Feb 21, 2007

Merck Backs Off

Rick Perry may still be pushing his mandatory sexual consequences vaccine, but now the maker of Gardasil, Merck, has decided to stop lobbying state legislatures for mandatory vaccinations for young girls. The backlash has been fast and furious and Merck has decided that they need to step back and take the time to educate the public on their position, rather than trying to shove it down their throats. Probably all the education in the world won't make me change my mind, but I do have to give Merck credit for knowing when to back off.

Now if Rick Perry would only take the hint!

Feb 20, 2007

I am Lion, Hear Me Roar

One of my very favorite activities in the world is teaching Bible studies. Although I am taking an extended break while my children are growing up, one Bible study in particular stands out to me. As a board member for PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel), a military group for Christian women of all denominations, I was concerned that we should have a summer Bible study, especially for all the new women who would be arriving during the summer and would want to meet other people. We had about a one-third turnover each summer, so this was a significant amount of ladies looking for new friends. All the other women had other obligations that summer, so I taught the class.

Lynn has a short blurb on her blog about secular personality tests and I am NOT a fan of pop psychology, but there is one personality test in particular that I actually enjoy. It is not new, but what attracts me to it is the fact that it encourages me to become more like Jesus and it teaches me how to be a friend. I will explain all that later.

This is Gary Smalley's and John Trent's animal personality test that this particular Bible study was based upon. There are four animals: the lion, beaver, otter, and golden retriever. Being labeled one animal or another does not mean that you have to have all the traits of that animal. You will be the animal that you score the highest for, so keep track of the number of traits you feel describe you for each animal. Each person usually fits into one or possibly two categories and I will cover them one at a time. At the end, I will explain how this test, and Bible study, transformed my life.

In the meantime, I will start with the test and characteristics for the lion. Notice the biblical character traits that are listed for each animal. This is significant. Here are the traits for a lion:
  • Takes charge
  • Determined
  • Assertive
  • Firm
  • Enterprising
  • Competitive
  • Enjoys challenges
  • Bold
  • Purposeful
  • Decision maker
  • Leader
  • Goal driven
  • Self-reliant
  • Adventurous

A lion's motto is "Let's do it now!"

Taken from their book, "The Two Sides of Love," here are some typical traits of a lion.

Lions are born leaders. Although it is true that some leaders are made, not born, it is more often true that they are born that way. God did create some natural leaders and they are called lions.

Lions like to accomplish things with immediate results. They like to take charge and feel very strongly that life is a series of problems they need to solve or challenges they need to meet.

A lion's time frame is now! Lions are not upset, they are just extremely intense. If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right now. This one characteristic often causes others to feel afraid of lions, while lions often don't see it themselves.

Lions are decisive. Lions need to lead, take control, and accomplish things; these all involve making decisions quickly. Lions often don't ask for advice when making these decisions and sometimes fail to get the necessary facts.

Lions want the Reader's Digest version of communication. They eschew small talk and are anxious to get right into the meat of the conversation. They want to stick to the subject and are focused on the efficiency aspect of communication so they can get back to work.

Lions often feel challenged by questions. Rather than seeing a question as a reasonable request for information, lions sometimes see them as a personal challenge instead.

Lions are not afraid of pressure or confrontation. Lions thrive on tension. Unless they're careful, this tendency can cause lions to hurt other people's feeling without even realizing it. Lions can be so strong that they win every verbal battle but end up losing the war for their family's hearts.

These are the natural bents of a lion, but not every lion has all these character traits. As you will see throughout the traits of all four animals, each character trait can be used for good or for bad. It is important to recognize which traits apply to you.

As for me, if you haven't figured it out already, I am a full-blown lion, but that was easily explainable when I recently found out that I am directly descended from Attila the Hun!

Come back tomorrow to find about the beaver.

Feb 18, 2007

Rick Perry Eschews Communication

Can you believe that Gov. Rick Perry is still sticking to his guns on his surprise executive order requiring all 11-12 year old girls to be vaccinated against the HPV virus? Rick Perry is now claiming that it is a personal issue, with his father, his mother, and his sister all currently in remission from cancer. Some still think he was bought off by Merck, but some say that Rick Perry is looking for his own personal legacy – maybe he wants to be known as the governor who went to war against cancer.

Was this really the best way to kick off a war against cancer? Or would a little prior communication have helped Perry’s efforts a bit?

Apparently, some key Republican legislators found out about Perry’s mandate from none other than reporters from ABC and CNN seeking comments. (Maybe Perry took his example from Tim Dick, who sued Frank Vance, but Frank didn’t know about it until the local reporter contacted him for comments.)

Making an executive decision like this was not necessary; there was no real emergency. In fact, there is no perceived emergency. This is about Rick Perry getting what Rick Perry wants, without having to go through the traditional lengthy process of communication. There are probably many legislators who would have either backed Perry or at least offered suitable alternatives (as they are being forced to do now), if Perry had just followed protocol. Here a few questions that should have been discussed long before any decisions were made:

Is this the most effective use of Texas health care dollars? How much will it really cost? What does science say about it? What about potential side-effects? Should vaccination be mandatory for students or just encouraged? Does the order trample on parental rights? At what age should the vaccine be administered? What should be done to defray the high cost? Have enough clinical trials and research been done to justify mandating the vaccine at this time? Should this order go into effect now? Is the fact that only one company (Merck) currently makes a Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine of concern? A competing pharmaceutical company is developing its own vaccine. Should the state wait to see if it gets FDA approval?

It is not known if this vaccine is safe for use in pregnancy. Some 11-12 year old girls are pregnant already. How are they going to determine whether or not each girl is pregnant before they give each of the three shots, or is the State willing to take a risk and just take each girl at her word?

“If Governor Perry believes we should vaccinate these young girls against a disease that occurs as a result of sexual activity then he should also assume that there exists the possibility that some of those same girls might also be pregnant when they receive this mandated vaccine,” Sen. Hegar said.

Although the three-shot series costs $360, most private physicians are charging between $500 and $900. Who is going to pay for this? Some insurance companies will cover it, but not all, or you may have to pay a high deductible. Who pays for it in the first place – the physicians? With a 30-45 day turn around time for insurance payments, how much can a physician afford to keep in stock?

Or maybe you don’t have insurance. While the federal government will chip in $43 million for the uninsured, Rick Perry is seeking another $29 million in state aid to pay for this as well. Such a deal. First, he mandates the vaccine and then he pays for it. We should be so grateful.

Meanwhile, Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins must be reaffirmed in the Senate Nominations Committee, but some of the senators are going to demand that Hawkins be able to answer all these lingering questions, and probably more, before they confirm him. Not very good timing on Rick Perry’s part.

As a first step to combat Perry's order, the House Public Health Committee will hold a public hearing on a bill Monday (February 19) to pre-empt Perry’s order. The hearing is open to the public.

The Center for Public Policy Priorities Executive Director F. Scott McCown has also filed a brief to the Attorney General arguing that the governor has no right to issue executive orders like this.

And then there is Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) who is pushing another bill to require that all 11-12 year old girls receive the vaccine by this August, rather than next year as Perry mandates.

Politics in Texas hasn't been this exciting since all the democrats played hookey a couple years back!

Feb 12, 2007

Dear Kate

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18

This letter is my attempt to make peace in a very public situation after considerable thought and prayer.

Dear Kate,

Whenever I meet someone, I first try to find something we have in common. Although you don’t realize this, it was very easy for me to find something in common with you, from the first day I saw your blog. You see, I grew up in Oregon also, and so seeing that you live in Oregon, my heart was immediately drawn toward you. In second grade, I lived in Sisters; in third through eighth grade, we lived in Bend; in high school, we lived in Salem; then I worked as a tax collector at the Department of Motor Vehicles right there in Portland for a while before joining the Army. My parents are still missionaries for Wycliffe right there at the Milwaukie office. I am relating these things to you, Kate, because you seem to relate best to personal details. So, from one Oregonian to another, this letter is for my sister in Christ.

Kate, I really don’t know how I have offended you, but my desire is to be at peace with all men (and women), so I am writing this in an attempt to reach your heart. If I have truly done something for which I need to apologize, please leave a comment to this letter and I will apologize.

However, from what I can gather, you seem to think that I am multiple people and apparently have multiple personalities. Please believe me that I have all I can possibly handle with everything going in my real life right now so that I have no need of pretending to be to multiple personalities.

I have left a few comments on your blog, all of which I hope were kind and charitable, and all of which were in my name and with my Blogger account.

I have never called you on the phone, nor have I ever called anyone else online on the phone unless they have written me with their phone number and requested that I call.

Although I cannot speak to the current situation, Kate, I can assure you that I have no unforgiveness in my heart toward anyone, no bitterness, and no spirit of revenge. Sometimes we are called to do hard things, Kate, as I know you understand, and this is a very hard thing that the Lord called me to do.

I do not expect everyone to believe everything I say; that is not my job. I am called to be a messenger and it is fully up to the Lord to work in people’s hearts, including my own. I hope to be able to write someday about how the Lord is working in my life in the last few months.

Kate, I know that you are concerned because of something my daughter said. While I will not excuse her behavior, I do hope that you could try to understand her perspective. Sometimes I think my children were hurt in this far more than I was. Although I can’t really speak to this right now, think of my whole story through the eyes of a teenage girl and try to have some compassion for her.

Kate, I really think that you mean well, especially after the comment you left on my blog. I do not want anyone being hurt because of my story and that includes you. May I suggest that we all slow down and carefully consider what we are saying before we write or say anything? A long time ago, I learned that I should always sleep on a letter before sending it. Maybe that principle would be good to apply to the internet as well.

Your Sister in Christ,
Jen

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Eph. 4:29

Feb 7, 2007

Weekly Recipe: Sweet Potatoes and Apples

With the sweet potato being near the top of the list in foods high in nutrition, we add in a few other healthy foods like apples, nuts, raisins, and honey for a delicious, nutritious dish.

I use the following for a 6-quart crockpot. You can adapt as necessary.

Fill the crockpot with peeled, sliced sweet potatoes and apples. I generally use about twice as many sweet potatoes as apples.

Add:
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 c. raisins (optional)

On the stove, heat up the following:

1/2 c. butter
1/2 - 1 c. (raw) honey or pure maple syrup
1 T. grated orange peel
2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger

Pour evenly over the sweet potatoes and cook on low all day or high 4-6 hours. Alternately, you could bake at 350 deg. for one hour.

Gov. Rick Perry's High Horse

Sen. Jane Nelson has written a letter dated February 5, 2007, to Gov. Rick Perry saying the following:

We, the undersigned members of the Texas Senate, respectfully request that you withdraw Executive Order RP65 requiring girls to receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine prior to entering the sixth grade and allow this issue to proceed through the full legislative process.


Although 26 of the 31 Texas state senators signed this letter to Gov. Perry, he did not respond favorably, preferring to include this "accomplishment" in a speech he gave yesterday. He could have quietly left it out of his speech, allowing for continued communication with his legislature, but by choosing to promote his executive order instead, he is alienating not only 26 out of the 31 state senators, and probably most of the representatives as well, but nearly all the conservative citizens are up in arms about Gov. Perry's decision to act alone even though there were already several bills before the legislature regarding this issue.

Generally, executive orders are reserved only for emergency issues. How does mandating an unproven vaccine for experimentation on our little girls in order to stop a sexually transmitted disease that is not contagious other than through sex qualify as an emergency? If this is an emergency, then what legislation is not an emergency?

Since Gov. Perry has refused the senate's reasonable request to take this through the proper legislative channels, Senators Dan Patrick and Glen Hegar have now introduced SB438, a resolution to nullify this outrageous executive order. So far, 14 senators have agreed to this bill. If passed, however, Gov. Perry has the right to veto this bill. At that point, it would take a 2/3 majority to override the veto, which the legislature fully expects to have.

What are they offering instead? Instead of the opt-out option that Gov. Perry has ordered, the senators are offering an opt-in option instead, making this vaccine available to all girls, but mandatory to none. Now that is an option I can live with.

"Easy" Opt-Out Option

Sarah told me to check out the opt-out option, so I looked into it a little bit. It seems that first you fill out a form requesting not to have certain vaccinations. This form includes all kinds of personal information that could potentially lead to further government intrusion down the road. Then you wait for several weeks for approval. In the meantime, if your daughter attends school or sports or some activity where vaccinations are required, this could lead to quite a bit of harassment during the waiting period. Upon approval from the government, you may take this form to school, but the school is not obligated to accept it. You may take this form to your doctor, but he is not obligated to accept it either. In fact, he may no longer take you as a patient if you insist on your right not to vaccinate your children. And if your doctor decides to report you to your insurance company, they may drop your insurance for non-compliance with mandatory vaccines. And if none of these scenarios happen, and you are allowed to go to school, belong to certain sports activities, and your doctor or insurance company doesn't balk, you can look forward to going through the whole process again every two years with each child. You're right, Sarah, it's not as easy as it sounds.

The Numbers: 2 in a Million

Gardasil, the HPV vaccine manufactured by Merck to supposedly keep HPV from causing cervical cancer, had a very short research life and is totally unproven. Since its introduction last June, there have already been 82 serious adverse reactions reported from this vaccine. No long terms are yet known. The validity of the claims that it stops 100% of the HPV which causes cervical cancer has not been proven in any way whatsoever and, in fact, it would take vaccination of a million girls to prevent cancer in 4 to 5 girls. About 37% die from cervical cancer, so that would prevent 1 to 2 deaths. So $360 million in vaccine would prevent 1 to 2 deaths.

Every state will have to decide this issue soon. It is best to be prepared with facts. Here is a blog with lots of facts about both the Texas issue and the vaccine issue.

To help Gov. Perry get off his high horse, you may call him at 1-800-252-9600 and express your grave concern of his rash actions in taking away parental rights and using our daughters as human guinea pigs. Say no to Big Brother.

Ted Haggard: Psychologist

The elders of New Life Christian Church in Colorado Springs have recommended that Ted Haggard take up secular work. Although the NY Times put this in their very last sentence in their latest article about Ted, I found this to be the most important aspect of this whole story so far. How many churches are so quick to take back a pastor who had engaged in very serious sin, often without ever repenting in the first place? How serious are we taking God's Word as He clearly lays out the requirements for being an elder? It sounds so simple: if you don't meet the requirements for being an elder, find another line of work.

I can't help but think of the four Reformed elders that were defrocked barely a year ago, but then were voted back in as elders almost immediately, although there was no true repentance forthcoming and although they clearly no longer meet the biblical requirements for being elders. I can understand how emotionally attached Christians can be to their elders, but that is why God gave us clear requirements in His Word, for the times when we are too fervently involved to think straight.

The elders at New Life Christian Church must have been extremely emotionally attached to Ted Haggard as well, but they sought the Lord instead, and did the right thing, the hard thing. And in the end, that church will be blessed and will grow spiritually.

It still floors me that a charismatic mega-church is doing all the right things in this scandal with Ted Haggard, and not only that, but Ted Haggard seems to be responding in an attitude of repentance so far as well.

Having just finished three weeks of intensive counseling, Ted Haggard said, “I have spent so much time in repentance, brokenness, hurt and sorrow for the things I’ve done and the negative impact my actions have had on others ... Jesus is starting to put me back together.” Oh, that all sinners expressed this kind of attitude!

Ted and his wife are taking online courses together to get master's degrees in psychology. Since Ted no longer meets the biblical requirements for being an elder, the other elders at New Life have encouraged him to seek employment outside the church. I'm not a big fan of pop psychology, but I will say that I see that this would only be a natural area of interest for a former pastor, and I pray that the Lord brings healing to both him and his wife as they study this subject together.

What a great example for the rest of the Christian world. Christians, let each of us have such hearts that are quick to repent when we sin and be willing to bear the consequences for our own actions. To God be the glory.

Feb 4, 2007

Kent Hovind: Avoid All Appearances of Evil

Have you ever made a big mistake? I mean a really BIG mistake. I still stand by Kent Hovind and what I’ve written about him, but I think he made a really big mistake and I need to tell people about it, so others won’t make the same mistake. Maybe we can unite in prayer that Kent will realize this really big mistake before he loses the next ten years of his life.

Kent Hovind has been heavy on my mind lately and is in my daily prayers. When I wrote my first article about him, I was determined not to get into the “issues,” but I wanted to just relate our personal experiences with him, since he had such an impact on my children and me. However, my readers seemed determined to get into the tax issues, so I’ve been seemingly dragged along to explore these issues as well.

Unfortunately, this is one of those subjects that seems to be the more I study, the less I really know. I am sure that some of my readers will know far more about this subject than I do, so feel free to present (or correct) facts here. My purpose in today’s post, though, is to warn others to do your homework before you make a major financial decision.

As I was speaking to Jo Hovind before we left Pensacola recently, she observed, “Maybe we didn’t get the right advice.” Jo, I think you’ve hit the proverbial nail on the head.

I could not understand why even the mention of the name, Glen Stoll, was such a hot button for the judge in Kent Hovind’s case, so I decided to check him out a bit. This information should put this case in a new light for some of us. Glen Stoll is the man that Kent Hovind has put in charge of his whole ministry.

The first thing I noticed about Glen Stoll is how he reaches out to Christians. Look at this initial application for his services and see how enticed you might be:

1) Who am I, with respect to my position and function in life? I am:

2) With whom or what are my loyalties aligned? I pledge allegiance to:

3) Under that pledge, what is the purpose of my mission? My duties and responsibilities are:

4) Therefore, what jurisdictional authority am I under? My commission comes from:

5) How are decisions made that direct the course of my life? I trust in:


After you make this Declaration of Status, which Glen Stoll calls a Profession of Faith expressed in a political sense, you have now identified your personal ministry. So far, so good. How many Christians truly desire to have a personal ministry? But now, Glen Stoll has made it possible for any person who claims Christ and owns any business to label their business as a ministry. How convenient. We will see that Glen Stoll’s definitions of words are often of a non-standard usage, even though he will use the dictionary to define them. Now all you need is one or more people (your spouse will do) to form a “lawfully established unincorporated association of pure trust,” and when put in writing, this trust agreement becomes “evidence of a Ministerial Trust under which you may manage your personal ministry for the church.” In fact, this written declaration now makes you a church! Did you know that it was this easy to become a church, with all the tax-exempt privileges bequeathed to a church as well? That is, as soon as you meet all the other requirements that Glen Stoll will be glad to handle for you for a princely sum of money.

The following steps were not as easy to determine, since they are not directly listed on Remedies at Law, Glen Stoll’s website. However, the United States District Court has done their best in laying out their case against Glen Stoll and his “ministry” in their Order for Default Judgment and Permanent Injunction against Glen Stoll, dated June 27, 2005. Much of the following information is taken from the official injunction order against him. (Glen Stoll was sued by the United States of America for his fraudulent business practices and since he refused to show up in court, a default judgment against him was handed down, along with a permanent injunction to stop his illegal activities. I am still trying to figure out why he has not been stopped yet.)

Glen Stoll strongly tends to take Scripture out of context in order to justify his positions. For instance, in stating that we are not citizens of this world, but citizens of heaven, he advocates that the government should have no control over us, especially regarding documents such as passports; driver’s license; vehicle license plate, title, or registration; birth certificates and marriage registration; a business license; or a student body card; all of which can be handled through a sister site, Embassy of Heaven and through their other site which teach you how to be a citizen of heaven rather than of the United States. These two sites alone should provide plenty of controversial topics to keep us going for weeks, but we won’t cover them here. They are important to understanding both Glen Stoll’s and, subsequently, Kent Hovind’s, intentions, though. After severing all ties to the government, which includes being up to date with what you owe the IRS, and getting your “Citizen of Heaven” identification card, you are now ready to go on to the next step.

Glen Stoll helps “churches” (see his definition above) to become a corporation sole, which is usually a church that has one single (sole) officer and can be used to allow a church to hold title to property, but in these cases, the corporation sole is essentially designed to hide income and/or assets and designed to evade income taxes. Glen Stoll teaches that as a corporation sole, they don’t have to file or pay taxes, citing a mandatory exception to the IRC 508(c)(1)(A) for churches, even going so far as to claim that they are not even required to notify the IRS of their existence, nor are they authorized to collect or pay taxes to the government. However, like real churches, Glen Stoll advises his customers that all donations to their “church” is tax deductible.

Next, Glen Stoll helps people set up “Ministerial Trusts” in conjunction with their corporation sole. Because the two are connected, Glen Stoll teaches his clients that they are now exempt from the IRS laws, helping them to stop paying income and employment taxes. Each different “missionary” activity needs to have a separate ministerial trust set up, for which Glen Stoll charges $4000 - $4500 for the first trust and $2000 for each subsequent trust, and each of which is to be managed by the corporation sole. Customers of these former businesses (pest control, carpet cleaning, computer technology, and multi-level marketing, etc.), which are now called churches, are asked to make checks out to the ministerial trust rather than to the individual so that they don’t have to report it as income.

Workshops ($120 each?) are also required in order to be one of Glen Stoll’s clients and he then charges $120 per hour for his services. These are reasonable prices for the services offered, but you ought to beware that you are paying him to learn how to break the law.

Part of this scheme involves concealing property, income and profits. By placing both business and personal property in the name of the ministerial trust rather than an individual’s name, Glen Stoll tells his clients that the IRS cannot touch their assets. Unfortunately, that is simply not true, as Kent Hovind has since found out, but still refuses to acknowledge. Glen Stoll encourages people to transfer all their assets, including personal property and furniture and cash into these ministerial accounts, thereby allowing them to claim that they themselves own nothing, but that they live in a parsonage (their former personal home) and use the “church’s” furniture (their former personal furniture) and equipment and vehicles (their former personal car). Nothing really changes in their lifestyle, however, except that they probably have more disposable income now that they don’t pay taxes on everything. I wondered how Kent Hovind could take a vow of poverty and yet have so many belongings. He doesn’t consider himself to own anything, per se, but everything belongs to the “church.” Unfortunately, Glen Stoll’s definition of church is not God’s definition, nor is it our government’s definition.

Another aspect of Glen Stoll’s scheme is to call all employees independent contractors and telling clients that they now no longer have to file W-2s or 1099s since they are not authorized to withhold taxes for the government anyway since they are now citizens of heaven. This is one of the biggies for Kent Hovind.

Glen Stoll even goes so far as to teach his clients how to use IRS forms that are designed for non-US citizens in order to receive income not subject to tax withholding, stating that a church ministry is a “non-U.S. person based on its
foreign Federal political status,” and as such, is exempt from banking regulations. Even so, Glen Stoll requires that his customers contact him if they need to make a withdrawal of $10,000 or more in cash.

If I didn’t read the name of the actual bank, I would have a really hard time believing this, but Glen Stoll also recommends that his customers put their cash into offshore bank accounts located at Liberty International Bank & Trust, Caribbean Processing Center, essentially hiding the money from the US government. They are then set up with Visa cards to be able to access the funds. I do not know if Kent Hovind did this or not.

Glen Stoll claims that he is qualified to do what he is doing because he is a lawyer. Since he considers himself a citizen of heaven, however, his definition of “lawyer” is also a bit odd: one who practices law. Never mind that he doesn’t actually have any degrees or a license to practice law. Glen Stoll takes great liberty with his definitions, most of which come from England several hundred years ago. I’m all for self-study, but it is quite deceptive to use a term that the average person would understand to mean fully licensed.

While some of Glen Stoll’s clients have legitimate ministries, such as Kent Hovind’s, many of these people had regular for-profit businesses to begin with, but now they just don’t have to pay taxes – at least until the IRS catches up with them. The amount of taxes lost to the US government because of these scams is quite substantial and Glen Stoll should be held directly accountable, along with all his “clients.” It is quite sad for me to admit that Kent Hovind falls in this category.

Glen Stoll was issued a default judgment (guilty by reason of not showing up for the trial) and was permanently enjoined from continuing this illegal business, this exact kind of business in which he continues with Kent Hovind. He was also given 11 days from June 27, 2005 to provide the court with a complete list of clients, corporations sole, and ministerial trusts, and a list of all employees and associates. He was also required to post a complete copy of the injunction order against him on his website for one year and to give a copy to each former, current, and prospective client. He was required to file a sworn certificate of compliance with these measures within 12 days, including printed pages of his complete website.

It appears that since this injunction is still up on his website, that Glen Stoll has at least complied with one aspect. As for the others, you can read all his excuses for why he could not comply with the requirements of the US government. What I don’t understand is why Glen Stoll is still continuing in his illegal schemes he perpetrates upon gullible but well-meaning Christians.

What I really don’t understand is how Kent Hovind, a highly intelligent man, fell for this, and apparently, still entrusts his life’s work to this man. Kent, your wife was right: you did get some wrong advice, and that’s putting it mildly. This was a really big mistake. Please learn from it.

The Bible tells us to avoid all appearances of evil. This scam has every appearance of evil to me. Run, Kent! Flee from this man!

********************************

Did Kent have any other choices that would still allow him to stand on his convictions? I think so. Maybe I’ll cover that next time.

*********************************

For a good summary of this scam: IRS Warns of “Corporation Sole” Tax Scam
For Christians: Corporation Sole Problems
More info on Glen Stoll:
Hushmoney
Wikipedia

Feb 2, 2007

Governor Perry: All Texas Teenage Girls Are Sluts

Governor Rick Perry, usually quite conservative in his politics, seems to have been bought off today by Merck's $6000 campaign donation. Although Merck is upfront about lobbying state legislatures to add yet another vaccination to the already growing list of mandatory shots for children, they didn't have much work to do in the state of Texas. If the question of making it mandatory for young girls to be vaccinated against HPV, which is thought to be responsible for most cases of cervical cancer, was to have been brought before the Texas legislature, conservative Texans would have lobbied hard against it.

But we weren't even given that opportunity. Governor Rick Perry, who dreams of being a VP candidate in 2008, simply signed an executive order today requiring that all girls around age 11 or 12 and older be vaccinated against HPV. Since this is a sexually transmitted virus, Governor Perry has just made a very loaded statement about the morality of Texas teenage girls, and by implication, the boys as well.

Fortunately, for parents like myself who have an 11-year-old daughter but don't wish to have their parental rights taken away, there is an opt-out available for religious reasons, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that Rick Perry has made a unilateral decision making it mandatory for all young girls, most of whose parents don't even know about their rights to opt-out.

Rick Perry is essentially saying that we should take away any consequences to sin. If teenagers have sex outside of marriage and there's a possibility that they may contract a venereal disease because of their sin, then let's help make it easier for them to sin by removing one more consequence.

Standing in the way of God's judgment is a very serious move, and one that I would not want on my record.