Street Preachers At Southern Decadence

Infamous street preacher Ruben Israel and his motley crew of nutjobs once again parked on a New Orleans street corner this weekend to scream condemnation at strangers trying to enjoy a Southern Decadence parade. "You deserve death! You deserve hellfire! You deserve AIDS! You perverts! Jesus is love!" One of their banners reads: "Homo sex is a threat to national security."

NEW ORLEANS: Nine Anti-Gay Preachers Arrested At Southern Decadence

Nine anti-gay preachers were arrested Saturday as they protested at Southern Decadence.

Patrick O'Connell, 45, Rolando Igleasias, 31, Cesar Chavez, 22, Daniel Hoogerhuis, 26, Danny Guevera, 20, Larry Craft, 52, Montes Diego, 32 and Gary Brown, 33 were arrested on suspicion of aggressive solicitation, a city law passed last October. The ordinance prohibits "any person or group of persons to loiter or congregate on Bourbon Street for the purpose of disseminating any social, political or religious message between the hours of sunset and sunrise." Another man, Justin Craft, 31, was arrested on suspicion of battery, resisting an officer and interfering with a law enforcement investigation. Craft allegedly punched an officer when he attempted to confiscate his bullhorn. Witnesses said the incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. outside Tropical Isle.

God Hates Southern Decadence, Part 4

God Hates Southern Decadence, Part 3

God Hates Southern Decadence, CTD

World Net Daily jumps on board.

The arrival of Hurricane Isaac exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina blasted New Orleans has some people wondering if there’s more to it than random chance, and suggesting the popular homosexual festival Southern Decadence may be part of a judgment from God. A hurricane hitting a celebration of decadence … twice in seven years. What are the odds?” asks Robin Cox, a lifelong Gulf Coast resident. “Does it seem God has it in for New Orleans?” adds Mary Starkey. “Just contemplating why this has happened twice in seven years at exact same time of year.”

God Hates Southern Decadence

"Katrina was the greatest natural disaster ever to hit America. Now seven years later, to the day, another hurricane is heading towards this city. The fact the events are seven years apart is very significant as this number is biblically important. It is the number of completion: God created the universe in seven days. The church, city and nation have not repented and the homosexual agenda is far worse than it was in 2005.

"New Orleans is still hosting Southern Decadence with open homosexuality manifesting in the streets of the city. It could be that God is putting an end to this city and its wickedness. The timing of Hurricane Isaac with Southern Decadence is a sign that God’s patience with America’s sin is coming to an end. Let’s all watch this very closely, because if New Orleans is destroyed, it is a sure sign that the final judgment for the national sin of America has arrived." - Pastor John McTernan, writing for Defend & Proclaim The Faith. The comments there are just as funny.

Candy Samples - Bear Season

Candy Samples will debut her new track this weekend at Southern Decadence. The guitar solo is performed by the boyfriend of longtime JMG commenter Ish.

LOUSIANA: Anti-Gay Pastor Grant Storms Convicted For Jerking Off Near Playground

Infamous anti-gay New Orleans Pastor Grant Storms, seen above-right leading one of his annual "perversion sweeps" during Southern Decadence, was convicted yesterday of public masturbation near a children's playground.

Storms, 55, who lives in Metairie, declined to comment after the conviction. Judge Ross LaDart of the 24th Judicial District Court, who presided over the daylong trial because Storms waived a jury, did not even break to deliberate. He promptly found Storms guilty of the single count of obscenity. He sentenced Storms to three years of probation, citing no evidence of a criminal history. LaDart also ordered Storms to be evaluated, apparently psychologically. The judge noted that in Storms' confession, he admitted that Feb. 25, 2011, the day he was arrested, was the third time that week that he masturbated in Lafreniere Park.

"Lafreniere Park is a public place," LaDart said in announcing the verdict. "Lafreniere Park is a place that was chosen by this defendant to engage in a history of masturbation." Storms declined to testify. His attorneys, Brett Emmanuel and Donald Cashio, did not overtly deny their client masturbated in the park but argued he never exposed his penis. The exposure was a necessary element of the obscenity charge. In his confession, Storms told Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Sgt. Kevin Balser he had taken a break from his grass cutting business to sip a beer in the park, where he said he became "horny."

Following Storms' arrest last year, numerous Southern Decadence 2011 revelers celebrated with mocking costumes. (Tipped by JMG reader WWWest)

Christian Love At Southern Decadence

NOTE: This clip has been reposted from a different YouTube account after the earlier version got zapped as hate speech.

Southern Decadence

New Orleans Pastor Grant Storms: I Was Totally Jerking Off In My Van

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said today that anti-gay New Orleans Pastor Grant Storms admitted to them that he was masturbating in his van by that playground. But Storms says he wasn't actually watching any children, therefore the obscenity charge shouldn't stick.

Reverend Grant Storms was booked on Friday after his arrest at Lafreniere Park. Witnesses told investigators they saw the man fondling himself in his van while watching children on the playground. JPSO authorities said Storms admitted to the offense. He denies the charge and says no children were around. He plans to hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon to address the situation. He says that video footage should clear his name. Storms apologized and asked that people respect the privacy of his family. Storms said one woman saw him with his hand in his underwear, but nothing more. Storms is well known in the New Orleans area for orchestrating protests of the Southern Decadence Festival.

Southern Decadence organizer Chuck Robinson: "He's done everything through the years to disturb [the festival] and try to make it into something nasty that it's not. If the Rev. Storms is caught doing that in our city, it is ludicrous and heinous that he would have the nerve to complain about any kind of sexuality."

UPDATE: At his press conference today, Storms said that police reports of his confession are a lie. But wait, there's more.

He did, however, admit that he was looking at pornography on-line about an hour before he went to the park. He added that he struggles with an addiction to porn, and he asked pastors to help deal with his demons. Storms told members of the media he is no longer connected with the church that once staged the protests against Southern Decadence, now running a lawn care business. Weeping, he then went on to apologize to family and friends. He even apologized to those that he once railed against, including members of the gay community and organizers of Decadence Festival. Storms said he was taken aback by news that he had confessed to authorities that he had masturbated and exposed himself to children in the park, calling the allegation a "lie." "At no time did any children see me," said Storms. "I'm not a pedophile, I'm not a child molester."

NEW ORLEANS: Anti-Gay Pastor Grant Storms Busted As Pedophile Pervert

New Orleans' infamous Pastor Grant Storms, who every year can be found shouting hellfire and brimstone at Southern Decadence attendees, has been arrested for masturbating in his van while watching children in a playground.

Storms told deputies that he was merely having lunch at Lafreniere Park, 3000 Downs Blvd., in his van when he decided to relieve himself using a bottle instead of using the restroom, an incident report said. But two witnesses said they saw Storms through the open windows of his van masturbating himself while watching children on the playground, the report said. The two women flagged down a park employee who notified the Sheriff's Office. The employee also detained Storms until deputies arrived. Bond for Storms was set at $5,000. But he was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on Sunday because of overcrowding at the jail. Armed with bullhorns, Bibles and picket signs, Storms and a group of followers in 2003 protested against Southern Decadence, the gay three-day festival held over Labor Day weekend in the French Quarter. Storms' efforts prompted the New Orleans City Council to ban megaphones and other amplification devices.

Storms has actually held anti-gay "purity" parades through the French Quarter during Southern Decadence. But not, we're guessing, this year!

Gustav At Category 4, Mayor Orders Tourists Out, Southern Decadence Says "Business As Usual"

The mandatory evacuation of New Orleans proper is scheduled to begin at 8am Sunday, the airport has announced that the final departures will be tomorrow afternoon, and in telling the hotels to close, the Mayor just said, "Tourists, it's time to leave the city. Do not wait."

And yet the latest update (embiggen above) of the official Southern Decadence site proclaims: "Southern Decadence is still on! (It has not been canceled.)" What are these people thinking? Even if this all turns into a big close call (and let's hope it does), at this stage of the game it feels quite irresponsible of the organizers not to have made the call to end the party by now. No hotels, no flights out, a mandatory evacuation, all with 24 hours. These people are cutting things dangerously close.

UPDATE: The organizers of Southern Decadence have finally called it.

Southern Decadence Update

I got an email from someone affiliated with Southern Decadence who suggests keeping an eye on their official site regarding updates on the status of the events. At this writing, no events have been canceled, but numerous JMG readers have reported that their hotels are telling them that an evacuation of New Orleans may begin long before Gustav's landfall is known. You can still get there, but you may end up getting evacuated far from the city and out of reach of your return flight. Things look slightly more dire than they did yesterday.

Please Not Again!

My buddy Little Tom just canceled his trip to Southern Decadence as Tropical Storm Gustav appears like it may be heading for New Orleans.

On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary, a nervous New Orleans watched Wednesday as another storm threatened to test what the city has rebuilt. Forecasters warned that Hurricane Gustav could hit on Labor Day somewhere along a swath of the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Texas -- with New Orleans smack in the middle. Taking no chances, city officials began planning to evacuate and lock down the city in hopes of avoiding the catastrophe that followed Katrina in 2005. Mayor Ray Nagin left the Democratic National Convention in Denver to return home for the preparations.

Forecasters are predicting that Gustav may reach Category 3 as it churns over the warm waters of the Gulf this weekend. You never want to hope that a hurricane hits any particular area, but lets cross our fingers that New Orleans is spared.

Thomas Does Decadence

My dear hometown homey Thomas, who as "Terrence" was the title subject of my portion of the book linked in my sidebar, has long performed as the host of BoyTV, a traveling videography of gay events and parties. The eternally fabulous Thomas just returned from New Orleans' notorious Southern Decadence and with the help of our friend, vlogger Tony Hayden (also of Orlando), he has posted a six-part hilarious recap of his adventures, most of which involve Thomas stopping hot men on the street to chat. Check out the clips on Tony's vlog. Warning: here be nudity, drag queens, go-go boys, leathermen - so it's waaaay Not Safe For Work. Tony characterizes his vlog as a "me-ality" series. Love it.