outnfree

Joined

• started 67 topics
• posted 4,343 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by outnfree

• 
  35

  What is the NEW BUZZ in the Org?

  by Save My Soul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  there is a new wt arrangement, the 1935 change, the 30 minute public talk among other things.

  some have even said they would stop talking doom and gloom, can someone please confirm this?.

  what is the perception of these things among those active in the org?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  Hey! What's this about a 1935 change?
  Please enlighten me here or point the way (via link) to further enlightenment.
  
  Thanks,
  outnfree
• 
  192

  GOOD GOD!! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY.......????

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ....spelling errors on the topic headers?.

  how much effort does it take to check your spelling before you post a topic??.

  just read over some of the topics up for discussion right now and you'll see a very shocking (to me, at least) disregard for accuracy.. if you can't trouble yourself to get your spelling right how are the rest of us going to respect the fact you have your reasoning right either??.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  I dislike seeing spelling and language usage errors, too. I self-edit most of the time, but even when I do, errors creep in.
  
  I agree with Terry and Poppers that spelling errors and grammar mistakes take focus away from what is being expressed. I have a personal philosophy that literacy is the MOST important SKILL (as opposed to personal quality or character trait) that a person can develop because to be successful at almost anything else in life, good reading skills are critical. From good reading skills one can gain good grammar and speaking skills. Like it or not, people ARE judged by the way they present themselves, and this includes in person or on a discussion board.
  
  Of course, there are those of us who tend to use EMPHATIC caps a bit too often, which is often deemed an indication of poor writing skills because one should have been able to convey with the choice of words which points deserve emphasis Yet, I must have SOME creative leeway, no? And then there are the runon sentences ...
  
  <sigh>
  
  JohnDoe wrote "Once we see things like this, we then realize that the "correct" usage of words is completely subjective and determined by a select group of people. Correct and actual usage are often at a great variation to each other." and then claimed there IS no correct usage.
  
  In both Spain and France there are actual goverment entities that are the guardians of what is correct language usuage in those tongues. I don't know if similar agencies exist in other countries. I do not thnk there is such an agency in the U.S., but I disagree that there is no such thing as common standards for proper English. That there are regional variations according to local dialect is undisputed.
  
  Terry,
  My advice is to wince once and move on. As is evidenced by the responses to this thread, there are plenty of people who don't attach the same importance to being well written as you do. Alas!
  
  out
• 
  5

  A Propos Quote...

  by outnfree in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  '... follow the man who seeks the truth: run from the man who has found it.

  ' (vaclav havel).

  the above may have found its way to this site before, but i just ran across it and thought of all of you here.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  '... follow the man who seeks the truth: run from the man who has found it.' (Vaclav Havel).
  
  The above may have found its way to this site before, but I just ran across it and thought of all of you here. Seems to me that truer words were never spoken. ;)
  
  out
• 
  38

  A lurker says hello

  by Madame in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  r. f. wondered how many lurkers there are on the board.

  i don't know the answer, but i will admit that i since a few years am one of them.

  i read here almost every day.. like many others here i am an ex-jw, left the organisation about 25 years ago and never regretted it.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  Bienvenue, Madame!
  
  out
• 
  34

  Intercepting JW's on the 4th of July! Oh what fun!

  by HadEnuf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i must tell you an interesting story from today.

  gary and i went thru a drive-thru for breakfast and were sitting at our local park (in the car) enjoying our high fat, high cholesterol breakfast when, low and behold, here comes a group of jw's sloooooowly checking out the area.

  (this is right by the river on the green circle trail, which is a favorite place for joggers, walkers, bikers, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  Well, I have to agree that it was rude to make any sort of ruckus around the fisherman -- isn't peace and quiet not only the REASON for going fishing (along with catching food), and isn't being silent the best way to catch most fish?
  
  However, the JW Elder was rude first. IMHO he already ruined the guy's chance for a nice catch, so Cathy's arrival to combat "The Truth" with reality wasn't an intrusion and rightfully can be seen as a rescue.
  
  If the guy had been sitting on a park bench and not had a line in the water, probably no one on this thread would be up in arms.
  
  I say KUDOS. I believe the WT is a cult and people do need to be warned.
  
  outnfree
• 
  82

  Just finished seeing Michael Moore's SiCKO

  by Jourles in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i just got home from bellaire, mi where the first us premiere screeing of sicko took place.

  mm has shown the film to a few private groups, but he specifically said that we were the first "paying group" to see it.

  there were two showings - i got to see the first showing at 1:00.. first let me say that this film is not political in any way.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  I am extremely concerned about my health insurance future. As many of you know, I have recently gone through both a divorce and breast cancer treatments. I had excellent insurance coverage for my medical care and still do -- that is, I do until May of 2008, when I am no longer eligible for said fantastic coverage because I will have come to the end of COBRA transition period. Here's how the U.S. lack of a national health care system is affecting me:
  
  I had been out of the workforce for over 20 years and had only a high school diploma at the time of my divorce. Fortunately, I had started to attend college with a view of earning a degree a few years prior to the divorce. So I was at least on my way to future self-sufficiency when my diagnosis arrived a month after I learned my ex- was cheating on me.
  
  Many of you have applauded me for carrying on in my studies despite having to undergo chemo, Herceptin, and radiation treatments. Really, I had no choice in the matter (although I concede having schoolwork to concentrate upon left me less time to be morose and too self-involved). My COBRA would run out 3 years from the finalization of my divorce. I wanted to become a teacher -- a 5 year degree. I have just about killed myself for the past two semesters so that I will graduate in May of 2008. If I did not have the insurance gun pointed at my head, so to speak, I would have taken another year to accomplish my goals. (I am also working part-time.)
  
  Presently, I pay a little over $4,200. per year for health insurance that includes dental and vision. Just about what those nchc stats said was right for a single person. Once May of 2008 arrives, I will have to find someone to insure a cancer survivor. I have heard that I can expect my premiums to at least double. I am hoping that I will be able to have some basic coverage through the university until I get my first job. Because there are strong teacher's unions in my state and in the US in general, I will be able to get decent coverage once I land a job in the public schools. From my research, I will again be fortunate, because the coverage offered through the union(s) does NOT exclude preexisting medical conditons. I will be fortunate, but my career options will still be limited -- I will not be able to work in any industry or private school that can only offer insurance coverage which excludes preexisting medical conditions.
  
  I am blessed, because I have VERY generous spousal support, and I can afford to pay my $4200, yearly premiums (although it IS a big chunk out of my income), If I were a person with a financially less successful ex-spouse, I would be struggling big-time. I am already taking loans to defray my educational costs.
  
  Things are tight enough that when I learned I had a lump on my liver this past January, I debated getting the MRI (knowing it would cost me approximately $275 out of pocket) that would definitely rule out metastitization of the breast cancer. All of my other bloodwork and even the opinion of the CT Scan interpreter said it was likely benign, so I was inclined to let things be. My children, however, wanted peace of mind -- no niggling doubts AT ALL -- and so I finally went for the test in March or April... Everything is okay, but if someone at my financial comfort level is postponing potentially lifesaving medical tests because of their costs, something is wrong.
  
  I, too, have lived in Ontario, Canada and in the United States. I experienced the Canadian system (and the high taxes) for 7 years. I have not one complaint about the services received by myself or other loved ones -- and I delivered my son at Etobicoke General -- during our stay. We had some emergency room runs, I had some Witness-related blood issues, and just general pre-natal issues that were addressed professionally and in a timely manner. I had therapy for a wrenched back. The only thing I did not like was that I needed a referral for a pediatric specialist -- I could not choose my own. But that happens daily in the US unless one has top of the line insurance coverage, correct?
  
  I, for one, would gladly pay twice what I am in health insurance premiums, if I could be assured that not only myself, but my children, my ex- (who also has a pre-existing health condition now), and my neighbors would not have to ever lose their homes or businesses due to catastrophic illness, or their lives, due to lack of coverage. It is a grave failing of the supposedly greatest First World Nation, that people are turned away in such an uncivilized manner, because they have no health insurance.
  
  Some more interesting stats can be found here:
  
  http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p60-231.pdf
  
  Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2005 (issued 8/06)
  
  Sorry, I can't link, because I have a mac now and Simon's many options are not available to me
  
  out
• 
  36

  APOLOGIES by real JW's: JW's are NOT False Prophets

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jw1983 - jws are not false prophets .

  jehovahs witnesses, in their eagerness for jesus second coming, have suggested dates that turned out to be incorrect.

  because of this, some have called them false prophets.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  "Why have there been changes over the years in the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses?
  
  The Bible shows that Jehovah enables his servants to understand his purpose in a progressive manner. (Prov. 4:18; John 16:12) Thus, the prophets who were divinely inspired to write portions of the Bible did not understand the meaning of everything that they wrote. (Dan. 12:8, 9; 1 Pet. 1:10-12) The apostles of Jesus Christ realized that there was much they did not understand in their time. (Acts 1:6, 7; 1 Cor. 13:9-12) The Bible shows that there would be a great increase in knowledge of the truth during “the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:4) Increased knowledge often requires adjustments in one’s thinking. Jehovah’s Witnesses are willing humbly to make such adjustments. - Reasoning Book "
  
  I never understood why the other Christian religions were not worthy of Jehovah God's patience with regard to "increasing knowledge" and then humbly making adjustments in their thinking as the light got "brighter and brighter." After all, these members of "Christendom" DO make adjustments and the Roman Catholic Church, for one, publishes the "New Light" as Papal encyclicals, or new doctrine, etc. Why can't Witnesses agree to "love their neighbors as themselves" by allowing Christendom sufficient time to come to whatever the "correct" understanding may be? After all, Christ showed great patience with those slow-witted apostles, did he not?
  
  out
• 
  16

  American Songs for Today~~~Lets find them all!!!

  by purplesofa in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  this is our country.

  john cougar.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0htff63e0i.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  I disagree that 'Born in the USA' is an anti-American song. Rather, it's a snapshot of what life was like for Vietnam vets when they returned from that war -- not pretty for them. And the war was not pretty, either. Springsteen himself says at the concert in Barcelona before his performance that it was written during the Vietnam war and he was offering it now as a prayer for peace. Many Americans disagreed with the Vietnam war, and many are presently praying for peace in Iraq.
  
  The ability to publicly dissent is a cherished freedom among Americans. This song helps celebrate that.
  
  outnfree
• 
  10

  Happy Independance Day

  by POs Son in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's the fourth of july around the world, but it means so much more to americans, as our independence from oppressive rule gives us the freedoms, liberties and rights that man has longed for for centuries.

  take a moment, please, to celebrate the freedom of religion that allows jw's to practice their faith with freedom, and allows us to speak freely about what displeases us about their freedom!

  all the best.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  Happy Holiday to my fellow U.S. citizens!
  Enjoy those BBQs! :)
  
  out
• 
  22

  Updated on Orangefatcats husband Marco

  by orangefatcat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi again, sorry i haven't been able to get to the computer for days now as i am so tired when i get home from the hospital.

  yesterday i was just so out of things i had to take a break mentally and emotionally.. it is terrible seeing marco everyday being sick and deteriating.

  on sunday after church i went to the hospital and just got there in time to speak to the cadiologist.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  outnfree

  ((((Terry))))
  
  I am sorry to hear about Marco's poor health. It sounds to me as though he may already be going through what I have heard called "the dying process." Something I learned about as I watched my mother die. I am sorry for your anguish. I wish I could help ease both Marco's transition and your sadness somehow. I will send prayers and loving thoughts your way, at least.
  
  Fondly,
  Brenda