Samaritan Ministries is Going to Kill Someone - Part Two

In the first post in this series, I discussed the scary requirement that women who have ectopic pregnancies while on Samaritan Minstries health-care cost-sharing plan undergo "watchful waiting" and forego removal of the pregnancy until either the fallopian tube ruptures or the baby's heartbeat stops.   This is extremely dangerous for the mother because a ruptured fallopian tube can cause massive internal bleeding - and makes no difference in the outcome for the baby because the longest a pregnancy can survive in a fallopian tube before a rupture is 16 weeks which is two months prior to viability.

There are two other items in the "Maternity and Newborn Care" section of Samaritan Ministries that give me pause - and I need to give some background on how coverage works to explain my concerns.

Samaritan Ministries has two levels of cost-sharing coverage available.  The cheaper version is called "Samaritan Basic".  In return for a lower monthly cost-share amount, families have an inital deductible of $1,5000 for each medical issue that they need to cover (or have discounted by the doctor) before needs can be shared.  Once that basic benchmark is reached, 90% of the remaining cost is covered.  The older version is still available as "Samaritan Basic" and for ~$200 more a month, families receive a lower deductible of $300 a month and 100% of the remaining need is covered.

Here are the two sections that concern me:

Home Births—Home births have the $300 Samaritan Classic and $1,500 Samaritan Basic initial unshareable amount waived, and are not subject to prorating (see Section VI.D) because they reduce overall maternity costs.

After Cesarean—The $300/$1,500 initial unshareable amount is waived for a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).

I have grave concerns about the morality of offering women a monetary reward in exchanged for increased risk during labor and delivery.

I believe that home births should be legal - but I also believe that women should be informed of the much higher rates of injury and death for both the infant and mother in the rare case that a condition or situation occurs where rapid, trained medical care is needed.  The vast majority of home births will end with a healthy baby and a healthy mother because statistically most births are uncomplicated.  The tricky bit is that there is no way to screen pregnant women perfectly to determine who will be able to deliver at home safely and who will have a delivery complication prior to delivery. 

 Within the CP/QF community, Jill (Duggar) Dilard and Jessa (Duggar) Seewald have attempted four home births - and ended up hospitalized after three of them.

Jill had her water break with Israel and was in labor for 48 hours at home before going to the hospital.  (Laboring for 48 hours after membranes have ruptured without medical care is a bad idea;  the longer the membranes have been ruptured the higher the risk of an infection beginning that could have bad outcomes for Israel.)  At the hospital, Jill and Derick were surprised to find out that Israel was in a breech position that could not be delivered vaginally.  Jill had an uncomplicated C-section with Israel.

Jessa's labor with Spurgeon was straightforward if extremely painful.  The baby was delivered without any problems, but Jessa lost a lot of blood when the placenta was being delivered.  Her blood loss was severe enough that she had to be transfered to a local hospital for treatment.  Thankfully, she didn't have any retained placenta pieces and the bleeding stopped easily.  Now, the Duggar spin is that the blood transfusion she received the next day was simply a precaution because she was really tired after birth - but blood transfusions are never a standard occurance after giving birth.   By comparison, I came into the hospital with poor blood volume due to HELLP syndrome when my son was born, bled fairly little during his C-section and never needed a transfusion.  Don't get me wrong; I felt like shit-warmed-over for the first week after his birth and needed wheelchair transportation if I was going farther than a few hundred feet - but Jessa Seewald was worse off than I was.

From my point of view, telling pregnant women that they should giving birth away from trained medical professionals, pain relief, antibiotics, blood transfusions, operating rooms and emergency support for their newborn to save money is absolutely sick.

There's a question I have as well - will Samaritan cover the entire medical cost of a home birth gone wrong without proration, deductibles or maximum?   As nasty as home birth side-effects can be for mothers, the side-effects for babies can be catastrophic.  When a baby is born after oxygen deprivation or meconium inhalation, the medical treatments add up fast: three days of full-body cooling with 1:1 or 2:1 nurse to baby supervison, oxygen support through a ventilator, CPAP, or ECMO, neurological testing, blood work, dealing with feeding issues... a baby can rack up $10,000-$50,000 in charges per day.  Don't forget:  Samaritan - unlike commerical health insurance or  Medicare  - doesn't cover durable medical equipment once the kid is discharged.  My son went home on a medical-grade monitor and oxygen from a concentrator.  Those are rented at $300 per month each.  That doesn't include the disposable items he needed like nasal cannulas, NG tubes, specialized tapes to stick both to his face.    Samaritan does cover 45 days of home nursing care - which won't last long a baby goes home on a ventilator. 

The second issue surrounds vaginal births after C-sections which is shortened to VBACs.   VBACs carry a higher risk of side-effects to both the mother and infant.  The most concerning issue is that the scar from the previous C-section will rupture.  To qualify for a VBAC, women need to have a scar that is entirely contained in the lower section of the uterus.  These type of scars have a 1% chance of rupture during a VBAC so women who want to attempt a VBAC need to do so in a hospital where the baby can be monitored and an emergency C-section can be done if a rupture occurs.  A uterine rupture carries a higher risk of postpartum bleeding leading to a transfusion or an emergency hysterectomy.  Very rarely, the baby suffers injury or death from oxygen deprivation between when the rupture occurs and when the baby can be delivered by C-section despite being in the hospital.

I would hate for a woman to feel compelled to try a VBAC for finanical reasons; that seems cruel to risk serious complications because a family badly needs money for other things. 

My largest concern is for women who decide to try a VBAC at home.   Having a VBAC in the hospital mitigates the risks of bleeding and rupture by having an operating room and mass blood tranfusion protocol immediately available if the baby shows signs of distress.   Havign a VBAC at home raises the risk factor exponentially.  First - not all women who have had a C-section are good candidates for a VBAC.  Because my son was born very early, I have a scar that reaches into the upper section of the uterus.  These types of scars have between a 6-12% chance of rupture during labor.  Spacing between babies is also important for VBAC candidates; a pregnancy conceived earlier than 18 months-2 years after a C-section more likely to have a uterine rupture because the scar didn't have time to fully heal before being stressed by the next pregnancies.  Since home birth attendants are almost never OB/GYNs or CNMs in the US, mothers who are being cared for by non-medical professionals prior to a home birth may not be screened appropriately.  Second - if a rupture or catastrophic bleeding occurs, precious time is wasted in transporting the mother to a hospital, getting her stabilized and starting a C-section.   This can directly lead to the death of the baby or the mother.

ATI Wisdom Booklets: How Not to Farm In Temperate Areas....

ATI Wisdom Booklet #18 tackles the rules involving farming and animal husbandry covered in the Old Testament. 

These rules are fascinating from historical and scientific perspectives.  These rules reflected pieces of hard-won wisdom about farming in an arid climate and methods of preventing loss of crops.  They are a great jumping off point for discussions of farming traditions in a variety of cultures and climates.

Since the booklet was produced by ATI, all of that subtlety and nuance is lost.  The rules are assumed to be universal and unchanging so facts are twisted, omitted or entirely falsified to force that conclusion. 

The first page is a jumble of verses from Deuteronomy that state that God will bless His people if they follow the laws of farming.  That's true enough  - but God spends most of Leviticus and Deuteronomy holding out a carrot for good behavior and a threat of absolute destruction for any disobedience - so a grain of salt should be used.

The first law discussed is the Jubilee Year in which no crops are to be harvested.  This happens every seventh year.  The booklet states that fallowing the land allows macro-nutrients to be replenished and erosion to be limited.  Both of those statements are true - but rather misleading.  Fallowing the land is the slowest way to regenerate macro-nutrients I can think of.  Faster ways include applying inorganic fertilizers, applying organic fertilizers like manure or compost, or rotating crops that fix nitrogen like beans.  Likewise, fallowing the land is better at controlling erosion than plowing a field before rain, but modern techniques like no-till planting are even more effective.  If farmers are using outdated and damaging farming methods like deep tillage before rain or stripping nutrients with no return, skipping one year out of every seven isn't going to save their soil.

The last reason is that "Moisture needs to be restored".

ATI Wisdom Booklets: Poisonous Counseling - Part Two

This is the second post on toxic counseling techniques taught in Wisdom Booklets.  Eight of the twenty steps can be summarized as "The Wronged Person is Always Wrong".  A previous topic of "Stay Under Authority" began this process by claiming that any disagreement by a woman or child is rebellion against their parents or husband and will be punished by Satan.  Now, a variety of techniques are used to minimize and brainwash the wronged person.

Step Two is "Realize that the One With the Grievance is Usually the Key to the Solution."  The counselor is told to assume that the person who complains about an issue actually struggles with the same issue themselves.  That's insane advice.

The highlighted portion reads "A clear guideline for any counselor is knowing that when one person condemns another, he is often guilty of precisely the same problem." This is a classic example of poisoning the well.  

Run away from any counselor who responds to "My spouse had an affair" with "You've lusted after someone in your heart and that's the same problem" or to "My child stole $1,000 dollars from us" with "You've been covetous before - and that's the same thing."

Step Five is "Understand that all conflicts are the result of resisting God's grace".  Truthfully, most of the section is a convoluted digression on what grace is.  The toxic bit is that when a person sins against us, we are supposed to instantly forgive the offender.  If we don't, we are bitter.

I might accept this argument as long as the definition of forgiveness is "do not retaliate against that person by wronging them in the same way." 

If the definition of forgiveness is closer to the idea of giving the person an immediate pass from all consequences of their behavior, I will never agree with it. 

You can forgive a spouse who commits adultery while ending a marriage.  You can forgive an attacker while working within the criminal justice system to see them punished for their crimes.  You can forgive an ex-lover for treating you badly while breaking off the relationship entirely.  Forgiving is not forgetting or forgoing consequences.

Step Six is "Look for Evidence of Three Root Problems"  Gothard teaches that all "problems" arise from greed, bitterness or moral impurity.  The booklet includes a diagram that makes absolutely no sense to me:

I can't take anyone seriously who lumps "wrong clothes" and "wrong music" into the same category as "runaways".  Ditto for putting "boredom" and "impetuosity" as attitudes.

Just out of curiosity, is the agonizing boredom of being a stay-at-home daughter due to bitterness, greed or moral impurity?  Can anyone answer that without laughing?

This step also gives a great example of how to blame the people who want counsel for their problems:


I was struck by posts I remember reading at "Recovering Grace" that detailed how teenagers were sent out to counsel real adults in ATI/ATIA/IBLP.  Imagine how horrifying it would be to state that you were having marriage problems to a teenager - then have the teenager start asking if it was due moral impurity now, moral impurity before your marriage or if you were actively involved in perversions.  *shudders*  Then imagine discussing how your family is struggling because your boss isn't paying you overtime required by law - and have the kid chirp up that that's a sign of greed.

Now imagine you are the teen hearing all of this and having to give sage advice. *shudders*

This is NOT ok.

Step Twelve is "Pinpoint the Problem before Agreeing to Give Counsel" which basically means have the person give a simple, one-sentence summary of the problem before agreeing to meet with them.  It's not terrible advice per se - but the twist is that people are taught that anyone who doesn't want to do that is rationalizing a sin like adultery or murder.


This is shitty advice regardless of the other person's problem.  There's no differentiation between Josh Duggar confessing that he's molesting his sisters and unrelated girls and one of his sisters' confessing they were molested.  There's no differentiation between the secretary who told the police that a principal was scamming the state for millions of dollars and the principal himself. 


Step Thirteen is "Set Up An Appointment - Do Not Give Immediate Counsel". Instead - make an appointment and have the write a one-page summary of the problem in hopes that they figure out the issue themselves.  Truthfully, I hope that people figured it out themselves rather than returning for some more brainwashing.

The most ham-handed example is Step 16: "Lead the Person in Precise Prayers."  Counselors are instructed how to encourage their client to spontaneously pray - while requiring the person to re-do the prayer until the person has included all of the points that the counselor wants in the prayer.

I was struck how there is no discussion of if the teenager really wanted to surrender their will to the Lord.  Even among the most ardent people, someone might not be ready to take that step.  This is creating a situation where the client will learn to parrot whatever the counselor wants them to say without thinking about it as a best case scenario.  Worst case scenario - the client is hiding the fact that they have no intention of changing their ways - and I don't like forcing people to lie to get out of a weird counseling session.

Step Seventeen is "Learn to be an 'instructive listener'" which is jargon for "use your body language to convey judgement instantaneously".



This is epically bad advice for a multitude of reasons.

My first objection is that this is an underhanded way of expressing disapproval.  Adults speak up when they disagree with someone; they don't train themselves to use body language instead of speech.

My second objection is more practical; the advice for the "listener" will send a completely different message than the booklet tells them to expect it to.

When people are discussing emotionally sensitive topics, talking to a relaxed face listener who is attentive works pretty well.  Talking to a human replica of a bobble-head is not relaxing - in fact, excessive head-nodding with a forced grin is generally read as increased anxiety on behalf of the listener.  The net outcome is that the speaker thinks that the "good ideas" are causing anxiety in the listener - not the positive feedback they wanted.

When the practitioner of this crazed advice moves to the second stage where they nod less and their smile becomes natural,  they are conveying that they are more relaxed and less anxious about this topic.  In other words, they are conveying approval of the message rather than mild disapproval.

The last stage where the person is not smiling, not nodding and making eye contact - that's a neutral face that professional counselors spend hours learning to do while people disclose emotionally charged information.  It is often the least threatening or disturbing face for people who need support - which is the complete opposite of what the Wisdom Booklet is expecting to happen.

My last objection is pragmatic; learning to follow this advice is extremely time-consuming and requires active practice.  The listener needs to be monitoring their facial expressions and adjusting their expressions minutely in response to how well the speaker's ideas fit a preconceived notion all while processing continued speech by the speaker.  It's not like the speaker says one idea and pauses for 30 seconds while the listener works all this out.  Learning to have a neutral face - and how to quickly return to a neutral face when the listener has a strong reaction to a statement - is plenty hard; having to choose between "bobblehead", "active listening", or "neutral face" would be exceptionally difficult - and exhausting.

And presumably the listener would need to speak eventually.....if they haven't collapsed from exhaustion.

Speaking of exhaustion - I'm done with this wisdom booklet.  Thank God for small favors.

ATI Wisdom Booklets: Poisonous Counseling --Part One

I find most of the Wisdom Booklets produced by the Gothardite cult - also known as ATI/ATIA/IBLP or the Duggar Family cult - to be amusing. 

I'm horrified at the idea of people using these booklets as an educational course - but a lot of the crap that gets included is hilarious.

This one booklet is not funny.  It's not mildly harmful or slightly misleading. 

It's a load of toxic shit theology combined with basic brainwashing techniques that puts any person who is not the paterfamilias of a family in danger of abuse.

This booklet makes it much clearer to me why the Duggar Sisters never spoke about Josh's molestation of them - even to report it to their parents.  Jill and Jessa's defense of Josh makes a whole lot more sense as well.

This will be divided into two posts covering the four themes in the booklet.  This post covers "Take Up Your Complaint With Your Abuser", "Listening Like a Grown-Up" and "WTF? No, seriously. WTF?" 

Next week's ATI Wisdom Booklet post will cover "The Wronged Person is Clearly the Problem"

The introduction to this section starts out with a medically and theologically flawed premise: physical and mental illnesses are caused by sin.


Look, medical doctors ask about some sensitive issues when an illness or injury could be caused by something like an STD, smoking, alcohol use, or relational abuse.  That's very different from asking - or caring - about the morality of a choice.

Interestingly, the link between sin and illness or disability is specifically rejected in the Gospels.  A major theme of John 9 is that being born blind was not because of the sin of the blind man or his parents.  That shoots a whole lot of the theology in CP/QF land to hell.

Of the 20 steps listed in counseling, four steps can be summarized as "Take Your Complaint Up With Your Abuser." 

The "religious rationale" for this is that every person is under the authority of of a male spiritual leader - father, husband, religious leader - who protects them from Satan's wiles.  If a person who is under protection rebels against their authority figure, Satan will capture them because they have committed the sin of witchcraft.   They've even made a kitschy clipart diagram to help people remember:


This argument works if you read the partially quoted verses of the Bible only - and never read any of the rest of the Bible.

Here's a quick list of people who stepped outside of their authority figures and ended up absolutely fine.

• Rachel
• Jacob
• Joseph
• David
• Abigail
• Ruth
• Esther
• Mary
• Jesus

The Bible even gives a nice counter-example of how Job kept on the straight and narrow his whole life and still ended up being tortured by Satan.

The first step is "Determine who is spiritually responsible for him".  The author spends a few paragraphs giving a whole song-and-dance about the importance of keeping people under the correct authority, then uses a simple form of poisoning-the-well to guard against well-meaning counselors hearing abuse allegations:

The author does a nice job of sandwiching "I can't talk to my authority; he's the problem" between the two minor issues of "They didn't know the answer" and "Not Christians".  That's a classic way of diminishing the impact of a person's plea for help.

Once the concern has been diminished, the author reminds the counselor that problems can only be solved by talking to the authority figure.  

• That's not entirely true even for the normal issues that happen in families.  
• A teenager whose parent won't let them play death metal as loudly as the teen wants (true story :-) ) really doesn't need to have a deep heart-to heart with their parents on music volume expectations.  The teen was just looking to blow off steam - and chatting with a sympathetic teacher who pointed out that medicine isn't so good at treating hearing loss did the trick.
• On the flip side, a 17 year old student who is struggling because they are caring for 4  siblings aged 12 and under since their only custodial parent went to Idaho to live with their newest significant other 2 months ago is beyond the "talk to mom or dad" phase as well.  Some situations move directly to "involve governmental organizations".

Step Three is "Discern any symptom of rebellion".  Step Four is "See the problem from God's perspective" which means "look for any signs of rebellion".  Both sections begin by directly stating that harsh or unjust treatment is always due to inappropriate behavior by the person who is rebelling.

From Step Three:

This section is terrifying because it provides potential abusers with a script for victim-blaming. 

Even setting aside abusive situations for a moment, this script is completely useless for among adults because it falls apart under a trivial marital issue. Allow me to demonstrate:

Me: "My husband spends more time playing video games after work than he does interacting with me!"
ATI dingbat: "What did you do that caused him to prefer video games to you?"
Me: "*side-eyes person*  I don't have level-up rewards?  I don't have gold reward tokens that he can exchange for building materials to work on his village? You are kidding me, right?"

The last of the steps that fits in this category is "Guard against inappropriate emotional attachments".  While this is pretty solid advice for trained counselors, this section focuses entirely on extramarital affairs.  The section reinforces the false idea in CP/QF theology that women and men cannot interact on any level safely.

I find it deeply ironic that the adherents of CP/QF beliefs purport to hold themselves to a higher standard than the rest of us heathens while living in dread fear that they will be completely unable to control themselves if tempted by someone of the opposite gender.  For most people, attraction can be nipped in the bud by self-control applied early and often.  I've found myself attracted to men who were married before - and yet I've never had an emotional or physical affair.  When I became aware of my feelings of attraction,  I accepted that I felt that way, affirmed my desire not to be involved in an affair, and made sure my actions were restricted to the role I played in my job, volunteer work, schooling etc.

I find the paragraph about women setting out to seduce male pastors to be questionable in the extreme.  I can see where women would be attracted to the role of a safe, emotionally available spiritual leader - but that's much different than calmly setting out to seduce a pastor so that the woman will feel less guilty.  In fact, that's just a weird assumption about how any person would assuage their guilt.

The next theme is "Listening like a Grown-Up".  Many people attracted to high demand religious groups come from backgrounds where they dealt with adults who never modeled good communication skills so this theme is attractive since it teaches how to be a good listener.  Steps within this theme are innocuous enough like

• Step Seven: "Make Sure You Understand the Real Problem" - e.g., people will ask you about a relatively minor problem to judge your counseling skill before asking you about a major problem.
• Step Nine: "Refuse to Be Sworn to Secrecy Before Hearing the Problem" - excellent advice but strangely passive wording of the situation.
• Step Ten: "Handle Disabling Emotions before Working the Problem" - if the person is not in a fairly calm emotional state, help them settle down before dealing with the issues.
• Step Eleven: "Identify the Point of Greatest Resistance" - figure out what's keeping them from resolving the problem.
• Step Eight: "Learn to ask Perceptive Questions" - great tip; horrible Biblical examples.  Do not try and sound like Solomon or Jesus.......

The last clump consists of two absolutely insane pieces of advice. 

Step Fourteen is "Bind Satan Before Trying to Spoil his House".  Apparently, Satan can only be bound through using a three-step prayer constructed using ideas scattered throughout the Bible.  Allow me to point out my deep amusement at an extremely formulaic - and dare I say legalistic? - prayer from a group who routinely derides Catholics as being formulaic and legalistic.

Step Twenty is "Show how Past Failures Can Become a Positive Message".  Yup.  Everyone wants help in making sure they have the best testimonial out there!

The next post in this series will be outlining the problematic brainwashing techniques that Wisdom Booklets want counselors to learn to keep everyone in line.

(Blogger note: My posts may be a bit irregular on dates over the next few weeks.  My husband has a cold which means my son may get his first respiratory illness soon; we've in the middle of a full slate of assorted doctor/specialist/therapist visits and I managed to break a tooth badly enough that it needs to be extracted and replaced with an implant - but good news: the nerve is dead so the tooth doesn't hurt.  I was wondering why I felt more tired than usual -and then I read the last paragraph aloud.)

ATI Wisdom Booklets: Bright and Shining Countenance

If you've ever wondered how people can pick out the Duggars - or the Bates Family or the Mally Family - as members of the ATI/ATIA/IBLP Gothardite cult from glancing at a picture of their daughters,  Wisdom Booklet 15's medicinal resource on "Ways to Direct the Eyes of Others to Your Countenance" will give you an overview of the basics.

And I did type that correctly - this is in the medical resource section.  My doctors have never given me clothing or hair tips so they must be heathen scumbags.

Here we go!  We have 10 tips overall.



Yup - if you are not smiling, you are failing as an ambassador to Christ!  People are going to hell now because you were too lazy to smile!  HOW CAN YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!

Look, I'm a natural smiley person.  Having someone smile at me when I'm feeling down makes me feel a bit better.  I hope that making eye contact and smiling at people makes them feel seen if nothing else.

Having gotten that out of the way, this is so ham-handed it makes me want to glower at people for a week.

God so loved the world that he created a cheat sheet of colors based on the northern hemisphere temperate seasons. 

I refrained from screen-shoting the mangled history of how the seasonal skin tone was created.

There is an example of a season-color wheel to use.  There are two problems.  First, there's no real explanation of how to determine which season you are personally.  Second, the "right" colors are not explained well...and some are just plain wrong.  I'm a "winter" color palette - blue/pink undertone, blue eyes, blonde hair, can sunburn year-round pale skin.  The winter color section wants me to wear grey and "shocking" pink....no.

This section is true enough factually - but wearing the wrong colors is now implied to be a moral failure.   

I don't buy the premise that the wrong colors make your face disappear, either.  You might look like a wreck - but people aren't going to be staring at your clothes instead.

The editors probably had to work overtime on this section.  The real goal of female hair styles is to imitate the style that Bill Gothard finds sexy - below the shoulder and in loose curls that are clearly done by human styling.  If hair is naturally curly, straighten it - then curl it into orange juice can curls. 

Obs, everyone in this cult is of Northern European or Western European descent.  If not, get working on getting rid of any hair features that aren't NW European.

Men, you all get one hair cut.  As described in "The Big Bang Theory", it is number 7 on that chart from the 1950's.

Long hair on men is a sign of rebellion, pure and simple.  Keep it short or else.

Reminder: this is in the medical resource section!

This is the reason the Duggar Daughters often wear infinity scarfs - but wear them so high they look like a cowl that is trying to suffocate the wearer rather than a scarf.

For women, there is an even easier way to determine if an accessory is appropriate: You should look like a airline stewardess from the early 1980's before you leave the house.

Guys - never dress casually.  That's how Satan gets people.  Beards are the Mark of Cain.

Number Five is that men should wear clothing that fits properly - including diagrams that show proper fitting suits as being too tight.

Plus, the "too short" trouser is only too short by a millimeter or two - if at all.  

The person who wrote the first two tips must not have much of a sense of humor - how else could you follow a section on how evil sundresses are because they show shoulders with a section on how a clinging fabric is worse than being naked? 

Really, at this point, the author is making a decent case for running around buck naked.  We can all stare at each other's genitalia for a minute or two then move on.

Fishnet stocking can be sexy; sheer hose with a lacy pattern....not so much.

Geez - people read the messages on shirts?  Will the wonders never cease?   I'm sure that I've tempted plenty of men today in my heavy cotton t-shirt that has two moose exchanging a maple leaf with the slogan "I love Canada!" located on my chest.  It's soooooo sexy!

Asymmetrical hemlines are evil.  So are any color combinations that Gothard doesn't like.  Mmm'K.

The "Lines of Accessories" thing is a hoot.  First, that's not what people's eyes do.  Vertical lines tend to cause us to assume the shape is more elongated.  We don't follow the line to the end and stare blankly just below it.  Second, under those rules, men's ties point right at their crotch and women's neck scarves point at their breasts. 

The line about how shoes can draw attention to the ankles kills me - Gothard preferred the teenage girls he was grooming to wear pumps so he could play footsie on car trips.

I love how the last section is all about how women need to wear make-up.  Having flawed skin is now a moral failing along with wearing makeup in a way that Gothard doesn't like. 

Does anyone remember a section of the Gospel devoted to details on how to keep people looking at your face?  I certainly don't.....

Number Seven is be neat, clean, don't be overweight and exercise.  Of the three short paragraphs written on this topic, the longest is on the importance of keeping clothing washed and pressed.  There is a single sentence on the importance of hygiene and weight control so that the flaws in your appearance don't detract from the Gospel message.  That sounds like the worst weight loss plan ever....

Yes, ladies.  Despite being continuously pregnant, lactating and chasing after a house full of preschoolers, you still need to look like Donna Reed when she's at her lowest body weight.  Good luck!

Telling women to keep their abdominal muscles toned is especially cruel since repeated, closely-spaced pregnancies is a risk factor for diastasis recti or a permanent separation of the abdominal muscles.  This causes the stomach to have a pouch-like shape - and most abdominal exercises tend to make the problem worse rather than better.

The feet bit is insane.  Most people are slightly pointed out at rest while standing - but obsessing about having your feet pointed exactly straight may cause gait problems over time.

First - no shit.  I've yet to run into a woman who doesn't know that a woman in a skirt should keep her legs together while sitting.

Second - Have a section on how men sit.  Some women slouch - but there are a whole lot more men who look like sacks of pudding on a chair.  Guys can keep their legs together, too.

Nothing says timeless elegance like a cable-knit sweater over pleated chinos.  That'll never go out of style.  

I get where the author is trying to go with setting a good example in clothing - but people will stare at you if everyone else decided the correct outfit is a t-shirt with a message and patched jeans while you are wearing a collared shirt, tie, dress sweater and business khakis

OMG!  It's a true cable-knit sweater with pleated khakis!  That is a perfect example of a classic look that NEVER went out of style!

Um.... two paragraphs back the author claimed that the important part was dressing appropriately - and damn what others think.  Now, dressing differently from others is bad.  Which is it?

Also - the second paragraph is word-salad.  How is someone supposed to pull off being separated from the world while blending in enough to interact with others? 

The author is implying that people completely lose control of their eyes and the eyes are sending all sorts of messages without the consent of the person.  That's not how that works.

Plus, QF/CP teenagers are already nervous about interacting with the opposite gender so telling them that looking too long and winking are major problems is just mean.

So....the only eyes that are showing insincerity, dishonesty and/or treachery in the practice section is the only African-American in the whole booklet.  That's disturbing.

The workbook comes with a section that you can use to practice finding eye traps!  

What kills me about these outfits is that none of them are immodest a long stretch.  Number six manages to look fairly dowdy even by mid-eighties standards - and yet it has TWO eye traps!  The bib is pointing down towards the chest...and I think she's wearing nylons with patterns woven in them. 
(Medical tip: if your legs look like that without figured hose on - seek medical attention.  Something bad is going on.....)

ATI Wisdom Booklet 5: Science - How Wheat Grows

In today's little slice of crazy from ATI's Wisdom Booklet 5, we take John 12:24 and use it as the basis for an entire lesson on how plants grow from seeds.  Teaching kids how plants grow is a great idea!  Using John 12:24 as a literal explanation of how wheat grows is a terrible idea.

I don't want anyone to think I'm bashing the Bible.  I love the metaphor in this verse about how death or loss often brings new life.  I've been humming the hymn "Unless A Grain of Wheat" all day.  Historically, the metaphor makes sense.  In areas of the world with seasonal dry spells - either hot times without rain or cold times where water is frozen - it seems like seeds have to go through a "dead" spell where they are dried out before they can germinate.

The problem comes is that the seeds that germinate are not dead during the dry time.  They are dormant.  This would have been impossible to see during the time of the Bible, but we are well aware of it now.

It's Not That Complicated: Chapter 9 - Part Two

In addition to questionable dialogue, this chapter feels like the Botkin Sisters were trying to expand the book from where all the topics were naturally spent to some unspecified length.

In other words, this chapter is pretty much a repeat of Chapters 6 + 7.  There is one new topic - and it pissed me off - but the Botkin Sisters view on female intelligence wasn't an actual surprise.

Overarching Themes: 
Being a good girl depends solely on how men perceive your actions.  Good girls should be available for sisterly interactions instantly and on demand.

“According to our brothers, they do appreciate it when: 

• A girl seems comfortable and at ease.
• A girl talks to them in the same spirit that their sisters do.
• A girl is a good conversationalist, is well educated, and has interesting things to say. (Able to speak intelligently on subjects that will be of general interest to a mixed audience – e.g., topics other than sewing, clothes, chick flicks, fad diets, themselves, etc.)
• A girl has a genuine interest in things of God, and an eagerness to speak of them and discuss them.” (pg. 160)

ATI Wisdom Booklet 2: Medical - Breathing and Speech

I get a strange feeling of unease every time I type "ATI" and "medical" in the same sentence.  I think this is because the medical section is quite strange.  This section, for example, manages to be very detailed without necessarily teaching information well.

RU: Labor Exploitation for Jesus: Part Fifteen

We are finally nearing the end of the Application Form for RU: School of Disciples.    So far, RU's collected personal identification information, legal information, health information and previous employment information.

They have a section on a background check that matches closely the background check run by the school districts I have worked for.  The two major differences are that the background check used for teachers costs ~100 dollars and involves being fingerprinted by the local police department.  The RU background check costs $40.00 and is limited to what information was provided by the applicant.

The drug screen form is similar to one I signed for an industry job with one little change:

I'm pretty sure the legality of the document is based more on the signature of the applicant than the fact that RU is paying for them.

Notice that RU never asks for permission to see the results of the drug test - that's an interesting oversight.

This next part is a doozy that I didn't see coming.

RU requires their students to apply for food stamps.

That's really fucked up - especially since the patients/clients are ineligible based on the amount of wages they should be earning.

Why should students in RU's program be ineligible for food stamps?

From the USDA website: the gross monthly income eligibility maximum for a family of one is $1,276.

Illinois' minimum wage is $8.25 per hour.  According to RU, patients are working a minimum of 40 hours a week which is 160 hours a month.  160 hours x $8.25 dollars per hour = $1,320 gross income per week.  In the previous post, I argued that most of the patient / students probably earn more than minimum wage, so RU's fleecing the government.

How much could RU earn?  

From the USDA website:
 - Take the net monthly income for the family unit and multiply by .3.  This is the amount of money a household is expected to pay for food.
     - Since RU students/patients make $0, $0.00 x 0.3 = $0.00
-Subtract the maximum monthly allotment limit from the expected household payment to get the amount of food stamps.
     - $194 is the maximum for 1 person.  $194 - $0 = $194 dollars monthly.

That's $1,164 in six months.

Follow up question - Do the patients/students declare themselves as a family of one - as I did - or do they count their dependent spouses and children?

Let's run the math for Josh Duggar if RU required him to declare Anna and his four kids. He's still making $0.00 - but the maximum allotment for a family of six is $925 per month.

 Josh's monthly EBT would be $925 per month or $5,550 dollars in six months.

I think I just figured out why they wanted the age and marital status of all of the kids of the clients/patients.   Fuckers.

RU: Labor Exploitation for Jesus: Part Fourteen

Honestly, I never expected this series to get this long - but the more I read about this program the more freaked out I got.  In fact, my husband argues that signing up for RU's Schools of Discipleship should be legally admissible as a sign of mental incompetence.

Today, we look at the work information that RU wants prior to acceptance.

Previous Employment:

1. Notice the conspicuous absence of the standard box under each job that asks "Can we contact this employer?"  I don't want RU to call anyone I've ever worked with...ever....for any reason.
2. RU doesn't seem to care about length of employment either.  
3. What do you do if you have more than three previous jobs?  I've had nine paying jobs since I was 16.

Skills Section:

1. Later in the application, RU argues that all of the work completed during the ministry is similar to an unpaid internship.  Without going into all of the problems with their interpretation of an unpaid internship, the first legal requirement of an unpaid internship is that the intern is learning new skills that can be applied to other employment opportunities.  As such, if you have any of these skills before the program, you can't do an unpaid internship to learn the same skills.
2. Let's do some math on how much money RU is actually making on each "student volunteer".  To find salaries/wages, I used salary.com for median salaries in 61101 which is the Rockford, IL zipcode.  

Example One: A woman who working in the shipping/orders department for 40 hours a week, completes 2 hours of chores that the facility should have paid wages for and 5 hours of janitorial work on Saturdays.

• Median salary for shipping clerk in Rockford, IL is $30,995 per year - so that would be approximately $15,497.50 in six months.  
• Minimum wage for 2 hours per week which is 48 hours in six months at $8.25/hr = $396
• Median salary for janitors is $13.00 per hour for 120 hours in six months = $1,560

Total wages to RU: $17,453.50

Example Two: A woman works as an office assistant for 40 hours a week + the same 7 hours of extra work in Example One.

• Office assistant median wage is $19.00.  Six months of 40 hour weeks is 960 hours for $18,240.
• Seven hours of additional work across 6 months = $1,956

Total wages to RU: $20,196.00

Example Three: A woman works in the North Love Christian School or College as a substitute or "specials" teacher.  

• The first quartile* (25%) hourly wage for teachers in Rockford is $22.00 for $21,220
• Seven hours of additional work across 6 months = $1,956

Total wages to RU: $23,185

Example Four: A man works as an intermediate level carpenter or auto mechanic for 45 hours a week with 2 hours of additional chores.

• Carpenter II median hourly is $23.00 per hour for 960 hours for $22,080.
• 120 hours of over-time for $34.50 per hours for $4,140.
• 48 hours of minimum wage chores is $396.

Total wages to RU: $26,616

Example Five: A man works as an intermediate level electrician for 45 hours a week with 2 hours of chores.

• Electrician II median hourly is $27.00 per hour for 960 for $25,920.
• Overtime wages: $4,860
• Chores wages: $396

Total wages to RU: $31,176

RU gets a good amount of cash from each of their "students".  In addition, RU Ministry manages to avoid having to pay the matching taxes and workmen's compensation that would be required if the jobs done by "students/patients" were done by employees.

RU: Labor Exploitation for Jesus: Part Thirteen

Now that RU: Schools of Discipleship has collected enough personal and legal information to steal your identity or mess with your life, they move on to collecting health information.

If RU was an employer, they would be allowed to ask if you can perform the job you are applying for.

If RU was a medical facility, they would ask detailed questions about your health after accepting you as a patient.

At this point, remember:

• all information is being collected prior to acceptance into the program
• RU has no written policy on who has access to your records or how those records will be managed if you are accepted or rejected from the program.
• At least one current staff member has been in prison for unspecified charges.

Can anyone who has a chronic condition fit their appointment schedule and medications in the space provided?  I know I'd be way out of space....

Interesting fact: If you are "required" to volunteer for anything, you are not volunteering any more.

1. I don't trust these goofballs enough to give them a list of prescription drugs I am using right now, let alone a list of drugs that were abused with dates and length of time I used them.  Minor annoyance: they spelled length as "legth".
2. I can live with the question about hospitalization for mental illness.  The details of when, why, where and discharge date are none of their damn business on an application.
3. I can live with the therapist question.  The dates and reasons are none of their business.
4. The list of health issues is both strangely over-detailed and missing things at the same time.

• How many adults have NEVER had a toothache or backache?
• Leukemia is a type of cancer.
• "Kidney, Thyroid, and Prostate" are names of organs not disorders.
• HIV is missing; AIDS is the point where someone's immune function is impaired from HIV.
• Odd omissions: asthma, allergies, skin disorders, sleep disorders, and muscular disorders.

Interesting fact: The 45 hours per week is work at RU ministries and outside employers.  They forgot to count the ~30 minutes a day you spend doing facility chores that students/patients are supposed to get paid for in Illinois.  It's more like a 48 hour work week.

Why did it take 5 pages of personal information BEFORE the disclosure of RU being "not a medical facility?"

If this is not a medical facility AND they will provide no medical assistance, why do they need all this medical information?

NO non-medical facility should be involved in treating eating disorders or people who are currently physically addicted to a substance.  Anorexia has the highest fatality rate of mental health disorders.  Some drugs are safe to stop taking "cold turkey" although the process is miserable.  Some drugs - like alcohol and some frequently abused prescription drugs - change brain chemistry in a way that makes going "cold turkey" life threatening.

"Have you ever thought about or tried to commit suicide?"  I don't think that question is asking what they want it to since everyone has thought about suicide as a topic or a word at some point in their life.  

My two cents: Do you want to give these people a list of your current and former family members, how to contact them and the information that you had a STD at some point in the past?  Do you trust these people to use this information responsibly? 

RU: Labor Exploitation for Jesus - Part Twelve

We've moved on to the Complete Application portion of RU Homes.  So far, you've coughed up enough information for your identity to be stolen (name, address, birth date, SSN), and plenty of information that could be used to steal passwords and/or use as emotional manipulation (current and previous marriages, children's name, age and marital status.)

As previously, red/orange marks are for information that has potential to be misused while blue is something I find funny or ironic.

Today's theme: Legal information that RU Homes wants.

Have you ever been arrested or in jail?  Where? Charges? Time Served?

Oh, freaking no.  Arrests and being in jail are not a sign of guilt; many people have been arrested or been in jail without having done anything wrong.  

Why would RU Homes want this information?  Well, emotional manipulation springs to mind - or blackmail.

Status of supervision, parole, probation:

I don't have a problem with that question per se; the problem is that people who are on supervision and parole are generally required to stay in a tight geographic area.  I doubt they are going to be allowed to relocate for RU Homes.

Name and contact information of parole/probation officer:

I wouldn't give that information over either - before or after being accepted to the program.  So far, RU has information that can be used to embarrass patients.

 Contacting a parole or probation officer with a negative behavior report can have negative repercussions on personal freedom.

 Imagine a parole officer getting calls that Jane Smith has received two major infractions during her program.  Now, hopefully the parole officer would ask about the cause because this could be as minor as "occult or New Age behaviors" or talking with a guy.  On the other hand, a parole officer could mistakenly assume that a major infraction means Jane is using drugs again or has tried to escape.  Bluntly, turning this over is giving RU a free rein to threaten to have you returned to jail or prison.

Details of upcoming court cases:

Is RU Homes a lawyer?  No.  They don't need to know the details - except perhaps dates needed in court - in writing.  

You may be obligated to reschedule court dates when accepted to the program.

Uh.....seriously?  Does RU Homes expect the US Court System to accommodate them?  Good luck with that.

Do you have to register your residence with any entity whatsoever? Y/N

*Sniggers*

Everyone over the age of 18 should answer "Yes" since you would need to register as either a resident of Rockford for voting purposes OR report your long-term absence from your home voting precinct to get absentee ballots.  After all, any student/patient who has not lost voting rights due to a felony conviction has the right to be involved in the political process.

Answering "Yes" may or may not disqualify you from the home:

A few thoughts:

• While men and women are theoretically separated during this program, I would be extremely uncomfortable being in a program with men or women who had been convicted of violent crime or sexual misconduct.    The program seems understaffed to be sure of patient safety.

• Who is doing the screening?  Is there a preset list of convictions within a timeframe that excludes people or does a "I found Jesus" story outweigh an aggravated assault charge?

Driver's license information:

You can have it when you explain why you need it.  Since presumably I won't be driving during the program, I have no idea why they need it.

State photo ID and SSN card/birth certificate are required for entrance:

You do often have to show a photo ID at a hospital, but I've never needed to show an SSN/birth certificate in a hospital.

Of course, I've needed both to fill out my I-9 for employment purposes - but that makes no sense.  All of the people at the RU Schools of Discipleship are "volunteers" or "unpaid interns".  Either way, they have NO reason to turn in an I-9.

Questions about Government Assistance:

Why on Earth would RU Homes need this information - unless they can take that funding from you....

This is sketchy.....

RU: Labor Exploitation for Jesus - Part Eleven

According to the application process on RU: Schools of Discipleship website, you need to read the handbook, fill out an application, then fill out a supporter agreement.  Once you've completed all of that, you send all of the information in and RU calls you to discuss going to the school.

My main concern with the application is that it asks for information that is far too sensitive and/or can be used for identity theft long before accepting you into the program.  There is no statement - anywhere - about how they handle the data before, during, or after the program or what they do with the information of people who are rejected from the program.

As with the handbook, the screenshots are taken from the application.  I've marked areas that give me great concern in red or orange. They correspond with bolded sections. Things marked in blue are simply amusing or contradictory and have a italicized heading.

Social Security Number:

1. NEVER give you your social security number blindly.  With your address, birth date and SSN, RU Ministries - or any member of their staff - can steal your identity.  
2. RU Ministries shouldn't need your SSN anyways.  

• Since all of the work is "volunteer" or "like an unpaid internship", RU shouldn't need to report earnings to the IRS or Social Security agency.
• Since RU isn't a medical facility, they don't need your SSN for any kind of record-keeping; plus medical facilities haven't used SSNs for record-keeping in years.

Business Phone:

1. Nope.  You can contact me at home or through a cell phone.  You may not have access to my employment number since I don't trust you to keep personal information safe.  Plus, that's some primo blackmail information as in "If you don't do what the program says, we will call your job and tell them you are addicted to ______".

Can you read and write? Y/N

1. It's a fair question - but one that should be asked over the phone in the interview.  If someone is functionally illiterate and is having another person fill out this paperwork, why would they circle N?

The ENTIRE section about Monthly Support:

1. What monthly support?  It's a $7,500 flat fee + your wages while in the program.  
2. Why would I give you this information before you've accepted me into the program?
3. I would accept the question "Are you able to pay for the program and incidentals? Y/N" because that's all the information they actually need.

Emergency Contact Information:

1. Interesting fact:  When making contact with people during an emergency, speed matters. My emergency contact information for my spouse or parents always consisted of every phone number that they could be reached at - not their home address.   A letter doesn't cut it.

There's an odd typo I just noticed: I doubt RU wants people to skip section III; that's legal information.  Proof-reading seems to be a lost art at RU.

Detailed information on Spouse:

1. There is NO reason for them to collect the address, phone number, age, occupation and marriage date of your spouse on an application.
2. If accepted, the phone number and address (if something is going to be sent there) could be useful.
3. I don't know why they want to know your spouse's age, occupation and/or marriage date - but it's handy information if you want to steal identities or apply pressure to a patient who is asking too many questions.

Detailed information on children:

1. I have no idea why they want that information.  I've never been asked that on any medical, employment or volunteer form before - let alone the age and marital status of each kid.

Give brief information on previous marriages:

1. The information has to be very brief because you have less than an inch to fill out any information.  What would you write?  "I got married; it didn't work; we got divorced."

My mom worked in Loss Prevention at a large retail store for 15 years.  If I filled out this part of the application so far and sent it in, she'd go berserk because I'd be giving enough information to ruin my credit for the rest of my life.

RU Ministries: Just Say NO!