Podcast: HIV Charity Scammed, Coke's Hungarian Backlash, Spacey Returns, Univision New Gay TV Series

In this week's podcast:

• An Ohio Republican lawmaker faced backlash after she blamed gays, video games, drag queens and more for recent mass shootings

• A New York City pastor is accused of scamming over $600,000 from two charities that help HIV+ drug addicts

• Coca-Cola faces backlash for same-sex ad campaign in Hungary

• Kevin Spacey resurfaces for an impromptu performance in Italy

* Univision is about to premiere its first Spanish language broadcast television series featuring a gay couple as the lead characters

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

Podcast: Trolls Bungle Fake Buttigieg Smear, Mormon Valedictorian Comes Out At Graduation; 2019 Tony Award Nominations

In this week's podcast:

• GOP trolls attempt to smear Mayor Pete Buttigieg

• A valedictorian at Brigham Young University comes out during his graduation speech

• The president of Brazil told gays not to come to his country

• Disney cancelled its award-winning LGBTQ-inclusive series Andi Mack

• The 2019 Tony Awards nominations are out including a Special Tony Award for Judith Light for her LGBTQ advocacy

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast.

Trump Foundation Investigators Issue Subpoena To Michael Cohen

Donald Trump

Here's where it starts to get really interesting, kids.

The AP is reporting that former attorney and 'fixer' for Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, has received a subpoena from investigators looking into possible state violations regarding the Trump Foundation.

Investigators in New York state have issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen as part of their criminal probe into the Trump Foundation.

A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tax department confirmed the subpoena to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The subpoena was issued after Cohen’s attorney said the longtime lawyer for President Donald Trump has information that would be of interest to prosecutors at both the state and federal level.

As a close Trump confidant, Cohen could potentially be a significant source of information for state investigators looking into whether Trump or his charity broke state law or lied about their tax liability.

As the AP notes, a president can't pardon anyone found guilty of state charges.

The entire Trump family could possibly face legal jeopardy.

Swampy: No-Bid $300 Million Contract To Small Company In Interior Secretary's Hometown Smells Fishy

Swampity swamp swamp.

Eyebrows are raised high as folks are getting a look at the contract given to a tiny Montana energy company located in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown to help restore power in Puerto Rico.

Get this: at the time of Hurricane Maria, Whitefish Energy Holdings had only two employees and had never attempted work on this scale before.

The contract, obtained by The Daily Beast reporter Ken Klippenstein, states "In no event shall [government bodies] have the right to audit or review the cost and profit elements."

Plus, the agreement dictates that the Puerto Rican government "waives any claim against Contractor related to delayed completion of work."

What?

As part of the deal, each employee for the company sent to Puerto Rico will be paid $332.41 each day for accommodations. That's just housing. And another $79.82 for meals - each day.

The majority of Whitefish’s workforce is comprised of subcontractors who are to be paid $462 per hour for a supervisor and $319.04 for a lineman.

The governor of Puerto Rico has ordered an audit into the contract.

One more thing - did I mention Whitefish Energy was founded and run by a man who contributed large sums of money to President Trump?

Whitefish Energy also got off on the wrong foot by criticizing Mayor Cruz of San Juan when she publicly asked a question of the company about "transparency."

The company's Twitter account got crunchy with the mayor which led to deleting the snark and issuing an apology.

.@CarmenYulinCruz and everyone in Puerto Rico... pic.twitter.com/XHIwgQjYvh

— Whitefish Energy (@WhitefishEnergy) October 26, 2017

$332.41 per person for accommodations *each day*

$79.82 per person for food *each day* pic.twitter.com/jX51fRDZWf

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 27, 2017

Whitefish contract states, "In no event shall [government bodies] have the right to audit or review the cost and profit elements." Wow. pic.twitter.com/dIyQXb6AK0

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 27, 2017

Incredible: Whitefish contract states Puerto Rican govt "waives any claim against Contractor related to delayed completion of work." pic.twitter.com/k4wWxrLFq2

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 27, 2017

Puerto Rico's gov: There'll be "hell to pay" if any wrongdoing is found in awarding Whitefish that $300M contract. https://t.co/9pvsuxANXV

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 27, 2017

US Congressman demands Oversight Committee investigation into Whitefish contract, warning of "sweetheart contracts and backroom deals" pic.twitter.com/DyoOCDMMOI

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 27, 2017

Two senators are formally requesting an investigation into Whitefish Energy's $300 million Puerto Rico contracthttps://t.co/abwuEujMaR pic.twitter.com/3Zbi09K2Ik

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) October 27, 2017

Calls for Independent Federal Investigation Into Pam Bondi "Pay For Play" Scam Intensify

Donald Trump with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi

The editorial board of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel published an op-ed today calling for an independent federal investigation into Donald Trump's $25,000 donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's reelection fund.

Trump loves to call his presidential opponent "Crooked Hillary" although she has never been charged or found guilty of anything. But in this tawdry campaign donation escapade, it clearly looks like Trump is the one guilty of "pay for play."

The timing is certainly curious, with the contribution arriving just three days after Bondi's office said it was considering whether to join a class-action lawsuit against Trump University, an education company that promised to turn students into successful real estate investors, but left many empty-handed. Bondi's office decided not to join the suit.

The donation from the candidate's foundation also violated tax rules governing nonprofit organizations. As a result, the GOP presidential nominee recently paid the IRS a pocket-change fine of $2,500.

Maybe there is nothing untoward here. Maybe it's nothing more than coincidence, as Bondi and the Trump campaign maintain.

[snip]

It's hard to tell who looks worse in this, Bondi or Trump.

It was learned this week that in 2014, after Bondi decided not to investigate Trump U, the billionaire hosted a $3,000-a-person fundraiser for her at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

So, to recap: Trump University investigation comes up, three days later $25,000 appears from Trump, the next day Bondi decides not to prosecute, and then Trump throws a $3K a person fund-raiser for Bondi at his resort.

Nope. Doesn't sound fishy to me. How about you?

For a more entertaining look at the story, check The Late Show's Stephen Colbert looking into the debacle.

What If The Donald Trump Campaign Was A Big Joke?

I've actually contemplated - seriously contemplated - that the Donald Trump campaign is a big "punk" on the American people.

Just when it looks like the Trumpster couldn't get more outrageous, he does. And it lands.

Cracked.com has made that scenario come to life in this short 8 minute film.

It's going to be so funny. It's going to be so funny.

It makes me believe even moreso that the "punking" of America could be true.

If not, the short film is still pretty funny.

In a very, very, very dark way.

Televangelist Robert Tilton Remixed By Pogo "Hoo Ba Ba Kanda"

Australian remixer Pogo has turned samples of televangelist Robert Tilton ramblings into a dance track.

Very clever :)

Listen to it once and the hook gets stuck in your head - "Hoo ba ba kanda...."

(h/t JMG)

Scammed: Ashley Madison Hookup Site Had Practically NO Real Female Accounts

According to Gizmodo, who took a serious look at the data dumb from the Ashley Madison cheater's site, an enormous percentage of the "female" accounts were fake.

An ENORMOUS amount were fake.

Then, three data fields changed everything. The first field, called mail_last_time, contained a timestamp indicating the last time a member checked the messages in their Ashley Madison inbox. If a person never checked their inbox, the field was blank. But even if they’d checked their messages only once, the field contained a date and time. About two-thirds of the men, or 20.2 million of them, had checked the messages in their accounts at least once. But only 1,492 women had ever checked their messages. It was a serious anomaly.

The pattern was reflected in another data field, too. This one, called chat_last_time contained the timestamp for the last time a member had struck up a conversation using the Ashley Madison chat system. Roughly 11 million men had engaged in chat, but only 2400 women had.

Overall, the picture is grim indeed. Out of 5.5 million female accounts, roughly zero percent had ever shown any kind of activity at all, after the day they were created.

The men’s accounts tell a story of lively engagement with the site, with over 20 million men hopefully looking at their inboxes, and over 10 million of them initiating chats. The women’s accounts show so little activity that they might as well not be there.

So out of 5.5 million female accounts, the data shows only 1,400 or so had ever checked messages.

Whoa, bros. You got hosed.

Did The "Relentlessly Gay Yard" Owner Pull Something Here?

You'll recall back in June, I reported on Baltimore resident Julie Baker, who seemed to have received a nasty note from a neighbor complaining that her front yard was becoming "relentlessly gay."

The story went around and the next thing you know a crowdfunding campaign was launched to help the woman make her yard even MORE "relentlessly gay" because, rainbows.

Well, now it seems there may have been more to the story. Or less, perhaps. Like, the truth.

From Queerty:

“Your yard is becoming Relentlessly Gay!” the note read. “Myself and others in the neighborhood ask that you Tone It Down. This is a Christian area and there are Children. Keep it up and I will be Forced to call the Police on you! Your kind need to have Respect for GOD.”

She quickly launched a fundraising effort to raise money to buy more rainbow swag for her yard, setting a goal of $5,000, which she exceeded by more than 150 percent in just a few days.

But it didn’t take long for some people to grow suspicious.

Shortly after her campaign went viral, it was observed that Baker’s GoFundMe page and the letter she allegedly received displayed the same improper use of capitalization. The letter incorrectly capitalized words such as “children,” “forced,” and “police.” Meanwhile, Baker’s GoFundMe page incorrectly capitalizes words such as “home” and “relent.” A closer look at her Facebook page found similar capitalization and grammatical errors in rants against right-wing Christians.

After being accused of lying, Baker suspended the campaign and issued a statement saying “the world is filled with hate and fear.” Now, she’s giving back all the money that was donated to her.

“It is with a saddened heart that all donations will be returned,” Baker wrote on the page shortly before deleting it earlier this week. She cited “taxes and an overabundance of resources” as her reasons for doing so.

She continued: “If a time machine were available, it would have all ended at the original requested amount. It was never about the money but being happy in the face of intolerance.”

So, in the end, we don't really know if the whole escapade was true or not.

However, Baker has now requested that the funds be donated to charity.

A real one.

Robin Williams "suicide video" turns out to be Facebook scam

Have you seen this post on Facebook?

Clicking on the link takes you to a page where you are required to "Share" the link and also fill out a survey.

Turns out the whole thing was a scam. From Yahoo Tech:

Filling out this survey generates revenue for the scammers, and in the end you won’t see any kind of video for your trouble. The morbidity of listening to a depressed man’s private last words aside, there is no evidence that such a video exists at all.

Nevertheless, it appears the video has already been shared more than 24 million times on Facebook at the time of publishing.

The fake Robin Williams video is just another example of “social engineering,” the technical term for manipulating people into clicking malicious links. Spam like this always accompanies major news items, playing with people’s fear, interest, and morbid curiosity to generate quick cash.

“The scammers have no qualms about exploiting the death of a famous actor and comedian to earn their cash, and give no thought whatsoever to the distressed family he must have left behind,” writes security expert and blogger Graham Cluley, who identified the scam on the We Live Security blog by security company ESET.

However, it appears that one of the final videos Williams shot was for 21 year old Vivian Waller of Auckland, New Zealand, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in January.

Meeting Williams was on her 'bucket list' of things to do before dying.