Wednesday, March 29, 2017

More on pastor James Rankin

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?

Monday, March 27, 2017

Pastor’s daughter arrested in Oklahoma

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.

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Baptist pastor James Rankin arrested

Baptist pastor James Rankin was arrested for possession of child porn. Rankin (78) was an associate pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church (cached) in Hurst, Texas. An employee of Best Buy found child porn on a computer belonging to Rankin. Local police made the arrest. The Geek Squad strikes a blow for justice!

Hurst is 99 miles from Waco. I’ve got friends in Waco, so I worry.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Coachella Valley Farm Workers

I found an interesting photography project: Coachella Valley Farm Workers.
It’s full of wonderful photos and great stories, including a few videos. The site was profiled on LA Weekly - Photographer Noé Montes' Portraits of Coachella Valley Farm Workers Shed Light on the Unseen
The photographer, Noé Montes, is on Instagram as @noemontesla

So Pat Robertson was wrong about Trumpcare

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.

A microphotography insect obsession

Friday, March 17, 2017

Eeny meeny miny moe

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.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

The Trumpblican Bible

Saw this on Reddit va Drellkethat tonight. It’s perfect.

Yes, Ralph Shortey is a hypocrite

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.

  • He studied but did not graduate from the unaccredited Heartland Baptist Bible College, an IFB institution. 
  • He one proposed a wtf bill that outlawed the use of aborted fetuses in food, apparently because of something he read on the internet. 
  • He supports the war on drugs, but was allegedly smoking weed during his illicit romp with a teenager.
  • He was active for 17 years in the YMCA’s Youth and Government organization… where he would have had ample access to teens.
  • He voted in favor of an anti-transgender bathroom bill
  • He acts like a fundie… I’d love to know what church he attends. I bet they are proud. 
  • He was Trump’s Campaign Chair in Oklahoma. Why? Who would hire this guy to do anything?

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?

Saturday, March 11, 2017

The band Soviet Soviet deported

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…

Friday, March 10, 2017

Pastor Michael Hill sentenced

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 sentenced

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.

Pastor Ron Hyde arrested for dismemberment murder

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.


Texas, guns and schools

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.

The real cost of Trump’s immigration policy

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…

Saturday, March 04, 2017

Baptist youth pastor Zachary Almarode arrested

Congratulations to Salem Baptist Church in Stonewall for hiring and then firing youth pastor Zachary S. Almarode (25), who is an alleged pedophile. You can send your congratulatory message to office@sbcstonewall.com. All mention of Almarode was removed from the church website. Nothing to see here… move along.
"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.
Almarode was arrested after concerns about inappropriate contact at a local high school along with high school student Lauren Maschino (18). Authorities allegedly found child pornography on cellular devices belonging to Almarode and Maschino. Both parties were charged with two counts of possession of child pornography involving a juvenile. No bond was set.

I wonder what the real story is on this one.
In reading about this story, I learned a new term, ArkLaTex, which is socio-ecamonic region where Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma about. It’s also know as Baptistan.

Pastor’s son, Omar Smith, sentenced for child porn

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…

Friday, March 03, 2017

Is Iowa state Sen. Mark Chelgren a hypocrite?

I think Mark Chelgren is a hypocrite. Apparently the Chicago Tribune thinks so too
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.
Mark Chelgren has oversold his eduction at every opportunity.

He claimed the he attended the University of California at Riverside majoring in astro-physics, geo-physics and mathematics. So wait, he had three majors? Really?

On his company website, Frog Legs, he makes this claim, “Mark Chelgren completed his education in Astro- and Geo-Physics at the University of California in Riverside." I think that’s a large mischaracterization. Completed? No…

We know that he attended the university for no more than a year, so “Complete” means what? Did he drop the mathematics major claimed in the first statement?

On the same site, he clams to have worked as a Geo-Physist [sic], for a company called GeoSoils. I think he means geophysicist, but sense he can’t spell it… well, you can fill in the blanks. I’m guessing he does not have a PhD either. Heck, I’m guessing he does not BS. He’s full of BS maybe, but he is not a degreed professional.

The real story… he’s a Republican and a hypocrite who should resign in shame, or run for the US Senate. He’d fit right in.

Pastor Josh Ball arrested

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?

Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Oprah in 2020. Please no.

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.

Pastor Garth Bent to be sentenced

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.