The Whirled wags on

I'm back.

And once again I'm just under the wire for the end of the month, scrambling to keep up my tradition of blogging at least once every month. I've managed it so far for more than ten years, but lately I've been terribly lazy. Last month I cited the summer doldrums, which was valid enough, but in reality I can't completely blame summer for draining my blogging energy. I've been devoting much of my energy and attention to the horror, which just keeps getting more horrible, of a potential Trump presidency, and have been spending most of my non-work-related writing time on Facebook conversing about the unfolding nightmare.

Trump not only sucked all of the oxygen out of the room, as he promised/threatened in advance of announcing his 2016 presidential campaign, but he also sucked a lot of energy out of this blog. The latter is entirely my fault, and I apologize to readers who might have been expecting something more.

Before I return my attention to my normal non-political beat, though, let me state the obvious: Hillary Clinton did indeed win the first presidential debate, despite the inane ramblings of Drumpf and the Drumpfians -- at least to the extent that it could be called a "debate," and to the extent that it could, in fact, be "won." Not surprisingly, the cynical conspiracy mongers and alt-right hucksters, most notably Mike "the Health Ranger" Adams of Natural News infamy, put a different spin on it. But that is pretty much what one would expect from someone who, in all apparent seriousness, has written:

Keep in mind that if Hillary Clinton wins this election, it's really over for America. It's DEATH under Clinton, and LIFE under Trump.

You really should read that DEATH/LIFE post linked to in the quote above. In a fit of histrionics and hysteria, faux-hero Adams claims that under a "Clinton dictatorship," the entire independent media (read: alt-right) will be "censored out of existence" for publishing stories that criticize Black Lives Matter, radical Islam or the Clinton administration itself. As well, warns the Health Rager (that's not a typo), your individual rights to free speech will disappear under a Clinton regime -- unless you're a "lunatic leftist," that is.

Never mind about Donald Trump's continual threats to the free press and the First Amendment, and his implicit and explicit threats to sue the bejeezus out of any media outlet or individual who criticizes him. I still wonder if Adams really does believe half of the stupid drivel he writes. Whether he believes it or not, though, clearly his legions of critical-thinking impaired followers do. And many of those people can vote. So please, all of you rational people who are eligible to vote in the U.S. presidential election: get out there and do so. If sane people stay at home or vote for a "third party," the real dystopian nightmare could come to pass, not under Clinton but under Trump.

My name is Cosmic Connie, and I approve the above message.

So now on to my normal beat.

LoonyC and "Watchgate"
It's been a while since I've written about the stupidest and most evil man in Scamworld, the fake doctor/cancer quack/conspiracy nut/demented little bigot Leonard Coldwell, aka Lenny, aka LoonyC. But my pal Longdog in the UK (author of the fabulous RationalWiki piece on Lenny) has been busy on his own blog -- and this September 7 post is one of the best takedowns of LoonyC ever. It's long, but worth the read.

I didn't actually see the Facebook post that started the little drama, but Longdog did, and he took a screen shot. Apparently Lenny has been getting some criticism from some of his German followers and readers as he has tried to expand his IMBS-ing U Master's Society scam into Germany. Some had recently been questioning his extravagant claims and his boasts of enormous wealth, and some had even admonished him for lowering himself to that level.

Well, apparently they got under his thin skin. Hmmm. Maybe we should call him "Thin-skin Len." I rather like the sound of that.

Anyway. It seems that in a fit of pique, and in order to prove to his detractors that he is indeed as rich as he says he is, Lenny posted a picture of three Rolex watches on his main German-language Facebook page, Dr. Leonard Coldwell. But he pretended that his assistant "Catherine" was actually doing the posting. Along with the pic was this text (translated from German to English via the Bing auto-translate on Facebook):

To all the jealous people here is at the request of many a small part of dr cs Rolex collection, these are the 3 especially for him from Rolex made watches. Value for the 3 watches 290 000 euro. 22 and 24 carats are the brilliant, the dr c on champions weekend was wearing. If it's the envious people to stomach ulcers can help. Catherine

On his blog post Longdog recorded many of the jeers that Lenny received in response. Longdog himself went on Twitter to mock the post, and claims that within minutes of his tweet, Lenny's post had been deleted from Facebook. An hour or two after deleting the post, Lenny wrote an "incandescent-with-rage screed," as Longdog put it, explaining that the Rolex post had only been published as a test to weed out stupid, jealous, loser-type people. Again, you can read all about it here -- not just the screed itself but also Longdog's annotations. It is an excellent capsule debunking of Lenny's most outrageous lies.

Clearly Lenny has a profound emotional stake in appearing to be materially wealthy and successful. His recent German posting isn't even the first time he has shown off his tacky, overpriced watches. I had a fun little snark about it on this Whirled a few years ago, in this post about a Smaug-like little Lenny proudly showing off his watches, gold coins, U.S. currency and horsey statue.

Increasingly, people in both the U.S. and Germany are refusing to buy his tall tales. And increasingly, he is making it easier to catch him in his lies, particularly when -- to give just one random example -- he posts pictures on Facebook of luxurious homes, and boasts that he has purchased them, and then basks in the accolades from clueless followers who don't even bother to question him.

Let me just say that Google reverse image search, and public tax records that reveal the real property owners, can be the nemesis of daft little liars.

Caged Katie and his fellow scammer: "Life is but a dream" at Camp Cupcake
It has also been a while since I've written about now-imprisoned serial scammer Kevin Trudeau, aka KT, aka Katie. I'm still following his ramblings-by-proxy on his Facebook fan page. Earlier this month there was a post from one of his fellow scammers.

KT IS FREE

A short while back, I had the pleasure of seeing my dear friend Kevin at his present address at the Federal facility in Montgomery, Alabama. I’ve known KT since 1996, so I guess we celebrated our 20th anniversary of friendship that weekend in the deep South.

Prior to my visit, I had a sliver of unease about seeing him; it had been a couple of years since I’d seen him last. But I was immediately put at ease when Kevin appeared in the common meeting area of the facility. He looked thin and well- in fact, in better shape than I’d ever seen him. His eyes were clear and spirited.

We spent hours talking, sharing news, disagreeing (profoundly) over Presidential politics, reminiscing, laughing.

Kevin has always been a remarkably positive person in my life; I owe him a great deal relative to my career and to my own personal growth. We’ve also had an incredible range of experiences together.

What I always loved about Kevin was his indomitable mettle- and sense that everything- energetically, spiritually and in physical, tangible ways- would be fine, as long as you projected that to the universe. “You are what you think”, I recall KT saying. “Go as far as you can see,” he said, “and when you get there, you’ll see further.”

Even given his present circumstance, Kevin still sees further than most. He remains steadfast in his belief that everything that has transpired in his life was meant to be. He sees his current state of affairs as life lessons, teaching him what he needed most. Equally, he remains the same hopeful, powerful and spirited force that he always was- even more so. I laughed when he said that he used to spend tens of thousands of dollars to go to fancy yoga and meditation retreats (we’ve been to a couple of those in our day!)- but now, he gets it all for free. He seems relieved that his life has become more simple but somehow even richer.

I wasn’t surprised that a couple of Kevin’s new acquaintances inside the facility credited him with helping them not only endure but thrive. KT’s gift as a teacher and sage has only grown over the past couple of years. There is not an ounce of “victim mentality” about him. If “life is but a dream”- an old song lyric I recall him particularly liking (and occasionally singing)- then his present situation is not a predicament, but a moment in time- a unit in time- that is giving him greater illumination and self-knowledge.

In that way, and many others, Kevin Trudeau is more unfettered than most of us. In fact, he may be the most free man I know. That’s why his teachings and insights are so valuable to me personally- and to us all.

I look forward to seeing him again soon, wherever the universe- and his incredible life force- takes him.
Jon Denny

A quick Google search for Jon Denny/Kevin Trudeau revealed this old Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint regarding "unfair or deceptive acts or practices." I know, I am just as shocked as you are.

Denny was also involved in another Trudeau boondoggle: the International Pool Tour (IPT), for which he served for a while as Executive Director. (I wrote about the IPT in this April 2013 post; see under "The International Pool Tour.")

Meanwhile, Katie's lawyers are still trying to get the Supreme Court to hear his case, a point I mentioned on this July 2016 post (see under "Katie and the Supremes"). Here again is a link to the petition. As of the September 23 Facebook post on his Facebook page, the Court has yet to decide if they're going to hear it. I'll let you know when I find out something more. Or you can let me know. As I like to say, we all help each other out here.

That's it for now; I'll be back soon with more.