Landmark Events- LOLDoug: The Next Generation

[ladyamylynn]

The topic of LolDoug's manly adventures was raised in another thread, and I thought I'd start a topic the godly ripoff tour company called Landmark Events!

landmarkevents.org

Behold their totally not phallic logo!

Behold the ubiquitous presence of Bill Potter!

Behold the Doug-worthy bloviation of the "Western Civilization and the Crown Rights of Jesus Christ" tour conference featuring keynote speaker and noted blowhard Judge Roy Moore* (* Pending Judicial calendar approval) held in scenic Birmingham, Alabama!

You, too, can spend four whole days in the Grand Canyon for the low low price of $1750 per person (transportation and lodging not included) learning about Manifest Destiny on a raft!

They even have a facebook page! Feast your eyes upon multiple pictures of Sam Turley if that's the kind of thing you're into- hey I don't judge!

facebook.com/LandmarkEvents.org/timeline

Good to know there are still holy hucksters out there fleecing god's chosen people out of the hard-earned cash of their godly single incomes. Get those etsy shops going, girls- the excitement awaits!

[DarkAnts]

The tours include "rare source" documents. So it's basically a fairy tale tour of what they immangine history should have been like.

[twin2]

Have I finally found my new hobby!!!

[Seven Severn]

The topic of LolDoug's manly adventures was raised in another thread, and I thought I'd start a topic the godly ripoff tour company called Landmark Events!

landmarkevents.org

Behold their totally not phallic logo!

Behold the ubiquitous presence of Bill Potter!

Behold the Doug-worthy bloviation of the "Western Civilization and the Crown Rights of Jesus Christ" tour conference featuring keynote speaker and noted blowhard Judge Roy Moore* (* Pending Judicial calendar approval) held in scenic Birmingham, Alabama!

You, too, can spend four whole days in the Grand Canyon for the low low price of $1750 per person (transportation and lodging not included) learning about Manifest Destiny on a raft!

They even have a facebook page! Feast your eyes upon multiple pictures of Sam Turley if that's the kind of thing you're into- hey I don't judge!

facebook.com/LandmarkEvents.org/timeline

Good to know there are still holy hucksters out there fleecing god's chosen people out of the hard-earned cash of their godly single incomes. Get those etsy shops going, girls- the excitement awaits!

I love that one of their gods, John Knox, is buried in what is now a carpark.

twin2, I'm so happy for you. :dance: Since Dougie's demise I know you've been a little out-of-sorts.

[ViolaSebastian]

Wow...could these tours get any whiter or androcentric? Damn, they even manage to make the tour of the Grand Canyon all about white dudes...

They do talk about the Margarets of Wigtown in the blog, but four of the six paragraphs in the section are still on white dudes. :?

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Oh, is Sam Turley back to being a fundie? Because his instagram had him hanging out in bars quite a bit, and partying with D list reality TV star Lauren White from "Party Down South"

In fact, if you go to her instagram (@lauren_white_south 106k followers) she posted 3 pics of him 42 weeks ago. That's how long I've sat on this information waiting for the opportunity to post it, and I'm starting to reevaluate my life choices :)

[Marian the Librarian]

Landmark Events is a Turley family enterprise, started at the end of 2013, shortly after the fall of DPIAT/R. Kevin Turley is the President - here's the link to his initial fundraising plug:

landmarkevents.org/assets/email/2013/12-26-introduction2/

The site says they're a 501©(3), but I'm not finding them listed at guidestar.org. Interesting.

Son Justin Turley designed their logo - all in the family, y'know. There are many other familiar-looking logos on his website. Have fun going down that rabbit hole!

justinturley.com

[Maxwell]

The topic of LolDoug's manly adventures was raised in another thread, and I thought I'd start a topic the godly ripoff tour company called Landmark Events!

landmarkevents.org

Behold their totally not phallic logo!

Behold the ubiquitous presence of Bill Potter!

Behold the Doug-worthy bloviation of the "Western Civilization and the Crown Rights of Jesus Christ" tour conference featuring keynote speaker and noted blowhard Judge Roy Moore* (* Pending Judicial calendar approval) held in scenic Birmingham, Alabama!

You, too, can spend four whole days in the Grand Canyon for the low low price of $1750 per person (transportation and lodging not included) learning about Manifest Destiny on a raft!

They even have a facebook page! Feast your eyes upon multiple pictures of Sam Turley if that's the kind of thing you're into- hey I don't judge!

facebook.com/LandmarkEvents.org/timeline

Good to know there are still holy hucksters out there fleecing god's chosen people out of the hard-earned cash of their godly single incomes. Get those etsy shops going, girls- the excitement awaits!

In a former life, I worked this trip as a summer job. Here's the deal... that trip is run by Arizona River Runner and normally runs $1283 per person. It's a 3 day 2 night trip (Landmark is calling it a 4 day trip -- probably because it's recommended that you get to Vegas a day before departure. Hope all the unsuspecting home school families enjoy Sin City -- they'll get an eye full =-) ). Day 1: Meet up at McCarran International (take note of the Janet planes headed for Area 51), travel via small plane to the Bar 10 Ranch (they have the BEST home made diner rolls), if weather is good you can ride a horse or hike, there used to be an after diner show put on by the family the runs the place -- sorta hokie but fun (looks like they still do it). Day 2: Up early for breakfast followed by a helicopter ride to the river, brief instructions on safety and proper use of a water proof bag, load onto the rafts and ride the river all day. Day 3: raft until about noon, meet a high speed jet boat at Separation Canyon, eat lunch, transfer gear, head back to the Marina, load on to a bus and head back to Vegas, getting in about 5pm. I will say, it's a GREAT little get away and I still can't believe that I spent a summer getting paid to raft the Canyon. I still get a little teary-eyed over it... but I digress.

Landmark appears to have bought the whole trip and I'm sure they got a discount but probably not much as rafting in the Canyon is expensive -- maybe 10%. Only 28 seats on a trip (14 per raft, 2 rafts), 4 seats appear to be taken -- I assume those are the "speakers", so 24 head at $500... the speakers won't pay for their seats... multiply by 3, carry the 1... I'm guessing they stand to make $10,000 if they sell out the trip. $1000 honorarium per speaker x4, Landmark keeps the balance? I bet I'm being overly generous with the honorarium.

Want my advice? Save the $500 extra and just take the trip on your own. There's so much to see and it is incredible, no one needs some yahoo yackin' on endlessly about whatever -- they'll just get in the way of the grandeur. Oh yeah, make sure to bring a hat, sun glasses (with keeper), and lots of sun block but don't put it above your eyes.

If you've ever considered rafting the Canyon, Arizona River Runners is a top notch company.

[Clementine]

Thank you God, finally something new to snark on! :popcorn2:

[molecule]

The About page begins with this:

We created Landmark Events to encourage and edify families by preserving providential history and facilitating events that prepositionally address the ethical issues of our time.

My questions:

A. Does anyone have a clue what this means, or what Landmark Events thinks it means?

B. "Prepositionally"? Really? Perhaps they mean "propositionally," although that doesn't help the sentence make sense, either.

I've spent a lot of years as an English teacher and freelance editor, and this one bugs me enough to make me want to post instead of lurk.

[salex]

The About page begins with this:

My questions:

A. Does anyone have a clue what this means, or what Landmark Events thinks it means?

B. "Prepositionally"? Really? Perhaps they mean "propositionally," although that doesn't help the sentence make sense, either.

I've spent a lot of years as an English teacher and freelance editor, and this one bugs me enough to make me want to post instead of lurk.

I'm with you.... prepositionally is defined as Relating to or used as a preposition. Which seems to me to render the sentence meaningless. Taking that word out lets the sentence make more sense. I wonder if they were trying for a variation of presupposition, which I think would fit with their dogma.

I think they just wanted another word starting with "pr" in their sentence... did I miss the verse that says God Loves Alliteration?

[older than allosaurs]

I think they just wanted another word starting with "pr" in their sentence... did I miss the verse that says God Loves Alliteration?

priapically? presumptuously? preemptively? prettily?

Come on, Landmark guys. Surely your business proposition deserves better than a mere little preposition.

Edited because I forgot to suggest "preposterously."

[CloakNDagger]

The Turleys were one of the many families that left the "pagan" outside world to move to San Antonio and be a part of the wonderful stuff going on at BCA / VF.

[DomWackTroll]

The Turleys were one of the many families that left the "pagan" outside world to move to San Antonio and be a part of the wonderful stuff going on at BCA / VF.

Yes, and wasn't Justin kind of a "backslider" for a while, playing in a (gasp!) rock 'n' roll band? 

ETA: "...Turley left the band to be closer to his family in Texas."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mister_Pine/Until_June

[hoipolloi]

In the Spring of 2004, drummer Justin Turley left the band to move closer to his family in Texas, and he was replaced by Jamie Pitts. 

Source for above quote: http://everything.explained.today/Until_June/

From cached copies of Doug's Blog, the Turleys show up in September 2004 as part of the VF Family, along with Josh & Sarah Wean (no happy ending there -- http://www.leagle.com/decision/In TXCO 20100831785/IN RE WEAN) and the Couglans (then with only 7 kids).

[Rachel333]

I just learned about this company. In a few weeks they're going to federal court for charges of "illegal guiding," Here's their post about the situation.

I'm really curious about what happened. They say it happened after touring the Chalmette battlefield and plantation in New Orleans. Here's their description of a tour to Chalmette (where they praise several prominent Confederates), but I don't know what they did that constituted illegal guiding.

They seem to think it's a freedom of speech issue because the government doesn't like their Christian interpretation of history. They talk about the Stonewall monument in NYC and the possibility for other LGBT landmarks, but I don't see what that has to do with anything.

I'd be really curious if anyone knows more about this.

[CTRLZero]

This is interesting, especially if they are indeed going to trial in federal district court.  You'd think there would be more information out there somewhere (I no longer have my federal case log-ins since retiring, drats), and that there would be some documentation at the National Park Service hearings level.  I wonder if it is still at the administrative hearings level and no preliminary decision has been issued.  Hmmm.  Maybe someone with more current research skills can come up with that.

Other case decisions I found on illegal guiding had to do with improper or non-existent commercial permits on National Park Service land.  Maybe it had to do with a requirement to have a NPS-employed guide while going through historic structures, and the tour company didn't want to abide by that policy?  Totally speculating here.

On a side-note, I just went through the WWII history museum in New Orleans and highly recommend it.   Too bad I missed the "Andrews Sisters," though.

 

 

[church_of_dog]

On National Forest lands (distinct from National Park lands but the same rule may apply), "guiding" refers to someone making money off of providing "guide" services.  I assume Landmark Events charged money for their tour?

Within the National Forests, guide services generally means "we'll pack/carry your stuff (usually using horses/burros) and lead you/carry you to some special place for you to camp or hunt, or down a river in a raft, etc."  In some cases it means "we'll do the cooking" or even "we'll provide the camping gear".  It generally means "we know the area, we'll make sure you don't get lost" etc.

Such a guide would need a permit, related less to the details of the trip and more to the fact the guide is making money.   Commercial enterprises on federal land and all that...

I'm curious how this suit pans out too -- the guiding permit requirements [assuming they're the same on NPS lands as on USFS lands] are not AFAIK specific to the content of the activity and definitely not biased against religious activity, as much as these fellows might want to feel persecuted!  They apply to everyone who meets the requirements and I can't see any reason why these folks should be exempt...

[Rachel333]

45 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

Other case decisions I found on illegal guiding had to do with improper or non-existent commercial permits on National Park Service land.  Maybe it had to do with a requirement to have a NPS-employed guide while going through historic structures, and the tour company didn't want to abide by that policy?  Totally speculating here.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if it were something more mundane like that, rather than the big freedom of speech issue they're making it out to be.

Look at how dramatic this banner image is!

 

It takes a lot of gall for them to be asking for people to just give them money because of this when they won't even say what the exact issue is.

[VooDooChild]

So what is this organization?  A tour group company?  They overcharge people to take them to the National Park and give them the "correct" version of history, I assume.  I wonder if their licensed.  I don't understand this court case, unless it is a permit thing.  But they like to make a mountain out of a molehill, so it's probably not as bad as they make it out to be.  They have to play up that persecution angle though.

 

ETA:  @church_of_dog  Thanks!  This makes more sense. Freedom of speech ....I hope they get laughed at.

[dpndetfarm]

On Friday, October 16, 2015 at 2:03 PM, molecule said:

The About page begins with this:

We created Landmark Events to encourage and edify families by preserving providential history and facilitating events that prepositionally address the ethical issues of our time.

My questions:

A. Does anyone have a clue what this means, or what Landmark Events thinks it means?

B. "Prepositionally"? Really? Perhaps they mean "propositionally," although that doesn't help the sentence make sense, either.

 

I've spent a lot of years as an English teacher and freelance editor, and this one bugs me enough to make me want to post instead of lurk.

I believe that young man was practicing a form of creative writing we call 2am drunk writing with refrigerator word magnets.  

[Howl]

41 minutes ago, Rachel333 said:

takes a lot of gall for them to be asking for people to just give them money because of this when they won't even say what the exact issue is.

The issue is ebil government and that's all you need to know. Because ebil government, send money,  and lots of it. 

Quote

What’s at Stake and What You Can Do

We need your help, both in prayer and financially. Pray that we would be wise like the apostle Paul during his trial, asserting his rights forcefully, yet always for God’s glory and not personal gain. If the truth is important to you, and having your children know the truth, then we ask that you prayerfully consider supporting the work of Landmark Events and particularly our current battle for your right to hear what God has done on the sites where they occurred. A new line has been drawn for how American history should be remembered and taught. We need to take our stand now, before, once again, the American people find the story of their country revised and the resistance silenced.

Will you stand with us?

Pressing onward,
Kevin Turley and Bill Potter

And high on my Christmas gift list?  An opportunity to debrief the men and women who guided the Land  Events Grand Canyon rafting trip.  Typically, Grand Canyon rafting guides are well versed in the complex geology and history of the canyon.  There had to be tons of covert eye rolling as Bill Potter explained the geology of the Grand Canyon through the eyes of a young-earth creationist: 

Quote

The canyons of rock layers bespoke of catastrophic judgement — base rock (day three of creation) 

Oh, in case you didn't know, the Grand Canyon is a remnant of the Biblical flood!  

ETA: Maxwell, any input on what it would have been like to guide a group like this?

[Grimalkin]

      These people facinate me to no end. Their plea for money, the careful wording that implies things, yet doesn't. Wrapping shit up in a shiny package. Smoke and mirrors.I bet they rake it in. 

      In everyday family life, I wonder how they define honesty. 

[Leftitinmysnood]

Hmm. Wonder if this will affect their 501 C 3?

[smittykins]

On 10/16/2015 at 2:48 PM, salex said:

 

 

 

 

I'm with you.... prepositionally is defined as Relating to or used as a preposition. Which seems to me to render the sentence meaningless. Taking that word out lets the sentence make more sense. I wonder if they were trying for a variation of presupposition, which I think would fit with their dogma.

 

I think they just wanted another word starting with "pr" in their sentence... did I miss the verse that says God Loves Alliteration?

Probably.