Posts by DJS

27

Christian bakery ordered to pay $150 000 to gay couple

by cofty in

an oregon bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage has lost its appeal..... the judge has ordered 'sweet cakes by melissa' to pay $150 000 damages to rachel and laurel bowman-cryer.. discrimination is illegal, and religious superstition is not an excuse.

how long before jws land in court under similar circumstances?.

DJS

Another of my favorite movies. The longest name in cinema: "MyNameisInigoMontoyaYouKilledMyFatherPrepareToDie."

27

Christian bakery ordered to pay $150 000 to gay couple

by cofty in

an oregon bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage has lost its appeal..... the judge has ordered 'sweet cakes by melissa' to pay $150 000 damages to rachel and laurel bowman-cryer.. discrimination is illegal, and religious superstition is not an excuse.

how long before jws land in court under similar circumstances?.

DJS

Viv,

I'm a stalker!!! I will try to limit it to stealing your words!!!!

27

Christian bakery ordered to pay $150 000 to gay couple

by cofty in

an oregon bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage has lost its appeal..... the judge has ordered 'sweet cakes by melissa' to pay $150 000 damages to rachel and laurel bowman-cryer.. discrimination is illegal, and religious superstition is not an excuse.

how long before jws land in court under similar circumstances?.

DJS

Most excellent. They got exactly what they deserve. And thanks Blondie for that info; damn litigious Canadians!!! Eh!

We discuss this topic every few months it seems. And the responses are the same: those who believe it is not a constitutional right on one side, and those who believe that a business should be able to do what it wishes on the other (good luck with that). And side 1 always wins, because few if any courts in the US have ever found that a business selling commercial services to the general public has a First Amendment right to turn away customers on a discriminatory basis.

And yes, there was a recent court case where the KKK won a lawsuit against a bakery that wouldn't bake them a cake because it offended the owner's religious beliefs. Google it. That is a specious (that means the argument/statement sounds reasonable but is actually woo (yes, I stole Viviane’s word – deal with it) with a bow on it) argument.

Like it or not, the courts have ruled that bakers, photographers, and other businesses are exactly that — businesses. Their business decisions are not speech; they are commercial transactions that are open to the entire public regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnic origin (the original Civil rights Laws circa 1964) and disabilities (ADA – circa 1990) and now sexual orientation based on numerous recent cases. Or Democrats, Republicans, the KKK, the Boy Scouts, Rotary Club or the Black Panthers (are they even still around?), as long as these groups are operating legally and aren’t making requests for services or products that are seditious, illegal or that violate legitimate business interests (e.g., a restaurant can require shoes/shirts for service).

The courts have consistently ruled that free speech rights don’t trump civil rights laws guarded by the Constitution. Businesses are public accommodations, not private individuals. There is no difference between a baker and a bank. Either the business offers its services to everyone, or it doesn’t.

ChaseSerious is one of our legal experts, and he can speak much more eloquently than I on this topic, but the courts have consistently ruled in the same manner for decades. The real problem is with individuals thinking they have rights that they do not have. Nor should they have.

56

Can the world condition be worse than this?

by abiather in

the innocent civilians being attacked is the norm of the day.

attacking hospitals too are happening frequently.

now schools being attacked is becoming a regular affair (last of its kind massacred 150 children in peshawar on december 16, 2014)..

DJS

Abiathar,

I'm still waiting for you to pick a time that you would prefer to live in other than today. Do you like your own running water? If so, that would place you in the 20th Century - but only in a few places. Like hot water with that? Further in the 20th Century. Do you enjoy not having to split wood, shovel coal, dig peat moss or dry cow dung for fuel to keep you warm or cook your food? If so, once again you are squarely in the 20th Century and a few places at that.

Do you get retirement benefits? Health care? Do you like the state of the art hospitals? Do you like cable tv, the internet (obviously)?

34

Quick introduction

by OzGirl in

jw
friends

only have a few minutes to spare so thought i would throw this together.. been in for about 30 years.

questions and doubts gathered over that time.

i have a keen interest in the legal and financial matters of the watchtower.. came across this site about 5 years ago.

DJS

Welcome OzGirl (my favorite movie ever),

Are you Dorothy? Glinda (my first crush)? Elvira Gulch (da da da da dahhhh da, da da da da da)?, The Wicked Witch of the East (can't be, that's my ex wife), The Wicked Witch of the West (can't be, that's my ex-GF)? Auntie Em? Auntie Em? Auntie Em?

Seriously, welcome to the forum.

56

Can the world condition be worse than this?

by abiather in

the innocent civilians being attacked is the norm of the day.

attacking hospitals too are happening frequently.

now schools being attacked is becoming a regular affair (last of its kind massacred 150 children in peshawar on december 16, 2014)..

DJS

Cofty,

I would agree. And they continuously feed the paranoia with confirmation bias that seems entrenched and myopic. A man hears what he wants to hear, sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest.

56

Can the world condition be worse than this?

by abiather in

the innocent civilians being attacked is the norm of the day.

attacking hospitals too are happening frequently.

now schools being attacked is becoming a regular affair (last of its kind massacred 150 children in peshawar on december 16, 2014)..

DJS

Repeating myself: For 100,000 years the average life expectancy of humans was 34, including the year 1900. And life was no picnic for those who lived a long life. If you broke something you limped or were otherwise impeded, crippled or disfigured. If a fungus, skin infection or something grew on you somewhere it stayed until you died, likely disfiguring you at the worst and making you not so hot at the best. If your tooth got knocked out you looked like shit the rest of your life, unless you were lucky enough to get a wooden or metal one. If your eyesight gave out, you bumped into things. If you relied on your keen eyesight for making a living (most of us do), such as a cobbler, blacksmith, etc., your ability to be gainfully employed and feed yourself/family was greatly impacted.

And in some cultures, if you were really old and feeble, or just kinda old and feeble, they took your sorry ass out into the wilderness to die. Nothing personal.

And forget about signing up for food stamps, welfare, unemployment, social security or disability.

So my irrational end-of-timer, ~~dumb-ass,~~ friends, pick a time period in which you think things were so much better. Go ahead, make my day.

18

DON'T PANIC — Hans Rosling showing the facts about population

by cantleave in

an incredible lecture that uses statistics to show that the world is much better than many people think.. the challenge of population explosion - has been solved.. the challenge of extreme poverty is within our grasp.. the challenge of climate change - well that's something we need to focus on,,,,,,,,, take an hour watch this, it dispels the doom and gloom preached by many.

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fack2knc08e.

DJS

TOH,

I'm not certain what it is you are trying to say, but it comes across as irrational knee jerk cherry picking responses to the anomalous and the abhorrent. Kinda like someone who won't fly because when jets crash people die, even though flying is the safest form of transportation. Or the irrational responses to vaccinations by some, even though vaccinations are the most studied issue in history and there has been no linkage from vaccines to the types of hysterical accusations by Jenny McArthy and the other You Tube types. Bad things sometimes happen. Overall, the planet is improving by almost every important standard or measure. If that isn't what you are trying to say please say it more succinctly.

56

Can the world condition be worse than this?

by abiather in

the innocent civilians being attacked is the norm of the day.

attacking hospitals too are happening frequently.

now schools being attacked is becoming a regular affair (last of its kind massacred 150 children in peshawar on december 16, 2014)..

DJS

Abiathar,

I'm sorry the human race has harmed you so. We are a pathetic species in many ways, it is true. But we are also capable of wonderful things, and we seem to be getting more wonderful with each passing year. Whatever gets you through the night, is alright. Or, put another way that you might better understand, from the bible: "One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment."

56

Can the world condition be worse than this?

by abiather in

the innocent civilians being attacked is the norm of the day.

attacking hospitals too are happening frequently.

now schools being attacked is becoming a regular affair (last of its kind massacred 150 children in peshawar on december 16, 2014)..

DJS

Cherry picking atrocities is all Abiather, the Dark Lords and the other End-of-Timers can do these days to keep the rank and file rank. And filed. The evidence that the world is improving is overwhelming. Focusing on the anomalies and the abhorrent is the only strategy they have.

It's similar to focusing on incidents such as Sandy Hook Elementary as being a sign of the end while ignoring the fact that crime of nearly every type has been steadily decreasing for decades.