JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  38

  Utah man goes on hunger strike to the death to protest same-sex marriages

  by adamah in

  1. social
  2. current

  you can't make up this kind of religious nut-job fanaticism:.

  http://www.4utah.com/story/utah-man-fasting-to-stop-same-sex-marriages/d/story/k9sjvlgmmeuberqg9aeobq.

  although in retrospect, it's no more extreme than those jws who die refusing blood.... adam.

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  JeffT

  adamah, that was, in fact, Jefferson's opinion.

  http://www.streetlaw.org/en/page/284/thomas_jeffersons_reaction

  edited to add, he's on the wrong side of history. This issue will be moot in a few years.
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  5

  My New Year Resolution , whats yours -if any.

  by smiddy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was a jehovahs witness for 33 years .

  i called on people in 2 states a few times every month on average .off and on i served as an ms .i have never brought anybody into the religion through door to door work.

  ( family members is a different story ) though in those years i did have some good discussions with folk and placed my share of literature with them .

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  JeffT

  To work harder on getting published.
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  33

  33 percent of Americans reject evolution

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57616373-71/33-percent-of-americans-reject-evolution/.

  that seems to be a disturbingly high number for a western / educated / developed nation.. does this have anything at all to do with america slipping behind in the sciences?

  it seems hard to imagine they could not not be linked somehow.. no surprise that the jesus party (republicans) reject evolution the most.

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  JeffT

  BU2B

  There are no credible scientific studies backing the position taken by the anti-vaccine crowd. The only article ever published on the subject in a peer-reviewed journal has been withdrawn by that journal.

  We now have sixty-five years of experience with water flouridation and the jury is in on that one as well, the benefits considerably outweigh the risks.

  I will accept that animal rights is a personal moral decision (in fact, I support a number of the positions taken by these groups such as proper treatment of animals, and protection of animal habitat). However, many activists use very dubious science to support their positions.
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  33

  33 percent of Americans reject evolution

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57616373-71/33-percent-of-americans-reject-evolution/.

  that seems to be a disturbingly high number for a western / educated / developed nation.. does this have anything at all to do with america slipping behind in the sciences?

  it seems hard to imagine they could not not be linked somehow.. no surprise that the jesus party (republicans) reject evolution the most.

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  JeffT

  Scientific ignorance is not confined to the religious right on other issues, although I've heard some monumental stupidity from the right, I've heard from the left as well.

  The anti-vaccination crowd seems to be split more or less evenly among political groups. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/04/27/more-polling-data-on-the-politics-of-vaccine-resistance/#.UsJjLfRDvnA

  A lot of animal rights activists and groups, who can be remarkably ignorant of how actual animals live, tend to be more liberal. http://books.google.com/books?id=231b9jGgqN4C&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=animal+rights+activists+and+political+affiliation&source=bl&ots=6PqfRjcUdU&sig=Vgfs3MObD_MhVDSZPbiWBGKZnhM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5mPCUu2HFIbgoATel4GwAQ&ved=0CEsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=animal%20rights%20activists%20and%20political%20affiliation&f=false

  The city of Portland Oregon, a broadly liberal community, recently rejected flouridation of its water.

  It has been my experience (frequently on this board) that many anti-nuclear activists (also mostly liberal) do not understand the physics of radiation, as a particular example the relationship between half-life and emitted radiation.

  The fundamental problem (in my opinion) is the state of our educational system in regard to science and math. Although our high school students seem to learn a number of scientific factoids by the time they greaduate, the do not understand the fundamentals of how science works and how we know what we know. Until we fix that problem, examples of ignorance will pop up all over the political spectrum.
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  116

  if we don't all unite, we may win a few battles but Watchtower will win the WAR.

  by excaliber in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to thank you for taking the time to read this, because i feel that it is extremely important.

  over the years we have been waring against the watchtower, and our battle field has been the internet.and we have been very successful in establishing discussion forums and online resorces exposing false teachings and we have used youtube to further shed light on the watchtower, we have even written books to this end.. .

  yes we have attacked watchtower at its weakest point, the internet and we have been able to do this as small groups and even individualy.

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  JeffT

  Are you going to shun everybody who won't participate?

  Really, I can't tell the moral difference between calls to action to bring down the watchtower, and exhortations to go out in field service more to "present a witness to the world."

  The world needs less fanaticism, not more.
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  116

  if we don't all unite, we may win a few battles but Watchtower will win the WAR.

  by excaliber in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to thank you for taking the time to read this, because i feel that it is extremely important.

  over the years we have been waring against the watchtower, and our battle field has been the internet.and we have been very successful in establishing discussion forums and online resorces exposing false teachings and we have used youtube to further shed light on the watchtower, we have even written books to this end.. .

  yes we have attacked watchtower at its weakest point, the internet and we have been able to do this as small groups and even individualy.

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  JeffT

  This is how cults start. I can't see the difference between the GB and whatever would control XJW's United or whatever you want to call it.

  Besides, as others have said, I'm not at war with the Watchtower. In the end, people have to be responsible for themselves; my job is to educate them, if possible. Besides I can't escape thinking that if the WTBS collapses tomorrow, most of its followers would just go find somebody else to tell them what to do. Which brings us back to the first line in this post.
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  20

  Drummer Lee Rigby, UK

  by quellycatface in

  1. social
  2. current

  the men who ran this soldier down in a street in london and hacked him to death were found guilty in the old bailey today.

  all in the name of islam.

  how destructive religion can be.. my thoughts go to drummer rigby, his family and friends at such an awful time.. peace and love to all xx.

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  JeffT

  If you want to be a soldier (as these morons claimed) go fight in a war. There are rules for how wars are to be fought, read up on the Geneva Conventions. These animals violated the rules of war and should have been treated according to those rules, i.e. summarily executed when captured.
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  81

  Do you frown upon tattoos?

  by confusedandalone in

  1. social
  2. physical

  i am very interested in hearing from people who really think that people with tattoos are somehow weird or cagey individuals.

  i would just like to get your outlook on this matter.

  today i was in a grocery store and i sawe this guy with his two kids and his wife shopping.

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  JeffT

  I recall when so many men had long hair and facial hair

  Here, it isn't a matter of recall. Long hair on men is common. For that matter so is short hair on women. If I want to see a guy with facial hair, all I have to do is walk to the bathroom. I've had the beard since 1988, and its never stopped me from getting a job.
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  81

  Do you frown upon tattoos?

  by confusedandalone in

  1. social
  2. physical

  i am very interested in hearing from people who really think that people with tattoos are somehow weird or cagey individuals.

  i would just like to get your outlook on this matter.

  today i was in a grocery store and i sawe this guy with his two kids and his wife shopping.

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  JeffT

  Also, they seriously limit job prospects. I don't see this popping up in board rooms.

  You should get out of New York City once in awhile. They are a common sight in Seattle area boardrooms. At this point, tattos and piercings may be seen more often than ties. Nobody thinks anything of it.
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  63

  The " HIGHER EDUCATION" thread!!!

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alright.

  let's have the ultimate discussion on "higher education.

  " let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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  JeffT

  Name: Jeff Thomas

  Age: 62

  Education: BA English 1973 College level Certificate in Business Management 1983

  Work: retired accountant, doing some free lance writing

  I started college in 1969, my primary motivation being to maintain a II-s draft deferrment. My parents, being well educated and non-religious supported me. I thought I wanted to be an English teacher, without doing any research into job prospects when I graduated. I started studying with the JW's my senior year, I was baptized a few months after graduation. At the time, there were no jobs for English teachers, I turned down a chance to go to grad school and took odd jobs for a number of years. When I decided that was a dead end I went back to school to study business/accounting. I took some serious flack from the Witnesses over it, but I did it any way. Good decision that led to some good jobs.

  In 1988 a hardline anti-education talk at a circuit assembly provided the catalyst for our research and eventual break with the WTBS. My own experience led me to question what they were saying on the subject of college. I wanted my own children to do better.

  I think college is very much what you make of it. My first run at it didn't work out to well because I wasn't serious about it. The second time around I took it very seriously and it showed. Running various accounting departments I've had college educated people working for me that had no idea what they were doing. One of the best accounting assistants I ever had earned her GED and took a couple of bookkeeping classes somewhere, but she was smart, hard-working and willing to learn. Made all the difference in the world.

  Incidently, the English degree proved very useful. I made good use of my skills writing internal audit reports, policy and procedure manuals and communicating with investors (most of my work has been in commercial and multi-family real estate).