I'm sorry, but the part that fascinates me and creeps me out is how this group is singled out and how their rights have been trampled. Granted, I think there's something wrong with this insular cult and their prediliction with underage marriage. However, unless something has happened in the media since this story broke, technically speaking, every one of those marriages complies with Texas law. The alleged whistleblower apparently doesn't exist. Every one of these cases should be handled on a family by family basis yet this group justice seems to be the way things will be handled. It's easy to explain away the trampling of basic rights as americans until they come for you.
CoonDawg
JoinedPosts by CoonDawg
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30
Is anybody else both fascinated and creeped out...
by Jewel in...by the flds brouhaha down in texas?
obviously the doctrine is way different, but there are so many similarities: the haunted look in so many eyes, the oppressively patriarchy, the lack of feeling, the use of fear and separation for control, the whole everyone-else-is-evil mentality.
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Interesting Book Study Stories
by Ex-smoker inwith the news that the book study arrangement might be going away, alot of memories come flying back.
we used to have the study in our house for a couple of years and every week we had to clean our messy house so that it would look spic and span that night.
the cleaning sweeping, doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, and vacuming it was such a pain.
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CoonDawg
Once, when I was about 3, my dad for some unkown reason bought my brother and I some toy trucks. They were Tonka trucks. At the next bookstudy, after discussing "Jesus Rice" and such things, finally the meeting was over. The conductor asked if there were any announcements before prayer. I held up my hand and the brother called on me whereupon I announced "My dad got me a new tonka truck!" - My mother was mortified. Everyone else laughed.
When I was older, our bookstudy was held just around the corner. There was a trailer house on the corner who had one side facing our house and the end with the master bedroom next to the home where the bookstudy was held. At the time we lived in Kansas and they use those big "watercoolers" (a.k.a. Swamp-Coolers). The home where the study was held had theirs facing the master bedroom window of the trailer house. As we were going through some particularly un-interesting portion of the Family Life book, we all began to notice the sickly sweet smell of the burning sticky ganja. It finally got so strong we couldn't ignore it and we couldn't turn off the water cooler because it was a hot summer evening and that was the nearest thing to A/C. We ended up cutting the study short and many of us joked that we needed to have "goody night" that night. It was too funny.
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The Army's looking for a few good... ex-convicts?
by nvrgnbk inmilitary waivers for ex-convicts increaseby ann scott tysonwashington post staff writer .
tuesday, april 22, 2008; page a01 the army admitted about one-fourth more recruits last year with a record of legal problems ranging from felony convictions and serious misdemeanors to drug crimes and traffic offenses, as pressure to increase the size of u.s. ground forces led the military to grant more waivers for criminal conduct, according to new data released yesterday.
such "conduct waivers" for army recruits rose from 8,129 in fiscal 2006 to 10,258 in fiscal 2007. for marine corps recruits, they increased from 16,969 to 17,413. in particular, the army accepted more than double the number of applicants with convictions for felony crimes such as burglary, grand larceny and aggravated assault, rising from 249 to 511, while the corresponding number for the marines increased by two-thirds, from 208 to 350. the vast majority of such convictions stem from juvenile offenses.
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CoonDawg
The article is somewhat mis-leading (surprise, surprise!) I was watching and interview with one of the officials aobut this the other morning. Many of these are for people who committed crimes as a minor (14 to 17 yrs.) and the Bomb and Terrorism threats referred to are things like a phone in bomb threat, not necessarily actual planted explosives.
I say if they want to go fight for Haliburton and Dick Cheney, maybe that saves some other kid from having to be shot at. For some, this really is a chance to have discipline and order in their lives. Maybe it will help them learn some valuable lessons that will lead to their being productive citizens.
JMO
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Why do I feel like I'm losing my wife to this website?
by sarabi ini'm a jw in good standing and she is too.
she has had a lot of questions.
now, i feel like there is a division between us.
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CoonDawg
Welcome, Sarabi.
I, like many others, have gone through similar emotions to the ones you are experiencing now. My younger sister first came to this site and told me about it. I, of course, sought to be the protective older brother and was angry at my siter for reading "apostate" material. However, when I got to the point in my life where I couldn't rationally reconcile questions I had with the pre-churned answers that the WTS provided, I began searching. I lurked at this site off and on for about 2 years before I actually joined and began posting or speaking of my concerns with others.
No one drove me to stop attending the KH. That was a decision that rests soley on my own shoulders. At this site, and others like it, I began discussing my questions and doubts. I spent a period of time researching. I spoke with my wife - still a JW to this day - and she agreed that taking time to work through my questions and find my own answers was the best thing that I could do. She gave me space and realizes that we differ on religious beleifs, but she lets me form my own thoughts and reach my own conclusions. At the same time, I let her have her own beliefs...even though those are JW beliefs. We still are close. She doesn't consider me an "apostate" in the sense that the elders would.
No one should be afraid of truth.
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Sister getting baptized.....
by searchingforfriends inmy little sister just called to inform me the she has completed her baptism questions and is scheduled to get dunked in a few months.
there's not really anything i can do or say about it because she's a minor and in my oppinion not old enough to make any life long commitment.
anyone have a similar situation?
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CoonDawg
SFF,
My daughter went through the same thing not long ago. She was 12 and her mother let her get baptized. I told her mom that it was akin to having her pick out her marriage mate at that age and just as serious. I asked her mom what happens if she makes a mistake...will she lover her unconditionally or will she shun her as "good JW's" do?
I got my answer (not that I didn't already know) when my ex's nephew tried to off himself. Noone knew because said kid's mom is a DF witness so no one would talk to them. That's pretty effing sad. I try to make sure my daughter knows that love from this side is unconditional and even if she screws up, I'll still love her and she'll always have a refuge from the storm.
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The Society is Upset: R&F Not Following the Recommended Lodging List
by SirNose586 inan elder read a letter last night, and i practically giggled through the whole thing.
his poorly manufactured gravitas was most amusing, given the ludicrous content of the letter.. it seems the society is pissed that the friends aren't choosing the "recommended lodging" when going to conventions.
i remembered two important details about the letter.
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CoonDawg
The best convention I went to was also the last one. We stayed at a place of MY choosing. No list to go by. We got a great rate and a great room. My daughter was about 3 at the time. My wife got to feeling bad so we left early from the Saturday session. I took my daughter swimming when we got to the hotel. She was 3 and had an accident. She left a "baby ruth" in the pool. I got her out and hauled ass, but made sure to tell the management that "someone sh*t in the pool."
About the time all the little dubs got back and headed to the pool, it was closed for cleaning for the rest of the weekend. It was too funny! I still crack up every time I think of all those pissed off dubs. The kids because they wanted to swim, the parents because they wanted to ditch their kids.
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National Geographic Channel: Cults
by SacrificialLoon inwhile on my lunch break i saw an ad for a show that's coming on wednesday at 9 eastern called cults.
i don't know if its going to be a series or not, but this one is going to be about some guy in arizona who claims to be a (the?
) messiah, and his followers.
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CoonDawg
I love Bill Maher's take on cults. It's priceless...
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What are the best and worst congregations in the Midwest
by laneh inwhat do you think, either way?
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CoonDawg
Moberly....are the Austins still there? I drove through there plenty of times, and knew a few...but that was a long time ago.
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New Generation of JW's?
by zeroday ini da'd myself two years and yet i have 3 jw cousins that continue to communicate with me.
either thru email or face to face.
when i ask them if they know the consequences of their actions they just reply "i don't care".
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CoonDawg
I think that there are still some "hard core" JW's...but they, like all "corporate" religions are adapting to try and keep some of the relative "popularity" that they've had in previous years. They claim to be so special and different because they are THE religion that God blesses...but in reality, they are the same as other religions. They make concessions to keep their numbers looking good. Even my Mom, a long time JW and still very active, says that she's not going to give up communication with all her "heathen" children...none of whom attend meetings any longer.
Ern
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Wish me luck!!! Starting my own business...
by wanderlustguy inwell, just found out the day before yesterday my company is going out of business, so i'm starting my own.
here's the plan.... .
mobile paint repair.
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CoonDawg
Good luck. I am chasing down numbers so I can put together a business plan myself. Yesterday, I put together a logo for the company. My wife is going to start her own consulting business for medical practices. She's calling her business "M-D Protection"
(the M-D stands for "medical documentation")
My business is going to be "SWEBCO Motor Freight". At the moment, I'm getting equipment specced and quoted to me.
I wish you all the best in your new endeavor.
Ern