Is a pastor responsible for the Octopus Murders?

The news delivers up a few gems each week. Like today for example, I was listening to KPCC’s morning news when news broke of an arrest in the 30-year-old Octopus murder case where three people were killed execution style out near Palm Springs, CA.

The executions took place on June 30, 1981 while Alvarez, Boger and Castro relaxed in the back patio of Alvarez’s rented home on Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage, California.  The three victims each were shot with a single .38 caliber bullet to the head, according to an autopsy report. There were no visible signs of a struggle.  Their bodies were discovered on July 1 by former tribal chairman Joe Benitez and Cabazon member William Callaway.

The daughter of Ralph Boger has a FAQ that tells the background of the case.

James “Jimmy” Hughes was arrested in Miami for the murder yesterday. As the story played out, I said to myself, “be a pastor.” Turns out Hughes runs Jimmy Hughes Ministry. Yep… he’s a pastor.  

Why were they called the Octopus Murders?

The bizarre killings were dubbed the "octopus murders" by detectives because of the complexity and mystery surrounding them. For years, numerous local and state investigations turned up no suspects, despite rampant rumors, pressure from the victims' families, and the apparent suicide in 1991 of a freelance reporter who was probing the matter.

I can hear it now. “But he’s a good Christian man who helps people.” Do bullets count as help?

Technorati Tags: Murder,Hypocrisy

Dinner at a L.A. landmark

I last ate at Clifton's Cafeteria in Downtown Los Angeles when I was a teen in the 1970s. The place is frozen in time. Nothing has changed. I took my wife, son, and new daughter-in-law Leslie out for dinner there as nod to L.A, history. It was an interesting experience. Downtown L.A. is a forbidding place for visitors from orderly Orange County suburbs. The chaos of traffic, people, and odd looking street people is enough to drive anyone to distraction. I felt safe enough, the area is well policed, but I also felt like I was visiting somebody else's city. We were neither homeless, nor part of the predominantly Hispanic local workforce, so we stood. No big deal though, locals were friendly.

I ordered the turkey dinner plate. I had the same meal with my grandparents. The food was just ok, I would call it a ok meal at a reasonable price. On the upside, they have a wide variety of desserts. The custard was good.

The restaurant is an amazing piece of American kitsch. It felt a little like a mixture of Knott’s Berry Farm, Disneyland, and a visit the the California redwoods. I had to keep reminding myself that this place has been around since the 1930s and predates the amusement parks it reminds me of.

The cashier experience is worth the visit along. We had barely put our trays down when the cashier belted out our total. Her practiced finger and eyes moving our our trays faster than an electronic scanner. It brought back memories from the 60s when grocery cashiers had the same skills.

We sat downstairs in the common seating area. Solitary dinner sat at table on the upper floors. A table of old men sat near the cashier. They looked to be in their 70s. All were friends and joyless shared their meal together. I sat with my back to a redwood tree’s cross section that marked significant events in human history going back hundreds of years. I felt safer with something at by back so that I could watch the room. However, it was unnecessary. Besides the old men, only older men and a few families occupied the room.

On our way out of the city we passed a well lit classic restaurant with live music and an upscale clientele. We all laughed as we realized we could have ate there instead. I was reminded of why we visited Clifton’s then. L.A. eats its own history every year. Restaurants come and go. Clifton’s served the greater good during the depression and for years afterwards. I viewed our visit as a necessary step in teaching my son our cultural heritage… before it is gone.

Related Articles:

Clifton’s cafeteria: The place where L.A. finds itself.

Technorati Tags: Los Angeles,Clifton's Cafeteria,Restaurants

Three new badges

Michael Lawson of Unpleasant Characters created three new badges for the Atheist Blogroll.  I’ve added them to our Atheist Blogroll resource page for use by our members.

Michael has design talent that I do not possess. Perhaps color vision too… Thanks Michael!

Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll

Hypocrisy Watch for September 09

I never really thought about how many religious hypocrites I post on in a month. I always figured it was a dozen or so. I was wrong. As you can see, this month the number was 37. Each case is a horrific example of abuse, mistrust, or hypocrisy. And they call us amoral…

1. Jason Glaza - Youth Pastor Dismissed
2. Curtis Watts - Pastor attacks deputy with axe
3. Michael Flood - Another Catholic Priest accused of abuse
4. Robert Reaves - Murder trail starts for pastor
5. Matthew Joseph Andrews - They were a Mormon Family
6. Jose Campoverde - In my backyard?
7. Ian Thompson - Clergyman found dead
8. William Brooks - A pastor who likes boobs too much
9. David Helmuth - A pastor's staggering ignorance
10. Pastor David Rhone - Is this really unconstitutional?
11. Kimberly McCowan - This must be love
12. Lonnie McCowan - This must be love
13. Father David Dueppen - Take your clothes off slowly
14. Christopher Decaire - Baptist youth pastor gets 79 years
15. Doug Perlitz - Catholic Missionary indicted for child molestation
16. Jessica Banks - Female pastor gets life
17. Mark Brown - Not a rapist, just a kidnapper
18. Joshua O'Bannion - Temptaion and youth pastors
19. Bradley Barrett - A Baptist allegeldy drugged kids for sex
20. Craig Johnson - A Baptist allegeldy drugged kids for sex
21. Keith Pittman - 4 years for mortgage load fraud
22. Henry J. Lyons - Sometimes they get it right
23. Jose Flores - The hijacker is a christian nutball?
24. Rodney McGill - One more deal, just one more deal
25. James Clark - Pastor's conviction upheld
26. Jody Lusk - Letting the devil in
27. John Kameron Erbele - $60 can end your career
28. Jihua Si - Posing as a pastor for access to women
29. Hence Hablin Jr. - All in the Family
30. Michelle Brennan - Another youth pastor falls
31. Marcial Maciel - A hearfelt apology issued by hypocrites
32. Dennis Spangler - Former pastor accused of exposing self
33. Timothy Hayes - Pastor pleads guilty to animal cruelty
34. Randy Meadows - The words of a fool
35. Mark Hourigan - The words of a fool
36. Brett Candelaria - Mormon child molester sentenced
37. Lawrence Cermak - Deacon steals $300k

Technorati Tags: Hypocrisy,Clergy Sexual Abuse,Morality

Youth Pastor Dismissed

Youth Pastor Jason Glaza, a married father of three, was fired for Inappropriate conduct. . He was he youth pastor at Faith Church in New Milford. There was an allegation involving sex with a teen.

The Rev. Frank Santora, the church's senior pastor, said the allegation was immediately reported to the police and DCF. The senior church leadership team conducted a congregational meeting Thursday night for parents and youth to inform them of Glaza's dismissal.

It is not often that I see a church do the right thing. In this case, they did everything by the book. This is a step in the right direction. They removed access to children and reported the abuse. The next step is to inform the congregation, and they did.  It’s perfect, except for the church website. No announcement or press release.  They have a neat choir though.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse

Pastor attacks deputy with axe

Reverend Curtis Watts attacked a Clay county Sheriff’s deputy with an axe, severing the deputy’s hand.

Family members and neighbors say Watts was a pastor at a local church. Surprised locals say they can only guess that Reverend Watts just "snapped" when police went to serve a warrant on him Friday.

Watts was shot and killed.

Technorati Tags: Nutballs,Hypocrisy

Another Catholic Priest accused of abuse

This time the priest is from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The alleged crime took place 30 years ago. The priest maintains his innocence.

Monsignor Michael Flood, 71, pastor of Saint Luke the Evangelist Parish in Glenside, was named late last week in a civil lawsuit filed in Delaware, according to the archdiocese. He denies the allegation.

After telling parishioners about the matter over the weekend, Flood asked his parish to pray for the person who made the allegation.

David Clohessy of SNAP suggests Flood should be suspended pending resolution of the charges. I agree, especially given the history convictions in cases like this. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Technorati Tags: Catholics,Clergy Sexual Abuse

Murder trial starts for pastor

Bishop Robert Reaves gets his day in court this week with the start of jury selection in his murder trial. Reaves does not want the jury to hear that he is gay. I think he’s afraid the Christians on the jury might view that harshly. He should have thought of that before he lived the life of a  murdering (allegedly) hypocrite.

On Monday, Reaves attorney asked a judge to keep jurors from hearing that Reaves was gay. The judge said while he normally wouldn't allow jurors to hear about a defendant's sexual orientation, in this case it was relevant to the prosecution's theory.

Life in prison for a gay bishop. They might as well give him the death sentence.

Technorati Tags: Hypocrisy,Murder

They were a Mormon family

I hear this phrase all the time, they were a Mormon family, or they were a Christian family, and I know what follows. Somebody was robbed, murdered, or raped. 19-year-old Matthew Joseph Andrews was a good Mormon, raised right too. It did not stop him from allegedly molesting young girls. 

Officer Barbara Morgan, a spokeswoman with the Metropolitan Police Department, said the charges stem from allegations involving Andrews when he was between the ages of 15 and 16. Morgan said the female victim was then "quite a bit" younger than 14.

She didn't explain why so much time had passed between the alleged assault and the arrest. She did say police received the information from a mandatory reporter. The professions classified as such include teachers, social workers and ministers and they are required by law to report child abuse should they learn of it.

What do we learn from this? Being a member of a religion does not preclude hideous amore behavior.

Technorati Tags: Mormons,LDS,Pedophiles

19 more blogs join the Atheist Blogroll

We’ve jumped up to over 1030 blogs. Here are the latest members.

1. Nanobots Will Enslave Us All
2. The Grenadian Freethinker
3. ellejohara
4. Veritas Nihilum Vincet
5. hyü-mən
6. The Defiant Skeptic
7. Belief in People
8. Cupcakes and Mace
9. Friendly Humanist
10. reasonWeekly
11. dotlizard
12. Strangely Blogged
13. Skepacabra
14. The atheist, polyamorous, geek
15. Metaxis
16. of mule dung and ash
17. Imagine!
18. The Gaytheists
19. Own the Day

Technorati Tags: The Atheist Blogroll,Atheism

Free your mind

Toomanytribbles really is one of my favorite bloggers. That woman has  amazing photography talent and she makes a damn good video too. She put this up to celebrate reaching our 1000 blog milestone on the Atheist Blogroll. ever time I watch it it gives me goosebumps…

Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll

100 questions

Atheist Blogroll member Angie the Anti-Theist asks 100 new questions for Christians. I think she needs a few answers.

Technorati Tags: The Atheist Blogroll,Atheism

In my backyard?

Anaheim is the next city over from mine. Jose Campoverde is a pastor in a small strip mall church called the Ministerio Cristo Vive. He is accused of molesting four girls.

Campoverde is the pastor of Ministerio Cristo Vive, a small congregation whose members worship in a few suites behind the 99 Cents Only store on South Euclid, police said.

On Sept. 11, a 17-year-old member of Campoverde's church told Anaheim police that her pastor had fondled her while driving her home in May, said Sgt. Rick Martinez of the Anaheim Police Department.

Go ahead, somebody tell me he is innocent until proven guilty.

I’ll drive by the “Church” tomorrow for a few pictures.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Rape,Pedophiles

My Catholic Stalker

I’ve had a Catholic stalker now for a few months. He comes and goes and offers little of value in his comments. He feels the need to comment on everything, even when he has no idea what I am posting about. I don’t ban people who comment on my posts unless they are spammers. But this guy… he’s just a friggen pain.

He posts as Believe2, his email is smith3000@yahoo.com. I want to know who this guy is. He makes outlandish claims with no evidence and acts like a child. I think it is time I find out who my stalker is and talk to his mom. Does anyone know how I would go about doing this?

You can see his typical screed on this post.

His IP address is: 71.180.75.54

Thanks for help – Mojoey

Technorati Tags: Catholics,Stalkers

15 more blogs join the Atheist Blogroll

Hitting 1000 blogs has prompted a few bloggers to join. This batch was added today.

1. Seth’s World
2. Rioting Mind (adult content)
3. Rational Moms
4. Tor Hershman
5. The Serene Atheist
6. Mors dei
7. Two More Gaps
8. Using Me!
9. MoxieLIfe
10. Jaki’s Skeptic Blog
11. Chembob’s Blog
12. Dangerously Subversive Atheist Penguin
13. The Hypatian Shore
14. Bigot Blog
15. C64GLeN

Technorati Tags: The Atheist Blogroll,Atheism