James Thomas Rook Jr.

I have no idea what a fictional character would have thought, perhaps dis-interest. .... as I do give it some thought. Hmmmmm .... OK... got it. Mike Hammer would have absolutely NO INTEREST in Science Fiction, but he ( say, he went with some Dame wit' beautiful gams to da' show..) would not be horrified by things that King David of Israel, coming home after a hard day of slaughtering the enemies of God in close hand-to-hand combat, his clothes covered in blood and pieces of sticky gore, and globs and smears of their stomachs and intestines stuck to his armor, as he ripped them open with a sword or spear, and their guts fell out in a steaming mass on the ground, and they screamed and cried in agony, or after chopping a Philistine in the throat, watching him unsucessfully try to stop the torrent of blood, as it squirted through the fingers clasped to his throat, and he lay there, gurgling and wheezing through lungs filling up with his own blood. ... but those "Alien" franchise movies are firmly entrenched in contemporary popular culture, and have become the "new norm" and make Mike Hammer's visuals tame in the extreme. The same was true about everyday life in King David's time ... but today reality has been Bugs Bunny sanitized. Just as today, we think Rhett Butler's exclamation of "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn ... " in the Civil war era movie "Gone with the Wind", which line was scandalous at the time and worthy of censorship by many, an irrelevant "nothing issue", today. I remember BOTH "Worlds"., and understand King David's world. ... and I used to be a pacifist, until I understood reality. ... and when I can, I even take spiders outside, so they do not go hungry. And that, as Mike Hammer would say ... is the bird's-eye low-down on THAT caper ...

See? He applied pressure and the poor miscreant stopped bubbling! Tell me you have not seen the movie ALIEN, or any of the sequels. .

Most engineers I know have been married three times ...

I consider Mickey Spillane and myself to be kindred spirits .... he carried a 1911 .45 cal. pistol at all times, but I carry a .38 Special S&W with less power at all times. I positively gushed when I learned that an elderly Brother in the Congregation knew him personally, went to his Congregation, and had lunch many times at his house. I don't gush very easily, and almost never. In MY generation ... he was at least as famous as Michael Jackson ...., and although many will not be able to understand why I think so ... with his personality he HAD to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and was to all reports, faithful until his death. ... and by today's standards, his writing was quite tame. At one time, the line "Frankly Scarlet, I don't give a damn!" ..... was scandalous. . .

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Sometimes, everybody involved has to just use their best educated judgement about things ......

Not for you ......

I married a wonderful Sister just three years ago when I was 67, and she was 55. First two wives ran off, one to her first love, the other for no stated reason. You have to have patience! In the MEANTIME ... get a Puppy! ... and count your blessings! It's ALL A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE!

Some Jehovah's Witnesses are pacifists ... what my Mother saw as a Navy Nurse in WWII made her into a pacifist .. and then, later, she became one of Jehovah's Witnesses. There are probably as many gradations of "pacifist" as there are different personalities. The thing to remember is that Jehovah God is NOT a Pacifist ... remember Armageddon? Also, his Field Commander, Jesus Christ is not a pacifist .... he will be LEADING the slaughter. And although I spent 17 years as a pacifist, having been taught by my Mother, I learned the REAL ISSUE is Neutrality.... NOT pacifism ... although if you are so inclined, there is absolutely NO scriptural sanction AGAINST becoming a professional victim. There is where "freedom of conscience" comes into play. WAR is, among the affairs of men, and also with God and his Christ, is ALWAYS a political conflict ... where parties war, and the winner makes the loser obey. Personal self defense, divorced from politics, is NOT war. Personal self defense is ALSO one of those subjects where "freedom of conscience" comes into play. Unfortunately, people bend the Scriptures to make it follow their distorted view of being peaceable with all men ... when the Scripture says (paraphrased?) 'As far as possible, as much as it DEPENDS ON YOU, be peaceable with all men ..", and it is then that the sheep get sheared and eaten. .

The previous were NOT rhetorical questions ... each person has an answer .... his or her survival and self respect depends on the correct one. The Brothers and Sisters in Malawi chose badly ..... and the "Bus Driver" whistled as he went home and had a fine meal, and slept safely in a comfortable room with clean sheets, satisfied in a job well done.

Then after 100 years and more, the bus driver is forced to admit by secular authorities that it is NOT specifically instructed in the route (inspired), and gets routes WRONG, and NEVER apologizes for trips that waste your time, wandering around in the dark .... (examples are legion ... "new light", means you are APOSTATIZING from what the bus driver knew and TAUGHT, yesterday...), it is best to know where the emergency exits are ... just in case .... if the company has not welded them shut!

What do you do when the bus driver is OBVIOUSLY lost? Or he is driving at night, and says he can see perfectly well, but the headlamps are not working? Or he is abusive to passengers who complain his driving is dangerous .. and he NEEDS TO TURN ON THOSE HEADLIGHTS! ? Or you are aware of his LOOooong history of injuring passengers when they try to get on or off the bus? And I think Micah's comment is quite pertinent, also ... don't confuse an imitation of a bus, for a real bus. They are NOT the same, bold markings on the side to the contrary.

bruceq: your answer was NOT really an answer to the question ... BECAUSE YOU CAN'T. YOU KNOW TO ANSWER IT WOULD INVALIDATE YOUR ARGUMENT AS APPLYING TO THE TOPIC BEING DISCUSSED. THAT IS WHY you did not directly answer the question.

Melinda: It is not a bad idea that when doesn't have the slightest idea about something to say "I don't know". I don't know! BUT.. I can GUESS out the wazoo without being intellectually dishonest if I clearly label what I say as a WILD GUESS ... which I hereby do. The following is a WILD GUESS! I believe HE believed this is what was happening, but the tenses of the verbs may have been mangled in translation. I know of NO scientific principle that would explain what superficially is said to be happening ... it it is probable that I would know. .

bruceq: Your reply did not even ATTEMPT to answer the simple, direct, fair question.

What you have observed if it was true ... is EVOLUTION. Future generations are shaped by what happens to existing generations. If this were true ... after 4,000 or more years ... all Jewish males would be born circumcised. .

Fairie tales told by an old woman are entertaining .. but can be safely ignored. Fairie tales told by a REAL FAIRIE ... better pay some attention to them. The people Queen Esther quoted are the real deal .... ... I keep up with genetics.

Bruceq: Are you saying that if I am greviously injured, or any of my Brothers are greviously injured by some petty tyranny ( as opposed to grand tyranny .. like being taken outside to a pit and being shot in the back of the head...), by those charged with shepherding the congregation, that I am supposed to sit back and smile while or after a figurative corkscrew is or has been inserted in my butt and rotated, or sit by and watch it being done without vehement protest? .... I look forward to your answer.

Those that can ....do. Those that can't ... teach Those that can't teach ... teach gym. Those that cant teach gym, sell real estate. etc., etc.

It's a known fact that thinking in meters gives people enough free time to plan World Wars.

Thankew! (... flutters eyelashes...)

Misconceptions about food are very common ... ... and of course, I eat with my fingers, or eat like a duck .... sometimes I crack walnuts between my forearm and biceps, and inhale them, shells and all.

What's that in REAL feat and inches?

bruceq: No... there is no similarity ... Moses was not only inspired by God .. through an Angel he spoke directly with God, and God performed MANY bonafide miracles through him. Neither I or the Governing Body is inspired by God or are infallable ... in BOTH cases its only a guess ... we are both blind. However, every once and awhile ... even blind squirrels find an acorn ... and when they cross the road ... or cross roads at other squirrels' urging ... they get killed or maimed.

Eoin: sigh ... let me rephrase that and add a short comment ... If they are wrong ... WE still have to pay the price. If the Collective Governing Body makes a mistake, and Brothers die or their lives are destroyed unnecessarily ... who fires the Governing Body? They were FORCED by the Australian Royal Commission ( by being put under Oath ...) to admit for the first time that they were neither inspired by God, nor infallible. They never even APOLOGIZE for being wrong.