Moral apex: Busted on a DUI after leaving a gay nightclub, March 6, 2010.

What’s worse than being a self-loathing closet ‘mo who’s consistently voted against equal rights for gays: Being a a self-loathing outed ‘mo who says he’s going to continue to vote against equal rights for gays.

Suggested Bible reading for Mr. Ashburn:

Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?

— Jeremiah 15:18

Karl Rove granted divorce in Texas

December 29, 2009

Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, has been granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage, a family spokesperson said. …

More at Politico.

Oh, and skinny Bush mouthpiece Dana Perino says we’re all supposed to “respect” the Roveses’ “privacy.”

Respect their privacy? After Rove “led the whole anti-gay marriage movement while protecting a family secret“?

Not on your sweet bippy, Dana. Not on K-K-K-Karl’s sweet bippy.

More to come.

But, ConBab has never pegged The Oral as a flaming hypocrite before; why mention his death now?

Because it reminds us that we really need to write up his son, Richard, and Richie’s wife Lindsay, one of these days. Now there’s some major scandal.

And then, of course, there’s our favorite Oral Roberts story, about how Oral wheedled $9 million out of his followers after God threatened to kill him…

See:

Everything You Need to Know About the Oral Roberts Scandal… So Far, Lavender Newswire, October 9, 2007

Oral Roberts U Scandal: Exit Richie, Enter “Convicted Sexual Deviant”, Lavender Newswire, October 17, 2007

Because we could spend 24/7 tracking the sex crimes of right-wing religionists (especially “youth pastors”) and never get caught up. Of the following, the more interesting cases will probably end up with their very own Conservative Babylon entries.

Sentenced and facing new charges: Kenneth Graham Gibbs, 77, retired Anglican minister, St. John’s Anglican Church, Chapleau, Ontario, and St. Peter the Apostle, Elliot Lake, convicted in November, 2009, and sentenced December 3, 2009, to three and a half years for “indecently assaulting five now-grown women when they were girls” during the 1960s, and charged four days later with with two new counts of indecent assault against two other children. “The incidents are reported to have taken place in Chapleau, Ontario between 1965 and 1971, when one victim was a child and the other a young teen.” Story: SooToday.com, December 3, 2009; December 7, 2009

Arrested: Julian Sheppard Heyman, 52, sixth-grade teacher, Ebenezer Middle School, Effingham County, Georgia, president of the Georgia Salzburger Society, and director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Savannah, on multiple chiuld-molestation charges, including aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, sexual battery and enticing a child for indecent purposes, among others. “Two victims reported to investigators that they were molested from as far back as 1997 and 1998. Both victims were under 10 years of age at the time the crimes took place.” Heyman had been named Ebenezer’s teacher of the year, 2009. Story: Effingham Herald, December 3, 2009

Sentenced: Madeleine Martin, 39, religious education teacher in Machester, U.K., to 32 months after pleading guilty to 10 counts of “causing a teenage boy to engage in sexual activity.” Martin, who is married and the mother of two teenage girls, had sex with the 15-year-old boy “in the back of her car in a country park, at a shopping centre and inside the mother of two’s family home during a brief relationship.” She “also persuaded the pupil to have her name tattooed on his arm after they became involved when she was assigned to mentor him at an all-boys school.” Story: Tameside Advertiser, November 25, 2009; Daily Mail, November 26, 2009

Deemed “too fat for jail”: John William McConaghy, 66, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, church elder, convicted of sexually abusing the same girl fro some eight years. Convicted of indecent assault, McConaghy received just two and a half years, which Judge David Smyth suspended, citing the 420-pound pedophile’s “precarious” health and declaring his “lack of mobility, ulcerated legs and need for frequent dressings amounted to ‘wholly exceptional circumstances.’” Story: BBC, December 3, 2009; Huffington Post, December 4, 2009

Under investigation again: Keith Morton, 43, lay preacher, Elm Ridge Methodist Church, Darlington, England, “over allegations of child abuse committed in the North-East… Keith Morton is on remand after admitting a string of sex offences against young boys in the Midlands dating back to 2002. The 43-year-old Methodist preacher was due to be sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday, but the hearing was adjourned after new allegations came to light… Police have questioned him about indecent images found on his computer and alleged sex offences involving three boys under the age of 16… Morton has been sacked and banned for life from working with children in the church. … A trial will take place at Teesside Crown Court if Morton contests any further charges. A date for the next hearing is yet to be confirmed.” Story: Northern Echo, December 5, 2009

Several former aides to Sen. John Ensign have been subpoenaed by the Senate Ethics Committee as the investigation of the Nevada Republican shifts into high gear and dramatically raises the political and legal stakes for the embattled senator.

Ensign admitted to the affair with Cindy Hampton in June… Doug Hampton claims that Ensign later aided him in lining up lobbying clients…

Beginning Wednesday, several former Ensign aides, including John Lopez, his former chief of staff, and Mike Slanker, Ensign’s former top political adviser and fundraiser, received document subpoenas from the Ethics Committee, according to sources close to the case. … NV Energy, a Nevada utility firm, also disclosed it had received a subpoena. …

More at Politico.

So, the daughter of Amanda Ross, the woman former gubernatorial candidate Steve Nunn allegedly shot to death in September, has filed a civil wrongful-death lawsuit against Nunn — and has also named Nunn’s daughter as co-defendant.

Seems Nunn “fraudulently transferred personal property in his house to his oldest daughter after the suit had been filed, and that she sold the items at auction.” [WKYT]

Meanwhile, Nunn’s lawyer says “he may have to withdraw as Nunn’s attorney if the judge won’t release funds from an escrow account to pay his legal expenses.” [Glasgow Daily Times]

Continuing to milk her victimhood for all its worth (don’t get us wrong — we approve) — no doubt due to her book, slated for publication in May, 2010 — wronged wife of South Carolina governor and laughingstock Mark Sanford did an interview with Barbara Walters, scheduled to air Wednesday night:

Even if her straying husband had asked her to, South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford says she wouldn’t have stood with Gov. Mark Sanford when he faced cameras to tell the world about his affair with an Argentine woman.

Jenny Sanford told ABC’s Barbara Walters … her husband’s actions have caused consequences but not robbed her of her self esteem.

More at ABC News.

Moral apex: Flying low (at least 85mph) down the I-55 freeway in his TBN-owned BMW, Galiher smashed into another car, flipping it twice.

That was in April, 2009. In November, the driver of the other car, 70-year-old Vietnam vet David Rhodes, died of pneumonia, “some six months after [the] devastating car accident on an Orange County, Calif. freeway left him in the hospital for three months with broken ribs, a broken arm and leg and pins in his vertebrae.” [Nashville Scene]

Details: The CHP officer on-scene reported smelling “a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Galiher’s breath and, his eyes were red and bloodshot.”

“When asked what he drank,” reported Gustavo Arellano at OC Weekly, “the pastor admitted to ‘2 glasses of red wine at the Newport Beach Island Hotel.’ Either Galiher’s a lightweight, or he’s a big liar — when was the last time drinking too much wine created bloodshot eyes?”

Galiher “told the CHP officer he was heading to ‘the company house off Bear Street’ before crashing. He then failed all the field sobriety tests, at which point the officer arrested him for a DUI. His actual blood-alcohol content is still unknown, as it’s not listed in the field report.

“On May 22 in Orange County Superior Court, Galiher pleaded guilty to [two counts of] driving under the influence and causing injury and DUI over .08 BAC causing injury.”

Citing a TBN video of “Galiher and Crouch trying to fleece poor Christians out of more cash with TBN’s nefarious Prosperity Gospel,” Arellano asks: “How about a prayer for the poor man whom Galiher nearly killed, Crouch?”

At the time of Rhodes’ death, Nashville Scene reported: “A spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney said her office is not investigating Rhodes’ death to determine whether manslaughter charges against Galiher are appropriate. She said medical evidence proving a causal link could initiate an investigation, but added that a call from little ol’ Pith isn’t enough to get the ball rolling.”

Meanwhile, Galiher is still free on bail, awaiting sentencing scheduled December 18, 2009.

Memorable observations:

It’s telling about the sad state of religion reporting in Orange County, one of the founts of American Christianity, that no one has yet to report this: a major Trinity Broadcasting Company personality has pleaded guilty to two felony DUIs that put a 70-year-old man in the hospital with serious injuries.

— Gustavo Arellano
Miracle on the 73:
TBN Personality Turns Wine into a Double DUI
OC Weekly
June 21, 2009

The death certificate for David Rhodes will state he passed away November 3 at age 70 from pneumonia, but anyone who knows the whole story will always blame Steve Galiher.

— Gustavo Arellano
Man Crashed Into by Drunk TBN Host Steve Galiher in April Passes Away Due to Injuries
OC Weekly
November 18, 2009

Oh, the irony: In a 2005 quarterly report, TBN summarizes a broadcast, filed under “crime,” hosted by Galiher’s wife: “Host Lisa Galiher sits with Galaxy Star Drug Awareness CEO, Lonnie Greenlee and Reverand Jimmy Smith. Mr Greenlee explained the stages in which a person goes through when drugs become an addiction and how drugs get abused. Mr. Greenlee shared how Galaxy Star Drug Awareness is working to spread drug awareness and hope for drug prevention. Rev. Smith explained how he helps Galaxy Star and ministers to those in the Drug Awareness program.”

Suggested Bible reading for Mr. Galiher:

Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

— Isaiah 29:9-10

Because we could spend 24/7 tracking the sex crimes of right-wing religionists (especially “youth pastors”) and never get caught up. Of the following, the more interesting cases will probably end up with their very own Conservative Babylon entries.

Captured: Robert Lee Adams, 46, pastor, Mount Calvary Tabernacle, Gastonia, North Carolina, thanks to an anonymous tip, and charged with three counts of first-degree statutory sex offense against a child (a five-year-old girl), as well as charges of statutory rape, first-degree sex offense with a child, taking indecent liberties with a child, and other sex offenses. “Authorities learned last year that Robert Adams sexually abused a pre-teen girl for a span of three years that eventually led to her pregnancy, Ramey said. The girl gave birth in the summer of 2008. … Adams’ capture follows the Thursday arrest of his wife, 43-year-old Teresa Gilreath Adams, on allegations that she convinced a 5-year-old girl to engage in sex acts with her husband. Teresa Adams was charged with felony aiding and abetting and jailed under a $35,000 bond.” Reportedly, neither Adams is cooperating with the investigation, giving police “the silent treatment.” Story: Gaston Gazette, December 4, 2009

Arrested: Isaac K. Aryee, 41, pastor, Praise Chapel International Ministries, Aurora, Colorado, on suspicion of “sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. … According to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records, Aryee was arrested in June of 2002 in Denver on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute. The outcome of the misdemeanor prostitution arrest was not available in CBI records. The file on the minister’s sex assault arrest has been sealed by the court.” Story: Denver Post, November 11, 2009

Case to grand jury: Allison Brant, 31, former Catholic school principal, St. Mary of the Woods Elementary, Whitesville, Kentucky, accused of having a two-month-long sexual affair with 15-year-old boy. Although an arrest affidavit says she “confessed to having sex with a teen-ager during last winter’s ice storm,” Brant has pled not guilty to the sex charge, and to charges of supplying alcohol to four other teenage boys. Story: Conservative Babylon, October 12, 2009; WFIE.com, November 12, 2009

Charged: Curtis Franklin, 44, assistant pastor (and son-in-law of pastor Jack Walker), Mahwah Full Gospel Church, Mahwah, New Jersey, with sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child, involving a 15-year-old girl “on at least three occasions about six years ago,” when he was a youth minister at the church. Two days after the initial charges were filed, a second victim came forward, and Franklin was charged with “additional complaints of sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.” Story: NorthJersey.com, December 1, 2009; December 3, 2009

Charged: Jeremy Fulton, 27, youth minister, Mariners’ Temple Baptist Church, New York City, with “the violent rape” of a 12-year-old girl from his church. “The victim’s mother has told police there are allegations that Fulton has committed the same sex acts on other young girls. … Meanwhile, published reports say court documents show a family of two teenagers sued the church in 2007 for $7 million, claiming sexual abuse by Fulton.” In an unfortunate choice of words, parishioner Anita Thomas praised the way Fulton “reach[ed] out to children.” Story: WPIX, December 4, 2009; NY1, December 5, 2009

Charged: Fr. James Patrick Grady, 58, pastor, St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church, St. Louis, Missouri, “with three felonies for allegedly seeking sex with an underage girl.” He was “one of three men picked up in an FBI sting in late July. He allegedly responded to an advertisement set up by the FBI offering girls for sexual activity, and set up a meeting with a 16-year-old,” whom he allegedly offered to pay $80 for sex. “He was arrested when he showed up to the meeting location.” In addition to sex trafficking and child enticement, Grady was indicted on child pornography charges. “The superseding indictment adds a claim that Grady possessed three pornographic images of young girls on a laptop computer. Prosecutors also added a felony charge of using interstate commerce to attempt to entice or coerce someone under 18 to engage in prostitution or sexual activity.” Grady has been suspended from his positioon at the church. His trial is scheduled to begin January 19, 2010. Story: St. Louis Public Radio, November 5, 2009; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 6, 2009

Charged: Curtis Otha Grant, 53, pastor, Open Door Baptist Church, Dothan, Alabama, and chaplain, Houston County Sheriff’s Office, who “reportedly confessed to Sheriff Andy Hughes that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old Dothan girl” on several occasions between August and September, 2009. Grant has been charged with “a single felony count of second-degree rape, five felony counts of second-degree sodomy and five felony counts of enticing a child for immoral purposes.” The arrest was described as “unusual because no victim came to the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, but the alleged assailant confessed first and deputies later sought out the victim. ‘He gave a confession and she corroborated everything he said.’” Story: Dothan Eagle, November 6, 2009

Charged: James T. Johnson, 46, founder and pastor, Olive Branch Church of Leland, North Carolina, with “three counts of indecent liberties with a child, two counts of first-degree sex offense with a child and one count of attempted first-degree rape of a child, according to the sheriff’s office. … Much of the church’s congregation has known Johnson faced an allegation of sexual misconduct since it surfaced four months ago… But they didn’t think anything was going to come of it and were surprised when criminal charges were filed…” “The allegations stem from incidents which started while the victim was still in elementary school, Everhart said. Court documents list offense dates that range from fall 2006 until spring 2009.” Johnson was released on $100,000 bond (reduced from $250,000) “after a member of his congregation put up property as collateral.” Story, StarNewsOnline.com: November 4, 2009; November 10, 2009

Arrested: Phillip Charles Joubert, Sr., 48, New Light Missionary Baptist Church, Norwalk, Connecticut; pastor, Community Baptist Church; Bayside, New York; president, Baptist Minister’s Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity; and dean, Congress of Christian Education, Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention, Inc., and charged with raping a teenage relative. “He pleaded not guilty last week in a Queens court on first-degree rape and other charges and was held without bail. His lawyer has no comment. The victim told police the 48-year-old minister raped her on July 30. She reported it months later to the 112th precinct in Queens, not far from his Community Baptist Church.” Story: 1010 WINS, December 3, 2009

Arrested: Russell Dion Lewis, 28, “worship leader” and assistant youth minister, mega-church Church by the Glades, Coral Springs, Florida, and charged with “one count of custodial sexual battery and 10 counts of lewd and lascivious molestation,” involving “a five-month relationship with a 14-year-old female.” David Hughes, “lead pastor of the 4,800-member congregation founded in 1988 … is well-known in Florida Baptist life for his unconventional outreach methods. He preached the annual sermon at the recent Florida Baptist Convention meeting, describing his church as one willing to do ‘anything short of sin’ in order to win people to Christ.” Story: Associated Baptist Press, December 1, 2009

Returning to prison: Billy Masters, 66, preacher, Harvest Baptist Church, Kilpatrick, Georgia, convicted in 2001 sodomy against three boys under the age of 12, and arrested again in May, 2009, charged with first-degree sexual abuse of another boy under 12, for 15 years after violating probation. In a plea agreement, the more recent charge was dropped. “In exchange, Master admitted violating his probation, and will be sent back to prison to finish the rest of his term. … He still had 15 years left on his [2001] sentence when he was released.” Story: WHNT.com, May 22, 2009; AL.com, May 22, 2009; WAAYTV, November 4, 2009

Indicted: Joseph Kennedy Ragland, 47, former pastor, Book of Acts Church of God in Christ Jesus, Angier, North Carolina, on “two counts of second-degree forcible sex offense” against a 16-year-old girl, “two counts of sex offense by a custodian, two counts of crimes against nature, second-degree rape, and rape by a custodian.” The alleged assault occurred in April, 2009, after Ragland reportedly “told the child’s parents that the girl needed counseling. On April 11, Ragland had the girl stay the night over at his house. Ragland is married, so that visit, of itself probably did not seem questionable, especially since Ragland was such a trusted member of the community.” Authorities say Ragland “gave the girl some beer and forced her to have sex three times.” He was arrested and charged in May, and released on $35,000 bond. Story: WRAL, May 1, 2009; CrimeShadows News, May 3, 2009; WTVD, November 11, 2009

Charged: Jenifer Stitzel, 34, preschool teacher, Seventh-day Adventist Central Valley Christian School, Tangent, Oregon, with two counts of third-degree sex abuse involving a 14-year-old eighth-grader, after the boy’s parents discovered “X-rated” text messages on his phone, allegedly from Stitzel, who is “also suspected of kissing the boy and having sexual contact with him on and off school grounds. … Stitzel, who lives in Albany, is married. … She is due to appear in Linn County Circuit Court on Dec. 23 on two counts of third degree sex abuse, a Class A misdemeanor. … ‘Had this happened after January 1st, it would have been a Class C felony because of the sexting part of it,’ [Sheriff Tim Mueller] said. House Bill 2641, which passed March 31, added text and video messages to the felony of online sex abuse of a child.” Story: Oregonian, December 3, 2009

A judge reinstated Melina McPherson’s bond Tuesday and said she would face a jury trial Feb. 3 on a charge of taking indecent liberties with a teen girl whom she supervised at a Christian children’s home in the late 1990s.

McPherson, 38, of Chesapeake, had been jailed since Nov. 17, when Circuit Judge A. Joseph Canada Jr. revoked her bond and rejected a plea deal that called for 40 days in jail. At the time, he said the jail term was inadequate. …

She is charged with molesting a teen girl, and her husband, Stephen, has been convicted of molesting the girl’s two sisters. …

More at the Virginian-Pilot.

Know where he is? The Parma, Ohio, police would love to hear from you: (440) 887-7340.

An arrest warrant was issued for the former minister at First United Pentecostal Church of Parma.

Joshua O’Bannion, 25, is accused of having sexual contact with two girls at the church. He failed to appear last month for arraignment in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

More at Cleveland.com.

See all entries for Robert Kevin Carlino

“Who I’d like to meet: I would like to meet me in 5 years…” — Robert Kevin Carlino, long before his arrest

A 32-year-old Newfield man was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison Monday on charges that his home computer contained 134 sexually-exploitative images of a 9-year-old girl.

Robert Kevin Carlino will also be forced to served 10 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

More at NJ.com.

Of course Rod Jetton is a Republican — the sort who really, really, really hates Teh Ghey: He stripped Missouri Rep. Scott Lipke as chair of the state’s Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety because the latter “chose to use the [Jessica's Law] bill to delete 14 words from our laws in order to repeal the gay sex ban in Missouri.

“Thanks to that deletion,” wailed the married, Methodist, “family values” guy in 2007, “it is now legal to engage in deviate sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex here in Missouri.”

Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned all state sodomy laws years earlier (why let a little thing like that get in the way of keeping your homophobic hatred on the books?), or that Jetton admitted the sex “ban was technically unenforceable”; let’s see what Jetton really knows about deviate sexual intercourse in Missouri:

The Scott County court clerk confirms a felony complaint has been filed against former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton for an incident that allegedly took place Nov. 15 in Sikeston, Mo. …

The complaint alleges Jetton “recklessly caused serious physical injury to — by hitting her on the head, and choking her resulting in unconsciousness and the loss of the function of part of her body.” … [alleging] Jetton went to the home of the victim Nov. 15, where he and the victim drank wine and watched a football game. The victim claims Jetton hit her on the face and choked her, leaving bruises that the police department photographed.

The affidavit … says Jetton and the victim agreed on a “safe word” “to use as a stop word during intercourse.”

More at PrimeBuzz.

A safe word, notes Wonkette, “is hard to utter when you’re being CHOKED TO DEATH,” and adds:

Rod Jetton is married divorced-ish (SEE UPDATE) with three children and attends Methodist church regularly. He is affiliated with the Republican Party. He is a Real American, the end.

UPDATE: First the boring correction: Jetton and his wife agreed to a divorce settlement earlier this year, although it’s unclear if that’s been finalized. We don’t know why they got this divorce, but probably because Rod Jetton likes to beat people unconscious during sex.

But the big news: the password was “green balloons.” As in, “You should have said green balloons,” which is a direct quote from Rod Jetton.

“Green balloons” is common street slang for “ha ha you are unconscious and cannot say this term right now.”

See also: KY3 Political Notebook (yes, a legitimate news source is called “KY”).

The fun just never ends in the Pickering family:

December 7, 2009

Former Congressman (and C Streeter) Chip Pickering is reportedly under police investigation for his involvement in a brawl with a rival youth league soccer coach.

Apparently, police were called to Liberty Park in Madison, Mississippi, after Pickering and coach Christopher Hester came to blows when Pickering confronted Hester over the treatment of Pickering’s son.

The kicker? Hester claims he was wearing a neck brace at the time of the incident.

More at TPM, with additional links.

See all entries for C Street / The Family / The Fellowship

From the Best News of the Year (So Far) Dept:

The famous rowhouse on C Street SE where disgraced South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford sought counseling after his affair — as did Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) after his affair — has begun paying D.C. real estate taxes, according to city officials.

Several members of the House and Senate live there, renting upstairs rooms from a group apparently affiliated with the “Fellowship,” a secretive group that organizes the National Prayer Breakfast. Ensign, who recently moved out, lived in the tidy brick home. Sanford, when he was a member of Congress, used to come by for what he called “a Christian Bible study.”

The Capitol Hill house is valued at $1.8 million. The downstairs is used for meals and prayer meetings, while the upstairs houses residents that recently included three House members as well as Ensign and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)…

This summer, the tax records show, the house paid no taxes because it received an E1, or religious, exemption. …

The property now is classified “TX-Taxable” and is listed as a residential property. …

The property “went 66 percent taxable Aug. 1,” the official said, and the full taxable bill for 2010 will be $10,234. Now, maybe if the lawmakers would stop paying rent, then the property would be fully tax-exempt. Of course, then the members would be questioned about accepting free accommodations.

More from Al Kamen at WaPo.

We are not happy.

But hang in there with us — everything will be back to normal soon (and perhaps we’ll come up with an even dicier Carrie post!).

Moral apex: Busted Halloween, 2009, for possession of child pornography, after a teenage house-sitter found photos on Boyd’s digital camera of what appeared to underaged males doing the nasty — in Boyd’s own bedroom.

Days later, busted again, this time for creation of child pornography.

However: The cops think the photos “were of men, of young men that were taken with their consent in his room at his home and we believe that they are over the age of 18,” reports KTUL.

Nevertheless: Boyd quit both JA and the church.

And: The teen house-sitter told police Boyd offered him a couple hundred bucks for sexual favors.

What’s Junior Achievement?

Junior Achievement is a non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace Moses, Theodore Vail, and the late senator Murray Crane. It focuses on education of the free enterprise system. Junior Achievement began as a collection of small, after-school business clubs for students on the East Coast of the United States.

Junior Achievement’s global headquarters is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The organization merged its U.S. and international operations in 2004, and currently reaches nine million youth in 123 countries. …

Junior Achievement develops and maintains programs for children of all ages.

— Wikipedia

Which all sounds very nice, until you learn who backs the organization:

UPS, ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs, and New York Life Insurance are among the corporations that have provided large grants to Junior Achievement. Kraft Foods is the largest single provider of volunteer economics instructors for Junior Achievement, with more than 2,100 participating employees in 2001.

The Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE), a nonprofit organization endorsed by Junior Achievement, has also offered classroom activities since 1975. The foundation is supported by two of the largest donors to right-wing causes, the Coors family and Richard Scaiffe (heir to the Mellon oil and banking fortune). It also uses an environmental curriculum funded by Coca-Cola and written by the Political Economy Research Center, a Montana based research organization that has led opposition to the Endangered Species Act and the Superfund. …

On occasion, the conflict of interest between the subject matter and the funding source is obvious. …

Usually, however, corporate influence is subtler, noticeable in what is left out of the curriculum. …

— Corporate Curriculum
Rethinking Schools
Summer, 2002

“Subtler,” while private-foundation influence is sometimes nearly invisible. Another big donor is the rabidly right-wing, rabidly homophobic, and disturbingly C-Street-connected John Templeton Foundation.

Memorable quote:

“I do realize I have an issue.”

— Boyd to the house-sitter’s father
as reported by a police detective

Suggested Bible reading for Mr. Boyd:

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

— Galatians 5:17

November 13, 2009

A former youth minister at First United Pentecostal Church in Parma [Ohio] has been charged with four counts of sexual battery and three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

Joshua O’Bannion, 25, allegedly had sex with two girls, ages 14 and 15, while he was youth minister at the church. The girls had been attending the church at the time.

O’Bannion’s arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 19 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. …

In September, Parma police spokesman Marty Compton said O’Bannion allegedly had sex with the two girls several times. The acts became more progressive as time went on…

At the time of the arrest, O’Bannion was a youth minister intern at Christ Life Church in Tempe, Ariz. The girl had attended Christ Life Church.

More at the Parma Sun Post.

See all entries for Drew Sweatte
 
 

Palm Springs City Council Member

	Vote Count	Percent
GINNY FOAT	3,180	23.36%
CHRISTOPHER ”CHRIS” MILLS	2,945	21.64%
BARBARA BEATY	2,536	18.63%
DAVID CARDEN	2,316	17.01%
JIM OSTERBERGER	775	5.69%
MICHAEL A. GALLARDO	537	3.95%
MARK D. WALTHOUR	471	3.46%
DREW SWEATTE	417	3.06%
ALEXANDER P. DOBRECEVIC	153	1.12%
JOHN TYMON	141	1.04%
ELOISE GARCIA-MOHSIN	141	1.04%
Total	13,612	100.00%

]]> http://home.conservativebabylon.com/2009/11/04/palm-springs-redeems-itself-rejects-drew-sonny-bono-ii-sweatte/feed/ 0 http://home.conservativebabylon.com/2009/11/03/casey-grove/ http://home.conservativebabylon.com/2009/11/03/casey-grove/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:19:50 +0000 admin http://home.conservativebabylon.com/?p=1782 Claims to fame: Former (sacked) town clerk-treasurer (”elected to his position as a Republican in November 2007″), Lakeville, Indiana; former (sacked) reserve police officer; suspected breaker-and-enterer; suspected girlfriend-batterer; suspected druggie; fugitive

Moral apex: Charged with breaking into the home of his girlfriend, then beating the crap out of her.

“South Bend police say Grove saw Amber Eslinger, 20, through a window lying in bed with a friend, Clayton Fodrocy. Police say Grove pushed in the screen and started punching Eslinger, banging her head on a table.” (WNDU)

“Grove allegedly broke the window frame and pushed his way inside the room, where he started punching his girlfriend in the head and face and yelling, ‘I can’t believe you!’ Grove then allegedly threw the victim on the floor and began strangling her, and later kicked her in the head, according to charging affidavits.

“The woman’s friend called police, but Grove reportedly left the house before they arrived.

“Grove was later taken into custody, but had posted $1,250 bond… He was scheduled to appear for his arraignment at 1 p.m. [October 26, 2009] but never arrived. Court officials issued a bench warrant for Grove about 3 p.m. ….” (WNDU)

What’s more: When Lakeville police went to Grove’s apartment to retrieve his service revolver, they found “three different kinds of illegal drugs and paraphernalia.” (WSBT)

What’s more: Nobody’s actually said Grove (town clerk-treasurer, remember) has stolen anything from the town coffers, but plenty of folks have implied it (or at least, we’ve inferred it); i.e.:

[Lakeville residents Denny Hardy and Mary Parmelee] were both glad to learn Grove had turned himself in, but Hardy stressed that the primary worry for residents is now the town’s money.

“I think everyone’s concern is bills that haven’t been paid,” Hardy said. “My real concern is if town funds might be missing.”

At the Lakeville Town Council’s request, State Board of Accounts examiners planned to start auditing the town’s books today.

Town Council President John Kuhn previously confirmed that Grove as clerk-treasurer had access to a town credit card, but he declined to say whether any unauthorized charges had surfaced.

Kuhn said it appears the town has a “backlog” of unpaid bills, but he did not yet know how extensive the backlog is or to what extent it might be connected to Grove’s recent arrest.

— WSBT

[County Republican Party Chairman Chris Riley] said he was encouraged to have heard that town officials acted quickly in cutting off Grove’s access to the town’s credit card.

“With the guy out on the lam, we certainly don’t need him with access to a credit card,” Riley said.

Doug Wiese, South Bend office supervisor for the State Board of Accounts, said the Town Council had asked the agency to come in and audit the town’s books. The town’s last routine bi-annual audit covered through the end of 2007, right before Grove took office.

“We’ll just be looking at the records, tracing receipts, making sure all of the receipts collected made it to the bank, and all of the claims are proper claims,” Wiese said.

Wiese said the audit typically would have been done next summer, but is being done now in light of Grove’s criminal charges.

— WSBT

Suggested Bible reading for Mr. Grove:

He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

— Proverbs 14:29

Because we could spend 24/7 tracking the sex crimes of right-wing religionists (especially “youth pastors”) and never get caught up. Of the following, the more interesting cases will probably end up with their very own Conservative Babylon entries.

Charged: Ralph Lee Aaron, 54, pastor, Grace Christian Fellowship, Andalusia, Alabama — originally charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, including first-degree sodomy, of a boy under 12 — which police warned were just “the first of what is expected to be many other sex abuse charges,” with a total of 152 counts termed “‘atrocious acts’ stemming from allegations he sexually abused and tortured young boys while on camping trips,” specifically: “38 counts of production of obscene matter containing visual depiction of a person under 17 involved in obscene acts; three counts of dissemination of obscene matter containing visual depiction of persons under 17 involved in obscene acts; 97 counts of obscene matter containing visual depiction of persons under 17 involved in obscene acts; three counts of sexual torture; three counts of first-degree sodomy; eight counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12.” Aaron “is currently being held in the Covington County Jail, where he is separated from the general population ‘for his own safety’ … His bond is set at $24.2 million. Aaron could face additional charges as the case continues.” Story: Conservative Babylon, October 26, 2009; Andalusia Star-News, October 28, 2009

Shot and killed: Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a.k.a.Christopher Thomas, imam, Muslim-fundamentalist Masjid Al-Haqq mosque, Detroit, Michigan, “during a series of FBI raids that resulted in charges against 11 and the death of an FBI dog. … According to the FBI, the 11 defendants are members of are members of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years, and known to be armed. … During the arrests Wednesday [October 28, 2009], the suspects were ordered to surrender. At the Dearborn location, four suspects surrendered and were arrested without incident.” Abdullah “did not surrender and fired his weapon. An exchange of gun fire followed and Abdullah was killed. An FBI canine, Freddy, was also killed during the exchange.” Authorities say Abdullah was “the leader of part of the Ummah (’the brotherhood’), a group of mostly African-American converts to Islam, which seeks to establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United States. The Ummah is ruled by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rapp Brown, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for the murder of two police officers in Georgia. Abdullah Al-Amin has espoused the use of violence against law enforcement officials and has trained members of the Ummah to use firearms and martial arts in anticipation of government violence, according to the FBI. … [I]n an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint against 11 of the group’s members, [Abdullah] allegedly told a confidential FBI source that if the government messed with him, ‘it will be straight up war.’” Story: Press & Guide, October 30, 2009

Arrested and charged: Kent Thomas Johnson, 53, Theater and Dance Department Chair, Episcopal High School, Bellaire, Texas, a pricey (nearly $20,000-a-year tuition) “institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas … [o]perating as a Christian community within the beliefs and traditions of the Episcopal Church,” with two counts of possession of child pornography. “The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the warrant was originally for solicitation of a child over the Internet, but child pornography was found later on his computer. Johnson is accused of sending inappropriate videos to a someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy, who was actually an undercover sheriff’s deputy. That deputy, who worked for Adams County in Colorado, contacted the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.” Typically, the school administration is “shocked and saddened by this disturbing news.” Story: Press & Guide, October 30, 2009; KTRK, November 2, 2009

Arrested and charged: Michael Robert Joy, 40, church youth volunteer, Stony Point Baptist Church, Kansas City, Kansas, with one count of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child. Police took Joy into custody “after the family involved came forward and told authorities about inappropriate communications they discovered he’d been having with their child.” Stony Point pastor Tom Hamilton said “he received a call from the victim’s family,” after which the “family and pastor gave the information to police the next day and Joy was arrested at the church where he had been volunteering weekly as a youth leader for about 20 kids.” Joy had been “convicted and served time back in 1991 for molesting children, but [Hamilton] says that Joy told the church he went to prison for something else that had nothing to do with sexual crimes against children.” Hamilton said a background check was performed on Joy, but “his name did not appear on the sexual offender list. Church officials have since learned that Joy’s earlier offense would not appear on the list because it happened in 1991 and the list did not begin until 1994.” Apparently, the church didn’t do its homework well at all, since we were able to find Joy within seconds on the Kansas Department of Corrections Web site, which details his felony conviction for indecent liberties with a child. Story: KCTV; video, October 27, 2009

Arrested: Derwin Pasley, 32, Black Hills Junior Football League (Olympia, Washington) coach and former youth pastor, “on suspicion of molesting and attempting to rape a 14-year-old player on his team when he drove the boy and his younger brother home from a game,” and charged with “one count of child molestation, attempted rape and unlawful Imprisonment.” Two days after Pasley’s arrest, a second boy, age 13, ” said Paysley “touched him in the same way” in the fall of 2008. Despite the “shock” at the allegations of league president Charles Farrar (who proclaims: “There’s a grown man and a young kid, and one of them’s lying”), records show “Pasley was arrested for a felony sex offense against a child in 1994 in Miami-Dade County in Florida. Pasley subsequently was acquitted of the two counts of sexual battery of a minor, Olympia Police Cmdr. Tor Bjornstad said. In 2002, there was a criminal investigation by the Olympia Police Department into whether Pasley committed a sex offense against a child, but the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office made a decision not to file charges based on a lack of evidence.” Bjornstad also said “the 2002 complaint against Pasley involved behavior that occurred when Pasley was acting in some capacity as a youth pastor.” … “According to prosecutors, ’several’ other boys have come forward with similar claims, but Pasley only faces charges for the two boys.” Story: The Olympian, October 27, 2009; KIRO, October 27, 2009; KING5, October 29, 2009

See main entry for Drew Sweatte

See all entries for Drew Sweatte

You just have to read 1) the letter, and 2) the comments, to appreciate the insanity of 1), and the 2) sense and sensibility of a few sane Palm Springs residents:

Our take: If this wherever-the-wind-blows punk is elected, our longheld suspicion that the majority of Palm Springs voters are braindead idiots will be confirmed.

Moral apex: Busted October 26, 2009, leaving a Columbia cemetery “on suspicion of illegal activity.” Pulled over with 66-year-old Corning in his car was an 18-year-old employee of the Platinum Plus Gentlemen’s Club.

Is that a strip joint? Oh, please! How gauche! The Platinum Plus Gentlemen’s Club is the “Ultimate Adult Entertainment Experience!” Its Web site (www.theplatinumplus.com) notes: “We are confident that we will have the right girl for you. Whether she is on stage, in our couch room or in our intimate and private VIP champagne lounge, the lovely ladies of Platinum Plus are here to make your night of decadance fun and inviting. So come out to Platinum Plus and let our beautiful and alluring entertainers show you a night of seduction and excitement. We guarantee you a [sic] exciting experience.”

So, it’s a strip joint then. Yep.

As for the “couch room” and the “intimate and private VIP champagne lounge,” we’re visualizing the lap-dance scene in Showgirls between Elizabeth Berkley and Kyle MacLachlan, as Gina Gershon (“I don’t know how good you are, darlin’, and I don’t know what it is you’re good at, but if it’s at the Cheetah, it’s not dancing, I know that much”) looks on.

Back to the bust: “Earlier,” reports The State, Officer Michael D. Wines “had witnessed the Ford Explorer that Corning was driving pull into a secluded portion of Elmwood Cemetery [about which] Wines had ‘received past complaints in ref. to illegal activity, i.e. sex acts and drug abuse..’.

“Once the occupants of the Explorer saw Wines’ patrol car, the driver ‘attempted to make a hasty retreat, spinning the tires in the driveway and accelerating rapidly.’”

Wines had to chase down the SUV. When he finally stopped Corning, the flustered Repub and the hook— his ladyfriend gave “conflicting statements” about the nature of their relationship, and the reason they were prowling around the area.

After Wines asked if there was anything illegal in the car, Corning said so, and allowed the cop to search the vehicle — where he found Viagra — for which Corning said he had a prescription — and some sex toys — which Corning said he always kept in the car “just in case.”

(Funny stuff: If you watch the raw police dash-cam video of the incident, keep your eye on the cop leaning in to the driver’s side of the vehicle during the search; at one point, he straightens up and his face breaks into a wide grin.)

Wines let both Corning and the whor— teenager go free, as neither had been witnessed committing any crime.

Fallout…so far: Corning “resigned” (read: was fired) from office.

Fun fact: In May of 2009, Corning’s boss, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, went on a rampage against Craigslist over sex ads:

As of 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, the craigslist South Carolina site continues to display advertisements for prostitution and graphic pornographic material. This content was not removed as we requested. We have no alternative but to move forward with criminal investigation and potential prosecution.

Greg Sandoval sums up the outcome: “Craigslist filed a lawsuit against McMaster’s office and a judge slapped it with a restraining order that prevented the attorney general from filing the charges. McMaster’s office never made good on the criminal charges.”

Suggested Bible reading for Mr. Corning:

Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them

— Ezekiel 16:17

Suggested Joke of the Day for everyone else:

So, this 18-year-old “escort” was doing it all night long in a cemetery, on top of a big, cement slab. The next day, her back is killing her, so she goes to the doctor, who examines her and says: “Well, I can’t find anything wrong with your back, but it says here your ass died in 1897.”

See all entries for Mike Duvall

November 2, 2009

An attorney for the utility company lobbyist identified in media reports as ex-Assemblyman Mike Duvall’s mistress issued a statement today saying that the woman is exploring legal remedies for the personal and professional damages caused by allegations that she had an affair with former lawmaker. …

[Sempra Energy lobbyist Heidi Dejong Barsuglia] said in the statement that the ordeal has been “a professional and personal nightmare.”

“I did nothing whatsoever illegal or unethical with former Assemblyman Duvall or anyone else. What is shocking to me and my family is that anyone would have taken seriously the statements of someone boasting about his alleged exploits or even believed for a moment that they were true…

“I am now pleased to be able to say publicly that, the United States Attorney, the FBI, the FPPC and my employer have all carefully examined the facts and found no violation of legal or ethical standards,” she said in the statement, which also says she is looking forward to returning to work.

Barsuglia’s attorney Malcolm Segal said in the statement that his client “has been defamed in monumental proportions.”

“Her reputation, her job, and her exemplary career have all been placed in jeopardy by Duvall’s disgusting remarks. … Just so there is no doubt left in anyone’s mind what Mr. Duvall later called ‘inappropriate storytelling’ was just a plain old-fashioned lie.” …

More at the Sacto Bee.

Moral apex: Arrested May 23, 2009, after being pulled over for expired tags by a cop who found some pot in Horgan’s pickup.

Plea: No contest.

Sentence: A year’s probation, an $800 fine, 40 hours’ community service, substance abuse evaluation, and peeing into a cup regularly while on probation. He can’t drink booze, either.

Plus, reports the Fayette County News: “The arrest sparked a recall campaign, an ethics complaint and multiple calls for Horgan to step down from the Post 1 seat he has held since 2006.” So far, Horgan has survived the recall attempt, which “stalled when Horgan successfully challenged its validity in superior court on Aug. 28. Judge A. Quillian Baldwin ruled that the arrest did not directly relate to the Horgan’s office.”

But: “Horgan was found in violation of the county’s ethics ordinance [in late September, 2009]. The three man special board of nearby county attorneys declared Horgan in violation of the Fayette County ethics ordinance’s requirement to ‘uphold the law’ and its prohibition against “conduct unbecoming of an official that violates the public trust.”

“The decision on what type of punishment, if any, Horgan receives for violating the ethics ordinance remains up to his four fellow Fayette County commissioners. The commission may fine Horgan up to $1,000 and issue a written reprimand or public censure.”

Hmmm! This sounds murky: “Horgan declined to answer reporters’ questions about where he obtained the drugs,” reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Horgan’s lawyer, Christy Jindra, “said Horgan didn’t buy the marijuana and that the circumstances under which he obtained it were ‘embarrassing.’ ‘He has no source for drugs in Fayette County,’ Jindra said.”

We have a feeling this story isn’t over.

OK, but seriously — what’s wrong with smoking pot? Nothing, as far as we’re concerned. But we don’t represent a political party that won’t even accede to decriminalizing medical marijuana; instead, Republicans run around screaming hysterically about how pot is a “gateway drug” to liberalism, homosexuality, and — gasp! — keeping your fat nose out of other people’s business.

Which is why we picked this…

Suggested Bible reading for Mr. Horgan:

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

— Genesis 1:11-12