Jim Bakker is back. Back on TV and back Praising the Lord, in a $25 million complex called Morningside in Branson. More:

Visitors stream in, and Darylene Howard eagerly greets them.

“Welcome to Heritage!” she calls out. She realizes her mistake and laughs. “Oh my, I mean Morningside!”

Howard, who also works as a Wal-Mart greeter, is a chipper woman with a quick smile and bright blue eyes. She has been a fan of Bakker’s since his glory days with the Praise The Lord ministry. And she, like many people here, lost money when the PTL collapsed. She and her husband each paid $1,000 for “lifetime partnerships” granting them limited free lodging at Heritage USA. Bakker spent almost five years in prison for diverting millions of dollars in partner fees for his personal use and promising more free lodging than the PTL ever could have provided.

But Howard dismisses Bakker’s conviction as “a miscarriage of justice.” And when a court settlement granted each of the 165,000 lifetime partners a check for a paltry $6.54, she and hundreds of others signed those checks over to Bakker in a show of support.

Missouri is also where Randy Parton sought to get public backing for a theater more or less identical to the one Roanoke Rapids fell for — which blows up the story that Parton told that he and his wife gave three years of their life to make the $21.5 million Roanoke Rapids theater a reality. Don Carrington also reports that Parton also found time to — surprise! — get former Speaker Jim Black to intercede in one of his schemes.

In 2005, Parton through partner Rick Watson got in contact with Black fixer Meredith Norris in hopes of getting help on a clothing line Parton wanted to launch. Doors opened, as Carrington reports:

On Oct. 4, 2005, Norris wrote Belk Senior Vice President Luther Moore seeking to set up a meeting for Watson:

As you might remember, in addition to my political work for the Speaker, I am a consultant to the regional economic development partnerships in North Carolina. Though I could go into more detail, the Northeast Partnership has recruited the Parton family to invest in an entertainment/theater district along I-95 here in North Carolina. … The main investor is Dolly Parton’s brother Randy and his wife Deb, along with other names in the country-music arena you would recognize.

One of their upcoming ventures is a clothing line and this is where I come in. If possible, Rick Watson would like to meet with you all in Charlotte with Mr. and Mrs. Parton to broach their idea of their clothing line to see if Belk or Cato would be interested, or if you all would have any professional advice/direction to give them on this subject.

I told Rick that the Speaker has a fundraiser in Charlotte on October 27 so I knew I would be there at that time and could come to the meeting with them.

On Oct. 7, Moore wrote Norris agreeing to a meeting with Watson.

According to expense and travel records obtained from the Northeast Commission, Watson and Parton traveled to Charlotte on Oct. 26 to meet with Belk executives about the clothing line. Watson charged mileage to the commission and was reimbursed. A Belk official confirmed last week that a meeting took place, but offered few details.

I’ll give you a detail: Luther Moore, contributor to Jim Black, Richard Moore, Bev Purdue, Tricia Cotham, and other Democrats, feels damn stupid right about now.