The Church of Tony Marino

Carla Axtman

Tonymarino
Ahhh, Tony Marino. This guy is the gift that keeps on giving. Marino is running for the Oregon House in District 35 against incumbent Democrat Larry Galizio.

You might remember the interesting political strategy Tony threw down with in May by releasing a laundry list of of personal transgressions . Kari has already made note of some of Marino's foibles.

But it seems we've only begun to the plumb the depths of dysfunction that is Dr. Tony Marino, diplomamillPhD.

It seems the good "doctor" Marino has his very own seminary!

That's right! For the low, low price of $95.00 (plus a $35 "final graduation processing fee"), you too can become an online Ordained Minister:

As an Ordained Minister, you will have the authority to start a church, preach the Gospel around the world, start a Christian school, perform marriages, officiate funerals, become a missionary, an evangelist, a pastor, begin your own ministry, along with all other priviledges and opportunities given to those certified as "Ordained." Let God guide through His plan; while Pacific Northwestern assists you along your way.

Once you have successfully passed all 66 lesson plans, you will be administered the final examination. This final examination will highlight what you have learn all along your biblical journey. Upon graduation, you will receive your diploma certificate, official ordination certification as well as an assortment of special materials, designed to support your God appointed ministry.


Graduation

Upon successful graduation from Pacific Northwestern, each student will be awarded...

Pacific Northwestern Diploma of Biblical Studies"
Certificate of Ordination"
Complete Course Transcripts
Ordinational Identification card

The physical address of this incredibly awesome institution is listed as 8136 N. Lombard Street in Portland. Maybe on my next visit to North Portland I'll have to stop by and visit the Senior Pastor, Tony Marino himself.

I did call and leave a message for Tony at the phone number listed on his campaign website. I have a few follow-up questions for him and I'm just dying to know the answers. If I hear back, I'll let you know.

  • Peter Bray (unverified)
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    What a ludicrous signature he has...

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    What a joke, he actually paid! I was ordained for free at the Universal Life Church Monastery . I thought Republicans didn't like wasting money.

    Oh well, you can all address me as Rev. Carl Fisher.

  • Reverend Cornett (unverified)
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    Nice to see you back blogging Carla, you were missed!

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    Yup. In ONE DAY she reports new information, entertainingly.

    Way to go, Carla. Mandate Media got a gem.

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    Ah, gotta love the church of self-aggrandizement.

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    Now if I can just find a place online to get that Mohel certification without taking the blasted test! I always faint at that same place.

  • Geraldine (unverified)
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    The Devil made him do it!

  • AJ526 (unverified)
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    What is wrong with getting an online ordination?

    I also love it how you far-left "progressive" Blue Oregon bloggers attack someone like Tony so viciously because he was honest and came out with his own shortcomings with the voters of district 35. I don't think that you are a majority of your party. I am not inclined to think that a majority of the Democratic party is so hateful.

    I would however, be very happy if I were Tony. The fact that you attack so much is evidence of how much you are afraid of him. That is the same strategy that you try to use on Smith and Walden as well. If I were a Republican politician, or someone like Tony who is not a politician, but who is running because he cares about his district, I would be very encouraged by being attacked by Blue Oregon.

  • AJ526 (unverified)
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    What is wrong with getting an online ordination?

    I also love it how you far-left "progressive" Blue Oregon bloggers attack someone like Tony so viciously because he was honest and came out with his own shortcomings with the voters of district 35. I don't think that you are a majority of your party. I am not inclined to think that a majority of the Democratic party is so hateful.

    I would however, be very happy if I were Tony. The fact that you attack so much is evidence of how much you are afraid of him. That is the same strategy that you try to use on Smith and Walden as well. If I were a Republican politician, or someone like Tony who is not a politician, but who is running because he cares about his district, I would be very encouraged by being attacked by Blue Oregon.

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    Damn. I wish someone had told me about this before I spent three-years earning a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary (www.eden.edu), a graduate school accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. Not to mention all the years spent as a seminarian-in-care of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ, the psychological exams required, and the approval of the Ministries Team of the CPC UCC, after passing my ordination exam.

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    Brother Currie just think, your ordination is like the aston martin of ordinations. While mine is more like the pinto of ordinations. We both still have cars, its just yours is a hell of a lot better.

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    Yeah. Frankly, I wouldn't want to ride in Carl's beat-up junker.

    But, in all seriousness, we're not attacking anyone... we're just laughing at a joke.

  • Bert Lowry (unverified)
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    Isn't the issue here that he sells online ordinations? Or did I misunderstand the post?

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    What is wrong with getting an online ordination?

    Other than the fact that it cheapens spirituality and religion and mocks those who've studied theology for years in order to become legitimate religious/spiritual leaders?

    Perhaps Dr. Marino is encouraged by what he reads here at BlueO. Someone should be..because chances are his potential constituents won't be.

    (Btw..I think I should have a spiritual and monarchial title..it suits me)

  • JHL (unverified)
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    Hey AJ... It's not that Marino RECEIVED an online ordination... it's that he's SELLING them!

    And that this new persona is "Anthony J Marino, Senior Pastor"... which is kind of a completely different persona than "Dr. Tony Marino, PhD"... who is a very different person than "Tony Marino: Recording Artist"... etc, etc.

    I think that it should be a very haunting thought to the voters of District 35 that Marino seems to slip in and out of various personas like some kind of modern-day Zelig. It begs the question: this "Candidate Tony Marino"... how are we to beleive that this is the real deal, or is it just another one of the many faces of Tony?

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    And that this new persona is "Anthony J Marino, Senior Pastor"... which is kind of a completely different persona than "Dr. Tony Marino, PhD"... who is a very different person than "Tony Marino: Recording Artist"... etc, etc.

    Hey now...maybe he's just a GOP version of "renaissance man".

    It could happen.

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    I don't know if Renaissance Man is quite the right term...

  • Don (unverified)
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    I'm smelling a walk for Galizio this fall.

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    Rev. Chuck brings up an associated issue - the relevance and net value to society of going the full monty academically.

    I used to know a guy who had stopped with a Bachelors of Divinity. But even so, he was able to fall back on his academic credentials to get jobs as a counselor when he chose to because counseling is a major emphasis of the real divinity degrees and doing it competently takes more than reciting verses from Scripture. Which underscores the fact that going with the academic full monty is much more than just the religious knowledge.

    What Marino is peddling is a mirage...

  • petr.ichor (unverified)
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    marino is definitely providing some cheap entertainment at his own expense, but i have trouble faulting him since he put everything out there himself, directly to katu, and none of it is really that bad.

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    "and none of it is really that bad."

    I have to wonder--are there NO online ordination schools that are reputable? Online universities are largely scams, sure--but there are couple of legit outfits, aren't there?

    I'm perfectly willing to believe that this is a scam/sham deal, but asynchronous education is the wave of the future and there's no reason it can't be just as valid as brick and mortar diplomas.

  • joel dan walls (unverified)
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    "ASYNCHRONOUS EDUCATION"????

    Whoever invented this phrase definitely deserves something like an Ig Nobel Prize,

  • petr.ichor (unverified)
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    well, how do you even define "reputable" for an ordination school?

    certainly there is always the risk of someone buying a cheap ordination certificate and attempting to use it to abuse the perceived power of being a minister. however, as the catholic church, and televangelists have shown, this type of power abuse would not be limited to people who buy cheap certificates.

    afaiac, anything that lowers the barrier to participation this way is probably a good thing. there are legal privileges that go along with being ordained, one in specific the ability to marry people--which is why i am a member of the the ULC as others have mentioned. ULC works for me because i am areligious, but if i were a christian i might actually wind up getting ordained by one of these online schools for $99 bucks to get the same privileges.

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    certainly there is always the risk of someone buying a cheap ordination certificate and attempting to use it to abuse the perceived power of being a minister. however, as the catholic church, and televangelists have shown, this type of power abuse would not be limited to people who buy cheap certificates.

    Certainly.

    That said, shelling out ordinations for $130 ($95 for the unit tests, $35 for the "graduation fee") just reeks of smarmy. While an extensive series of four year bachelor degrees, graduate degrees and doctorates are no guarantee that the bearer isn't a flim-flam artist, selling cheap ordination is certainly closer to it.

    Frankly, the idea that we're "lowering the barrier to participation" in this case comes across to me as rather goofy. I might want to be a heart surgeon, but signing up on a website for 66 units of online learning and a little extra scratch for the official wallet-sized degree doesn't make me qualified for the job.

  • petr.ichor (unverified)
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    yes, but being a minister is not like being a heart surgeon. i have been to a couple religious ceremonies held by unordained ministers and they were great because the minister was a natural speaker who was great at focusing the energy in the room, and evoking a spiritual mood.

    i'm not making any claims about marino's website services--it's possibly just smarm like you say--i'm just saying that i think there are real benefits to making it easier for people to become ordained ministers (christian or otherwise) for a reasonable cost outside of the official institutions.

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    yes, but being a minister is not like being a heart surgeon.

    Not totally..but in terms of being qualified to really professionally help people, they actually have many similarities. Heart surgeons obviously open up people's chests and work to heal the human heart. Pastors are just as often called upon to counsel individuals, couples and families--some teetering on disaster.

    Let me put it another way, getting an online degree like this to be an ordained minister would be congruous to a physician who is certified to only use faith healing on a person suffering from a coronary blockage.

    If folks who obtain these online degrees are honest and upfront about what they are--then that's another story. But what bugs me most about this is that there's no way to tell unless they disclose and its looked into. That's smarmy to me.

  • Laura Calvo (unverified)
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    The correct address for the Pacific Northwestern on the website is 8316 N. Lombard which google maps street view looks like a mail drop.

    8136 N Lombard looks like a used car lot. Hmm?

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    Ministry is more than just performing wedding ceremonies (which can be done by a judge). As has been mentioned, there are responsibilities such as pastoral care that only people trained in such matters should undertake (very much like counseling is a learned set of professional skills). Teaching is another task of ministry. Don’t you want your teachers to be qualified to teach? There is value, of course, in lay ministry but most churches – Roman Catholic, mainline, evangelical (well, most evangelical) – understand that an educated, professional clergy is central to the task of ministry. Ordination, by the way, is not a task of the school but a task of the church. What Marino is offering is nothing but a shame. There might be nothing illegal about it but it is highly unethical and nothing less than a sin.

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    Ohhh..I transposed the #s! Thanks, Laura.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    TJ, a legitimate institution would note their accreditation. Heck, a legitimate institution would get more than two Google results.

    (The "X" is just shorthand for Christ, by the way.)

  • Jonathan Radmacher (unverified)
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    You never know what you get in a pastor, eh? This guy was just convicted, right?

    A Portland pastor accused of rape was arrested Monday at his home in Ridgefield, Wash.

    Police said they linked Sergio Alvarizares, 38, to the sexual assault of eight women who are associated with his church.

    Officers responded to the Casa Del Padre Church on Northeast Alberta Street on a disturbance call last month

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    There is value, of course, in lay ministry but most churches – Roman Catholic, mainline, evangelical (well, most evangelical) – understand that an educated, professional clergy is central to the task of ministry.

    Exactly. And I think that if most folks who may have a problem with organized religion could set those issues aside then they'd readily agree that there is a net value to the larger society to having an educated, professional clergy.

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    Carla, you've opened the floodgates!

    I wondered if it was the same Tony Marino. The picture on the virtual seminary site is small and blurry, & it looks like there's a limited hangout mullet going not on T.M.'s campaign site. And there is not a word about religion on the campaign site -- he's running as an entrepreneur. The "motivational speaker" piece of the resume is the closest. Seems to send his kids to public schools, nary a word about any sex/gender hot-button issues. So, curious, I went hunting for other links between Tony Marino and World Christian Ministries, in case Pastor Anthony J. Marino might not be Dr. Tony after all.

    But he is. The on-line ordinations Carla found are offered by "World Christian Ministries." We find a Dr. Tony Marino at World Christian Ministries Podcast. At Podtactics News we find testimony to Tony Marino, Ph.D. being an "online marketing expert" and "host of the World Christian Ministries Podcast," as well as CEO of America Web Works. At that site, we find our familiar headshot of Dr. Tony, and announcements of his Oregon District 35 House campaign.

    America Web Works turns out to have a stable of interesting subsidiaries affiliated with the International ePublisher's Association, also a subsidiary.

    For instance, there is the Christian Times eBusiness Marketing Newsletter, which promotes a form of eBusiness Marketing that looks a lot like a multi-level marketing scheme like Amway, except that it appears that its only product is more marketing. It also advertises the following:

    Tony Marino has crafted this exclusive email compliance and marketing syllabus to teach you exactly how you can effectively sail your emails seamlessly into MSN, Yahoo and AOL email accounts by simply playing by the rules.

    So Dr. T. is a spam-meister, among his many other accomplishments.

    A different subsidiary brings us back around to that Ph.D., and why Tony might have wanted it: ePublisher University, which according to an ad in the Christian Times and its own site, offers an "ePublisher's Master's Course."

    Read carefully, though, because this is not a Master's degree. Rather, it is an opportunity to become an ePublishing Master Consultant Affiliate Partner (What's on first? No, Who's on first. Multi-level Marketing. Third Base!).

    Dr. Tony's "entrepreneurship" by now has taken on a distinctly ephemeral oily smoke quality not apparent on his campaign website.

    One last thing gets, perhaps, a bit more serious. Turns out that Dr. Tony has his own possibly online ordination through Ministries of Christ Assembly of Churches (www.ordination.org). MCAC's membership page listing the Rev'd. Dr. T -- interestingly, at a North Portland address different from that of his World Christian Ministries -- links to a page of strongly anti-abortion material, which in turn links to a screed of extreme vitriolic attacks on, among other things,

    "new age movement in full bloom - homosexuals in political offices - the ultimate rebellion (total feminism) - the theories of evolution stated and taught as a matter of fact (not as theory)".

    One starts to wonder about the fact that Dr. Tony is running as a purely secular business candidate.

    Has the old Christian Coalition stealth election strategy resurfaced? If the voters of District 35 elect Tony Marino, "electronic marketing guru," on his economic Republican platform of limited government for business and economy, highway funding, and education, will they find themselves with an extreme social conservative representing them in Salem?

    It's hard to say. The Rev'd Dr. Tony Marino's own Christian materials are low-key and politically innocuous. At the Christian Times Newsletter they appear to be one more device for the marketing of marketing more than anything else. So maybe MCAC was just Dr. Tony's vehicle to some particular marketing opportunities.

    But it sure would be nice if the voters of District 35 knew what they were getting into.

  • petr.ichor (unverified)
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    "There is value, of course, in lay ministry but most churches ... understand that an educated, professional clergy is central to the task of ministry."

    i wouldn't dispute the value of an educated, professional clergy. i may not be religious, but i was married by a catholic monk who was a family friend, and i found his experience and wisdom to be very powerful.

    what i would dispute is that ordination through the traditional outlets necessarily results in this outcome. therefore, it is important to keep open alternate routes to ordination. if people abuse that, well, then they're no different than those who have gone the more traditional route and abused their position. certainly there are many more high profile cases involving the latter.

    "What Marino is offering is nothing but a shame. There might be nothing illegal about it but it is highly unethical and nothing less than a sin."

    his school could very well be a sham, and if that is the case and that makes it a sin, then i guess it is between him and god. however, i am not going to judge the World Christian Ministries Pacific Northwestern Seminary without knowing anything about it.

  • Anon4Now (unverified)
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    I wanted to send an email to Carla about this candidate, but could not find a way to do that. Is there some secret to contacting contributors other than in the public posts?

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    torridjoe asked: "Are their no online ordination schools that are reputable?"

    First, just as a reminder a language here, there is no such thing as an "ordination" school. The Church ordains, not the school. The function of the seminary or theological graduate school is to prepare candidates for ordination.

    Some institutions are now making online classes available but such classes have the met the same criteria that regular classed do as defined by the Association of Theological Schools,, the accrediting agency. I have been a guest lecturer in one such course (a class on Public Theology) offered by Chicago Theological Seminary.

    But few schools offer the full MDiv program online. The Master of Divinity degree "is the degree prerequisite for ordination in many Christian denominations [other faiths as well]. This is a professional degree that integrates rigorous academic work with participation in and reflection upon the practice of ministry. It is expected that students enrolled in this degree program are engaged with their denomination in exploring some form of ordained ministry," according to the Eden Theological Seminary website.

    Because of the nature of the program it would be difficult to offer everything online. Most students take 3-4 years to complete the program attending full time.

    It takes about 90 graduate-level hours to complete the degree. On top of that you are placed either in a church, hospital or social service agency to complete internships. In addition, another 400 hours of field work is required over one summer period. Students are also required to travel overseas. All the while, you are meeting with ministry groups that are made up of other students and faculty to have discussion and feedback about experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Regular worship is also party of seminary life (and don't forget the potlucks, they get you started on those early).

    I'm glad that some classes are offered online but I don't think it is possibile to offer the entire program that way.

    The next step for those who want to go on past the MDiv is the Doctor of Ministry degree (DMin). The DMin, unlike the MDiv, is often offered online because you are required to be in a ministry setting while studying.

    Or I suppose someone could skip all this and write Marino a check. But that would be a lot like asking an MD or JD to go practice because they've watched ER or Matlock.

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    Clearly, I never took grammar or typing while in seminary.

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    Is there some secret to contacting contributors other than in the public posts?

    That's coming in the new BlueOregon 2.0. For now, just post your real email address in the email field - and ask her to contact you offline. She'll get the email address, but it won't be published.

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    Rev. Chuck, in studying missionaries and African interactions with them in southern Africa historically, including the emergence of unorthodox African Initiated Churches, as they usually are called now, I had an impression that at least at one time ordination within orthodox Christian churches required some kind of formal relationship to the apostolic succession, and usually a ceremony involving a laying on of hands, if memory serves -- something that appeared to have survived the several early Church schisms as well as the Protestant reformation and subsequent Protestant denominational proliferation.

    Is that just completely wrong? Or has it changed?

    E.g. I assume that the Universal Life Church of which we have several ministers here, apparently, is not actually a Christian church of any sort, any more the late lamented 24 Hour Church of Elvis.

    Do such considerations have any bearing on the sort of on-line ordination we're looking at here?

  • Blue Dog (unverified)
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    There's a lot more to Phony Tony than was posted here. The State of Oregon has prohibited him from using the term Ph.D. based on the "baselessness" of his degree. Not only that, according to the person at the State who issued the order, Marino's company is also being investigated by the Dept. of Justice for providing internet services to some foreign company who is located in a country that U.S. companies are not supposed to help! Plus - after he announced his candidacy, he went around criticizing his Democratic opponent, State Rep. Larry Galizio, for recently getting divorced, saying that if Larry couldn't manage his own affairs, how could he manage ours in Salem. Then, it came out that Phony Tony has been married FIVE times! Ya gotta love the guy - NOT!

  • tr (unverified)
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    Blue dog:

    You should probably be a little more careful with the way you throw around accusations of wrongdoings.

    The person that does the degree certificating has nothing to do with business dealings.

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    Join our ranks Chris! The church has ordained over 20 million ministers since 1959! I'm sure no one would mind if that number was 20 million and 1.

    Now, the only other church I would feel compelled to become a minister in is The First Church of Shatnerology.

  • JHL (unverified)
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    The person that does the degree certificating has nothing to do with business dealings.

    If Marino was ignorant enough to fail to realize that there was something fishy about getting a doctorate for $400 in a couple of months... if he failed to do the very basic Google search on his alma mater that the rest of us did...

    ... then I shudder to think how he would make decisions as a state legislator.

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    thanks for the reply, Chuck! James, I didn't suggest the school was legit, only that online doesn't automatically mean crap.

    I didn't invent the term asynchronous ed, but I guess it IS a bit nerdy.

    Anyone remember Church of the Subgenius? "Give me slack, or give me food--or kill me!"

  • Blue Dog (unverified)
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    In response to tr - I'm not "throwing around" accusations of Phony Tony, a state agency made that statement in an email to me and I'm just repeating it. BTW - according to the Better Business Bureau website, Tony's business (which he owns) refused to give them any information about the business. Wonder why?

  • Blue Dog (unverified)
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    In response to tr - I'm not "throwing around" accusations of Phony Tony, a state agency made that statement in an email to me and I'm just repeating it. BTW - according to the Better Business Bureau website, Tony's business (which he owns) refused to give them any information about the business. Wonder why?

  • Keith (unverified)
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    OMG Tony sure is multi-talented. Follow this link for a familiar musician. "This essence of this hauntingly romantic smooth jazz piece reflects sultry summer nights on a southern California shoreline." Well hell, he's got my vote!

    this is blueoregon

    and hear him live here this is blueoregon

    BTW Am I the only one who thinks Tony has hair plugs?

    This guy is awesome!

  • Rulial (unverified)
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    I know of at least two cases where someone received a Universal Life Church ordination so they could perform a wedding. In each case, the person had friends who wanted to be married by a close friend rather than a judge or minister they didn't know. I don't think they consider themselves ministers or compare themselves to Rev. Currie.

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    Rev. Carl Fisher, I have only one thing to say to you:

    A: "It's a wave" B: "It's a particle" A: "It's a wave" B: "It's a particle" A: "It's a wave" B: "It's a particle" ....

    :->

  • O. Waltz (unverified)
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    Please contact me offline too - I've got some good dirt on a different Republican... Thanks (Glad to have you back where you really make a difference!)

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