ABC reporter arrested in Denver for photographing Democrats hob-nobbing with lobbyists

ABC Reporter Arrested in Denver Taking Pictures of Senators, Big Donors (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/MoneyTrail/story?id=5668622)

Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer on august 27, 2008, as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel.

A cigar-smoking Denver police sergeant, accompanied by a team of five other officers, first put his hands on Eslocker's neck, then twisted the producer's arm behind him to put on handcuffs.

The sheriff's officer is seen telling Eslocker the sidewalk is owned by the hotel. Later, he is seen pushing Eslocker off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic, forcing him to the other side of the street.

View the ABC video at http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5670682

 

ABC Reporter's Attorneys Want All Charges Dropped http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Conventions/Story?id=5678763&page=1

Eslocker's attorneys said Thursday that their client is "innocent of all three crimes."

"He and his news crew were standing on public sidewalks covering an event of public significance and performing a press function protected by the First Amendment," said a statement issued today by Eslocker's attorneys, Daniel Recht and Steven Zansberg.

Video of the arrest shows a cigar-smoking Denver police sergeant, accompanied by a team of five other officers, first put his hands on Eslocker's neck, then twisting his arm behind him to put on handcuffs.

"Frankly, we are outraged at the conduct of the individual officers. Their interactions with Mr. Eslocker are captured on tape." (click here to read the full statement by Eslocker's attorneys)

YouTube Video

Denise Richards and Richie Sambora in Hawaii.

picture source - Denise Richards and Richie Sambora vacationing in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Denise Richards Gets Dumped in Hawaii - http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/hollywood/denise-richards-gets-dumped-in-hawaii-201263/

When it comes to dating a rock star, you gotta be careful.  The erratic behavior and huge egos alone make it hard to deal with some of them.  And Denise Richards found out the hard way how unpredictable musicians can be.

It turns out that when Bon Jovi guitar legend Richie Sambora broke up with Denise during their romantic Hawaii vacation, she had been expecting a marriage proposal.  Boy was she wrong!

Supreme Court affirms gun rights

The Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.'s ban on handgun possession yesterday, and decided for the first time in the nation's history that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual's right to own a gun for self-defense. (Boston Globe)

Justice Stephen Breyer said the decision "threatens to throw into doubt the constitutionality of gun laws throughout the United States," and called that a "formidable and potentially dangerous" mission for the courts to undertake. He was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Gun ruling won't change much, according to ATF chief (Houston Chronicle)

Cheers, fears meet Supreme Court gun ruling (LA Times)

"The way I look at it, it's the right that ensures all others," he said outside his taxidermy shop -- which was stuffed with turkeys, wart hogs and other trophies that Houston hunters paid him to preserve. "You can't have freedom of speech and freedom of the press if you're unsafe."

In California, Charlotte Austin-Jordan has some painful reasons to disagree. She lost two children to gun violence in South Los Angeles -- her 13-year-old daughter, Ja'Mee, in 1988 and her 25-year-old son, Corey, in 1996.

John McCain cheers Supreme Court decision, fires shot at Barack Obama (NY Daily Times)

John McCain and the gun lobby seized on the Supreme Court ruling Thursday as a wedge issue against Barack Obama, who said he was for tossing the District of Columbia's handgun ban but also favors regulation.

Gun ownership was a "sacred" right akin to free speech and assembly, McCain said, as opposed to Obama's "elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness."

Deadly Consequences -- But the Right Call (Washington Post)

This case, for me, is one of those uncomfortable situations in which my honest opinion is not the one I'd desperately like to be able to argue. As much as I abhor the possible real-word impact of the ruling, I fear that it's probably right.

Guns, yes and no (LA Times)

Individuals have a right to own firearms, the Supreme Court rules. But there can still be limits.

Dobson accuses Obama of fruitcake views of constitution.

Mr. Dobson’s remarks focused on a June 28, 2006, speech in which Mr. Obama, in Washington, mentioned passages from the Bible that he suggested were in conflict with present-day practices. Mr. Dobson made his criticisms shortly after Joshua Dubois, the Obama campaign’s religious affairs director, offered to meet with Focus on the Family leaders and suggested to some people that Mr. Dobson was nervous about Mr. Obama’s willingness to compete with Republicans for the evangelical vote.

Read the entire article at NYTimes.com

 

And according to LATimes "And by the way, who asked him?"

In January on a radio program Dobson told the host he could not support Sen. John McCain either because of the restrictions of the McCain-Feingold bill and new proposals, supported by and named for McCain, to limit the ability of groups such as Focus to reach constituents with action messages on pending legislation.

 

Christian leader says Obama distorting the Bible

Dobson, who has previously said he will not vote for McCain because of his past support for stem cell research, on Tuesday said the Arizona senator wasn't doing enough to stop gay marriage in his home state.

The comments by broadcaster James Dobson are among the sharpest religious attacks to date on the Illinois senator, who will face Republican John McCain in the November election.

Polls show evangelicals are slowly moving away from the Republican Party, though Obama's support of abortion rights and gay rights are likely to give pause to many.

Obama opts out of public funding

Obama Rejects Funding Campaign with Public Money
Emailwire
COM, June 19, 2008 ) Houston, TX – Obama, today, in a video released by his campaign officials states he will not accept public money to fund his campaign. ...

US08 Media Wrap: Obama refuses public financing
Obama refuses public funding. The decision to leave the creaky federal funding system which was set up after the Watergate scandal in the 1970s means the ...

Democratic Party Won’t Accept General Election Public Funding This ...
The decision was made by Barack Obama. By turning down $80000000 in public funds, this year’s Democratic presidential campaign is free to spend as much ...

Obama opts out of public funding

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday he'll bypass the federal public financing system in the general election, abandoning an earlier commitment to take the money if his Republican rival did as well.

Obama, who set records raising money in the primary election, will forgo more than $84 million that would have been available to him in the general election. He would be the first candidate to do so since Congress passed 1970s post-Watergate campaign finance laws. Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee in waiting, has taken steps to accept the public funds in the general election.

Obama officials said they decided to take that route because McCain is already spending privately raised funds toward the general election campaign. Obama has vastly outraised McCain, however, and would likely retain that advantage if McCain accepts the public money.

Says public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken

read the entire story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25259863/

Cost of Living

Articles on cost of living:

Fuel Prices at Root of Inflation Woes ; COST OF LIVING: Oil Up ...
Black Enterprise, NY - 11 hours ago
She said: "The official figures do make very concerning reading - particularly as the CPI Consumer Prices Index measure is expected to tip 4 per cent before ...
cost of living is the highest for 16 years Metro
Warning over further cost of living rises as inflation soars The Herald
Tighten your belts or face spiralling prices, Darling warns as ... Daily Mail
guardian.co.uk - This is Money

Tanzania: New Power Tariff Looms in International Monetary Fund Bid
AllAfrica.com, Washington - 10 hours ago
"The cost of living will soar to new heights, destabilising the Government's own efforts to mitigate the rising cost of living," said Dr Honest Ngowi, ...

Londra Gazete

The crippling cost of living
Londra Gazete, UK - 2 hours ago
The other half just about covers the cost of her food. She said: "Fortunately I'm a vegetarian otherwise I'm not sure how I would have coped with the extra ...

Citizen

The real cost of living index
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Jun 12, 2008
Taking all these factors into account, the Real Cost of Living Index (RCLI) is rising at 9.5 per cent. No wonder hard-working families wonder how the Retail ...
China's producer prices rise in May: government AFP
Asians Especially Vulnerable to Food Shortages and High Prices NewsBlaze
As inflation hits another high, a growth-focused government finds ... Business Today Egypt

FinFacts Ireland

It's as bad as the 70s: Food prices up 20% in a year as oil crisis ...
Mail on Sunday, UK - Jun 16, 2008
The figures come from the Daily Mail Cost of Living Index, which was launched in April this year to show the true rate of inflation. ...
Inflation getting 'uglier and uglier' CNN
CBJ: Inflation Part 1: How the Government Lies About Inflation Charlottesville Daily Progress
Inflation Jumps 0.6 Percent in May; Core Rate Remains in Check NewsHour
International Business Times - Bloomberg

This is Money

New era of strikes looms as cost of living spirals
Times Online, UK - Jun 17, 2008
The retail prices index, regarded as a better measure of the cost of living because it includes mortgage interest and council tax, rose from 4.2 per cent to ...
George Osborne in row over public sector pay Telegraph.co.uk
UK public sector unions to fight for new pay deals guardian.co.uk

The Guardian, London, on the rising cost of living
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria - 1 hour ago
He is absolutely right: the cost of living is rising sharply in both rich countries and poor, for America and Asia. ... The Bank of England would normally ...

MSN Money UK

Government's measure of inflation might as well stand for Chinese ...
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Jun 17, 2008
This is why The Daily Telegraph has launched the Real Cost of Living Index (RCLI). Using the Office for National Statistics' weighted averages for household ...
Inflation explainer guardian.co.uk
Britain's inflation goes up as food and fuel prices rise Economic Times
Whose wallet is being hit by inflation? BBC News
guardian.co.uk - guardian.co.uk

Daily Mail

Food bills up, house prices sliding and pay rises less then ...
Daily Mail, UK - 42 minutes ago
Latest figures from the Daily Mail Cost of Living Index show that the cost of a basic shopping trip is up by almost a fifth year-on-year at 19.8 per cent. ...

it's not as bad as the Sixties
Times Online, UK - 10 hours ago
Why, then, all the fuss about a “cost of living spiral”, as the latest mini-crisis to hit the Brown Government was described yesterday on the front page of ...

Operation Malicious Mortgage

News links captured at 4:42 pm MST.

Albany Times Union

6 in Seattle area indicted in "Malicious Mortgage" crackdown
Seattle Times, United States - 3 hours ago
Six Seattle-area people have been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with "Operation Malicious Mortgage," a national takedown on mortgage fraud ...

More on "Operation Malicious Mortgage"
Los Angeles Times, CA - 41 minutes ago
From the DoJ: "Operation Malicious Mortgage addresses primarily three types of mortgage fraud schemes: lending fraud, foreclosure rescue scams and ...

Several arrests made in "Operation Malicious Mortgage"
KVBC, NV - 1 hour ago
Some were arrested in March, some as recently as Wednesday, The government says the real estate figures were involved in mortgage fraud cases totaling about ...

Cabrera arrest part of Operation Malicious Mortgage
The News-Press, FL - 32 minutes ago
The indictment and arrest of former Fort Myers real estate agent Samir Cabrera is part of Operation Malicious Mortgage, a nationwide crackdown on mortgage ...

Turkish Press

2 women face federal mortgage charges
Indianapolis Star, United States - 4 hours ago
“Operation Malicious Mortgage and our other mortgage-related enforcement actions demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment and determination to combat ...
2 Ind. women charged with mortgage fraud Indianapolis Star

More than 400 charged with mortgage-related fraud
MarketWatch - 2 hours ago
In a probe over three and a half months, dubbed Operation Malicious Mortgage, the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation uncovered 144 ...

'Operation Malicious Mortgage' strikes
Baltimore Sun, United States - 2 hours ago
Operation Malicious Mortgage and the Bear Stearns case demonstrate that the Department of Justice is determined to detect and to punish mortgage fraud and ...

67 from Chicago area charged in US mortgage fraud probe
Chicago Tribune, United States - 3 hours ago
The US attorney's office in Chicago said the dozens arrested here as part of Operation Malicious Mortgage include local mortgage brokers, loan officers, ...

'Operation Malicious Mortgage' strikes
Baltimore Sun, United States - 2 hours ago
Operation Malicious Mortgage and the Bear Stearns case demonstrate that the Department of Justice is determined to detect and to punish mortgage fraud and ...

Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Deputy Attorney General Mark R ...
PR Newswire (press release), NY - 6 minutes ago
In three and a half months, this action, known as Operation Malicious Mortgage, has resulted in charges against more than 400 individual defendants. ...

36 Defendants Charged for Roles in Mortgage Fraud Schemes as Part ...
Lawfuel (press release), New Zealand - 13 minutes ago
Operation Cash Back in Arizona is part of the nationwide Operation Malicious Mortgage fraud law enforcement effort. Nationally the Operation resulted in 144 ...

Ottawa Citizen

* Federal authorities announce crackdown on mortgage fraud
guardian.co.uk, UK - 2 hours ago
Officials disclosed a 3-1/2 month "Operation Malicious Mortgage," and said the fraud schemes mostly involved lending fraud, foreclosure rescue scams and ...
Video: Raw Video: Ex-Bear Stearns Execs Surrender AssociatedPress

Hundreds Arrested in Mortgage Fraud Sweep ABC News
Putting A Face On The Credit Crisis Forbes
Bloomberg - AlterNet
all 1,025 news articles »

San Diegans Charged In National Mortgage Fraud Scheme
NBC Sandiego.com, CA - 13 minutes ago
The case is part of a Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation nationwide operation entitled "Operation Malicious Mortgage. ...

Mortgage Fraud
WCTV, FL - 3 hours ago
The FBI estimates $1 billion in losses due to fraud related to the crackdown labeled "Operation Malicious Mortgage.'' Greg Jones, special agent in charge of ...

Six indicted in alleged home flipping scheme
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 24 minutes ago
The indictment was unsealed Thursday in conjunction with a nationwide takedown of mortgage fraud schemes known as Operation Malicious Mortgage. Since Mar. ...