I am happy to hear this news. Every day he lived was a slap in the face of the victims of clergy sexual abuse.
Cardinal Bernard F. Law, whose stature as archbishop of Boston and America’s senior Roman Catholic prelate was shattered in a maelstrom of scandal, acrimony and resignation in 2002 after revelations that he had protected abusive priests for years, died Wednesday. He was 86 and lived in Rome.
- via www.nytimes.com
Newspaper headlines… sometime they make me say wft.
In Michigan's Wayne County, Prosecutor Kym Worthy has spent years processing 11,341 rape kits. The kits, found in 2009, were forgotten in a police storage warehouse, where they were routinely dumped without investigation.Are they going after the officials that did not do their jobs?
- via Boing Boing
Wait… 86% people of color. Oh geez what asshats.
This is a fascinating article about evangelical author and speaker Jen Hatmaker’s fall from favor. Her sin… she did not support Trump. It’s worth a few minutes just to see how the Christian Machine works.
“This year I became painfully aware of the machine, the Christian Machine,” she wrote in April on her blog. It was Good Friday, a somber day for Christians to observe the crucifixion of Jesus. Hatmaker wrote that she understood now the machine’s “systems and alliances and coded language and brand protection,” not as the insider she had long been, but “from the outside where I was no longer welcome.” During the election season, she added, the “Christian Machine malfunctioned.” It laid bare the civil war within her Christian community.Horrifying.
- via POLITICO Magazine
The pastor of a church in Hamilton Montana allegedly urged the victim to not report sexual assaults to the police as the pastor was more interested in protecting the rapists because he was a sex addict.
“The pastor then asked for all the details of their sex life and specific instances where defendant forced himself on her. Female 1 reported that the pastor urged her not to make any reports to law enforcement, tell other members of the church, or defendant’s place of employment,” the affidavit continued.
- via www.rawstory.com
The pastor’s name and the church’s name are protected in the reports I’ve seen. Hamilton is a small city with a lot of churches, but I’m willing to bet it’s a baptist church. The alleged rapist is Seth Wirick, 30 of Hamilton Montana.
I found this horrifying list via Reddit while reading this morning. I spent a few minutes reading up on cases I did not know about. Again… horrifying
See 42 more here or in the original post from the Constantine Report.
I’m looking for a corresponding list of Democratic offenders. I’ll post that when I find it.
This is one of the first things I read this morning. It made me smile.
The Atheist Alliance in Spartanburg collects items for the homeless throughout the month.They have an Amazon wish list. Please donate if you can. I did.
They meet on the third Saturday of every month and donate what they have collected to about 100 homeless people.
- via The Independent
…women in Christian communities were being told to endure or forgive domestic violence, and stay in abusive relationships, often due to misappropriation of Bible verses on submission.
- via ABC News
I look for signs that we are, as a people and a nation, getting better despite Trumpism and rampant Evangelical hypocrisy. I look, but I find the opposite. I find the we choose ugliness and hate, like in Atlanta where the city closed a homeless shelter and then started ticketing people for feeding the newly dispossessed homeless. Or in Denver, were the police take blankets and tents from homeless people. Or in San Diego where the homeless must move each Monday or face arrest.
Last week at a party, I listed to a married couple I’ve know for 20 years describe the horror of homeless people invading their community. They live in Newport Beach on the beach. A privilege known by few in my circle. I described being hassled by the police for feeding an old lady near where I work. A friend described feeding the homeless of Santa Anna. My privileged friends described working to push the homeless from their community. They chided me for feeding an old lady, saying, “It encourages homelessness.” It made me shiver. I took it as a sign of the pending apocalypse.
I can’t listen to Tomi Lahren. I tried once, but her rhetoric left me feeling dirty. I must admit, I loath this particular conservative pundit. I had long suspected that she was a hypocrite and now we have the proof. Tomi Lauren is still on her parents’ health insurance. Pft!
Is nothing safe? Apparently Indonesian artist Adrian Syaf snuck some anti-Christian and Jew messages into X-Men Gold #1.
According the the Independent, the comic book contains numerous reference to Indonesian protests against the Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.
I think the Independent got it wrong though. They characterize the protests as Indonesian when they should say Indonesian hard-line muslim protests. They don’t like the mayor because he’s a Christian. Seems a little bigoted and anti-democratic to me.
I found this Christian screed glued to a light pole near the Cerritos Promenade. Apparently, God said God love you very…
I found two new news sources this morning. One is a post on Reddit about the arrest of 33 clergy over the past month. I had read most of these stories by other means, but it was nice to find them all listed in one place. The other source was also on Reddit; a subreddit called r/Pastor/Arrested. It’s a frightening collection of hypocrites.
Read and upvote!
According to that document, Mr. Jenkins took the girl, identified by the FBI as Juvenile No. 1, to a Red Roof Inn in Toledo on “at least two occasions,” including once after Mr. Jenkins had pressured the girl to find an acquaintance for a shared sexual act and she complied. Source: Toledo Pastor, 2nd man accused of sex with teen.
Youth pastor Charlie Mabern Hamrick (54) was arrested and charged with over 40 counts of capital sexual abuse of children under the age of 12 and other heinous charges. The abuse spanned decades. Hamrick was a youth pastor at Pine Forest United Methodist Church in Pensacola, lead a youth group as a volunteer at Harvest Christian Center in Cantonment and was a football coach at Tate High School in Pensacola.
The stories of his abuse are disturbing…
There is a thread of religious enablement in the stories too. Apparently the abuse was reported when Hamrick was caught in the act of abuse and the church promised he would not work with children again.
Manafort (Resigned)
Crowley (Bows out)
Puzder (Bows out)
Flynn (Resigned)
Sessions (Recused)
Bannon (Demoted)
Nunes (Recused)
I’m thinking Flynn will end up in prison. Sessions will resign. Nunes will go down in flames at his next election. I’m not sure about Manafort.
My old friend Dr. Louie Savva of everythingispointless.com turned me on to his new podcast, The Existential Files. I listen to a few episodes this morning. I like it. I thought you might too. Enjoy.
Episode #35 with Yannick Jacob, the programme leader for the MSc Coaching Psychology at UEL and he also teaches and lectures on the topics of existentialism, coaching, mediation and positive psychology.
Episode #32 with Professor Christopher French, head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths College,
My most favorite hypocritical Christian comment ever… “at one point he may have been a man of God.”
Pastor Wade David of the historically black church, Munger Avenue Baptist Church in Dallas, was arrested for theft of up to $500k. He allegedly used the funds to fund his lifestyle. Although there are no allegations of hookers and blow, but there are allegations of planned hotel room stays and… alcohol. The money was earmarked for helping addicts and the needy. The church is broke.
I’m my original post on Baptist pastor James Rankin and his arrest for possession of child pornography, I did not speculate on why he would collect child porn. I figured the information would come out eventually. I did not realize it would be so stupid.
Pastor James Rankin’s explanation… he did it “to remind himself of what other people like to look at.” Really? What other people?
Investigators are not buying it. The 50 images, some of which look homemade, span the last few years. There is a concern that Rankin may have produced some of the photos. Rankin is toast.
Think back Baptist sheeple of Texas… how many of your children did this man baptize? If a pastor is convicted of child porn, was he really a Christian. Does the Baptism ritual count if done by a man pretending to be holy?
Stormy Kristen Ledbetter, 30 and the daughter of an Oklahoma pastor, was arrested for allegedly molesting a 10-year-old boy. The abuse allegedly happened in the pastor’s home.
Pastor Ledbetter, a former Chaplin to the Pauls Valley Police Department, and pastor of Paul’s Valley Church of the Nazarene. The mission of Ledbetter’s church is To make Christlike disciples in the nations. I don’t think child molestation is Christlike.
Pat Robertson was so sure, like god herself gave him the inside scoop. Mark my words. It will pass…
Nope! Nope! Nope! via Right Wing Watch.
I’m having trouble keeping track of Trump’s misdeeds, mistakes and gaffs today.
There is more, but I’m tired and it’s late.
I’ve been hit up with a few emails recently because of the arrest of Oklahoma state senator Ralph Shortey (R). People want to know why I had not added him to the list of Christian hypocrites. My answer is simple. I’m busy. I can fix that now though.
Ralph Shortey was arrested for allegedly having sex with an underage male prostitute. I think that qualifies as statutory rape in most states, perhaps not in Oklahoma. I should look that up… age of consent in Oklahoma is 16, unless money is offered in exchange for sexual contact. Check! Shortey makes the law, is it too much to ask that he knows the law too?
Shortly was charged with engaging in child prostitution, a felony. In response, the Republican-dominated State Senate sanctioned Shortey… they canceled his reserved parking space among other penalties.
Shortey allegedly used social media to set up his evening. Given the evidence and his use of the alias Jamie Tilley, I think the police would be looking for more victims.
I already know too much about this hypocrite.
What amazes me the most of cases like this is how big of a fuckup these people are. We have an adult who did not graduate from an unaccredited bible college and whose work experience appears to have been a production assistant, before being elected as a state senator. Is he or best and brightest? Why would anyone vote for this fraud in the first place?
Thanks Trump… We deported the Italian band Soviet Soviet after denying then entry to the U.S. and jailing them overnight. Apparently, the band members were questioned for hours over the possibility that they might be paid for performing at a promotional concert. What the hell is going on?
The band, which is based in the city of Pesaro, landed in Seattle on Wednesday afternoon. It was traveling under ESTA (also known as the Visa Waiver Program), which allows citizens of nearly 40 countries to travel to the United States without having to obtain a visa. Source:Anastasia Tsioulcas
They sure sound dangerous to me…
Pastor Michael Hill was sentenced to 10 years in prison plus 10 years probation for the capital sexual battery of an 11 year old girl. The victim did not come forward with accusations until 2002.
Hill was a Kansas area Seventh-Day Adventist minister for 16 years before his arrest in Florida. We don’t see many of those here on Deep Thoughts.
Pastor Mauricio Aguilera-Garcia was sentenced to 37 years and six months for sodomizing a young congregation member. Aguilera-Garcia was the pastor at Our Fathers House Church in Salem Oregon.
Aguilera-Garcia was a repeat offender.
Aguilera-Garcia was convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old child in Marion County in 1985, but he was not listed on the sex offender registry. Oregon's first registration laws were enacted in 1989. During his sentencing Wednesday, prosecutors presented the court with police reports from the 1985 incident. Source:Whitney M. Woodworth
The victim was a 13-year-old girl who’s sexually assaulted several times.
Aguilera-Garcia is 56 now. Let’s see… add 37 years to that and its…death in prison. He will never make it to 93.
Youth pastor Ron Hyde was arrested Tuesday for the grisly murder of Fred Laster 23 year ago. The story is horrible and involves a dismembered corpse dumped into a dumpster. They have a DNA match with Hyde to the murder. You can read about it here.
Pastor Ron Hyde hide within the church for years. He was fixated on child abuse and helping children. It’s all pretty creepy.
When I read this headline, I said, "Please be Texas.”
Mom pulls gun on another mom in school drop-off line. It was Texas, Houston to be exact. I’m from California. It’s not common to see people with guns here, but every visit to Texas for me is a trip into the gun zone. The friggen things are everywhere. Walk into a roadside cafe, people have guns. Walk down the street, people have guns. Once at breakfast in a hotel dinning room, I counted seven men wearing guns. WTF? Why does everybody need a gun? It does not make Texas safer, violent crime by state puts Texas at # 15 in the nation with a rate of 405.5. per 100k population. California comes in at # 17 with 391.1. Number of deaths by gun are 10.7 for 100k of population for Texas and 7.4 for California. So… Texas has more crime and more guns deaths per capita? It makes no sense.
Antidoping will not able to perform at Skanking Reggae Festival March 11 at The Shrine Expo Hall due to difficulties in renewing their visas. Damit Trump. What do have against a Mexican Ska? These guys are hot.
I’ve still got Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra and The Slacker though…
"We are heartbroken over this and we are praying for him, his family and our church. We are focused on moving forward for what we are here for.” - Source: Dr. Mike Hawkins, pastor of Salem Baptist Church.
Oh the shame! Omar Smith, the son of Dr. Colin Smith, was sentenced to six months in jail for possession of 344 images and 22 videos depicting child pornography. Smith was the church pianist and volunteered with local youth camps. There is no mention of this scandal on the church website or Facebook page.
The church is the historic First Baptist church of Sandwich, (Facebook) which was the last stop on the Underground Railroad. Pay no attention to the pedophile pianist…
An Iowa state lawmaker said Thursday that he didn’t mean to mislead anyone by claiming he had a business degree from a company that actually had awarded him a certificate for participating in a training program when he worked at Sizzler.
Pastor Josh Ball is having a bad week. He was arrested twice in a week on two different charges. The first charge was an assault allegation. The second charge was for allegedly writing a bad check.
Ball ran the now-closed Grace House Bedford homeless shelter in Bedford, VA. (GoFundMe). The shelter closed in February due to lack of funds, but it was apparently a dangerous place. The police, fire and rescue crews responded to calls nearly 100 times in six months.
I’d love to know the full story on this one. Who did Ball allegedly assault and why?
I know this might not be a popular position, but I’m not a fan of an Oprah Winfrey 2020 run for president. I see Oprah as the liberal version of Donald Trump. We don’t need that, no matter how popular she is with the masses.
I hope the Democrats get their act together. I’m concerned.
Remember Canadian pastor Garth Bent? Back in 2008 he was arrested for for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy. Bent pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a short time in jail. I never did find out how much time Bent spent in jail though. Pity. Whatever the time was it was not enough for this serial child molester.
I posted about Bent three times on Deep Thoughts. His 2008 arrest. His 2009 conviction and a guest post in 2017 by Peter Judd. I should have been watching closer because there was more to the story. It was obvious that the police suspected Bent of more crimes and they looked hard for more victims. There was a story in 2010 about additions charges for an indecent assault on a 14-year-old boy and I have it on good authority that this at least one other case is pending. In fact, a source tells me that Garth Bent will be sentenced in another case on March 3rd. I’ll post the details once they are available.
The thing that has always bothers me about this case is that Bent has fans. People still support him. People still think he’s innocent, even after admitting his guilt. Even after facing justice. It’s the whole pastor as a holy man thing and it still pisses me off. Read the comment thread on my original post. It’s depressing.
Bent was the pastor at St. Bride’s Church in Mississauga and was the trip director at Ontario Pioneer Camp in Port Sydney. Bent allegedly take boys out on camping trips and would then molest them.
Wants: I really want a photo of Garth Bent. If you have one, please send it to me.
Kellyanne Conway said, “I certainly meant no disrespect.” All she did was kneel on a Whitehouse couch. I think we can let this pass.
Kellyanne kneeling on a couch fits this administration. It defines this Administration. And… it means nothing. I was once criticized for speaking too loud in a Church. I was told that it was God’s house and that I should show respect. Actually, it was just used as a means to put me in my place. I hated it then and I hate this now. Give it a rest people.
Baptist pastor Benjamin William Nelson, a Baylor graduate, was arrested and charged with sexual assault after he was caught in a car with a young girl by the girl’s mother. Nelson is 28. The girl was… really young.
Nelson is the pastor at Peoria Baptist Church located at 1347 Highway 1947, Hillsboro, TX 76645. Hillsboro is near Waco, Texas, which is what I call Baptist crazy town. Baylor is located there.
Well… Pastor Jimmy Orick was arrested and charged with the sexual battery and aggravated statutory rape of a teenage girl. The victim was 16 and had been living with Orick at the time.
There are a couple of hard and fast rules when it comes to Baptist pastors. The most important is that a parent should NEVER let a children spend the night with pastor (let along live with one). If you are a parent and do this, you are complicit in the abuse.
Orick was the pastor of Mountain View Independent Baptist Church in LaFollette, Tenn.
I am conflicted. My desire is to see pedophile priests go to prison. No mercy. No love. Just prison. When I read a headline that stated, Pope quietly trims sanctions for sex abusers seeking mercy, I was aghast. How dare the Pope offer mercy… wait, that does not make sense. The Pope is all about mercy. I’m so conflicted.
According to the article, Pope Francis reduced defrocking, to a lifetime of penance and prayer, plus removal from public ministry. Which, sounds horrible and justified at the same time. The Pope's actions do not interfere with civil justice. If convicted, the priests still go to prison. The Pope’s mercy denies pedophile priests access to children. I can live with that.
When the story of Customs and Border Protection agents first broke, I was horrified. My initial thoughts were that this was somehow linked to Trumps plan to Make America Great again by scaring the crap out of everyone. But I waited… the story was missing an explanation. It was too easy to love.
And… the CBP did have a reason for its actions and the reason seems reasonable.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) later confirmed the details of the incident. In a statement to VICE News, a spokesperson for the agency said the agents were present because Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) had asked for help locating an individual “ordered removed by an immigration judge.” Source: Vice News
“Show me your papers” is not something Americans like to hear. I can understand the hysteria surrounding the airlines story, but I can’t understand the story about immigration officials questioning Muhammad Ali Jr., when he reentering the US after a trip abroad. I can’t understand ICE pulling Sara Beltran Hernandez, an undocumented El Salvadoran with a brain tumor, out of a hospital in Texas. The news is full of stories that upset me these days, but few upset me more then a bully USA picking on people, citizens or not.
Baptist Pastor Thomas “Punchy” Collett of the famous First Baptist Church of Taylorsville, allegedly punched Michael Hill in the face over an incident that occurred at a den of ill repute known as the Waffle House over near Columbus. Collet was arrested.
Punchy Collet allegedly punched Hill several times in the face. It’s what 67-year-old professional pastors do and is considered very much in keeping with the teachings of Christ.
I’ll file this one under, “I can’t make this shit up.”
Pastor Samuel Vidal, formerly of the Restoration Christian School in Palm Bay and now of Overcomers Academy, was arrested for allegedly molesting a 15-year-old girl.
I’ve love this style of Christianity. It’s called the start-a-church or school for fun and profit scam. It’s easy to start one. Grab a bible, hang out a shingle, and the rubes bring you their daughters and money too. It works best in our southern states, with Florida and Texas representing the best markets and the most forgiving clientele.
This is an odd case. Father Sylvestre Ochieng Obwaka, a pastor from St. Ignatius of Loyola Roman Catholic Church in Gayord, was arrested for the alleged sexual assault of a sleeping man. Yes, you read that right, a priest allegedly tried to bugger a sleeping man. That’s a new one for the long list of Catholic sex crimes.
The Diocese of Gaylord suspended Obwaka.
“We must respond with compassion when anyone is harmed. We must also remember in our system of justice, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We are focused on providing pastoral care to those affected in this very sad situation,”
CAIR offered a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who threatened to bomb at least 10 Jewish Community Centers around the nation on President’s Day holiday.
I’m an incrementalist. A small step in the right direction should be acknowledged, no matter who or what takes the step. Now, how about evangelicals putting up a reward?
I once read a book about Hillary Clinton’s run against Barack Obama in 2008 that forever changed by opinion of Democrats and the Clintons. I can’t remember the book now (It may have been more than one), but I can remember the theme. She was disconnected from reality and used whatever means she had at her disposal to push her what she thought was her advantage. She also underestimated her opponent. When the 2016 elections started to take shape, I knew she was in trouble. She had no answer for Bernie Sanders and failed to see the appeal of his position. She also pressed her advantage in a way that undermined her integrity. Of course, like may other people, I figured she could not lose to Donald Trump. I still can’t wrap my mind around Trump’s victory. With all the distractions since his election, we’ve lost focus on how he got there.
There is talk of a Clinton run in 2020. Please no. She cannot win. Whatever is running through her mind, whatever reasoning is pushing her in this direction, we need to tell her no. She can’t win because she is still disconnected from reality. Until we find somebody who understands how Trump won, and I mean actually understands how he won and not just intellectual weak excuses for Clinton’s loss, whoever runs in 2020 is doomed.
We need a leader and a Democratic Party that is up to the task.
Don’t do it. Don’t type the words “Pastor Arrested” into Google. Don’t check to see if pedophile pastors have claimed another victim. (It’s always yes) Don’t read the story. Don’t fill your head with images of depravity. Nobody will care when you say that you’ve read about a thousand cases of clergy sexual abuse. That these cases haunt your dreams. That in the end, ten-years worth of tracking and writing about clergy sexual abuse had no impact. Parent still trust pastors for some reason that I’ll never understand.
David Michael Akin, an Arkansas pastor and fire captain, allegedly molested a five-year-old girl, giving her gonorrhea in the process. Excuse me while I go vomit.
Akin has been staff at the First United Methodist Church, in Texarkana, Texas. His profile has since been removed from the church’s website. Akin had run a home church as a youth pastor before receiving the call to be a pastor. Nothing fishy there…
Here is a tip for all of you. Never let the pastor babysit your children.
I must be getting old. I can remember when there was more compassion in my heart. Lately, when I hear that a religious nutball or terrorist has died, I feel nothing. Omar Abdel-Rahman died in prison. I smiled when I read the real news CCN headline. He cause the deaths of six people and injured a thousand other people. Now he passes from history as a pathetic figure who died in prison. I feel nothing. Should I?
President Trump… It’s harder to say that with each passing day. Yesterday, he held a campaign rally for the 2020 election even though most of us think he won’t make it another six months. He said a lot of weird things, but this stood out as just nuts, given he is the leader of the free world.
…you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden… Sweden, who would believe this. Sweden. They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible. - Source: The Independent.
Nothing happened last night in Sweden. Nothing, he made it up. He may have thought something happened because of a non-news segment he say on Fox News. That is a scary thought. He saw it on the “News” so he repeated it as fact. We are so screwed.
Welcome to the new American reality. We apparently hate Asians now. Fuck.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice tracks hate.
I was walking down Valencia in San Francisco around 7pm and this older White gentleman pretended to hit my head with the book in his hand. As he walked by- he yelled really loudly- "I hate your fucking race. We're in charge of this country now." He was not intoxicated.
According to an article produced by NPR, a report from the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relation found that crimes targeting Asian-Americans in that county tripled between 2014 and 2015.
I don’t like where we are heading. I don’t like it at all.
A story from my day - Thursday, February 16th. North Long Beach.
I'm recovering from a back and hip injury these days and driving is a literal pain in the ass. I'm good for 20 minutes behind the wheel before I need to stand up and stretch. I can push it to 30, but I look like I'm dancing in my seat and I pay for it later. Yesterday, after the first half hour of my drive home, I had to stop. I pull off the freeway and into a gas station. I stepped out of my car. It was not pretty, and limped in obvious pain toward the station's convenience store.
As I neared the door, a man stepped from the side of the building and spoke to me.
"You look like you need prayer."
I responded with, "What makes you think that?"
"You are in pain. I can see that. I can't help any other way. So I'm going to pray for you."
I thanked him and continued limping into the store. He was homeless and dirty, yet he did not ask for anything. Instead he tried to express sympathy for my condition. He tried to connect.
I bought myself some water so that I could take a Tylenol. Then, I picked up a tall cup of coffee and a few doughnuts. I limped back outside and gave they guy the coffee and doughnuts. We talked for five minutes. I told him about my life and he told me about his. We connected, but had little in common. His name was James.
Near the end, he asked that I pray with him. I told him I don't pray. He asked me how I show love. I told him I buy coffee and doughnuts and talk to people. He gave me a hug.
I cried on the drive home.
Imperial Wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights of KKK, Frank Ancona, was found dead in Belgrade, Missouri. He had been missing for a few days. The only emotion I could must was… nothing. I feel nothing. Ancona was a Christian hypocrite and promoter of hate. He death moves the needle away from evil and darkness The world is a better place. Good riddance.
Kellyanne Conway used the term "Alternative Facts" to explain the lies Sean Spicer told during Trumps first official press conference. To quote one of Spicer's lies, "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration -- period -- both in person and around the globe."
As a patriotic American, I was insulted by Spicer and his lies. I saw with my own eyes the small crowds on the parade route and during the inauguration. I remember thinking, why are the crowds so small? I was looking for a reason other than the obvious, but then it became plain that people did not show up. I want truth. We want truth.
Lying about the little things is a bad sign. It points towards dishonesty in all communication. Lying about verifiable facts is an insane act when what Trump seeks is legitimacy. Lies discredit everything. How is this good strategy?
Kellyanne Conway furthered the damage while appearing on Meet the Press. She repositioned lying as an honorable act. Spicer was fighting the media's alleged biased reporting with alternative facts. Any reasonable person knows alternative facts in this context means falsehoods.
"Don't be so overly dramatic about tit Chuck. You'er saying it's a falsehood. .. Our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts to that."
Trump and his minions are dishonest. His first press conference fixated on trivial issues and spread deliberate falsehoods. The size of the crowd is unimportant and not an urgent issue. Crowd size does not need correction. Crowd size does not need a press conference nor does it mention in Trump’s speech to the CIA.
"I get up this morning, I turn on one of the networks, and they show an empty field. I'm like, wait a minute. I made a speech. I looked out, the field was, it looked like a million, million and a half people. They showed a field where practically no one was standing there and said ‘Donald Trump did not draw...'... Honestly it looked like a million and a half people. Whatever it was it was. It went all the way back to the Washington Monument." He added even 250,000 people would be “not bad ... but it’s a lie”.
I fear for our democracy. I fear for our country.
