"For example, the ACA requires insurers to spend at least 80% of premiums on health care; Sharity spent about 16% on health care and pocketed the rest."
Reading that entire post and trying to understand how anyone could fall for it gave me a headache. It's not exactly a Ponzi, but it's definitely not an insurance plan either, it's a money harvesting/skimming operation masquerading as an insurance pool. Christianity is the lipstick on this flying pig...because otherwise no one could be stupid enough to believe that faith-based cost sharing would work.
Ya gotta have faith to believe something like this is a real insurance plan. You just have to send in money and pray that you don't get sick..
Like it was mentioned elsewhere here, the marks spent every Sunday training to unconditionally give their money away to strangers who say the right pass-phrases.
Call it a ministry, and you've got a cover for just about any scam you can dream up. These people personify the disconnect between religion and morality, as well as making compelling cases for atheism.
Once they start screaming how persecuted this poor little christian company is then more christians than ever will give them money and overlook everything the company has done to rip off their fellow christians in an effort to fight Satan and stop him from making a company suffer the consequences of their own actions.
I was on substack long before The OnlySky Great Transition That is Yet to Happen™. It's a more bookish crowd here that doesn't care much for multimedia or fonts, bolding or italics.
Think old skool. They didn't even allow math operators symbology for those of us who want to comment on math books...but then again, neither does Disqus.
for example: [t1]∫[t2] = mx¨(t)δx(t)∂t is just illegible and useless...
"They thought they were getting health insurance from a company that proudly proclaimed conservative Christian values."
Well, there's their problem. Has anything good ever come out of anyone or anything that proclaims conservative christian values? Ever? Too many people think that sharing a delusion means something more than both of you are crazy.
I make a point of avoiding working with any entity (big or small) that promotes/endorses their "Christian Values." From Hobby Lobby to the electrician that has a cross or ichthys displayed on their ad/website/vehicles/business card.
I once had a young man back into my car and destroy my headlight. Perfectly pleasant chap, promised to pay and gave me his address. I took my car to the Christian owned garage, and the guy said something like – "you can have a genuine Toyota part but a clone is much much cheaper – but why don't we put in a clone and charge him for a genuine Toyota part, that would teach him a lesson." I nixed that. Got the headlight replaced sent off the bill to the kid, a few days later his cousin turns up at my place of work where he also worked, and gave me the money. Ironically, given that the kid was Pasifika, he was almost certainly a Christian as well. :)
Reading your comment, I was thinking how great it is that in Europe, religion is such a non-issue. No company I'm aware of has ever annoyed or bothered me by promoting or endorsing any religion; no carpenter, electrician, plumber, no doctor, nurse, or EMT no butcher, baker, or mechanic has ever mentioned, discussed or promoted their religious beliefs while doing their jobs. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, especially when I compare it to the stories I read about this "toxic religious miasma" that seems to be so normal “over there”.
I called "Medishare" once. They said their operators were "super easy to talk to"...except when they hang up on you when they find out you're an atheist. ;)
"Aliera denied a $15,000 claim for breast cancer treatment ..."
Well, of course they did! You don't expect a good Christian organization to cover *gasp* boobies, do you?
Also, if I may be annoying for a moment, I'm just gonna fangril all over John Oliver. I finally broke down and subscribed to a streaming service just so I could see his show. The guy's a fucking treasure.
Get a VPN. Using it means your service provider cannot see you and charge you. Mine is good until 2025 because I hit some specials soon after I subscribed.
Only the main story is on YouTube, not the opening and closing segments, and it's not accessible in Canada for a couple of months, on average. (I won't watch anything that isn't on the official site. I have very strong opinions about stolen content.) I don't watch much else on the service - maybe one or two shows a month, more so when I'm having insomnia - because I despise searching for content from an online menu. Plus I enjoy very little TV anyway, and don't like watching movies on a computer. But I've added a couple of friends to my profile who get a fair bit of use out of it, so between taking care of them and being able to watch Oliver's show when it airs live, it's worth it to me.
Oliver is just that - entertainment. He's never claimed to be anything else, and will actually correct those who refer to his show as news. No need to sneer about what it is, or act superior to those who enjoy it.
He is okay for a Pom. Personally though I enjoy Jordan Klepper far more. He seems much cleverer, and gets the arseholes to condemn themselves out of their own mouths. And he doesn't talk for so long. :)
Yet another example of Christians behaving in a distinctly non-Christian way. But at least they are only ripping off fellow Christians which isn't quite so bad. Although how these guys sleep at night I just don't know. Maybe it's a Christian thing. :)
But these people will then become a burden on the community as a whole, which is exactly what today's christians think no one should be. The same people pocketing the cash from ripping thousands of christians will gladly tell the homeless and down on their luck to pick themselves up off the ground before they ask others for help, even when some of them will only be there because they got ripped off by these people.
"Today for me, tomorrow for you" seems to be beyond their capacity to understand the simple concept of solidarity. (Oops, that's a nasty word in the U.S. of A. isn't it?)
"This week, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a civil lawsuit against Aliera and the Moses family that founded Trinity Healthshare (now known as Sharity Ministries… which seems appropriate since it’s a sham charity)."
They changed it to a ministry, and Christian privilege will give them a "get out of jail free" card. Just another Christian grift.
Slash-and-burn Bitch McConnell fought tooth and nail to keep the eminently-qualified Merrick Garland away from SCOTUS and then turned right around and fast-tracked this boob.
Turtle Man is on the hook for anyone Gorsuch infects. May he be one of Gorsuch's victims.
Oh you silly billy, the bible is for hitting people with and to flash at others like a gang sign, no one actually reads the damned thing and if they do they sure as hell don't follow what it says.
Particularly the bit which says you shouldn't have tattoos. I've always loved that picture of a guy with the verse from Leviticus about gay people tattooed on his arm. It just goes to show the level of ... intellect? we are dealing with here.
But tattoos aren't covered by that verse anymore because they like tattoos, but gay people are still icky because someone in the new testament didn't like gay people. Yeah it is totally because someone in the new testament doesn't like gays has nothing to do with them not knowing how to feel about that time they came with an image of the captain of the football team in their head.
I'm not an expert on the Jewish attitude towards homosexuality at the time of Jesus. Was it particularly harsh? Because that sort of thing does change a lot. A gay friend of mine had a long-term relationship with a Muslim guy from – Dubai I think – and the whole family was extremely accepting of it. Until of course grandchildren were needed. Said Muslim guy then left to do his duty : .)
I remember the guy who harassed two women on a beach, because christian morality, and how he had no problem to show his tattoos (one of them a creepy one about watching his sisters or something like that).
"Christians put money into the system with no guarantee that anything would come out on the other side."
Just like they do every Sunday.
That's EXACTLY what I was going to say! Great minds... :)
Especially at those Prosperity Gospel churches.
A few bits in the basket for the Sunday show. Grape juice and crackers coming up.
If ANY business has to rely on its religiosity to sell its shit, it is untrustworthy at best, and most likely a scam.
What about a religion that relies on government to sell its shit?
"For example, the ACA requires insurers to spend at least 80% of premiums on health care; Sharity spent about 16% on health care and pocketed the rest."
Reading that entire post and trying to understand how anyone could fall for it gave me a headache. It's not exactly a Ponzi, but it's definitely not an insurance plan either, it's a money harvesting/skimming operation masquerading as an insurance pool. Christianity is the lipstick on this flying pig...because otherwise no one could be stupid enough to believe that faith-based cost sharing would work.
Ya gotta have faith to believe something like this is a real insurance plan. You just have to send in money and pray that you don't get sick..
How could they fall for it? They have a touching faith in fellow Christians™. Misplaced of course.
Touching happens all the time in churches, for evidence please google pastor arrested for molestation.
So sadly true. Mostly by pedophiles.
Like it was mentioned elsewhere here, the marks spent every Sunday training to unconditionally give their money away to strangers who say the right pass-phrases.
And by not going along shows a "Lack of Faith".
I find that disturbing.
Oh boy, whenever someone finds a lack of faith disturbing it means someone is getting force choked. =)
Does force choking the chicken count?
Like I am going to be stupid enough to tell some force user who or what they are and are not allowed to choke
Damned ancient religions.
Tell me about it, I prefer a good blaster at my side along with a 7 foot tall brown Alaskan Malamute.
That's my kink.
Call it a ministry, and you've got a cover for just about any scam you can dream up. These people personify the disconnect between religion and morality, as well as making compelling cases for atheism.
Violence and Nationalism: The Last Refuge of the Incompetent.
(Paraphrasing) I. Asimov
Once they start screaming how persecuted this poor little christian company is then more christians than ever will give them money and overlook everything the company has done to rip off their fellow christians in an effort to fight Satan and stop him from making a company suffer the consequences of their own actions.
Love your avatar!
I always wanted to use it on Disqus but they didn't allow gifs, at least not when I tried.
This is the only place where I’ve seen where animated GIF avatars will work, it’s the only feature on SubStack that doesn’t suck eggs.
I was on substack long before The OnlySky Great Transition That is Yet to Happen™. It's a more bookish crowd here that doesn't care much for multimedia or fonts, bolding or italics.
Think old skool. They didn't even allow math operators symbology for those of us who want to comment on math books...but then again, neither does Disqus.
for example: [t1]∫[t2] = mx¨(t)δx(t)∂t is just illegible and useless...
"[t1]∫[t2] = mx¨(t)δx(t)∂t is just illegible and useless"
yeah, for me too :-)
One of the steps of the Cartesian derivations of Hamiltonian mechanics. It's a lot easier to understand when written properly...
https://galileoandeinstein.phys.virginia.edu/7010/CM_04_HamiltonsPrinciple.html
"They thought they were getting health insurance from a company that proudly proclaimed conservative Christian values."
Well, there's their problem. Has anything good ever come out of anyone or anything that proclaims conservative christian values? Ever? Too many people think that sharing a delusion means something more than both of you are crazy.
I make a point of avoiding working with any entity (big or small) that promotes/endorses their "Christian Values." From Hobby Lobby to the electrician that has a cross or ichthys displayed on their ad/website/vehicles/business card.
I once had a young man back into my car and destroy my headlight. Perfectly pleasant chap, promised to pay and gave me his address. I took my car to the Christian owned garage, and the guy said something like – "you can have a genuine Toyota part but a clone is much much cheaper – but why don't we put in a clone and charge him for a genuine Toyota part, that would teach him a lesson." I nixed that. Got the headlight replaced sent off the bill to the kid, a few days later his cousin turns up at my place of work where he also worked, and gave me the money. Ironically, given that the kid was Pasifika, he was almost certainly a Christian as well. :)
Begun the Clone War has.
If you have no choice, get it in writing, run it past your lawyer first, and count your fingers after the handshake.
And just know that the entire time they will be praying to find a way to screw you over while also praying for forgiveness for screwing you over.
". . . while also praying for forgiveness for screwing you over."
That's beauty of being kristian, you're already forgiven.
Reading your comment, I was thinking how great it is that in Europe, religion is such a non-issue. No company I'm aware of has ever annoyed or bothered me by promoting or endorsing any religion; no carpenter, electrician, plumber, no doctor, nurse, or EMT no butcher, baker, or mechanic has ever mentioned, discussed or promoted their religious beliefs while doing their jobs. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, especially when I compare it to the stories I read about this "toxic religious miasma" that seems to be so normal “over there”.
They are relying on their in with the big man to cover the problems, so all will be good.
points out the unability of xians to research, critical think, think for themselves and to realize that xianity is a bad neighborhood.
... just sayin'
"Who's the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?"
in my mind, it is always the follower as the _more_ foolish.
... just in case you wanted an answer :-)
... It's a Star Wars quote.
I called "Medishare" once. They said their operators were "super easy to talk to"...except when they hang up on you when they find out you're an atheist. ;)
So THIS is Trump's big, beautiful health care plan? Pay to Pray.
If it was Trump's plan then the money would be going to Trump.
Fortunately, he wasn't smart enough to think of it first.
Even though Jesus tells his own followers to pray in secret and not in public.
"Aliera denied a $15,000 claim for breast cancer treatment ..."
Well, of course they did! You don't expect a good Christian organization to cover *gasp* boobies, do you?
Also, if I may be annoying for a moment, I'm just gonna fangril all over John Oliver. I finally broke down and subscribed to a streaming service just so I could see his show. The guy's a fucking treasure.
NY DAILY NEWS says Feb 14th is his return to HBO. https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-john-oliver-back-on-hbo-february-14-20210115-zhoqaufexreitjuh6zx3wg32zq-story.html#:~:text=The%20%E2%80%9CLast%20Week%20Tonight%E2%80%9D%20Twitter%20feed%20broke%20the,admonishes%20Oliver%20for%20objectifying%20him%20throughout%20the%20year.
"I finally broke down and subscribed to a streaming service just so I could see his show."
I hope there are other shows you want to watch on it because generally, a day or two after his show airs, it is available on YouTube.
Get a VPN. Using it means your service provider cannot see you and charge you. Mine is good until 2025 because I hit some specials soon after I subscribed.
I don't steal content. People put a lot of hours of work into creating it, and they deserve to be paid.
Only the main story is on YouTube, not the opening and closing segments, and it's not accessible in Canada for a couple of months, on average. (I won't watch anything that isn't on the official site. I have very strong opinions about stolen content.) I don't watch much else on the service - maybe one or two shows a month, more so when I'm having insomnia - because I despise searching for content from an online menu. Plus I enjoy very little TV anyway, and don't like watching movies on a computer. But I've added a couple of friends to my profile who get a fair bit of use out of it, so between taking care of them and being able to watch Oliver's show when it airs live, it's worth it to me.
Oliver is just that - entertainment. He's never claimed to be anything else, and will actually correct those who refer to his show as news. No need to sneer about what it is, or act superior to those who enjoy it.
He is okay for a Pom. Personally though I enjoy Jordan Klepper far more. He seems much cleverer, and gets the arseholes to condemn themselves out of their own mouths. And he doesn't talk for so long. :)
Yet another example of Christians behaving in a distinctly non-Christian way. But at least they are only ripping off fellow Christians which isn't quite so bad. Although how these guys sleep at night I just don't know. Maybe it's a Christian thing. :)
But these people will then become a burden on the community as a whole, which is exactly what today's christians think no one should be. The same people pocketing the cash from ripping thousands of christians will gladly tell the homeless and down on their luck to pick themselves up off the ground before they ask others for help, even when some of them will only be there because they got ripped off by these people.
"Today for me, tomorrow for you" seems to be beyond their capacity to understand the simple concept of solidarity. (Oops, that's a nasty word in the U.S. of A. isn't it?)
Commucialist !
OT: Justices suggest Boston should have flown 'Christian flag'
https://www.yahoo.com/news/justices-suggest-boston-flown-christian-182331055.html
What a surprise!
That particular flag is supposed to represent all of Christendom, but Protestants are the only ones who actually use it.
That's because they see themselves as the only true christians.
As represented by the rethuglikkkan jebas.
The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus by Al Franken:
https://imgur.com/gallery/bCqRp
The One True Flag™ is like The One True [Some Bullshit Here]™
One flag to rule them all, one flag to find them, one flag to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.
Time for the Satanists to break out a flag.
Christians -
🎶🎶🎶
Anything you can do
We can do shittier
*sure you can *
Yes we can!
I am sure that by agreeing with them you will have persecuted them in some way, shape or form.
"This week, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a civil lawsuit against Aliera and the Moses family that founded Trinity Healthshare (now known as Sharity Ministries… which seems appropriate since it’s a sham charity)."
They changed it to a ministry, and Christian privilege will give them a "get out of jail free" card. Just another Christian grift.
gorsuch claims a right to infect others. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/neil-gorsuch-stands-endanger-sonia-165444722.html
I can't get my head around the lack of normal human empathy that leads someone to behave like that.
Consewertives are pack animals. Since Sotomayor isn't a member of his pack, he doesn't give a shit about her. So much for Gorsuck being pro-life.
Slash-and-burn Bitch McConnell fought tooth and nail to keep the eminently-qualified Merrick Garland away from SCOTUS and then turned right around and fast-tracked this boob.
Turtle Man is on the hook for anyone Gorsuch infects. May he be one of Gorsuch's victims.
MY sediments exctly
Turtle Man's karma debt is so large, Yo Mama jokes will never be fat enough to cover it.
Gorsuch displays the same kind of entitlement that POC/minorities, the disabled and women have always battled against: i.e. "Fuck you, I got mine".
I got some of what I am entitled to, "eta: AS A WHITE MAN" so FUCK YOU
Christians demonstrating that they're far more into preying than praying.
It's pretty obvious why. Praying nets nothing. Preying gets results for them.
OT: Daniel Radcliffe will portray "Weird Al" Yankovic in an upcoming biopic. Visually I can see it, I don't know about the singing.
Turns out Daniel can sing...and dance! :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNTeeHhpxBE
(Song begins at about 1 and a half minutes in)
I knew he could sing and dance, I just don't know how well he could be Al.
I heard he danced with a horse once.
Ever dance with a pony in the pale stage light?
While completely naked onstage.
That's interesting, considering Yankovic is seven inches taller than Radcliffe.
Al is also very bendy. Don't think that Daniel will be able to emulate him in that way.
Yep, heel lifts can only get you so far.
Or the opposite, 6'2" Hugh Jackman playing a character that is 5'3". Hence Wolverine rather than Wolf, and all the short jokes in the comics.
John Rhys Davies/Gimli.
That's just...weird. :)
Love the fact that Al, who is an avowed Christian, has no issue whatsoever with being portrayed by an atheist.
"This video isn't available anymore"
https://youtu.be/0_KOmLp3GNs?t=21
Also:
https://youtu.be/Tfr1pM_SHxA?t=5
My bad. I kept making stupid mistakes in the link address. Finally got it right.
Under the "Copy video URL," there is "Copy video URL at current time." This is where the =21 and =5 come from.
Used to be able to allow you to mark an end point as well. I think they stopped that only a few days after introducing it.
Leviticus 25:17 has the biblical god itself telling believers not to take advantage of one another. It even tells them to fear him instead.
More scripture ignored as inconvenient by people who don't really follow the god they claim to.
Oh you silly billy, the bible is for hitting people with and to flash at others like a gang sign, no one actually reads the damned thing and if they do they sure as hell don't follow what it says.
They're too busy concentrating on the gay bashing part of Leviticus to go anywhere else in that 'book.'
Particularly the bit which says you shouldn't have tattoos. I've always loved that picture of a guy with the verse from Leviticus about gay people tattooed on his arm. It just goes to show the level of ... intellect? we are dealing with here.
But tattoos aren't covered by that verse anymore because they like tattoos, but gay people are still icky because someone in the new testament didn't like gay people. Yeah it is totally because someone in the new testament doesn't like gays has nothing to do with them not knowing how to feel about that time they came with an image of the captain of the football team in their head.
That guy was against ALL SEX. He said marriage was a cop out for the libidinous unable to keep it in their pants.
He was never explicitly against bestiality as far as I know.
Just like shrimp and lobster.
And mixed fiber clothes.
Also, here's an interesting read about that particular anti-gay verse: https://mediachomp.com/the-word-homosexual-was-mistranslated-in-the-bible/
Saul was probably a self loathing gay man.
I'm not an expert on the Jewish attitude towards homosexuality at the time of Jesus. Was it particularly harsh? Because that sort of thing does change a lot. A gay friend of mine had a long-term relationship with a Muslim guy from – Dubai I think – and the whole family was extremely accepting of it. Until of course grandchildren were needed. Said Muslim guy then left to do his duty : .)
"It just goes to show the level of ... intellect? we are dealing with here."
You're far more generous than me.
I always thought that the guy who got that ink done was a nonbeliever making a statement to believers.
I remember the guy who harassed two women on a beach, because christian morality, and how he had no problem to show his tattoos (one of them a creepy one about watching his sisters or something like that).
Irony is lost on the right-wing.
Except when they take a few moments of solitude while reading parts of the Song of Salomon.
And Ezekiel 23:20, given their fascination with bestiality.
Where would the profit be in doing that.