Belle

Mark, here's the link to information about that quote: Mean man. LVP, there is a lot of information here that you apparently haven't gotten to yet. May I kindly suggest that you spend some time looking up things like that and getting to know folks here a bit better before jumping to conclusions and judging people you obviously know nothing about. There were women who spoke up - LOUDLY and OFTEN who suddenly disappeared. There were women who were threated to the point of nervous breakdowns, suicide and worse. There were women who were ridiculed and called liars. There were men who spoke up, too. Here's fresh cuppa joe and a good thread to get you started. I suggest asking questions and utilizing the search function on the forum since you've obviously (hopefully) given us the wrong impression of you.

This is all nothing new. The only way to have a great conversation with WD that follows logic and reason is to stick to topics like dogs, music and flying pigs.

Nandon, they stepped down as RCs? Are they still full time staff? What are they called if they are over three states but not RCs? I'm corn-fused.

Abi, I love learning about Judaism through your sharings. :) It has been stereotype-breaking, enlightening and stimulating. Many thanks for taking the time to share these things with us. Very familiar, indeed! What I do believe Jesus taught, as well as other great leaders in varying religions and cultures. I think it's the one main idea that so many forget and ignore in their personal agendas. I guess I don't understand, though, why there are so many cumbersome, inconvenient, expensive and stringent rules, rituals and whatnot associated with Judaism (and every other religion) when it apparently isn't necessary based on the "love your neighbor as yourself" foundation. In many ways it encourages elitism, judgmentalism and self-esteem issues, no?

Sorry I'm late to the party! I hope it was a great one, George! Glad you got stuffed. Can you handle a little more birthday sushi? You're a stand up guy, George! I'm so happy to call you a friend.

Hi Sunesis, I'm a little late to the party but I hope you don't mind my 2 cents worth: I can understand that sometimes you'd like to have a "Christian" discussion about a topic without the non-Christian viewpoint being part of the discussion. Perhaps, in those cases, say so or merely ignore the viewpoints that take the discussion off on a tangent that you want to avoid? Kind of like at a party how one avoids those people they don't much care for. I have been involved with several threads where there are actually multiple discussions going on within the same thread. Two or three posters discussion one aspect of the topic, a different two or three discussing another and yet another group of posters on a whole nother topic. It can get confusing, but it does work. There are a few posters I don't even read unless someone makes a comment on it that indicates the poster might have actually made a coherent contribution. That being said, I have learned a great deal from those posters I least expected to. I love the doctrinal forum and, like Oakspear, I appreciate that one has to look for and work to get to these booths. I wish I had more time to spend here and there are things I have been looking into and pondering that I would love to get some perspective on. We have some superb brains down here and experts in areas that fascinate me. :)

Hi I just stopped by to make another deposit under the counter and enjoy a cuppa joe with my good friends. I see that the regulars in the peanut gallery are still attacking the victims and pouring salt into their wounds. My philosophy on this has always been that if they are ignored, they will have no fuel for the fires they try to start. We pick our battles and trying to reason with folks like WD and OM who, after all these years, have not grown to understand nor empathize with the plight of our brothers and sisters, is futile. I would like to merely alert a new poster to the fact that there is no need to engage or defend one's self to them and carry on with the original intent and topic of the thread. Threads get completely derailed, off topic and people get hurt when we take turns engaging and arguing the same things over and over and over and over again - ad nauseam with them. Those of us who have been here for any length of time already know what they are going to say and why we continue to even try to reason with them is beyond me. They have no decorum, no personal standards of decency and certainly no heart. Why do we continue to waste our time acknowledging any thing they have to say?

Walking on water is easy.

$3.92 in Orlando. I usually check www.gasbuddy.com or some other price watch site when it's time to fill up. We got $50 gas cards from work as a "thank you" and a "we feel your pain" mid-year surprise this year. I was figuring it would fill up the tank on about $40 but - no dice - the entire $50 did not fill up my tank. :( I'm just real thankful that I don't have one of those gas guzzling SUVs or land yachts that cost a fortune to fill. The profits of the oil companies is indeed infuriating as is the fact that the US has known this was coming but never allocated the resources toward dealing with it and/or coming up with alternative fuel sources. That, and we're all a bunch of Not in My Back Yard whiners when it comes to building new refineries and drilling sites. Do any of you hypermile?

(((((ex))))) Dunno what's up, but please know that I think the world of you and you are stronger than you think.

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS BOWTWI!!! So sorry I'm late to the party.... I was baking you some extra special treats for your birthday. Love ya bunches and bunches, Bow! :love3: :love3:

Awwwww, Rottie, they're doing the best they can. My first job was working for Wendy's and it would confuse the hell out of me when someone's order would come out to $5.61 and they'd give me $6.11 or something like that to make the change come out even or to avoid getting pennies back. I'm sure they they thought I was the biggest idiot on the face of the earth. Now I'm one of those people giving the cashier $6.11.

You lived longer than I did, MStar. I died at 9. Does that mean I went to hell? This sure ain't heaven!

:eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: I know I'm late to the party, but WAY TO GO!!!! A huge hearty congrats!!

I just want to curl up and die when I think of some of the things I did and said while deeply entrenched in TWIt doctrine. My Sales Manager received a beautiful diamond cross for Christmas one year. She was proudly showing it to all of us and I just sneered and asked her if she'd be wearing it so proudly if Jesus had been killed on an electric chair or with a machine gun.

I hope that was an "Ask me how to live The Way of Abundance and Power" bumper sticker!

(((((JavaJane))))) Hugs to you and your loved one! Two books that I can not recommend highly enough are "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse" and "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves". Steve Hassan also has his own website at: http://www.freedomofmind.com/ where you will undoubtedly find some valuable information. "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse" is great for seeing how TWI twisted scriptures to manipulate us and for alleviating some of the guilt and condemnation that we feel when we leave. "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves" is a great book for helping others and self-help. I gave a copy of this book to my therapist after I decided he was the best one to help me (finding a good therapist is important - not just anyone can effectively counsel people in our situation). I was in my 20's when I got involved with TWI so I had an easier time of getting back to what Steve Hassan calls our "aunthentic self". I think someone raised in TWI or who got involved at an early age and spent most of their life in the thick of things may have a more difficult time than those of us who were only involved for a relatively small percentage of our lives. Therapy, journaling, developing hobbies (or doing those, "I've always wanted to...." things), talking with "never been TWI" friends and family, doing things that were verboten in TWI... all helped me tremendously. The good patrons here at the GSpot are/were/have been/will be invaluable resources, support and, most importantly - friends throughout my growing pains. If you decide to buy one of those books (or anything else for that matter) from Amazon, please remember to use Paw's link on the front page of the Cafe so he gets credit for the sale. :) Best wishes for you and your loved one.

A fire and explosion, Paw? Is everything okay? Are YOU okay? Nothing personal destroyed, I hope!

Precisely why I LOVE Chas's signature: "The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?"

This Rose?

That's really cool, Dove!! Add some of my gum under one of those tables and you'd have something really authentic, there.

:( What a bummer, Shellon. That's where coming from a small southern town comes in handy - half my class still lives in the same town and half of them probably still live with their parents.

Rhino, watch out for the brown wine.... just as bad as the brown... well, you know.... The Vicster's participation in testing some of Leary's experiments would certainly explain a lot, no? My favorite story, though, is Grace Slick talking about wanting to drop a hit in Nixon's drink when she got an invite to the White House.

*shrug* It seems only natural to me that we would have fluctuations (drastic ones at that) in our climate. You hear about winter and snow fall records being broken - you've got drought in some areas of the country and flooding in others - climates change - shift and cycle..... we only have a short time of accurate record keeping to look back on - I think hyper vigilance and paranoia is just that - paranoia - besides.... isn't there a verse somewhere about God protecting us??? Surely, He would even protect us from ourselves if it were true that we were the ones causing the demise of the Earth.....