Mike Rinder's Blog

Something Can Be Done About It

A Lot To Be Thankful For

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thanksgiving

Thursday Funnies will be published tomorrow.

I wanted to take a moment on Thanksgiving to reflect on what I believe is important in life and what we should be truly thankful for:

1. Family — except in rare circumstances (unfortunately not so rare for readers here) they are always there for you. Don’t ever take them for granted.

2. Real friends — who share their friendship because they want to and not because anyone tells them they should or shouldn’t be.  Real friends would never abandon you because someone told them you were bad. Real friends are there for you to share good times and help when they’re not so good.

3. Good health.

4. The ability to think for yourself and not be bound by enforced notions of what is right or wrong. To give no unthinking deference to sacred cows, no matter who proclaimed them to be so.

5. The freedom to speak, write, sing, dance, paint or otherwise communicate to anyone of your choosing about anything you wish.

6. The right to live according to your conscience, and not arbitrarily dictated “norms of behavior.” This really sums up in my mind to being the right to be a decent, caring human being.

You may have others, these are what are important for me.

I wish everyone who reads this blog, commenters and Special Correspondents a wonderful Thanksgiving. And if you are not in the US, and this is not a big family holiday for you, take a minute today anyway to consider the things that are important to you and remind yourself not to take them for granted.

 

 

Comments

  2. I love your list and besides that I give thanks to you Mike for being here and to all other people on this blog whether I agree with them or not. But most are witty and make my day.

    THANKS!

    Reply

  3. Very nicely put Mike. Not in the States myself but I’ll certainly share those sentiments with you. I hope that through your work here and that of all those other brave individuals out there including Marty, Mosey, Steve and Karen, that these will also become realized for real by many more still inside.All the very best to you and your family and keep up the good work.

    Reply

  4. Mike

    You and the others missed the point completely.

    I was using the anaology of mathematics. And as for you mate Pepper, yes he/she misinterpreted totally my comments

    I don’t have the time to muck about. You can spend the rest of your life attacking Scientology or you can embrace it and use it. Its up to you as I tell people.

    I don’t sit down and explain Dianetics to people, if they cannot get though it, move on to the next person who can and get them auditing and training.

    But this blogs wishy washy commments implying how you cant say this, and you cant say that and how you must walk on eggshells in case you upset someone or refute their point of view is ludicrous.

    It is a race against time and we are losing thanks to the Dwarf and his IAS minions.

    I see some excellent posts in here from some very clever and well trained articulate people.

    I see others who are either nuts or just stupid.

    Sorry for saying this but its what I see.

    I don’t bear you any ill will either I think your a bloke who had a hard, hard time.

    But if I quote Ethics, Justice and the Dynamics you will only get pissed off at me.

    We can fight it we can debate it forever, but when LRH wrote it and I see it happening day after day I have to accept it as I experience it and sadly you say this makes me a bigot or a fundamentalist.

    Well I am proud to be so.

    again, I wish you a very happy seasons holidays and keep up the excellent work of winding up the dwarf.

    regards

    Reply

    • Unfortunately, what you don’t appear to see is yourself.

      I know that it seems empowering to have absolute certainty about everything — I lived that life for many years. But for those who don’t share your certainty that you know all the answers because they are found in scientology, you appear to be an arrogant fool. I dont think you are either, but it’s not a very flattering light you put yourself in. Amongst those who are as certain as you that they have all answers to life, you will be applauded and lauded (as long as it you are among those who believe in your version of “I’ve got all the answers” and not bible, or Koran or Old Testament or or or — but with everyone else, which is the overwhelming majority of humanity, it’s not pretty.

      But you are just as entitled to hold and speak these views as anyone else is.

      Sincerely, Mr. Wishy Washy

      Reply

  6. Wonderful sentiments, Mike. And a belated Thanksgiving to you and the family.

    I’ve said this many times before and will repeat again: In my view, what really sets you apart from others who have formerly occupied the top echelons of Scn, is your unique mix of in depth insider knowledge, a forthright, yet surprisingly resilient attitude, devoid of any obvious malice and a clear sense of gratitude toward the ol’ man and his original legacy. All that and a razor sharp sense of ready humor to wit, rounds off the package!!

    While so much attention is constantly focused on what is WRONG with Scientology, you stand as a shining example of what was RIGHT about it all along. Increased awareness, freedom, (including freedom FROM dramatization), a great work ethic and most importantly, all while having FUN! 🙂

    Thank you, friend!

    — Calvin.

    Reply

  8. Mike, what a beautiful, poignant gratitude list! I find it deeply moving to read. I’m so happy, after all you’ve been through, that you are now able to feel and express these sentiments and that they have come true for you. I wish you, the people you love and care about, and the people who love and care about you, a wonderful Thanksgiving. I also hope and wish, as more and more folks are waking up and leaving the CoS, that you will see more and more of your family’s and friends’ smiling faces sitting around your table in the years to come. Here’s a toast to that inevitability and my sincere hope that they start arriving at your door no later than this year. Cheers!

    And I wish the same for all the extraordinary readers and commenters on this equally extraordinary blog. I am grateful and I am humbled.

    Thank you, Mike, for all the time and effort spent on keeping this blog going and growing and thank you, too, for moderating and keeping this community together. My appreciation and thanks to all of you who are part of this community. May the family and friends missing from your Thanksgiving table this year start arriving at your doorstep in time for the next celebration, too. My hope for all of you is that no one loses hope – that you will all be reunited. And soon!

    Palm to palm, with a bow in deepest respect and gratitude.

    Reply

  9. I cannot thank you enough, Mike, for everything you do and say, for your having had the courage to leave and speak out, for sharing your wonderful family with all of us, THANK YOU…
    I pray that next Thanksgiving you and every reader is blessed by having their families reunited.

    Reply

  10. Mike thanks for sharing your stories and thoughts about life and thx a million for exposing the dirty laundry of the C of S and thanks a billion for giving people a warning sign about the downside and hidden side about being involved in the world of Scientology. I hope you continue…..

    Reply

  11. I second the thanks of your other posters. You are a way station on the underground railroad to freedom for so many trying to make their escape.

    Best wishes to you and yours.

    Reply

  13. Thank you for what you do every day, helping the “insiders” get free.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your family, in or out.
    Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there.

    Reply

  16. Happy Thanksgiving to all!! Thanks for the very true reminders Mike.

    My hope is for those who have family in will be reunited soon.

    Reply

  17. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

    One meaningful way to express our thanks for this amazing, one-of-a-kind blog, and to Mike for his courage and wit and hard work, is to follow the “Click here to donate” link near the top right of the page. Mike is doing this in his own free time — time that he could be spending with his family, or on more profitable endeavors, or just kicking back and popping a bottle on the back deck. We are all in his debt. Maybe we can balance things out a little bit for the holidays.

    Reply

  19. I’m thankful for all the people who have put out or continue to put out information so that lost souls can find it and one day set themselves free. I am grateful for the threads I followed that led me out of the scientology maze and taught me not to wander right into the next one. I am grateful for my mother, who is the warmest and most beautiful person in my life. And I am thankful for the Internet and the opportunity it provides to meet so many likeminded people – feel a little bit of life again.

    Happy thanksgiving, enjoy each day as you can.

    Reply

  20. Thanks to everyone here freely expressing their own point of view.

    Thanks to you, Mike, for providing the platform.

    Thanks to everyone who had the courage to come out in the open and expose the abuses.

    Trying to summarize all the things I’m really grateful for is hard. But one of the major ones is that I’m very grateful to have acquired the ability to grant beingness to others, to see their beauty, and no longer feel the need to “correct” them, but only to help, when my help is requested.

    Reply

    • Wait…what? Dude, I thought the Idle Morgues were the islands of sanity? Wait…no, I guess I meant to say the islands of INSANITY. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Come in to an Idle Morgue and go straight down the rabbit hole into oblivion.

      Reply

  27. Myself, I am thankful that a certain Mr. Rinder is willing to contribute his time and expertise shining a light into a dark, festering corner where many are still trapped. We may never know exactly how many have made the leap to freedom enabled by this blog, but it is quite a few for sure.

    Reply

  28. Mike, family and all bloggers,
    Have a wonderful in PT Thanksgiving.
    It looks like most of us have come a long way and there is so much to be grateful for to cherish
    today and in the future.
    Greta

    Reply

  32. You summed up a
    life that is being well lived.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you, Christie, Jack and Shane
    You are doing important work for which for which we are extremely thankful.
    Love, Michael, Joy, Sky, and the Pack

    Reply

  33. I give thanks to all my friends and fellow whistle blowers, bloggers commenters and former Scientologists -turned-activists, who continue to expose the criminal and immoral organization calling itself the Church of Scientology. Wishing you all the best for this holiday season!

    Reply

  35. A great pleasure to be a part of this blog & I wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to you Mike and Christie and all those you love!!

    Reply

  38. Happy thanksgiving to you and you wonderful family and thank you again for the terrific job you’ve been doing with your blog. Your blog is an open door to the path of freedom and self determinism and it has been a great help to all of us.

    Reply

  40. Thankful that I got to sleep in today. Thankful that I’m not going to have to work and any work I choose to do is not going to be an exercise in futility. Thankful that I’m not going to be eating a special holiday meal in a mess hall.

    Reply

  41. Hi Mike,

    I have one for you.

    The inalieneble right to practice Standard Scientology Technology without criticism and without being labeled a robot, a bigot or any other nasty name by those that have failed in the subject or simply cannot understand it.

    Reply

    • Well, that’s not really one for me for two reasons:

      1. I dont believe there is anything wrong with criticism or people expressing their opinions. Nothing stops you from practicing scientology or anything else you wish. That is being allowed to act following your conscience. Sure I would like it if people didn’t criticize me for not saying what they want me to say on this blog (believe me, there are PLENTY of them). It is an unhappy existence to go through life thinking you are immune from negative comments or criticism.

      2. I do not believe that anyone that criticizes scientology has “failed in the subject or simply cannot understand it” — that is a very fundamentalist view. I don’t like fundamentalism in any form.

      Reply

      • Mike, you summed it up so well!
        Can’t help thinking of J Sweeney’s inalienable right to not to be called a bigot 🙂

        Happy Thanksgiving to you and family and all the people here!

        Reply

      • Right on Mike R. Hiatus57 wants the INALIENABLE right to be not labelled or criticized but needs to join the real world. He/she can believe whatever they do, But freedom of speech IS a right and let’s face it many people (including me) are robots at some levels of their lives. A few are bigots, though fortunately I don’t know any so I don’t invoke the b-word. I’m familiar with a so-called church that uses bigotry as a crutch word all the time to the point that it has lost meaning. Implicit in H57s statement is that people who don’t “practice Standard Scientology Technology” can be labelled with any such terms that H57 wants. By the way unclepepin I think John Sweeney wasn’t so much objecting to being called a bigot as simply saying he wasn’t one and based on what I know I’d have to agree. Unless of course your religion redefines (sorry word-clears) the traditional meaning.

        Reply

      • Well said Mike

        Strange comment that bit about “fundamentalist” not a word to be used lightly these days.

        So this means that if you have a Grade A in Advanced mathematics and you keep getting shouted at by twits who cannot even do basic arithmetic and you tell them to get educated or clear their MU’S this makes one a “fundamentalist”?

        Oh well, happy holidays to you and yours.

        regards

        Reply

        • Hmmm, not really a good analogy.

          If you believe that by studying scientology you have an advanced degree in religious studies/philosophy equivalent to mathematics, THIS is what I define as “fundamentalism”. Criticize a fundamentalist baptist and they will say the same thing — “youy don’t understand the word of God as literally written in the bible you poor, ignorant sinner.” The same will apply to Moslems. Jews. Mormons. It is a trait of fundamentalists to dismiss anyone who doesn’t see things their way as lacking in understanding/evil/foolish. And every one of those fundamentalists will offer those same arguments.

          When, like a graduate of advanced mathematics theory, you have studied ALL the different theories and hypotheses, then you could speak with authority. But interestingly, people who are REAL experts in a field usually don’t treat those who are not as well studied and expert as they are by dismissing them as “twits”. They tend to be more understanding.

          On the other hand, fundmanetalists tend to be very intolerant of anyone who doesnt agree with them.

          That is why I responded the way I did.

          I bear you no ill will, and wish you happy holidays too. Just trying to point out to you that the attitude of superiority “because I am a scientologist” is no less ugly than the attitude of superiority “because I read the bible literally.” Put you in a room with a fundamentalist christian and you would both conclude the other was ignorant and would both be absolutely convinced you were right and nothing would shake your certainty. The bible thumper because they “know” the word of God in the bible is the answer to everything and you because you “know” the words of L. Ron Hubbard are the answer to everything.

          Reply

      • Nice response to Hiatus57 Mike and very kind too.

        I interpreted H57’s comment about getting an advanced degree in Mathematics, etc to imply that H57 him/herself has an advanced education/training in Scientology and therefore has little patience or “tolerance” towards those who don’t, or those who have trained in Scientology but because they have opposing viewpoints, H57 concludes that they never fully understood what they studied and calls them “twits”.

        I know you already got that point based on what you said about people who are real experts in their field tending to be more understanding towards others who talk about their particular line of expertise. It’s very true across the board. On a side note, I personally know a few Scientologists who are very highly trained and have worked in the field of auditing and CSing their whole adult life and they never talk about people in this manner or talk down to them. Not the ones I have the pleasure to know anyway.

        Reply

    • Hiatus – I agree with your assessment. Too bad we can’t get meter reads on “Do you understand Scientology?” So many have tried, but no one really arrived at the specifications that Scientology contains. It is a path to greater understanding.

      Reply

  42. I’m thankful for the Independent field, for this blog , and for the freed theta created by all of you. Thank-you.

    Reply

  43. Happy Thanksgiving to all, especially those who have put away all their fears to speak out against the abuses. That aside, it’s going to be very interesting to hear what Priscilla and Lisa Presley have to say
    if they speak out, as predicted, on the upcoming HBO documentary.

    Reply

    • That is just speculation (that Lisa and Priscilla are going to be in Alex Gibney’s program) and I don’t believe it to be true. Don’t get your hopes too high on that count, but you can be pretty sure that Alex has done a bang-up job on his documentary….

      Reply

  47. Beautiful Mike. Wishing you and Christie a Thanksgiving full of love, comfort, the joy of family and friends, and food. Lots of it all!

    Reply

  48. Perfect Mike, I couldn’t agree more. I plan to count every blessing I have and savor them all including all the sassy, fringy, bitter apostate, unemployed internet blogger SPs. You’re an awesome bunch! I keep a simmering postulate in my heart, for family members to come to their senses and renew comm with their families. Don’t give up your integrity for anyone or anything……EVER.

    Reply

  49. Thanks for the message of reflection Mike. Those are the very things I am thankful for.
    I need only to think back to Thanksgiving two years ago (suffered in the Sea Org on the 6th floor of the Hollywood Guarantee Building) to be very grateful for all the family, friends and freedom that I now enjoy.
    Happy Thanksgiving and best wishes to all.

    Reply

  50. Thanks, Mike, and the same to you and to your family. Heck, even to the ones who are temporarily unable to read this. Let’s hope they’ll one day look back at all this with you and laugh.

    Reply

  51. (Burp**!) “Would you pass the cranberry sauce and stuffing plate over this way please? You know, there are ethics involved in everything, including passing cranberries and stuffing. You see, the admin scales involved are actually quite amazing and complex. The commands issued to extend the arm, for example, have a specific goal which might be stated as getting the fingers within grasping distance of the edge of the cranberry bowl, and a VFP of what one might call havingness of the bowl, with an ideal scene of being able to grasp the bowl – then there is a higher-up admin scale of which the arm extension might be a project, and that higher-up admin scale would presumably involve passing the bowl to the intended recipient … HEY!! Don’t throw that stuff!!”

    Happy Thanksgiving to all the ethical people in the world who actually have some idea what they’re doing, thanks to their corrct study and understanding of LRH and his magnificent work, Scientology.

    Reply

  52. Happy Thanksgiving! for you Mike and all .. but one point is to say .. wjshes for all good for everypne is to some degree stupid ..

    Reply

  54. Thanks for your thoughts Mike – I agree with you. My love to you and your wonderful family.

    And happy Thanksgiving to all of you that contribute to this forum.

    You may have seen my posts under MJ. I decided to use my regular name today.

    Reply

    • 🙂 Finally I get to know the name of the man that manages to crack me up many a times when reading through the comments section of this blog. Happy Thanksgiving Michael Mallen.

      Reply

      • Thank you CM and to all the others who responded. And to all you OSA lurkers, you can finally say to yourselves: “I always knew there was something funny about that guy!”

        Reply

    • Good on ya Michael! You have just kicked in yet another spoke of the cults wheels. Don’t forget the Indy 500 if you are so inclined!

      Hope your Thanksgiving Day was spectacular!

      Reply

      • Thanks Cooper. I spent it with my sister and her husband and ended up explaining my involvement in Scientology and the current lunacy. Hope yours was great. Giving thanks and gratitude is a spiritually rejuvenating experience.

        Reply

    • Hey welcome Mike Mallen! So nice to see the man behind MJ. I hope you join the Indie 500 and continue writing under your real name as another way to sock it to them. VWD to you for this. It helps.

      And by the way I know a girl named Diane Mallen. Were you ever related to Diane?

      Reply

  55. Wow! So much to be grateful for in my life: My wonderful family. My incredible friends, My magnificent surf buddies. Our good health. The fact that we actually have money in the bank. All the things we take for granted sometimes.

    I’m overly grateful to Mike Rinder for creating his blog. Unless I’m out of town, I check his blog every single day. It’s been a wealth of knowledge for me. I’m grateful for all you posters as I’ve learned so much for each of you.

    But, the biggest thing I’m grateful for is being out of the cult of wackos. The difference between being in and being out is like night and day.

    Mike, and all the posters, and all of your families, I wish you all a very blessed Thanksgiving. I’m just so grateful to be a part of this wonderful group. In the cult, there is no gratitude for anything unless you’re handing over wads of cash. But, gratitude is a game changer: Nothing new can come into your life until you’re grateful for what you already have.

    Oh yeah. I’m also grateful that it’s 77 degrees here at the beach today! I paddled out this morning for my Thanksgiving surf session. Nothing like surfing, turkey and football on a beautiful day like this! It just doesn’t get any better…

    Reply

  58. As always, very well said!

    Thanks for being there and doing what you do.

    Happy Thanksgiving and all the best.

    Bruce

    Reply

  59. Happy Thanksgiving Mike and everyone else on this blog. Thank you so very much for your voice and for sharing and revealing the truth!
    What a beautiful list that reflects the true and real importance in life! Very well said! Spot on! I am very Thankful for everything you do!

    Reply

  61. And thank you for LIFE so we all have the pleasure to experience it and enjoy it.

    Same here, Happy Thanksgiving to all Commenters, friends, family and of course Mike and his family. Have great time.

    Reply

  64. Thanks Mike – nicely put. I was feeling a little melancholy this morning for a lost brother – due to that very thing that you mention here: “#1 — not so rare for readers here” – It is funny that for me, the really big family days like Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. are the hardest, as they a huge reminder of what has been lost for many of us here. So many devastated families lie in the wake of David Miscavage’s tyranny.
    But I want to put the emphasis back on the goodness – we have been overwhelmed by the support and kindness of the group that tends to congregate here in support of all of those who need it after their escape from the Church’s clutches. So my thanks go out to all of you here – you are a good group. Wishing all of us happiness on this special day.

    Reply

  65. Points 1-6, excellent Mike!!
    Enjoy the day, your family and friends and all good thoughts in between. We’ll be here when you return.

    Odd

    Reply

  66. Happy Thanksgiving to all readers of this site. As I hit the road to spend a couple of days with my beloved family, who I thoroughly enjoy, I especially want to extend a warm sincere and heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to the people in OSA who will be forced to spend their Thanksgiving reading message boards and reporting back on comments. I hope by this time next year you are commenting here or even better, spending time with your family with no time to comment.

    Reply

  69. I am thankful for each and everyone of you here and of those like mind on this planet whether they know of this blog or not who reflect the sentiments written in your blog today. Mike, your comments reflect my sentiments and I thank you for their eloquence. Next year looks to be a year where the world will truly wake up to what the church has become (or may have always been).

    Reply

  70. We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in South Africa, but I am also thankful – to you, Mike, for being such a stable terminal, friend, confidante and general all-round good buddy. Thank you for everything you have and continue to do – you are an inspiration.

    Love to you, Christie and the boys.

    ARC, Shelley

    Reply

  72. I want to say “Hi” and thank every single reader of this blog and every person who has come out of Scientology Inc, because by doing so all of you have contributed to making the world a better place. My life has turned upside down and right-side-to over the past year. In fact, this is the place that started – this blog – and Mike Rinder was the first person I reached out to and was the first person who helped guide me on my journey.

    I have no words adequate to give thanks to him and the readers and contributors here. You all were the first to read my articles (as “Galactic Patrol”) and give me the encouragement and acknowledgement I needed to continue coming out all the way. Without this, I never would have gotten to where I am now – free and clear of a monstrous cult that literally was destroying my entire life. I have so much today to be thankful for. I hope everyone has an awesome day.

    Mike nails it on the head – as usual – in the points he makes here about what we all have to be thankful for. I wish I too had my whole family and all of my old friends still, but Scn Inc takes away things we love for no good reason and fights to keep them from us. I hope that on this day, those who disconnected from us may reflect a little on what they have lost and wonder if their choices were really rational or worth it.

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone. You all are the best!

    Reply

  73. A Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Mike, and to my fellow readers here.

    Among much else, I am grateful for you and others who fight so effectively for true religious freedom and the reuniting of families.

    Reply

  74. Thanks for those reflections Mike, they are truly the stuff that makes a life worth living.

    To those missing some elements of those reflections I would like to say: never give up hope. What you might consider to be a distant dream today, can become the reality of tomorrow. Just keep that dream alive, even if the odds seem against you.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Mike. And a happy Thanksgiving to all who read this message.

    My thoughts especially go out to those still trapped in the cult, deprived of most rights and decimated as individuals. I hope their ordeal will come to an end soon.

    Note to OSA: today is a fine day to just quit and go home to your loved ones, they miss you.

    CM

    Reply

    • Happy Thanksgiving one and all.

      Mike you nailed it

      and for those still in, Happy Thanksgiving, may you decide to live the above soon

      Reply

  75. Beautiful post Mike. When I was in the church I would always worry about the future or the past or always want something more, never realizing or fully appreciating all the riches I had in the present. That has changed. One of the things that I have become more aware of since being out of the church is how much I have to be thankful for. I’m so very rich with true friends, health, family that stood by me and all the other things you list.

    It was the last three rights that you name – thinking for yourself, freedom to speak, living according to your conscience – that got me declared and expelled and the last one particularly: “The right to live according to your conscience, and not arbitrarily dictated ‘norms of behavior.’ This really sums up in my mind to being the right to be a decent, caring human being.”

    I followed my conscience, I spoke up and did what was right and not what church authorities were dictating I needed to do “per policy” – which was disconnect from my son. It was a dear price to pay, losing my daughter and grand-daughter, but not as costly as it would have been for me to not follow my conscience, keep my integrity and do what I knew to be right.

    Each morning I wake up and throughout the day I give gratitude and thanks for people in my life and all things connected to it. Life is precious and all that we have transient. What I took for granted (my daughter and grand-daughter) disappeared within an hour of my SP declare. I take nothing for granted any more. I love deeply, forgive easily and am thankful for what I have every moment.

    Today, I’m thankful for you Mike and people like you that have the courage to stand up and speak out for what their conscience tells them is right. Thank you for being there and communicating and being my friend and the friend to many.

    Reply

    • I second that, Sarah. Thank you, Mike, for being here, communicating, and shining the light on the abuses and lies so that others can wake up and leave and so that those who have left can heal. This group is what has gotten me through when I got declared for no more than reading this and other blogs. And when my daughter told me she would never disconnect from me and then within a month or so, she did just that, and my son too, I didn’t know how I could go on. But somehow this blog and the posters in it have given me some perspective, some compassion, and I have gone on. I hope and pray that my kids will see the truth one day, will wake up and walk away from the cult and we’ll be reunited. I am thankful for Mike and my new Indie friends on this blog, all of whom are brave to stand up and disagree and have kept their integrity intact by doing what is right, no matter the price.

      Reply

      • Cindy,

        I believe that your son and daughter are thinking of you today and that they miss you. I believe the same for all the other parents who have children that are disconnected from them purely for the sake of the CoS, or out of the CoS’s immoral actions of interfering with family affinity.

        Don’t give up hope. Nothing stays the same forever.

        Reply

        • Thank you Pepper! I certainly hope you’re right and hold out hope for it. And I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!

          Reply

  79. Happy Thanksgiving Mike, hope you and your lovely family have a great day full of love and laughter. Thanks again for all you do here to keep us updated on the goings-on in the Co$. Your hard work is very appreciated.

    Reply

  81. Happy Thanksgiving Day to you and yours Mike and to all of you who follow this blog. Thanks to all of you who help by sharing your knowledge and experiences so others may have different viewpoints to evaluate from when deciding what is true for them.
    Regraded Being

    Reply

    • Excellent thoughts, Mike. Here we try to celebrate Thanksgiving daily. I can’t imagine waiting another 364 days to be thankful for all the people I love and who love me.

      Reply

  90. Happy Thanksgiving to you Mike and Chrisitie and to your beautiful family.

    I agree with your post today wholeheartedly.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all of you here and others around the world who stand up for the right of others to pursue truth and happiness.

    Reply

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