Is the Use of NDAs in Christian Churches and Organizations Ethically Sound? No, Says #NDAfree


“Nondisclosure agreements—especially in Christian ministries—are poisonous and enable additional abuse.”-David French


So, what are nondisclosure agreements, and why are they so controversial?

Forbes Magazine had an informative post on the matter: 4 Things You Didn’t Know About Non-Disclosure Agreements

An employee can still make complaints about an organization in the following areas.

an NDA cannot prohibit an employee from filing a good faith complaint against an employer for violating the law.” Terch added, “an employee can still file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or OSHA, among other agencies.”

“An Imbalance Of Power Makes Agreements Unenforceable”

While NDAs are legally binding, there needs to be a balance of power in order for them to be enforceable

…Google has everyone, at all layers of the company, including vendors, visitors and contractors sign an NDA. This agreement prohibits them from speaking up about illegal conduct, reporting sexual harassment and employment issues, preventing employees talking about wages and workplace conditions and discussing dangerous product defects, among other things.

…(But)NDAs that prevent individuals from reporting harassment, discrimination or mistreatment to the proper authorities are unenforceable.

Employees have the right to seek employer-paid legal help prior to signing an NDA

When presented with an NDA, individuals have the right to request additional time before signing.

…individuals have the right to seek independent legal advice when presented with an NDA, and have their employer pay for the service.”

…Here are details an employee should understand before signing:

  • What is considered confidential.
  • What is the length of time the information must be kept confidential, even after leaving the company.
  • What type of information is prohibited from being disclosed.
  • What are the consequences of breaching.
  • What clauses are present throughout the agreement.

New legislation in some states offers protection for some employees.

Despite initially being implemented for good, company-required NDAs have perpetuated a culture of workplace abuse and harassment. In 2019, some U.S. states such as California, New Jersey and New York enacted legislation to prohibit employers requiring employees to sign agreements that would prevent them from exposing discrimination, assault or harassment.

Preventing litigation could be preventing transparency

Christianity Today looked at some issues in  When Christian Ministries Ask Their Ex-Employees Not to Talk

(an NDA) has everything to do with preventing further litigation

One lawyer that I talked to just said, “If you’re disclosing every settlement that you make, then everyone’s coming for a piece of the pie.” Confidentiality and settlements are something that we have to live with, I think the question is, what parameters do you put on that? And some churches have really wrestled with that.

…the issue for an institution is, “how much can we spend on litigation?” And so even if the former employee doesn’t have a case that will hold up in court, it’s not worth it for the organization to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to be willing to go to court over that. So the point of private settlements is, “we’re going to have this person leave the organization without litigation and save ourselves a lot of money.”

Just for my anecdotal experience reporting this piece, it seems like churches and nonprofits are using the same lawyers who do employment litigation for corporations. And so the lawyers are saying, “This is what we do in this scenario, so you all should do the same thing if you want to be smart.”

The Catholic Church appears to be ahead of the Protestant church in certain matters of transparency.

The Catholic Church, for instance, has chosen to disclose settlements on sexual matters, but Protestant churches are still trying to figure out what to do. With the Catholic church, there doesn’t seem to be an enforcement mechanism to keep them disclosing settlements, but they had a lot of public pressure just related to all the sex scandals as they came out and felt that this would be a good way of transparency to show some of the more serious settlements.
Mega churches utilize these.

One of our interns did the hard work of calling a bunch of megachurches around the country to ask what their policies were, and a lot of the biggest churches in the country use non-compete clauses, they use non-disparagement clauses, these non-disclosure agreements—in severance packages most predominantly, but also just as a matter of policy.
Someoone who is financially stressed may be forced to ssign one.

Sunlight is the best medicine.

Non-disparagement clauses are an interesting discussion because it does make sense that you want people to cool their heads a little bit if you get laid off and not say some negative things about the organization, but it’s also just a strange thing for a church to say, “you’re not allowed to disparage us as a condition of receiving this money.”

As a journalist, I tend to see the side of organizations being self-protective over these things. Whenever you question them about something that happened, there’s a sense of if we let anything negative come out, it’s going to ruin our organization forever. And my perspective is obviously that sunlight is the best medicine

Should churches and parachurch organizations utilize NDAs? Ask Lori Anne Thomson.

Of course, soon-to-be ex-employees should be expected not to share stories of a personal nature. Some folks come to the church for help and do not want their stories told. However, that is not the reason for many church NDAs.

Lori Anne was the victim of clergy abuse on the part of Ravi Zacharias, now known as a scoundrel. She settled a lawsuit against RZIM but was not allowed to speak about the terms of that agreement due to an NDA. Perhaps it is her story that has galvanized a movement to cease the use of NDAs in these Christian organizations. You can read more of Lori Anne Thomson’s story at Victim of Ravi Zacharias breaks silence and nondisclosure agreement with victim impact statement

Lori Anne suffered much at the hands of the Christian community when she spoke out against Ravi Zacharias. However, she was right-incredibly right. Zacharias will be known as one of the biggest ministry scandals of this century. Yet Lori Anne was prevented from speaking by an NDA.

If you would like to hear her statement, she made a 17-minute recording.

#NDAfree link to the rescue

This incredible group of people has started an organization aimed at stopping NDAs from being used in the church.

We are a global movement with a vision to see individuals, Christian organizations and local churches free from the misuse of Non-Disclosure Agreements. #NDAfree contributes to this by raising awareness of the issues and providing some tools for change.

Their story

At #NDAfree we dream of seeing individuals and organizations break free of the pervasive culture of NDAs. Too often, these tools are used to silence people following abuse or whistleblowing.
We’re a community of survivors, whistleblowers and activists, brought together by a shared belief in this justice issue.

As followers of Jesus, we long to see our communities press into the hard work of pursuing truth, promoting transparency and, where possible, seeking reconciliation.

Stories of those who were silenced by an NDA link

Currently, there are four stories on this page that will help to demonstrate to the reader that NDAs are a problem. Here is one such story: Global evangelical leader silences those he abuses​

A most helpful FAQ page link

Here are two questions and answers.

Do NDAs have a legitimate purpose?

Yes. Their original purpose was the protection of intellectual property and we believe this is the proper use for NDAs. Another legitimate purpose is the protection of personal data in scenarios not covered by data protection regulation. For example, a confidentiality agreement may be appropriate when hiring an external contractor such as an independent bookkeeper or IT support who might have access to confidential data.

Is there an alternative to an NDA for ensuring confidential information about vulnerable people is not disclosed?

Relying on an NDA to protect confidential information about vulnerable people is an admission of failure in earlier processes such as recruitment, supervision, protection of confidential information, ongoing professional training and adherence to policies and procedures. Within your church/organization, there is a responsibility to ensure that only appropriately trained and trustworthy staff have access to confidential information about vulnerable people. In relevant jurisdictions, this will include adherence to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which makes provision for the protection of stored data.

The team includes Lee Furney link.

I wrote about Les Furney in Lee Furney of the UK Plans to Fight NDA Misusage in the Worldwide Church and Para-church Organizations #NDAfree. Lee was a victim of Jonathan Fletcher, who has been written about on a number of occasions at TWW including Did the Evangelical Inner Circle in the Church of England Cover up the Alleged Abuses of Jonathan Fletcher? #churchtoo #COEtoo Here is a link to his thoughtful website called Soul In Formation.

Here is the #NDAfree pledge link


There is more to read on that page.

Julie Roys’ website documented some organizations that have used NDAs in #NDAfree Launches to End Christian Community’s Use of Non-Disclosure Agreements

  • Lori Anne Thompson, the first of Ravi Zacharias’s victims to speak out, had been bound by an NDA. She wrote it felt “dehumanizing.”
  • Former staff with the Acts 29 church network recounted being fired and forced to sign non-disclosure agreements after alerting leaders in 2015 to bullying and abuse of power.
  • Survivors of abuse at Camp Kanakuk, one of the country’s largest Christian camps, suggested that NDAs “concealed the truth in order to preserve a ministry brand and economic engine.”
  • And the new church founded by Mark Driscoll requires volunteers to sign an NDA, a former security director said.
  • Even Classical Conversations, which produces homeschool educational materials, has required contractors to sign NDAs. Whistleblowers said the company amounted to a multilevel marketing scheme exploiting parents and low-level contractors.

May the impact on Christian churches and organizations be swift.

#NDAfree

Comments

Is the Use of NDAs in Christian Churches and Organizations Ethically Sound? No, Says #NDAfree — 68 Comments

  1. It’s becoming way too complicated to be a church employee or volunteer. I’m so old that I remember when ministers and ministries behaved in a way not to be concerned about anything being disclosed. They conducted themselves in a way that the precious of Gospel of Jesus was uncovered to the world around them, rather than covering their misbehaving.

  2. Max: I’m so old that I remember when ministers and ministries behaved in a way not to be concerned about anything being disclosed.

    Doesn’t the Bible say church leaders are to be “above reproach”? Why would a church leader need an NDA regarding activity (not regarding intellectual property, different issue, as Dee points out in the post) when they are above reproach? Just sayin’… Red flag: Criminal activity may happen here, but don’t tell anyone. Mob tactics.

    What’s the difference between the Mob and church that functions like the Mob? These churches don’t get featured in the award-winning Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro, … I, II, &/or III. However, there’s always a don at the top tier. One may not have to kiss a ring, but rather, sign a contract, and of course, the NDAs.

  3. dee,

    🙂
    I sign them in my professional world, when dealing with intellectual property, and court cases dealing with patent disputes… they make complete scene in that context…. but not with churches..

  4. Max: I remember when ministers and ministries behaved in a way not to be concerned about anything being disclosed.

    Many, maybe even the great majority. But abuse has gone on in churches for a very long time. It’s beyond sobering to think about the unmarked graves at First Nations schools in Canada.

    I think what’s different is the brazenness, and open acceptance of shocking, evil behavior. In the old days, innocence and politeness kept problems under wraps—and maybe even limited them.

  5. Friend: But abuse has gone on in churches for a very long time. It’s beyond sobering to think about the unmarked graves at First Nations schools in Canada.

    True.
    The Crusades.
    Colonization of Africa with Bible & sword.
    Churches supporting slavery in the US.
    Catholic priest scandals.
    Evangelical misogyny of complementarianism, with theology to boot.
    Abuse of Faith as chronicled by the Houston Chronicle.

    Fortunately for us, in our time, the Internet puts it all out there; we have no excuse. TWW & others like Dee are part of the solution. (The real solution, not Grand River or some other work-around.)

  6. I also sign them in the corporate world generally on special competition sensitive projects. Interestingly my daily interaction with leaders is NOT part of an NDA though professional confidentiality means I wouldn’t share details. But I am also required to report unethical or illegal behavior when I see it.

  7. NDA agreement sure seem like a legal of way putting what you hear some “Christian” leaders broadly call “gossip” or “slander.” I am talking about how leaders broadly define that term to shut down any knowledge of their (at best) questionable actions under the guise of it being “gossip” or “slander.”

    IMO this broad definition of what “gossip” or “slander” is on factor that allowed abusive leaders to get away with their actions longer than they should have. You would see this at Covenant Life Church/Sovereign Grace. When Brent’s documents (that were basically email compilations) came out exposing sin and hypocrisy of C.J. Mahaney and other top leaders, Sovereign Grace’s response was to call them “slander.”

    Now NDA are a way to make these broad definitions legally binding. How sad.

  8. Jeffrey J Chalmers: the “secular humanist world” does it “better” than the church

    The “church” has merged so much into the world, it’s becoming difficult to separate the secular from the spiritual by the average church member.

  9. Friend: brazenness, and open acceptance of shocking, evil behavior

    “Touch not my anointed” is greatly overworked in the institutional church. It’s time to “touch” these scoundrels, folks!

  10. Ava Aaronson: Doesn’t the Bible say church leaders are to be “above reproach”?

    Apparently, that’s no longer a requirement for pastor/elder qualification! You just can’t find many folks in the 21st century who could jump over that hurdle, you know. So, if we’re going to do church, we’ll just have to waive that one.

    Sarcasm aside, I know many good church leaders who qualify for that sacred office. But there are corners of the church which seem to be giving folks a free “reproach” pass.

  11. Having been in this situation, my comment is this: Never, ever sign an NDA. You Will regret it, not matter how much money is tied to it. All the church wants to do is shut you up, not help you heal. And as Dee points out, the church will revert to its old ways before the ink is dry,

  12. Muff Potter:
    I take it that NDAs cannot be used to cloak criminal activity?

    Not in the SECULAR world, where everything is In The Flesh.

    But when everything is In The Spirit, let the gag orders fly.
    (With NO hush money; after all, it’s a MINISTRY(TM). Like missionaries, “Must provide own support”.)
    “TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED!”

  13. The only way I could have kept my job as a professor at Calvin Theological Seminary (as 1st full-time female faculty in 125 years) was to sign an NDA—a “silencing clause.” I refused and went public with my blog 2 weeks later in September of 2006 and now with my book, “Fired at 57.” Just before I left I was invited to talk about any money needs I might have, such a kindly gesture, but I didn’t take the bait. I feel terrible for those who are essentially forced to sign the NDA because they desperately need the money. My books tells stories of such individuals.

  14. Ruth Tucker: Just before I left I was invited to talk about any money needs I might have, such a kindly gesture, but I didn’t take the bait. I feel terrible for those who are essentially forced to sign the NDA because they desperately need the money.

    The word is HUSH MONEY.
    And everyone EXCEPT the Christians see it.

  15. Jeffrey J Chalmers: Becky Thatcher,
    I would argue that making you sign a NDA to cover up illegal activity could be used against the org in a racketeering case..

    I would just LOVE to see a RCIO indictment against some of the clowns that have used NDAs to try and cover up crimes. I just wish there was a willing US attorney.

  16. Ruth Tucker: ” Just before I left I was invited to talk about any money needs I might have, such a kindly gesture

    Bless their hearts! Think they are looking out for anyone but #1, think again.

    I am so glad we took the money out of being a preacher.

  17. Ruth Tucker,

    You were wronged by men who think their way is just.
    The prophet Ezekiel wrote about this.
    Sooner or later Karma and her sister Comeuppance will have their way.

  18. Ruth Tucker,

    What goes on in a Seminary that would require an NDA? Nasty arguments over the Greek word for submission? Petty academic disputes? Which department gets the best lunch spreads? I’m flummoxed.

  19. Judas Maccabeus: I just wish there was a willing US attorney.

    Do you mean American attorney, or a member of the Office of the United States Attorney?

    Certainly there are lawyers who would represent a (former) employee who thought an organization made wrong use of an NDA. That might require a fee up front, though.

  20. David: What goes on in a Seminary that would require an NDA? Nasty arguments over the Greek word for submission? Petty academic disputes? Which department gets the best lunch spreads? I’m flummoxed.

    I laughed at this, particularly at “Nasty arguments over the Greek word for submission”. Though the truth is that they don’t make a secret over that one.

    How about lying to all your female students that they can’t finish their degrees unless they switch to a four-year degree, and, oh, by the way, you have to retake a bunch of the classes you already took because we redid them? Don’t bother keeping the students quiet, nobody will believe a woman. But might be good to keep the staff quiet about it.

    Or a seminary chancellor stealing all the student files so he could use them to gain money for his private nonprofit and to blackmail students who told the public about the awful things you did? BTW, that person did this at two different seminaries…

    https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/june/paige-patterson-theft-southwestern-baptist-seminary-swbts-r.html

  21. This is off topic but I beg the mods to allow it through in an attempt to save lives.

    PLEASE DO NOT GO TO NORTHWEST ARKANSAS OR SOUTHWEST MISSOURI AT THIS TIME!!!!!

    The area is very poorly vaccinated and has a huge surge of the delta variant. The governor of Arkansas is urging all the unvaccinated to get the shot and stop the surge.

    The governor of Missouri, “Governor Death” aka Mike Parsons made his views known yesterday in Kansas City. It seems the hospitals in Springfield, with more covid patients now than at the worst last winter, are to blame for not being better prepared. Never mind they cannot get staff to travel to the area as they did last year, or cannot get enough in time. He also is very clear that “they are just looking for someone to blame” by urging the shot. According to him, the virus is not spreading due to low vax numbers and people should not let themselves be frightened into taking the shot, and doctors should not try to scare them into the shot. No, according to him this is just the virus being the virus and only the virus is to blame for the surge.

    PLEASE if you have tickets to Branson do not use them. Do not come fish on the lakes or go to Lake of the Ozarks. Do not do a layover at the Springfield or St. Louis airports. (St Louis is far east Missouri but also having a surge.) Do not visit the wine country.

    Governor Death will not enforce anything that might protect you. Governor Hutchinson is trying but is not backed by his own party in Arkansas, and is facing stiff opposition.

    So all I can do is plead with the world to avoid this area.

  22. David,

    None of the above. After the new 3-man administration fired a competent professor, they demanded we “seal the environment.” It was leaky, and not just because I was trying to UNseal it—others as well. In the end, they tried every trick to get me to sign their NDA in order to stay on…..to do what, they didn’t specify, maybe to clean offices and keep coffee pots full. At any rate, nothing they might have offered would have silenced me. Thus my blog and later my book. BUT many people have no other choice but to sign because of severe financial hardships.

  23. Friend: What goes on in a Seminary that would require an NDA? Nasty arguments over the Greek word for submission? Petty academic disputes? Which department gets the best lunch spreads? I’m flummoxed.

    I meant to respond to your quote, David, when I hit “Reply to this comment.” I’m a nitwit. They could have honestly fired me for that!!! But that didn’t even come up.

  24. Friend: Do you mean American attorney, or a member of the Office of the United States Attorney?

    Certainly there are lawyers who would represent a (former) employee who thought an organization made wrong use of an NDA. That might require a fee up front, though.

    A RCIO case is criminal, and therefore would normally be brought by a prosecutor. The advantage is that you can be sent to jail, rather than civil penalties.

  25. Eric Bonetti: And as Dee points out, the church will revert to its old ways before the ink is dry,

    While singing hymns and Praising God.

    These days, does anyone really expect anything else from CHRISTIANS?

  26. Judas Maccabeus,

    Thank you. U.S. Attorneys appear to be a subset of federal prosecutors. I have no idea who is qualified to prosecute. Also, apparently RICO applies only to interstate crime, in which case something happening at one church or seminary might not qualify? If interested: https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-110000-organized-crime-and-racketeering

    In general, people who have been wronged need to find a model that works to deter wrong and get some justice. If civil penalties are more reliable than criminal, they might be worth pursuing.

  27. Ruth Tucker,

    Not surprised and what you shared validates my initial thought which is the sort of things that should be “controversies” in a seminary are laughable and the reason they want people to sign NDAs for should NEVER happen in a seminary. I’m glad you kept your integrity and did not sign it.

  28. linda,

    Thank you Linda for warning Wartburgers about the COVID-Delta surge in the Missouri/Arkansas Ozarks Region and to steer clear of the area while traveling/vacationing this summer. I continue to be amazed at politicians who just don’t get it regarding COVID. The health care workers are doing all they can do to combat this plague … politicians should be commending them, not condemning them.

  29. Max,

    It is down right shocking how a fraction of the US population/culture has become almost hostile to medicine, public health… and how “flavors” of Christianity are mixed with it….

  30. Max: linda,
    Thank you Linda for warning Wartburgers about the COVID-Delta surge in the Missouri/Arkansas Ozarks Region

    Absolutely agree! Maybe go see Vermont, or MA where the vaccination rates are very high! (unless you’re unvaccinated, then stay home) The Berkshire Mountains are pretty in the summer. COVID rates and vaccinations are definitely one of my major criteria for traveling right now. When will people open their eyes?!! (hard when they don’t want to)
    See Jimmy Kimmel’s short video (interviewing health care professionals) about getting the vaccine.

  31. linda: Governor Death will not enforce anything that might protect you. Governor Hutchinson is trying but is not backed by his own party in Arkansas, and is facing stiff opposition.

    How in the blue-blazes did Covid-19 get politicized?
    How did the public health get compromised by right-wing politicians and right-wing pastors?
    It beggars the mind, it really does.
    It makes me think of the old timey actor Edward G. Robinson in the film Soylent Green, the scene where he weeps into his hands saying:
    “How did we come to this?”

  32. Muff Potter: How in the blue-blazes did Covid-19 get politicized?

    I think it’s been politicized on both sides, but is there really any big issue that doesn’t get politicized? I can’t think of one…

  33. Muff Potter: How in the blue-blazes did Covid-19 get politicized?

    In some political (and religious) circles, you just can’t tell folks what to do … even if it is good for them! Don’t mess with my guns, don’t inject me with computer chips, vaccination is the mark of the beast, don’t make me wear a mask, don’t tell us we can’t assemble in groups at church and elsewhere, it’s all a big hoax, etc. is a prevalent attitude in certain corners of America (I happen to live in one of them). We will never reach herd immunity to COVID – and anything else that comes along – because of such folks. It’s madness! Looks like we’re in for another dark fall & winter. I pray daily for my grandchildren who are not old enough at this point to be vaccinated.

  34. ishy,

    But, Christianity getting dragged into it is VERY depressing….. but, consistent with Ishy, what significant issue does not become a Christian litmus test?

  35. Muff Potter: “How did we come to this?”

    Sycophants.

    Which, BTW, has nothing to do with following JC. In the fellowship of our Lord, our agency is intact, because God created us with agency in the 1st place. We don’t need to fight for agency. We’re free to make our own decisions. God is not twisting anyone’s arm.

    “Stand fast therefore in your liberty, wherefore Christ has set us free, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.”

    JC was not much of a disruptive outwardly commanding screaming in the pulpit type of guy, among regular folk. Seems one of the few times he reacted with vigor was with those money tables in the Temple.

    Nice thing about remote church is when the preacher loses his mind or temper or control, one can reach for the remote. No need to experience PSTD at church.

  36. Max: pray daily for my grandchildren who are not old enough at this point to be vaccinated.

    I’ll pray for them too, Max.

    By contrast, Americans believed in the existence of polio, and the life-saving vaccine was given at churches on “Sabin Sundays:”

    On three consecutive Sundays — “Sabin Sundays” — in 1960, millions of families lined up at churches and schools across the country to swallow a spoonful of pink syrup or a sugar cube treated with a life-saving polio vaccine, developed by UC [University of Cincinnati] researcher Albert Sabin, HonDoc ’74. Cincinnati was one of the first cities to administer the vaccine following FDA approval. Previously, Sabin had tested the vaccine on his wife, two children, neighbors and 80 million people overseas.

    https://magazine.uc.edu/issues/0408/on_campus.html

  37. Friend: Also, apparently RICO applies only to interstate crime, in which case something happening at one church or seminary might not qualify?

    Virtually all major seminaries would be interstate. They take student loans across state lines, and indeed, the ketchup in the cafeteria HAD to come across state lines.

    Each district has a US attorney, he is the administrative lead for the DOJ in that district. Under him are many assistant US attorneys, they are the line prosecutors.

    Just to get one of them interested in some of the crimes we have heard described herein, would be most useful to some who have been victimized. Could you imaging the humblest man on earth in an orange jumpsuit? Might learn real humility in a club fed. I would experience a bit of Schadenfreude to say the least.

  38. Friend: I’ll pray for them

    Thank you, Friend.

    I remember taking the polio vaccine, lining up to get my sugar cube dose. People just had more common sense in those days about contagious diseases, without politics and religion confusing the heck out of them.

  39. Max: I pray daily for my grandchildren who are not old enough at this point to be vaccinated.

    I do the same for my grandkids in AZ, which is about as far-right-wing as you can get.
    There are those there who still believe that Covid-19 is a government hoax designed to take away their ‘freedom’.

  40. Max–it sounds like you live in my neck of the woods, lol. Could have heard your comments from the pulpits here. Our small county reported over a hundred new cases in the last two days. We are, I believe, one bed shy of no more icu’s available.

    Thinking has not been exactly a favorite activity in this area for at least a decade of decades. Now, think about this: covid has been shown to cause problems of mental illness and cognitive decline. The experts say last winter, during that surge, we likely did not even diagnose half the cases. Literally, insanity is being caught and spread.

    Our current surge is larger than last winter, when we were a very hard hit county.

    But then again, the local school superintendent told me to my face in a meeting “We are not real big on science and math here.”

    Duh. Praying folks, pray for the Ozarks please.

  41. linda: Thinking has not been exactly a favorite activity in this area for at least a decade of decades. Now, think about this: covid has been shown to cause problems of mental illness and cognitive decline.

    Because COVID is primarily vascular, inflaming the blood vessels and causing micro-clots in the capillaries. This is why it manifested in younger patients as strokes and why long-haulers show signs of long-term to permanent minor lung, heart, liver, and BRAIN damage.

  42. linda: But then again, the local school superintendent told me to my face in a meeting “We are not real big on science and math here.”

    Big on “BIBLE! BIBLE! BIBLE!” instead?

  43. Judas Maccabeus: Could you imaging the humblest man on earth in an orange jumpsuit?

    Didn’t the HUMBLE Uriah Heep end up in chains on a one-way voyage to Australia?

  44. Max: It’s madness! Looks like we’re in for another dark fall & winter.

    For only the UNVACCINATED.
    Morning drive-time radio had doctors involved with the pandemic as regular guests. The hospitals and ICUs are starting to fill in a Summer Surge like last year, with one difference: ALL THE HOSPITALIZED COVID PATIENTS THIS TIME ARE UNVACCINATED. One went so far as to say he’s been in COVID ICUs for the past year and has NEVER seen anyone there (or on a ventilator) who’d been vaccinated.

    The states that are showing surges are those with low vaccination rates, primarily Texas, Florida, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The first two are slightly-below average in vaccinations, the last three are low-vaxx states, No breakdowns within state, but I would not be surprised to find these surges are local pockets in low-vaxx areas within each state. The Bible Belt states (i.e. the entire Confederacy except for Virginia) have been trailing behind since vaccines were available.

    The attitude developing among the Vaccinated is the motto of the Darwin Awards:
    “Think of it as Evolution in Action”.

  45. linda: The governor of Missouri, “Governor Death” aka Mike Parsons made his views known yesterday in Kansas City.

    Let me guess… A Strong CHRISTIAN(TM)?

  46. linda: PLEASE if you have tickets to Branson do not use them.

    Branson, MO?

    The place The Simpsons called “What Las Vegas would be if it was run by Ned Flanders”?

  47. readingalong: Absolutely agree! Maybe go see Vermont, or MA where the vaccination rates are very high!

    Vermont has the highest vaxx rate in the country, approaching 3/4 of the adult population.

    Alabama, Mississippi, and Wyoming are dueling for lowest vaxx rate in the country, between only 1/3 an 1/2 of the adult population vaxxed. “FREEDOM!!!!!”

  48. Max: don’t inject me with computer chips, vaccination is the mark of the beast,

    Don’t forget the one where it rewrites your DNA and turns you into Nephilim.

  49. linda: Our small county reported over a hundred new cases in the last two days.

    We had a neighbor recently die from COVID – I suspect the Delta variant. A retired university professor, he and his wife had just moved to our area a few months ago. Here’s the thing: they were both fully vaccinated! It’s important to note that even with a vaccine that is 95% effective, you still have a 5% chance of contracting the virus. While symptoms are usually milder, they weren’t in his case. So, for the fully vaccinated: mask, sanitize, social distance, avoid crowds.

  50. Yes, that Branson.

    Missouri’s governor wants to be known as a strong conservative pro life Christian. AS he follows the mantra that covid is over and it is time to move along folks, get to Branson and spend some money ya’ll. Pro life my hind foot. Pro life is sooooo much more than anti abortion.

    Sorry to be so off target. Spending a lot of time trying to promote vaccines, masks, distancing.

  51. Max: We had a neighbor recently die from COVID – I suspect the Delta variant. A retired university professor, he and his wife had just moved to our area a few months ago. … for the fully vaccinated: mask, sanitize, social distance, avoid crowds.

    Oh, Max, I am so sorry about your neighbor’s death! An excellent mind lost, leaving a widow in a new place.

    More people and places to pray for.

    There’s not much covid in our area right now, but we are taking the precautions you advise, in hopes of keeping it at bay.

  52. Friend: There’s not much covid in our area right now

    Even with a low vaccination rate in our area (40%), we thought we had it beat here until the Delta variant started spreading like wildfire. In the past month, hospital COVID units became packed again with the unvaccinated … younger patients than the previous surge. The 65+ population here are 60+% vaccinated … young folks keep resisting the vaccine for a variety of reasons.

  53. Standing by to see how NDAfree.org handles this when they as an organization (or one of their organizational leaders) are on the receiving end of a settlement agreement.

    Of course “we would never do anything wrong to incur a claim leading to settlement” is one approach, though not one well-recommended in the course of human events.