Band on the Run

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Posts by Band on the Run

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  7

  A Vote That Was Widely Ignored

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/california-prisons_n_6070654.html.

  if i learned anything from my witness experience, it is that, in balance, there can be too much of an obsession to punish, punish, punish.. while the media wastes time over tweedeldee vs tweedeldum elections, the issues of real improvement and liberty get ignored.

  given the eclectic backing of this measure, it suggests to me that it will go nationwide and that's good.. there is hope amidst the partisan nonsense.. .

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  Band on the Run

  Thank you for bring this issue before the forum. I am very interested. The prison population of the United States is gigantic. It is an embarassment.
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  15

  How many lawsuits can the WTBTS absorb?

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it seems like the society has been desperately seeking ways to cut costs and boost reviniew (jw.org, kingdom hall programs, etc) over the past four or five years.

  is this because donations are actually down?

  or have they been preparing themselves for these lawsuits?

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  Band on the Run

  There is not a glut of law suits. The cases so far present issues of notice. Unless the database does exist and I see no proof that it does, the WT is protected from liability for most routine sex abuse cases.
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  15

  Those who vote, do you stay loyal to your party?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. social
  2. current

  i was ready to vote today but i found out i had to be registered 30 days in advance, i missed the mark by 4 days.

  anyway, even though i selected a party, i was on quite a few votes going to vote for other parties.

  here is why, i was looking up the websites of each candidate.

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  Band on the Run

  I've crossed party lines to vote for a high public official with seniority in the Senate. Also, NYC deteriorated so much under a Democratic mayor that a Republican, Mayor Guiliani, was elected despite being a Republican. Mike Bloomberg was also elected as a Republican candidate. He was a Dem but changed parties to be elected. The regular Dems were fielding very poor candidates for mayor.
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  15

  Those who vote, do you stay loyal to your party?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. social
  2. current

  i was ready to vote today but i found out i had to be registered 30 days in advance, i missed the mark by 4 days.

  anyway, even though i selected a party, i was on quite a few votes going to vote for other parties.

  here is why, i was looking up the websites of each candidate.

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  Band on the Run

  Direct democracy has not been in the Western tradition with the exception of small cities and towns. The Western mode is representative democracy. When I view the ignorance and miseducation of the American public, I am very grateful for representative democracy. Our Constitution and our laws would have to change drastically. The Founders did not adore the rabble. Students for a Democratic Society used to tout what they termed "participatory democracy" during the sixties. I found it interesting b/c SDS lacked any democracy at all. Leaders emerged through shouting and being rude.

  I would like to hear how direct democracy could be implemented today in large cities and at the state and federal level. Living in a small town for a while proved me that direct democracy may be a bad thing. I wonder if there has ever been such a political as direct democracy. TED talks take too much time to view. Reading is much faster.

  Also, I believe direct democracy would end in mob rule. The minorities would be wiped out. More citizens participating in government, however, would be a great idea. I heard a sampling of potential voters who will not vote b/c of apathy and cynicism. A direct democracy might draw a dangerous crowd.
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  128

  900 Top Scientists Sign Statement Skeptical of Macro-Evolution

  by Perry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural .

  selection to account for the complexity of life.

  careful examination of the .

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  Band on the Run

  Perry,

  How many millions of scientists around the world refused to sign the statement? I suspect the signers are such a small minority that the statement is a joke.
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  19

  answer at the hall "its all illuminate!"

  by purrpurr in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i probably havnt spelt that right but anyway the other week a bro at my hall answered up saying that he had done research into the lives of these "rock and roll" stars and that he had discovered that they all belonged to a demon controled, satan worshipping secret cult called the illuminarte!

  therefore we must steer clear of popular music because of the secrect demonic lyrics that it contains!!.

  of course everyone nodded in agreement and the study conductor thanked him for his "fine" comment!.

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  Band on the Run

  The Federal Reserve information is on its web site. Lexis will have the information, too. The Library of Congress' web site may have the info. Khan Academy has an excellent tutorial on central bank. America needed and needs a central banks. Nothing like being ill-informed. The bank was controversial. I may have practiced law at the Federal Reserve. Please.

  Illuminati and Bildenbergs. One can believe that John, Paul, George, Ringo and others plot against us. Actual, literal demons do not exist so it is impossible for any genre of music to be infested with demons. I am a huge Beatles fan. Their music is part of me. If you analyze their lyrics and the music itself, it conforms more with Jesus' commandments than the WTBTS. Believe in the power of Illuminati or Bildenbergs and you will be crippled. Such beliefs and the accompanying fear stop people from participating in government and affecting policy. History is full of examples where powerful forces must bow to the will of the people. This country needs educated and sophisticated people.
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  28

  ARE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES CREATIONISTS OR EVOLUTIONISTS?

  by Viva la Vida in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the answer to this question is not that easy or obvious as you might think.

  if your answer is "creationists" you are wrong, they are evolutionists a rare breed of evolutionists, but evolutionists at last .. at this stage of my argumentation you might think i have lost my mind for stating jehovahs witnesses are evolutionists, but this might be because you are thinking as the wt has taught you to think.

  the wt has presented a distorted view of the theory of evolution.

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  Band on the Run

  Thank you for the observation. I left before they became evolutionists, believing in an extremely short period for evolution. The author of the piece may have been kicked out. I have questions concerning their present teaching: 1. Do they believe the views held in the Insight book? Evolution of any sort was forbidden thought in my days with the Witnesses. Since they cnange everything so quickly, the WT should drop the six thousand year theory. Just as people here should acquaint themselves with basic legal terms before posting sex abuse threads, the WT authors should read books on evolution. I don't think it takes long to access Wikipedia. This vacillation in doctrine is a large reason why Witnesses cannot sustain themselves in any argument about doctrine.

  All I can say is that when I was very young, my JW family used to visit the Museum of Natural History, which is chock full of dinosaurs and fossils. There was a much smaller, dinkier museum in Newark, NJ. The planetarium was free. It was no big deal compared to NY. Finally, after years of walking past the NY planetarium and watching children go in, my father decided to pay the low admission fee. The narrator started with evolution. Everyone stared at us as we were forcibly trooped out by my father. Ideas and concepts do not kill. They free the mind or confirm your values. I wanted to stay and hear about evolution.

  Time moves. I am free. A college course in ecology sends me back to the Museum. Today I love to revisit the dinosaurs, the whale, and all other sorts of wonder. Margaret Mead, who was director of the museum for many years, taught a course I took as an undergraduate. I smile at all the children learning about science and anthropology. In fairness, the museum also has a dark history of racism and nonscience. Oh, I also learned a bit about Teddy Rooosevelt. Let the Witnesses try to keep me out of museums. One visit makes you think about their teachings.
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  15

  Those who vote, do you stay loyal to your party?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. social
  2. current

  i was ready to vote today but i found out i had to be registered 30 days in advance, i missed the mark by 4 days.

  anyway, even though i selected a party, i was on quite a few votes going to vote for other parties.

  here is why, i was looking up the websites of each candidate.

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  Band on the Run

  I vote on the basis of certain issues, such as choice, civil rights and liberties, environmental record, foreign policy, etc. When I first left the Witnesses, the Viet Nam War was ongoing. I became involved in the peace movement so I chose the dissident wing of the Democratic Party. We took over the party in time. My party identification is secondary to my issue involvement. I majored in Political Science and wanted to work in campaigns as a professional. My present activities include fund raising and volunteer work. If you are a former Witness, you are a natural for canvas work. Also, I volunteer in Voter Integrity projects. Election Day usually finds me making certain that the laws and spirit of the law are enforced. So far it has been boring work. Well, I used to live in a working class ethnic enclave and found my former teachers in a physical fights in the polling place. Those were the days of excitement!

  I have no qualms about cornering a politician and effectively telling him/her that I donated money and time and if they vote a certain way, there will be consequences. The campaign slogans drive me crazy. Ed Rendell, an articulate governor of PA-Democrat, ads parroted that he wanted "to move PA forward." I still have no clue what that means.
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  20

  WT lawsuits - Gog of Magog - Coalition of Nations - Courts of Law - Bankruptcy

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what if the society know it only has to lose one big case to lose a whole set of cases on precedent of the first case?.

  this means they will lose millions of dollars in lawsuits and settlements.

  which means their financial stability is under threat.

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  Band on the Run

  We are the most litigious lawyers in the world. Japan, a developed economy, has very few. Law suits are a very crude way to seek justice. They should be a last option.
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  20

  WT lawsuits - Gog of Magog - Coalition of Nations - Courts of Law - Bankruptcy

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what if the society know it only has to lose one big case to lose a whole set of cases on precedent of the first case?.

  this means they will lose millions of dollars in lawsuits and settlements.

  which means their financial stability is under threat.

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  Band on the Run

  I forgot what Gog of Magog is in the Bible. These awards may be looked at by lawyers in other countries. American law is based on British common law so the Commonwealth Nations may be interested. I expect, however, that they have their own body of negligence/tort law. I have no idea how civil law treats such matters. The term civil law might be used as a category for noncriminal matters or a reference to countries other than those that adopted British common law. France is an example. The question posed would make a decent law review article. The awards, which still have not been heard by an appeals court, certainly signal that judges and juries believe the accounts of victims now and that religion is not an excuse. Legal cases in the United States must rely on the facts presented. Change the facts and result may change.

  I don't believe a bankruptcy judge would approve a bankruptcy motivated by desire to escape a damage award. The WT has the assets. Maybe next time a GB will show up for a deposition.