It gets a lot of people. My grandfather donates to Jim Baker every month and gave me a set of his DVDs.
Anyways, my grandfather wanted to do a faith healing on my uncle who was originally diagnosed as having bone cancer throughout 95% of his bones. I’m sure they did. Somehow they fubared the tests and they came back as the cancer being in remission, but it had spread to his nose and brain.
So much for faith healing, and great job lab techs.
Now my uncle won’t listen to me about smoking pot, and how it has many benefits for cancer patients.
Oh well, his faith will take him down the road he blindly chooses…
“Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption” is set up to accept donations. But lest you think the worst, this is their disclaimer on the donations page:
“Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption will not be able to accept donations from Church supporters from the states of Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, or South Carolina. We apologize for any inconvenience. Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption may choose to wind down and dissolve in the near future. Upon dissolution, any assets belonging to the Church at that time will be distributed to Doctors Without Borders, a non-profit charitable organization that is tax-exempt under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN: 13-3433452) and which provides emergency medical aid in places where it is needed most.”
Fucking brilliant… I tend to roll my eyes at fart jokes, but this still gets me laughing after so many years.
Tilton was/is so slimy and smarmy, such as constant self-parody that he is just as ridiculous even without the fart edits. It boggles the mind how or why anybody would donate anything to him, but so many people did…
Yes, to some at least (susceptible to fake-prayer cure) and that’s fucked up. Still, I find them to be an inevitability in a world where lots of people seem to deliberately avoid an education that would render these types to the dustbin. I’m not sure where the blame starts and ends.
There’s undoubtedly also people who are terminal/beyond treatment who look at it as their last hail mary. And again, just lonely people looking for a family-in-tv-lord-land.
I’m essentially a physicalist (tainted with Hegelian metaphysics) but I indulge in some wholly irrational, quasi-ritualistic cathartic voodoo myself so I tend to hesitate to meddle in other’s “pre-occupations” these days. Though I’m confident we’re in agreement that these guys should be taxed to the bone in the very least.
I’ve personally only ever seen theatre and absurdity in them and treat them accordingly. But if Granny gonna cut the check Granny gonna cut the check.
John Oliver exposes Televangelists 20 years late, but it doesn’t matter because --for his audiene-- this subject never gets old. Televangelists are the same category of con-man as politicians. The only difference is that televangelists are usually very careful not to make claims that could have them sued for fraud (“If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” “The average family will save $2500 a year.”)
Do you want to stop them televangelists? Repeal the 1st Amendment. I know you’ve been wanting to at least since the Citizens United case.
If you nose around the site, John Oliver explains that donations will be sent on to Doctors Without Borders, a more commendable destination than some televangelist’s private jet.
I have no patience for this sort of thing today. Waiting for a meeting, the secretary started with “I’m not racist, but…” and went on for about 5 minutes, with every single sentence being a gem. Not knowing there’s a difference between people from the Philippines and from Costa Rica was one of the highlights.
And yes, she’s convinced one particular side of the political culture lies like con-men to us poor citizens, especially about how much better Obamacare was going to be.
(I’m paying 35% of what I used to pay in premiums, have very little else to pay other than the premiums – as opposed to paying premiums plus 98% of all claims for decades – and got to upgrade the doctors I see. Just in time for a major cancer diagnosis, no less. Don’t complain about Obamacare around me.)
Actually, Citizens United is rooted in the 14th Amendment which was how the Supreme Court established that corporations are people (who have an easier path to citizenship than actual people) and worthy of 1st Amendment protection. So, while I know Trump and other conservatives’ talk of ending birthright citizenship gets the wankers of old white male Fox viewers rock hard, there’s no way it will ever happen because it would end the unlimited cash train this Amendment now provides.
Trinity Broadcasting Network claims to reach 95% of US homes, which is 64% more than HBO, which airs Oliver’s show. And in case I haven’t mentioned it lately, Sesame Street.
