James Thomas Rook Jr.

Definition of politics https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/politics
1a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government 2: political actions, practices, or policies 3a : political affairs or business; especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government) b : political life especially as a principal activity or profession c : political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices 4: the political opinions or sympathies of a person 5a : the total complex of relations between people living in society b : relations or conduct in a particular area of experience especially as seen or dealt with from a political point of view     By point 5a in explanation we are all involved in this process, as human living on Earth. By point 3a in particular group (WT JWorg) exist also political activities that is focused on events within society (members) and on other side how this religious group have to deal whit person outside of WT society (WT as Company and JW as religious body of members) In general use inside JW members, word "politics" are clearly viewed, i believe, as activity that is specific mainly or most for politicians and government that lead some country. JW members, in general, don't see how would even word "politic" be something that can be used in vocabulary of WTBT Society or JW congregations for internal affairs. This word sounds to much worldly to JW members, like sort of blasphemy. Even among  ordinary people in society (non JW) word "politics" have mainly negative connotations, especially when they looking how politicians acting.   

Heh, JW letters was addressed to Russian Government, Mr Putin, Medvedev and all other political characters that are in "position to changed" Court decisions. So, how can you considered that as Neutral colored letters? When involved at least two parts of governing,  political and judicial power. 
What JW consider as it is more powerful?   8 000 000 x i do not how many prayers in the day to JHVH ... or 8 000 000 letters of pray to Putin and Medvedev who "serve to Gods enemy, devil"? :))))

That is just plain SILLY!
It's "Aluminum Foil Hat" silly!
That is correct ... and that is Reality, as it exists on the ground ... where the "rubber meets the road".
64 MILLION LETTERS TO TRY AND GET A GOVERNMENT TO CHANGE ITS POLICIES ... IS POLITICAL ACTIVISM.
YOU are the one playing with words ... to take what is actually the case, and pretend that it does not apply in THIS case ... and it DOES.
The FACTS are either one of two things ... and cannot be a third thing.
The past Presidents of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Russell, Rutherford, and Knoor (whom I have seen in person) did in actual fact swear allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, and swore to defend it, in their heart of hearts, without reservation, or mental evasion .... OR ... to get a Passport, they Swore under Oath before God... and LIED .... lying under oath before man and God to the United States State Department, and each of their Passport applications were fraudulent ... AND they lied SPECIFICALLY before God by their signing that crystal clear and unambiguous oath.
There is no third choice, unless you are agenda driven irrational, and borderline (?) insane.
MEANWHILE ... the Brothers and Sisters in Malawi were being tortured and killed because Bro. Knoor, who signed an oath of allegiance to the United States Constitution, before God and man, refused,  when there  was only ONE political party in Malawi at the time, to  let them buy a 25 cent National ID card. (foreigners were exempt from that requirement).
I lived through those times, when it was all going on, as contemporary news !
I REMEMBER IT !
 
 

" ....... and thank you Almighty God, for the two Meetings today,  and the congregation picnic this afternoon after the meeting and field service, at the Glomer Municipal Building at 2615  Williams Street at 4PM to 8PM, and please help us to remember to keep the potato salad on ice so it does not spoil, it's really hot out there, and please help us stay afterwards to help clean up the mess, and put away the folding chairs, and, oh yeah ... we need someone who can bring two cold, medium sized seedless watermelons, and a knife ( and there is more ...)    .... Amen"

I can imagine the paper shredders now working 24/7/365 ..... in both the Vatican, and in Warwick.
The Statute of Limitations has run out on pressing criminal charges on all but TWO of the accused priests ... but I wonder about the CIVIL liability that the church itself has.?
Just as Al Capone  was prosecuted for Income Tax Evasion, perhaps the Catholic Church itself can be prosecuted for conspiracy, organized mob activity, or some other thing RELATED to the great evil perpetrated here.
In their "Secret Archives" ... I wonder if they use "Blue Envelopes", to report  these crimes to their equivalent of Branch Overseers ... the Bishops .....  as we do for OUR secret archives.?
Several years ago the Catholic Los Angeles Diocese was sued and a lost 600 MILLION dollars, in the same sort of cases, and because they did not have the money, the courts confiscated their real estate, and sold it at auction.
(That's almost 3/4 BILLION dollars ....  for those in Rio Linda.).
 

This cover up goes all the way up to the Vatican!
The Vatican is not even responding 

Algeria 
Bahrain 
Brunei
China 
Djibouti 
Egypt 
Eritrea
iran 
iraq 
Jordan 
Kuwait 
Laos 
Lebanon 
Libya 
Maldives 
Mauritania 
Morocco 
North Korea
Oman 
Qatar 
Russia 
Saudi Arabia 
Singapore 
Somalia 
Syria 
Tunisia 
Turkmenistan 
United Arab Emirates 
Uzbekistan 
Vatican city 
Vietnam 
Yemen
Tajikistan 
Comoros 
Saudi Arabia 
Afghanistan  
 

Sure ... I do the same thing, completely of my own initiative ...Any JW I refer to as Brother  or Sister. I also capitalize the first letter of "holy words", such as Justice, and similar words.   It also helps to differentiate between a family brother or sister.
I break the "rules of grammer", according to the amount of honor I attribute to something.
That being said, I do maintain, entirely due to the book "1984" by George Orwell, the capitalization of "Big Brother", which I see as a VERY important philosophical concept to "Grok" ... which is another capitalized philosophical concept, of major importance.

@Gone Away, Thanks for pointing to that thread from last year. I just skimmed it and I think it included just about all I personally would ever want to say about the topic again. I am always tempted to just rewrite from scratch, but not this time. Thanks again.

After noting those two wrong or at least misleading facts, I decided to do a quick check on the implication above that "they removed it from the list of disorders." The first link that came up actually showed that in 2014 the idea (American Psychiatric Association: DSM-5) was never to remove it from the list of disorders, but to remove the label "Pedophilic Sexual Orientation." This is nearly the opposite of the general point you made.
http://jaapl.org/content/42/4/404
Perhaps you are referring to something that came up after 2014. If so, I didn't see that, and didn't look any further into it.

That is just plain SILLY!
It's "Aluminum Foil Hat" silly!
 

As reported by the Australian Royal Commission on Child Abuse  No. 29 ... we still have the record of over 5,000 cases by 1,006 perpetrators.
STILL ... almost completely unknown by most Jehovah's Witnesses.

FOXNEWS FLASH! -     PENNSYLVANIA ACCUSES HUNDREDS OF PRIESTS !
 
By Elizabeth Zwirz | Fox News                                  Tuesday. August 14, 2017
 
" Hundreds of priests sexually abused more than a thousand children, Pennsylvania attorney general says
Several hundred Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania were accused of sexually abusing more than a thousand children, a grand jury report on Tuesday said, in an alleged “cover-up” described as “sophisticated” by the state’s attorney general.
Over the course of a two year investigation, launched by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh ShapiroÂ’s office, a grand jury heard several witness statements and pored over documents from six dioceses in the state.
AUSTRALIA ARCHBISHOP GETS HOUSE DETENTION FOR ABUSE COVER-UP
Those dioceses included Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton. Upwards of 300 "predator priests" stand accused of the decades-long abuse, the report said.
“The cover-up was sophisticated. And all the while, shockingly, church leadership kept records of the abuse and the cover-up,” Shapiro said at a news conference. “These documents, from the dioceses' own 'Secret Archives,' formed the backbone of this investigation.”
It’s possible that the “real number” of abused children could be “in the thousands” due to missing records or other victims who feared speaking about the allegations, according to the grand jury’s report.
In order to prevent the Catholic Church from suffering bad publicity or financial liability, the panel claimed that a series of bishops and other diocesan leaders attempted to hide the alleged abuse.
US BISHOPS: SEX CLAIMS SHOW US CARDINAL’S ‘MORAL FAILURE’
The report faulted Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former longtime bishop of Pittsburgh who currently leads the Washington archdiocese, for what it said was his part in the concealment of clergy sexual abuse. Wuerl defended himself, releasing a statement Tuesday that said he had “acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse.” "
 
 
 

PA sexual abuse report details 300 predator priests.mp4 WITH YOUR CURSOR OVER THE VIDEO WINDOW,  BE SURE TO CLICK THE FULL SCREEN ICON ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE VIDEO WINDOW TO SEE THIS ON YOUR COMPUTER FULL SCREEN.

I think that's very doubtful, unless you think that measuring abuse by all JW congregation members equates to just measuring only the priests and responsible officials of these Catholic diocese. Also, this is just Pennsylvania. You would need to add those reports from Massachusetts (made public in 2002 was it?) and several other states to get a parity population of Catholics here that matches that of the (JW) numbers from Australia.
I'm not saying we don't also have a serious problem that most Witnesses know very little about or can't acknowledge. I just don't think you can so easily make a true comparison from these separate "snapshots" of reports/studies. They cover different statistical "populations."
One thing in the report I found disturbing is that this was based on church records that detailed the crimes, but also detailed systemic cover-ups and even the promotion of priests and church officials involved in the cover-up. This went all the way up to cardinals and arch-bishops, ultimately even the Vatican.
The fight over statute of limitations laws that always comes up as an issue after these reports also tends to become embroiled in its own coverup on the political side. Although anti-Catholicism is common, there are often enough US politicians in high places who fight the change to statute of limitations laws because they are convinced that extending the prosecution window truly would bankrupt the Catholic Church. Governor Brown in California and Governor Cuomo in New York have been rumored to accept that "line" from the Catholic Church. But keeping these laws in effect, knowing the typical way in which abused children wait until they are adults before gaining the courage to face this publicly, these laws help produce a coverup of the number of cases that would otherwise be reported.

If you read carefully hidden in Sunday's WT lesson for last week .. the emphasis was on OVERTHROWING governments, or regime change.
Be a sport ... read the WT study article once again, with that kept in your mind.
It appears that the only way many of us develop reading comprehension is after reading something incorrectly, recovering from figurative "bullet wounds".
The Society is VERY careful nowadays NOT to directly speak against voting.
Probably learned from recovering from too many continuous governmental sanction "bullet wounds".
The legal staff and accountants and the "Helpers" are now running the show.
I have carefully watched this transition and power shift over 50 years and more.
It has been funny, and terribly, terribly sad, at the same time.
 

By the way Grey Reformer ... did you know that former  Presidents of the WTB&TS swore under oath before God to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America?
Here is the oath they swore:
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to to the same; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God."
If they had not ... they would not have gotten a US Passport.
.... talk about selling your birthright for a bowl of stew ......
 
 

Po
I am glad you asked.
I did not insult you ... I only stated a fact, which you have confirmed just now, that in the area of political interactions in the REAL world, you are not aware of what is going on around you.
I am ignorant of many things, also. 
To say someone is ignorant is not an insult, especially in a specific area of human perception and thinking.
I could say that you have a nice car .... if you TAKE it as an insult, that does not mean I have insulted you.
 If you are a midget, and I say you are a midget, that is not an insult ... merely a statement of actual fact. Referring to you as a "little person" may be more diplomatic, but you would still be a midget..
The letter writing was a naive idea that could never have worked.  The Russian Federation is NOT governed by any concepts of fairness.
But, getting to your specific question ... Letter writing TO POLITICIANS and GOVERNMENTS is political activity.  Whether it succeeds in changing their governmental policy, or fails at changing their governmental policy is completely immaterial.
The fact that you TRIED is political activity.
You would think the GB would have figured that out after presenting their case in all lower courts, and the Russian Supreme Court .. twice.
Apparently NOT.
So ... they tried political activism.
That did not work, either.
But they niavely TRIED ... which the Russkies appreciated.
They must have laughed themselves into a coma, after stealing all the JW real estate, then .... getting 56 million dollars and 11 train boxcars full of thinly sliced firewood as a free bonus.
They have a policy that it is immoral to let a sucker keep his money ... but this exceeded their wildest expectations.
 
 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Application No. 28626/95
Khristiansko Sdruzhenie "Svideteli na Iehova"
(Christian Association Jehovah's Witnesses)
against
Bulgaria
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION
(adopted on 9 March 1998)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
PART I : STATEMENT OF THE FACTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
PART II : SOLUTION REACHED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
INTRODUCTION
1. This Report relates to the application introduced under
Article 25 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by Khristiansko Sdruzhenie "Svideteli
na Iehova" (Christian Association Jehovah's Witnesses) against Bulgaria
on 6 September 1995. The application was registered on 21 September
1995 under file No. 28626/95.
2. The applicant association was represented by MM Alain Garay and
Philippe Goni, lawyers practising in Paris.
3. The Government of Bulgaria were represented by their Agent, Mrs
Guenka Beleva and, subsequently, by Mr Vladimir Sotirov of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and by Mrs Violina Djidjeva, co-agent.
4. On 3 July 1997 the Commission declared the application
admissible. It then proceeded to carry out its task under Article 28
para. 1 of the Convention which provides as follows:
"In the event of the Commission accepting a petition referred to
it:
a. it shall, with a view to ascertaining the facts, undertake
together with the representatives of the parties an examination
of the petition and, if need be, an investigation, for the
effective conduct of which the States concerned shall furnish all
necessary facilities, after an exchange of views with the
Commission;
b. it shall at the same time place itself at the disposal of
the parties concerned with a view to securing a friendly
settlement of the matter on the basis of respect for Human Rights
as defined in this Convention."
5. The Commission found that the parties had reached a friendly
settlement of the case and on 9 March 1998 adopted this Report, which,
in accordance with Article 28 para. 2 of the Convention, is confined
to a brief statement of the facts and of the solution reached.
6. The following members were present when the Report was adopted:
...................................................... etc.
JW participate very much in politics to some level with other religious and non religious organization.
If you go to read few documents about Bulgaria issue and see what in fact was the content of "friendly settlement" then you will be surprised ones again.
JW representatives are participants on regular basis (for many years) in OSCE meetings as Non-Governmental Organizations.
What  is  OSCE? https://www.osce.org/who-we-are
Among its key partner organizations are the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, and NATO. Perhaps this is continuation after 1991-2001 disgrace with UN affiliation. http://www.truebiblecode.com/images/JWUNDPI.pdf
YES, WT and JW are politically involved.
There is no Neutral position, perhaps only  as  OBLIGATION for members, most for rank and file members.

By the way Grey Reformer ... did you know that former  Presidents of the WTB&TS swore under oath before God to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America?
Here is the oath they swore:
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to to the same; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God."
If they had not ... they would not have gotten a US Passport.
.... talk about selling your birthright for a bowl of stew ......
 
 

Po
I am glad you asked.
I did not insult you ... I only stated a fact, which you have confirmed just now, that in the area of political interactions in the REAL world, you are not aware of what is going on around you.
I am ignorant of many things, also. 
To say someone is ignorant is not an insult, especially in a specific area of human perception and thinking.
I could say that you have a nice car .... if you TAKE it as an insult, that does not mean I have insulted you.
 If you are a midget, and I say you are a midget, that is not an insult ... merely a statement of actual fact. Referring to you as a "little person" may be more diplomatic, but you would still be a midget..
The letter writing was a naive idea that could never have worked.  The Russian Federation is NOT governed by any concepts of fairness.
But, getting to your specific question ... Letter writing TO POLITICIANS and GOVERNMENTS is political activity.  Whether it succeeds in changing their governmental policy, or fails at changing their governmental policy is completely immaterial.
The fact that you TRIED is political activity.
You would think the GB would have figured that out after presenting their case in all lower courts, and the Russian Supreme Court .. twice.
Apparently NOT.
So ... they tried political activism.
That did not work, either.
But they niavely TRIED ... which the Russkies appreciated.
They must have laughed themselves into a coma, after stealing all the JW real estate, then .... getting 56 million dollars and 11 train boxcars full of thinly sliced firewood as a free bonus.
They have a policy that it is immoral to let a sucker keep his money ... but this exceeded their wildest expectations.
 
 

That is just the problem, Grey Reformer ... you are unaware.
You are unaware that anything one has to do with trying to change government policy is political activism.
You do not have to VOTE for something, to be heavily involved in politics.
Conversely, NOT speaking out against any issues of one "side" or another is ALSO , by omission, political activity.
You can protest in the streets in demonstrations.
You can engage in political activity by writing letters to your Senators, Congressmen, or even the President of the United States.
You can engage in political activity by entreaty,  by mailing 64 million letters to the Russian Government ... which by the way, NOBODY read, and they were either taken to a landfill, or used as fuel in wood burning stoves last winter. 
The only thing the Russian Government noted was the fact that 70% of the face value of the international postage was forwarded to them by the Universal Postal Union for terminal delivery, which never happened.
But they did .. they DID get... approximately $56 MILLION DOLLARS of the BROTHERHOOD'S hard earned money as an unintended free gift.
If you wanted to bribe someone, and make it seem invisible, that is one way to do it.
The Brotherhood in effect, at the pleading of the Governing Body ... gave the Russian Government 56 MILLION DOLLARS.
  The DIRECT result of political activism.
Plus, last winter "Fuel at the proper time".
You can "vote" with a ballot.
You can "vote" with your feet, by getting away, deliberately leaving the influence of political oppression.
You can "vote" with your wallet, by supporting, or NOT supporting things you find offensive, and reject.
And of course ... you can, as history has borne out, you can "vote" with a rifle.
You can "vote" by NOT picking up a rifle.
That is just the problem, Grey Reformer ... you are just plain ignorant,  uninformed, and consequently  unaware.
To one extent or another, everyone that lives, or has ever lived shares  that, including you, me, and the Governing Body ... as giving 56 MILLION DOLLARS to your political adversary clearly demonstrates.

That is just the problem, Grey Reformer ... you are unaware.
You are unaware that anything one has to do with trying to change government policy is political activism.
You do not have to VOTE for something, to be heavily involved in politics.
Conversely, NOT speaking out against any issues of one "side" or another is ALSO , by omission, political activity.
You can protest in the streets in demonstrations.
You can engage in political activity by writing letters to your Senators, Congressmen, or even the President of the United States.
You can engage in political activity by entreaty,  by mailing 64 million letters to the Russian Government ... which by the way, NOBODY read, and they were either taken to a landfill, or used as fuel in wood burning stoves last winter. 
The only thing the Russian Government noted was the fact that 70% of the face value of the international postage was forwarded to them by the Universal Postal Union for terminal delivery, which never happened.
But they did .. they DID get... approximately $56 MILLION DOLLARS of the BROTHERHOOD'S hard earned money as an unintended free gift.
If you wanted to bribe someone, and make it seem invisible, that is one way to do it.
The Brotherhood in effect, at the pleading of the Governing Body ... gave the Russian Government 56 MILLION DOLLARS.
  The DIRECT result of political activism.
Plus, last winter "Fuel at the proper time".
You can "vote" with a ballot.
You can "vote" with your feet, by getting away, deliberately leaving the influence of political oppression.
You can "vote" with your wallet, by supporting, or NOT supporting things you find offensive, and reject.
And of course ... you can, as history has borne out, you can "vote" with a rifle.
You can "vote" by NOT picking up a rifle.
That is just the problem, Grey Reformer ... you are just plain ignorant,  uninformed, and consequently  unaware.
To one extent or another, everyone that lives, or has ever lived shares  that, including you, me, and the Governing Body ... as giving 56 MILLION DOLLARS to your political adversary clearly demonstrates.

I wonder if in Mexico, when a woman temporarily substitutes for a man in the Congregation, if she has to wear a sombrero?

As far as some of your questions go, I will assume they are rhetorical.
About the other, I hold the same opinion Abraham Lincoln had when he was asked, during the American Civil War, whether God was on the side of the North ...or the South.
His reply was (possibly paraphrased...) "I don't think God got us into this war, and I don't think God will get us out of it."
The Allied Forces won because they had greater resources, an unlimited supply of soldiers, and because they developed the atomic bomb, first.
There is no evidence whatsoever that Jehovah God has influenced a single event in modern times.
If you know something more than I, that involves hard evidence ... please tell me.
 
 

As far as some of your questions go, I will assume they are rhetorical.
About the other, I hold the same opinion Abraham Lincoln had when he was asked, during the American Civil War, whether God was on the side of the North ...or the South.
His reply was (possibly paraphrased...) "I don't think God got us into this war, and I don't think God will get us out of it."
The Allied Forces won because they had greater resources, an unlimited supply of soldiers, and because they developed the atomic bomb, first.
There is no evidence whatsoever that Jehovah God has influenced a single event in modern times.
If you know something more than I, that involves hard evidence ... please tell me.