TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalSecond Missouri Man Accused of Making Bomb Threats to Jewish Centers
For Jewish communities around the county, the beginning of 2017 was marked by a terrifying spree of bomb threats directed at synagogues and community centers. One Missouri man has already pleaded guilty to his role in some of those incidents — disgraced former journalist Juan Thompson. Now a second Missouri man has been linked to a more recent spate of anti-Semitic threats.
According to a federal indictment unsealed last week, 25-year-old Ford Kevin Coots is target of an FBI investigation into several bomb threats directed at Jews this past summer. On November 15, FBI agents showed up at Coots' home in rural Urich, Missouri, with a search warrant — and Coots allegedly used a shovel to slap a gun out of an agent's hand and stuck another in the chest.
The encounter was tense, to say the least. While attacking the agents, "Coots reached for, and grabbed, a bottle containing an unknown liquid substance with what appeared to be a fuse attached," the indictment reads. "The special agents told Coots to drop the bottle or they would shoot him. Coots responded by telling the agents to 'just shoot and kill him.'"
Coots did not get his wish, as the agents were eventually able to subdue him with pepper spray and handcuffs.
Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/12/04/second-missouri-man-accused-of-making-bomb-threats-to-jewish-centers
Fights lay ahead as the oil industry creeps into the Flint Hills and Douglas County
“This doesn’t really have anything to do with your story,” Cindy Hoedel said, slowing her pickup truck — a 1990 red-and-white Ford XLT Lariat, outfitted with 10-ply heavy-duty tires — to a halt on a gravel road near the Greenwood County line. “But, I mean, look at those wild mustangs. Aren’t they just beautiful?”
Hoedel gawked out the window to the north, where dozens of horses — white horses, tan horses, brown and spotted horses — roamed a fenced-in field. It was a chilly, cloudy afternoon in mid-November, and Hoedel took advantage of the travel break to pour hot coffee from an ancient-looking Thermos into its small steel cap. She took a sip and continued.
“They’re, like, the rock stars of horses. They’re the Rolling Stones, you know? They’ve got these long, mangy tails and manes, and they’ll just stare you down. They’ve never been ridden, so they’re not intimidated by people. Oh, my god, I just love them.”
Hoedel is 56, with an impressive mane of her own — dark, wavy — and blue eyes that bulge when she is stimulated by a topic, which is often. One does not strain to comprehend why she might feel kinship with a wild horse. For 20 years, Hoedel worked as a writer and editor at The Kansas City Star. Toward the end of her tenure there, she favored assignments that took her far from the city: columns on roadside motels, stories about gravel bike races. By the time she was laid off, in September 2016, she had already moved to Matfield Green, a town of 113 people in the Flint Hills. Out here, in central Kansas, Hoedel has not only swapped a condo view for the sight of chickens in the yard; she also has traded the passive and frequently lonely existence of a reporter for self-directed work that’s more collaborative and immediate.
Read more: https://www.pitch.com/news/article/20983290/kansas-has-long-been-friendly-to-oil-and-gas-but-will-its-march-into-the-flint-hills-and-douglas-county-change-that
Iowa governor candidates lay out plans for mental health
A dozen candidates for governor gathered Tuesday night to lay out their plans for improved access, funding and treatment for mental health services across the state.
At a public panel hosted by The Des Moines Register, the candidates voiced near-universal criticism of Iowa's privatized Medicaid system, which has faced a tumultuous couple of months following the departure of one of the private companies hired to provide services.
The Register hosted the panel following an outpouring of support and concern after Mary and Larry Neubauer penned an emotional obituary for their son, Sergei, who committed suicide. They called on policymakers to better address the "crisis" of declining access to mental health treatment.
"{We} believe it is a crisis facing America, one that must be acknowledged, better understood and ultimately addressed for people to have the tools to heal," they wrote. "Iowa did not have adequate mental-health resources during Sergei's times of crisis and he spent several months out of state this year in residential treatment."
Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/05/iowa-governor-candidates-lay-out-plans-mental-health/924285001/
Governor welcomes resignations of 2 Minnesota legislators
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday welcomed the imminent resignations of two male lawmakers accused of repeated sexual harassment as an important first step to cleaning up misconduct in state politics.
Democratic state Sen. Schoen was the first to move toward an exit, planning a Wednesday afternoon news conference to announce his resignation. He faces a swirl of sexual harassment allegations, including that he grabbed a woman’s buttocks during a political event and sent photos of male genitalia to a female Senate staffer. His attorney said Schoen’s resignation would be effective Dec. 15.
Republican Rep. Tony Cornish announced Tuesday night he’d leave his southwestern Minnesota House by Dec. 1. Cornish was accused of widespread sexual misconduct during his eight terms in the Legislature, including a lobbyist who said Cornish propositioned her for sex dozens of times and once forced her into a wall while trying to kiss her.
“These are very important first steps,” Dayton said of their resignations. Since those allegations first came to light, Dayton launched a review to overhaul the executive branch’s training and reporting procedures for sexual harassment.
Read more: http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2017/11/22/governor-welcomes-resignations-minnesota-legislators/107941320/
Mayo Clinic takes on IRS over status as a school
The $11.5 million question at the core of Mayo Clinic's lawsuit against the United States is whether the nonprofit operation is primarily a school or a medical center.
Mayo Clinic's position is that it is an "educational organization," which "makes patient care available as a necessary and integral part of its educational activities."
The Internal Revenue Service disagrees and considers Mayo Clinic to be "a parent company of health-care system as its primary purpose and function." That means more of the Mayo Clinic's investment income is taxable, if it is not a school.
In 2009, the IRS audited Mayo Clinic and issued a notice of "adjustment" for the years 2005 and 2006. Those recalculations later expanded to include a total of seven years of Mayo Clinic tax returns — 2003, 2005 to 2007 and 2010 to 2012. The years of 2004, 2008 and 2009 were not included, because no income of that type was reported.
Read more: http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/mayo-clinic-takes-on-irs-over-status-as-a-school/article_bd94a76a-12b3-5624-a4ca-49c0979a1074.html
Minnesota lacks funding to update aging infrastructure; about $11 billion needed
Minnesota doesn’t have enough funding to update all of its aging underground infrastructure, as water and sewer pipes reach the end of their expected life spans in many areas across the state.
About $11 billion will be needed over the next two decades to cover drinking water and wastewater improvements, according to state officials, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
“I think we are on the verge of what could be a crisis,” said Elizabeth Wefel, a lobbyist for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. “When you start seeing all of these facilities across the state starting to hit a certain age, and the funding isn’t keeping up to help rehabilitate or build new, we are going to be facing a crisis.”
She said deteriorating pipes don’t get as much attention or funding as damaged roads or bridges because they’re not as visible.
Read more: http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/05/minnesota-lacks-funding-to-update-aging-infrastructure-about-11-billion-needed/
With legal battle over and settlement pocketed, Ventura calls Kyle 'American Liar'
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura denounced the late “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle on Monday as an “American Liar” and said he feels vindicated in his five-year legal battle against the former Navy SEAL and his estate, though he declined to say how much his settlement is worth.
At a Minneapolis news conference Monday, Ventura would not tell reporters how much money he received for settling his defamation case but noted he was smiling about it. He and his lawyer would not say whether the money came from publisher HarperCollins or its insurance company. But Ventura said it didn’t come from Kyle’s widow or his estate. Ventura also said he didn’t get an apology.
“All I’ll say is my settlement is now in the bank,” Ventura said. “That speaks and tells you everything else about it.”
“The settlement and all the negotiations surrounding the settlement are confidential,” Ventura attorney David Olsen said.
A Minnesota jury awarded Ventura $1.8 million in 2014, but a federal appeals court threw out the verdict. Both sides were preparing for a new trial before the settlement was announced in court filings last week. Ventura also dropped a related case against HarperCollins Publishers.
Read more: http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/04/legal-battle-over-ventura-denounces-chris-kyle-as-american-liar/
Minnesota facing projected $188 million deficit
Minnesota’s political leaders say that a $188 million budget deficit over the next 18 months is cause for concern but not panic.
State budget officials attributed the shortfall, identified in a new state economic forecast released Tuesday, to slower-than-expected economic growth along with tax and spending decisions made by the Legislature earlier this year.
The forecast found that Minnesota has continued to add jobs and hold its low unemployment rate over the past year. But growth has nevertheless been slower than expected here and across the country, and budget experts are uncertain about how new federal policies on taxes, trade and immigration could impact the state.
Meanwhile, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican majorities in the Legislature used much of the state’s $1.65 billion surplus projected earlier this year to cut taxes, prop up the state’s individual insurance market and increase spending to a range of state programs — leaving little wiggle room if the economy slows down after years of growth.
Read more: http://www.startribune.com/state-budget-projections-to-be-released-this-morning/462065803/
Minneapolis officials ask for National Guard help during Super Bowl
Minneapolis officials are calling on Gov. Mark Dayton to mobilize the state National Guard for the Super Bowl, amid questions about whether the city’s police force has enough officers to effectively patrol neighborhoods and handle other demands.
Even with dozens of departments across the state pledging to send officers to help with security, Mayor Betsy Hodges and Mayor-elect Jacob Frey wrote in a letter on Tuesday that the city’s police “cannot by themselves meet of all the safety and security needs of the 10 days of Super Bowl LII while maintaining public-safety operations for the entire city.”
A police spokeswoman referred questions to the city, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The Super Bowl Host Committee, which has raised $50 million to cover the cost of hosting the game, said through a spokeswoman that it would cover the cost of the deployment. “Our priority is creating a safe Super Bowl in which all Minnesotans can share in the excitement,” said the spokeswoman, Andrea Mokros.
Read more: http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-officials-ask-for-national-guard-help-during-super-bowl/462154753/
All About Disaster Capitalism In A Christian Nation
There I was, in a pew at Cormorant Lutheran Church on Sunday morning, when I got the Christian view of acquiring wealth in a Christian country. A quote from the gospel of Matthew makes the point: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also….Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
When we RVed through the South for years, we never traveled on Sunday morning so we could watch the televangelists, mostly Southerners, weep, cry, wave their Bibles, and talk about sinning. Actually “Sunday Morning Live” was vastly more entertaining than “Saturday Night Live.” My all-time favorite is Jimmy Swaggart, swaggering up and down on the stage, shouting up to Heaven, waving his Bible. Occasionally he dropped to his knees with tears streaming down his face, looking toward the heavens, and cried, “I have sinned!” Poor Jimmy did some. He was finally caught laying hands on too many prostitutes he was trying to save from, well…something.
Pastor Paula White: “Donald Trump Was Chosen By God To Lead This Nation”
Evidently you can find support for anything you want to do in the Bible, whether it is to kill or to make a pile of dough. The idea of the prosperity gospel sprang from the New Thought movement in the 19th Century. Sometimes called the health and wealth gospel, it’s a religious belief supported in the Bible—someplace—that financial blessings and physical well-being are always the will of God, and that faith, positive speech, and donations for religious causes will increase one’s material wealth. There are many Southern pastors who “believe” in prosperity gospel, with some of them now personally worth many millions. Joel Osteen is worth $50 million, and his wife recently dropped her church duties to run a new business for the both of them. Creflo Dollar, magically named by his parents, is a prosperity gospeler who convinced his church board he needed an $85 million jet to conduct church business. Ever listen to millionaire Kenneth Copeland? And let us not forget millionaire Pat Robertson, a man of the cloth who loves cashmere. And I will always remember the Southern big-haired lady minister who was videoed preaching sermons as she rode a pontoon around the shores of a Florida lake.
This leads us to Pastor Paula White, the 51 year-old spiritual leader of Our Great Leader Donald Trump. She actually never graduated from a Bible school but was ordained by somebody anyway. Paula claims The Donald called her in 2011 to pray with him about running for president, and therefore also claims he is a born-again Christian because of her laying on of hands on him at that time. The thrice-married Paula seems to be the perfect spiritual leader for the thrice-married Donald. The very blonde Paula is currently married to a rock band musician 15 years her junior, and her favorite dress is a scarlet Oscar de la Renta sheath dress along with scarlet patent leather stilettos. She and Donald make a perfect pair. Although Trump still does not go to church, he says: ”she’s fantastic.” He has appointed her head of his evangelical advisory council. She claims she convinced him to run for president in 2015 at a meeting of televangelists at Trump Towers.
Read more: http://duluthreader.com/articles/2017/11/30/11741_all_about_disaster_capitalism_in_a_christian
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
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