[Vision2020] [UPDATED LINK] Hypocrites

Sat Sep 1 13:24:23 PDT 2007

In response to "Written Testimony for the Sept 4 Public Hearing" (see
attached PDF file) at:

http://tinyurl.com/yprt3p

"Hypocrites" (see attached PDF file) from Cleaning-House.org (You know her
better as "Rose") at:

http://cleaning-house.org/?p=596

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Hypocrites
A hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge
shall the just be delivered. - Proverbs 11:9

Citizens of Idaho are currently pondering the ramifications of the seedy
conduct of Senator Larry Craig. A sixty-two year old man seeking anonymous
sexual encounters in airport bathrooms is pitiable image to consider.
Nonetheless, my compassion is tempered because of his public record against
gay and lesbian people. In truth, Larry Craig has been notorious in Idaho as
a closeted gay man for many years. It staggers the imagination that it took
an arrest in a public restroom to alert his congressional colleagues about
his off-duty activities - which speaks volumes about how self-serving and
purposely blind some politicians are. In my opinion, Craig's fundamental
problem lies not with his sexual orientation, but rather his unwillingness
to live his life honestly and openly. Instead of a dignified retirement
after thirty-plus years of public service he will be forced to slither out
the back door branded even by his own party as a liar and a hypocrite.

Larry Craig's fate is of statewide and, arguably, national interest, but a
local hypocrite, Roy Atwood, President of New Saint Andrews College, has a
more immediate impact on community life in Moscow.

In a letter dated August 31, 2007, submitted to Moscow City Council for
action during at September 4, 2007, meeting, Roy Atwood argues against a
proposed city ordinance which would govern the operation of boarding houses.

His letter concludes with a four-point summary:

[The proposed ordinance] does not address the principal problems of behavior
in "Party House" neighborhoods. 
[It] Unnecessarily intrude[s] city government into families and homes that
are not now and never have been a problem. 
[It] Will likely lead to arbitrary and selective enforcement with
discriminatory intent, and, 
[It] Will actually encourage housing arrangements that will potentially lead
to more of the kinds of problems the changes are intended to solve. 
Okay, boys and girls, buckle on your crampons and we'll join Roy on the
slippery slope he has elected to scale. My view from the top is considerably
more panoramic than the one Roy describes, but I warn you in advance, the
downward slide is precipitous.

1. Party House Problems
Roy Atwood knows something about "Party Houses." A private home, known to
intimates as "The Compound," was owned by a (former) Christ Church member
and rented to several NSA students. The amenities included a casino, and the
sale of alcohol to minors. It out-partied most party houses, and eventually
when investigated (internally by the elders) cost the innocent members of
the congregation $1000 of their tithes to pay off outstanding gambling debts
to the home owner. Of course, the multiple crimes committed at this group
home were never reported to civil authorities, but robust slaps on the wrist
were distributed to all the little lawbreakers, and Roy lost his eldership .
. . but not the leadership of NSA. For a complete understanding of this
sordid tale of knuckle-brained junior Kirker hi-jinks visit dougsplotch.org.
The site features primary documents, along with editorial commentary. As
usual, cover-up and minimize was the first line of defense for the Kirk.
Think Nixon or Bush II White House and you'll have a clear understanding of
Kirkish modus operandi.

Of all the egregious offenses committed in non-sectarian Party Houses, and
no doubt there are many, none approach the gravity and repulsiveness of the
year-and-a-half serial molestation and the separate but concurrent and
equally stealthy seduction of a very young woman perpetrated by a former NSA
student and a former Greyfriars (seminary) student on the children of
boarding-house owners. The criminal behavior of those men should have be
sufficient cause to bring the boarding-house scheme to a dead stop. But it
was not. Two years to the month after the events were brought to the
attention of the civil authorities, NSA officials continued to busily to
recruit boarders:

--Forwarded Message--
From: Christ Church
Sent: Mar 23, 2007 11:52 AM
Subject: Housing NSA students

Dear Kirkers,

If you are interested in housing a New Saint Andrews College student, please
contact me, Aaron Rench. Prospective students are looking for various
housing options from apartment rentals to boarding families.

Please feel free to call me with any questions or email me with a short
description of the housing opportunity - something that could be forwarded
on to interested students.

My phone is 882-1566 and email is arench at nsa.edu.

Cordially,

Aaron

2. Unnecessary Intrusion by Government into Problem-free Private Homes
This is a richly ironic argument, and, I mean rich literally. There are big
bucks for the big boys in Christ Church who run boarding houses. Between
2000 and 2005 several elders, deacons, and privileged laymen raked in the
dough from providing room and board to NSA students. Led by their pastor,
these entrepreneurs include:

Minister
Douglas Wilson, 19 boarders 
Parish Elders
Dale Courtney, 18 boarders
John Grauke, 13 boarders
Jim Nance, 9 boarders
Wes Struble, 6 boarders
Matt Whitling, 13 boarders 
Christ Church Deacons
Eric Burnett, 11 boarders
John Carnahan, 2 boarders
Tom Garfield, 1 boarders 
Roy Atwood neglected to mention in his City Council letter that he enjoys
the financial benefit provided by his own boarding-house operation. The
all-time big winner in the Kirk Boarding-House Stakes is Chris Schlect,
Academic Dean of New St. Andrews, who during this five year period boarded a
total of 37 students in his North Polk home.

The list on this site identifies only Kirk leaders. Many Kirkers run
boarding houses. Thanks to the contemptuous attitude toward community
ordinances displayed by the shepherds, we can not be surprised that the
sheep follow their lead. The total number of boarders between the years
2000-2005 appears to be 309. (It should be noted that some of these students
were living in homes outside city limits which are not governed by city
ordinance. Until 2006 Doug Wilson was not subject to city ordinances
regarding boarding houses. He is now.)

Math is certainly not my strongest point but even I can handle the basic
number crunching required here. Selecting a conservative average number of
40 NSA boarders a year, with an average boarding fee of $350.00/per month
the aggregate annual amount realized by their boarding house endeavor is
$157,500 per school year. Multiplied over the 5 year period my statistics
cover, $787,500 has been deftly removed from legitimately operated housing
entities in our community. Is this the "sensitive reassurance to our
well-meaning neighbors" that Doug Wilson exhorts his followers to
demonstrate in his blog entry "Jiggy Taunts?" If so, it doesn't work for me.

You may wonder why the boarding statistics end in 2005; the following email
answers that question.

--Original Message--
From: Christ Church
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 9:06 AM
To: office at christkirk.com; TrinityReformedChurch at gmail.com
Subject: students in church directory

Due to problems we have faced with boarding students, the church directory
will only include the email addresses and cell phone numbers of students
that board with families. If you are in an apartment or student house we
will be happy to publish your address. If you need the address of a boarding
student you will have to call or email them personally. Sorry for the
inconvenience.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Christine LaMoreaux, Administrative Secretary Christ Church - Anselm House
205 East 5th Street P.O. Box 8741
Moscow, ID 83843
office at christkirk.com
Voice: (208) 882-2034
Fax: (208) 892-8724 www.christkirk.com

Apparently the "problem" that Ms. LaMoreaux refers to is that the church
directory served as a source for the local addresses of boarding students.
It is true that the church directories provided irrefutable information
regarding boarding houses, but they were not the sole basis for accurate
data. In 2006 NSA students circulated a petition asking merchants and
citizens to support the presence of NSA in the Central Business District of
Moscow. It was signed by many NSA students who listed their Moscow
addresses, and since it was entered into the public record at a city council
meeting it became a public document. Since 2006 the church directory has not
included local addresses for boarding students. The NSA boarding scam
continues unabated but has "cleverly" chosen to conduct their sub-rosa
business in a deliberately surreptitious fashion.

If you think church authorities were unfamiliar with the city code which
controlled the number of boarders in residential neighborhoods, think again.
Leaders were well aware of CUP requirements. A visit to zonemoscow.com
documents the motivation behind their behavior and the history of their
familiarity with the relevant ordinances.

3. Selective Enforcement
College towns across the nation face the challenges connected with
unregulated group living arrangements of college students. When the proposed
changes in the boarding house/Party House ordinance was presented to the
Planning and Zoning Commission many citizens testified to the problems
associated with living near these kinds of homes. Their concerns are
legitimate and must be respected. These citizens have the right to expect
the protection and enforcement of ordinances which ensure the right to the
quiet enjoyment of their property. There is no evidence that NSA boarding
houses were the target of the proposed changes - indeed, as Roy knows, they
were not singled out by name in the public testimony. They are however, in
my opinion, a significant part of the problem.

To my knowledge, NSA is the sole institution in this town that initiates and
invites public scrutiny by advertising on its website the opportunity to
live in a boarding house.

Christian families in the area have also opened their homes to New Saint
Andrews students. . . . Once students submit their deposit or fees
confirming that they'll be attending in the fall, the College is then able
to release the housing information it has and give confirmed fall enrollees
opportunity to explore their options directly with housing providers. (NSA)

4. Encourage Problematic Housing Arrangements
This redundant iteration of undocumented conjectures in Roy's laundry list
of objections is not worth refuting.

It is fair to ask why and how my husband and I became involved in this
issue. We are not city residents and the boarding houses have no immediate
impact on us. In truth I have been aware of the boarding houses for many
years prior to my husband's letter of complaint to the city. My response to
the question is plain and straightforward. Two and a half years ago I was
approached by an acquaintance who lived near a Kirk boarding house. She was
tired of having her driveway blocked by NSA student's cars, she was tired of
having trash thrown on her lawn by boarders, and she was tired of the
boarder generated disruptions in her quiet residential neighborhood. Despite
expressing her concerns repeatedly to the home owners no resolution to the
problems were initiated. On several occasion she complained to appropriate
city authorities. They showed minimal interest and failed to enforce
existing city ordinances which would have resolved the situation.

To fully understand her dilemma another element must be introduced into this
narrative. Many members of our community are well aware that publicly, or
indeed privately, standing against Kirk leadership comes with a high price.
For Christ Church/Trinity Reformed members, shunning is usually an effective
measure to force compliance. If that technique fails to bring dissidents
into line, economic sanctions including firing from Kirk-related employment
is a useful (and used) tool. Kirk imposed "punishment" ratchets up from that
point, but is not germane in this discussion.

Non-Kirk residents of Moscow are aware that painful economic consequences
become real possibilities if one opposes Kirk leadership on civic issues.
These tactics include boycott of businesses and letters to employers and
state officials alleging a variety of imaginary and repugnant offenses. In
short, the woman who spoke to me was afraid of the consequences to her
family business if she insisted the city enforce the boarding house
ordinance and, yet, she really wanted to be able to enjoy her home and yard
as she had for the many years prior to the arrival of the boarding-house
operation. (It is a sad, indeed, tragic, state of affairs, that a church
should be identified with such un-Christian behavior.)

Because she was aware that I have publicly challenged the Kirk on other
civic issues she wondered it I thought there was anything that could be
done. Hence, my husband's letter. And, now, almost two years later, we are
finally hopeful that the City Council will enact legislation that will
protect not only her property rights, but the rights and privileges of other
property owners who have endured the Party Houses and Boarding Houses
without any effort on the part of city officials to mitigate the situation.

For me, the second part of my reasoning for publicizing the boarding-house
scheme is far more compelling than the first. It is my firm conviction that
any organization which claims to be guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ but
in reality is structured and operated like the Mafia voluntarily forfeits
the respect that they might, in ordinary circumstances, expect to enjoy. In
this specific situation, I have publicly and privately expressed my view to
Doug Wilson, many elders and officials, and church members that Doug's
leadership and the elders and deacons who provide the toadying, self-serving
apparatchik who enforce his decrees are an unmitigated disgrace to the
gospel. I understand that ridicule and harassment from Kirkers are the
natural consequence of my statements.  I hold no grudges nor do I mutter
imprecatory prayers against them.   One doesn't have to be a Christian to
understand that when you stir up a den of rattlesnakes you have a mighty
good chance of getting bitten.

Nonetheless, I beg the leadership and the membership of Christ Church to
turn away from their current self absorbed, inbred interest in feasting and
imbibing and, instead, turn with sincerity and good will, understandably not
in my direction, but surely to the rest of Moscow, who have never deserved
ill-treatment at your hands. I pray that you will abide by the words of
Scripture that command Christians to "be subject to the governing
authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities
that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority
resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on
themselves" (Rom. 13:1-3).

I beg you to honor and observe our city ordinances. Please apply for the
necessary permits to operate boarding houses and comply with the lawful
parameters described in the ordinance. At that point, this sorry issue will
quickly fade into well deserved oblivion.

Rose

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"I'll just speak for our church, in Christ Church.  If I found out that a
member of our church or a church officer was lying to non-believers in the
community, as a way to get by or protect themself or protect his reputation,
yes, he'd be disciplined."

- Doug Wilson (January 31, 2007)
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