CNN Reports
(CNN) -- An African-American man has pleaded guilty after being accused of impersonating a white supremacist in a fictitious Facebook account to make death threats against an African-American university student.
A Mississippi man admitted creating a false Facebook profile in November.
Dyron L. Hart, 20, of Poplarville, Mississippi, pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt to one count of communicating threats in interstate commerce, according to a Department of Justice statement.
Hart admitted creating the fictitious account in November, pretending to be a white supremacist outraged by the election of Barack Obama as the nation's first African-American president, the statement said.
He then transmitted a death threat via Facebook to an African-American student at Nicholls State University in Louisiana, saying he wanted to kill African-Americans because of Obama's election, according to the statement.
A court document provided by the U.S. attorney's office said Hart told an FBI interviewer that he intended the threat to be a prank "to get a reaction."
The document said Hart admitted creating the Facebook profile under the name "Colten Brodoux" and used a photo of a Caucasian man that he found on a white supremacist Web site.
"This is an extremely odd case, a very unusual case," said U.S. Attorney Jim Letten of the Eastern District of Louisiana. "The contents of the messages were extremely troubling and provocative and very threatening."
Hart will face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced November 18, the statement said.
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HipHopWired Reports
Although swords were drawn and strikes were made, the forces have decided to put their guns down, metaphorically speaking, as Raekwon has confirmed his wish to put an end to their on-going beef.
Recently, the Chef stated that he was ready to finally put the nail in the coffin and withdraw from the current issue with the Jersey rapper that seemed to escalate and was heading for the worse after an associate of Raekwon allegedly struck Budden and left him with an ice pack and his arm in a sling.
Through a discussion with Charlamagne on radio station 100.3 The Beat in Philadelphia, the Wu Tang member elaborated his reasons for stepping away from the war:
"My thing is this, it's like, enough is enough. You know what I mean? Enough is enough. I'm on the road swallowing a lot you know, 'cause I'm a business man. I'm really trying to escape that negativity world. Because at the end of the day I'ma lose.”
Budden, who had issued a challenge for the two to have a square dance also stated that he was no longer entangling himself with this ongoing feud and stated that he only wants to move forward from here on a positive note. He added that his group, Slaughterhouse, is built to promoting peace and a handshake between the two was meant for business purposes and looking into the future.
Raekwon is still in the kitchen prepping the finishing touches on his sequel to his 1995 classic, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, which is set for release on September 8. Along with this, fellow member Ghostface confirmed a joint effort and album between the two along with Method Man.
Budden has recently released his group album, Slaughterhouse along with his solo EP, The Escape Route. He is currently working on his third official album, The Great Escape, which should hit shelves before the close of 2009.
This is both a positive and a negative in the realm of Hip-Hop. On one side of the fence, it is good to see that things did not become violent to the point where a life could have been potentially taken. On the other hand, this just goes to show and prove the purpose of beef nowadays and the promotion of oneself. At the end of the day, this was utterly pointless and fans weren't even left with diss tracks to go back to, just a whole bunch of video with dudes trying to further establish how tough they were.
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HipHopWired Reports
A Friday afternoon in Miami rang off abruptly as the sound of bullets left a man dead. Sam Ferguson, President of Don Diva Magazine was the victim as shots were fired upon his car while he was driving.
Ferguson, 47, was driving north near Griffin Road when bullets rang off onto his vehicle. He then crashed his car into the highway median, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities are currently on the search for suspects connected with the crime as their only clue has lead them on the hunt for a black car with clear tail-light lenses. This, however, is the only trail as there are no suspects in the shooting. No additional information has been released as it pertains to the death and an autopsy will discover whether the man was indeed killed by the bullets that stained his car or the actual blunt trauma that could have been caused by the crash.
Tiffany Chiles, editor-in-chief of Don Diva Magazine stated that Ferguson was involved in all aspects of the operation in relation to their publication. She had brought him in close to nine months ago in order to help leave a lasting influence on the Southern Florida region as he was musically and socially connected. Having a troubled past, Chiles added that the magazine was meant to bring something positive into his life and help direct him into a better future.
Ferguson was also a Miami Hip-Hop pioneer and helped bring the bass scene to the forefront. Ferguson, also known as P-Man Sam, received some heat last year from rapper Rick Ross after interviewing him once it was discovered he was a correctional officer prior to becoming a rapper. Ross brought Ferguson with him into his neighborhood for an interview as they were associated before him joining the magazine. Ross became infuriated with Ferguson after seeing an interview with Hip-Hop Weekly as well as a Q & A that was issued in the magazine that was entitled,
“Would The Real Rick Ross Stand Up.” Ross was cited as saying that he was offended by what was written and issued a challenge for him to meet him in the streets as it would become deeper than rap.
MINNEAPOLIS - A Minneapolis man is claiming he's the victim of police brutality after a traffic stop put him in the hospital.
Derryl Jenkins, 42, was stopped for speeding in February. A criminal complaint obtained by FOX 9 says Jenkins was driving 15 mph over the speed limit in the area of Dowling Ave. and Penn Ave. in north Minneapolis.
At the time, Minneapolis police said Jenkins smelled of alcohol, refused to give his license and became irate. When Jenkins attempted to get out of the car, an officer pushed him back in. The two then started fighting, before several more officers arrived on the scene.
The officer statements obtained by FOX 9, say several police officers kicked him and punched him because he was resisting. A Taser was also used to subdue Jenkins.
Both Jenkins and an officer involved in the altercation were taken to North Memorial Medical Center for their injuries, which included a split lip and bloody nose.
Jenkins' attorney says charges in that case where eventually dropped, but he's now considering a lawsuit against the Minneapolis Police Department.
Source : MyFoxTwinCitiesRead more…
MTV UK Reports
Beyoncé has said she works hard to keep her famous bottom in shape and said she sometimes doesn’t like her curves.
The gorgeous singer explained: “I guess my butt is natural. But I go through stages like every woman. I like being curvy but sometimes I get curvy in the wrong places.”
“After New Year I do stairs - they are the best thing for butt cheeks. Every January I'll start working out. I'll do that for three months and then stop again!"
And B also revealed she hates being put in ‘Most Sexy’ lists. She said: “Some people think one thing is beautiful, some think another is. When people say that I am 'most beautiful' or 'most sexy', it bothers me.
“I like fashion and I like to look good. I like to try at least, but everyone has their own opinion.”
And MTV’s opinion is that you definitely look good Ms Knowles!
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TRACKLIST :
1. Intro
2. Two Hitter Quitter
3. Realest To Run It
4. Pay Homage
5. Knock Em Down
6. Will To Survive
7. So Much More ft. Joel Ortiz
8. Show & Prove
9. The Return Of The God
10. Power Cipher ft. Sheek Louch, Busta Rhymes, Young Chris & Raekwon
11. B.E.T. Freestyle
12. Swaggacation
13. I Just Want The Paper
14. Foolish
15. Rule
16. Goin Back Home
17. In Da Kitchen ft. Thug-A-Cation
18. Fellin Some Way
19. TKO
20. Trophy Girl
21. Amnesia
22. Test
23. Military Grind
24. Pillow Talk
DOWNLOAD HERERead more…
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is recovering at an area hospital today after being attacked by a man wielding a metal pipe last night outside the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis.
According to police, Barrett was leaving State Fair Park with family members when he heard a woman crying for help in the 8800 block of W. Orchard St. Barrett began calling 911 when a man who had been attacking the woman charged at the mayor and began battering him with a metal pipe.
The 20-year-old suspect, who has a criminal record, fled the scene and was arrested this morning at a residence near 17th and State Streets.
Barrett, who was alert and talking when transported to a local hospital after the incident, was listed in stable condition.
Gov. Jim Doyle visited Barrett in the hospital Sunday morning and released a statement: "The Mayor's heroic actions clearly saved a woman and others from harm. Jessica (Doyle's wife) and I, along with all the people of Wisconsin, are wishing him speedy recovery."
Doyle is expected to announce on Monday that he will not pursue another term as governor. Barrett, who also is a Democrat, is considered a potential candidate to to replace him.
State Fair spokesperson Patrice Harris also issued a statement. "The management of Wisconsin State Fair Park commends Mayor Barrett for his actions as a good Samaritan after his departure from Wisconsin State Fair last night. His efforts to aid a citizen's cries for help should be praised and applauded."
SourceRead more…
Cris “Cyborg” Santos, of Brazil, celebrates her win over Gina Carano during Strikeforce MMA Female Middleweight Championship at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday, August 15, 2009. Santos won in the first round with a TKO.
Las Vegas Sun Reports
SAN JOSE, Calif. — If she was upset about the split-second call that stopped her historical title fight Saturday night, Gina Carano didn’t say it.
The Las Vegas-based fighter actually didn’t say anything, leaving HP Pavilion without talking to media members after suffering a TKO loss to Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in the first-ever women’s mixed martial arts championship bout.
Officials said Carano was not going to the hospital and left the Strikeforce event under her own power.
Carano’s trainer at Xtreme Couture Shawn Tompkins served as his fighter’s mouthpiece and quickly dispelled any notion that the fight should not have been stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal at the 4:59 mark of the first round.
“She was done. We’re not gonna contest that. The ref pulled her off, she wasn’t answering, she wasn’t going anymore,” Tompkins said.
“I don’t want to take anything from Cyborg. She’s a great fighter, a dominant force in that division.”
Tompkins who helped train Carano along with UFC legend Randy Couture said Carano got caught up in the hoopla of the historical bout that aired on Showtime and was never really herself in the cage.
“She relayed to us that she felt so much pressure with the fight and everything surrounding it that it got to her. We know Gina very well. We train with her every day; we’ve known her for years; she’s a good friend, like a sister to us all, and that wasn’t Gina Carano in the cage tonight,” Tompkins said.
“I think everybody at home knows that, too.”
Cyborg, however, conceded one title to the 27-year-old Carano (7-1), who suffered the first setback of her career.
“She can keep the title of being 'the face of women’s MMA.' I’ve got my title right here,” said a celebratory Santos (8-1), who pointed down at her new shimmering championship belt in the postfight press conference.
A disappointed and emotional Carano gave the belt to Santos, who only moments earlier ended the action-filled five minutes with a flurry of uncontested blows in the final 15 seconds that forced the stoppage.
Santos thanked Carano for helping to create arguably the biggest moment in the history of female combat sports, and again in the post fight conference.
“Gina is very tough, and she was one of the toughest opponents I've ever fought," Santos said through a translator.
"But I was ready for everything, so it was OK.”
So, too, was the crowd of 13,524, although the ending of the fight was a touchy subject as plenty of boos and a few beers rained down immediately.
But the large mass of MMA fans got their money’s worth in the previous four minutes and 59 seconds.
Santos pushed the pace from the opening bell, landing a quick combination as Carano backpedaled. “Conviction” recovered, landing a couple blows of her own, but again got into trouble as Santos applied a leg lock after taking her to the ground.
Carano wiggled out of the submission attempt and actually reversed the action, much to the crowd’s delight as chants of “Gina, Gina” rang out. But by the time Carano ran into trouble the third time in the first round, the Brazilian slugger proved to be overpowering.
“I think if Gina could have got past the first two rounds, then I think the tide would have changed,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said.
"Gina hit her with some good jabs and she had some good escapes. I was surprised Gina was trying to grapple with her a little bit. I thought we would see more of a striking match from her, but Gina's a great fighter."
A fighter who Tompkins said most certainly would bounce back.
“Gina will go home and, like any other fighter, will rebuild herself mentally first,” Tompkins said. “She loves what she does.
“She doesn’t do this for the money. She comes from a family with money. She does this because she loves the sport and she always wants to get in the cage and fight.”
As for Santos, she said she's up for any challenge that comes her way. And why not, she just walked away victorious in the biggest fight that any female has ever had.
"I feel like I made history," she said with a smile.
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Prisoners in police cells will be asked to fill in questionnaires with 41 questions about issues such as comfort and quality of food
DailyMail Reports
It was once considered something of a punishment.
But a night in the cells is now followed by a 'customer satisfaction' survey, with those detained in custody asked to rate the 'services' on offer behind bars.
The hotel-style questionnaire asks their views on the brightness of the cells and the quality of the food on offer.
The survey will be given to 1,000 detainees as part of a pilot scheme by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. Detainees will be invited to judge the quality of a variety of aspects of their incarceration, including the food, how 'safe' they felt, cleanliness, lighting and air temperature, and the provision of towels.
The questionnaire begins by stating: 'Devon & Cornwall are committed to providing the best possible service to people who are detained in custody.
'We would be grateful if you could complete the following survey and return it to the custody centre.'
Recipients of the questionnaire are asked a total of 41 questions, the results of which will eventually be entered into a database for analysis by senior officers.
One officer in the force, who did not wish to be named, said: 'It is a bit rich really. These people are in the cell for a reason, it's not like
they've come here on holiday. They are starting to treat the emergency cell buzzer like a room service hotline.'
He added: 'We are getting asked all sorts - to get them celebrity magazines, to put aircon on, to bring them a salad. It's not funny after a while.'
But Chief Inspector Ivan Trethewey, the force's head of custody, who is behind the project, told Police Review magazine yesterday: 'It does not mean we will be providing steak dinners as a result. There could be some valuable learning points, however.
'I wanted a reality check: what I think the service is that we are providing versus what detainees tell us we are giving them.'
The survey is being given to those currently in custody across the force and posted to others detained in June and July.
Dave James, secretary of Devon and Cornwall Police Federation, said: 'You would not get a questionnaire that detailed in a Holiday Inn.
'However, if it is being done as a one-off to identify best practice and to enable people to learn from areas of concern, I can understand it.'
Chief Inspector Trethewey said the scheme, which started on August 1, would cost 'a couple of hundred pounds at most'.
Superintendent Chris Brown, head of the force's criminal justice unit, said: 'We must also be mindful that not all those in our custody are charged with a crime, and indeed for some the custody centre is used as a place where members of the public, not guilty of any crime, can be assessed under the Mental Health Act.'
But Tory MP and former prisons minister Ann Widdecombe - who moved to Devon last year - added: 'This is a nonsense. If cells are not cleaned properly then you know they will be dirty.
'You don't need a prisoner to tell you that - or anything else for that matter.'
The questions in full:
Q1 What Police station were you held at recently?
Q2 How old are you?
Q3 Are you? Male/Female
Q4 Have you ever been held in police custody before?
Q5 How long were you held at the police station?
Q6 Were you given information about your arrest and your entitlements when you arrived there?
Q7 Were you told about the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Codes of Practice (the rule book)?
Q8 If your clothes were taken away, were you offered different clothing to wear?
Q9 If you used the toilet, were the following things provided on request? Toilet paper/Sanitary wear/soap/water/towel
Q10 How would you rate the condition of your cell for Cleanliness/ Ventilation/ Temperature/ Lighting
Q11 Did staff explain to you the correct use of the bell/buzzer?
Q12 If you were held over night, were you given bedding?
Q13 If you requested a shower, was this allowed?
Q14 If you requested outside exercise was this provided?
Q15 Were you offered anything to eat or drink?
Q16 Was the food/drink suitable for your dietary requirements?
Q17 If requested were you given reading material?
Q18 Was someone informed of your arrest?
Q19 If requesting a phone call, was this allowed?
Q20 If you were denied a free phone call, was a reason for this given?
Q21 Do you think you were treated fairly?
Q22 Were you interviewed by police officials about your case?
Q23 Were you kept updated as to the progress of your stay in custody?
Q24 How long did you have to wait for your solicitor to attend?
Q25 Were you officially charged?
Q26 Did you feel safe in the Custody Suite?
Q27 Were you handcuffed or restrained whilst in the custody suite?
Q28 Were you told how to make a complaint about your treatment, if you needed to?
Q29 Do you have any other comments to add about safety in the custody suite?
Q30 When you were in police custody were you on any medication?
Q31 Were you able to continue taking your medication whilst there?
Q32 Did someone explain your entitlement to see a health care professional, if required?
Q33 Were you seen by any of the following healthcare professionals during your time there? Doctor/Nurse/Paramedic/Psychiatrist
Q34 If requested were you able to see a healthcare professional of your own gender?
Q35 Did you have any drug or alcohol problems during your time in custody?
Q36 Did you see, or were you offered the chance to see a drug or alcohol worker?
Q37 Were you offered relief or medication for your immediate symptoms?
Q38 Please rate the quality of your healthcare whilst in police custody - Very good, good, bad, very bad.
Q39 Did you have any specific physical healthcare needs?
Q40 Did you have any specific mental healthcare needs?
Q41 Do you have any other comments to add about your time in police custody?
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Stacey Jordan in her Crown Heights apartment. Her landlord received federal bail-out funds but has not fixed violations in apartments.
NY Daily News Reports
Some of New York city's worst landlords are sharing in $81 million in federal stimulus money - even though their buildings are riddled with housing code violations.
Since March, millions of dollars have been doled out to buildings where tenants have repeatedly complained of rats, roaches, faulty elevators, lack of heat and flaking lead paint.
Including such glaring problems as a broken front door lock.
Millions more will follow.
The problem is that the Recovery Act distribution makes no distinction between good landlords and bad ones.
As a result, landlords - regardless of the number of serious housing code violations they've racked up - are allowed to pocket stimulus money without being forced to make repairs.
Seven properties that have received - or been promised - taxpayer dollars would qualify for a Slumlord Watch List proposed by City Councilman Bill de Blasio, a Daily News review found.
"There's something really wrong with landlords that make it on this list. ... They certainly shouldn't be getting stimulus money," said de Blasio, who is running for public advocate.
"The stimulus is supposed to create jobs. I'm concerned that we're going to have to watch [this] very closely."
The seven properties that would make his list are slated to get more than $1.5 million in federal stimulus money this year.
To make de Blasio's list, properties with 35 units or more must average at least two "hazardous" or "immediately hazardous" housing code violations per unit.
One property that qualified was 234 Herkimer St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn.
The 138-unit building had 374violations, including mold, water leaks, missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, broken floors, mice and lead-based paint. The building's owner, Restore Housing Development, is to get $270,602 in stimulus cash.
The owner of an apartment building on Morningside Ave. in Manhattan got a boost of $630,000 in Recovery Act funds despite 132 violations. Problems included an inadequate supply of heat, peeling paint, exposed electrical wires and roaches.
That building fell just short of making de Blasio's list, with 104 of the most serious violations in 53 units - slightly less than two dangerous violations per unit, records show.
So did a Bronx apartment building that is getting $1,514,016 despite 110 violations - 90 of them tagged dangerous.
The 49-unit building was cited for a leaky roof, roach and mice infestations, moldy ceilings, and broken toilets and tubs, records show.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defends giving stimulus money to properties with housing code problems.
Regional spokesman Adam Glantz said without Recovery Act money, HUD would have to cut back on housing subsidies under a program called Section8.
To qualify for stimulus money, landlords had to be in "immediate or potentially serious financial difficulty," HUD said.
The agency said the Recovery Act includes measures to "protect those in greatest need," along with promoting job creation and economic growth.
HUD was unable to say how many jobs have been saved or created with the emergency distribution of this taxpayer money.
Real estate mogul Naftali Frankel got $465,312 in Recovery Act funds for his properties, including $39,782 for a building at 1569-1583 Prospect Place in Crown Heights.
The city has 203 open violations against Frankel at that property - 170 deemed "hazardous." After two unsatisfactory HUD reviews, Frankel was forced to hire a new management company.
"I am the owner, and I take good care," Frankel, 83, said in an interview. He insisted he and the new managers are addressing issues such as upgrading security cameras and replacing the broken front door.
He said tenants often made it difficult to make repairs by not being home for appointments. Of the stimulus dollars, Frankel said, "Whatever has to be fixed will be fixed."
One of Frankel's Prospect Place tenants has her doubts.
Stacey Jordan said she cried in April when her kitchen ceiling collapsed because of plumbing problems in units above hers.
A section of the floor became soggy because of flooding in the basement. About a dozen floor tiles are missing, and the area feels soft enough to put a foot through.
The management company installed Sheetrock over the collapsed ceiling after she called repeatedly, but hasn't returned to sand and paint, records show.
The city gave Frankel 12 violations for a "broken or defective wood floor," a ceiling in need of further repair, mold and mice.
As Jordan spoke, her son, JJ, bounded past like any exuberant 10-year-old on summer break.
"Be careful!" Jordan yelled out. "I'm afraid he's going to fall through the kitchen floor," she said. "It's real weak. I don't want to live like this. I pay my rent."
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer wants landlords to use stimulus cash to fix violations.
"That's how you create jobs, that's how you make the building worth more," he said. "That's how you stimulate the economy."
Read more…
NY Times Reports
FORT WORTH — Onstage before thousands of believers weighed down by debt and economic insecurity, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland and their all-star lineup of “prosperity gospel” preachers delighted the crowd with anecdotes about the luxurious lives they had attained by following the Word of God
Private airplanes and boats. A motorcycle sent by an anonymous supporter. Vacations in Hawaii and cruises in Alaska. Designer handbags. A ring of emeralds and diamonds.
“God knows where the money is, and he knows how to get the money to you,” preached Mrs. Copeland, dressed in a crisp pants ensemble like those worn by C.E.O.’s.
Even in an economic downturn, preachers in the “prosperity gospel” movement are drawing sizable, adoring audiences. Their message — that if you have sufficient faith in God and the Bible and donate generously, God will multiply your offerings a hundredfold — is reassuring to many in hard times.
The preachers barely acknowledged the recession, though they did say it was no excuse to curtail giving. “Fear will make you stingy,” Mr. Copeland said.
But the offering buckets came up emptier than in some previous years, said those who have attended before.
Many in this flock do not trust banks, the news media or Washington, where the Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether the Copelands and other prosperity evangelists used donations to enrich themselves and abused their tax-exempt status. But they trust the Copelands, the movement’s current patriarch and matriarch, who seem to embody prosperity with their robust health and abundance of children and grandchildren who have followed them into the ministry.
“If God did it for them, he will do it for us,” said Edwige Ndoudi, who traveled with her husband and three children from Canada for the Southwest Believers’ Convention this month, where the Copelands and three of their friends took turns preaching for five days, 10 hours a day at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
The crowd of more than 9,000 was multiracial, from 48 states and 27 countries. There was no fee to attend. There were bikers in leather vests, pastors, blue-collar workers, professionals and plenty of families with children.
A large contingent came in wheelchairs, hoping for miraculous healings. The audience sat with Bibles open, flipping to passages cited by the preachers, taking notes on pads and laptop computers.
“The folks who are coming aren’t poor,” said Jonathan L. Walton, a professor of religion at the University of California, Riverside, who has written about the movement and was there doing research. “They reside in that nebulous category between the working and the middle class.”
Sitting in Section 316, eight rows up, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on a Bible at lunch time, was a family who could explain the enduring loyalty the prosperity preachers inspire.
Stephen Biellier, a long-distance trucker from Mount Vernon, Mo., said he and his wife, Millie, came to the convention praying that this would be “the overcoming year.” They are $102,000 in debt, and the bank has cut off their credit line, Mrs. Biellier said.
They say the Copelands rescued them from financial failure 23 years ago, when they bought their first truck at 22 percent interest and had to rebuild the engine twice in a year.
Around that time, Mrs. Biellier first saw Mr. Copeland on television and began sending him 50 cents a week.
Others who bought trucks from the same dealer in Joplin that year went under, the Bielliers said, but they did not.
“We would have failed if Copeland hadn’t been praying for us every day,” Mrs. Biellier said.
The Bielliers are now among 386,000 people worldwide whom the Copelands call their “partners,” most of whom send regular contributions and merit special prayers from the Copelands.
A call center at the ministry’s 481-employee headquarters in Newark, Tex., takes in 60,000 prayer requests a month, a publicist said.
The Copelands’ broadcast reaches 134 countries, and the ministry’s income is about $100 million annually.
The Bielliers were at the convention a few years ago when a supporter made a pitch for people to join an “Elite CX Team” to raise money to buy the ministry a Citation X airplane. (Mr. Copeland is an airplane aficionado who got his start in ministry as a pilot for Oral Roberts.) At that moment, Mrs. Biellier said she heard the voice of the Holy Spirit telling her, “You were born to support this man.”
She gave $2,000 for the plane, and recently sent $1,800 for the team’s latest project: buying high-definition television equipment to upgrade the ministry’s international broadcasts.
Mrs. Biellier said some friends and relatives would say the preacher just wanted their money. She explained that the Copelands did not need the money for themselves; it is for their ministry. And besides, even “trashy people like Hugh Hefner” have private airplanes.
“I remember Copeland had to once fly halfway around the world to talk to one person,” she said. “Because we’re partners with Kenneth Copeland, for every soul that gets saved, we get credit for that in heaven.”
But while a band primed the crowd, Professor Walton called the prosperity preachers “spiritual pickpockets.”
“To dismiss and ignore the harsh realities of this economic crisis,” he said. “is beyond irresponsible, to the point of reprehensible.”
The Copelands refused an interview request, but one of their daughters, Kellie Copeland Swisher, and her husband, Steve Swisher, who both work in the ministry, spoke for them.
Mrs. Swisher said the ministry gave away “a minimum of 10 percent of what comes in” to other charities. Her father’s current favorite, she said, is a Roman Catholic orphanage in Mexico.
The ministry has resisted providing the Senate investigation with all the documents requested, she said, because the Copelands did not want to publicly reveal the names of the “partners.” The investigation, which could result in new laws, is continuing, a committee spokeswoman said. Among those being investigated is Creflo Dollar, one of the ministers at the Copelands’ convention.
Mr. Swisher said that even in the economic downturn, the ministry’s income going into the convention was up 3 percent over last year. Asked if they had adjusted the message for the economy, Mrs. Swisher patted the worn Bible in her lap and said: “The message they preach is the Word of God. The Word doesn’t change.”
At the convention, the preachers — who also included Jesse Duplantis and Jerry Savelle — sprinkled their sermons with put-downs of the government, an overhaul of health care, public schools, the news media and other churches, many of which condemn prosperity preaching.
But mostly the preachers were working mightily to remind the crowd that they are God’s elect. “While everybody else is having a famine,” said Mr. Savelle, a Texas televangelist, “his covenant people will be having the best of times.”
“Any time a worried thought about money pops up in your mind,” Mr. Savelle continued, “the next thing you do is sow”: drop money, like seeds, in “good ground” like the preachers’ ministries. “Stop worrying, start sowing,” he added, his voice rising. “That’s God’s stimulus package for you.”
At that, hundreds streamed down the aisles to the stage, laying envelopes, cash and coins on the carpeted steps.
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}