James Thomas Rook Jr.

I believe it does, on an individual and as a group.
Nevertheless, being a Barbarian at heart, I appreciate MANY things I could not have learned elsewhere, even though it was accompanied by heavy unnecessary burdens based solely on the opinions of pontificators.
One of those MAJOR things is that I did not go to Vietnam, and kill people for a national political agenda.
I wanted to go there as a photojournalist, which was probably a bad idea, as I am so large that my nickname might have been "Bullet Catcher", as it was for 63 photojournalists that died there.

The above is complete hogwash.  What happened is that Joseph "Judge" Rutherford" tried to butter Hitler up in a conciliatory letter, before Hitler went completely bat-crap crazy ... but Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany almost "to the man" resisted Hitler, and were imprisoned and put to death without compromising any integrity toward God. Many Elders in Germany caved in to Hitler, because they were trying to appease Rutherford, but the rank-and-file JWs actual stand was magnificent, as a whole, and as a group.
And TTH did NOT indicate in any way that he "hated Trump".
You are seeing things that are not there ... BECAUSE it is you, Matthew9969, who has  a case of WDS "Watchtower Derangement Syndrome" and because your reasoning and logic processes are dominated by your bogus agenda, you are seeing things that are not there, and projecting those fantasys as originating from others.
"Be true to your own self, and it follows, you can be false to no man" (paraphrased) .
You have become in your derangement one very sad person to read, and that is why I voted you last two posts "sad"
You waste what intelligence you have.

Oh, and Matthew9969, If you want freedom of speech for yourself, morally, you have to allow for it in others, even if it is what YOU consider bluster and gross error.  To have the moral high ground you can legitimately point out someone's error, or ask them to "prove it", or to act, and call them a hypocrite, with or without a sound basis ... but you CANNOT demand or even contemplate that they "shut up", for not seeing things the same way you do.

I voted your remark "sad" because it truly is.
It is a meaningless non-sequitur with no relevance ... which you think is profound.

I appreciate this, JTR. The JW stand during WWII is one of the most courageous stands in history. It is also one of the most well-attested—and enemies of the Witnesses are trying to change that perception, seizing upon a letter Rutherford wrote to an infant Nazi government, before it had tipped its hand as to the evil it would become, to assure it that they, the Witnesses, were apolitical, thus not a threat, and ought to be left to operate in peace.
I appreciate this clarification, too. I let his remark go unchallenged because there were bigger fish to fry. Usually if someone launches a tirade of charges, I respond to just one. Just because he thinks in a muddle doesn’t mean that I have to. Respond to each and every point and things soon become unwieldy—it devolves into endless Alan-type comments hurled back and forth.

The above is complete hogwash.  What happened is that Joseph "Judge" Rutherford" tried to butter Hitler up in a conciliatory letter, before Hitler went completely bat-crap crazy ... but Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany almost "to the man" resisted Hitler, and were imprisoned and put to death without compromising any integrity toward God. Many Elders in Germany caved in to Hitler, because they were trying to appease Rutherford, but the rank-and-file JWs actual stand was magnificent, as a whole, and as a group.
And TTH did NOT indicate in any way that he "hated Trump".
You are seeing things that are not there ... BECAUSE it is you, Matthew9969, who has  a case of WDS "Watchtower Derangement Syndrome" and because your reasoning and logic processes are dominated by your bogus agenda, you are seeing things that are not there, and projecting those fantasys as originating from others.
"Be true to your own self, and it follows, you can be false to no man" (paraphrased) .
You have become in your derangement one very sad person to read, and that is why I voted you last two posts "sad"
You waste what intelligence you have.

Oh, and Matthew9969, If you want freedom of speech for yourself, morally, you have to allow for it in others, even if it is what YOU consider bluster and gross error.  To have the moral high ground you can legitimately point out someone's error, or ask them to "prove it", or to act, and call them a hypocrite, with or without a sound basis ... but you CANNOT demand or even contemplate that they "shut up", for not seeing things the same way you do.

I rest my case.

Jw's boast about how they were the most liked in concentration camps, they also supported the Hitler war against the Jews, and they believe it was a satanic/demonic act for a military to stop Hitler. So given the context, the JW's wish that Hitler would have never been defeated, actually feel sorrow that he didn't succeed. 
TTH, dude, if you hate Trump so much, then get off your jw ass and vote against him. But wait you can't vote against him because you are not allowed to vote. So grow some balls, meaning be a man, and vote against Trump or shut up.
 

What is it with this idiot?
His first remark bashes me for seeming to criticise Trump:
His second bashes me for seeming to praise him:
As his many accusations at JWs are shot down, he is degenerating into just another source of vitriol.
As for cheering for Trump, an elder leading a pioneer meeting—dare I say it was the circuit overseer?—emphasizes the importance of neutrality and the challenges of completely remaining so. “Now we all know that Trump is crazy, but.....” he starts. Two sisters look at each other, and the one says to the other: “I know that my father is a good man, and he voted for Trump.”
That CO is very atypical. I’ve never heard another one mention the president, or any president, either way. Doubtless he watches the network news at the end of the day, where they do nothing but bash the president. Making any country great again doesn’t necessarily do it for those accustomed to treating equally those of any “nation, tribe, people, and tongue.” (Revelation 7:9) As for the photoshopped Trump beating up on the CNN bobble head, the average Witness who sees that thinks of how he tries not to do like that with the householder. He observes that Trump is bombastic whereas he tries to be polite. Often his politics go no further than that.

What does that even mean?

I’ve soured on my view of him in recent years.
As Supreme Commander, it was he who liberated the concentration camps. There is an account of a certain nearby German mayor pleading ignorance, an enraged Eisenhower forcing him to tour the camp himself, and the next day that mayor hung himself.
The national system of interstate 4 lane divided highways is named after him. You wouldn’t be able to get around in a timely way without them. It is a good symbolism for how he stabilized the country after the war and put it on sound footing to prosper through speedy transportation and commerce. One aspect of the system was that the roadways could be used to evacuate areas quickly in the event of nuclear war. They are used that way today to evacuate for approaching hurricanes. It’s all a good legacy to the man.
He did good things. He is essentially the savior of the world, and then the guide of America afterwards. But with my visit to his home in Gettysburg, his star began to fade some. 
Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide suffered intense persecution during WWII. There were only about 75,000 of them—not the 8 million of today. In the US, many were beaten, others rounded up and arrested without trial, some tarred and feathered. There were a few that were killed. 
He could have stopped it! He could have explained just who and what they were. No one on the political scene knew them better than he. It was his mama’s religion, who remained faithful to her death. He was raised in it. “Look, they’re patriotic in their own way—they hold off on fighting because of their own religious views about God’s kingdom. They are honest and hard-working otherwise. They are harmless! They are not criminals. It is free speech they are engaging in, and that’s what I am in Europe fighting for!” He could have said that, and probably ended their persecution. Others did speak out in behalf of the Witnesses—notably Eleanor Roosevelt and the ACLU. He kept mum.
It is impossible for me not to think that he kept his mouth shut with regard to his mother’s “brothers” so as not to harm his stature and political career—both during the war and afterwards. That harsh verdict is tempered by the fact that he truly did well by WWII standards and 8 years of presidential standards—and NATO chief afterwards. Maybe had he not been where he was, his substitute would have screwed everything up. Still, when push comes to shove, he did sell out his childhood “brothers.”
In a sense he was like Pilate, who knew very well that Jesus was innocent, but he also had a province to run and he decided that was more important. “Give the scoundrels what they want, and keep them out of my hair,” was his attitude. It may be the same with Putin, who says: “I don’t understand why we are persecuting Jehovah’s Witnesses—aren’t they Christians, too?” But, one year later, persecution just keeps rolling on, so it obviously is not a priority to him.
Even now the National Historical Park Service, that is not wrong on anything, stays wrong with regard to Eisenhower’s upbringing. The ranger during my visit said that he was raised Mennonite, and he wasn’t. He was raised a Witness. Keep that embarrassing fact well-hidden, so as not to jeopardize his or his families social stature. They are a respected family and they want to remain so. They can survive a Mennonite connection, for that can be passed off as quaint. But they dare not take their chances with a Jehovah’s Witness connection, and the National Park Service helps them maintain this ruse. The actual facts of Dwight’s upbringing lead to somewhere embarrassing for a national figure, and so they don’t go there.
It is hard for me not to think of Jesus’ words that “you will be hated for the sake of my name.” Just the thought of being associated with those carrying out the kingdom proclamation work that he originated and that others spearheaded is enough to make a prominent national leader turn tail and run like a rabbit. “How can you believe,” Jesus asks, “when you are accepting glory from one another and you are not seeking the glory that is from the only God?” Exactly. Dwight did know that you cannot play it both ways. You must choose. He chose to “keep religion in its place.” As is usually the case, that means last place.
 
Did you deduce from the post that I “really hate Trump and his supporters?” If so, I don’t know from where.
Could be.
Still, I don’t view him as the monster that his enemies try to portray him. He is a guy who has had an affair or two or three or four—something that is by no means unusual in men today. Some of his accusers are among the nuttiest people on earth, such as the one who flummoxed Anderson Cooper by describing rape as “sexy” and then leaned into him with: “You’re fascinating to talk to.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/cooper-cuts-interview-short-after-e-jean-carroll-calls-rape-sexy
Melania passed off her husband’s remarks to Billy Bush as “locker room talk.” Given that the media was every day trying to take him out and had apparently been sitting on that sound bite for ages, waiting for just the right moment, I made up a broadcast (in No Fake News but Plenty of Hogwash) that I named: Live From the Locker Room:
“Good evening. We’re broadcasting live from the locker room tonight to reveal to America just what goes on in this previously obscure culture that has so suddenly thrust itself upon the national stage. We’ll interview some players in this intriguing venue. Ah, here’s comes a jock now. “Hey! Yo! Whazzup? We’d like to ask you some questions.”
“Why, good evening sirs, madam. You must be members of the news media. Welcome to our humble locker room. It’s not much, but please make yourself at home. There are refreshments in the adjacent room, just past the gentleman snapping his neighbor’s buns with the wet towel.”
“Charlie, it is as we thought. ‘Locker room talk’ is but a lame excuse. They’re not crude at all here. They are quite refined and sensitive and…”
Hey, ya wanna get your crap outta here?! I can’t get to my @%!# locker!”
 

Maybe you jw's will get lucky and your hero Hitler will start ruling again.

It depends on what definition a person uses to define a "good" JW.
I like the man immensely, as he has an outrageous sense of humor, rooms full of money, attacks stupidity and unfairness every day, and in interpersonal combat with the political forces of evil, has more physical and mental strength than has been seen since Jackson was President.
Jackson, when he had a disagreement with someone, would challenge him to a duel to the death, and someone would tie an eight foot  rope around the wrists of Jackson, and the man challenged, and they would go into an empty room to fight, with knives.  Only one would come out alive.
Trump is no Jimmy Carter, but Jimmy Carter ..... well ..... he was "Obama Lite."
I suppose Trump won the Presidency by appealing to people,  especially "flyover" America, that despise pussyfooters, and wimps ...
Trump's House of Wings .wmv
Video_2019-12-04_205628.wmv Video_2019-12-04_203553.wmv

You do not have to be poor to be happy.
You can be rich and be happy ... and it's a LOT easier!
There is no disgrace to being poor ...
.... but it has absolutely NOTHING to recommend it.
... and being undeducated is not a crime.
.... neither is being functionally stupid.

Trump would make a terrible jw.

The Dark Lord has made his appearance and people who agree with him in many particulars are keeping an unusually low profile. It is probably because they do not want to inadvertently say something wrong and have him find their lack of faith disturbing.
Case in point is @James Thomas Rook Jr.. Normally, a mention of climate change will trigger a tirade from him as to how it is a masterful left wing hoax. Normally a negative mention of Trump will unleash torrents of praise for him from his corner. This time, however, not a peep. Well...there is a bit of cheerleading for Trump—you cannot completely erase the spots of a leopard—but he does not pursue it. He and @JW Insider have happily squabbled at great length over both these topics. But he does not do it here with Darth Alan.
Do I blame him for this bit of cowardice? Not at all. He is in his senior years and he wants to live them out. He does not want to be accosted with endless taunts about how stupid he is. He does not want every syllable he utters to be corrected. He does not want to have to open dozens of dialogue boxes to recall just what it was that he said to earn the verdict that he is a moron. He does not want to shake his head in disgust that every other forum participant has learned to use those boxes properly, and only the Dark Lord is too enraptured with his own arguing to constrain himself to quoting just three lines of text that will faithfully reproduce without opening boxes. He looks at @Arauna, who has had to triple her blood pressure medication, and decides that he wants no part of it. Who can blame him?
So I will carry his Trump ball for him—not as aptly as he would do it himself, for I am not so vested in it as he—but I will carry it.
In the midst of discussion, @AlanF reaches back into his quiver for taunts, chooses a old favorite, and hurls back at me: “Apparently you just make up "news" out of thin air -- just like your idol Trump.”
This is the fifth completely irrelevant reference to Trump since he began participation here, just two or three weeks ago. A moment later, he launches the sixth: “You're doing what ever-Trumpers do very well -- project their own faults onto their opponents.”
Six times he brings Trump into a discussion that has nothing to do with him. Each time it is like ripping a loud one in the concert hall. His audience surely must be among the most apolitical people on earth. Some of them, JW and non-JW alike, think it downright wrong to bring politics into a discussion of spiritual things. Alan knows this. He knows everything. So why can he not restrain himself from continually inserting that which he knows will fall flat with almost everyone and be positively off-putting to some?
It is because he suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome. I had thought that JTR made up the term because he is the only one who has ever used it here—another testimony to the apolitical nature of both JWs and many who oppose them—but I see now via internet search that it is not so. Alan has that ailment full-blown, though. He froths over Trump. He obsesses over Trump. He embraces those who every day since before his election experiences orgasm at some new bullet that will supposedly take him out. He inserts references to Trump everywhere, the same way that normal people insert “word whiskers” like “um.”
So what of this taunt that he hurls at me—ME, TrueTomHarley! :
“Apparently you just make up "news" out of thin air -- just like your idol Trump.” 
Is he my idol? That depends. Politically, it is not likely to be so. Trump does the Make America Great routine. He pushes for his country, assumes that other national leaders will push for theirs, and if they don’t, it is all the better for him. On the other hand, as a JW, I look forward to “the kingdom”—a government from God that will eliminate national borders. Even now, visit Bethel, observe the huge globe, and take in the fact that there are no national borders to sully it.
So no, politically he is hardly an “idol.” But that does not mean that as a man I cannot learn from him. I try to learn from anyone that comes to my attention—either through personal interaction or by their being in the news a lot. I even strive to learn from Alan. Nobody can be said to be worthless, for you can always be used as a bad example.
Politics aside, it turns out that I am very grateful for Trump. His election has vaulted 2 Timothy 3:1-5 to the position of the world’s year text—this year and every year. It used to be that if you read how people would be fierce, unreasonable, not open to agreement, backbiting, and so forth, and your householder did not agree that such was the case today more so than in prior times, there wasn’t much you could do about it. Plainly the verse is subjective. It always will be, of course—I expect that should Alan ever have the misfortune to be executed by guillotine, he will ignore that unpleasant fact and his head will continue to insult onlookers as it is being carted away in the wheelbarrow—but with ever-Trumpers and never-Trumpers screaming at each other day and night, it becomes a much more difficult verse to deny.
I also take a page from Trump with regard to his communication skills. At first glance, he hasn’t any. Surely he is one of the most ineloquent public figures in history. And don’t come to him for spelling lessons. But at second glance, one comes to see that he is a master at pushing back at his barrage of opponents. After a brief period of supposing opponents would adjust to his presence, he decided that there was no way on earth that they could be placated, and so he redirects his efforts to defeating them. He does it in the most innovative of ways, taking full advantage of their weaknesses. Time and again, he draws them in as with hooks in their jaws, and just as they are ready to pounce, tasting certain victory, he pulls the rug out from under them.
Case in point is the brouhaha over his inauguration. ‘It was the most well-attended inauguration in history!’ he boasts. ‘It wasn’t!’ counter his enemies. He reasserts that it was. They dive into the archives to find photos of other inaugurations. Obama filled the quadrangle. Trump’s crowd is visibly far less. HA!, they shout in victory—surely now that they have caught him in a lie, he will fess up to it. He doesn’t! 
Night after night they run the two photos side by side on national news broadcasts, ignoring all else. They point to the gaping holes in Trump’s photos that are not there with Obama’s photos. “These are FACTS!” they are close to screaming. “You cannot dispute FACTS!” He does. He doubles down, nearly to the point of saying: “No event in human history has drawn the attendance of my inauguration!”
Tearing their hair out, they invite his advisor on TV—Kellyanne. They rub her nose, and the noses of their viewers, into their two photos. ‘The FACTS show that Obama drew way more than Trump! Right here—look at just this spot! There is just bare ground with Trump and there is shoulder-to-shoulder people with Obama! FACTS are FACTS!
But Kellyanne says that the President is trying to draw attention to alternative facts. He is trying to draw attention to.........’ALTERNATIVE FACTS!! they scream. ‘THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN “ALTERNATIVE” FACT!!! A FACT IS A FACT IS A FACT IS A FACT!! THERE ARE NO “ALTERNATIVE FACTS!!” 
But the Advisor to the President insists that they are, and that the media ignores them. They consist of the fact of popular discontent with the “swamp” that propelled him to victory in the first place. Whatever Trump said to the ignored half of America clearly resonated with them, and it is being ignored by the mainstream media. Today he crows about the economy. Bill Clinton garnered adoration from pundits with his, “It’s the economy, stupid!” Today these same pundits will portray the economy as though a very minor point.
As for me, I enjoy the spectacle, without taking any position as to whether he makes a good president or not. He may be a terrible one, but I like the way he turns the tables on those seeking to destroy him. I am not even sure that his numerous spelling errors are not deliberate. When he tweets that North Korea has launched its nuclear missels, people of common sense will run to take cover. People of the media will run to their keyboards to point out that the idiot can’t even spell the word right. 
Life is a continued term paper to many of these characters. They did well on term papers in college. They have grades from their professors to prove it. So they launch into the media that only attracts a certain type of people—those who imagine that ‘exposing’ problems is enough to fix them—and assume that life, too, will respect their term paper skills as highly as their professors did. They have little experience in actually doing anything. They are mostly wonks when it comes to government—and the fixes that their type of government can bring is their obsession.
As for me, I take note that if there is any new meme guaranteed to undermining traditional family life, these characters are all over it. If there is any new meme that will even bend gender distinctions, these characters are all over it. Gayle King dutifully appended the Q on LGBTQ before she even knew what it meant—I heard her say it. Did it mean ‘queer?’ Did it mean ‘questioning?’ She didn’t know. But she didn’t dare not include it once the gods of media popularity told her to. With this track record, anyone who can get these characters incensed cannot be all bad.
(More to come)

Some people like to play with words ... some like to play with numbers.
There is a difference between a mathematician, and a moron.
At least, with numbers, you can PROVE what is true.

 
Well ... you DID specifically ask for my opinion .....

ON COMPETENT ADVICE:
it is up to EVERY INDIVIDUAL Brother and Sister to review in their own mind how COMPETENT this advice was .... because it has not changed ...
Taking sound, reality based advice will, barring chance and unforeseen circumstances, make your life better, happier, EASIER, and more fulfilling. Most of the REAL PROBLEMS I have had in my life have been caused by being poor, and constantly STRUGGLING to keep gainfully employed.
Gainfully employed in THIS day and age is not the same as in the time of John the Baptist, where you could dress in rags, live in a hole in the ground, and eat locusts (YUM!), and die of exhaustion, deprivation, starvation ( No, I'm FASTING! ...uh... yeah... uh... that's it .. uh "fasting!") .and disease, and a LONG life for the average genetically disposed person was around age 34 and you were full of infection of every sort, and your teeth had rotted out of you head.  You walked everywhere, and died on the side of the road from exposure.
It is up to EVERY INDIVIDUAL Brother and Sister to review in their own mind how COMPETENT this advice was .... because it has not changed.    
The RESULTS of taking INCOMPETENT ADVICE are completely  indistinguishable from being chained to deliberate, premeditated evil.
The Three Elders who came and counseled Job for three days did not just sit in the dirt and stare at him for 72 hours ... they were yapping their heads off ... but after three days ... nothing they said was worth recording.
.

I CAN explain it all ... I have been watching, and studying  for more than 50 years.
I try NOT to think like, or be,  a professional child.
I do NOT think I have enough "spirit" to judge anyone .... in the sense of somehow punishing them.
My only judgement of "them" is to avoid and ignore "them"
... I do enjoy the option of being able to enforce my preferences, if necessary.
...which most people might consider a blessing.

Trust NO ONE, and you will seldom be disappointed.

I am still of the opinion that when translating from ENGLISH, to another language, a person MUST be a fluent EXPERT at both languages, and have lived in areas where both are spoken extensively, and also have a DEEP knowledge of the history and culture of both places, AND have a potload of plain old common sense .... which is not all that common.
I suspect that this is true in all other language translations.
We have Bible translations in over a thousand languages (...or is it just some Bible literature?) ... but how good are those translations?
The Polish people fought the Nazi tanks on horses, with horse drawn artillery, and they acquitted themselves magnificently ... but it was no contest, and they lost miserably.
..... same thing.

That always occurs when writers have no other skills and need to eat and sleep warm.

I will have to ask my new Android v. 12.6 (as seen on TV) RONCO DOGMATIC.
Cereally though ....  I suppose the difference is if the arguments are based on verifiable reality, or hopes and dreams, masquerading as facts.

Sorta like taking a handful of caffeine tablets  so you don't sleep through the public talk?

YES!  That's it!   It's so clear to me now!