Posts by JeffT

29

CANDACE CONTI & THE NEW CONTRIBUTION DEMAND

by The Searcher in

when the org lost the candace conti case, the court ordered (pending the appeal) that the org would have to deposit several million$ as security.

the puzzling thing is, the org got a bond company to put up the millions, thereby incurring heavy interest charges.

i've always wondered, 'why?????????'.

JeffT

I doubt the WTBS has a huge amount of available cash. If they are smart everything beyond immediate need is invested in something. Using a bond company doesn't require a huge amount of cash, so they don't have to sell their investments to have it sit in the court's account doing nothing.

Back when I was in (OK I'm dating myself here) when the Watchtower and Awake sold for .25 each they moved about 10-12 million copies of each issue. They didn't care if they were placed or not because they got the money from the publishers when we picked up our magazines. Thats two to three million dollars four times a month. That's a cash cow no matter what business you're in. Since they went to the donation arrangement I imagine they've been more strapped for available cash.

Absent financial transparency there is no way to judge their financial status. They're showing signs of financial strain. Going to a pledge contribution might help make up for the loss of revenue from the publishing arm.

29

CANDACE CONTI & THE NEW CONTRIBUTION DEMAND

by The Searcher in

when the org lost the candace conti case, the court ordered (pending the appeal) that the org would have to deposit several million$ as security.

the puzzling thing is, the org got a bond company to put up the millions, thereby incurring heavy interest charges.

i've always wondered, 'why?????????'.

JeffT

YES! I don't know why I didn't think about this. I'm familiar with some aspects of funing non-profits. Banks are very wary of them because the income stream is uncertain (as opposed to a business that can produce sales records, or better yet solid documents like contracts or leases. Pledges are not quite as solid as contracts, but they are better than just donations, because there is a written document noting future payments.

75

HOME SCHOOL and the upcoming generation of scientifically illiterate kids

by Terry in

jw
friends

when i worked for a book store i became familiar with beka text books for home school.. i spoke with the mothers who came looking for them.

i realized something didn't smell right.. then, i realized there are a couple of generations of fundamentalist kids who have had no exposure.

to the scientific method, science facts or any conversancy with physics or biology or history as a result of beka textbooks.. in a nutshell here is the situation:.

JeffT

Nobody is censoring you. I guess you like living in ignorance of possibilites you have no experience with. I'll stop bothering you with alternatives ways of thinking.

5

We take you now to the DUH room for a New Light bulletin . . .

by Terry in

imagine a large open field filled with old dudes wearing headphones attached to metal detectors searching for.

anything of value in the middle of nowhere .

imagine these old dudes are the governing body of jehovah's witnesses .

JeffT

That stuff didn't come from a field somewhere. They tapped into the bottom of my tool box. Too bad I can't get them to clean the whole garage for me.

75

HOME SCHOOL and the upcoming generation of scientifically illiterate kids

by Terry in

jw
friends

when i worked for a book store i became familiar with beka text books for home school.. i spoke with the mothers who came looking for them.

i realized something didn't smell right.. then, i realized there are a couple of generations of fundamentalist kids who have had no exposure.

to the scientific method, science facts or any conversancy with physics or biology or history as a result of beka textbooks.. in a nutshell here is the situation:.

JeffT

BOTR (and a couple of others)

Generally I appreciate your comments, but sometimes I wonder if you even read what other people are posting. Try to get your head around this:

"Homeschooling" is a big tent that contains many methods of accomplishing the task. These range from great to awful.

Not all homeschoolers are fundamentalists. Not all homeschooling programs are run by and for fundamentalists.

Not all homeschool programs involve isolating the children involved.

Not all homeschoolers are taught by just their parents.

As noted earlier, we have our granddaughter in a very progressive homeschool support program. At mimimum, all of the teachers have MA's. A few have PhD's. Class size is VERY low, groupings are by ability, not age. There is no religious agenda. There are ample opportunities for social activities. Before you shut your mind to the possibilities, you should make some effort to find out what's out there instead of tarring all of us who homeschool with a broad brush based only on your preconceived ideas about what we do.

75

HOME SCHOOL and the upcoming generation of scientifically illiterate kids

by Terry in

jw
friends

when i worked for a book store i became familiar with beka text books for home school.. i spoke with the mothers who came looking for them.

i realized something didn't smell right.. then, i realized there are a couple of generations of fundamentalist kids who have had no exposure.

to the scientific method, science facts or any conversancy with physics or biology or history as a result of beka textbooks.. in a nutshell here is the situation:.

JeffT

Terry, as a history buff I applaud your game, its a good one. Here's a set of events to put in the correct order: the start of the civil war, the confederate states suceeding, Lincoln's election, and Lincoln taking office.

We are currently home schooling our grandaughter, with the help of a three day a week support program. It's a good blend of structured education, socialization, and time to enhance her education ourselves. It helps that her father (our son), her aunt, her grandmother (an early childhood educator) and myself all have college educations. The support program is doing some really innovative things, particularly with teaching math and reading/writing. In the four years we've been there, every one of their graduates has been accepted into every college they applied to.

I agree with what Blondie quoted from Bill Nye, there is a remarkable like of critical thinking going on.

43

Which of the SEVEN stages of post JW behavior are you in right now?

by Terry in

1. they done me wrong.

2. i'm depressed.

3. i'm gonna act like an apostate (smoke, drink, drugs, sex, outrageous behavior).

JeffT

To borrow from AA, I'm at step 12, sharing my experience, strength and hope with others so they can have an easier exit.

I have better things to do than be angry, protest or othewise get my boxers in a knot over JW related stuff. Besides I don't want to give the Watchtower that much power in my life.

49

Misappropriation of funds (Project for an Assembly Hall in Guadalajara)

by avaddohn94 in

at the extj.com forum, a very serious scandal is being discussed regarding a potential misappropriation of funds by mexico's branch.. http://www.extj.com/showthread.php?24740-denuncia--quot-proyecto-fantasma-quot-salon-de-asambleas-de-guadalajara-o-robo-de-fondos.

though the situation may not be quite uncommon, below you will find an overview:.

a member of mexico's branch committee went to guadalajara to inform the brothers that a plot of land had been donated for the construction of an assembly hall.

JeffT

I bet the donors gave the WT the rights.

I agree with this. Whatever else goes on, the Watchtower's lawyers are not stupid. They are also the only attorney's involved in these deals, so the usual give and take between two sets of lawyers never takes place. Watchtower legal writes it up the way they want it and then tell the brothers in the KH's where to sign, all the while telling them that they have everybody's best interests in mind.

I keep thinking of the scene in "The Social Network" when Eduardo realizes that he's been screwed because he let Zuckerberg's lawyer write up all the paperwork.

49

Misappropriation of funds (Project for an Assembly Hall in Guadalajara)

by avaddohn94 in

at the extj.com forum, a very serious scandal is being discussed regarding a potential misappropriation of funds by mexico's branch.. http://www.extj.com/showthread.php?24740-denuncia--quot-proyecto-fantasma-quot-salon-de-asambleas-de-guadalajara-o-robo-de-fondos.

though the situation may not be quite uncommon, below you will find an overview:.

a member of mexico's branch committee went to guadalajara to inform the brothers that a plot of land had been donated for the construction of an assembly hall.

JeffT

On the other hand, if after the analysis it is determined that this construction will not take place, each circuit can determine if they want that their donations be placed in deposit with the branch office or if they wish to make a donation to the worldwide work.

Wow. That's like putting your money in the bank and then getting a letter asking if you want the bank manager to have it or should he give it to the assistant manager.

206

Took my son (5 yrs) shooting for his first time.

by dazed but not confused in

i went with my neighbor to an outdoor shooting range in the pawnee national grasslands in colorado.

its about 2 hours northeast of denver.

it was awesome.

JeffT

A basic mistake a lot of parents who own firearms have made in the past though is (Perhaps inadvertently) creating the ultimate "Forbidden fruit."

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

We are members at an outdoor range that has skeet shooting, rifle ranges, pistol ranges, archery ranges and fishing. My kids know that we can go shooting anytime they like to fish, shoot or practice archery. They have had hunter safety classes, firearms safety training and, pretty much any day of the week go shooting if they like. Every time they go they are reminded of safety rules, have to practice them and have to clean the guns when they are done.

Guns are absolutely no mystery to them and there is no fascination with them whatsoever. They are both excellent shots, know safety inside and out and have never attempted to play with a gun unsupervised. There is no mystery there.

Sounds exactly like my upbringing, and you are right. The key word is in all of this is responsibility. I learned a very long time ago that handling a weapon of any sort was a privlege that carried a weighty responsibility.

In looking over your photographs I was concerned that there was no protection from other shooters and their children.

Since this appears to be a public range I assume (big assumption which I would not make if I was actually there, I'd confirm it before using the range) that there is a range warden on site to insure safety.