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Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Scammers, wannabes, nutcakes, and scum: snippets for a busy Tuesday

It's been a busy Tuesday here, but there has been too much going on in Scamworld (and Scumworld) to let slide, so I'm just going to serve up a few snippets today.

Ex-GIN "whistleblower" still has a crush on Kevin Trudeau after all
In the years that I've been blogging about
serial scammer Kevin Trudeau, aka KT, aka Katie (who, as I reported here on January 6, was recently released to home confinement in the Chicago area, presumably to serve out the remainder of his prison sentence), I've also mentioned a few other bit players in the saga of Trudeau and his mega-scam, the Global Information Network, aka GIN. One such is Abe Husein, a former GIN member who, beginning in early 2012, realized the should-have-been-obvious-from-the beginning truth that GIN's multi-level marketing scheme was in fact a scam, and began broadcasting his concerns on Facebook.

By his own admission later on to various news reporters (e.g.,
Ryan Kath at an NBC affiliate and various at ABC News), Abe had joined GIN with the hopes of getting mega-rich from the club's MLM. He also had hopes of getting to hobnob with the global elites on the nonexistent "GIN Council." But when Abe realized that he had in fact been screwed out of some big-bucks "bonuses" that (again, by his own admission) he had been screwing other people, and cheating the system, in order to earn, he cried foul and made a new mini-career of being a whistleblower.

Abe made a series of videos and posted numerous "updates" on Facebook about what a scam GIN was, and what a contemptible crook Trudeau was, and how Trudeau was going to end up in prison and GIN was going to go away. (Trudeau did end up in prison, of course, but GIN is still going strong,
and still very much allied with Trudeau, for that matter).

As a result of Abe's anti-KT/anti-GIN campaign he
was hailed as a hero by those who didn't really know any better, as well as by some who did, but were aligning themselves with him in order to advance their own agendas. He even became a "consultant" on a fictionalized movie based in part upon his GIN experience, The Platinum Bonus, which seems to have been stalled indefinitely, not that it's any big loss. (I have mentioned that project several times on this blog, including a post I wrote when the project was first announced back in 2014 or so, but Google is not being accommodating for some reason, so you'll just have to search through the Whirled archives yourself if you are so inclined.)

The point is that Abe made a very, very big deal out of having been screwed by Trudeau, and his schadenfreude was quite blatant every time Trudeau lost another battle in court, or more damning evidence against Trudeau was introduced, or there were other indicators that Trudeau was prison-bound. Despite this, it was always pretty apparent that Abe himself was a scammer wannabe, and he didn't let any grass grow under his feet post-GIN. He moved on to other projects, including a failed attempt to form an affiliate/MLM-like rival to Uber...a matchmaking service for "sugar babies" and "sugar daddies" (which he publicized on Facebook, and which apparently got him banned, though he came back under a new name)... and various schemes involving cryptocurrency.

So despite his hero-whistleblower shtick vis-à-vis Kevin Trudeau and GIN, it's not surprising that Abe would also have an abiding admiration for the scammer extraordinaire who took him to the cleaners.
That came out today on Facebook, where Abe is currently masquerading as "Mike Smith," but not otherwise attempting to conceal his identity. Apparently the news of Trudeau's pre-release has just now drifted into Abe's awareness. Abe writes, "I know a lot of people think that I hate the man but I have mad respect for him... I wish him well and much success in life. The past is the past..."

Abe would also love to have dinner and drinks with Katie, and "catch up on life."


In a subsequent comment, explaining that he thinks Kevin "has to stay in a half way house now," Abe adds, "I feel sorry for him at this point." Hey, no need to feel sorry for Kevin, Abe, and no need to "wish him well and much success in life." That ship has sailed, and is still sailing (and may literally be sailing someday, if Kevin has his way). The thing is, Abe, that even with his criminal conviction, prison sentence, and "half way house" situation, Kevin Trudeau is a far more successful scammer than you'll ever be. And he would probably love a chance to scam you out of some more money when and if the opportunity arises. "Fool me once..."

In context, then, Abe's seeming turnaround is totally not surprising. But I wonder what his evil buddy (or former buddy?), Not-Doctor Leonard Coldwell, another former KT admirer turned "whistleblower" -- who has actually taken credit for Trudeau's imprisonment -- would think about all of that "mad respect" that Abe has for Trudeau.

All of that whining and begging, and still no pardon?!?
Speaking of Kevin Trudeau, it's too bad he was left out of #NeverWasMyPresident Donald John Trump's
last pardon orgy. On a public Facebook group called The Global Information Network (not an official page of GIN), someone mentioned this.


As you most likely know if you've followed this blog, I've been writing for years about
the continual efforts by Trudeau and his fans and followers to get Trump's attention and persuade him to commute Kevin's sentence and pardon him. They wrote countless letters to the White House and to various members of Trump's family and the Trump administration, and they wrote blog posts and social media entreaties, but all to no avail. Apparently Trump had other things on his mind, especially in those final daze.

QAnuts and Softheaded Citizens await the Orange King's restoration
On the other hand, maybe those last-minute pardons weren't Trump's final clemency orgy after all, and perhaps Katie has another chance of being pardoned by Trump -- that is, if one is to believe a growing number of uninformed, misinformed, willfully blind, or just plain dim folk who believe that Trump only pretended to leave office and will be ascending the throne again in a new, "real" America on March 4, 2021.

I have mentioned these points in a few of my recent Facebook threads, but David Gilbert at Vice.com published a report that gives more detail about the current favored conspiranoid narrative that’s the product of the unholy marriage between QAnon and the Sovereign Citizen movement. Gilbert writes:

In the wake of Biden’s inauguration, QAnon followers initially appeared despondent, lashing out that QAnon was a sham. But within days, and at the urging of the movement’s biggest influencers, QAnon followers started to come around, and begin to believe in “the plan” once again.

Here's that link.

You have to wonder what the nutcakes are going to do when March 4 comes and goes and their Cheeto Jesus fails to rise from the dead, politically speaking. No doubt they'll find a way to rationalize, just like the "Christian" End-Timers do when specified dates come and go without their "prophecies" coming true.

Pickup artists get picked up by cops and thrown in jail for part in Capitol riots
Finally, there's some news on the Scamworld-meets-politix front... or in this case, Scumworld-meets-politix, because the PUA (pickup artist) sector of Scamworld truly is just about the scummiest of the scum.

Consider, for example, one
Philip Stedman, a Philly-area PUA scummer and ardent Trumpanzee, who was arrested for his part in the violent insurrection at the Capitol in D.C. on January 6, 2021. From The Philidelphia Inquirer, January 21, 2021:

A self-described Haddonfield sex and “relationship strategist” who hosts a social media show he calls “COVID/CABAL” was arrested Thursday in connection with the Capitol riot investigation.

Prosecutors say Patrick A. Stedman, 32, who bills himself as an expert in “female psychology,” chronicled his storming of the building with videos he posted to his nearly 26,000 Twitter followers in real time.

But even as he crowed online about being “among the first wave” of President Donald Trump’s supporters who “broke down the doors and climbed up the back part of the Capitol building,” he was also telling his followers that antifa was to blame for the incursion.

And a little later in the article....

His daily “sex and female psychology” newsletter promises to answer once and for all the question of what women “really” want from men. (Answer: “They want a man who makes them feel comfort and desire.”)

Last year, Stedman warned about a “Deep State cabal” and “satanic rituals” in an appearance on the “Masculine By Design Mancast” and more recently he warned his adherents on Twitter that “by now, you should all be prepared for what’s coming.”

In fact, FBI agents said in court documents Thursday, Stedman viewed Trump’s Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally as a history-making event. In the days leading up to it, he encouraged followers to join him in Washington, insisting the date would be commemorated for years to come as a national holiday, “like the 4th of July.”

“You will want to tell your grandchildren you were there,” he wrote.

A worthy member of the Trump Army, in other words.

Then there's
Samuel Fisher of NYC, aka "Brad Holiday," allegedly arrested with "an arsenal of ammunition, two machetes, and an American flag." From The Daily Beast, January 20, 2021:

The day after the attack on the Capitol, Fisher, who operates “LuxLife Dating Coach,” went on Facebook to brag about his role in the insurrection. After being asked if he went on the “frontlines” of the riot, he answered, “It was awesome. It was dangerous and violent. People died...but it was fucking great if you ask me….i got tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed.”

“Seeing cops literally run ... was the coolest thing ive ever seen in my life,” Fisher added. “Cant divulge too much here...but fuck the DC police. In all seriousness and get ready.”

Federal investigators were eventually tipped off to Fisher’s identity by an informant. The informant sent a photo of Fisher in front of a flag that reads, “Don’t Tread on Trump, Keep America Great.” The photo is captioned, “Can’t wait to bring a liberal back to this freedom palace.”

And scrolling down in the Beast piece...

On the now-defunct social media platform Parler, he signal-boosted baseless conspiracy theories about vote fraud and 2020 election theft.

But on his personal website BradHoliday.com, things take a far darker turn: In November 2020, he posted the notorious “Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” the infamous forgery used to justify pogroms and genocide against Jewish people.

“The following is a playbook written a long time ago about how the Cabal (Kaballah Subscribers) will gain their goal of ultimate power and control over the human race,” Fisher wrote in a brief preface. “Their father is Leucifer [sic] and they are the sons of Cain.”...

...As late as Jan. 9, three days after the riots, he wrote a post with the title “[President] Joe Biden (and his family) Are Degenerate Criminal Pedophiles.”

Yet another sterling patriot, not to mention a misogynist and a conspiranoid. Trump should be so very, very proud.

That's it for now; I'll be back soon with, I hope, more than snippets.

* * * * *
July 27, 2021 marks the 15th birthday of Whirled Musings!
If you're so inclined, why not help celebrate WM's Q
uinceañera?
Now more than ever, your gift is needed
to help keep this Whirled spinning.
Click here to donate via PayPal or debit/credit card.
If that link doesn't work, send PayPal payment directly to

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Wednesday, January 20, 2021

A sigh of relief before more sh-t hits the fan (but still, a sigh of relief)

  

I freely confess to having been moved to tears several times today while watching the Inauguration coverage. From Lady Gaga's joyous rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," to J-Lo's mashup of "This Land Is Your Land" and "America the Beautiful," to #FinallyAPresidentICanSupportAgain Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s "unity" speech... it all added up to a powerful experience for me -- made all the more potent by the fact that it has been such a long, hard road to this moment.

Arguably, the person who stole the show today was young poet Amanda Gorman, whose poem, "The Hill We Climb" pretty much said it all (and if the embedded video above doesn't work for you, try the link).

Even so, I am not some starry-eyed idealist, a point you surely know if you're even a casual visitor to this blog or to my social media. To me, today felt not so much like the clear beginning of a bold new era of hope and healing (though I would love to believe that it is), but more like getting the news that a very serious and possibly fatal disease has gone into remission. Because I know that the crazies are still out there, and while some of them are merely silly or dim-witted, like the rank-and-file (or maybe just rank) QAnon/Trump-cult Facebook warriors...

Somebody needs more help than The Universe may be able to provide. Just saying.

...others are dangerous, like the violent insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol two weeks ago. Most of the United States -- and indeed the world -- may be celebrating, but Trumpism isn't going anywhere. While a clear majority of us may be breathing a collective sigh of relief, I think most of us are also keenly aware that more sh-t is going to hit the fan, and most likely sooner rather than later.

Still, as the late singer/songwriter/poet/novelist Leonard Cohen sang in his famous song "Democracy" (and yes, I know I've quoted this several times before on this Whirled), "...I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet." Our democracy may have been seriously trampled on for the past four years, but it hasn't been destroyed.

 

Friday, January 08, 2021

Sedition! Randy Rainbow on the Trump coup attempt

You might as well laugh... because otherwise it's too easy to sink into despair. The inimitable Randy Rainbow presents a rousing tune from the major new musical, Twiddler With No Proof.

I'm so glad Herr Twitler will be gone from the White House in less than two weeks, but I fear that Trumpism has left an indelible stain on America's blue dress. But brilliant talents like Randy R help keep me sane.

* * * * *
July 27, 2021 marks the 15th birthday of Whirled Musings!
If you're so inclined, why not help celebrate WM's Q
uinceañera?
Now more than ever, your gift is needed
to help keep this Whirled spinning.
Click here to donate via PayPal or debit/credit card.
If that link doesn't work, send PayPal payment directly to

scrivener66@hotmail.com
or to
cosmic.connie@juno.com
If PayPal, be sure to specify that your contribution is a gift. Thank you!

 

Wednesday, January 06, 2021

Goodbye, Camp Cupcake: Kevin Trudeau is out of prison (sort of)

He's not yet in the wild, and it remains to be seen how many restrictions there are and will be on his activities -- and how (or if) he will try to violate those restrictions -- but serial scammer Kevin Trudeau is out of prison camp, and is currently in home confinement in Chicago, under the auspices of a Bureau of Prisons RRM (Residential Reentry Management) program. [UPDATED January 7, 2021]  

On the last day of last year I dropped a broad hint about the possibility of some startling news that I was sure a lot of folks weren't going to like very much, though I noted that some would be thrilled. That was a coy reference to vague rumors that had been whirling around from a variety of sources for a while, but for which I had no first-hand information, or even second- or third-hand info. And although I still don't have an abundance of details to share at the moment, I can at least tell you this: One of this blog's favorite subjects, serial scammer Kevin Trudeau (aka KT, aka Katie on this Whirled) has apparently been released from FPC (Federal Prison Camp) Montgomery, AL, the minimum-security facility where he's been languishing since 2014, and which he fondly nicknamed, "Camp Cupcake."

For a sentimental trip down memory lane,
here's a link to a screenshot of a May 2014 Facebook post praising Kevin's ability to "manifest" that sweet home in Alabama. But all was not sweetness and light, despite FPC Montgomery's status as "the best prison camp in the Country," and its being Camp Cupcake and all that. For nearly seven long years Trudeau and his lawyers and minions spent time, energy, and (other people's) money striving to get him sprung from his lavish digs, even repeatedly/obsessively appealing to President-Reject Donald J. Trump to commute Kevin's sentence and even pardon him -- a matter covered a few times on this Whirled.

It was in January of 2020 that rumors of Trudeau's imminent release from Federal sleepaway camp began heating up,
which I first mentioned here. A little over a week later I published a post about a January 26, 2020 article by Jon Seidel at the Chicago Sun Times, reporting on an email Trudeau had written to Judge Robert Gettleman, who had presided over Trudeau's court cases for many years. Trudeau had asked Judge Gettleman for guidelines on what he would be legally allowed to do once he was released from prison. My post (here's that link again) includes screenshots of the original 2014 sentencing order outlining the terms that the sentencing judge, Ronald Guzman, originally intended for Trudeau's release. In my view, that document provided some pretty good guidelines, but perhaps Trudeau had forgotten about it or had never seen it.

In the following months there were several other rumors, some less credible than others, about Trudeau being liberated from prison well ahead of his originally scheduled release date, which is still listed as May 2022 on the Bureau of Prisons site. (By the way, you're not alone if you're confused about why the date would be 2022 instead of 2024, considering that he was sentenced in 2014 and the sentence was supposed to be 10 years, but presumably the off-and-on confinement he'd been undergoing since 2013 was considered time served. That still doesn't quite add up to a 10-year sentence, but who am I to quibble?)

In April of 2020, rumors of an imminent release suddenly seemed more plausible again due to the COVID-19 crisis;
I wrote about that here. Though nothing seemed to come of those plans either, in that April post I listed several questions that had been raised for me in light of the rumors and reports, and some of those questions are still valid. For I still don't know the exact reason for and terms of Trudeau's release, e.g., how much if anything it had to do with the COVID-19 issue; what sort of restrictions he will be under, and for how long; and so forth.

Speaking of the coronavirus, I've mentioned this before, but if it did play even a marginal part in the early release, that's a bit ironic in light of the fact that over a period of a couple of months last year, Trudeau shared an abundance of cliched conspiranoid blather about how COVID-19 was fake news and no big deal.
Here's a link to my first of two posts specifically about that; in the PS there's a link to the second post.

Another big unknown is the extent to which Trudeau and his minions will go to get him scamming on a much broader scale again. Because you know that's coming. We've been seeing hints of it for a long time -- hints that were amplified in late 2019 with the GuruKev/Nuggets of Gold shticks --
see this December 2019 Whirled post. That post is bursting with evidence that the leopard really hasn't changed his spots, even if he has donned a gaudy cloak of McSpirituality in an attempt to disguise the spots.

Moreover, the seekrit club Kevin founded years ago,
the Global Information Network (GIN) has been using Trudeau to promote their Level 8 "training." GIN is no longer the mega-scam it was back in the Katie daze, and on paper he no longer owns it (though some of his scambuddies do), but he is still GIN's biggest draw, and both the GIN leadership and Trudeau know that.

So yeah, there are still a lot of unknowns, or known unknowns.

Perhaps the biggest question is whether or not Trudeau will ever be held truly accountable for the hundreds of thousands of dollars he scammed from thousands of GIN members between 2009 and the time the court-appointed receiver shut down
GIN's big MLM pyramid. That scam made the diet-book infomercial offenses for which he actually served his prison sentence look trifling by comparison.

* * * * *

[Updated information:] I do have a fairly good idea of where Kevin Trudeau has landed for now, although I will not give any specifics that would compromise any private citizens who might be involved. What I am writing here is based on publicly available information. As of January 7, 2021, Trudeau is no longer listed as being "Not in BOP (Bureau of Prisons) Custody" (as was the case on January 6, when I first published this post); he is now listed as being in the custody of RRM Chicago. I have updated my lead blurb and graphic accordingly.

RRM stands for "Residential Reentry Management," suggesting that wherever he is currently residing -- whether in an actual "halfway house" (residential reentry center) or elsewhere (e.g., home confinement in a private residence) -- he is being overseen by a halfway-house program in the Chicago area, under the auspices of the BOP. This makes sense, as it will make it easier for the courts in which his civil and criminal cases were litigated to keep an eye on him.

I am guessing (though I don't know for sure) that since he is still under supervision, Trudeau has to wear an ankle bracelet. If so, what a comedown from those $6,380.00 cuff links that were part of the exhibits in his criminal trial a few years ago... but on the other hand, an ankle bracelet is ever so much more versatile than cuff links, and you can wear it with any outfit.

What puzzles me is why the news of Kevin Trudeau's release from prison hasn't been shouted from the rooftops by
the GIN fat cats (i.e., current GIN owners Dr. Ted Morter, Dr. Tom Morter, and Blaine Athorn) and/or others who have been clamoring for Katie's freedom for years. At least I haven't heard (or seen) any shouting. Maybe they're trying to save it as a surprise to announce at the next big GIN event -- the Global Family Reunion 2021 -- during which, as it happens, Kevin Trudeau's 58th birthday will fall (February 6). Granted, GFR 21 will have to be virtual due to COVID-19, but no worries: it'll still be barrels of fun. As the promo copy breathlessly states:

GIN is committed to delivering this unbelievable event of fun, Family and fantastic GIN Training to YOU in the comfort of your home! We will gather with our GIN Brothers and Sisters from every corner of the globe and as a Family we will make a difference this coming year! We're all in this together!

Scroll down a bit and there's another exciting promise: "We will also celebrate K.T.'s birthday on February 6th like never before!"

So I am thinking that perhaps the GINfolk are planning a totally surprise virtual appearance at the virtual Family Reunion by the newly uncaged Uncle Kevin. If that is the case, then my goodness, I'm sorry if I spoiled the surprise. I just have no manners whatsoever. That's probably why I never get invited to life-changing Family Reunions.

I will post more info as I get it.

Update, January 9, 2021:
It appears that the GIN fat cats are indeed shouting it from the rooftops now -- or at least from the GIN United web site, and via email and Facebook. Maybe they felt they had to do it because I'd already spoiled the surprise. Or maybe I'm giving myself too much credit; after all, everybody knows that nobody reads this little blog. Whatever the reason may be, one of the aforementioned fat cats -- Dr. Tom Morter, or Doctor Tom to you -- made the announcement during his weekly GIN update on January 8, 2021.
Here is the link. (And don't be fooled by the mislabeling in the URL; it really is from 2021).

Just in case you don't want to sit through all of Doctor Tom's jolly but bland faux-tivational prattle, the actual announcement about the freeing of the Great Master begins at about 7:05. During the course of his missive Tom reads a "very carefully crafted" email about the matter, which he says has been sent out to all GIN members. He says everyone is welcome to share it but warns that they absolutely, positively must not, not, NOT alter a single word of it. I speculate that this is because it was dictated by the Master Himself, and every word is carefully imbued with magickal vibrations and whatnot. Here is the message, which I copied and pasted from one of the Katie Facebook pages:

To: All Global Information Network Members
It is our pleasure to share with you that recently Kevin has been transferred from the Montgomery Federal Prison Camp to be allowed to serve the balance of his sentence in home confinement [in Chicagoland USA, the very jurisdiction where he was tried and convicted, and where a couple of judges are waiting for him].

Kevin is still in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This is the next step for Kevin as he gets closer to the end of his incarceration [and plans his next mega-scams]. In respect of allowing Kevin a peaceful transition this is all we can share with you at this time. Please be respectful of this as well. We will share more updates with you as we can in the future [but maybe check in now and then on the Whirled Musings blog if you want to find out anything before then].

As we enter the New Year, it is a time to be thankful, grateful and appreciative.

Important Note: Do not add, change or modify anything in this statement if you are sharing it with others.

Happy New Year 2021!

With love & support [and anticipation of finding new ways to pick your pockets],
Your GIN Team

Oh, dear. I may have modified a few things here and there, in violation of the directive. But I have faithfully conveyed the essence of the message, so that has to count for something.

* * * * *
July 27, 2021 marks the 15th birthday of Whirled Musings!
If you're so inclined, why not help celebrate WM's Q
uinceañera?
Now more than ever, your gift is needed
to help keep this Whirled spinning.
Click here to donate via PayPal or debit/credit card.
If that link doesn't work, send PayPal payment directly to

scrivener66@hotmail.com
or to
cosmic.connie@juno.com
If PayPal, be sure to specify that your contribution is a gift. Thank you!