Specifically this fucker, Peter Popoff (that's really his name, I swear):



So I can't sleep and I'm up watching TV tonight. Of course since its late, a lot of the channels (especially the higher ones) are nothing but extended infomercials. Which is fine, I mean whatever. I don't watch them, but they're mostly pretty harmless (and sometimes quite entertaining, especially the ones that show black and white footage of a clearly retarded person failing at some insanely simple act, like peeling a potato.)

Anyway I'm flipping channels and I see the above dude hawking a cure for debt. I assumed it was one of those debt-consolidation things, but no. He's apparently some kind of "reverend." And he's touting a magic cure for debt. Those are his words directly from the commercial, not mine. Magic. You call his number, give him money, and he'll send you a vial of 'holy spring water' and some prayer cards. You are then supposed to sprinkle the water on your bills and pray over them. Your debt will then magically be taken care of.

Literally, that is this guy's pitch. He shows a bunch of "testimony" from people who supposedly completed the above steps, and then--out of the blue--received notices that their hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt (to credit cards, the IRS all sorts of places) had been paid. Just like that. Sprinkle water, pray, wait a week, receive mysterious notice from companies that all your debt has been paid.

So now I'm sitting here trying to decide if I should throw up, or just have a nice little hernia from being so furious. I hate televangelists in general, and I hate people who use God as a front for money. That pisses me off enough. But this was so blatant, SO disgusting, and...I dunno, I guess so down right cynical and mean spirited in the way its clearly designed to take money from the poorest, most gullible and most uneducated segment of the population. It. Makes. Me. SICK. (Now granted you'd have to be a fool to fall for this douchebag, but that's why this shit is so insidious--it preys on complete and abject desperation.)

I did some research on the guy and no surprise, he's been exposed as a fake faith healer, an embezzler, the whole nine yards. I suppose he's still allowed to pull this crap because of the First Amendment, but c'mon...God magically paying off your debt? Really? REALLY??

Anyway, apologies for the vitrol. Just had to get that off my chest.

*deep breath*
/rant

Atma84 wrote:

Heres the link. Crazy how he can get away with taking advantage of people. Look at the packet the "Miracle Water" comes in. http://www.peterpopoffministries.com/index.php

Yeah. I could only stomach about two minutes of poking around his website before I had to call it quits. Ugh.

And Klimb, my summer resolution is to spend more time in the chat before I head off to OTC. Promise.

I so agree Dodd. However, I don't think its fair to even breathe Billy Grahm's name in the same sentence as these fucks, or to imply that the same label fits. (Not that you were, but as you noted, a lot of people seem to think he does the same thing.)

Billy is a genuine reverend and humanitarian who happens to use television to get his message out. He is so much infinitely more than pricks who are nothing more than TV pitchmen using religion for their own selfish ends.