James Thomas Rook Jr.

SCENARIO 89643:
Several Brothers go on a camping trip with relatives, who they have been witnessing to for some time.  One relative decides he wants to be Baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and in the morning they all go to the lake and Baptize him, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit .... with no mention whatsoever of the contract of fealty to the Watchtower or any Earthly organization.
Not a single one of the "100 Questions" was asked .... but in the eyes of God and Christ it was a valid baptism.
What kind of flak can they each expect to get when this new Brother shows up at the Kingdom Hall?

I'm happy for the discussions about appreciating music. My father moved us from California to Missouri in 1964 to 'serve where the need was greater' and he was often looked at very suspiciously for all his classical records, and a few other styles, too. Mozart, Bach, Beethoven etc., were generally considered to represent false religious church music by other Witnesses. He had to keep most of these records under wraps, and kept about half of them at his lab where he worked.

That’s a lot of work to syphon out the liars. 
That’s not to say it is not a good idea, nor that it is any more time-consuming than what I do. It is just that few people have that kind of time. Most people take news from one or two sources, often the evening TV news for people our age, and pretty well accept that they are being told the truth. Usually they are, but it is not “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”—which can completely turn things around.
At one pioneer meeting the elder conducting it was highlighting the importance of neutrality, and never to give the impression of taking sides. “Now we all know that Trump is crazy,” he said, “but.......” I would stake my life on it that his only source of news is the evening news of one of the three networks. 
I was relatively up in years before I discovered to my surprise that my (non-Witness) Dad cared hardly at all about politics. Many were the political discussions swirling around the dining room table, as I was growing up, when the extended family was gathered. However, it turned out that my Mom’s father was very much a GOP person and would crank on about it endlessly, and my Dad was just too gracious to tell him to zip it—it was his father-in-law, after all, who his wife liked.
 

Except for a couple of statements I could not fully agree with, I really appreciated your line of reasoning/questioning.

Come to think of it, they were “Far Side” chickens.

BTW, this month is ‘space month’ at PBS. ‘American Experience’ has some excellent documentaries on the space race.
It even shows cars of that vintage.

That's a good idea. But I find that it's very easy to find a polar opposite to almost any position anyone has taken on anything.
When the real answer is West or East, it's also too easy find that everyone is ignoring that and fighting over the difference between extreme North and extreme South. This is the key to news panels on CNN just before an election. This gives the impression of neutrality when the truth does not actually lie somewhere in the middle. It's merely an entertaining distraction. Of course, some ideological channels don't even bother with creating an illusion of a middle ground, merely spouting off in a "newsy-like" version of standup comedy. (Sean Hannity, Rachel Maddow, etc.)
When looking for whether a position trends toward truth, sometimes one must look for the "admissions" "revelations" "slip-ups" and "apologies" from the persons who have claimed to hold one position, and have succeeded in getting others to agree to that one position, but then are forced to admit the opposite. (Or accidentally admit the opposite.) This type of "opposite" position is often available only during a short time window before the backtracking begins. Sometimes the "revelations" are documented history after everyone has forgotten to care, such as FOIA releases from past presidencies, or caches of embarrassing documents released on wiki leaks, etc.
After a while, one can develop an entire framework of areas (and players) where such admissions happen more often than others. When the pattern of 1)position, 2)slip-up, and 3)method of backtracking to regain the original position becomes very predictable, then you are probably onto something trending toward truth.

An interesting statistic that I have heard from SEVERAL sources, known to be reputable ... but admittedly I have NOT looked it up myself.
1.) African American,  (Blacks, Negros, "People of Color", or whatever is politically correct nowadays ... and I have lost track), comprise 14% of the population of the United States ... but commit 84% of the crimes, and imprisonments.
1.) African American,  (Blacks, Negros, or whatever is politically correct nowadays ... and I have lost track), comprise 14% of the population of the United States ... but abort their children at 5 times the rate of Caucasians ( White Folks, Poppin Fresh, Marshmallows, or whatever is being used today... and I do not even KEEP track).
It seems to me there is a black genocide in progress, at least in the USA,  and it is self-inflicted.
With all of that in mind, I seriously doubt the "white pedophile" statistics quoted above ... but I have not looked that up ..... either.
---------------------------------------------------
If you have better statistics, please correct me. 
 
 

OF COURSE!
The July 20, 1969 Moon Landing was , as everyone in the know, knows, was filmed on a movie set on Mars!
 

It never occurred to me that this statement would provoke such a response. What is your take? That JWs all think the moon landing was staged?

As near as I can tell, Jehovah’s Witnesses buy into conspiracy theories in no greater proportion than the general population. It is a little surprising, since they have become privy to the greatest conspiracy theory of all—that involving “false religion.”
As for me, I find myself nibbling at the edges, and in some cases accepting them. If I follow anything on Twitter, I make a point also of following its polar opposite. Sometimes i find the polar opposite point of view to be represented much more persuasively than the common wisdom.

Do you mean that commercial company founded by the frat boy whose original purpose was to rate women by their outward physical attributes—their “faces?”
Look, I am prolific on commercial media, too, but I don’t try to elevate it as a vehicle for the Lord GOD of Hosts. It is just me spouting opinions, some of which I hope are worthwhile.

I added point number 5, because yesterday on WNYC I heard a person call in to a well-respected NYC talk show, and as what happened to a lawsuit that was supposedly brought against Trump over an event that might have been 30 years ago, where a mother brought suit for her young daughter who was supposedly raped by Trump. I heard it and thought, oh boy, obviously something like this would have been brought up during the last presidential election if it were true, and someone is clearly grasping at straws to denigrate Trump. To my surprise, the host knew very little about it but the interviewee appeared to have a lot of details about it and said the mother dropped the case because they were getting too many death threats, and feared for her life.
Then I see someone posting elsewhere, a realistic looking court document from 1989 that sues both Trump and Epstein together for a rape of a 13 year old girl. I'm assuming that this is the same case.

This is based on a mashup of ideas based on a quick reading of online and newspaper "revelations" that appear to quote from sometimes credible sources.
I understand that a lot of online sources about Epstein, including Wikipedia, got a Clinton wipe-down up until just the day before Clinton's press release minimizing his contact with Epstein. But it wasn't just Bill Clinton. It seems that names of almost all Democrats were removed from some of these sources as far as possible. But Twitter is now seeing a re-freshening of some of these sources through those who have taken an interest in the Epstein case for years.
In fact, NY's Southern District Court wants to take on this case, no doubt as a followup on the Mueller investigation into Trump that didn't take it as far as they hoped. That's a court with heavy behind-the-scenes Democrats who can't stand the fact that Trump has been an excellent president for those with Republican political values, and a lot of extra Democrats who overlap with Republican political values. This means that Trump is pretty sure to win again unless they can take him down by scandal.
I think Pelosi's daughter just said that it will take down some Democrats, too. And even the man who wrote Trump Nation, being interviewed a lot lately for his anti-Trump stance, is admitting that many high-level Democrats are also shaking in their boots, in case Epstein has off-shore vaults full of "life insurance." (His own life insurance, in the sense that Alan Dershowitz and others are probably under obligation to send out a lot of "envelopes" if anything happens to Epstein.)
As much as I hate "conspiracy" theories, this one really does appear to go right to the top of all political circles -- and that's by design.
When Acosta got him such a lenient sentence and illegally determined to offer Epstein a plea deal without informing the victim plaintiffs, he often claimed that he was innocent because this case was being monitored at all levels of government, and all told him he was doing a good job. We have to wonder why it was being monitored at all levels of government.
Also those who realize that Democrats have tried to misuse this against Trump, probably forget that Trump's time with Epstein included time when Trump was a Democrat and was hanging around with his great pal Democrats, the Clintons, and others.
But in truth, you should also watch the people who are recusing themselves from the current upcoming case, and start listening again to things that Acosta said when being interviewed about whether he thought his history with Epstein would hurt him, when Trump wanted him to be the Labor Secretary.

If this is true, [dailybeast source] it might be the whole key to whether Epstein is prosecuted as expected, or gets another deal. The current NY case no longer accepts the immunity of the men who kidnapped orphans and homeless girls for Epstein's underage prostitution rings. This provides for a set of "fall guys" to make it look like the court did its thing while appearing to give Epstein a harsh enough punishment while actually giving him a pass like Acosta did last time. (He was previously sentenced to jail, but was also told he only had to show up about one day a week to jail, and could spend the other six days running his business.)
His actual business, as you've said or implied, was probably based on a single source bankrolling a scam hedge fund operation that really seems like its actual source of growth was funded through a blackmail operation. With only one known name in his business, and no records of any Wall Street trades or investments, it appears that his entire operation could have been funded in the following way:
Invite interesting people, high level politicians, and a mix of billionaires to lavish parties. Make sure that the parties include a lot of free drinking and 16 year old girls (he has victimized into prostitution) who can pass for 18 or 19. Hope that at least one billionaire, or connected politician with a lot to lose will end up taking one of the "19" year olds to a conveniently wired bedroom. Let the victim know the next day that she was 16, and that the solution to Epstein's silence is a hefty investment in his fund, with 5 percent fee payments to keep the money "managed." Take advantage of the fact that some high level politicians and billionaires will learn of Epstein's ability to procure 16 year old girls and pay a lot of money for sex with them with or without blackmail involved. But what if Epstein has been protected all these years because the CIA uses sexual scandal leverage against people all the time, and this is who Epstein's secret bank-rollers really were all along? In that case, I expect very little real success in a case against him. What gets found in his blackmail vaults will likely be filtered by whomever has the authority to look at it first. (Remember the Mayflower Madam? or DC Madam)

I think I know her.
She has a cat?

Jefferey Epstein has been arrested.
This is considered a victory for us Truthers because we have been speaking about this man for years now, especially when we witnessed the Sweet Heart Deal.

If memory serves, Baptisms were held in the central Congo, Africa, beginning about 4,000 years ago, in a large cast iron cauldron with heated water over an open fire, and they added cut up carrots and potatoes, and peas.

An interesting statistic that I have heard from SEVERAL sources, known to be reputable ... but admittedly I have NOT looked it up myself.
1.) African American,  (Blacks, Negros, "People of Color", or whatever is politically correct nowadays ... and I have lost track), comprise 14% of the population of the United States ... but commit 84% of the crimes, and imprisonments.
1.) African American,  (Blacks, Negros, or whatever is politically correct nowadays ... and I have lost track), comprise 14% of the population of the United States ... but abort their children at 5 times the rate of Caucasians ( White Folks, Poppin Fresh, Marshmallows, or whatever is being used today... and I do not even KEEP track).
It seems to me there is a black genocide in progress, at least in the USA,  and it is self-inflicted.
With all of that in mind, I seriously doubt the "white pedophile" statistics quoted above ... but I have not looked that up ..... either.
---------------------------------------------------
If you have better statistics, please correct me. 
 
 

That also works for famous movie star frogs, and bears.

That mutt has a lot more artistic and business savvy than I was aware of.

@Space Merchant I called you out for being racist in that comment and I was right. You don't like that, tough on you SM. 
You call us 'white males' but you call yourself a 'man of colour'. That is so funny, and racist. If we are white males then you are a black male, live with it SM. 
And I will use @TrueTomHarley logic here.  Tom says the only reason people know about the quantity of CSA in the JW Org is because it is recorded.
So let's use that same idea with your accusing 'white males' of raping their children. How does anyone know quantity of 'white males' that rape their children ? Because it is recorded. How? Probably by the number of convictions.
But, is it recorded about the number of black males that rape their children ? OR, do black people not report it, or, do they deal with it themselves ?  You see there is no proof that more 'white males' rape their children, only proof of more reports or more convictions. Besides which it seemed important to you to make a point of 'white males'.
Also, 2 Pac? for what? And absolutely random
Not random, just you blocking it out of your mind. The fact that you didn't like a black man MAKING THE POINT about black men raping their own children in their own community. You see it wasn't random. 2 Pac was saying that there is a problem with it in the black community.  
Quote :  I find it hilarious you even linked that video and everyone is now aware you like your music that isn't clean, 
You are soooo funny SM. You have no idea what JW's listen to. Let me tell you this.
25 years ago, time whizzes past. Anyway my wife was studying the Bible with two young ladies. These young ladies were Pioneers, full time ministers of God. One of their favorite songs was  Queen singing Bohemian Rhapsody.
The band Queen. Lead singer was a transvestite homosexual. Song words 'Mama just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled the trigger now he's dead'  Then it goes on about the devil and more.  So is that 'clean music' ?
Next :  I was at a JW gathering and I had to ask them to stop listening to, and singing along to a song. The words  were 
'I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby'  Now is that clean music ? 
The 2 Pac song had a message and meaning to it. But you are too blind to see. 
I won't even bother to read any more of your comments SM. I can tell you are racist and unbalanced. You think you know much more than most other people and you think you are more intelligent.  
Black or white SM, you are just another man on this big Earth. 
 
 

Since there is no scriptural support whatsoever for Baptizing small children, and we do it anyway .... why not baptize our pet dogs? 
Did not the Scriptures say that after Jesus left, wolves would enter in among the flock .... and are not dogs just domestic wolves?
Here is a photo of a rogue JW Baptizing ten Golden Retriever teenage puppies, and later an Elder Duck  doing a shepherding call on the proud Mamma.

... well, your religion, also as WT Society, not follow Jesus' example about baptism of mature  individuals (men and women). Your religion support baptism of under age kids, and, as to my knowledge, that is in opposition to Bible examples on this issue, in fact it is in opposition made by Jesus' example. It seems how your religion is deviate in this (and perhaps in some other subjects) as many others too. So, your religion is similar to Roman Catholic church and JW's in this  theological "truth" :)) even without my mental gymnastic contribution on issue :))

But then again, what are pets, but entertainment for humans?
I once talked with a man who hated all pets, because they served no function.  I pointed out that mine were entertainers.
Sometimes,....late  at night ... when the house gets quiet and my five dogs and 18 chickens are sleeping, I pause for a moment and wonder ...
WHAT DID YOU LEARN THAT WAS NEW AT THE 2019 "LOVE NEVER FAILS" REGIONAL CONVENTION ?
... then I might have a glass of milk, have a few cookies, and go to bed.

But then again, what are pets, but entertainment for humans?
I once talked with a man who hated all pets, because they served no function.  I pointed out that mine were entertainers.
Sometimes,....late  at night ... when the house gets quiet and my five dogs and 18 chickens are sleeping, I pause for a moment and wonder ...
WHAT DID YOU LEARN THAT WAS NEW AT THE 2019 "LOVE NEVER FAILS" REGIONAL CONVENTION ?
... then I might have a glass of milk, have a few cookies, and go to bed.