Entertaining Mystery: Occult and Battery by Lena Gregory

I (Rob) recently read an entertaining mystery called "Occult and Battery' by Lena Gregory. I hadn't
heard of the author and since its one of 2 books in the "Bay Island Psychic Mystery" series I bought it (especially as a medium).
   I enjoyed the book and the characters were likeable and well developed. I especially liked Bee, a gay best friend to the main character, Cass Donovan. Cass' other best friend Stephanie is married to a police officer, which made solving the mystery easier.   The story was good and kept you guessing with a twist at the end.
  The only thing I didn't care for is that Cass was "acting" like a psychic and wasn't one. She was a former psychologist who used her human studies to "read" people. That didn't sit well with me, since I personally have helped people with messages from people and pets on the other side, and I don't make things up or try and figure out what people want to hear. Other than that, I would recommend it, and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Overview (from Barnes and Noble)

 A murder mystery weekend becomes a little too real in the latest Bay Island Psychic Mystery from the author of Death at First Sight—

   Cass Donovan uses her skills as a former psychiatrist to get away with pretending to be psychic, but she’s not about to let anyone get away with murder...

   The outlook is not so good for Cass’s psychic shop, Mystical Musings. With winter winds discouraging tourists from riding the ferry from Long Island to Bay Island, Cass hopes to draw in more customers by hosting a murder mystery weekend, complete with a séance, in a supposedly haunted mansion.

   But Cass begins to lose her spirit when her ex-husband shows up, along with his fiancée—Cass’s ex-best friend. Then, after one of the guests is found dead, a blizzard blows in, trapping everyone inside with a murderer. Now Cass must divine who did the deed before her reputation and her livelihood fade away.

Gay Husband Not Allowed to Claim his Husband's Body

If you think that gay couples don't face discrimination since gay marriage became the law of the land, think again. The Washington Post just published a story about a gay Husband Not Allowed to Claim his Husband's Body.  (BTW, it also happened to a couple here in the Washington, DC area 2 years ago after they were married and one passed).
   Our christian friends say "Christians should Never do such horrible things," and they're right. But Christians, especially in the Southern U.S. do this ALL THE TIME and they are the face of christianity in the southern U.S. It's inhumane, it's appalling, it's disgusting, it's evil. Just imagine not being allowed to claim your spouse's body after they pass in a hospital or having a funeral home refuse to have services for your deceased spouse. That's the reality of many christians in the Southern U.S., whether people want to believe it or not.

They lived as a gay couple in Mississippi for 20 years. The worst indignity came in death, lawsuit says.

Source: WASHINGTON POST

For most of the 52 years he was in a relationship with Robert Huskey, Jack Zawadski doesn’t remember much in the way of anti-gay discrimination.

A decoration in the home of Robert Huskey, left, and Jack Zawadski, featuring old pictures of the married couple. Zawadski is now 82, and Huskey died last year at age 86. (Veronica Hayyar)

Not while they were trying to grow apples on a farm in Wisconsin. Not during the decades they spent as special education teachers. Not even when they moved to Mississippi 20 years ago to retire someplace warmer and more lush, or after they married in 2015, when the Supreme Court declared that gay couples have as much of a right as heterosexuals to marry.

But in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Pearl River County, Miss., Zawadski said that prejudice finally reared its head when he was most vulnerable: last May, when Huskey died at age 86 after a long illness.
In a 14-page complaint, Zawadski, 82, said the funeral home that had been prearranged to pick up and cremate Huskey’s body refused at the last minute, telling the nursing home that they don’t “deal with their kind.”

 

In a response filed with the court in March, the owners of the Picayune Funeral Home in Picayune, Miss., deny the events as described by Zawadski and his nephew, who made the arrangements and is co-plaintiff.

Silas W. McCharen, an attorney for the owners of the funeral home, Ted and Henrietta Brewer, said in an email that the firm has never discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation. Henrietta Brewer denies she made reference to not serving “their kind,” he said, and the firm never refused to pick up the remains. But he declined to elaborate further.

Zawadski is being represented by Lambda Legal, an LGBT rights law firm and advocacy organization based in New York. Because neither Mississippi law nor federal law explicitly forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the suit is relying on “other state laws that hopefully will provide a remedy for the terrible actions that happened here,” said Beth Littrell, the attorney handling the case.
“The essence of the claim is that they both breached a contract and denied services at the last minute to a grieving family based on the fact that the man who had passed away was gay and was married to a man,” said Littrell, whose organization is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from a jury.

 

For Zawadski, the suit is a rare activist moment. He said he and his husband lived unassuming lives and were rarely open with their friends and neighbors about their sexual orientation. “We lived our lives quietly,” he said in an interview. “We didn’t hit the bars or anything like that.”

The pair met in 1965 in California. After moving around and traveling to indulge their interest in Civil War history, they decided to settle down in the small town of Picayune, not far from the Louisiana border. Zawadski grew camellias, and Huskey served for a time as president of the homeowner’s association.
“And that’s how we lived,” Zawadski said. “We just enjoyed each other.”

They never mentioned their sexual orientation, and nobody asked, he said — not even after the two were married by a judge in nearby Hancock County on Aug. 17, 2015.

 Then, Huskey’s health took a turn, and he underwent bypass surgery, the complaint said. “Jack cared for Bob through his surgery, recovery and as his condition deteriorated,” it said. “By August, 2015, Jack was helping Bob with all the daily functions of life, including eating, walking and personal hygiene.” Huskey moved into a nursing home, and last April it became clear that he would soon die.

The couple’s nephew, John Gaspari, made the arrangements ahead of time with Picayune Funeral Home, the only funeral home in the county with an on-site crematory, according to the complaint. Zawadski had hoped to hold the funeral there so the couple’s local friends could pay their respects. On May 11, 2016, Gaspari contacted the funeral home to let them know Huskey had died. But after filing the paperwork, including a document naming Zawadski as next of kin, Gaspari got a call from the nursing home.

“The Nursing Home relayed to John that once received the paperwork indicating that Bob’s spouse was male, PFH refused service because it did not ‘deal with their kind,’ ” the lawsuit stated.

 

Gaspari and Zawadski were left scrambling to find another funeral home that could cremate Huskey on-site, according to the complaint. They found one in Hattiesburg, about 90 minutes away. But because the nursing home did not have a morgue, it refused to hold Huskey’s remains until the Hattiesburg facility could retrieve it. So Gaspari and Zawadski had to enlist a second, closer funeral home to pick up his body until then.

“The turmoil and exigency created by Defendants in causing Plaintiffs to find alternative arrangements, as described above, permanently marred the memory of Bob’s otherwise peaceful passing,” the complaint said. Zawadski said his motives for bringing the suit are not financial but rather to ensure that no one else goes through what he experienced. In a video produced by Lambda Legal, Zawadski said through tears that the funeral home had shown disrespect toward his husband.
“This, I hope, brings him some honor,” he said.

 

Yay! UNPOPULAR! - 🎶Another Randy Rainbow Song Parody 💄

Randy Rainbow sits down with President Trump to go over his first 100 days... and tells him in song that he's "Unpopular!" Hysterical. (The song is a parody of 'Popular' from the musical Wicked)

https://youtu.be/TPg0BWvhMkA

Stupidity of the Week: Trump administration guts EPA science panel

Q: When does an agency that stand for something, NOT stand for something? 
A: When Scientists who Protect Us against pollution are Replaced by the Polluters.
Yes, that just happened on May 9th..  
So, if you don't have asthma or heart issues, if you don't like clean water, or  hate living near hazardous waste, then this is good news for you. But if you want clean air, water, land this is the ultimate stupidity.

Trump administration guts EPA science panel
By Michael Biesecker Associated Press 5-9-17
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will not reappoint half the expert members of a board that advises the Environmental Protection Agency on the integrity of its science, the latest in a series of moves that could benefit industries whose pollution the government regulates.
    Deborah L. Swackhamer, chairwoman of the Board of Scientific Counselors, confirmed Monday that nine of the 18 outside experts on her panel will not serve a second three-year term. The affected board members’ terms expired April 30.
     Experts are limited to serving two terms on the board, and Swackhamer said that in the past those completing their first term would typically have been reappointed. Four other board members just completed their second terms, meaning 13 of the 18 seats on the panel are now vacant.
     EPA spokesman J.P. Freire said the agency’s new leadership wants to consider a wider array of applicants, potentially including those who may work for chemical and fossil fuel companies. He said former board members may also be considered.
“We are going to look at all applicants that come in, because this is an open and competitive process,” Freire said. “EPA received hundreds of nominations to serve on the board, and we want to ensure fair consideration of all the nominees.”
          Swackhamer said she was not aware of how or when the “hundreds” of nominations Freire mentioned were collected. To her knowledge, there has not yet been any public call for applicants to fill the newly vacated positions.
   EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has long been a fierce critic of the agency he now leads, saying its scientists often fail to weigh the cost of implementing new regulations on businesses. Pruitt, a lawyer who previously served as Oklahoma’s elected attorney general, has moved in recent weeks to roll back Obama-era limits on toxic pollution from coal-fired power plants and countermand a push to ban a pesticide that peer-reviewed studies indicate may harm the developing brains of young children.
   Pruitt also disagrees with the consensus of climate scientists that man-made carbon emissions are the primary cause of climate change, saying that limits on burning coal costs jobs.
   Robert Richardson, one of the scientific counselors not reappointed to a second term, said Pruitt’s public comments reflect a misunderstanding of the role of scientists, which is to impartially collect data and report what the evidence shows.
   “The science will show the impact of a particular chemical or toxic substance, but we would never say it should be banned or regulated in a particular way,” said Richardson, an ecological economist at Michigan State University. It is up to policy makers, Richardson said, to recommend new regulations and consider whether the benefits outweigh the costs.
  “The EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment,” he said. “It is not to minimize cost to industry.”

Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins plan to remove artificial colorings from U.S. menus by end of 2018

We love Dunkin' Donuts coffee, tea and sandwiches (and of course the donuts and pastries are soooo tasty). So, we thought we'd share this press release from the company!

Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins plan to remove artificial colorings from U.S. menus by end of 2018

March 02, 2017 | Corporate

CANTON, MA (March 2, 2017) – Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN), the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, today announced plans to remove artificial colors from its products in the U.S. As part of the company’s ongoing efforts to offer guests great-tasting, high-quality products and cleaner menu labels, both the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins product development teams, in partnership with suppliers, have been working to eliminate synthetic colors from their food and beverages and replace the ingredients with naturally sourced colorings in the U.S. by the end of 2018.

Within the next two years, Dunkin’ Donuts will remove synthetic colors across its menu, including donut icings, fillings and toppings, as well as frozen beverages such as Fruit Smoothies and COOLATTA® frozen beverages, baked goods, breakfast sandwiches and coffee flavorings. Similarly, Baskin-Robbins will remove synthetic colors from its menu, including ice cream sold both at its restaurants and in quarts and pints at retail locations, as well as its syrups, sauces, sprinkles and beverages, including Cappuccino Blast®. The exceptions on both brands’ menus include select supplier-branded ingredients produced by other companies and used as toppings, ice cream inclusions or decorative elements. Additionally, Baskin-Robbins will take a longer period of time to find replacements for the decorative elements on its ice cream cakes.

“We are pleased to announce our plans to eliminate artificial colors from our menus in the U.S. by the end of 2018,” said Dunkin’ Brands Chairman and CEO Nigel Travis. “This is a significant undertaking on the part of our product development teams and suppliers. However, we are committed to meet the evolving needs of our customers, including their preference for more nutritional transparency and simpler ingredients, while maintaining the great taste and the fun, vibrant colors expected from Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins products.”    

In 2014, Dunkin’ Brands conducted a comprehensive menu review that resulted in a new product development process focused on reformulating many of its products to enhance menu quality by simplifying ingredient labels and lowering sodium and sugar content without sacrificing taste.

Additionally, the company continues to offer products that broaden the nutritional choices available to consumers through the Dunkin’ Donuts DDSMART® and Baskin-Robbins BRight Choices™ menus.

###

About Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc.: http://www.dunkinbrands.com/

With more than 20,000 points of distribution in more than 60 countries worldwide, Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) is one of the world's leading franchisors of quick service restaurants (QSR) serving hot and cold coffee and baked goods, as well as hard-serve ice cream. At the end of the fourth quarter 2016, Dunkin' Brands' 100 percent franchised business model included more than 12,200 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants and more than 7,800 Baskin-Robbins restaurants. Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. is headquartered in Canton, Mass.

When Bad Politics Kill a Cartoon Character Frog

Cartoon Creator killed his Pepe the Frog, who was hijacked by the Alt-Right

Source: Huff Post/CNN

Pepe the Frog is dead. Cartoonist Matt Furie made it official by drawing Pepe in an open casket. The funeral parlor scene was part of a single-page strip he created for Fantagraphics’ “World’s Greatest Comics” to mark Free Comic Book Day on May 6.

WHAT HAPPENED? 

  Furie turned on his creation after the alt-right fringe began using the frog as a kind of mascot. But the little frog’s life took a creepy turn when he was repeatedly hijacked for hate messages, particularly during the 2016 presidential election. President Donald Trump even retweeted an image of himself as Pepe (after ALT-Right people changed Pepe into someone who hates Jews, African-Americans, gays, Muslims and non-christians. Despicable! - That says a LOT about Trump.

Things got so bad that Pepe was officially classified as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League.

ALT-RIGHT WINGERS USED PEPE TO SPREAD HATRED

New York, NY, September 27, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today identified “Pepe the Frog,” a cartoon character used by haters on social media to suggest racist, anti-Semitic or other bigoted notions, as a hate symbol. Images of the frog, variously portrayed with a Hitler-like moustache, wearing a yarmulke or a Klan hood, have proliferated in recent weeks in hateful messages aimed at Jewish and other users on Twitter.
“Once again, racists and haters have taken a popular Internet meme and twisted it for their own purposes of spreading bigotry and harassing users,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “These anti-Semites have no shame. They are abusing the image of a cartoon character, one that might at first seem appealing, to harass and spread hatred on social media.”

Idiots in Politics: Republicans Remove retirement savings programs for low-income workers

Here's another example of what a Republican controlled U.S. Government does to hurt people- and especially the low-income workers who voted them all into Congress and the White House.  NOW: Republicans Have Voted to remove retirement savings programs for low-income workers.   The Republican Party only cares about the wealthy. This is outrageous. 

Congress rejects Labor Dept. rule for state retirement plans

Source: CBS News 5-4-17
Congress has narrowly voted to overturn an Obama-era rule designed to guide states as they create retirement savings programs for low-income workers.
The Republican-led Senate voted 50-49 Wednesday to reject the Labor Department rule, sending the measure to President Donald Trump.
   With an estimated 55 million Americans lacking access to retirement savings plans at their jobs, some Democratic-leaning states have been working to fill the void.  (EDITOR'S NOTE: Democrats have been fighting to help low-income people get access to retirement savings, but they're not in control of the government)
    At least seven states have launched programs requiring employers to automatically enroll workers in state-sponsored individual retirement accounts managed by investment professionals. The Obama administration gave states the green light last year.
     But congressional Republicans said the state programs discourage small businesses from offering private retirement plans and have inadequate safeguards. While the state-run plans "might not seem too bad on the surface, what they really add up to is more government at the expense of the private sector and American workers," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (EDITOR'S NOTE: When are people in Kentucky going to Vote out McConnell, who doesn't care for them?)
     The state plans would be exempt from federal protections that apply to private plans and would have a competitive advantage over private plans, McConnell said. If the repeal measure is signed, states still will be able to set up retirement plans but must follow federal laws that protect the workers' investments, McConnell said.

Two Republicans, Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Todd Young of Indiana, joined Democrats in opposing the repeal measure.

The Senate voted to overturn the rule using the Congressional Review Act, a law that allows a simple majority in the House and Senate to overturn executive-branch regulations that lawmakers consider onerous or burdensome. Trump and congressional Republicans have overturned more than a dozen Obama-era regulations since Trump took office.
    Democrats said the GOP measure would jeopardize efforts by states to help low-income workers.
States that have begun offering the plans include Illinois, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Oregon and Washington 
    Americans are not "clamoring" for Congress to take away their ability to save for retirement if their company doesn't offer a plan, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Instead, Wall Street financial firms that manage retirement plans "don't want to see any competition from city or state retirement plans," Schumer said.
He called the GOP legislation "another giveaway to the wealthy special interests" that will hurt working Americans who need have more low-cost choices for their retirement.
    In Illinois, a new state program called Secure Choice will give 1.3 million residents the opportunity to save for retirement — "a pragmatic solution to address a real world problem" that now is at risk, said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.
    "Instead of encouraging greater competition that will help 55 million Americans save money for retirement, some of my colleagues appear to be listening to Wall Street lobbyists who want less competition and who want to take away a retirement savings option from people," Duckworth said.
California state Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon vowed that his state will continue its retirement program.
   "We will place the future and well-being of our workers over Wall Street greed," he said, promising that "Californians who have worked hard all their lives can retire at a reasonable age with a measure of dignity."

Family Photos!

This was the best we could do!

Last month, our friend Ruthie visited and took a couple of family photos for us. 
Since we had these taken, both of us shaved off the winter beards, so I guess we'll have to take more updated ones! 
 As you can see, the kids were not feeling in the "photography-mode" when we took these.

Tyler wanted to kiss Tom, and Dolly and Franklin wouldn't look up

In the News: New USPS Eclipse Stamp Transforms When You Touch It

Writing notes, postcards and letters are things that I (Rob) love to do, so when I hear about interesting new stamps - I have to share!

New USPS Eclipse Stamp Transforms When You Touch It

As the first total solar eclipse since 1979 in the contiguous United States approaches this summer, the USPS will release a unique, new stamp. 

The total solar eclipse stamp will be printed with thermochromic ink so that when you rub it, the image of a blacked-out sun transforms into a detailed photo of the moon that’s blocking it. Then, it reverts into the image of an eclipsed sun.   

Here’s what the stamp looks like, before and after you touch it

Of course, special stamps mean special care: Because thermochromic ink is vulnerable to UV light, the post office recommends keeping the stamps away from sunlight.

The “forever” stamp will be sold starting June 20, with an option to buy an envelope to protect it from UV light. The stamp pane, or the back of a sheet of stamps, will feature a map showing the path of the eclipse across the United States on Aug. 21. The eclipse will be visible, at least in part, in 14 states, from Oregon to South Carolina.

For more on the astronomical event, visit NASA’s Total Eclipse website.

Fun video: Top 5 Reasons Not To Get A Weimaraner (of course, that's sarcastic)

We love Weimaraners and our Weim, Dolly (who is 12) is the smartest, most affectionate, obedient, loving, awesome dog you'll ever meet. She protects our Dachshunds, Franklin and Tyler, who love to cuddle with her.
   If you love smart and active dogs, a Weimaraner could be the dog for you. There are quite a number of them available for adoption at the DC Area Weimaraner Rescue.
  Enjoy this fun, short video called "Top 5 Reasons NOT To Get A Weimaraner" (which are really reasons WHY you should adopt a Weim:

Video link: https://youtu.be/OtPOjqJ_IH4

A Great Book for Dog Parents: Travels With Casey

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to pack up and drive an RV across the U.S.A. with your dog, you can do it. Just read Benoit Denizet-Lewis' novel "Travels with Casey." Casey is Benoit's yellow Labrador Retriever. Benoit is a writer for the New York Times Magazine
and a  professor or Writing, Literature and Publishing at Emerson College. He rented an RV and spent 4 months driving from Provincetown, Massachusetts to Florida to Texas, California, the Pacific Northwest and back toward the east through Montana, the Dakotas, Chicago, the Ohio Valley and back to New England.
  He created a Facebook page for the trip and met a lot of fascinating people along the way. Throughout the book he shared stories and experiences of his own and of others he met. He introduces the reader to some really fascinating people, from dog rescuers to dog communicators and trainers.He also explores some of the hardest places for dogs from Native American reservations to kill shelters in Texas and feral dog problems in St. Louis. It really gives you a good look at dogs around the U.S.

Benoit with Rezzy and Casey

  This is a fun book, and all dog parents should read it. You'll learn a lot and feel like you're driving with Benoit and Casey. - Rob
**********************************

Casey and Benoit

ABOUT THE BOOK FROM AMAZON: A New York Times bestseller and People “Book of the Week”: This hilarious, charming road trip through canine-loving America is “essential reading for dog lovers and armchair travelers” (Library Journal, starred review).

“I don’t think my dog likes me very much,” New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis confesses at the beginning of his cross-country journey with his nine-year-old Labrador-mix, Casey. Over the next four months, thirty-two states, and 13,000 miles in a rented motor home, Denizet-Lewis and his lovable, moody canine companion try—with humorous and touching results—to pay tribute to the most powerful interspecies bond there is, in the country with the highest rate of dog ownership in the world.
On the way, Denizet-Lewis—“a master at effortlessly weaving bits of research into his narrative” (Los Angeles Times)—meets an irresistible cast of dogs and their dog-obsessed humans. Denizet-Lewis and Casey hang out with wolf-dogs in Appalachia, enter a dock-jumping competition in Florida, meet homeless teens and their dogs in Washington, sleep in a Beagle-shaped bed and breakfast in Idaho, and visit “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan in California. And then there are the really out there characters: pet psychics, dog-wielding hitchhikers, and two women who took their neighbor to court for allegedly failing to pick up her dog’s poop.

Denizet-Lewis’s memoir “is a lot like Casey…fun, sweet, and a little neurotic” (Chicago Tribune)—a delightfully idiosyncratic blend of memoir and travelogue coupled with a sociological exploration of a dog-obsessed America. Travels With Casey is “a thoroughly engaging and often hilarious investigation of the therapeutic nature of our relationships with dogs” (Booklist).

Karma In Action: Bigot Pastor Arrested for Child molestation

Here's another story that if you're hateful or nasty that Karma will catch up to you. In this case, it's about a Bigot who hid behind religion and promoted hatred and intolerance for gay people. This sick SOB was molesting CHILDREN!  He was vicious and hateful to gay people to obviously deflect from his crimes.
Here's the headline and story: 

Kenneth Adkins, a Georgia-based preacher: Child Molester

Pastor who called gays ‘sinners’ after Pulse shooting is convicted of child molestation 

Source:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/04/12/this-pastor-called-gays-sinners-after-pulse-shooting-now-hes-convicted-of-child-molestation/?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.d1576a5f70f5

 Authorities in Orlando had barely finished identifying the 49 people shot to death at a local gay bar in June 2016 when Kenneth Adkins, a Georgia-based preacher and anti-gay activist, jumped into the fray.

   “Dear Gays, Go sit down somewhere,” he wrote in a Twitter message the day after the attack on the Pulse nightclub.“I know y’all want some special attention,” Adkins said. “Yall are sinners who need Jesus. This was an attack on America.”
   In a follow-up tweet — one Adkins would later contend was misinterpreted — he said homosexuals got “what they deserve.”
   Now, prosecutors say Adkins is getting what he deserves.
On Monday, a jury in Brunswick, Ga., found Adkins guilty of molesting a 15-year-old boy and girl at his church seven years ago, the Florida Times-Union reported.
After about an hour of deliberations, the jury of three men and nine women returned a guilty verdict on all eight charges in the case, which was filed two months after the Pulse shooting, according to local media.
  Prosecutors said Adkins coaxed the two teens into having sex in front of him on numerous occasions, eventually joining them. The encounters reportedly took place in Adkins’s church office, at the beach and in Adkins’s car.
   The jury convicted Adkins of two counts of aggravated child molestation, five counts of child molestation, and one count of enticing a child, according to News4Jax. Sentencing is scheduled for April 25.
   A defense attorney for Adkins, Kevin Gough, said he would seek a new trial, arguing that prosecutors withheld key evidence. He told the Times-Union he was shocked by how quickly the jury reached its verdict.
“You never know what 12 people are going to do,” Gough said.
   Adkins became a church leader after serving a prison sentence for drug-related crimes in the late 1990s, as local media have reported. Though he is based in Southern Georgia, his church has congregations in Atlanta and Jacksonville.
  In recent years, Adkins has helped lead a fight against expanding Jacksonville’s anti-discrimination law to protect LGBT people. He ignited controversy in 2015 when he posted pictures on Twitter that compared other black church leaders who supported expanding the law to slaves being sold on auction blocks, according to the Times-Union. He also has argued against offering equal bathroom access to transgender people, saying sexual predators would use such measures to find victims.
In court, Adkins’s male victim, now 22, testified that Adkins became a father figure to him after his grandfather died, according to News4Jax. But the relationship changed in 2010 when Adkins persuaded the teenager and his girlfriend to have sex in front of him.
“I respected him, like my dad. At that point I’d do anything to keep him around so he wouldn’t leave me,” the male victim testified, according to the Times-Union.
  The female victim reportedly took the stand as well, but denied that anything improper had happened.
Adkins’s defense attorney questioned the timeline of events in the case, suggesting that the male victim was 16, the age of consent in Georgia, when the molestation occurred, according to News4Jax.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper contended that Adkins was a predator who took advantage of a vulnerable minor.
  “This kid was struggling with balancing the good with the bad,” Gropper said, according to News4Jax. She added sarcastically, “Adkins swooped in and saved the day.”