"people don't realize i still have connections; this guy is good: if i wasn't ducking i would have got it in the face.
and he was cool under fire, getting off a 2nd pitch.
i think he'll go places and i'm in for 10%", said soon to be ex-president bush.. continuing on, "i'm scouting for opportunities, what with the white house gig winding down.
Irreverence and lack of sensitivity is something that Americans are good at doing. In fact, it may be our hallmark.
This is a point that needs to be made; I have made it elsewhere and will make it yet again. There is a reason for doing so.
Thank you for being my "straight man"/shill/cat's paw, Cameo.
Yes, Jimmy, agreed, he is that, indeed.
Mustang
every year this news item was published in the km.
but i've noticed that i've never heard of it anywhere else, ever.
how do most young men in the world know that they're supposed to do this?
Every country requiring a military obligation will of course, publish that mandate. How they do it is likely varied across the landscape.
I've recently been discussing this subject, due to my experience in fighting the Selective Service System [SSS] in court. I have heard of instances where young men in the USA ignored these pronouncements and went and "joined up". "I did what I was supposed to, that takes care of my military obligation, right?".
OK: you took care of the military obligation (one law) but not ALL OF THE LEGALITIES. Sometime in the future the FBI shows up @ the door of this young man's military CO (Commanding Officer; as opposed to CO, Conscientious Objector). I had to make the distinction between the two CO's in my recent discussions.
The FBI Agent readily verifes and accepts that the soldier is real and is who is being sought. He leaves the CO to straighten out paperwork which must be rotued to the SSS Local Board where the young man was supposed to make an appearance or at least forward some filled out forms.
There is little doubt that the soldier got a lecture or two.
This points out that SSS notification is somewhat sloppy here in the US. It may be about the same in other countries. I can also feature countries that make it clear in no uncertain terms and do not have a sense of humor about the subject.
I'm little surprised: SSS is used about 3 or 4 years at a time and then goes back on the shelf for 3 or 4 decades.
Mustang
"people don't realize i still have connections; this guy is good: if i wasn't ducking i would have got it in the face.
and he was cool under fire, getting off a 2nd pitch.
i think he'll go places and i'm in for 10%", said soon to be ex-president bush.. continuing on, "i'm scouting for opportunities, what with the white house gig winding down.
Does this make Bush the FIRST CINC (Commander IN Chief) to come under fire in a war zone? Bush was in the "theater" of an active war...
Mustang
"people don't realize i still have connections; this guy is good: if i wasn't ducking i would have got it in the face.
and he was cool under fire, getting off a 2nd pitch.
i think he'll go places and i'm in for 10%", said soon to be ex-president bush.. continuing on, "i'm scouting for opportunities, what with the white house gig winding down.
I was surprised: Bush was on top of it and was ducking like he expected it. Maybe the guy was a shill
He (Bush) was smiling, too.
Mustang
"people don't realize i still have connections; this guy is good: if i wasn't ducking i would have got it in the face.
and he was cool under fire, getting off a 2nd pitch.
i think he'll go places and i'm in for 10%", said soon to be ex-president bush.. continuing on, "i'm scouting for opportunities, what with the white house gig winding down.
"People don't realize I still have connections; this guy is good: if I wasn't ducking I would have got it in the face. And he was cool under fire, getting off a 2 nd pitch. I think he'll go places and I'm in for 10%", said soon to be ex-President Bush.
Continuing on, "I'm scouting for opportunities, what with the White House gig winding down. I thought Iraq was just oil country; I just never expected to find a ball-player here" Bush related.
But other offers are pouring in for Shoe-Hurler. The Association of Iraqi Shoe Manufacturers is showcasing a number of possible shoe advertisements to Shoe-Hurler.
And the Cobblers Union of Greater Iraq has nominated him as a spokesman. It is expected that public appearances and shoe-signings will be lucrative. There is a growing trend of hurling shoes rather than bullets. This has attracted the interest of both the shoe manufacturers and the cobblers.
There is also talk of Shoe-Hurler being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on the "Shoes & Boos, not Bullets" slogan.
Decisions, decisions: the local lecture circuit versus foreign travel.
On a darker note, there were rumors that Shoe-Hurler was a trained assassin. Some suspected that the shoes were poison tipped, but lab examinations quickly quelled this report.
Mustang
my elder of an uncle came to visit recently and taking note of how crappy-go-f#@ky and bored of life i seemed starts in "why don't you want to go to the hall?
what changed?
" i give him the rundown of my disappointments in god, my issues with the bible, and how the religion is basically formed on the interpretations of russell and/or rutherford.
Am I alone in thinking that the reason I went was more about looking a certain way to other dubs than it was receiving the MESSage?
No: my life was similar: I had an overbearing zealot of a father. What I did (pIONEERING, Servant and so forth) was done basically for him, to please him or to avoid his displeasure. This throwback to the patriarchal days (Abraham and such) expected his sons to grow up and become great and powerful JW's and do battle for him. (And he was frequently pissing the brothers off...)
Just be glad you don't live under your uncle's roof: you could get the "as long as you live under my roof" lecture.
And that (the "as long as you live under my roof" lecture) was why I did the JW thing.
Mustang
a skit on saturday night live, poking fun at visually-impaired ny governor david paterson has stirred up a lot of controversy.
was it good comedy or bad taste?
you be the judge:.
The spin doctors tell us it's "terrorists" causing all these global problems. Well, anyone who speaks against their government is now considered a "terrorist". ("If you are not with us, then you are a terrorist"...George W. Bush)
Brer George is out there worried about his legacy: well, it's "he's braindead" and that won't change. Just ask the shoe-hurler of Iraq: that is what he will be remembered for.
The First Amendment is designed to protect unpopular speech. The Governor should grow a spine.
Add Sullivan v. NY times: PUBLIC FIGURES have to grow spines or just deal with it. Serves them right: if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Screw George [you're with us or against us; or you're a terrorist]: the laws are against him. America has a tradition of Freedom of Speech, including unpopular speech.
And its time to say this: America is a land of critics, criticism and iconoclasts. The people that founded this country were fleeing and disagreeing with religious intolerance and tyrants (political and religious) in other countries.
There are people that argue that this IS NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION; the discussion is still ongoing on that issue.
But none of these people can argue that the founders weren't fleeing religious problems; of course, they may have come here to start and foster their own version of religious problems that someone else would take issue over.
(My own relatives got out of France during one of the windows of time when Protestants could travel and leave the country.)
If you are coming here to get away from butchers and thugs, OK. But bear in mind: if you are coming here to be coddled and praised and lauded for your differences, you got very badly misinformed.
Somebody will very likely take your different and possibly strange viewpoints to task. Americans have evolved tolerance AND criticism to a mutual level of coexistence that may not have been seen elsewhere.
I have heard it argued that Americans are "rude" and "ill-mannered". That may really be true, relative to a country that may have rules that prohibit speaking out against the church or the government. If you can't look at yourself with the same jaundiced view that the next person may, you are going to have problems in this country.
Mustang
a skit on saturday night live, poking fun at visually-impaired ny governor david paterson has stirred up a lot of controversy.
was it good comedy or bad taste?
you be the judge:.
The First Amendment is designed to protect unpopular speech. The Governor should grow a spine.
Add Sullivan v. NY times: PUBLIC FIGURES have to grow spines or just deal with it. Serves them right: if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Mustang
in today's ny times there is an article on this topic, and here are two quotes:.
"bad times are good for evangelical churches.
'its a wonderful time, a great evangelistic opportunity for us,' said the rev.
Wow... Jeremy and Seeker! I know I felt squelched creatively while I was in, but I never really thought about it in these terms before. You are so right... not only are the programs dry and devoid of life and joy, they are all pre-recorded or very strictly outlined.
Yes, they are dry and oppressive. They kill individuality. That is apparent in their own words from the "Walsh trial" (I believe) testimony of one of the highest of the high muckety-mucks (HMM) of the WTS. The HMM said (as I recall, paraphrased) "we require unity at all costs".
This thread sums up the worst exacting price of the WTS:
And that cost is the individual. I go as far as the individual itself, not just their individuality, which goes first. Just try "harboring private thoughts"; they make efforts to flush them out eventually.
And another recent thread on "what have you been counseled on" shows how ultimately petty these ministrations are.
In this case, the Army has them beat: for years their motto was "Be All That You Can Be".
Personal growth is considered anathema by WTS: the individual has to be stifled and submerged into the organizational dogma.
JW's are worse than the original Puritans that settled this country: the members are herded like the Puritans but molded and fitted by a leadership class straight out of the old Jewish Pharisees.
OMG!!! A cross between the Purtians and the Pharisees
Mustang
in today's ny times there is an article on this topic, and here are two quotes:.
"bad times are good for evangelical churches.
'its a wonderful time, a great evangelistic opportunity for us,' said the rev.
I have noticed that many of these large churches offer so much more to their congregants than the Watchtower does. For example, there is a large church in the community where I live that has free day care for parents who are attending Sunday services.
A curious variation on this theme was what Doctor Gene Scott did in his downtown LA Church of AOG (Assemblies of God). Doctor Scott had decided that young children would disturb services one way or another: crying, mothers getting up in rows stepping on/over people to get tot he aisles and then trundling down the aisles to restrooms.
(My mother recounted that, as an infant, I liked the sound of breaking glass and would throw my milk bottles in the aisle to listen to them break.)
So, children under 12 are not permitted in the main hall for services. They are kept in an "day-care center" area; but they aren't kept there for long. Volunteer adults are with them. Then they all shortly get on chartered busses and visit local museums or other attractions. Scott said that there were 20 or so of those features within 15-30 minutes of the church itself.
The children are taught/told that it is a "privilege" to attend the Church services. But they enjoy themselves and are learning in the "day-care center" environment.
So when they are 12 years old, they are allowed access to the main hall. But they don't get to sit wherever they like, especially with their buddies or friends of the opposite sex. They must SIT WITH THEIR PARENTS!!!
I don't know if Dr. Scott's methods are still in force; somewhat after his death, his widow, the new "Pastor", has made changes. They obviously are after money and that may have declined; she has greatly curtailed the local area TV coverage.
Mustang
