Posts by DogGone

369

So are Republicans now openly terrorists?

by Simon in

they seem determined to undermine the us democracy and shut the government down hurting employees and veterans.. what a despicable bunch, hope they get their asses kicked for what they are doing..

DogGone

Glander,

Does that article reference the source of those statistics? Perhaps, like so much of this debate, they are counting on confirmation bias to avoid scrutiny.... (http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=54884)

OR

You can help me find the source of the information from the UN "International Health Organization" er.... maybe WHO? If so, this is very critical data and should definitely inform the discussion. I’d like to know if the stats are inclusive or only include those with health insurance.

I can tell you that in some places wait times in Canada for specialists are often unacceptable. We have had a national focus on this for a decade and the results are showing. You may find the summary page from this document published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information to be informative: https://secure.cihi.ca/free_products/HCIC2012-FullReport-ENweb.pdf

This article has a comprehensive discussion about wait times broken down by province, by procedure, and by comparison against target: http://www.waittimealliance.ca/media/2012reportcard/WTA2012-reportcard_e.pdf

To your point, more improvement is needed in Canada. Anecdotally, though, I can tell you that two weeks ago one of my staff needed to see an MRI after a scary episode and was in within a few days. Two days later he was back for another round. However, that is relevant only in my particular corner of our big country.

Indeed, "Excessive wait times for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies are a major problem in the Canadian healthcare system." ref: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2653696/

That being said, our wait times are equitable regardless of wealth and our visibility into them is growing. Look at this website from Alberta where you can dive down into wait time stats for various procedures by urgency and region: http://waittimes.alberta.ca

127

So......Obama IS a US citizen after all?!

by Black Man in

jw
friends

april 27th, 201110:06 am etobama releases long-form birth certificateposted by:cnn white house producer shawna shepherd.

by cnn's alan silverleib.

washington (cnn) the white house released copies of president barack obama's original long-form birth certificate wednesday, seeking to put an end to persistent rumors that he was not born in theunited states.. "we do not have time for this kind of silliness," obama told reporters at the white house.. obama's long-form birth certificate [pdf].

DogGone

So funny, Kenya didn't exist until 1963? So, from 1920 to 1963 when it was the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya you could not call it just Kenya? If someone had a Canadian birth certificate from 1950 when we were officially styled the Dominion of Canada and all it said was Canada you could say Canada did not exist? And the arguers above produce a document which states the Republic of Kenya.... which actually didn't exist. If the forger wasn't such a half-wit the birthers couldn't be so easily proven wrong, in this instance. The argument itself proves the error, it's simply beautiful. How can you be born in America and not know what the heck a Republic is? I'm sure the counter is that this document was just part of some vast conspiracy to discredit the birthers.

It's so terrible to see racism clothed in the mock legitimacy of spurious legality. It's a singular form of evil.

Somehow, I expect better of those whose mental capacities have allowed them to escape the snare of the Watchtower fable.

22

Red light camera ticket

by sspo in

my last speeding ticket was in tennessee in 1993, was going 15 miles over the speed limit and got a $60 ticket.

that was my last one.. three weeks ago did not make a complete stop making a right turn here in california and got nailed with a "camera ticket".. damage to my wallet ...$540 and have to take an 8hour class.. i guess california is in need of a lot of cash.. do you have traffic cameras where you live or are they illegal?.

.

DogGone

That is a heafty fine. Ironically, in my neck of the woods we call that a "California stop".

We have a lot of these cameras in my city, Calgary. Once I was nabbed with a $375 fine at 2:30AM for pushing through a red light. I was coming down a hill, it was late, not a soul on the road, and I hit the intersection as it was turning from yellow to red. But, they sent me a nice picture of myself in my car - crossing the line with a red light in view.

Doesn't matter the circumstance, I broke the law and paid up. The fine was sufficiently large that I sure have not made that mistake again.

I've never heard of the cameras catching people here who are making a right turn...

18

If YOUR Child Turned Out To Be A Child Abuser Would You Hate Him?

by minimus in

let me say, from the beginning, that i believe child abuse is disgusting and terrible and abusers should be punished.. we often react to the subject by getting very riled up, sometimes threatening to beat up or even kill an abuser.. i wonder, would you feel the same way if you realized that your child was an abuser?.

DogGone

I'm sure this is not suprising, given my earlier posts on this topic, but I'd love him or her. I'd ensure help was provided to prevent future abuse and that ownership was taken for the mistakes made. That would extend outside of just children (I don't have any children yet, but we are excitedly expecting) to family and friends. For me, this is not just hypothetical.

43

Richard Dawkins Fail...

by tenyearsafter in

wow...hard to believe anyone would openly make this kind of comment.... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/richard-dawkins-pedophilia_n_3895514.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003#slide=989667.

DogGone

Fantastic discussion. I thank Adamah and Hamsterbait for providing context on moral relativism. I find the arguments fascinating.

Cofty, you are correct, it certainly was in The God Delusion that he made a similar comment about sexual abuse. If memory serves me, he was in Ireland and made a quip about how some of the sexual stuff was harmful, but likely not as harmful as being raised Catholic. He commented that he was pleasantly surprised the audience applauded. (Please note: this is from memory - my copy is in storage). That was just one example of how I found his approach in that book counter productive.

18

Why do the JW's Cover up child abuse?

by slam in

DogGone

Slam, A heart breaking story. It must have taken courage to post this. I had a step father who was abusive, but your story goes beyond anything I experienced. Thank-you for sharing your story.

155

Protecting pedophiles while protecting children

by stillin in

i know that a lynch mob forms whenever there's a hint of anybody being a pedophile, but the truth is that not all are the slavering, predatorial animals that they are painted to be.

each circumstance has its' own specifics.

in defense of the wts, they do keep track of confirmed pedophiles now.

DogGone

Miss.Fit,

(On Castration)

I actually don’t feel castration, whether physical or chemical is more brutal than death. If it solves the problem to do this to a repeat offender, why not? However, I spent a bit of time researching to see if this was effective. After all, many a neutered dog have violated my leg!

A 2010 article from BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) discussed the efficacy of castration for sex offenders. http://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.c74?ijkey=rcCG6E9p6AKqY&keytype=ref&siteid=bmjjournals

Physical castration of sex offenders was carried out in several European countries in the first part of the 20th century, and although morally dubious and not always targeted at high risk cases (many of those castrated were homosexual, mentally ill, or learning disabled), recidivism rates of less than 5% over long follow-up periods are invariably reported, compared with expected rates of 50% or more.

However, I thought is the 5% really that great, why did they think the recidivism rate was “expected” to be 50% or higher? Well the footnote indicates this information was from a 1979 study, long before the extensive recidivism rate studies noted earlier. Therefore, that number is suspect. Strangely, the study they site in the paragraph above notes in its abstract that:

The main conclusion is that there is no scientific or ethical basis for castration in the treatment of sex offenders.

Heim N, Hursch CJ. Castration for sex offenders. Treatment or punishment? A review and critique of recent European literature. Arch Sex Behav1979;8:281-304

( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/485816?dopt=Abstract&access_num=485816&link_type=MED )

However, even it is 5% compared to 9%, that still means a major reduction. A newer study from 2000 referenced by the BMJ notes:

Long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist analogues are the most potent antiandrogens, and selectively abolish testosterone secretion in a totally reversible fashion. They are administered parenterally once every 1 to 3 months, and have the fewest side effects…. Long-acting GnRH analogues, together with psychotherapy, are highly effective in controlling selected paraphilias (pedophilia, exhibitionism, and voyeurism), and are the most promising mode of therapy in the next millennium. There is an urgent need for good methodological research; carefully designed double-blind controlled studies with a large number of subjects in order to validate or not the use of the various pharmacotherapies.

Rösler A, Witzum E. Pharmacotherapy of the paraphilias in the next millennium. Behav Sci Law2000;18:43-56

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10736576?dopt=Abstract&access_num=10736576&link_type=MED )

So, there does seem to be some promise. The 1997 study abstract, also referenced, has a warning:

One strong conclusion drawn is that antiandrogen medications should never be used as exclusive treatment for paraphilic and aggressive sexual behaviors.

Prentky RA. Arousal reduction in sexual offenders: a review of antiandrogen interventions. Sex Abuse1997;9:335-47

http://sax.sagepub.com/content/9/4/335?ijkey=abe122631ab6aadede7d1127f528fb4de969b342&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha&linkType=ABST&journalCode=spsax&resid=9/4/335&atom=/bmj/340/bmj.c74.atom

155

Protecting pedophiles while protecting children

by stillin in

i know that a lynch mob forms whenever there's a hint of anybody being a pedophile, but the truth is that not all are the slavering, predatorial animals that they are painted to be.

each circumstance has its' own specifics.

in defense of the wts, they do keep track of confirmed pedophiles now.

DogGone

Miss.Fit,

(On Agreement)

I think there are many things we agree on. In addition to what you have listed I think there is agreement that:

- The past practices of the JWs (and almost all other religions) were terrible when it comes to protecting children

- That it is not just a matter of the failure to report the crimes of rank and file members:

o It is the history of intimidating families to keep quiet on pain of disfellowhipping,

o Using the "two witness" policy to bully victims into silence

o Keeping Elders and others in positions of authority after an accusation has surfaced despite failing their own "free from accusation" test (Titus).

- That the JWs have been slower than most to respond with positive change

- That religions should do more than the minimum the law requires given that they claim to be the authority on justice and morality.

- As it pertains to Stillin's original post, the general agreement is that all cases are not reported and that not enough has changed with the policies, practices and culture in the religion to protect children.

Now focusing on what we agree on is like attending the old Tuesday books studies. Everyone leaves with cookies but no one has learned a thing. It is by exploring our differences that we are challenged, learn, and grow. Religious and political viewpoints love to exist in echo chambers where people who all agree get together and mock those that don't. Whole networks in the USA are now echo chambers. For the years I have been lurking at JWN, what I have always appreciated is that this is, by and large, not an echo chamber.

Take Losts contribution, it was instructive to me to learn what she meant by the term "pedophile". It is very different than what I mean. We were talking past each other. Most of the time when the subject comes up everyone in the room agrees they should be killed or castrated. As a public statement of condemnation I can't help but support the sentiment. I think of Clifford Olson and I say, why DID we keep him alive? However, when having a considered discussion about the policies of JWs and what society should ultimately do, merely expressing mutually agreed contempt about the very worst cases contributes nothing.

I'm cherry picking cases that are less egregious to show that we should not, must not be so absolute in our statements and judgments.

I'm sorry to hear about your personal story. Although it is all too common, it is still heartbreaking. It is so hard to understand how the reputation of an "organization" can be put above the love, trust, and care of a child. But, when I was deep “in” I was just as blind.

155

Protecting pedophiles while protecting children

by stillin in

i know that a lynch mob forms whenever there's a hint of anybody being a pedophile, but the truth is that not all are the slavering, predatorial animals that they are painted to be.

each circumstance has its' own specifics.

in defense of the wts, they do keep track of confirmed pedophiles now.

DogGone

Stillin,

Thank-you for your kind words. But, I let her get under my skin and failed in following my great mentor, Jimmy Stewart:

"Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

~ Harvey

10

I'm not sure why... (Comparing presidents of the US to Watchtower presidents)

by slimboyfat in

but lyndon johnson often reminds me of rutherford.

is there anything to that comparison?

i gather that johnson had a very fiery temper and was disliked by many around him; drinked heavily too, was a womaniser, no stranger to dirty tricks, and was fond of power more than idealistism.

DogGone

Fun thought experiment

Russell > Jefferson - Both prolific writers, out of the box thinkers, and both a bit nutty

Rutherford > Nixon - drunks, rascists, charming at times, both mired in scandal

Knorr > Truman - organizational minds, creators / reformers of institutions, dressed the same, both dropped the bomb in WWII (that the end wasn't coming)

Franz > Andrew Jackson - crazy