Posts by JeffT

166

2nd amendment right ... where should it end?

by Simon in

one thing i like to do to test a theory is to take things to extremes or to their logical conclusion to see if the premises still hold.

very often, a claim that seems to make sense at a superficial level falls apart when you start to stretch it a little.. so let's play a game.. suppose the 2nd amendment is valid, that some "well regulated militia" really is necessary to hold the government to account.. obviously when this was drafted the government had access to the weapons of it's day which would be muskets!

so muskets all round.

JeffT

The problem is, they are not around to ask so all you get are interpretations.

Not really true. They left very extensive notes on what they meant by what they wrote. If you want to debate the US constitution read "The Federalist Papers." For that matter you should also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers." Its harder to find but sheds some light on what the losing side thought.

Edited to add. The National Guard was founded in 1903.

Berengaria, that's true, but I will note that at least some gun control efforts started as attempts to keep guns out of the hands of African-Americans.

http://www.old-yankee.com/rkba/racial_laws.html

http://monderno.com/monderno/if-youre-anti-gun-youre-a-racist/

166

2nd amendment right ... where should it end?

by Simon in

one thing i like to do to test a theory is to take things to extremes or to their logical conclusion to see if the premises still hold.

very often, a claim that seems to make sense at a superficial level falls apart when you start to stretch it a little.. so let's play a game.. suppose the 2nd amendment is valid, that some "well regulated militia" really is necessary to hold the government to account.. obviously when this was drafted the government had access to the weapons of it's day which would be muskets!

so muskets all round.

JeffT

Simon,

If you want an honest debate about this you should do some research on what the framers of the Constitution meant by "militia." Its at least as relevant as what they meant by "firearms."

And to answer your question, we have accepted some reasonable limitations on the right to bear arms for quite some time. Military grade weapons, such as fully automatic rifles and machine guns are highly regulated, and I've never seen a weapon that fires explosive shells for sale to private citizens.

There may be some nuts around advocating a right to own tanks or whatever, few serious people take such a position. Asserting an argument from an absurd position is what's inane.

166

2nd amendment right ... where should it end?

by Simon in

one thing i like to do to test a theory is to take things to extremes or to their logical conclusion to see if the premises still hold.

very often, a claim that seems to make sense at a superficial level falls apart when you start to stretch it a little.. so let's play a game.. suppose the 2nd amendment is valid, that some "well regulated militia" really is necessary to hold the government to account.. obviously when this was drafted the government had access to the weapons of it's day which would be muskets!

so muskets all round.

JeffT

Now, tell me again how you need your guns and the lame reasons you think justify them.

Why should I bother? You've made it clear you don't want to hear a different opinion.

16

The Watchtower Corporation gets to legally keep all the money and property assets, even if it does fail or reduce in numbers

by Finkelstein in

i think its vitally important to realized that the wts now has as of this year probably close to 2 billion in overall assets worldwide that it can live off for a very long time.

i get this gut feeling that the wts heads are positioning themselves and the organization in tentative survival mode for the long run.. so many cut backs, the selling off of many branches, the down sizing of much of its operations, are all tell tale hints that even the heads of this organization are preparing for the eventful devolving of this organization.

the wts gb leaders say that jah's chariot is moving along at a faster pace but in reflection of how this organization been conducting itself as of late, that wouldn't necessarily be the real truth of the matter.

JeffT

I think the money is probably already in the safest country they can find. The US government is VERY reluctant to tread on the 1st amendment protection of churches. Unless they are doing something like outright criminal (think the Mormon renegades marrying thirteen year old girls) they aren't going to pursue a religion. That isn't true in a lot of other places.

21

Caitlyn Jenner has cognitive Dissonance

by sherrie11 in

i have just finished watching the latest episode of i am cait!

lol yes i watch it!!!

they were discussing politics.

JeffT

macys: people are allowed to not like Jenner, her driving record, her political opinions or her constant reality-show self promotion and saying so is not "hate".

True. And I disagree with her self-promotion and stupid reality show (for the record, I dislike all "reality" shows). Her politics are her business and I don't know beans about her driving record. But in my mind saying her expressed opinions must be the result of cognitive dissonance reminds me too much of being called mentally diseased. Disagree to your heart's content, but leave out the personal attacks.

I also think there is too much emphasis in our public climate on the idea that all people with shared skin color or genitalia should think in a particular way.

Edited to add: my daughter self-describes as "gender fluid" or some such. She's married to a transgender queer woman. Both are welcome members of my family.

26

Lady drives car into Kingdom Hall

by Sugar Shane in

right smack into (what looks like) the front entry!.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-13/78yo-female-driver-crash-jehovahs-witnesses-church/7243268.

this was in australia, but the khs i've seen (in the us) are designed so that you'd have to almost intentionally want to ram a building to cause this kind of damage.

JeffT

After many years in property management I've lost track of the number of times I've seen cars hit buildings. Older drivers are frequently, but not always, the driver involved. My favorite was the adult newly arrived immigrant who literally drove her car into the DMV office when returning from failing her driving exam. Turned out she didn't have insurance after stating on the forms that she did.

28

What would we all do if the watchtower collapsed tomorrow ?

by stan livedeath in

jw
friends

i would probably collapse laughing.

JeffT

What Outlaw said. If the Watchtower collapsed the people who really need some one to lead them would just go find somebody else, probably elders, CO's and the like who would still claim divine appointment. That and I would expect to see a lot of suicides, especially among older folks who realized they wasted their lives.

I don't think it would be a pretty thing.

50

genuine english guy seeking jw lady

by english_gentleman in

hi, i believe that a lady is put on earth to satisfy the needs of her partner and respect his views in all matters.. i realize some here may consider that old fashioned and not based on sexual equality.. yet a lady and man are not created equal because the lady gives birth and the man must sire many children.

if you are a lady under 30 and keen to meet me, willing to cook and breed, then please message me here.

please do not contact me if you disagree with my views, we can agree to differ.

JeffT

When she gets there, remember to check all the seams carefully. She may not stay inflated if you don't.

36

Add your Stupid title of Winess books that did not come true

by Witness 007 in

"millions now living will never die.

" -1922. sorry rutherford but they did!.

"god's kingdom of 1000 years has aproached!

JeffT

"Revelation, It's Grand Climax is at Hand" I can think of all kinds of inappropriate jokes.

66

THE LINGERING SHADOW OF '75

by Terry in

none of you are old enough to have been there, i suspect.

i had been in prison two years as a jw conscientious objector when the exciting news about 1975 spread like wildfire.i was paroled from prison in 1969 and immediately began pioneering.

the pressures began mounting throughout the organization.

JeffT

I converted and baptized in 1973. 1975 was all anybody talked about. After the failure quite a number seized on the idea about the gap between Adam's creation and Eve's.

After that, "we are not serving for a date" became a common expression. This was usually delivered with an attitude of "we're better Witnesses than the weak ones who are leaving." Later, everybody treated the whole thing like it never happened.

For a good academic treatise on how this kind of denial works, read "When Prophecy Fails" by Festinger, Riecken, and Schachter. They followed a UFO cult through a failed prophecy expecting to find that people left when it failed. Instead they doubled down on thinking that it was soon, and they'd passed some kind of test. It's an interesting read.