James Thomas Rook Jr.

For the past week, large and small headlines on all the Internet News sources have been hyping the controversy of a new movie by NBC ( The "Nobody But Clinton" ) network/ Universal Studios, about rich elite liberals kidnapping conservatives (the ones Hildabilly Clinton called "Deplorables" and putting them on an estate to be hunted like animals, for "sport". 

It is SUPPOSED to be a satire ... and that is how it is being marketed, on political trends now operating in America, if they continue on the track they are now headed ... but others say it is just an evil movie,. 

The movie is the 2019  "THE HUNT"

I suppose some people will appreciate the satire, some the bloodshed, some the story line, or any number of factors, as varied as there are humans with different viewpoints. Some will despise the movie, for the same, or very different reasons.

Satires push things to absurd scenarios and conclusions to get you to think, but many people cannot recognize satire without someone holding up a sign in front of them that says "SATIRE".

I have not seen the movie, and may not see it ... certainly not at box office prices ... but about 65% of the people of the United States are mad as hell about SOME aspect of the movie.

It might be worth the effort to actually know ... about what.

My guess it is a Thriller Movie, about a possible future civil war. 

But ... I am speaking now from complete ignorance, and LAWDY, Ah hates being ignorant!

Since if you keep up with daily news, it is impossible to avoid learning about all the hub-bub surrounding this movie, which will be out September 27, perhaps you may be interested in one EXTREMELY intelligent and common sensical man's viewpoint, Mark Steyn.

Mark Steyn on 2019 movie The Hunt.wmv

I remember my ex-wife telling me about a Brother from the United States who was baptized in Peru, and later married a local Sister. A fine Brother in every way, so I hear, but he had forgotten that years before,, in the United States, he was still married.

He was believed by the Peruvian Elders, and the only solution they could find was to "Unbaptize" him by declaring his baptism null and void.  It was either that, or disfellowship him.

Having worked on a Bethel construction project down there, I found that story entirely believable, as they are a much simpler people in many respects.

I am inclined to believe that, all things considered,  what the Elders did was the correct thing to do ... under very odd circumstances.

Of course, I am only guessing.

... and, I am many thousands of miles away, and now about a quarter-century away, and I don't give a hoot, and try not to pollute.

5 hours ago, Outta Here said:

If any words are spoken at all, they should be spoken by the one submitting to baptism, and directed to the one receiving their dedication. And, of course, such words, as evidence of a totally private and personal act of worship on the part of the individual, can, appropriately, be silently expressed.

Thanks for the insight.  I never thought of it that way.

The Baptism is an outward symbol of a dedication ALREADY MADE IN IT'S TOTALITY.

Whatever you dedicated to Jehovah God is between you and God, alone ... and what the GB has done is try an "control the narrative", and add to that.

I wonder what would happen if after Baptism at an Assembly, where you stood up with many baptismal candidates that said "YES", and you did not affirm the questions asked you.  I doubt they examine the videos to make sure you did, or have someone watch to see if you did, taking notes.  Then, after perhaps several years of faithful life, casually mention that your immersion was as public as you needed, and that you never said "Yes" like all the others did.

What you had resolved in your heart to do was sufficient, and nothing needed to be added.

It's obvious that you were not there to soap up and bathe.

Or ... let's say you were on a camping trip beside a lake, and you turned to your Bible Teacher and said "What's to prevent me from being baptized ..." quoting the Ethiopian Eunuch, and you both went down to the lake, and your teacher baptized you.

As far as I know, it only takes ONE other person present to be a public expression of your dedication, and it would in actual fact be quite valid.

That brings up the next consideration .....

When you got back to your home congregations, relating the events of the camping trip, how much crap would you have to put up with from the Elders ... or would it be none at all?

I believe the last major change was in 1985.

Any Baptisms before that you did not swear legal fealty to the Organization.

After 1985, having subordinated yourself to the Corporation, you had no legal standing to sue them in Court if they screwed up your life.

I do not think this matters to Jehovah, because this is NEVER mentioned before you stand up and say "YES" moments before you are baptized, and the language is couched in such language as to be deliberately misleading in intent, if not actually stated.

They take advantage of the passion and happiness of the moment to "microchip" you for future control, but Jehovah knows a person's heart, and He also understands trickery, and hypnosis.

Currently, there is NO ONE on Earth who can fire the Governing Body .... and they know it!

No matter what they do .... the money just keeps rolling in.

day, after day, after day.

... even on the Weekends.

The generation that truly understood the meaning of the word "Grok", apparently did not overlap to this one.

I Grok.

Half of all animal life on Earth have aggressive and defensive weapons .. . a cat with retractable claws immediately comes to mind  .... the other half are food for the first half.

Such  is the nature of things, and it has always been that way.

My #2 ex-wife once asked me, as I was cleaning my guns at the kitchen table "What would you do if everyone else but you gave up their guns ?"

I replied "Rule wisely".

In my life, I have only brought two young men to the point of Baptism ... neither one from door to door work.   Both knew what kind of person I was ... the same then as now.

It is suchlike perspectives, discussed around campfires, and at Scout meetings, that appealed to them.

One was killed in an accident in England, and the other I lost track of.

Back then, my interest was edged weapons, not firearms, and I could throw a knife pretty good.

I suspect that impressed them a lot more than anything I could have said quoting the Watchtower, and we had a lot of good Bible discussions.

The three Elders in my congregation at the time have all left the Truth, but they were good "company men", through and through.

Sometimes, in the quiet of the evening, I think about things like that

... and I have never heard anybody say anything disparaging about a Glock handgun.

2 minutes ago, BillyTheKid46 said:

People need to start thinking before they write if you want this forum to be seen as academic.

I personally ONLY care about Truth ... not how things seem.

Nice comment Billy!

1 hour ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Not too long ago this sort of thing—holding to principle—was called “tough love” and it was widely praised, even if not universally so. Not too long ago parents—Witness or non-Witness—really put their foot down with regard to premarital sex. It wasn’t like today, when many simply buy a package of condoms and tell their daughters to go at it in the upstairs bedroom, where they will be “safe.”

Too true!

I rest my case.

The WTB&TS is systematically destroying any credibility they have on any subject.

Anyone that finds out about all this is of course of diseased mind ... like a Deer in the headlights that recognizes the Toyota, does not have the decency to stand there and be hit, and jumps off the road, until the danger passes.

Jesus' mother and stepfather did the same thing by escaping to Egypt, for awhile .......

The following Bulgaria reporting excerpts are THREE photos that can be downloaded and read quite easily ... they are from the link that JWI posted, that I almost missed.

Read them and weep.

Everything I have noticed about BTK46's post is spiteful, arrogant, hateful ... but most importantly ... duplicitous.

He weasels this way, then that way, then refuses to comment on main issues, and wallows in irrelevancy .... and gets MAD about it!

*************************************************************************************************

Billy, if I can give you a small piece of insight ....

You being you completely destroys your credibility for those times when you have important points to make.

I have evolved to the point that credibility is VERY important when considering someone elses' ideas.

Fairy tales are much more believable if they come from a real, bonifide fairy.

If you can't flutter around on gossamer wings and make chocolate from thin air using a sparkly star on a stick .... try reason and logic, and basic human courtesy, and non-vitriolic conversation.

Otherwise, you just become background noise.

I apologize for not having the patience to bury this idea in several thousand melodious words with 15 scriptures, and use the word "Commendable" 9 times.

52 minutes ago, BillyTheKid46 said:

I don't believe understanding the physics in science can undermine an intellectual observation.

That is one SCARY thought!

If I was you, I would have never said THAT out loud!

Billy!

It finally dawned on me where I have seen and heard you before!

WestWorld!

... do you have to plug up to a charger at night?

What?

Really?

Dialog?

........ never mind.

BTK46 :

I will give it a try, to summarize the dialect correctly .....

Your predilection for irrelevancy seems to have a New York, probably Eastern New Jersey flavor, tinged with a bit of Scottish Brogue, and a bouquet of Midwestern, but obviously fake woody attempt at John Waynism.

The Hollywood version, not the Texas version.

There is an overview of pronounced bluster that cannot be disguised, but it is clear you are not even trying, so that bespeaks a tinge of Masachusettsism, faintly reminiscent of Harvard Law School, or a very good imitation thereof. From the bouquet and aroma it hints of association with Warwick New York Lawyers.

Did I get that dialect right?

1 minute ago, Matthew9969 said:

If an elder steps down, does his name become....Bob, formerly known as Prince?

No, it's still Prince, but you have to stick your head out the front door and whistle for him to come to dinner ...

2 minutes ago, Anna said:

That was rather surprising, and shocking!

... and does absolutely NOTHING for the Society's  Credibility, which is in painfully short supply this past 50 years.

I am a peaceful person ... but I do not believe in peace at ANY cost.

If you are too attached to life, your life will be one of chains and slavery.

It's like my 18 chickens, now full size. When I first got them, we kept them in a wire cage  inside the house, under an infrared heat lamp, and as they grew from biddies to "teenage" chickens, they were pressing each other, in the very small cage.

But, they had never known anything different, and when I left the cage open, they would not even try to escape.  When they got enough feathers to stay warm, we put them in the yard, and many of them now sleep at night in a tall magnolia tree, or on perches, inside their fenced area.

Two who flew out of their fenced in area died, chased by our dogs to exhaustion, but the rest are FREE (more or less).

It is merely a philosophical argument, and chickens are not known for valuing philosophy.

But people are.

I was expecting an answer like " Yeah, how about that?"

really?

(facepalms forehead in astonishment)

Since November 20, 2018, the last posting?

Do you see any?

duh!

The right to bear arms, as is necessary, for personal and family and associates self defense is as basic and natural as the right to eat food, and drink water, and breath air. It is a NATURAL right, like the right of an unborn baby to live, or a person to speak freely, or associate with whomsoever he or she wishes.

Whether the governments of Earth protect these rights, ignore these rights or restrict or eliminate the exercise of any of these rights is a whole other subject.

We HAVE these NATURAL rights .... if we can manage them, and sometimes, if necessary fight for them, and win ... we can then exercise these rights.

The RIGHT to bear arms existed BEFORE the United States Constitution sought to protect what already existed, by saying that those rights shall NOT be infringed.

EVERY LIVING THING ON THIS EARTH HAS, AND ALWAYS HAS HAD, THE NATURAL RIGHT TO TRY AND PROTECT IT'S OWN LIFE, BY ANY MEANS POSSIBLE .... If they can manage to do do so.

6 hours ago, JW Insider said:

As indicated above, when any of us use conscientiously "approved" blood products with or without insurance or tax based health care, we are "buying products where blood was . . . specially processed." No such products would be available to us if that blood had been properly poured out upon the ground.

That one little piece of logic makes it crystal clear that Jehovah's Witnesses management had it right to begin with, "no blood or blood fractions", but then they caved to rescue their money and real estate from lawsuits.

The Lawyers and Accountants are now running the show, and deciding what is proper theology, based on money.

We had it right .... and THEN, screwed it up.

Mammon would be pleased. (Matthew 6:24)