The good news is that they caught one of the guys behind that Nigerian Prince email scam. The better news is that he is not Nigerian, not a prince, and lives in Louisiana.

Courtesy of The Times-Picayune:

Slidell police say they have arrested a "Nigerian prince'' who is accused of helping scam people out of thousands of dollars. 

Michael Neu, 67, has been arrested and charged with 269 counts of wire fraud and money laundering following an 18-month-long investigation by the Slidell Police Department's Financial Crimes Division. Police said Thursday (Dec. 28) that Neu, of Slidell, is suspected of being the "middle man'' in hundreds of scams to separate people from their money. 

In the scam, an email arrives from someone claiming to be or represent a Nigerian prince who says the recipient is the beneficiary of a large sum of money - often millions of dollars -- but must first send personal financial information such a bank account number to speed the process. 

People do fall for the scam, police say. 

"Most people laugh at the thought of falling for such a fraud, but law enforcement officials report annual losses of millions of dollars to these schemes," Slidell police said in a news release.

I have different criteria for if I think you are worthy to interact with.

If you gave money to Sarah Palin, at any time, then I cannot have a conversation with you.

If you voted for Donald Trump you need to get off of my property NOW.

If you fell for this Nigerian Prince email scam, you literally may be too stupid to live on your own without some kind of adult supervision.

I mean seriously, how dumb does somebody have to be to fall for such a transparent  attempt to steal your money?

Glenn Beck and phony historian David Barton are charging $375 to teach college age students fake American history.

"I guarantee you the professors at college will have the wrong answer."

If ever there were a statement that should send you running and screaming away from this "offer" it is that one.

Here is more courtesy of The Friendly Atheist:  

We spend our mornings in a classroom-like setting and each afternoon we dig through online resources as well as our unique, original library. We will delve into topics such as:

• A Biblical Worldview 
• The Truth in History 
• America’s Godly Heritage 
• Early Education in America 
• How the Bible Influenced America 
• American Exceptionalism 
• God and the Constitution 
• Reclaiming the Land 

We will research our Founding Fathers, discovering their accomplishments, families, and faith, giving individual presentations at the end of each week. This is a specialized training for 18-25 year old.

We tend to give Glenn Beck a pass sometimes these days because he is an outspoken critic of Donald Trump.

However we need to remember that he is essentially just a shyster selling a damaged bill of goods just like Sarah Palin and even Trump himself.

And only thing that keeps him from being really dangerous is that fewer and fewer people are paying any attention to him.

James O'Keefe, that fake pimp from those Acorn videos, tries to entrap Hillary Clinton. Ha!

Trying to trick my campaign? I don't think this punk knows who he's dealing with.

Courtesy of Time: 

Hillary Clinton’s campaign offices around the country have been put on alert after at least two women approached Iowa staff under the guise of being supporters in an apparent effort to catch the campaign engaging in improper or illegal activity, a Clinton campaign official said. 

The motivations of the women is not known, but their alleged techniques match those of Project Veritas, the conservative group run by James O’Keefe, which specializes in undercover stings meant to embarrass liberal groups and politicians. The group declined to comment on the Clinton campaign’s allegations. “Project Veritas does not comment on investigations, real or imagined,” said Daniel Pollack, the director of communications for the group. 

A Clinton campaign official alleges that the women engaged in several efforts to entrap supporters. In one scheme, described by Clinton staff, a woman attempted to pass a cash donation to Clinton volunteers and interns. In another, a woman approached the campaign on Aug. 19 and said both her parents had donated to Clinton the legal maximum of $2700 each and wanted to funnel an additional donation through their daughter, a violation of federal law. On Aug. 13, a woman claiming to be Canadian approached another Clinton fellow to ask how to falsify an address for a campaign donation. 

In another instance, a woman volunteering with the Clinton campaign on voter registration efforts in Iowa City returned to the campaign’s office in Des Moines and asked whether it was okay that she refuse to register people who don’t support Clinton, the campaign official said. The Clinton campaign maintains that its policy is to register all voters, regardless of their preference in candidates.

Sounds like this went as well as the time O'Keefe tried to get that CNN reporter onto his "sex boat."

Of course considering how well those fake Planned Parenthood videos are working, I imagine that there are all sorts of conservative operatives out there trying to get their fifteen minutes of infamy.

And what better target for a conservative hack trying to make a name for themselves than Hillary Clinton?

Bleach enemas to cure Autism. The dangers inherent with ignorance of science.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Parents seeking help with children with autism are turning to a “miracle” cure that involves giving the children enemas, using a dangerous industrial solution used for bleaching wood pulp. 

According to If You Only News, parents have turned to Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), containing sodium chlorite which is mixed with citric acid (i.e. orange juice) to make chlorine dioxide. According to the promoters, the solution, which can be taken orally or administered via an enema, can cure HIV, malaria, hepatitis, autism, acne, and cancer. 

Miracle Mineral Solution is the brainchild of Jim Humble, who quit the Church of Scientology to form the Genesis II Church of Health & Healing in order to promote his “miracle” cure in Africa and Mexico. 

The Food and Drug Administration disagrees with Humble’s claims and has posted a warning on their website calling the product “dangerous” and “potentially life threatening,” advising “drinking the amount recommended on product labels can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration.” 

Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency warns that chronic exposure to small doses of chlorine dioxide could result in reproductive and neurodevelopmental damage, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued guidance in the use of chlorine dioxide in the workplace. 

Kerri Rivera, founder of the website CD Autism (“Autism: Avoidable. Treatable. Curable.”) which promotes MMS, claims that autism is caused by yeast, parasites, viruses, and vaccines that can be flushed from the body.

Courtesy If You Only News: 

Parents are using bleach enemas/drinks to try to cure their children of autism. They force the bleach solution into their own children orally or via enemas — both of which can cause serious health issues. Parents report their children fighting, screaming and writhing in pain. The monsters who sell the product online say it’s a miracle cure. The sane population calls it child abuse.

From one parent's Facebook page:

 This is quite literally one of the most horrific things I have every heard of, and it makes the actions of the Anti-Vaxxers pale by comparison.

In some cases these parents are giving their children several bleach enemas a day and are literally stripping the lining from their stomachs, which then shows up in their stool. A man named Andreas Kalcher has falsely identified these as "rope worms" and claims that these are among the "parasites" that this treatment flushes from their child's body.

However when tested the "worms" only contain human DNA.

I think we can all understand the desperation of parents searching frantically for something that will magically cure their children and make them behave and think normally, but what these people are doing to their children is nothing short of abusive.

If you read through the entire article at IYON you will likely come away shaken and extremely angry at the assholes who are preying on these poor parents and selling them this dangerously toxic "cure."

New report claims that conservative paint chip eaters sent $50 million dollars to "scam groups" like SarahPAC.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Conservatives are finally starting to notice that sham activist groups are ripping off Republican donors, after dismissing “liberal” reports about the scams. 

Jonah Goldberg, the syndicate columnist and National Review Online blogger, points to a report on Rightwing News, which commissioned a study of 17 “big name conservative groups.” 

Many of those groups have already been identified as sleazy in numerous reports, but the conservative website admits many of those were likely shrugged off by GOP donors and activists. 

“The problem with the articles that have come out so far is that most of them have come from liberal outlets and have only discussed limited aspects of a few organizations,” wrote John Hawkins, of Rightwing News. “That naturally led people to wonder if they were reading hit pieces.” 

And that last part is true, and we have covered those reports more than once.

However it appears that with this report the conservatives are starting to catch on.

And if you think about it these scam artists have the perfect setup.

The conservative websites, radio talk shows, and cable news outlets tell their audience not to trust the mainstream media, while also promoting right wing politicians and ideas in whose name these  PACs are set up. So when the MSM reports that they are being hoodwinked they simply chalk it up to left wing propaganda or bad reporting and continue sending junior's college fund to places where it can be spent on exorbitant salaries for those running the PAC, or travel expenses, vacations, and cold hard cash for the person whose name appears on the letterhead.

And that is exactly what this investigation reports:

The 170-page report showed the vast majority of money spent last year by prominent conservative political action committees was “siphoned off to vendors, wasted, and just plain old pocketed by people in these PACs.”

Gee I wonder which groups stand out?

(It's at number eleven in case you were having trouble finding it.)

Personally I think that even the slowest of the slow are starting to catch on which helps to explain why SarahPAC has been hemorrhaging money as of late.

But you know if they DO catch on all that means is that it is time for a new scam, like for instance having a book ghostwritten for you that the morons feel obligated to buy, or starting a reality show and then manipulating them into watching, or getting them to pay a subscription fee for content that used to be offered for free.

Gee now why does that last one sound so familiar?

Let's face it these are quite literally the dumbest people on the planet, and probably the only thing that will stop some of them from sending folks like Sarah Palin and Herman Cain their money will be when worried family members have them committed for their own good.

John McCain again reiterates that he would support Sen. Lindsey Graham over former running mate Sarah Palin. "Duck refrigerator, duck!"

"Hey John I'm trying to run a scam here. Can't you just play along?"

Courtesy of CNN:  

Sen. John McCain says Sarah Palin "still has a strong base of support" if she decides to seek the Republicans' 2016 presidential nomination. 

"I think that she ought to do whatever she feels that she would like to do. And I'm very supportive of anything that she does," the Arizona Republican said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" -- adding that he plans to support South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, though, if he runs in 2016.

I can literally hear the metallic sound of cans bouncing off kitchen appliance from here.

When asked about Palin's recent disastrous speech in Iowa he said the following:  

McCain said he hadn't seen the speech, but that it wasn't a disqualifier. 

"If she did not give a good speech, she's not the first politician that didn't give a good speech from time to time, including me," he said.

You know Senator I don't think you want to be so dismissive of just how bad that speech was until AFTER you have heard it.

I mean there are bad speeches, and there is whatever in the hell this thing was.

People recover from slip ups, but some things there is just no coming back from.

SarahPAC identified as one of five prominent Tea Party ponzi schemes.

Uh oh!

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

This article is not a piece of commentary about beliefs or ideologies. Airing concerns openly can be constructive, civil debate can be productive, and incumbency shouldn’t equate to job security. 

This article is about the hijacking of a movement that started in 2009 by the modern equivalent of the “Old West Snake Oil Salesman.” Slick, fast-talking, and capable of whipping a crowd into a frenzy, they travel from town to town peddling their promises of “change.’ 

The problem is evidence indicates some Tea Party groups care far less about your ideals and far more about your money—taking it and making it their own. They’re an ideological Ponzi scheme; they use donations to generate more donations, by creating sensationalistic ad campaigns to persuade donors they’re getting value, and to scare or guilt them, and new donors, into sending more donations. 

Here are five very recognizable organizations that spend vastly more on fundraising efforts than on support for any candidate.

Actually I would like to disagree that the majority of the money for SarahPAC is spent on "fundraising." I think that is just the excuse they use for spending so much on "postage."

I think the vast amount of the donations goes right into Palin's pocket.

The charts, above and below, were created using actual values from the FEC financial reports filed by the Tea Party Leadership Fund, Tea Party Patriots, Madison Project, Sarah Palin’s PAC, and the Tea Party Express; from January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. To be clear, these numbers are exactly what each organization reported without manipulation or modification.

Gee and still that was not enough, and Palin had to turn to hillbilly reality shows on cable outlets nobody can find, poorly attended speeches, and a subscription only internet TV channel that is run so shabbily that now all of its content is available free on YouTube.

The Daily Beast then goes on to point out the scam that is Sarah PAC:Total receipts were $2,068,666, with expenses of $2,120,019 and $106,000 benefiting candidates. That’s 95 percent on expenses and 5 percent to candidates. With just a measly one-hundred grand in candidate support, Sarah Palin’s PAC basically has taken a shotgun approach by doling out $5,000 cash contributions to eight senatorial candidates, and a half-dozen House candidates, most of which are notable for their primary losses.

Oh man you just know THIS is going to piss in a certain somebody's Cheerios today. 

I can hardly wait for the response.

Hmmm, I wonder if it will only be available with a subscription?

"Pro-Military" charity turns out to be scam to line the pockets of Teabaggers instead.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

In February 2013, Move America Forward announced an ambitious fundraising goal. The charity, launched in part by one of the most prominent figures in the Tea Party movement, had adopted the 800 Marines in a battalion fighting in Afghanistan and wanted to send them all care packages. 

“For some troops, these care packages are the only mail they will receive all year,” the group said in one email solicitation. 

The charity later described the fundraising drive as a rousing success: In less than five weeks, all 800 Marines in a 1st Marine Division battalion nicknamed Geronimo were sent care packages and notes in Afghanistan, it claimed. 

But that couldn’t have been true. The Marines of Geronimo weren’t even in Afghanistan during Move America Forward’s fund drive. Instead, they were deployed more than 3,000 miles away, in Okinawa, Japan. 

Move America Forward calls itself the nation’s “largest grassroots pro-troop organization,” and has recruited a bevy of Republican luminaries, including former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney, to support its efforts. 

Yet an examination of its fundraising appeals, tax records and other documents shows that Move America Forward has repeatedly misled donors and inflated its charitable accomplishments, while funneling millions of dollars in revenue to the men behind the group and their political consulting firms. 

The article goes on to describe the "charity" using soldier's stories and images without their permission, funneling millions of dollars to political operatives, and even using a 2004 stock image of troops unloading supplies from a Chinook helicopter for a mission and claiming that it was donations from Move America Forward.

What kind of assholes would be behind something like this you ask?

These assholes: 

The driving force behind Move America Forward is Sal Russo, 67, the longtime political consultant who is listed on the 10-year-old charity’s tax returns as chief strategist. 

Russo is better known for helping to form the Our Country Deserves Better PAC, also known as the Tea Party Express, one of the largest Tea Party groups in the country. Consultants from his Sacramento-based firm, Russo, Marsh and Associates, also set up two other PACs, the Move America Forward Freedom PAC and the Conservative Campaign Committee, to aid conservative causes and candidates. 

Russo and his associates have previously drawn attention for lavishing funds raised through the committees on themselves, using this money on an Alaskan cruise and fancy hotels as well as paying themselves huge consulting fees.

Wait.

Huge consulting fees?

An Alaskan cruise?

You don't think?

Oh yeah.

What was I thinking? If there is a scam using the military, that funnels millions of dollars into the hands of political operatives,  who undoubtedly send a little of it into the PAC's of various politi-celebs who offer their services, how could Sarah Palin NOT be involved?

Chris Hayes discovers the inspiration for SarahPAC and other GOP fundraising scams.

Click image to play video

From Breitbart Unmasked:

 MSNBC’s Chris Hayes had Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times on his show last night to discuss the circle of scam that is conservative politics. BaseConnect, formerly called BMW Direct, pretends to be a mail order fundraising business for long-shot Republican candidates and veterans, but keeps almost all of the money it raises from senior citizens. 

Conservative scams are almost risk free. Not only is this behavior completely legal, the marks generally want to be scammed. 

There can be NO doubt that this is how SarahPAC works. Only in Palin's case she is not an unknowing stooge but an active participant.

IN her case the only victims are the morons ignorant enough to believe in her, or to believe that she cares about anything other than getting her hands on more of their money.

By the way Hayes also discussed Palin's newest get rich scheme.

And verily the Lord sayeth, "There's a sucker born every minute."

Best scam EVER conceived.

Thousands visit miraculous glowing statue of the Madonna. Miracle turns out to be luminous paint.

Courtesy of Catholic Online:  

Thousands had been drawn to a remote Belgian village to see a glowing statue of the Madonna. While mysterious, the reason behind the statue's glow has since been found. A team of scientists from the science faculty at Liege University found that the statue was glowing in the dark because it had been covered with paint containing zinc sulphide. 

"This chemical has a luminous effect and is the reason for the strange light. It's no miracle," Dr. Rudi Cloots, who led the university team said. 

Cloots could not explain why it took 15 years before the glow appeared. The paint was applied to the figure at an unknown date. 

The statue began glowing in mid-January. Police had to control crowds in the village of Jalhay, near Liege who were eager to touch the figure. The statue reportedly began to glow in the kitchen of an elderly couple's home. 

Over 500 people visited the house in one day, eager to pay homage to it. 

" Cloots could not explain why it took 15 years before the glow appeared." I'm guessing that's how long it took the people who owned the house before they stumbled upon the idea of how to take advantage of their superstitious neighbors.

But hey just because it was totally phony does not mean it didn't have miraculous properties.

Four visitors to the statue claimed that they had been cured of physical disabilities after being in the presence of the Madonna.

Hmm, I have to wonder what type of "physical disabilities" are cured by touching a fake, glow in the dark, ceramic statue?

Perhaps the miracle was the vast number of morons living so close to this little village.

Baptist pastor steals $170,000 from elderly member of church. Parishioner claims “He’s the best pastor this town and state has ever had.”

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

A Baptist pastor in Connecticut was arrested this week after being accused of stealing more than $170,000 from an elderly woman who was a member of his church. 

According to Attorney Joseph Mager, who is currently serving as conservator for the victim, a probate judge first noticed inconsistencies in the woman’s bank account while 67-year-old Stratford Baptist Church Pastor Robert Genevicz was the acting conservator in 2013. 

After more than $170,000 went missing from the account, police launched an investigation. Genevicz turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday. 

A judge had previously ordered Genevicz to pay the woman $170,000 within 30 days. Mager filed a lawsuit when the pastor failed to come up with the money. 

“It’s just awful for this poor woman,” Mager explained. “Right now, she’s in an assisted living facility and her money is dwindling very quickly.” 

WVIT spoke to members of the church who were standing behind Genevicz. 

“A hundred percent,” one parishioner said. “He’s the best pastor this town and state has ever had.”

Must be more of that faith inspired morality I keep hearing about. 

For those who have wondered how Sarah Palin, and other Right Wing hacks, keep getting on the bestseller's list. Wonder no more.

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

Every author wants a bestselling book -- and those who can pay for the services of ResultSource Inc. just might get one. The company describes itself as "a boutique marketing firm that works with today’s thought leaders to build bestsellers," which it has. 

In 2013, the Wall Street Journal talked with authors of two books who paid thousands of dollars to ResultSource and subsequently landed on the Journal's own bestseller list. "Precisely how [ResultSource] goes about [its business] is unclear," Jeffrey Trachtenberg wrote. 

Now, a new report about the sales numbers for "Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together" by evangelical pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife, Grace, reveals some details of how ResultSource gets books on bestseller lists. Driscoll heads Mars Hill Church, a megachurch in Seattle. 

The church paid an estimated $210,000 to ResultSource to make "Real Marriage" a bestseller, according to a document obtained by World Magazine, a Christian periodical. Warren Cole Smith writes in World that the magazine obtained an agreement between ResultSource and Driscoll's Mars Hill Church that was signed by representatives of both in October 2011. 

According to the article, the contract was for ResultSource "to conduct a bestseller campaign for your book, 'Real Marriage' on the week of January 2, 2012. The bestseller campaign is intended to place 'Real Marriage' on the New York Times bestseller list for the Advice How-to list." 

"Real Marriage" topped the New York Times' hardcover advice bestseller list on Jan. 22, 2012. The following week, it was gone. 

The spike onto a bestseller list and then disappearance -- as opposed to an up-and-down arc, or a high debut followed by a decline -- can indicate something other than typical consumer book-buying behavior. 

The report in World reveals what ResultSource did to get "Real Marriage" on the list. First, it bought a lot of books all at once. "RSI will be purchasing at least 11,000 total orders in one-week," the agreement states. 

Then the company went to great lengths to make that purchase of 11,000 books appear to be made by individuals or small groups, according to the article. 

The World's report continues, "The contract called for the 'author' to 'provide a minimum of 6,000 names and addresses for the individual orders and at least 90 names and address [sic] for the remaining 5,000 bulk orders. Please note that it is important that the makeup of the 6,000 individual orders include at least 1,000 different addresses with no more than 350 per state.'" 

So now we know where SarahPAC spends all of that Unclassifiable consulting money.

Because you know if something like this is possible, Sarah Palin has definitely taken advantage of it. And besides it really IS the only viable reason for why any book of hers would ever be considered a best seller.

I think most of us have already known that this is how they do it, however it is good to see mainstream journalism confirming what we already know.

I swear everything about this bitch is phony.

When "I am a Christian" is the first thing on their resume.

The above ad is not, I repeat NOT, a parody.

It is the real honest to goodness ad for crazy Teabagger, Dan Patrick a state senator who is now aiming for the Lt. Governor position in Texas.

He is also the guy whose Twitter account featured this tweet a few days back:

When Dan Patrick has a twitter typo, he has one heck of a twitter typo. pic.twitter.com/1gRwqKqNGP
— Michael Li (@mcpli) February 26, 2014

Yeah, but of course that was the fault of some underling who is too stupid to tweet what the Senator wanted tweeted, right? I mean is not ignorant enough to have made the mistake himself.

Yeah right.

As the political advertisement says Patrick is the guy who pushed for the mandatory sonograms for women seeking abortion in Texas, so that they can be humiliated before making one of the most difficult decisions of their life. And he is also the guy who sprinkled references to God all over Texas politics.

What better way to prove his Christy credentials. 

Now call me a cynic (Trust me I have been called worse.) but when somebody puts their Christian faith at the top of their list of attributes, that simply makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and for me red flags start waving all over the damn place.

I naturally assume that pretty much every politician running for office in Texas is a Christian (After all it IS Texas!), so when one of them gets all up in my face over their faith my first instinct is that they are somebody who does not want to be looked at too carefully, and instead hopes that Christianity provides a cloak of obfuscation that will immediately instill trust.

Of course only a moron believes that simply self identifying as a Christian automatically makes somebody trustworthy.

And as it turns out, Texas has more than its fair share of morons.

This from TFN Insider:  

The Dallas Morning News reports that four Texas politicians — politicians often aligned with religious-right groups that use faith as a political weapon — were among the victims of a Ponzi-like scheme run by a North Texas businessman. It seems they trusted the scammer because he appeared to be a good Christian and “godly man.” 

According to the Morning News, state Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington; state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford; state Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney; and former state Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, invested separately a total of $331,000 in an energy-trading finance company. They were among more than 20 other Texans who invested about $2.5 million in Archer Bonnema’s company, Pirin Electric. 

Bonnema, who claimed to have helped find Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat a few years back, appears to have specifically targeted Christian conservatives as potential investors.

Well of course he did, who could possibly be more gullible?

"I'm a Christian, would I lie to you?" The answer is of course they would.

And it happens all of the time. In fact our prisons are bulging with Christians.

Dan Patrick's Christian credentials should not immediately ingratiate him to the voters of Texas, instead they should have their guard up and their critical thinking skills turned up to high. 

Because as Thor is my witness, this guy is up to no good.

Creationist Ken Ham needs people to buy the riskiest bonds possible in order to get his Noah's Ark project afloat. Couldn't have floated the first time, what makes him think he can keep it from sinking a second?

Courtesy of Bloomberg:  

A Kentucky theme park to be built around a full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark may sink unless investors purchase about $29 million in unrated municipal bonds by Feb. 6. 

The northern Kentucky city of Williamstown in December issued taxable debt for affiliates of Answers in Genesis, a Christian nonprofit, data compiled by Bloomberg show. 

Even though $26.5 million of securities have been sold, the project needs to sell at least $55 million in total to avoid triggering a redemption of all the bonds, Ken Ham, the nonprofit’s president, said in an e-mail to supporters yesterday. Without the proceeds, construction funding will fall short, he said. 

“We still need those Ark supporters who weren’t able to purchase the Ark bonds at closing to prayerfully consider participating in a secondary bond delivery at the level they had indicated to us,” Ham said. “Will you please step out in faith with us?” 

Proceeds are intended to help build a 510-foot (155.4-meter, or 300 cubit) wooden ship, the centerpiece of a planned biblical theme park called Ark Encounter. The project has drawn comparisons to tourist attractions from Alabama to Nebraska that have defaulted, and comes with the added risk of legal challenges because its religious theme may violate the Constitution. The Washington-based group Americans United for Separation of Church and State said it is monitoring the project.

Oh yeah, THERE'S a good investment for ya.  

Industrial-development bonds are considered the riskiest municipal debt because they account for the largest proportion of defaults in the $3.7 trillion municipal market. Williamstown issued the bonds without a rating, making the prospect of repayment even less clear.

And that explains why they are reaching out to believers. Because no skeptic would give these guys a dime.

Nor should they, after all the entire story of Noah's Ark is clearly a complete fabrication.  

In my opinion religion is simply a tool to help identify the most obvious targets to scam. At least that is how it has been used for thousands of years.

And oldie but a goodie. Sarah Palin walking briskly through Juneau, on icy streets no less, in February 2008. Update!

Click clearly non-pregnant belly to start video.

Remember folks this was less than two months before she looked like this.

Oh yeah, SO convincing.

And yet it was enough to fool thousands. In fact many of them remain fooled to this day.

Update: Here is some interesting conversation about the footage from back in 2010.

Here is my favorite portion:  

Here's what Kevin the cameraman had to say: 

"Regarding her pregnancy, all I can say is that it was not obvious to the three of us who were there during the filming" 

"Sarah did not drink much of the caramel latte we brought her, which if I recall was decaffeinated" 

"As for me and for the rest of us who visited Sarah back in February - I’m fairly certain we can say that we had no idea she was pregnant"

(H/T to Kajo.)

It has not even hit the bookstore shelves yet and ALREADY Palin-bots are trying to give Sarah Palin's newest ghostwritten book away.

This was posted over at the Sea O'Pee yesterday: 

Donate $60 or more to SarahPAC and you will receive an autographed copy of Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas. The book will ship on the October 29, 2013 publishing date and regularly thereafter.

Yes just give $60 to Sarah Palin's PAC dedicated to paying hush money, funding family vacations, and supporting her plastic surgery addiction, and we will send you yet another poorly written book on subject that she simply does not understand, which is being sold at Amazon for only $13.79.

Now THAT is a deal only a Palin fixated paint chip eater could love.

You know if I didn't know any better I might JUST think that the people over at SarahPAC were having trouble attracting donors and were desperate to bring in more money.

But that can't be, can it? I mean haven't those people been telling us for years that Palin is this incredible political force, a unique voice among conservatives, and would someday run for President and teach us all a lesson?

Yep, that's what they said alright. Gee, I wonder what went wrong?

New documentary lays bare Pat Robertson's ongoing scam to bilk his supporters out of millions for phony help to Rwandan refugees. Update!

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

Now a new documentary lays bare the extent of the misrepresentations of Operation Blessing's activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, that it says continue to this day. 

Mission Congo, by David Turner and Lara Zizic, opens at the Toronto film festival on Friday. It describes how claims about the scale of aid to Rwandan refugees were among a number of exaggerated or false assertions about the activities of Operation Blessing which pulls in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in donations, much of it through Robertson's televangelism. They include characterising a failed large-scale farming project as a huge success, and claims about providing schools and other infrastructure. 

But some of the most damaging criticism of Robertson comes from former aid workers at Operation Blessing, who describe how mercy flights to save refugees were diverted hundreds of miles from the crisis to deliver equipment to a diamond mining concession run by the televangelist. 

Throughout the Rwandan refugee crisis, when more than 1 million people fled into neighbouring Zaire and started dying en masse of cholera, Robertson told his viewers that Operation Blessing was at the forefront of saving lives. 

"It was the most important first medical shipment on the scene out of everything," he said of one aid delivery as he appealed for donations. In another broadcast, Robertson said Operation Blessing was saving thousands of lives. 

"The death toll in this particular camp went down to almost zero because of our people being there," he said. 

Robertson claimed that Operation Blessing sent plane-loads of doctors. 

"These are tents set up with our doctors and our medical teams that came from here to work as hard as they could to save lives," Robertson said over pictures of a large tent of children on drips being tended by nurses and doctors. 

But the film was of MSF medical staff at work. Operation Blessing had just one tent and a total of seven doctors. MSF officials who worked in Goma told the documentary-makers that they had no recollection of even seeing Operation Blessing – let alone working with it. 

"What's really unacceptable is that Operation Blessing took photographs of MSF workers and then used this in their fundraising," said Samantha Bolton, the former MSF spokeswoman in Goma.

I doubt that I have kept secret my utter disdain for this POS. However I urge you to visit the link at the top to get an idea of just what a truly despicable excuse for a human being that Pat Robertson is.

You know one of my major irritations about religion is the blanket of respectability that it affords charlatans and criminals, allowing them to gain trust and lure innocents into their web simply by identifying themselves and "Christians" or "Men of God."

It is like those labels numb the minds of the believers to such a degree that they are unable to access any rational thinking and will simply buy into any bullshit spewed by those whom they have been conditioned to trust.

Update: This documentary has frightened Robertson's people who are threatening to sue the filmmakers:

An Operation Blessing spokesman told The Virginian-Pilot that they are “considering legal action” against Lara Zizic and David Turner, whose film “Mission Congo” will hold its premier at the Toronto International Film Festival, over the film’s supposed “false and defamatory” content. 

CBN has a history of going after Robertson’s critics; for example, they recently embarked on an unsuccessful push to cover up a video of Robertson — first posted here on Right Wing Watch —arguing that gay men wear special rings that they use to infect random people they meet with HIV/AIDS. 

I think it would be incredibly beneficial for the Robertson camp to go after this film. It would bring TONS of free publicity to the documentary plus it would force Robertson and his people to defend their charity, which I think we KNOW would  essentially prove the filmmakers right and also open Pat Robertson up to charges of fraud.

Personally I hope they do attempt to sue them, but my gut says they won't.

Here is Pat Robertson essentially telling you to beware of people like Pat Robertson.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

 Robertson offered the warning on Tuesday after a 700 Club report about the Profitable Sunrise pyramid investment scheme that lured people in with references to religious scriptures. 

“Beware of these scamsters, especially scamsters in religious garb quoting the Bible,” the TV preacher said. “I mean, run from them. They’re all over the place.”

"Scamsters in religious garb quoting the Bible." I assume that Robertson is essentially too old and senile to recognize just how deeply hypocritical his statement is, but you would think that one of his producers would clue him into the fact that he has just told his audience to turn off their TV's and stop listening to him. 

Which by the way might be the BEST advice that Pat Robertson has ever provided.

I would put it right up there with the time that he admitted that young earth creationists are a bunch of idiots.

Rachel Maddow reveals that the difference between the conservative movement and scam artists is....well nothing.

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Well as most of you know WE have been talking about this for years, especially as it pertains to Sarah "Postage" Palin. However Rachel does a great job of essentially revealing that virtually the entire movement is nothing more than a giant money making scheme aimed at bilking those who they frighten into believing their bullshit.

In many ways this is reminiscent of televangelists who target the elderly, or "financial consultants" who provide seminars to church groups and swindle them out of their money.

In fact if you take a step back and look at Right Wing radio and Fox News, you cannot help but notice that the whole thing is set up as a marketing scheme to frighten low information people into supporting their candidates monetarily, buying books written by their on air "talent," and purchasing products that they don't need.

Gee, as if we needed yet ANOTHER reason to avoid Right Wing radio and Fox News.