More Romney Lulz

Mitt Romney is honest and just bursting with integrity... or so his wife, Ann Romney, says. Beyond paying their taxes, they also donate 10% of their income to charity. Oh, Ann... you and Mitt so cray cray. Hon, it's not a "charitable donation" - it's called tithing, and it's something required by the LDS church if you wish to remain a member in good standing. Of course, since Mitt's religious background could have a negative impact with the voters, I guess they're trying to downplay it. Too bad they suck at lying. Really, with all of the lying they do, you'd think they would be better at it.

As I said, tithing isn't a charitable donation - it's required in order to be in "good standing" with the LDS church. A full tithe is 10% of a Mormon's gross income. That includes ALL income - employment, medicare, social security, unemployment, and all those dollar bills stashed in your g-string. To make matters worse, members are expected to meet one-on-one with their bishop each year just to disclose their tithing habits. You can bet that meeting gets all kinds of awkward if it's discovered that you're not paying a full tithe.

So what happens if you don't tithe? Well, to put it simply: you're screwed. If you're not paying a full 10% tithe, you lose your Temple Recommend. Without that, you can't enter the Temple and you're in serious jeopardy of losing your "Celestial blessings." Seriously, if you can't enter the Temple, you're pretty much banned from traditional Mormon wedding. Worse, you won't be able to enter the "Celestial Kingdom" once you're dead.

If you're still wondering just how seriously the Mormons view their tithing habits, consider this quote: "If a destitute family is faced with the decision of paying their tithing or eating, they should pay their tithing." Thank you, Lynn Robbins (General Conference of 2005).

The LDS church earns approximately $7 billion a year from tithing. That can buy a lot of shopping malls.

Come on, Mitt. Be real. You're not donating to "charity." The LDS church can hardly be considered a charity. I haven't seen any other "charities" working so hard to deny civil rights to specific groups (coughProposition8cough).

I just... ugh. There are no words.