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Michael Jackson, Child Abuse, and JW Apologist Firpo Carr

Michael Jackson, Child Abuse, and JW Apologist Firpo Carr

“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” – William James Recently, I participated in an online discussion in the comments of an article written by a prominent friend/adviser to the late Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson & Jehovah’s Witnesses, by Firpo Carr The Michael Jackson case and the issue of child abuse are both important to me, but I didn’t really know who Firpo Carr was when I made my first comment. I’d…

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The First Presidential Debate

The First Presidential Debate

I had signed up to rate the debates at “Rate the Debates,” because it was billed as getting a jump on the pundits. I was hoping that this would serve as a pulsepoint. I’m disappointed that the survey was more about the moderator’s performance than the substance of the debate itself. Overall, I thought both candidates did fairly well. They both got angry, but held their tempers. They both looked a little silly smiling when they were hearing digs aimed…

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Fun with Watchtower Covers

Fun with Watchtower Covers

Fun with Watchtower covers, from TruthBook Blue (this is number ten in a series!) [youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=4l3WNTu1oZk[/youtube] If you read this blog, I am quite sure that you already have an idea of what I might have to say about the following question: Does “the faithful and discreet slave” endorse independent groups of Witnesses who meet together to engage in Scriptural research or debate? This question – and its answer by the Governing Body – appeared in the September “Q&A” section of…

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Do Political Blogs Change Your Views on Issues?

Do Political Blogs Change Your Views on Issues?

In answer to NOW’s Question of the Week: Do you read blogs? Tell us if blogs change your views on political issues. Blogs are of many kinds: scrapbooks, personal journals, advertising spaces, photo logs. Political blogs are only one form of the blog. The blogosphere is about freedom of expression – dittoheads, propaganda portals, soap boxes, fake identities, but also debate, discussion, original ideas, and scrapbooked information/evidence/argument. Some political blogs actually investigate and report news. Some are focused tightly on…

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Atheism is Not Enough

Atheism is Not Enough

Slavoj Žižek makes a very interesting defense of atheism in the editorial “Defenders of the Faith” (New York Times, 3/12/06). Certainly atheism deserves the restoration of the inherent dignity of its position. But his overall argument, at least in the context of our current realities, is flawed. It could be a readerly effect, since the article looks as though it might have been chopped up. (Boo-hiss to the editor if that is the case – Žižek deserves better.) Still, I…

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