Posts by GrreatTeacher

71

Trump suggests postponing the elections ... I'm not making this up

by RubaDub in

jw
friends

elections have been held per the us constitution during many difficult times; us civil war, ww i, ww ii, whatever.

i just put on the pro-trump fox news and even they are saying ... oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.. this is really scary.

are we headed towards a dictatorship?

GrreatTeacher

It's hard to tell whether Trump is deliberately stirring Democrats up or whether he just tweets anything that comes to mind, but what is very clear is that he is not paying attention to or is not aware of the threat from the Republican party.

There is a huge contingent of the Republican party that absolutely HATE him.

They are lying low right now because they would prefer a Republican in office, but if Trump wins, they are ready to wrench the party right back from him.

I've seen and heard the complaining and planning firsthand.

Maryland's current Republican governor, Larry Hogan, just wrote a book, has famously disagreed with the president on Covid and, reading the writing on the wall, might be angling for the 2024 nomination.

That would be my prediction.

He has a lot of popular support in a Democratic state and governs down the middle.

At any rate, come 2020, you will hear a lot more Trump hate, and a lot of it will come from Republicans.

12

Former Bethelite from Service Department blogs about his experiences

by krismalone in

this blog is worth mentioning again under a different title to attract more viewers.. former bethelite john bechtel who served 10 yrs at wt headquarters including the secretive and powerful service department, writes about his experiences and what woke him up.. https://www.johnbechtelblog.com/tag/jehovahs-witnesses/.

GrreatTeacher

Ah ha! I know the name! He was a notorious apostate in the 1970s.

I grew up in the Westminster, Maryland congregation, but after John Bechtal's demise as a Witness. The very name put fear of his treachery in the minds of all local JWs. He was felt to be particularly evil since he had been to Bethel, the cradle of the organization, and yet still left. Anyway, this was what I heard as a small child.

As a sad side note, his sister Joan was the best friend of a wonderful lady in the congregation. It was a rarity to have another JW in the area, let alone one who went to the same school, so they were inseparable. This sister was thwarted in a marriage proposal and never married. She was able to start a semi- successful business and lived alone. She loved children and went out of her way to be friendly to them. She organized congregation picnics. This was gradually shut down by the local elders who put the kibosh on just about all socializing. She got breast cancer at the age of 40 and died. My family helped her and visited her and told her we loved her.

Later I found out that she had said that the only reason she stayed in the truth was because she wanted to see her father again in paradise. He had died when she was young, and though not a Witnesss, was always considered good enough in her and, as she believed, her God's eyes to be resurrected. A wonderful person who led a sad and unnecessarily restricted life which was cut tragically short.

Anyhow, those are my memories of the John Bechtal affair. I have not read his blog, but will now do so to see if my memories mesh with his story, and, of course, to hear the other side of the story. How difficult it must have been to leave the organization before the internet!

8

Celebrating China's Spring Festival (aka Chinese New Year).

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

late yesterday there was a phone call from an old friend who i had not seen for some 5 years.

let's go out to dinner to celebrate the spring festival.

i should explain that my friend had just arrived that morning from china, had slept for a few hours and then called me.

GrreatTeacher

Talk about teeny bikinis!

37

My sister passed away this evening

by smiddy3 in

it was only about two months ago she was diagnosed with lung cancer and she was a non smoker .. she was never a jw and she never held it against me that i was for 33 years.. we had a good relationship even though we lived in different states about 2000 miles apart,.. tears are rolling down my cheeks as i type this .

r.i.p.

sylvia .

GrreatTeacher

My condolences, Smiddy. Such a short time since diagnosis.

Please take care of yourself. Try to get some sleep. Remind yourself to eat.

We're thinking of you.

144

Asylum Caravan

by dubstepped in

alright, so what is the deal with the thousands coming to the states right at election time seeking asylum?

i'm not up on this, usually try not to be, but how can this not be manipulative?

it's either manipulative in the size of the group and pressure that creates, or in where it started or who started this, etc.

GrreatTeacher

BOC, I'm going with sarcasm, otherwise your comment makes no sense.

144

Asylum Caravan

by dubstepped in

alright, so what is the deal with the thousands coming to the states right at election time seeking asylum?

i'm not up on this, usually try not to be, but how can this not be manipulative?

it's either manipulative in the size of the group and pressure that creates, or in where it started or who started this, etc.

GrreatTeacher

Yes, I can see how living on the ocean would compensate for a lot! 👍

33

Bohemian Rhapsody

by cofty in

been to see the new film (movie) tonight.

outstanding!

brought back lots of memories.

GrreatTeacher

This must be why Queen has been getting so much airplay recently. My drive to work has been filled with"We are the champions..." 🎶 so much that it feels like a high school football game!

I was also wondering why Toto was getting so much airplay with "I miss the rains down in Africa... 🎶 " until I realized it wasn't really Toto; it was Weezer doing a pretty damn good cover.

I'm so slow with pop culture...

4

Vaccine Quotes

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

so... two quotes that are just shocking.. paraphrased, both in the golden age, february 4, 1931:"vaccines will be the cause of armageddon".

"having parents see their child being vaccinated is almost as bad as black parents seeing their child sold into slavery"..

GrreatTeacher

That study has been debunked many times, found to have faulty methodology. Medical doctors, especially pediatricians, are still working hard to educate parents about the effectiveness of vaccines and the nonexistent link to autism.

Medical research, even peer-reviewed and published research is always subject to further peer review and even debunking. That's how science works.

Unfortunately, some people who don't keep up with current research will still quote bad studies. It's a problem, and people who do sloppy research and don't check the most recent updates can spread misinformation.

144

Asylum Caravan

by dubstepped in

alright, so what is the deal with the thousands coming to the states right at election time seeking asylum?

i'm not up on this, usually try not to be, but how can this not be manipulative?

it's either manipulative in the size of the group and pressure that creates, or in where it started or who started this, etc.

GrreatTeacher

I have no idea how unions transporting people to the polls equals voter fraud.

26

What was the last thing you said to your jw family?

by caves in

jw
friends

7 years ago i had my last conversation with the toxic jw that mostly raised me.

every conversation was toxic for my entire adult life with her.

the last time we spoke was right before the memorial 7 years ago and she was laying on the usual heavy guilt and fear mongering about how jeho counts his people at the memorial.

GrreatTeacher

Gio, your story is heartbreaking for so many reasons. But, geez, a mother not even thinking of her son and his family, that's just cold. It's inhuman the way some of these family members, especially mothers act. If they only realized how terrible a witness they are giving.