Posts by Nathan Natas

31

Something I had never thought about re: the Borg's nonprofit status

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

i am actually looking into the possibility of starting my own nonprofit for ex-jws with specific goals and i've learned more about the process.

i was interviewing someone for the podcast that is familiar with nonprofits and she told me something that i had never considered.

maybe everyone else has but i don't remember seeing anything about it here.

Something I had never thought about re: the Borg's nonprofit status

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

i am actually looking into the possibility of starting my own nonprofit for ex-jws with specific goals and i've learned more about the process.

i was interviewing someone for the podcast that is familiar with nonprofits and she told me something that i had never considered.

maybe everyone else has but i don't remember seeing anything about it here.

I liked what Roseofjuly shared: "Nonprofits don't have to do anything charitable. There are lots of different kinds of nonprofits; not all of them do charitable works...501(c)(3) status is "exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for testing for public safety, or ...for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals."

An XJW nonprofit could easily be involved in these activities - or a separate nonprofit could be formed for each purpose. I would happily contribute to such an organization.

In fact... this may sound crazy at first... couldn't Simon set up JWD as a non-profit?

I have a tiny bit of coincidental experience with non-profit organizations due to my interest in martial arts. I was surprised a few years... OK, many years... ago when I learned that a lot of the martial arts dojos in my area (Seattle WA, USA) were being run as nonprofit organizations. Of course, MOST dojos (of any nationality - I'm using the word "dojos" to include any martial arts training hall, even boxing gyms) have a time-honored tradition of not making any money unless they were run as "Black Belt mills" that handed out black belts to any six-year-old who could make a kick while screaming a "Kiai!" at the same time (I'm exaggerating for your literary amusement) OR if the dojo was owned by a movie-star martial arts "master" like Seagull Sensei teaching Cobra-kai dim-sum kung-fu. Let me tell you, THAT MAN knows how to eat a bowl of noodles - or three bowls, if he's challenged! But I digress...

...So, these Seattle dojos are set up as non-profit cultural and educational organizations. You won't learn conversational Japanese or Korean or Filipino from these schools, but you might learn what "Rei!" means, or how to do "sumbrata" and you might be introduced to Zen meditation or the Tea Ceremony, depending on the school.

But even here, where it is so common, there are misunderstanding about what being nonprofit means. One teacher I spoke with seemed certain that it would mean he could not charge for his teaching, which is his major source of income. He could not imagine that as a nonprofit his earnings might increase.

I've thought about becoming a church - "The First Church of Man Without Gods" - but I don't mind paying income taxes. Somebody has to support the Gweilos and Wogs, right?

5

Are you a conscientious objector if you play violent video games?

by eyeuse2badub in

"s korea to investigate whether conscientious objectors played violent video games".

after a decades-long fight, jw's and other religious groups in s korea can declare co and avoid military service.

the government wants to see if they are being real by going back into their past to see if they played violent vid games.

Nathan Natas

Hey,what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander! If the WTB&TS wants to be able to say that the games of CHESS and GO are unchristian because they are games of strategy, then how much more harshly ought a player of violent video games be judged?

Sorry, no sympathy here.

23

Reflecting On Death

by Charles Gillette in

jw
friends

reflecting on death.

i can't remember, maybe steve jobs before he died.i thought i would share it with you and see what you think about it, and i'm quoting i think from his book.. "i'm about fifty-fifty on believing in god.

for most of my life, i've felt that there must be more to our own existence than meets the eye.. i might be overestimating the odds 50/50 out of a desire to believe in an afterlife.

Nathan Natas

21

Should calling someone 'Nazi' be made illegal?

by LoveUniHateExams in

a rabble-rouser called james goddard and a crowd of pro-brexit people called anna soubry 'nazi' recently.. the same crowd also called owen jones a few names.. i don't know these people but they seem to be unsavory people - they were certainly not behaving themselves.. the met police are looking into the matter, to see if the crowd did anything illegal.

a journalist asked the police officer if calling someone 'nazi' is illegal.

the officer said 'that's what we're looking into'.. first, this crowd behaved badly, no question.. what i find fascinating, though, is the speed of response from authorities.. calling people fascist or nazi has been going on for decades.

Nathan Natas

Sticks and stones

may break my bones

but the words of unthinking fools

will never hurt me.

68

The paranormal.

by Lost in the fog in

i know that a lot of the people on here have turned their backs on the idea of a deity deciding that god does not exist.

but what about the unseen spirit world generally such as poltergeists, jinns, voodoo, etc.

if you have become agnostic, atheist, or just don't care since leaving, do you think that there are spirits out there or have you decided that is also hokum?

Nathan Natas

You are correct, Unsure, because reality and imagination are two different things.

68

The paranormal.

by Lost in the fog in

i know that a lot of the people on here have turned their backs on the idea of a deity deciding that god does not exist.

but what about the unseen spirit world generally such as poltergeists, jinns, voodoo, etc.

if you have become agnostic, atheist, or just don't care since leaving, do you think that there are spirits out there or have you decided that is also hokum?

Nathan Natas

Describe for me, if you will, how beings in the metaphysical world evolved.

Are they the ghosts of amoebas?

I'll wait...

34

Flawed Website

by pinkpizza in

jw
friends

when i first seen this website i actually thought it was a jw website hence the home page and not an ex jw website and i posted a topic thinking people were real witnesses then i quickly discovered it was not and all these people were commenting and embarrassing me and i couldn’t even delete the thread.

then i asked the admin to delete it and i said it was very misleading saying it’s a jw page and he’s like are you serious i deleted your topic and now you are attacking me and it clearly says ex jw page.

he was very rude and btw no where does it say ex jw and you should be able to delete your own threads you start.

Nathan Natas

What about that Dub Chickie who posted last week about lookin' for love...

Simon wasted few moments taking THAT ONE down.

Was she looking for a pink pizza?

Was I the only one who saw that?

I was going to reply, but real gurls scare me.

24

May 1 2018 my Ayahuasca Experience

by new boy in

jw
friends

it has been over a year and a half since my last ceremony.

which was way to long.

my son came up from scottsdale for the ceremony.

Nathan Natas

Here's my take on this subject:

Since life began on this planet, organisms have developed SENSES as a way of comprehending and taking advantage of the world in which they live.

Following the principle of NATURAL SELECTION, those individuals who had better-functioning ways of discriminating their world PROSPERED, while those without these advantages walked the wide highway to extinction.

As time passed, the quality of these EVOLVING SENSES improved. Eons passed thus.

Creatures evolved who had an appreciation for the "buzz" that the ethanol produced by fermenting fruits produced. Some creatures found the experiences offered by certain cacti and fungi were entertaining.

Along came Alley-Oop, a.k.a. Adam. He saw elephants and birds getting drunk, and he thought, "Hmmmm..."

He got HUNGRY. Not for wisdom; for BREAKFAST.

He saw the orange-red mushroom caps, he saw the cacti and the other fruitage of the field, and he partook of them, and he DIED. Today there is no one who is a descendant of Alley-Oop.

(Nota Bene: with the exception of some marine creatures (fish,etc.), there are no known meat products that will get you high. Was Cain the first person to declare war on vegetables? Let me know if you figure it out.)

Alley-Oop's cousin Enoch continued Alley's investigation of the world.

Fast-forward 300,000 years or so. In 1938 AD a caveman named Al Hoffman synthesizes the compound that inspired The Book of Revelation.

A few years later another caveman named Al (coincidence? You tell me.) Huxley suggests that some molecules are keys that open the doors of perception.

He was wrong.

Evolution did not spend five billion years running down a blind alley, developing tools that were dull by design.

No, there molecules f-up the few senses you were born with. Want proof? Look at those who indulge in those molecules.

Are they and their three-eyed idiot kids BETTER than you? OK, poor choice of comparisons...

Are they better than ME?

No.

I rest my case.

That's my opinion, as far as you know.

People who claim otherwise deny the mute testimony of evolution. Hail Gaia! Hail Eris! Hail YES!

28

Gofundme account opened for funeral costs

by Amelia Ashton in

jw
friends

simon, i hope this is ok to post here.. for those who dont know yesterday a terrible car accident took the life of a lovely young woman leah ryan.

she was the daughter of 2 members here who go by the names of sleeping beauty and her husband hairy he goat.. leah"s sister has started an account to help fund funeral costs.

for any wishing to donate here is the link.. https://www.gofundme.com/for-leah-my-beautiful-sisters-funeral?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_co_shareflow_m&fbclid=iwar1z971joytaqnsy0zyq1_admdyxzqjpgrlf7l2-teq1nalnnqc6wcsn3pq.

Nathan Natas

I hope Jon and Sharon see this thread, so they can explain why they are unable to provide for their own family and HOW they figure that "it takes a village" to provide for their kids.

I didn't speak unkindly - I spoke HONESTLY. The Dub mentality that runs from debate resorted to unkind words because they cannot explain how this sad event becomes MY problem.

So to all you sweetheart maggots out there, "Kiss, kiss, geniuses!"

Back in the good old days, there was shame properly associated with begging. Today we call this begging "crowdsourcing." Instead of sitting on the curb with a battered tin cup or brass begging-bowl in their grasp, beggars set up "crowdsourcing" pages. The Crowdsourcing companies make a nice living and employment for techno-nerds increases. Or did you REALLY BELIEVE that GoFundMe was a charity, you naif?

Where once people would seek a LOAN from a bank or shylock with the idea of PAYING IT BACK, today's "crowdsourcing" eliminates the concept of indebtedness - you give me money, I start a company, I make a profit and you get a thank you email. Economics 666? I guess.

I am disappointed that so many of you - especially YOU (you know who you are) - are so unskilled at debate and/or argumentation that you swiftly resort to "FUCK YOUs" and "MAGGOT" and "(I'm too demure to say FUCK YOU, so I'll just say) "I agree with the guy who said FUCK YOU, 'cause I'm a refined lay-dee."

Now, first reply to this with "FUCK YOU" gets $1. Hurry!