A depressed man gave 126 thousand dollars to a Florida church five years ago and has been trying to get it back.
The church says they can’t because the money was used to build a family ministry space. Apparently church officials and 55 year old Marcel Mager tried to work it out, with the church holding the line on a firm no.

So Mager is suing.

Mager might have a difficult time getting his money back in court, said Richard Hammar, an expert in church law and tax code in Springfield, Mo. Hammar publishes a nationwide newsletter on church finances, Church Law & Tax Report.

Mager’s only hope is to prove he was not of sound mind when he made the donation, Hammar said.

But that can be extremely difficult because families of people with more permanent mental ailments - such as Alzheimer’s disease - have failed to get large donations overturned, Hammar said. “He really has an uphill battle.”

At the time, Mager says he didn’t do it to spite his ex-wife, and the church says his letter that came with the donation expressed remorse for past deeds.

This is sticky, isn’t it?
He gave it anonymously, and in a state of deep grief. I think we have to stop pretending the break-up of a marriage is no big deal.
And although a charitable act is good for the soul, this is definitely one of those times where soothing grief or conscience comes back to bite the person who tried to buy their way out.
The fact church leaders don’t have any to give back is a bit troubling assuming they have acted in good faith.
Court probably won’t resolve the differences, looks like a no-win, no-win.

Taps
There are so many military funerals in the US there are not enough buglers to lend their services. So, Taps has gone electronic.

The bugle plays a startlingly realistic, but recorded, rendition of “Taps” out of an electronic player that slips into the bell of a real bugle.

“We really appreciate these guys; they do a great job whether it’s 70 degrees outside or 30 below and raining,” Eric Trimble, president of Trimble Funeral Homes, said of Moline’s American Legion Post 246. “That’s why we wanted them to have it. … It was just in the last two years the federal government allowed playing a electric version of `Taps’ at funeral services because there weren’t enough bugle players.”

When a bugle player wasn’t available, that usually meant the sound came from a boom box CD player or cassette tape player.

This is sad. The bugle doesn’t have valves like a trumpet and takes practice and continued work. Some of the most healing and moving moments I’ve experienced at funerals have been the lone bugler or piper. And having been in a marching band, I know that weather and emotion foils the most perfect player, and that is what can make it all the more poignant and soulful.
link via connexions

Comment Spam
As comment spam becomes more prevalent on blogs the discussion about what to do about it is heating up. Some well-known bloggers are dealing with up to 500 a day. And even putting the word spam in a post is sending spammers my way.
I’m starting to get a fair bit. Spammers target archives, and often do a cut-and-paste hit and run with a personal comment.
Tech types are churning out all kinds of tools. The MT blacklist I use helps, but if the spammers are spoofing, I’m probably blocking legitimate URL’s.

There are practical things we can do. Blogs are social software, and spammers completely understand that.
Turning off comments in the archives is one solution.
Not having comments is another.
I think we need to simmer down a bit. The comments section was flooded the other day, and throughly frustrated with several things I snarked at a few friends on messenger as I cleaned up.
It isn’t worth my peace of mind.

In other words, we take it personally, while the comment spammers take it professionally, and we’ll never win the battle with odds such as these.

I used to take it personally until I started following the actions of the comment spammers. Now, sorry for offending folks, I’m filled with admiration for them. I still think that Tim O’Reilly should have featured comment, and email, spammers as speakers at the Emerging Tech Conference. These people really do know the concepts behind social software, and we could do well to emulate them. In other words, they learn from watching us? We should learn by watching them.

I think Burningbird is right. Technicans tend to want to throw codes at everything. Most of us who blog aren’t equipped to enter complex whatevers.
Most of us aren’t going to give up our comments sections.
Most of us aren’t going to go to a wiki or Tribe format.
I’m not going to do that to my blog or my readers.
I think next time I delete comment spam that has slipped past the filters, I won’t take it out on messenger buddies either.

Who Links Who
Speaking of useful things, WLW hasn’t been able to run lately and I’ve missed it. Dave King of Idea Joy built a great idea that I’ve been relying on since I started blogging. I asked him what is wrong and apparently there is loading exception that needs to be fixed at the other end. Maybe we could send an email Idea Joy’s way and encourage a real busy and faithful guy eh?

Bush-Martin Vibes
Leaders don’t have to get along to set the tone for their countries relationships and best interests. But it sends a clear message to the bureaucrats that deal with the day to day.
Canadian news has been filled with the good vibes meeting between the two leaders who have a great deal in common on a personal level.