Sushi

Just as an aside, I find it amusing I've never been moderated (at least, not to my knowledge, though there was that one probably deserved dressing down in the chat room many moons ago ). I suspect my reputation is that of the big (true), bad (debatable) unbeliever (also debatable). I guess my point is (other than the one on top of my head), Paw will have to decide what kind of site this is going to be, whether a pro (not likely) anti (also not likely) or somewhere in between Way site. The last one is the most difficult, since each type of community has its overt and 'understood' rules. If it is decided what type this is going to be, those who are not in the 'favored' camp (this is organizational behavior, and is true of ANY group of people) may have to find or start another site for those whose opinions differ from the stated objective of the site. That being said, I don't envy your job, Paw. I trust you will do what's best for you first, and the community at large, second.

You'll need your wife's help with this, but, I hear a pillow across the face works rather well. The only difficulty is, it tends to leave indents on the inside of your mouth. This is how the local Quincy snags those people.

In lieu of the above mentioned links, you can download a thirty eight minute presentation from Love and Logic HERE! .

I'd like to apologize for some of my fellow posters, but I would prefer they do that themselves, for the less than welcome reception you have received. Particularly, Seth and Oklahoma City WOW. I just don't see how it benefits anyone but yourselves to have hurled a fiery dart at 'the enemy'. I'm not interested in the site, but I know I'm not the only person on the planet. As such, it doesn't matter to me how many sites there are pro or con with respect to TWI. To each his/her own.

HERE!

I went out with a mini-bang (this was written when I was themanofathousandscreennames ) Life was fairly uneventful until the early spring of 1984. This is when the excrement impacted the rotating oscillator. Jim, one of my friends in the organization, was having a rougher than normal period in his life. It was thought it was due to the major influence of the organization. I know this will come as a shocking revelation to anyone who has had contact with the organization for any length of time. Jim had a friend named Peter. Peter is a former member of The Way Corps. This is the leadership training program for the organization. After spending the day with him, we all decided it would be in our better interests to disassociate ourselves from the organization. Needless to say, the world as I knew it came to an abrupt end. On the way home, I elected to do all the driving. It was an eight hour trip. I needed something to occupy my hands, since my head was doing donuts in the parking lot of my mind. One of the methods the organization uses to keep the rank and file in line is the threat of being marked and avoided. This is very similar to the Amish practice of shunning. Within days, people who were supposedly my best friends had great difficulty if not found it impossible to talk to me. My social circle disappeared faster than a computer file can. Later on, I made the apparent mistake of talking to someone who expressed a desire to extricate themselves from the evil empire. I hadn't even set a date to talk further to this person when I got a phone call from one of thelocal gang leaders. It was approximately 11 o'clock at night. I had been asleep for about an hour. Therefore, I was fairly foggy for most of the phone call. The last thing this person said to me was (and this is a paraphrase) "You better walk down the street looking behind your back". This was should I have continued talking to people who were dissatisfied with the status quo of the organization. An obvious attempt at the "love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation". I've since learned, they tack on "toward the household". Present truth abounds. The rest of the story is in the "My Story" forums.

As it did me, Mstar. My song is THIS one.

Unfortunately, the links don't seem to be working. I'll have to beat Rick senseless now.

Since parenting skills (or the lack thereof) has been brought up in another thread, I thought I would resurrect this thread for those who still have children at home. I would say, it's a far more practical way to do this than 'suggested' by the evil empire.

Abi and I (read I ) started hanging clothes on the line instead of using the dryer. The original reason was I think they smell better. However, with gas being what it is.....

Here comes the comic relief......... I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well...are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" He said, "Baptist!" I said, "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" He said, "Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off. (courtesy of Emo Phillips)

***POSTED BY ABIGAIL - OOPS AGAIN!!***** Got it yesterday. Ordered it from Amazon through the link on the front page of the cafe last Thursday. I'm looking forward to reading it tonight!

****POSTED BY ABIGAIL - - - I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING I FORGOT TO DO BEFORE I POSTED THIS*** Jonny, I kinda liked Bumpy. He irritated me at times, but he also made me laugh at myself at times. BUT . . .he does know how to contact Paw - at least he used to. Paw has confirmed this as well - unless you think Paw is outright lying?? Also, earlier in the post you said Bumpy never got an email from anyone regarding his suspension, yet you just posted one that he did, apparently, receive . . . makes me go hmmmmmmm Bumpy is a very skilled communicator. IF he wanted to truly work something out with Paw or any other moderator, he is quite capable of taking it up with him/them, directly. I have been caught in this snare you currently find yourself in more than once. A time or two my heart strings were tugged or my emotions rattled and I took up the cause with Paw directly. A time or two I got involved with threads similar to this one, that someone else started. The last couple of people who attempted to drag me into this type of situation, I refused to play with. Why? Because it is a game. Its a popularity contast. The idea is that if you can stir up enough posters to get mad at Paw and side with Bumpy, then maybe he will be allowed to play here again. Or conversely, if you can get enough people mad at Paw he will suddenly become a different person with a different perspective. But think about that . . . do we really want the moderators to base decisions on popularity? Do we want those who are "popular" to be allowed to violate the rules while those who are not, get suspended or banned? Or do we want the rules to be applied as equally as possible across the board - regardless of how much they are liked or disliked by the majority of the posters here??? Me, I prefer the latter. For whatever reason, Bumpy is pulling you into his game. He is, in a sense at least, using you to stir a pot. You don't have to like or agree with all of the decisions made by Paw and the moderators here. I certainly don't like them or agree with every one of them. But I have learned to respect the fact that they do the best the can. Bumpy is a grown man. He doesn't need you to be his spokesperson. he is baiting you and you have swallowed the hook. Let him fight his own battle. Really, he is far more likely to earn respect from the moderators, as well as other posters here, if he talks this out privately with Paw and the mods, than if he continues to use you as his "champion."

Know what you get when you throw a grenade into a French kitchen? Linoleum blown apart.

Showing your age there, Steve.

Yes, T Bone, comedy is a serious business. Here's the the geekiest joke I know (even I had to look it up). Why did the cat fall off the roof? It lost its 'mew'.

Well, Specific kind of car accident (T-Bone), there's a 'litmus' test for this kind of humor........

Since we seem to be on a scientific bent here..... What did one base say to the other? Let's get the 'h' outta here.

This is one of my all time favorites.... Two hydrogen atoms meet in the street. One says to the other, "I think I lost an electron". Second one says, "Well, are you sure?" First one says............. "Yes, I'm "positive"....

Oh great, TWI, the gift that just keeps on giving POSTED BY ABIGAIL

I'm really not trying to be an a-hole here, but I have a problem with the whole 'rescue' thing. If, as the bible says, we needed rescuing, why do we need it? We need it because GOD set it up that way. He created Lucifer, knowing full well Lucifer was going to rebel against heaven and he was going to throw him in the pit of hell (or wherever he got sent). Later on, Lucifer tempts Eve to 'rebel' against God too. God knew this was going to happen also. If he didn't, then he isn't omniscient (and, perhaps, not all powerful). It seems to me, this little morality play was/is a bad bet for all concerned.

Well, if you like that one.......... Buddha handed the hot dog vendor a twenty dollar bill for his food. After a few uncomfortable seconds, he asks for the rest of the money back. Wait for it. Wait for it. The vendor said, "Change comes from within"

Another one from Heinlein: We are not punished FOR our sins, we are punished BY them.

Buddha goes up to a hot dog vendor and says, "Make me one with everything....."

Touche`