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Monday, September 07, 2015

Nick Saban takes exception to question about Alabama's upcoming opponent | AL.com

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2015/09/nick_saban_takes_exception_to.html#incart_2box_sports_index.ssf

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"Forbidden Love" - Part 1 - by Donald V Watkins via Facebook (re Gov. Bentley)

http://www.themeck.blogspot.com/2015/09/facebook-forbidden-love-part-1-by.html?m=1

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Giants call up manager's son Brett Bochy, activate 2B Panik - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/09/07/giants-call-up-managers-son-brett-bochy-activate-2b-panik/71847040/

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Mets outline plan to restrict Matt Harvey’s innings for rest of season | For The Win

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/09/new-york-mets-matt-harvey-innings-limits-postseason-shutdown-mlb

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Sunday, September 06, 2015

Covering Up The Bentley-Mason Affair - by Donald V. Watkins/Facebook - Sep 6, 2015

https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins/posts/10207546990255025

Covering Up The Bentley-Mason Affair - by Donald V. Watkins/Facebook

A married politician like Governor Robert Bentley has four options after he has been caught cheating on his wife. None of them is good.

First, he can admit the truth and accept the consequences of his infidelity. This is what former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford did after his illicit love affair was exposed.

Second, he can remain silent by asserting that the affair is a "private family matter". This was one of former disgraced federal judge Mark Fuller's approaches when he was caught having an affair with his courtroom bailiff and when he was caught again with his law clerk. Like Fuller, this is one of Bentley's approaches for dealing with his love affair with Rebekah Mason.

Third, he can stonewall the public by securing a court order sealing the divorce records. Again, this was what Mark Fuller did, and is the other approach that is being taken by Bentley.

Fourth, he can lie about the cheating by denying it. This is what former president Bill Clinton did with Monica Lewinsky. When the evidence of his affair left Clinton with no way out, he admitted the affair and apologized.

Bentley has gone one step further than these high-profile cheaters. In addition to invoking the "private family matter" and "sealed divorce records" approaches to avoid coming clean about his affair, Bentley and his staff have used his executive authority in an unsuccessful effort to cover-up evidence of the affair. These efforts will be exposed in "Forbidden Love - Robert Bentley's Secret Love Affair" - Part 3, which will be published on September 18, 2015.

As an investigative journalist and lawyer, I have exposed many cover-ups during my career. Some are more memorable than others. Two of the worst cover-ups I have exposed prior to the Bentley scandal and its related cover-up are discussed below.

In December 1975, I represented the Estate of Bernard Whitehurst in a wrongful death case against the Montgomery police department. Whitehurst was an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by Montgomery police officer Donnie Foster. The police initially claimed that Whitehurst was a fleeing felon who shot at Foster during a running gun battle. My investigation revealed that Whitehurst was shot in the back, and that the gun found beside his body was "planted" by police after his death. The case evolved into a nationally recognized scandal that resulted in the resignations of the Montgomery's mayor and police commissioner, the indictment of three police officers, and the firing or resignation of eight others. The April 3, 1977 edition of the Washington Post devoted a full two-page feature story to the Whitehurst case and its aftermath.

In 1983, an out-of-state black family was mourning the death of their mother/grandmother on Todd Road in Montgomery when two white police officers mistook the Michigan and Ohio mourners' license plates as a gathering of out-of-state drug dealers. Unbelievably, these officers raided the funeral gathering and violence erupted in and around the home. The officers, who were believed to be home invaders, were shot during the ensuing melee. The mourners were subsequently arrested and beaten while in police custody. My investigation into this matter resulted in felony criminal charges against eleven of the mourners being reduced to misdemeanors in four cases and dropped altogether in eight others.

A cover-up is usually more despicable than the original act of wrongdoing. In Bentley's case, his lust and love for Rebekah Mason were acts of passion. Bentley's ensuing cover-up, however, may well be intentional criminal acts of altering governmental records that reveal the truth about the affair. These acts may have placed Bentley in a far worse legal predicament than he would been in had he simply told the truth. Right now, it seems like Bentley is not capable of telling the truth.

Matt Harvey has right to protect his arm, but at what cost to Mets - Bob Nightengale

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/mets/2015/09/06/matt-harvey-new-york-mets-playoffs-decision/71823428/

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The Meck Report: "Forbidden Love" - Part 1 - by Donald V Watkins via Facebook (re Gov. Bentley)

http://themeck.blogspot.com/2015/09/facebook-forbidden-love-part-1-by.html?m=1

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Texas HS defenders appear to target official with hard hits | FOX Sports

http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/texas-hs-defenders-appear-to-target-official-with-hard-hits-090615

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Time for Auburn to go back to work after time runs out on Louisville | AL.com

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2015/09/time_for_auburn_to_go_back_to.html#incart_big-photo

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8 from Alabama, 8 from Auburn let go on NFL's cut day | AL.com

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/09/8_from_alabama_8_from_auburn_l.html#incart_river_mobileshort

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How Alabama's 'physical specimen' Derrick Henry overpowered, outran Wisconsin for easy Tide win | AL.com

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2015/09/how_physical_specimen_derrick.html#incart_river_mobile

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No simple answers to Texas football's continued questions - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2015/09/06/texas-longhorns-notre-dame-fighting-irish-college-football-charlie-strong/71804198/

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Alabama seeks an identity, but it has an inkling of what it is - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2015/09/06/wisconsin-badgers-alabama-crimson-tide-college-football-nick-saban-jake-coker/71801292/

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Poll: Sanders takes lead over Clinton in N.H. | OnPolitics

http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/09/06/poll-sanders-takes-lead-over-clinton-in-n-h/

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Saturday, September 05, 2015

College football's Week 1 winners and losers - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2015/09/05/college-football-winners-losers-week-1-pac-12/71770088/

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No. 3 Alabama stifles No. 18 Wisconsin, 35-17 - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2015/09/05/wisconsin-alabama-college-football/71796294/

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Louisiana high school football player Tyrell Cameron dies from neck injury | Daily Mail Online

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3223380/Tragedy-strikes-heart-Louisiana-high-school-football-team-player-died-afte.html

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Alabama needs answers: Where is Gov. Bentley's ex-protector Wendell Ray Lewis | AL.com

http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/alabama_needs_answers_where_is.html#incart_river_mobile

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Watch emotional ESPN GameDay feature on Alabama's Adam Griffith's reunion with Polish birth parents | AL.com

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2015/09/watch_emotional_espn_gameday_f.html#incart_2box_sports_index.ssf

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Report: Tim Tebow cut by Eagles - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/eagles/2015/09/05/tim-tebow-philadelphia-roster-matt-barkley-chip-kelly/71696428/

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Friday, September 04, 2015

Eagles trade Matt Barkley to Cardinals before Tim Tebow decision - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/eagles/2015/09/04/tim-tebow-matt-barkley-trade-arizona-cardinals/71717786/

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College Football Schedule/TV | FOX Sports

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/schedule

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Hillary Clinton on Donald Trump's candidacy: 'Unfortunate' - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2015/09/04/hillary-clinton-says-donald-trump-candidacy-unfortunate-development/71707754/

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Though Tim Lincecum era ends, Giants fans won't forget this 'Freak' show - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/09/03/tim-lincecum-hip-surgery-san-francisco-giants-end--era/71660216/

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A sure scandal in Gov. Robert Bentley's Administration | AL.com - John Archibald

http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/a_sure_scandal_in_gov_robert_b.html#incart_river

Who is Rebekah Caldwell Mason? Gov. Bentley's advisor paid $426,978 in 2014 election | AL.com - Leada Gore

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/who_is_rebekah_caldwell_mason.html

"Forbidden Love" - Part 1 - by Donald V Watkins via Facebook (re Gov. Bentley)

Gov. Robert Bentley and Senior Political Advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason during a visit to Haleyville High School in 2012. (Contributed photo/www.hbtv.us)

Photo posted by The Meck

----

“Forbidden Love” – Part 1

By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on September 4, 2015.

By all accounts, Alabama First Lady Dianne Jones Bentley is a first-class woman. She is widely known for her compassion and respect for all Alabamians.

Mrs. Bentley is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in bacteriology. She met Governor Robert Bentley during his first year of medical school and they married on July 24, 1965. She loved and supported her husband throughout their marriage. She is a loving mother to her four sons.

The Bentleys are members of First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa where Mrs. Bentley spent twenty-eight years teaching Sunday school. She also facilitated a women’s Bible study for thirty years.

As First Lady, Mrs. Bentley has chosen to support foster care and promote awareness for domestic violence prevention and Family Justice Centers. She is a staunch advocate for healthy marriages and families.

Above all, Mrs. Bentley is a Christian who always strives to remain in God’s will.

On August 26, 2015, this advocate for healthy marriage signed her name to a sworn divorce complaint she would file two days later against her husband of 50 years. A mere 32 days after the Bentleys’ Golden Anniversary, the First Lady of Alabama swore that her marriage to the Governor was over.

On August 28^th, Mrs. Bentley broke with the time-honored tradition where a political wife “suffers in silence” while her husband carries on an extra-marital affair. Even though the Governor’s infidelity was not yet public and her husband’s mistress had skillfully crafted his public image as a “Christian”, the First Lady took the bold and painful step of filing for a divorce against her husband. In doing so, she honored herself, her dignity as a woman and loving mother, and her Christian principles. This was a rare act of courage by the wife of a sitting governor.

The divorce filing caught the Governor by complete surprise. He was stunned, angry, and visibly shaken.

Mrs. Bentley’s divorce action signaled to the world that she would not live a lie. She was prepared to endure whatever public shame and embarrassment flowed from her divorce filing, suffer any act of retaliation or revenge from the Governor and his henchmen that might result from her public disclosure that their marriage was over, and bear the heavy burden of starting life over again at 72 years old.

Mrs. Bentley’s sons supported their mother’s divorce action. They had become estranged from their father because of his betrayal of their mother’s trust and love.

Through the divorce filing, a stunned Alabama public learned for the first time that the First Couple had separated in January of 2015. The First Lady had taken up residency in Tuscaloosa while he remained in the Governor’s mansion.

Details of the divorce trickled out at first. The complaint simply said there was “a conflict of personalities which destroyed the legitimate aims of matrimony” and that “all possibilities of reconciliation are futile”. It also claimed that the marriage had suffered an “irretrievable breakdown” and that “further attempts at reconciliation are impractical and not in the best interest of the parties”.

The First Lady was right. Governor Bentley had exited the marriage. He was in love with another woman. He was a cheater.

The signs of the Governor’s cheating were subtle at first, but by the 2014, they were in Mrs. Bentley’s face. She had reached the breaking point by the couple’s 50^th wedding anniversary on July 24, 2015.

Which brings us to the crux of the story: What happened and why?

Bentley was elected as Governor in November of 2010 and took office as Alabama’s 53^rd governor on January 17, 2011. Bentley was considered a long-shot for governor and had never enjoyed any high visibility in life, yet this little-known dermatologist and legislator from Tuscaloosa was now the governor of Alabama.

Once Bentley became governor, he changed. He manifested an oversized ego and an inflated sense of importance. Bentley became enamored with the trappings of the office – the trooper escorts, use of the state airplane, global travels to exotic ports of call, access to dignitaries and celebrities, life in the Governor’s mansion, and other perks of the office. Staff members catered to his every whim. Bentley loved it all. He had gone from obscurity to rock-star status and simply could not handle it.

After taking office, Bentley brought several people into his inner circle. One was Wendell Ray Lewis, a black state trooper sergeant from Tuscaloosa who would go on to receive a total of $799.285 in base pay and overtime (from 2010 to 2015), as well as a highly questionable promotion from sergeant to lieutenant over more objectively qualified white troopers, during Bentley’s first term in office. The Governor also placed Lewis in command of his executive security detail, a position that has been historically held by higher-ranking troopers. Lewis became a close Bentley confidant whom the Governor rewarded handsomely.

Lewis, who holds strong Christian beliefs, retired from the trooper force a few months ago, in part, because he was powerless to stop Bentley’s marital infidelity. Because Lewis had developed a strong admiration for the First Lady while serving on the Governor’s security detail, he could no longer function comfortably in the duplicitous environment of deceit and betrayal perpetrated by Bentley on the First Lady. Lewis’ loyalty to Mrs. Bentley’s principled life as a devout Christian trumped the Governor‘s efforts to curry favor with him.

To his credit, Lewis actually tried to encourage the Governor to stop his illicit love affair. Bentley would not listen to Lewis, or anyone else.

Another member of the inner circle was Rebekah Caldwell Mason, the young and attractive mother of three children who evolved from a little-known Tuscaloosa public relations consultant in 2010 into the architect of Bentley’s “Christian” public image during his successful re-election campaign in 2014. Mrs. Mason, who joined the Governor’s staff as his communications director in 2011, is married to Jonathan P. Mason. Jonathan was a weatherman at WVUA, a small local television station in Tuscaloosa. This was a low-paying job. Bentley created Serve Alabama in 2011, which is the state agency for the Governor’s faith-based programs and services, and made Jonathan its director.

Bentley also brought in David Byrne, a Montgomery attorney, to serve as his legal advisor. Byrne’s wife, Alice Ann Byrne, was already on the state’s payroll as the general counsel of the State Personnel Department, a position she had held since August 2000. This powerful husband-wife duo made all things happen for Bentley when it came to the assignment, promotion, and compensation of state employees like Wendell Ray Lewis, Jonathan Mason, and Rebekah Mason. No one in the Personnel Department questioned this duo’s legal advice or power, nor did anyone question directives David Byrne issued on behalf of the Governor.

Rebekah Mason’s work placed her in constant contact with the Governor. Over time, the two developed a deeply personal relationship. Along with the personal relationship came lucrative financial payments for Rebekah and her husband Jonathan. As communications director and owner of RCM Communications, Inc., Rebekah Mason has received a total of $161,570 in state pay (from 2011 to June 2013) and contracts to RCM from Bentley’s campaign committee totaling $426,978 (from July 2013 to November 2014) because she enjoyed a special personal relationship with Bentley. Her compensation since November of 2014 will be discussed in a later story.

Jonathan Mason has received a total of $393,538 in state pay (from 2011 to date) and has dominion and control over a staff of thirteen employees because of his wife’s special relationship with Bentley.

The Governor’s relationship with Rebekah Mason raised eyebrows around the Capitol and with Mrs. Bentley. Rebekah Mason was quickly emerging as the Governor’s voice on any important speech or comment made by him during his first term. In time, Rebekah Mason would run the state of Alabama through her special personal relationship with Bentley.

By July 2013, Rebekah Mason had moved out of the governor’s office to serve as the communications director for Bentley’s re-election campaign. After the election, she became Bentley’s “Senior Political Advisor”. The two became inseparable. Bentley fell in love with Rebekah Mason. She became his paramour. After achieving paramour status, Mason had unfettered access to state trooper transportation, the state aircraft, the Governor’s mansion, and a host of other state resources and privileges typically reserved for the First Lady.

There were two big problems with Bentley’s obvious affection for Rebekah Mason. First, Rebekah was married to Jonathan, a member of Bentley’s staff. Second, Bentley was married to the First Lady.

As time passed, Mrs. Bentley picked up on the affection and body language between the Governor and Rebekah Mason. She confronted Bentley about the relationship, and though the Governor admitted his affection for Rebekah, he claimed it was platonic. The First Lady later discovered for herself that the relation was much more than a platonic one.

Confronted with the devastating reality that Robert Bentley was a cheater, Mrs. Bentley started distancing herself from the Governor. Staffers had to beg the First Lady to attend events during and after the re-election season. She reluctantly agreed at the last minute to appear at Bentley’s January inauguration while she mulled her options. After consulting with her sons, Mrs. Bentley opted to file for a divorce.

Written by Donald V. Watkins
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Tim Tebow finishes preseason with solid effort - NFL.com - (2 TD Passes)

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000521511/article/tim-tebow-finishes-preseason-with-solid-effort

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Donald V Watkins Facebook: Coming Tomorrow - Part 1 of "Forbidden Love", A Four-Part Series About Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's Secret Love Affair With A Married Paramour - Donald V Watkins Facebook

3 reasons Tim Tebow will make the Eagles, even though he shouldn’t | For The Win

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/09/3-reasons-tim-tebow-will-make-the-eagles-even-though-he-shouldnt

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Federal judge overturns Patriots QB Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2015/09/03/deflategate-tom-brady-roger-goodell-judge-richard-overturned-berman-new-england/71504142/

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http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/what-is-killing-americas-bees-and-what-does-it-mean-for-us-20150818?&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=partner&via=newsletter&source=CSPMedition

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