Pat Robertson Tries To Keep Former VA Gov. Bob McDonnell Out Of Prison

Via the Associated Press: 

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell should perform community service rather than serve prison time for his federal corruption convictions, an international relief organization said Tuesday. Operation Blessing International said it offered McDonnell jobs heading its hunger relief program in Appalachia or working at its orphanage and fish farm in Haiti if U.S. District Judge James Spencer agrees to spare McDonnell prison time. 

"As with his volunteering during Hurricane Katrina, Bob has shown an authentic willingness to serve others no matter how difficult the task," group president Bill Horan said in a statement. "We believe that we can leverage his energy and expertise to better serve those in need." 

Operation Blessing spokesman Chris Roslan said the organization collaborated with defense attorneys ahead of Tuesday's deadline for lawyers to file sentencing recommendations. Virginia Beach-based Operation Blessing was founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. McDonnell is a graduate of Robertson's Regent University law school.

McDonnell is due for sentencing early next month. Operation Blessing, of course, has long been saddled with accusations of fraudulent practices.

OOPS! Complaints Filed Against Mike Huckabee’s Political Non-Profit

The ADLF filed two complaints against the “Fox News” personality in response to the creation of America takes ACTION, Inc. (ATA), a non-profit they believe exists purely for Huckabee to use corporate cash to test his presidential run.

One complaint was filed with the IRS, and the other with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

With the IRS, the ADLF claims that Huckabee’s organization is passing itself off as a social advocacy organization while public records suggest Huckabee created ATA as a way to “formally organize money and staff in preparation for his candidacy.”

With the FEC, the ADLF claims that Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, is violating federal election law by using corporate money to fund his “testing the waters.”

Hosting your own show on “Fox News” is prohibited if you’re serious about running for president. Potential candidates, like Ben Carson, must sever ties with “Fox News” before running for president.

I don’t know what will come of these complaints, but Mike Huckabee may have to decide soon whether he wants to be on television or run for president.

This is a guy who compared Ferguson protestors to lynch mobs. This is a guy who threatened to leave the GOP over gay marriage.

Even with the “Hunger Games” in theaters, it’s hard to imagine a more dystopian future than one with the likes of Huckabee as commander-in-chief.

American Family Association Blatantly Ignores IRS Laws In Promoting Conservative Candidates

Every election season, religious groups flirt with the line between political action allowed under IRS non-profit guidelines and outright endorsing candidates, which is prohibited by the 501(c)(3) guidelines. This year, the American Family Association, which is a well-known right-wing conservative religious group, has apparently blatantly violated those laws.

My friend Lamar from CenLamar.com has forwarded an email to me that was sent to him by a friend. In it, the American Family Association not only violates non-profit rules as set forth by the IRS, it also encourages pastors to endorse specific candidates to their congregations. While this isn’t the first time that conservative religious organizations have flaunted the law governing what they can and cannot do as a non-profit, this may be one of the most flagrant violations yet.

The email was sent out to an unknown number of recipients, requesting that they use the resources provided by the American Family Association to persuade their congregations to vote for candidates picked by the AFA. Below is a screenshot of the email itself dated October 28th, 2014 which was sent from the email address pastors@afasv.net with the “reply to” email of contact@afa.net, and the subject line “Pastors, are you ready to lead?”

Screenshot of email from American Family Association. Click thumbnail to view full size.

It also includes a link to this .pdf flyer that states positions to take on issues that don’t fall under the usual opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

Americans Should be Terrified of the Bush Family Dynasty’s Future Aspirations

We’ve already had 12 years of a Bush in the White House. The first was George H.W. Bush, who served one term as president (and tried but failed to win a second term). Then, of course, we had George W. Bush who served from 2001-2009. And I think all of us with any kind of decent memory know what kind of horrific damage his presidency did to this country.

Let’s also not forget that George H.W. Bush was vice president during Reagan’s administration. So if you want to count that, since 1981, we’ve had someone from the Bush family in (or directly associated with) the White House for 20 of the last 33 years.

And you would think that after George W. Bush’s horrific tenure as president, that no other Bush would stand a change in hell at becoming president again. But you’d be wrong.

If all indications I’m seeing are correct, Jeb Bush seems poised for a run at president in 2016. In fact, it’s been my belief all along that Jeb is the son the Bush family really wanted to run for president. It just so happens George managed to get there first.

But Jeb isn’t the only problem. His son, George P. Bush, is another huge issue. Because the Republican party is clearly priming him to run for president one day as well. He’s currently the “up and coming” golden boy in Texas for the GOP. And at 38-years-old, he would be the perfect age of 48 to run in 2024 if his father managed to become president and serve two terms.

Colorado Dems Caught James O’Keefe Red-Handed Trying to Bait Them Into Committing Voter Fraud

Conservative activist James O’Keefe has apparently been busy in Colorado, attempting to lure Democratic campaign staffers working to re-elect Senator Mark Udall into approving the state’s universal vote by mail law to commit voter fraud.

Last week, a man who appeared to be in his 20s went to the Democratic field office in Boulder and volunteered to work on the campaigns of Udall and Representative Jared Polis (D-CO). According to the staffer, the man identified himself as “Nick Davis” and claimed to be a student at the University of Colorado-Boulder and a LGBT activist affiliated with a group called Rocky Mountain Vote Pride.

The staffer said that during the conversation “Davis” asked about filling in and mailing ballots for students who no longer lived on campus but who still received mail there. The staffer told him that doing that would be voter fraud and that he should not do it.

On Friday after an appearance on the Boulder campus by Udall with Elizabeth Warren, (D-MA) another staffer reported that a woman who called herself “Bonnie” inquired about filling out blank ballots found in trash cans and mailing them in. Again the staffer advised against it telling her that it was illegal.

Also on Friday “Nick Davis” returned to the Boulder field office with a man wearing a fake mustache and heavy makeup who he introduced as “John Miller” a civics professor at UC-Boulder saying that he was the faculty advisor to Rocky Mountain Vote Pride. The pair picked up some Udall campaign literature and canvassing information and left.

On Monday O’Keefe Tweeted a photo of himself with a mustache saying that he had recently disguised himself “as a 45 yo” as a part of one of his “investigations” suggesting that he had found some sort of unspecified illicit behavior.

O’Keefe and two others also targeted the offices of an independent progressive group, New Era Colorado. Executive director Steve Fenberg reported that the men came to the group’s Fort Collins office on Saturday claiming to represent the Rocky Mountain Vote Pride group and carrying Udall campaign literature. Staff met them at the door and turned them away as it is illegal for private activist organizations to coordinate with a political campaign. As he so often does O’Keefe was attempting to manufacture evidence of illicit behavior where none exists.

The Vote Pride organization seems to consist of a very basic website with little information except for a link directing the viewer to the group’s Facebook page which says that the group was founded in 2012. The Facebook page was set up in July of this year and has only a few postings the latest being from August.

Widescale Corruption Scandal Rocks South Carolina’s GOP Statehouse

Just over a month ago, South Carolina’s republican Speaker of the House, Bobby Harrell, was indicted on multiple criminal charges, including misconduct in office, misuse of power, using campaign donations for personal gain and falsifying financial reports. The nine count criminal indictment against Harrell appears to be just the tip of the iceberg.

According to the Post and Courier, state and federal investigators have now widened the probe to include several other lawmakers. Authorities are looking into allegations that range from elected officials selling votes, to state lawmakers funneling money from South Carolina’s budget into their own pockets.

A large part of the investigation involves a PAC which was directly connected to Harrell, known as The Palmetto Leadership Council. According to Ashley Landess, President of the SC Policy Council, which first raised concerns with the state’s attorney general over improper conduct by Harrell:

“There was rumored to be a big operating account into which money was funneled that was not related to the PAC and not used in elections. The concern was that perhaps there was a great deal of big money coming from corporations … and the nature of the expenses may have benefited the speaker.”

One part of the investigation involves accusations that money from that secret account was used to “sway” lawmakers votes in the election of a Supreme Court Justice, Jean Toal. According to South Carolina’s Post and Courier, State Representative Jenny Horne, an outspoken supporter of Toal, is said to be one of the lawmakers under investigation in connection with those allegations.

Three gay men forced to work as sex slaves in US freed

The men were forced to have sex with customers and each other for up to 20 hours a day

Three Hungarian men face trafficking charges after they lured three young gay men to work as ‘sex slaves’ for up to 20 hours a day in New York and Miami since 2012.

Gabor Acs, 31, Viktor Berki, 28, and Andras Janos Vass, 24, were charged in Miami-Dade state court with human trafficking, racketeering and deriving support from prostitution on Friday.

They recruited two of the men on the Gay Romeo dating site and the third was a male prostitute they found on Facebook.

The three victims, aged 20-22, were flown to New York from May to September 2012 on the promise they would make $3,500 to $5,000 a month for legal escort work.

Instead they were imprisoned in a one-bedroom apartment and forced to have sex with customers or with each other on webcam for 18-20 hours a day. Eight men lived in the apartment at one point.

The traffickers' company was named Never Sleep Inc.

In August 2012 the men were moved to Miami, Florida where they were promised new jobs. The accused were reported two months after the move and were arrested in 2013.

The victims 'believed they would only be in New York for a few months to make tens of thousands of dollars before returning to their homeland and their families,' federal agent Melissa Pavlikowski wrote in an arrest warrant.

The accused seized all payment the men earned as well as their ID cards and passports. It is claimed they made $40,000 a month.

The victims could not speak English and were rarely allowed to leave the apartment.

Berki told them he was a policeman in Hungary and could 'make them disappear' if they tried to return.

Pavlikowski said, 'Their traffickers used various techniques to keep them enslaved, including isolating them from others, withholding their travel and identification documents, and using financial manipulation to keep them in constant debt.'

BUSTED: Wealthy North Carolina Republican Nailed for Welfare Fraud!

A North Carolina state senator has just cemented his re-election bid by proving that welfare queens do exist — because he is one. While this will likely be written off as a liberal plot to destroy Wesley Meredith, documents have surfaced showing that he and his former wife applied for Medicaid and food stamp benefits in the 1990s — while the politician was pulling in a six-figure salary.

His opponent Billy Richardson, over whom Meredith enjoys a hefty lead in the polls, released a load of Meredith’s public and private financial and public assistance documents, according to ABC 11 — all showing that he and his former wife Elizabeth Meredith received public assistance while pulling in an income most dream of.

Cumberland County GOP chair Linda Devore said the party is awaiting a refutation of the claims. “These are serious matters, and we expect that Senator Meredith will be considerate of the impact of the issues raised by these allegations on the women, children, and families in our community, by addressing them completely and without delay,” Devore said in a Wednesday statement.

Devore said that if the allegations are true, the party expects him to repay the stolen funds. “Should the allegations prove true, we will call on Senator Meredith to accept responsibility, repay the funds, and apologize to the taxpayers of this county and state,” Devore said. “However, if Senator Meredith is being falsely accused for political purposes, we challenge voters to hold his opponent, Mr. Richardson, responsible.”

“The public deserves to learn the truth from men asking for our trust. Character and integrity matter, and our families deserve to know that those elected to represent them share their values,” Devore added.

The North Carolina Republican Senate Caucus called Richardson’s revelation”desperate and despicable” and has already jumped on the opportunity to defend its hero. “The only thing surprising about Billy Richardson’s wild accusations is that he didn’t stand on his desk and hurl them at the media. Less than 24 hours after the first public poll in this race showed him trailing by an insurmountable, double-digit margin, Richardson decided to drive his campaign into the gutter – the same place where he’s spent much of his professional and political career,” said the group.

While the GOP defends Meredith, his ex-wife says the allegations are true. “Wesley and I went to DSS and applied for Medicaid,” she said in a statement. “I did not become aware of any potential wrongdoing until my domestic attorney later brought it to my attention many years ago,” she said.

Embarrassing New Poll Shows Practically Nobody in Texas Wants Rick Perry as President

As a former Texan, I’ve seen the enigma that is current Governor Rick Perry first hand. Trust me when I say that most people don’t like him in this state, and that includes many Republicans. His favorability rating seems to hover anywhere between the low to mid-40′s with the number of people who disapprove of his job performance almost always being higher.

These numbers obviously weren’t helped during his 2012 presidential bid that can only be described as a total embarrassment.

Well, the rumor mill continues to churn pointing to the very real possibility that Perry is contemplating yet another presidential bid.

Something which I’m sure gets comedy writers excited, but it seems very few Texans actually want to see happen.

Recently, Public Policy Polling did a survey where they asked Texans who they’d like to see as the GOP nominee in 2016 — and almost nobody chose Rick Perry.

In what should surprise absolutely no one, Ted Cruz led the field, garnering 32% of the vote. As for the rest of the field, 13% picked Jeb Bush and Chris Christie, 10% chose Rand Paul, 6% favor Bobby Jindal and 5% like Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan.

Three percent chose Rick Perry.

Think about that for a moment. The governor of Louisiana ranks higher among Texans than our own governor.

Hell, Rick Perry ranked so poorly that if the presidential race were between himself and Hillary Clinton—he would lose Texas. 

It just goes to show what an epic embarrassment Rick Perry has been to the state of Texas. The only reason he’s been our longest serving governor is because he’s never really faced a true Republican challenger and Democrats in this state stand almost no chance at winning a state-wide election.

Granted, such strong opposition to the thought of him being the 2016 GOP candidate probably isn’t entirely based on his track record as governor. I’m fairly certain his disastrous run in 2012 plays a significant part. It’s not every day you see a presidential candidate unable to name the three agencies of government he would eliminate if he were president.

The sad part is, I highly doubt these numbers would have any impact on Perry’s decision to run. In his mind, I’m sure he believes he stands a real shot at not only winning the GOP nomination, but actually becoming president.

I hate to break it to Governor Perry (actually, I don’t), but if the people in your state would rather see the Governor of Louisiana as the GOP nominee or would choose a Democrat for president over you—you don’t stand a chance in hell.

Killer Says He Murdered Gay Men As Revenge Against The United States

The Seattle man who confessed to the June hook-up murders of two gay men now says he killed them and two others as revenge against the United States for military actions taken in the Middle East. 

Ali Muhammad Brown, who had already been charged in the targeted killing of a gay couple in Seattle and the point-blank shooting of a New Jersey college student, was charged Wednesday with the April slaying of 30-year-old Leroy Henderson in Skyway, Wash., according to the King County Prosecutor's Office. According to a criminal complaint filed in King County, Brown took responsibility for each shooting and told investigators he carried out the killings to gain retribution for lives lost during U.S. military action in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. "My mission is my mission between me and my lord. That's it," Brown said during a jailhouse interview in New Jersey, according to the court filings. "My mission is vengeance, for the lives, millions of lives are lost every day." "All these lives are taken every single day by America, by this government," Brown continued. "So a life for a life." Brown's bloody rampage began April 27, when he is accused of gunning down Henderson near his home in Skyway. On June 1, he used a dating application for gay men to lure Dwone Anderson-Young and Ahmed Said to a Seattle nightclub before shooting them both at close range, documents say. The 29-year-old "essentially executed" both men, according to court filings.

Brown was captured in New Jersey last month after being identified on surveillance video when robbing a convenience store.

Historic ruling: Judge orders anti-gay Scott Lively to stand trial for crimes against humanity

Extremist anti-gay US pastor is accused of engineering the Uganda 'Kill The Gays' bill, saying LGBT people are the 'new Nazis' and recommending Russia's 'gay propaganda' laws 

For the first time, a federal US judge has ruled a persecution of LGBT people is a crime against humanity.

This sets a precedent ensuring the fundamental human rights of LGBTI people are protected under international law.

It comes as a Ugandan LGBTI advocacy organization filed a lawsuit against prominent US anti-gay extremist Scott Lively.

Accused of helping to play a part in the persecution, arrest and murder of gay people in Uganda, Lively’s lawyers requested to dismiss the lawsuit.

Michael Ponsor, the US District Judge in Springfield, Massachusetts, said: ‘Widespread, systematic persecution of LGBTI people constitutes a crime against humanity that unquestionably violates international norms.’

‘The history and current existence of discrimination against LGBTI people is precisely what qualifies them as a distinct targeted group eligible for protection under international law.

‘The fact that a group continues to be vulnerable to widespread, systematic persecution in some parts of the world simply cannot shield one who commits a crime against humanity from liability.’

The lawsuit states Lively collaborated with key Ugandan government officials and religious leaders that allegedly resulted in the introduction of the ‘Kill The Gays’ bill.

The founder of Abiding Truth Ministries, Lively has made a career of stirring up anti-gay feelings in the USA and across the world.

He co-authored The Pink Swastika, which suggests ‘homosexuals were the truth inventors of Nazism and the guiding force behind many Nazi atrocities’ and the rainbow flag is a symbol of the ‘end times’.

In 2007, Lively also toured 50 cities in Russia where he is accused of recommending a ban on 'gay propaganda'.

Frank Mugisha, director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, said: ‘Today’s ruling is a significant victory for human rights everywhere but most especially for LGBTI Ugandans who are seeking accountability from those orchestrating our persecution.’

While the court battle is certainly not over, it will allow the Ugandan group to seek justice for what they believe Lively has done.

US law allows foreign citizens to sue for violations of international law in US federal courts under the Alien Tort Statute.

Iowa GOP rep. arrested for having sex with incapacitated wife after judge told him not to

A Republican state representative in Iowa was arrested last week on a third-degree sexual abuse charge for having sex with his wife after a court told him that she lacked the mental capacity to consent, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reports.

According to the criminal complaint, on May 15, 2014, Representative Henry Rayhons (R) was told by officials at the Concord Care Center that his wife, Donna Rayhons, no longer possessed the mental capacity to consent to sexual relations.

A little more than a month later, Donna Rayhons’ daughter, Suzan Brunes, was made her mother’s temporary guardian after video surveillance captured Rayhons leaving his wife’s room and discarding her underclothes in a nearby laundry hamper.

Donna Rayhons died on August 8, 2014 at the age of 78.Donna Rayhons’ roommate corroborated the video evidence, saying that on the same day he discarded her undergarments, she “heard noises indicating to her that Henry Rayhons was having sex” with his mentally incapacitated wife.

The executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Elizabeth Barnhill, told the Press-Citizen that until 25 years ago, it was legal in Iowa for a man to have sex with his wife against her will — but that even with a spousal rape law in place, “convictions are rare,” especially when the victim is incapable of testifying.

Brownback won't explain $500,000 Colyer loans

Gov. Sam Brownback declined to comment Friday on the $500,000 loan from Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer that has moved in, then out, then back in his campaign fund.

A campaign finance report for 2013 showed Colyer, a plastic surgeon, loaned the campaign the money on Dec. 31, 2013, helping push the governor's cash on hand total to nearly $2 million.

The following filing was released July 28. It showed that Brownback's campaign refunded Colyer his money Jan. 2, two days after he loaned it. The campaign then accepted another $500,000 loan from Colyer on July 23, the day before the next filing was due.

Joan Wagnon, chairwoman of the Kansas Democratic Party, called it a "blatant attempt to manipulate voters" by artificially pumping up the campaign coffers in advance of finance reports.

"Sam Brownback has again tried to fool Kansans with a sham loan from his lieutenant governor that fits right into his continued pattern of deception and political tricks," Wagnon said in a prepared statement.

Asked about the rationale behind the loan pattern after an unrelated news event Friday, Brownback declined to explain it.

"No, I can't explain the thought process," Brownback said. "I'm not going to explain the thought process on it."

Wagnon said the loans were a desperate attempt to make the governor's campaign appear stronger than it is to ward off the re-election challenge he faces from House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence.

"Brownback knows Kansans are coming together behind Paul Davis to fix the mess he has made of our budget, our economy, and our schools," Wagnon said. "His only response is to distort and mislead voters."

Liz Cheney Whines: President Obama Is ‘Slandering Patriots’ Like Her War Criminal Dad By Admitting America Used Torture

Liz Cheney has another bone to pick with President Obama and she promptly embarrassed herself on Fox News to whine about it.

During an interview on Hannity with fill-in host Monica Crowley to discuss President Obama’s recent remarks about torture being used by the Bush Administration in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Cheney accused Obama of “slandering” people like her war criminal daddy Dick Cheney. She also claimed that what “patriots” like her father did to Guantanamo prisoners wasn’t torture and that the activities kept America safe. “You know Monica, this president is an utter disgrace,” Cheney said.

He’s got a situation where, as your last two reports showed, you’ve got crises erupting around the world. And he is expending more time, more energy, more passion, more aggressive activity in targeting and going after patriots, heroes. CIA officers and others who kept is safe after 9/11. He’s lying about what they did, he’s slandering them, he went to Cairo and did it in 2009. Today he did it from the podium of the Oval Office. It’s a disgrace. It’s despicable.

Here’s the video via Raw Story.

Busted!

Orange County deputies arrested on Friday the owner of a towing company who they say was illegally towing vehicles during the annual Gay Days celebration and appeared to target its attendees. The owner of ASAP Towing, Jason Combs, 44, has been charged with grand theft, failure to release vehicle, failing to maintain records, failure to post towing contracts, failure to notify the sheriff's office within 30 minutes of a tow and violating an Orange County ordinance. Deputies said Combs' arrest stems from numerous complaints against ASAP Towing for allegedly illegally towing vehicles from the Westwood Town Center June 5-9, which coincides with Gay Days. The celebration is hosted at the Doubletree Hilton across the street from the center at 10100 International Drive.

Combs has been charged with more than 100 counts of grand theft auto and is being held in the Orange County jail on a $51,000 bond.

Naked Hunks Steal 60 Hamburgers From Florida Restaurant

The hamburger bandits  (Source:Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers)

It's the Hamburglar gone wild!

Two naked college-age men, and a third who was wearing his underwear, were caught on surveillance footage breaking into a Florida restaurant Sunday, stealing 60 hamburgers, NewsPress.com reports.

"Dumb, dumber and dumbest," waitress Nancy Sansevieri of Doc's Beach House in Daytona, Fla., told the newspaper Wednesday.

The unknown hamburglars are still at large and local authorities say they're not sure if the nearly-naked dudes are residents of Southwest Florida or tourists. Police released the steamy photos of the suspects this week in hopes the public will recognize them.

The three men stole 60 hamburgers, three pounds of bacon, three red peppers and a paddleboard from Doc's Beach House around 3 a.m. Sunday. But the trio wasn't the brightest at covering up their crime - or they didn't really care.

The restaurant's surveillance caught the men and there are now 200 frame-by-frame photos of the suspects. In addition, Doc's Beach House's staff found a trail of red peppers about 100 yards away from the eatery near a beach bathhouse.

"They left a trail like Hansel and Gretel," Doc's waitress Shelly Isom told NewsPress.com. "One of them probably said after, 'Uh, guys, where did we leave our clothes?'"

According to the images released by Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers and Bonita Jet Ski and Parasail, a partner of Doc's, the men are athletically built and two are naked while a third is wearing white underwear. A number of the pictures show the suspects looking at a security camera and at one point one of them tries to turn it off, unaware there is another camera nearby. Two of them covered their face and genitals after seeing the camera.

Doc's general manager and vice president Lou Bangert said he's never seen a crime like this in the 27-years the restaurant has been open. He said criminals have broken in and stolen money, but none of them have been beefy hunks looking to steal beef.

According to News Press, the men never entered the front part of Doc's to steal money. The suspects were in the kitchen area and took the food from three coolers. Bangert said the men were in and out of the kitchen in five-minutes - they weren't messing around.

"When I saw the security footage, I said how is this guy not wearing any clothes?" he asked. "Then I said, 'Wait, it's not just one. There's three naked. That's what makes this funny."

Bonita Jet Ski's manager Kevin Nobis posted the photos to his company's Facebook page.

"I laughed a little bit when I saw the pictures," he said. "I'm just glad they didn't do more. Luckily, it was just minimal. I just think it was college-age kids who may have been drinking. The guys look like they are in good shape. They look like athletes. But it's hard to tell if they are tourists or locals."

'Ex-Gay' Pittsburgh Pastor Duane Youngblood Accused Of Molesting Teenage Boy

Duane Youngblood, author of Freedom From Homosexuality: No Longer Living The Lie and owner of the Higher Call World Outreach Church in Homestead, Pennsylvania, has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenager.

The boy, now aged 21, told police that the pastor sexually abused him between 2009 and 2001 while Youngblood was supposed to be counseling him, reports CBS Pittsburgh. Youngblood is also accused of showing the teen an adult movie on his computer.

The pastor reportedly asked his victim not to tell his mother “because he didn’t want to get into trouble.”

In his 2006 book, Youngblood "shares insights and truth to help anyone struggling with perversions find a place of forgiveness and deliverance in God."

Neighbors say the pastor, who is a registered sex offender, is married with multiple children.

In 2006, Youngblood was sentenced to one year of intermediate punishment and seven years’ probation after he was found guilty of molesting a 15-year-old boy whom he was also counseling.

Two Former GOP Utah Attorneys General Arrested In Corruption Case

Two former Utah attorneys general, John Swallow (R) and Mark Shurtleff (R), were arrested in a long-running corruption case on Tuesday morning.

Shurtleff has been charged with three counts of bribery, one count of obstruction of justice, one count of witness tampering, one count of evidence tampering and one count of unlawful acts, according to the Salt Lake County jail's website, Swallow has been charged with two felony counts of bribery, one count of false or inconsistent statements, one count of false government records and one count of unlawful acts.

According to the Deseret News, the allegations surrounding Swallow and Shurtlefff center on their relationship with a Utah businessman, Jeremy Johnson. Shurtleff allegedly used Johnson's private plane to fly to a California fundraiser and to fly to New York to meet with actor Vincent D'Onofrio. Swallow allegedly stayed on Johnson's houseboat and borrowed his Ferrari.

Federal and state law enforcement searched Swallow and Shurtleff's homes in June amid a probe into the state attorney general's office. Swallow had followed Shurtleff in the office, but resigned last year amid several federal and local investigations.

Authorities have been investigating possible bribery, obstruction of justice and misuse of public funds.

GOP House to no longer disclose lavish foreign trips paid by special interests

In a stunning reversal after three decades of public reporting, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives will no longer require members of Congress to disclose lavish foreign trips paid for by special interests.

For three decades, the House has publicly disclosed such travel. That rule has now changed under John Boehner, according to a report from National Journal.

This news comes as Congress reportedly took more free trips last year than it has since the Abramoff days, with 1,187 gift-trips at a cost of $6 million.

National Journal ads that while lobbyists have not been able to sponsor these trips since 2007, the groups who do sponsor them are “tied closely” to lobbyists.

Only the little people pay for their own
 foreign travel.

Perhaps it’s time someone asked Aaron Schock who’s footing the bill for his seemingly endless jaunts around the country and world. And in fact, I just downloaded the last reports, before they got banned byBoehner, and Aaron Schock got a trip to India paid for by special interests last year, and trips to Cuba and Turkey paid for in 2012, Spain in 2011, Ethiopia in 2010, and Israel in 2009.

And Schock is a relatively junior member. Imagine what the big boys and girls get.

If you have some time to kill, head over to the US House Web siteand check out who’s been getting free travel to where. When you look at the records, keep in mind that the first name is the person who traveled, and the second name is the office they’re with. So for members of Congress, you want both names to be their name.

Understandably, Melanie Sloan over at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) was less than thrilled:

“Removing the travel disclosure requirement from the annual disclosure form is a blatant attempt to avoid accountability. The only Americans who would possibly be in favor of this change are members of Congress. It seems some lawmakers are eager to enjoy privately funded lavish trips without facing pesky questions from watchdog groups and constituents. The idea that this is a change for efficiency’s sake is ludicrous.”

Still Don’t Think Dick Cheney is a Disgusting Hypocritical War Criminal? This Clip From the Archives Should Change Your Mind

It seems like a lifetime ago when Bush, and his cronies like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, were beating the war drums back in 2002 and 2003 about how “grave” a threat Iraq was to the security of the United States. I can still remember the day the war started and the day just a few weeks later when Bush ridiculously landed on an aircraft carrier in a flight suit declaring “mission accomplished.”

Yet here we are, it’s 2014, and Iraq is back in the news as radical Islamic militants known as I.S.I.S. continue to take over numerous cities within the country.

Recently I ran across comments made in 1991, by a Republican of all people, who essentially predicted the chaos we’re now seeing in Iraq if we were to ever invade and overthrow Saddam Hussein:

I think that the proposition of going to Baghdad is also fallacious. I think if we were going to remove Saddam Hussein we would have had to go all the way to Baghdad, we would have to commit a lot of force because I do not believe he would wait in the Presidential Palace for us to arrive. I think we’d have had to hunt him down. And once we’d done that and we’d gotten rid of Saddam Hussein and his government, then we’d have had to put another government in its place. 

What kind of government? Should it be a Sunni government or Shi’i government or a Kurdish government or Ba’athist regime? Or maybe we want to bring in some of the Islamic fundamentalists? How long would we have had to stay in Baghdad to keep that government in place? What would happen to the government once U.S. forces withdrew? How many casualties should the United States accept in that effort to try to create clarity and stability in a situation that is inherently unstable? 

I think it is vitally important for a President to know when to use military force. I think it is also very important for him to know when not to commit U.S. military force. And it’s my view that the President got it right both times, that it would have been a mistake for us to get bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq.