car and credit scammers

There are some calls going around, mostly to cell phones, but also to land lines.

They care not about the do-not-call-list

I found some interesting intell on them.
Approach with caution, everything is not as it seems.
http://cameo.livejournal.com/27361.html

Thanks, Cameo, whoever you are.

TRex

UPDATE: The calls just keep coming. They spoof the caller ID to show various numbes. I found a web site cataloging the caller ID numbers, and there are hundreds of them. I just cannot be convinced that, with CALEA and other technologies, the FTC cannot track these people down. Especially when Cameo (above) was able to, and found they are operating inside the US.

Of Heroes and Slimeballs

I missed my monthly "Heroes and Slimeballs" installment last month. Guess I am not yet a professional writer.

As a reminder of what this is all about, see my January Article.

Or just remember this: "For evil to triumph, it only requires that good men should do nothing." - Edmund Burke

For this month's Heroes:
The guys who jumped on the man who was shooting up a church with a shotgun.

"John Bohstedt tackled the shooter. Immediately two others were on top of him."

Three heroes in less than one minute. It matters not that I seriously don't agree with what that Church teaches, my only regret is that at least one of them, John Bohstedt, died defending his Church.

Note to LESTER PHINNEY, should he find his way here. Good observation.

Slimeball award: I am going to take the easy way out this month. Since I really don't have time to narrow this down to which ever ones are the worst of the bunch, I will simply say Mortgage Servicing Companies in general.

These are generally the companies who you send your mortgage payments to, and who will process the paperwork if you default. They are also the ones who will reap more of a profit if you are late on payments, and still more profit if you default or get foreclosed on. In a few instances, they may even run the "mortgage rescue" companies, organizations proposing to help people who are behind in their mortgage payments, but many just take the money sent to them, and then tell their "clients" (victims) to declare bankruptcy or to walk away.

Hat tip to Credit Slips, especially at the following links:
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/mortgage_debt_home_equity/index.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2008/04/negotiating-wit.html
They sometimes get involved in some brazen, illegal, behavior, as seen here.

Runner up. The producers and programmers who insist on draconian protection of their "work," and add copy protection to news sites, preventing fair use. Attempting to cut and paste from some of the links above gets a pop up warning about copyright. Sad.

Monthly Heroes and Slimeballs

For the HERO of the month this month, I select Janepsy Cindy Mesa of Miami. (Sorry I couldn't find a Texan on short notice :-)

While there were some shady circumstances surrounding their lives in the months leading up to the incident, the bottom line is that someone who was very likely a drug dealer and also quite likely a murderer is Dead. And Dead is Good.

Snipped from the article (and slightly rearranged
to make a little more sense):

Ilan Nissim, 27, was fatally shot after he appeared unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon inside Mesa's home, 13365 NW 12th Ave., police said.
Mesa, 31, had been moving furniture of her Spanish-tiled house when Nissim appeared in the hallway. The front door was open.
Nissim, a ''business associate'' of her husband, attacked her after the pair exchanged some angry words, she told police. She then retrieved a black .38-caliber revolver from another room, returned and shot Nissim dead.
The man shot and killed in self-defense by Janepsy Cindy Mesa was a suspect in
her husband's murder, North Miami police said Wednesday.
For now, detectives call the killing self-defense, said North Miami Lt. Neal Cuevas.

Article in Miami Herald
Similar coverage on Local TV (just in case)


And now for our monthly Slimeball award.

The National Arbitration Forum (NAF)
(also here here here and here )
( I suppose they think by sheer numbers of names and web sites, they can try to hide their shady dealings and put on an air of respectability)

This organization, it seems to me, is intent on taking a slimy part of the law and lowering it to the lowest and slimiest possible. Arbitration is supposed to be a simple and economical way for two parties to resolve a conflict, but it is rarely used that way. In most cases, it is used as a hammer for corporations to beat down the common citizen. The NAF commonly represents debt collections organizations, and is used as a bypass for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (note that the link is a PDF of a legal document).

The non-profit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen recently conducted an eight-month examination into the credit card industry's use of pre-dispute binding mandatory arbitration based on all available data from the National Arbitration Forum. The found over 94% of the cases were resolved in favor of the business. This is probably being kind, or even hamstrung, since they used the NAF's own data to find this. Others have found worse stats.

Links of interest:
Almost all of the following links can be found here but are listed in case they scroll off of the index page.
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2006/10/bloodsuckers_go.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2006/11/more_bloodsucki.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2007/04/triumph_for_fed.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2007/06/a_small_excepti.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2007/07/stacking-the-de.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2007/07/consumer-arbitr.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2007/08/arbitration-fir.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2007/09/deathstar-arbit.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2008/03/bankrupt-consum.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2008/03/what-gets-a-law.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2008/04/san-francisco-c.html
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2008/05/naf-just-naf.html

Slimeballs and heros

This month I have two heroes, but I don't know their names.


In Arlington TX, a man refuses to be a victim, and his quick thinking son backed him up.

"One man was stabbed and his two partners are at large after a home invasion went wrong for them Monday evening, police said."

The other is in Inglewood TN. It should be noted that in many, less civilised parts of the country, the robber would have been the only one allowed by law to have a gun during the holdup, possibly resulting in the killing of the store clerk, and undoubtedly leading to more robberies of other stores.

From the news account:
"A would-be robber at an Inglewood liquor store was shot and killed Saturday night after a customer opened fire" Metro police said. "A citizen, like a police officer, has the right to utilize deadly force if there is a threat of serious bodily injury or harm," Police Capt. David Imhof said.

I am certain there are just as many slimeballs as always out there, but I have been kinda busy this month and haven't had time to research any of them.

Slimeballs and Heroes

This month I will be skipping the normal Slimballs and Heroes to focus on an action at the Supreme Court. This week they have heard the case DC v. Heller. This is a huge case deciding whether the US Supreme Court Justices can read plain English or not.

The following is a link to most of the discussion on the case:
Scotusblog Index-to-Heller-Coverage/

I often wonder why it is so easy for many of the elitist leftists and their drones to understand the meaning of the word "people" in several other places in the Constitution, but when they get to the second amendment, they treat it like some Cryptic Satanic message that cannot possibly mean "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

There is actually one commenter that said

Individual-right advocates frequently compare it to the First Amendment. The difference is that the First Amendment protects speech, but the Second Amendment protects, in some form, the right to have a deadly weapon. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

Where do theses imbeciles come from?

UPDATE: (6 Apr 08)
It has been pretty quiet on the net about Heller v. Washington DC
A couple posts to note, however:
Sentencing Law and Policy Analysis
Intellectual Conservative Second Thoughts

UPDATE: (11 Apr 08)
I see there is a Washington Post article on Obama's position, or more like non-position on gun control. I see that he was for gun control before he was against it. Or so he says. Having lived in Illinois for many years (and never going back to that police state) I will say that his new position is temporary and just for the sake of getting elected. No one should be taken in by his false face he wares when saying he believes in an indevidual right. He says he taught constitutional law for 10 years. In all that time, he didn't cement his position on the 2nd Amendment? Horsehokky. He will revert back to being a gun grabber, immediately after the election, with more speed than the striking of a rattle snake.

Of Heros and Slimeballs (monthly)

As I have said before, this feature will only continue as long as I can find a hero to feature each month.

Our hero of the month goes to the homeowner who shot one of three men attempting a robbery. This took three thugs off the streets of a small city in Washington - one permanently.

14 Feb 2008 Yakima Washington
YAKIMA -- Two men are arrested at gunpoint Thursday afternoon after a deadly shooting in a house in Terrace Heights.

Police say the shooting happened just after 11 a.m. on the 200 block of Observation Drive. They say three suspects entered a home. The homeowner and a guest were home at the time. The homeowner shot one of the suspects, who was dead when investigators arrived. The guest was also accidentally shot by the home owner, he has been treated and released from the hospital.

The other two suspects ran away from the scene to the Burger King on Yakima Avenue where they were arrested at gun point inside the restaurant.


Slimeball of the Month award FEB 2008 goes to:
"JG Wentworth" where you can "Sell your structured settlement or annuity payments" according to their own advertisements. I give this award both for the frequency of the ads (others are probably just as bad, but they come to mind because I hear them more often - advertising works)

As the analysis done here shows, they often take 30% to 50% of the money as a reward for this "service." I put service in quotes, since any financial councilor can tell you that giving a lump sum of money to someone who can't manage a cash flow will make them much worse off in the end.

Monthly Heroes and Slimeballs

I decided that since Counterpane has his doghouse, and privacy international has the big brother award, that I could have a Slimeball of the Month award.

Here comes the hard part. I decided that I would only do this if I could also post something positive, so I have a hero of the month in the same posting. Finding Slimeballs isn't hard, but finding heroes is, so this will only contiinue if I can find a hero each month.

The Hero of the Month for this month is the 14 year old who foiled a burglary with a ball bat. (Hat tip to Combat Effective)

Slimeball of the Month award.
This one is for people, agencies, or organizations that:

• promote zero tolerance
• steal the rights of citizens
• take money from the poor by slight of hand
• destroy our national sovereignty
• undermine the defense of our nation
• promote myths about ...
  

The award this month goes to Jackson-Heiwitt for their aggressive marketing of their "Money Now Loans," which have come with fees of $70 and up. I think it ironic that last year their ads showed GhostRider on fire (he only lights up in the presence of evil) and this year their ads show dysfunctional people, both the ones using their services, and those needing their services but having gone somewhere else.

Links of interest:
http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2008/01/04/
http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/7/118/320/
www.nedap.org/pressroom/documents/4-7-06Bloomberg.pdf

sedition

Another attempt at undermining America by rewriting its history and denying its Christian traditions.

Seattle School Administrator spreads a myth about myths.

Keep in mind, this is not a teacher, and as such has no tenure, in addition, she is not engaging in freedom of expression, but rather trying to compel teachers to express untruths to their students.

It should also be noted that the 11 myths that this person foisted upon these teachers and children were not from some carefully researched study, but mostly a PC rewrite of history done be a few "scholars" in resent years. The many of the footnotes of this PC piece of crap lead to other PC pieces of crap.

U.S. Prosecuter we should have Fired

I started out looking for something current on the US Mexico Border Fence Project, but was immediately attracted to an apparent crime committed by a US Prosecutor in West Texas.

Did the US prosecute Ramos and Compean at the request of Mexico?

Is Attorney Johnny Sutton working for the Mexican government?

Or is the corruption higher up?

These are questions that must be answered, especially knowing that Johnny Sutton. is a born liberal, UT grad, who presided over a shrinking Texas Prison System.


He (and the Judge, who seems to be colluding in all of this) gave a drug dealer, not just immunity for testifying, but basically carte blanch to cross back and forth across the border while the trial was going on - allowing him to continue his smuggling operation during his testimony basically amounts to paying him to testify against the agents.

But he is not the only one attacking and trying to tear down the integrity of the United States, unnamed officials of the Dept. of Homeland Security met with Rep. Ted Poe, Rep. John Culberson, Kenny Marchant and Michael McCauland accused the Ramos and Compean of being "out to shoot Mexicans" but have given no proof, and yet some are themselves hiding, behind anonymity.

Johnny Sutton and his superiors continue to push the lie that the smuggler was basically shot in the back, using the word "behind" to describe the location of the wound, instead of his hip, which might shed light on the fact that the bullet entered his side - confirming that he had turned towards the agents, as the agents have said all along.

In addition, Johnny Sutton claims there was no way to prosecute the smuggler
since he had gotten away, leaving no evidence (another lie) to connect him with the scene. On the other hand, they found him
without too much help, and connected him to being shot by the agents, even though ballistics evidence did not support him being shot by Ramos's gun, and the use of a statute adding 10 years to their sentences for discharging a firearm in the commission of a crime (since when is apprehending a smuggler a crime?) shows the vindictiveness of the prosecution.

In addition to the above hiding the evidence of fingerprints, and ballistics, and
Johnny Sutton hid the fact that the smuggler left a cell phone in the van,
the fact that the van was owned by the smuggler, and that he was acting on behalf of the Mexican Consulate.

This is not the only prosecution of law enforcement officials at the request of the Mexican government, there are others, indicating that this is a coordinated effort to prevent the Border Patrol and other law enforcement from apprehending illegals and smugglers entering the US.

We hear, on a regular basis, about the "activist judges" who thwart law enforcement efforts by legislating from the bench - and there seems to be plenty of that in this case also - but we need to remember that the renegade judges are only one part of the equation. Renegade prosecutors acting on orders from criminal regimes such as Mexico and China, and an Executive Branch so intent on creation of a North American version of the EU are just as damaging to our nation.

copperheads, then and now

I have been running a little behind, (as some of you might have noticed) since April, when I didn't have an postings for a month. That was due to my daughter discovering an employer not filing proper taxes, and attempting to employ my daughter in the scam. Well, not only did she not go along with it, she turned him in to the IRS. I coached her through that minor disaster (got a lot of practice reading up on IRS publications). So now she is looking for another job, and I am back to blogging.

Which brings me to something written in Christian Science Monitor a couple months ago. About the Copperheads of the Civil War. Dissent in the US is nothing new - ask two Americans about something, and you can get three opinions. But at some point, you have to say enough is enough.

When dissent becomes obstruction is a good read on the subject.

The Copperheads of the Civil War paid a high price for their stunts during the war. It is up to us to do what we can to take a toll on their villainous leaders in the near future.

Hat tip to CombatEffective for the link to the article. (See link at right)

TRex

Wolves in Sheeps Clothing

Just some Wolves in Sheeps Clothing that
I have noticed in the past few weeks.

I was astonished at the number of scam web sites attempting to capitolize on the Virginia Tech shooting. First rule of charitable giving is know who you are giving money to. If you don't know them don't give to them. I suppose the second rule could be to let your pastor do the research for the members of your Church.

Found through Clark Howard:
Student loan scandal at 300 schools.
This should be viewed as a conspirosy to swindle students
out of some of their education funds.
http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2007/04/11/


The FBI and TSA are still screwing over honest citizens
http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2007/04/02/
Shouldn't the law enforcement devision of the
US government be working to help its citizens?

Some good news from Clark Howard is about working at home.
Same link as the FBI above. Now we have a mediator in our favor.


Other miscelaneous Wolves in Sheeps Clothing
. . supporttexasschools.org promotes internet gambling - not education
. . crisis pregnancy centers - some have been hijacked by rightwing extremists
. . freecreditreport.com and Experian - these are not free, will cost over $100
I will be glad to expound on any of the above - just leave a comment.

TRex

terror in Boston

The police and government in Boston seem to be the greatest threat since Barney Fife.

I would have loved to have had the time when this happened to have written the following blog entry. No matter how much time I had, I would never have been able to do it so well, however. Thus it is good that Bruce Schneier, whom I call THE Guru of security has written it.

non-terror

I also believe the following is some of the best security advice written since 911.

schneier-essay-124

Somehow, he always sums everything up nicely about ten paragraphs in.

In the first article it is:
"For heavens sake, don't let her [Massachusetts Attorney General] inside a Radio Shack"

In the second, it is:
"we're doing exactly what the terrorists want."


'nuff said.
TRex

Net Neutrality

The SavetheInternet.com Coalition is gearing up a battle for Net Neutrality, in order to insure we all have equal access to the Net. Are they right? Well, IMHO, partially. I agree with most of what they say, except that I believe the public corporations who invested capitol in the networks should be able to charge more for a "fast lane" and less for routine traffic.

It just makes sense that if you want the highest priority - for instance a telephone call - you need to pay extra to get it. OTOH, I do believe regulations should be in place to prohibit blocking traffic based on site ownership or content. The Net belongs to us, the users, and allowing corporations (or governments) to block traffic is just wrong (except perhaps, as an act of war).