CoonDawg

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Posts by CoonDawg

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  39

  Atlas Shrugged

  by purplesofa in

  1. jw
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  i finished reading "atlas shrugged" by ayn rand yesterday.

  like reading crisis of conscience it will forever alter the way i look at many many things.. this paragraph is only a small part in this amazing book, if you ever have a chance to read this book, try.

  it's about a thousand pages, you can't just skim through.. i just want to share this....... "what is the nature of the guilt that your teachers call his original sin?

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  CoonDawg

  Rand takes almost 1000 pages of bad writing to make her case for the flawed ethical theory of "ethical egoism". She puts forth in all of her works a false choice between only doing what is in one's self intrests and betraying ones self through acts of altruism. I know there are many who seem to feel that eithical egoism has merit. In fact, Alan Greenspan is a Rand Devotee. Many top tier conservatives subscribe to Rand's philosophy. The biggest thing with Rand is to remember her roots. Her family were immigrants who lost their businesses in the Bolshevik revolution. Her theory of ethical egoism is nothing more than a severe reaction to her personal experience with communism.

  I think Anthem explains her philosiphy just as succinctly, but does it in 105 pages instead of 900 +. Don't waste your time.
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  19

  My Elder Brother's Flip-Flopping Sucking Up to Appease My Elderly Parents

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  where do i start ?

  a brief summation here.

  as some of you know my ex-bethel elder brother told my sister a witness who was a victim of a stroke that in august she needed to move 8 hours away to her witness daughter who could care for her better .

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  CoonDawg

  My two aunts have been staying close to my grandparents for years. They are my dad's half sisters. My grandmother treats my entire family and all of us tho aren't progeny of her current husband as "inferior". They've made it pretty clear that we'll have no part of the family farm. I asked about buying some acreage from them a few years ago in order to keep part of the family farm In the family. They dismissed me as a young upstart who couldn't possibly afford some of the family homestead. My aunts kept hanging around (both self righteous JWs) eyeing the family posessions. My grandma has about 180 acres of prime industiral development land...

  I've never laughed as hard as when I found out my grandparents took out a reverse mortgage on their place. That's one of the worst things someone can do. My aunts finally relaized that they won't get jack sh*t out of the old family farm. They are stil dubs, but they've all recently moved a long distance away.

  It actually serves my grandmother right to be surrounded by all these greedy little bitches. My grandmother screwed her sisters out of all the family inheritance too. She's been a JW for years.
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  do you have a safety deposit box?

  by sammielee24 in

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  i used to have a safety deposit box in the bank until a few years ago, and it was always my understanding that only i could access it.

  i had heard grumblings about some change in that process and then i stumbled across this - i just wonder if anyone has a safety box in the bank has asked the manager about this.

  that would seem to mean that if i stored some valuables in a safety deposit box here, that my family would have no right to the contents even though they are willed the contents in some fashion.

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  CoonDawg

  I used to have a safety deposit box, but when we moved and bought this house...the previous owner was a retired Coast Guard Captain and he designed the house... I now have 3 fire safes built into my home. I now keep my papers and stuff at home.
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  20

  The Republicans WILL get back in! An October Surprise is coming!

  by yadda yadda 2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  you can guarantee there will be an october surprise that will scare the us public into voting bush mark ii in, john mccain.. its going to be one of the following (or a slight variation thereof): .

  another bin laden message, like we saw a few days before the 2004. bin laden's fortuitous appearance swung the vote in favour of bush, something now widely admitted.an assassination of a prominent european leader like the british pm, brown.more likely, it will be an attack on iran by israel which will provoke iran and hezbollah into retaliating against israel, which will serve as a pretext for the us to help defend israel, and the american brainwashed public will of course vote for a strong, military leader like john mccain.or it will just be hezbollah alone, who are now armed to the teeth courtesy of iran, to start firing a few missiles into israel on the eve of the election...same scenario ensues as above.the us people are totally brainwashed and will vote on fear of terrorism every time now...all that has to be done is to trigger that primal fear again and mccain will sweep in, just like the most stupid and worst us president there ever was unbelievably did in 2004. the financial crisis will quickly be forgotten when the october surprise happens..

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  CoonDawg

  Buffaloes...if you think Kerry's service is tainted...maybe you should read this brand new article in this month's issue of Rolling Stone...

  http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

  
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  20

  Answer the question Governer.. if you only knew the answers! LOL!

  by dawg in

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  you, governor palin, have said that you would like to see a real clear plan for an exit strategy.

  12) ifill: let's talk conventional wisdom for a moment.

  but even more important is that world view that i share with john mccain.

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  CoonDawg

  I find it very interesting how many of the neo-conservatives and republicans seem to subscribe to Ayn Rand's version of Ethical Egoism. The idea that moral decisions are entirely based on what is in one's own self interest. The types of themes she did play on were ones that appealed to this side of their base. I honestly don't see how very many independent voters are going to be swayed by her folksey schtick and her non- answers.
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  36

  Is college worth it?

  by NewYork44M in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my life has been transformed by higher education.

  however, i am aware that college is not for everyone.. here are some interesting thoughts:.

  http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/080926-williams-higher-education.php.

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  CoonDawg

  I've am attending my first semester of college. I'm 37 and going back. So far, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. The boost to my self confidence is worth the price in and of itself. The discussions are intellectually stimulating and the discipline of meeting assignment deadlines is great for me. Personally, I chose the traditional campus style education. That's because I know I've not been all that disciplined and need the structure of actually attending a real class. I fear that online classes would be procrastinated into a waste of money. I plan to see this through to a Bachelor's degree, but there's also a Masters course available in my chosen field.

  I think everyone should at least try college. Some may not like it and I know that formal education is only a part of the recipie for success...but college is a key that opens doors that, otherwise would remain locked.
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  8

  So jws are still refusing alternative to military service & in jail?

  by rebel8 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "according to jehovah's witnesses leaders in yerevan, at the end of the reporting period, 78 of their members remained in prison for refusal to perform military service or alternative labor service on conscientious and religious grounds.

  representatives of jehovah's witnesses stated that all of the prisoners had been given the opportunity to serve an alternative to military service rather than prison time but had refused because the military continued to retain administrative control over the alternative service...the law on alternative service allows conscientious objectors--subject to government panel approval--to perform either noncombatant military or labor service duties rather than serve as combat-trained military personnel.

  the law took effect in 2004 and applies to subsequent draftees and those serving prison terms for draft evasion.

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  CoonDawg

  My uncle spent 2 years in prison for the dubs in El Reno, OK. Today, he says he still wouldn't have fought, but he'd have fled to Canada. He's not a pacifist, but just didn't believe it was a just war. Then again, my dad - while he was going to meetings down here -- knew some elders who actually caved and went in to the military and served in Vietnam. One of them said he didn't have the guts to go to prison, but when he was in combat, he made sure to always shoot over the heads of the enemy so as not to kill. My dad nearly went to prison, but his draft board broke the law in trying to ship him off to tha Nam. He finally ended up getting his exemption.
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  29

  Euthanasia?

  by MegaDude in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anyone against euthanasia if you are sick with a terminal disease and you don't wish to die a protracted death?.

  i have thought about this a lot since a coworker's grandfather here in the u.s., dying painfully of cancer, drove around and saw his relatives one final time and then killed himself.

  they found him in a car by the side of the road.

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  CoonDawg

  First off, you have to determine what type of euthanasia you are refering to. Is it only passive or is it active? Is it voluntary or is it non-voluntary? When one speaks of euthanasia, one must deliniate what they are arguing for or against.

  Personally, I feel comforatble with active and passive voluntary euthanasia. I too feel that a person should have the right to decide when and how they are going to check out when faced with a painfull terminal illness or when my quality of life will be so bad that I no longer wish to continue. I figure that when there are some safeguards built in, a person should have that choice. It goes to the very foundation of personal freedom. After all, a person is exercising choice and no one's rights are being violated. Better it be a chosen death in a sterile hospital setting or at home with your loved ones than in the living room or by the side of the road with a .45 in your mouth.

  I did my first psych paper on euthanasia. I got a good portion of my information from The Hemlock Society. The organization believes in dignified death. They have it all worked out and will be glad to discuss it with you. http://www.compassionandchoices.org/hemlock/

  The hemlock society is the preeminent advocacy group for right to die issues. However, there are some who are members who seek to expand the definitions of "terminal illness".

  In fact, at the 1986 convention of the Hemlock Society, Dutch physician Pieter Admiraal boasted that he had recently broadened the meaning of "terminal illness" in his country by giving a lethal injection to a young quadrapalegic woman -- a Dutch court found that he acted within judicial guidelines allowing euthanasia for the terminally ill, because paralyzed patients have difficulty swallowing and and could die from aspirating their food at any time.

  My point is that while I endorse euthanasia in the limited situations I sepcified, safeguards are of utmost importance to keep from descending a slippery slope we don't want to travel.

  PS- we just discussed this topic in my ethics class...
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  Speaking of debt...

  by Dagney in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone seen "maxed out?".

  http://www.maxedoutmovie.com/.

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  CoonDawg

  I've seen it. But, then, I'm a Dave Ramsey fan. The movie is in part humorous, informative, and really sad, all at the same time. It's disturbing, actually. I watched this only a couple of weeks before all of this banking system mess started. Quite honesty, looking at the current mess through the lense of Maxed out's lense, it makes me have no sympathy for the banking industry and thier greed.

  As my father in law says, "If you're looking for sympathy, the only place you'll find it is in the dictionary -- right between s*it and syphyllis."
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  52

  WE FINALLY HAVE THE REASON FOR THE BOOK STUDY CHANGE!!!!

  by whereami in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  geat ready to gag.

  you just can't make this stuff up.. .

  subject: fw: book study change in 2009. .

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  CoonDawg

  I'm sorry, but while reading this tripe, all I can think of is the aftermath. I keep hearing someone say "We never officially said armageddon would be in 1975." It's this kind of quasi-endorsed crap by those who represent the society who put this garbage forth. It's always about plausible deniability after they hype fails. I remember being a young kid in the early 70s and hearing about how the bookstudy was so important that when we were under ban, just missing 1 could get you killed, or at the very least make you loose touch becuase you don't know where the next roving meeting will be.

  This stuff is ponderous....f*ckin' PONDEROUS! I tell you.