-7 the best. Will be publishing a series of articles he wrote a few weeks back on Ex-JW.com as soon as I get back from my trip to SoCalifornia. He is a good guy and deserves a happy and healthy family.
JV
Juan Viejo2
JoinedPosts by Juan Viejo2
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53
Please keep our buddy SD-7 in your thoughts (and prayers)!
by serenitynow! insd-7 texted me today.
his wife is in labor, has had some complications and is having an emergency c-section.
he asked me to spread the word to the folks on jwn.
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64
California Most Hated State, According To Recent Poll
by Bangalore incalifornia most hated state, according to recent poll .. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/23/california-most-hated-state_n_1297843.html?ref=mostpopular.
bangalore.
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Juan Viejo2
I was born and raised in SoCal. There was, and is, much to like about California. Parts of it are breathtakingly beautiful and certain areas are unmatched by anything else in the world. On clear days, fly-over photography of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego show their magnificent topography and unique settings. There are days when you can be swimming in the warm waters of the Pacific while gazing at snow-capped peaks off to the east. You can literally swim in the ocean in the morning and snow ski in the afternoon.
From a societal standpoint, California has always been way ahead of the rest of the country in terms of acceptance of ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities. When I was going to public school in Riverside in the 1950s, we had Mexican-American, African-American, and Asian-American students in every classroom and none of us gave it a second thought.
I now live in Oregon. As I write this, I am sitting in a motel in San Juan Capistrano, California. The weather is nice, except for the chilly ocean breezes at night. But just a few hundred yards from this hotel is the Interstate 5 freeway. It's busy 24 hours a day. For someone like me who has been away from the Los Angeles area for a few months - the traffic can be terrifying. No one drives the speed limit (70 MPH) except me and I feel like I'm being run over most of the time. Everyone drives aggressively in CA - probably for survival. You can be doing 75 MPH and have a 4 wheeler pickup or Hummer riding your rear bumper with its high-beam headlights flooding the interior of your car bullying you to get out of its way.
In Oregon we don't pay sales taxes. Here in California, most communities have sales taxes approaching 10%. That includes gasoline. So you pay for gas, federal road tax on gas, state road tax on gas, and then sales tax on the whole balance. So as gas prices go up, so do gasoline state and local sales tax of almost 10% on the dollar. So the same gas that would cost $3.75 in Oregon would cost over $4.00 in California - no matter what the gasoline company was charging. So a 20 gallon fill-up would cost you $8 more in CA.
There is more to like and hate about California. I lived here long enough. I look forward to my quiet and sereen life back in Oregon. I might never return to California if I didn't have so many family members living here. I count it my good fortune that I only have to travel back here two or three times a year.
JV
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185 people died in a matter of seconds
by sizemik inin exactly 1 hours time, we will stop and remember a moment that changed my life forever .
chrictchurch at 12:58 pm 22/02/2011 .
7 minutes after a 6.3 quake struck at 5km deep directly beneath the city.. rip to my friends dominic and woodsy .
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Juan Viejo2
Last year was a tough year for earthquakes. NZ sits on the same ring of fire line as Japan. Every time the earth yawns, some of us suffer. Sorry about your friends, Sizemik...
JV
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16
Only in America?
by cedars inabout 10 years ago i visited the three new york bethels - patterson, brooklyn and wallkill.
at the time, i was still very much mentally infatuated with the organization, so the trip was filled with wonder and nostalgia.
i can remember being told by a tour guide at wallkill that they were now so familiar with things constantly changing and being improved that the information they give on tours can quickly become out-of-date.
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Juan Viejo2
One thing about the Watchtower Society is its lack of understanding of its own charter to "spread the good news of God's Kingdom throughout the world."
C. T. Russell realized the power (and the profit) of the printed word. So his first act was not to form a religion, but a magazine and book publishing company.
C. T. Russell also understood the untapped power and profit of slides and moving pictures. His "Photodrama of Creation" was a landmark advance that matched motion pictures with colored slides and sequenced recordings. Going to see his Photodrama was like going to Technicolor movies in the 1930s and Cinerama in the 1950s.
Thanks to C. T. Russell's ability to harness the power of those fledgling technologies, his own fame spread far beyond his own ability as a speaker or as an self-proclaimed Bible expert would have taken him. Thousands of converts were gathered into the ranks thanks to his publishing and cinematic efforts - even as crude as they were.
J. F. Rutherford used the new technology of radio to spread the word. His national and international radio station linkups using telephone lines were among the very first of any note. The Watchtower actually owned, partially owned, or had a monetary interest in several radio stations across the USA and Canada from the 1920s until the 1960s. Rutherford's speeches were on the air for several hours a day, seven days a week. He was every bit as famous as Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson were at the time thanks to the reach of radio.
J. F. Rutherford also promoted regular door-to-door preaching. His techniques were observed and later modified by companies like Amway, Avon, and Mary Kay Cosmetics. They not only used his door-knocking ideas, but also used conventions and near religious and cult-like fervor to expand and control their sales forces.
J. F. Rutherford also used portable phonographs and sound cars handled by unpaid volunteers (publishers) to spread his speeches.
My point is that Russell and Rutherford used the new technologies of their time to spread the word and to generate money and converts. The modern version of the Watchtower has failed to use the two most powerful informational technologies even conceived to spread the word of God to the ends of the earth - which they both can do easily and rather cheaply: Television and the Internet. On the contrary, they have branded both of those communication resources as sinful and distractions of the Devil.
Nathan Knorr may have been a good corporate organizer and Fred Franz a self-appointed prophet, but neither one had the foresight or intelligence to understand the amazing technologies placed before them.
I also think that they thought that countries other than the USA, Canada, and Britain would never really have enough people of means to support the Society, so they were considered to be distant and unimportant "missionary territories." As late as 1990, Gilead was still sending missionaries to Europe, even though hundreds of congregations were already in place there.
Actually I fear the day when the Watchtower Society wakes up and starts using TV and the Internet to spread their cult propaganda. That could make them a far more formidable foe for those of us who oppose them.
Oh, and don't tell me that they are using the Internet now. Their piss-ant websites are puny and outdated in every way compared to Freeminds.org, JWN, JWfacts, and other ex-JW discussion websites. The quality of WT sites shows they lack the understanding of how to harness the power of the Internet. They still prefer to do their witnessing the hard and expensive way - door-to-door.
Obviously, they aren't being guided by Almighty God, the creator of science, education and the Internet Machine. Maybe they could have gone that way long ago, but could never get 2/3 of the Governing Body's old farts to understand what they had available to them and actually vote for those changes.
One well-produced YouTube video could have been seen by 1000 times more people in one weekend than could ever have been preached to door-to-door in five years. But the Governing Body just doesn't understand. They are blinded by their own ignorance. And if there is a Jehovah God, he might be the very one throwing a veil over their blind eyes.
Thank goodness!
JV
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Letter to the Writing Department from Barbara Anderson
by Dogpatch ini thought i knew you.
an open letter from barbara anderson to watch towers writing department.
in 1517, martin luther wrote in a letter to archbishop albert of mainz: you must graciously forgive that i, that scum of the earth, am so bold as to dare to address a letter to you.. yes, i know, you think of me as scum, just like mainz believed of luther, wondering how i dare write you a letter, someone jehovahs witnesses disfellowshipped back in 2002. i was accused of being an unrepentant sinner and condemned for causing divisions, then labeled apostate because i spoke out publicly on nbcs dateline tv program aboutthe child sexual abuse policies that protected pedophiles policies that you helped formulate.
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Juan Viejo2
Get better acquainted with Barbara by listening to her interview with Mad Sweeney. Sweeney just lets her tell everythng she wants to share. A very enlightening broadcast.
http://ex-jw.com/web-directory/cult-free-radio-archives-1-6 Show #09 Parts 1 and 2.
You'll learn more about how the Watchtower really works in that podcast than anywhere else on the net. She was there and holds nothing back.
JV
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24
Your recommendation for an economical, wireless home printer?
by juni init would be used primarily for text printing at home.
also, what are your thoughts on the advantages of laser vs. inkjet?
thank you for your help.. juni .
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Juan Viejo2
I just bought a refurbished Epson 835 All-in-One from Fry's. This is the previous model (I think the 837 replaced it). A little over $100, plus $30 for two year extended warranty. Fry's typically just exchanges one for one or gives you credit toward an upgrade.
My LexMark 2350 has served me well, and still works for straight print and copy. However, it tends to suck up 8-10 sheets of paper at a time and has stopped scanning for no discernable reason. I'll keep it as a backup for draft printing (I get the cartridges refilled at Costco for about $8). After a couple of refills, the cartridges die, but new ones are about $25 and go forever if you only do draft quality. I don't print photos on my printers, but upload them to Costco and have 4x6 prints made for 13 cents each - far cheaper than printing them on a home printer - and better quality too.
I've owned Brother and Canon inkjet printers too, and they all last about 2 years with heavy use and about 5 with low or average usage. My Lexmark lasted nearly 6 and is still partly usable.
Costco has some good printers priced very well. Avoid Best Buy; they will try to upsell you and their service has degenerated over the past couple of years.
JV
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Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses and the irreversible decision
by Celestial insome business opportunities unfolded sometime back that required my full attention and excessive work hours that ended up putting a strain on me.
i started taking the edge off by drinking alcohol, too much alcohol.
the cycle of working and drinking ended up destroying my spirituality and i eventually completely quit attending meetings and every other aspect of kingdom service.
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Juan Viejo2
Troubled Mind and JWfacts have it just right.
I was out of the JWs from about the time I was 25 until I was 65. For forty years I didn't much give a shit about the JWs. As far as I was concerned they could live their lives and I'd live mine. For the most part it could have been a peaceful breakup. But during that time the Watchtower:
1. Contributed to the breakup of my marriage.
2. Established and enforced their shunning policy, severely damaging my relationships with my parents, a sibling, and other relatives.
3. Destroyed the potential of several friends and co-workers by denying them an education and taking away their desire to succeed in business.
4. Forced healthy young people to lose their will to grow or expand their lives, eventually finding themselves at a dead-end by the time they were in their thirties.
5. Created an environment where children are brainwashed and held back, living on biblical fairy tales, denied the joys of childhood, and abused mentally and physically.
6. Proclaimed that they were the true religion, inspired by holy spirit, doing Jehovah's will, and leading the most loving organization on earth - when none of those things were true.
By the time I was 65, I felt that I could no longer just ignore what the Watchtower was and what it had done. I had to do my part in some way to expose them for what they are.
My methods may be crude, unappreciated, and ultimately a waste of my time and effort. But if only one person finds freedom and leaves the Watchtower because of something I have written or published - then for me all of my effort will have been worth it.
If even one other person reads my material and chooses not to be converted and/or baptized into the Watchtower cult - then from my point of view I've earned some bonus points.
I'm out and will never go back. But it's no longer just about me - it's really about those few people who I might have educated along the way who won't end up having their lives and families destroyed.
JV
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24
Elder's wives
by Zordino ini still go to meetings (sometimes) mostly to acompany my wife and kids.
i have known of jw friends of mine that have gone to elder's for family problems, dispute's with other cult member's or those hemroid's that just won't clear up.
whatever.... i personally never ever told an elder or elder's a stitch of info about my personal life or trouble's etc.
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Juan Viejo2
In committee meetings there are usually three elders. One elder may take his position seriously and respect the confidential nature of a judicial meeting. Maybe one of the others does too. But all three? Very unlikely.
Those three elders go home and crawl under the covers with their wives. "So what was your meeting about, dear?" one wife says to her elder husband. "I really can't talk about it, sweetheart," he replies. "I understand. Sleep tight," she says.
In the second household, another elder comes home, has a glass of wine. Feeling stressed, he has another. His wife asks, "Is everything OK? Was the meeting a rough one for you?" "Yes, dear, it was. Poor Sister Jones is going to be so unhappy to hear that her daughter may be disfellowshipped." "Oh, that's too bad. Which daughter?" "The older one, you know the one with dark hair." "She seems so sweet. What could she have possibly done?" "I can't really talk about it, but it seems she has been spending the night with an older man that she works with." "That's hard to believe. She seems so practical and dedicated to the preaching work." "That's true, but her mother told us that she hasn't slept at home for nearly a month. But just forget what I've told you. We don't know all the details yet."
In the third household, the last elder comes home, has a beer and sits down at the kitchen table. "You'll never guess who's about to get DF'd!" His wife asks, "Who? I bet it is that new girl that moved into the congregation last month. She seems like such a slut." "No. It's actually Sister Jones' older daughter - the brunette." "Really. I always liked her. What in the world did she do?" "Well according to Sister Jones, she met this guy and hasn't come home at night for almost a month. She actually packed a bag and more or less moved out." "I guess you know what that means, huh?" "Oh, yeah. We don't have all the details yet, but she's sure to be disfellowshipped unless she comes up with a really good excuse for her behavior." "I can only imagine. I bet she blames her mother for being too controlling. She'll say she moved out with a girlfriend, but you know she's really living with that guy she met."
The next morning, half of the women in the congregation will know that Sister Jones' older daughter, the one with dark hair, has moved out of her home, lied about staying with a girlfriend, and is probably pregnant with her new boyfriend, the older man she is now sleeping with.
Within two weeks, everyone in the Kingdom Hall will have heard the story, and maybe added their own twists to it, and have already convicted the poor girl. The judicial committee really has no choice but to disfellowship her because everyone in the Kingdom Hall knows that...
Sister Jones' older daughter, the brunette, has been sleeping with an older man for over a month, is probably pregnant with his baby, and has been lying to her mother about staying with her girlfriend. Everyone in that congregation, and several in surrounding Kingdom Halls all know the horrible truth.
And of course, they've all added their own twists and details to the story as it progresses from "house to house."
If you think I'm exaggerating, I'm not. I saw similar things happen several times. I heard some of the most disgusting gossip as a 13-15 year old sitting in the back seat of an elderette's sedan while we were all out in service. I heard even more as an 18-20 year old while having coffee with the son of an elder because he overheard his mother and father talking about it openly at home or during dinner. I heard similar stories while out on a date with a teenage JW girl whose father was an elder.
Yes, there are a few elders' wives who will hold their tongue. But the urge to share some secret with another sister is often stronger than their responsibility to keep their mouths shut. And that's part of the problem. Gossip has a way of magnifying insignificant issues from anthills into mountains. I've seen it in person and know the damage results from elderette gossip. I can assure you that it's real and it happens in most Kingdom Halls.
JV
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What's The Worst Thing You've Heard An Elder Say Or Do?
by minimus ini think it has to be the way they treat disfellowshipped persons.
as another thread, they simply ignore the person as if they're dead!.
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Juan Viejo2
Talesin: In my youth I heard a Circuit Servant (that's what we called them in those days) say from the podium:
"Parents: Satan is everywhere. Satan wants your kids to join him and his demons. You must be willing to beat the Devil out of them now while they are young or face the possibility of losing them forever..."
JV
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GOP 2012 Race Is Down To Romney, Cain And Gingrich
by Bangalore ingop 2012 race is down to romney, cain and gingrich.. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/11/14/and-then-there-were-three-gop-2012-race-is-down-to-romny-cain-and-gingrich/.
bangalore.
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Juan Viejo2
Designs - it is interesting how many of these Republican candidates have had conversations with God. In each of these He told them to run for President. Somewhere along the way He apparently got confused and didn't realize that He'd told EVERYONE TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT!
I know as soon as one of these fakers makes a statement like God told me or God directed me or I know that God would want me to run, that they are lying. What amazes me is how many people who are non-certifiable actually take what they say as being truthful.
Let's see: In the past God has moved Pat Robertson, Jesse Jackson, Mike Huckabee, Michelle Bachman, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich to all run for president. So far not one has even made it past the primaries. Either they are lying or it must be some other god that they are getting instructions from.
JV