Accounting for Sister Sarah

"You just write in to the Ministry, and I will send you, at no cost to you, a free book of my detailed plan of salvation!"

No, that is not Rush Limbaugh! It is just about every radio evangelist you have ever heard.

It works this way: The Reverend Glorious B. Praiseworthy publishes a book of his Sunday sermons, for which he gets a royalty. If he does his own publishing, he gets an even bigger royalty for every book sold. When you write in to the Ministry, the Ministry buys a book from the Rev. Glorious B. Praiseworthy, and sends it to you. The Reverend pockets the royalty, and pretty soon you will be asked to contribute to the Ministry which, of course, does many other worthy deeds, too. Probably. Things such as paying the Reverend G. B. Praiseworthy a salary for his participation in the Ministry.

I don't know what brought that to mind. It has been drifting around in my head for about sixty years. It might have been--just possibly--an article that said that Sarah Palin's Political Action Committee (you may say "Ministry" if you prefer that) just bought $60,000. worth of Sarah's book to send as gifts to donors to her P.A.C.

Let me see: how does that work, again?

Our Little Sarah is reportedly being paid $100,000. to speak at a coming Tea Party Convention, or Gathering (or "Congregation", if you prefer that). Delegates to the Convention are paying about $600. to register for the Convention, but if you only want to attend when Sister Sarah speaks, the fee is only $300.

And people say Sarah was a journalism major in five colleges, or something like that! I will bet Our Little Sarah has an accounting degree.

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