Posts by ashitaka

I gained about 65 pounds after I got married, over about five years. There was no real cause except for stress and actually eating three meals a day. Before, I was eating one meal of MacDonalds and drinking about 20 Coffees a day. That's it. Now, I am much healthier, but fatter. Go figure.

My wife still loves me and thinks me to be handsome (she's crazy, I know), and knows that this isn't going to be my permanent weight. My wife alternately gained and lost weight over the marriage. Both ways, she's beautiful.

ash

36

Blasphemy

by ClassAvenger in

i was asked how come the bible says that god forgives blasphemy to the father and the son, but not the holy spirit.

if they all are god, what makes the person of the holy spirit more important regarding blasphemy than the father or the son.

sorry, i don't know much about the bible, but i'm trying to learn here, alright?

ashitaka

Blasphemy is a victimless crime.

LOL.. Couldn't agree with you more.

ash

56

Lawsuits allege cover-up of sexual abuse by Jehovah's Witnesses-CNN.com

by ashitaka in

jw
friends

don't know if anyone has covered this article yet.

sorry if this is a repost.

ashlawsuits allege cover-up of sexual abuse by jehovah's witnesses.

ashitaka

Don't know if anyone has covered this article yet. Sorry if this is a repost.

ash

Lawsuits allege cover-up of sexual abuse by Jehovah's Witnesses

Tuesday, July 29, 2003 Posted: 9:38 AM EDT (1338 GMT)

Story Tools

Save a link to this article and return to it at www.savethis.com

Printer-friendly version of this article

View a list of the most popular articles on our site

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- Four lawsuits filed in California claim Jehovah's Witnesses officials have been covering up alleged sex abuse of children by congregation leaders, adding to a series of similar suits nationwide.

The law firms involved in the suits filed last week in three northern California counties are holding public meetings this week in search of more victims and witnesses.

"It is a widespread problem and nothing's been done about it to protect these children, to protect future children," said Bill Brelsford, one of the Sacramento attorneys who filed four lawsuits Thursday in California.

"Once they (church leaders) know about it, they don't do anything to stop it," Brelsford said.

Church general counsel Philip Brumley said the church's own investigation of previous lawsuits found church elders did nothing wrong as they tried to protect victims, comply with sexual abuse reporting laws and adhere to biblical admonitions against accepting accusations by a single witness.

"We abhor child abuse," Brumley said. "The assertion or allegation of a cover up, or a nonchalance about child abuse, is just so far from the truth."

Brumley said 10 lawsuits were filed before the California suits. William H. Bowen, who was excommunicated from the church after he set up a critical Web site and hot line for abuse victims, estimated 15 to 17 suits are pending, not counting the California cases.

Bowen said he has posted more than 1,000 abuse stories on his Web site, and fielded more than 6,000 complaints since 2001. Some of the allegations date to the 1970s.

The church puts its membership at 6 million worldwide, including 1 million in the United States.

"I have literally the last couple months been bombarded with this stuff. These are not liars, they're abuse survivors," Bowen said. "It never stops. New victims are coming in on a weekly basis."

Last year, church members or elders in Tennessee and Kentucky were banned from the church after they went public with allegations the denomination has protected pedophiles.

One member, Barbara Anderson of Tullahoma, Tennessee, worked as a researcher at Watchtower Bible and Tract Society headquarters in the early 1990s, when she said a church official asked her to look into the handling of sexual abuse cases. She said she found hundreds of allegations kept secret in church files.

Lawsuits have been filed in Nevada, Minnesota, Texas, New Hampshire. Suits filed last year by members in Maryland, Oregon and Washington also claim church elders told them they would not be believed if they reported the molestation without corroboration by witnesses.

Brumley explained the requirement stems from biblical references that no single witness should rise up against any man. But he denied the church discourages victims or their parents from going to police.

Where molestation allegations are corroborated, the abuser is banned from the church and is never again allowed to hold a position of authority if the excommunication is rescinded, Brumley said.

38

Why does the Government OWE You?

by teenyuck in

with all the recent political threads, i have a question.

what do you think/feel/believe the government or your country *owes* you as a citizen?.

i am talking about pensions, health care and other *social services*.

ashitaka

Minimal government is the path to liberty.

damn strait.

ash

22

Questions for hubsters or male significant others...

by Country Girl in

jw
friends

i hate nagging.

my mother nagged me the whole time i was growing up.

i came to despise the image of female nagging.

ashitaka

This stuff isn't a big deal.

My wife hates doing dishes and vaccuming. No big deal to me. So I get that duty.

I hate cleaning the bathroom or mopping (bad back). She does that.

As for finances, I make do with little(I grew up poor). My wife thinks that having the proper clothes for me is important. I'll walk around with holes in my pants rather than buy new ones. So, every now and again, she'll buys something new for me. It all works out in the end.

My wife and I both work fill-time jobs, so we're both really tired at the end of the day. We just do what we can when we can. It's tough out there.

We both have our assigned little chores, and now and again we'll blow them off. Just be cool about it. I liked what Yeru quoted. That's about where I am.

Pet peeves are no big deal. If he works very hard at his job, then cut him some slack and pick up what he's too tired to do. Remind now and then, and say please...it works wonders with me.

ash