foreclosure defense

First one, now all. Just as we predicted - fan: meet feces.

Fresh off the presses at Bloomberg:

JPMorgan Based Foreclosures on Faulty Documents, Lawyers Claim

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faces a legal challenge next month that could cast doubt on thousands of foreclosures after a mortgage executive at the bank said she didn’t verify documents used to justify home seizures.

Lawyers for a Palm Beach County, Florida, homeowner asked a judge to throw out a foreclosure as a penalty for misleading the court, according to attorney Tom Ice of Ice Legal PA. They’re citing a May 17 deposition in which the JPMorgan executive said she signed thousands of affidavits and documents supporting the New York-based bank’s claims without personally checking loan records. The court is scheduled to hear arguments Oct. 19.

The Chase Home Finance operation supervisor, Beth Ann Cottrell, said in May she was among eight managers who together sign about 18,000 documents a month, according to a transcript of her sworn deposition provided by Ice. Asked how they were prepared, she said she relied on other people at the firm.

“My review is more or less signing the document unless it’s questionable,” she said. That means, “somebody has a question and brings it to me and says, ‘Beth, can you take a look at this?’”

Inaccurate statements by banks in foreclosure documents may give borrowers who have lost their homes a legal basis to challenge the seizures, derailing resales and casting doubts on property titles. A Florida court sanctioned Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit for faulty affidavits in 2006, and the firm suspended evictions in 23 states this month after finding employees still signing affidavits without checking the data.

Titles in Doubt

JPMorgan spokesman Tom Kelly declined requests for comment.

Cottrell didn’t return phone calls to her office requesting comment. A lawyer representing her at the deposition, Joseph Mancilla of the Florida Default Law Group PL, didn’t return calls. Cottrell isn’t named as a defendant.

Cottrell signed the affidavit at issue in the case, dated June 2009, while at her previous employer, an outside servicing firm working for JPMorgan, according to court documents. When signing documents there for the JPMorgan unit, she used the title “assistant secretary and vice president” of Chase Home Finance, according to the transcript. She became a JPMorgan employee about three months after signing the affidavit.

Document signers sometimes endorse affidavits on behalf of other firms as a way to streamline the foreclosure process, said Dustin Zacks, an attorney at Ice’s firm.

JPMorgan was the third-largest U.S. servicer of home mortgages as of June 30, with $1.35 trillion or almost 13 percent of the market, according to industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance. Ally is the fifth-biggest mortgage servicer, with $349.1 billion. The other three in the top five are Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., and Citigroup Inc.

Title Insurers

“I’m sure a lot of title insurance companies are concerned about the potential liability right now,” as borrowers challenge how banks made statements, he said. “The judges could absolutely hold the bank and attorneys in contempt.”

U.S. home seizures reached a record for the third time in five months in August as lenders completed the foreclosure process for thousands of delinquent owners, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Ice, the founding partner of his foreclosure-defense law firm in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, said some lenders are accepting voluntary dismissal of their cases.

During the deposition, Cottrell said a staff of in-house specialists scrutinize loan documents and prepare affidavits, the transcript shows. If they have difficulties or questions, they come to her. She signs in a notary’s presence, she said.

‘No Knowledge’

During questioning by Ice lawyer Zacks, Cottrell said she had worked at Chase Home Finance for about eight months, according to the transcript.

“As to everything in the affidavit, did you have personal knowledge?” Zacks asked.

“My own personal knowledge, no,” Cottrell answered.

“You stated ‘That plaintiff is entitled to enforce the note and mortgage,’” Zacks said. “Again, did you have personal knowledge of that?”

“No knowledge,” she answered.

Florida Attorney General William McCollum is investigating three law firms that represent loan servicers in foreclosures, and are alleged to have submitted fraudulent documents to the courts, according to an Aug. 10 statement. The firms handled about 80 percent of foreclosure cases in the state, according to a letter from U.S. Representative Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat.

Judges overseeing foreclosures in the wake of the housing crisis are growing skeptical of banks, said Christopher L.
Peterson, a professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. A surge in proceedings has helped expose a variety of paperwork lapses, he said in an interview.

“Early in the process the judges were very cavalier and they just took the financiers’ word,” Peterson said. “Now there are enough disputes out there about ownership of loans that the judges are starting to feel like they need to hold the financial institutions to the basic rules of evidence.”

Yesterday, I mentioned the Office of the Homeowner Advocate, an attempt by Sen. Al Franken to get an independent review process for HAMP, the Treasury Department foreclosure mitigation program which has failed homeowners while merely extending foreclosures out a bit and squeezing additional payments into the hands of the banks. Today, this common-sense effort to get some accountability and oversight over what the banks have been doing in HAMP has found its way into a new version of the tax extenders bill, a catch-all, end-of-the-year effort that could be a vehicle for several measures which have hung around in the Senate.

Max Baucus introduced the bill today, and in addition to the OHA, it includes a number of provisions. Here’s a summary, and as you can see it’s really a catch-all. There are dozens of “tax extenders,” the initial name for the bill, including a one-year extension of the R&D tax credit (unlike the permanent extension called for by the President), and the ubiquitous “small business tax credits” in every bill out of Washington these days.

The bill would extend the TANF Emergency fund, a successful stimulus program which subsidizes jobless workers and is responsible for 250,000 jobs, by one estimate. 30 Senators called for its renewal today, as it expires September 30, leaving hundreds of thousands jobless. It also re-ups the Build America Bonds program for infrastructure projects. There’s a youth jobs program which would reportedly fund jobs for 350,000. The Cobell and Pigford Black Farmer settlements are thrown in here.

The oil spill liability cap gets changed in this bill, up to $5 billion. The bill raises taxes through that spill fund from 8 cents to 78 cents a barrel, raising $31 billion. There are mine safety provisions, disaster relief provisions, provisions adding funds to the National Housing Trust Fund, incentives for energy-efficient vehicles and renewable tax credits, and much, much more.

The bill is fully paid for with a variety of measures, including what I mentioned already. In addition, this would end the carried interest loophole, preventing investment fund managers from paying income taxes as capital gains. This raises $13.75 billion. It also scales back some stimulus funding, to broadband, to Defense Department building, and to food stamps, which by January 31 would “return to the levels that individuals would have received in 2014 under pre-Recovery Act law.”

I think this is what you’d call an omnibus bill, a staple of the end of a legislative period. It has something for everyone to like and something for everyone to dislike. In this Congress, that has meant it will fail. But you never know.

If it doesn’t pass, Franken has stated another option for the Office of the Homeowner Advocate – get Treasury to institute the program administratively.

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benchcraft company scam

Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara <b>News</b>

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<b>News</b> Roundup: Gordon Ramsay Responds to Chef&#39;s Suicide, Brad <b>...</b>

Gordon Ramsay has opened up about the death of 'Kitchen Nightmares' contestant Joseph Cerniglia. According to Entertainment Weekly, Ramsay expressed.

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First one, now all. Just as we predicted - fan: meet feces.

Fresh off the presses at Bloomberg:

JPMorgan Based Foreclosures on Faulty Documents, Lawyers Claim

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faces a legal challenge next month that could cast doubt on thousands of foreclosures after a mortgage executive at the bank said she didn’t verify documents used to justify home seizures.

Lawyers for a Palm Beach County, Florida, homeowner asked a judge to throw out a foreclosure as a penalty for misleading the court, according to attorney Tom Ice of Ice Legal PA. They’re citing a May 17 deposition in which the JPMorgan executive said she signed thousands of affidavits and documents supporting the New York-based bank’s claims without personally checking loan records. The court is scheduled to hear arguments Oct. 19.

The Chase Home Finance operation supervisor, Beth Ann Cottrell, said in May she was among eight managers who together sign about 18,000 documents a month, according to a transcript of her sworn deposition provided by Ice. Asked how they were prepared, she said she relied on other people at the firm.

“My review is more or less signing the document unless it’s questionable,” she said. That means, “somebody has a question and brings it to me and says, ‘Beth, can you take a look at this?’”

Inaccurate statements by banks in foreclosure documents may give borrowers who have lost their homes a legal basis to challenge the seizures, derailing resales and casting doubts on property titles. A Florida court sanctioned Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit for faulty affidavits in 2006, and the firm suspended evictions in 23 states this month after finding employees still signing affidavits without checking the data.

Titles in Doubt

JPMorgan spokesman Tom Kelly declined requests for comment.

Cottrell didn’t return phone calls to her office requesting comment. A lawyer representing her at the deposition, Joseph Mancilla of the Florida Default Law Group PL, didn’t return calls. Cottrell isn’t named as a defendant.

Cottrell signed the affidavit at issue in the case, dated June 2009, while at her previous employer, an outside servicing firm working for JPMorgan, according to court documents. When signing documents there for the JPMorgan unit, she used the title “assistant secretary and vice president” of Chase Home Finance, according to the transcript. She became a JPMorgan employee about three months after signing the affidavit.

Document signers sometimes endorse affidavits on behalf of other firms as a way to streamline the foreclosure process, said Dustin Zacks, an attorney at Ice’s firm.

JPMorgan was the third-largest U.S. servicer of home mortgages as of June 30, with $1.35 trillion or almost 13 percent of the market, according to industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance. Ally is the fifth-biggest mortgage servicer, with $349.1 billion. The other three in the top five are Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., and Citigroup Inc.

Title Insurers

“I’m sure a lot of title insurance companies are concerned about the potential liability right now,” as borrowers challenge how banks made statements, he said. “The judges could absolutely hold the bank and attorneys in contempt.”

U.S. home seizures reached a record for the third time in five months in August as lenders completed the foreclosure process for thousands of delinquent owners, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Ice, the founding partner of his foreclosure-defense law firm in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, said some lenders are accepting voluntary dismissal of their cases.

During the deposition, Cottrell said a staff of in-house specialists scrutinize loan documents and prepare affidavits, the transcript shows. If they have difficulties or questions, they come to her. She signs in a notary’s presence, she said.

‘No Knowledge’

During questioning by Ice lawyer Zacks, Cottrell said she had worked at Chase Home Finance for about eight months, according to the transcript.

“As to everything in the affidavit, did you have personal knowledge?” Zacks asked.

“My own personal knowledge, no,” Cottrell answered.

“You stated ‘That plaintiff is entitled to enforce the note and mortgage,’” Zacks said. “Again, did you have personal knowledge of that?”

“No knowledge,” she answered.

Florida Attorney General William McCollum is investigating three law firms that represent loan servicers in foreclosures, and are alleged to have submitted fraudulent documents to the courts, according to an Aug. 10 statement. The firms handled about 80 percent of foreclosure cases in the state, according to a letter from U.S. Representative Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat.

Judges overseeing foreclosures in the wake of the housing crisis are growing skeptical of banks, said Christopher L.
Peterson, a professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. A surge in proceedings has helped expose a variety of paperwork lapses, he said in an interview.

“Early in the process the judges were very cavalier and they just took the financiers’ word,” Peterson said. “Now there are enough disputes out there about ownership of loans that the judges are starting to feel like they need to hold the financial institutions to the basic rules of evidence.”

Yesterday, I mentioned the Office of the Homeowner Advocate, an attempt by Sen. Al Franken to get an independent review process for HAMP, the Treasury Department foreclosure mitigation program which has failed homeowners while merely extending foreclosures out a bit and squeezing additional payments into the hands of the banks. Today, this common-sense effort to get some accountability and oversight over what the banks have been doing in HAMP has found its way into a new version of the tax extenders bill, a catch-all, end-of-the-year effort that could be a vehicle for several measures which have hung around in the Senate.

Max Baucus introduced the bill today, and in addition to the OHA, it includes a number of provisions. Here’s a summary, and as you can see it’s really a catch-all. There are dozens of “tax extenders,” the initial name for the bill, including a one-year extension of the R&D tax credit (unlike the permanent extension called for by the President), and the ubiquitous “small business tax credits” in every bill out of Washington these days.

The bill would extend the TANF Emergency fund, a successful stimulus program which subsidizes jobless workers and is responsible for 250,000 jobs, by one estimate. 30 Senators called for its renewal today, as it expires September 30, leaving hundreds of thousands jobless. It also re-ups the Build America Bonds program for infrastructure projects. There’s a youth jobs program which would reportedly fund jobs for 350,000. The Cobell and Pigford Black Farmer settlements are thrown in here.

The oil spill liability cap gets changed in this bill, up to $5 billion. The bill raises taxes through that spill fund from 8 cents to 78 cents a barrel, raising $31 billion. There are mine safety provisions, disaster relief provisions, provisions adding funds to the National Housing Trust Fund, incentives for energy-efficient vehicles and renewable tax credits, and much, much more.

The bill is fully paid for with a variety of measures, including what I mentioned already. In addition, this would end the carried interest loophole, preventing investment fund managers from paying income taxes as capital gains. This raises $13.75 billion. It also scales back some stimulus funding, to broadband, to Defense Department building, and to food stamps, which by January 31 would “return to the levels that individuals would have received in 2014 under pre-Recovery Act law.”

I think this is what you’d call an omnibus bill, a staple of the end of a legislative period. It has something for everyone to like and something for everyone to dislike. In this Congress, that has meant it will fail. But you never know.

If it doesn’t pass, Franken has stated another option for the Office of the Homeowner Advocate – get Treasury to institute the program administratively.

bench craft company rip off

Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara <b>News</b>

To pursue its growth Akihabara News is seeking for several more editors via an intership program for 6 to 9 months. Please send us a mail @ jobs@akihabaranews.com. Message. We are moving away from Feedburner, please update your RSS ...

<b>News</b> Roundup: Gordon Ramsay Responds to Chef&#39;s Suicide, Brad <b>...</b>

Gordon Ramsay has opened up about the death of 'Kitchen Nightmares' contestant Joseph Cerniglia. According to Entertainment Weekly, Ramsay expressed.

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iLounge news discussing the Weather HD comes to iPhone, iPod touch. Find more Apps + Games news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

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Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara <b>News</b>

To pursue its growth Akihabara News is seeking for several more editors via an intership program for 6 to 9 months. Please send us a mail @ jobs@akihabaranews.com. Message. We are moving away from Feedburner, please update your RSS ...

<b>News</b> Roundup: Gordon Ramsay Responds to Chef&#39;s Suicide, Brad <b>...</b>

Gordon Ramsay has opened up about the death of 'Kitchen Nightmares' contestant Joseph Cerniglia. According to Entertainment Weekly, Ramsay expressed.

Weather HD comes to iPhone, iPod touch | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Weather HD comes to iPhone, iPod touch. Find more Apps + Games news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

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Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara <b>News</b>

To pursue its growth Akihabara News is seeking for several more editors via an intership program for 6 to 9 months. Please send us a mail @ jobs@akihabaranews.com. Message. We are moving away from Feedburner, please update your RSS ...

<b>News</b> Roundup: Gordon Ramsay Responds to Chef&#39;s Suicide, Brad <b>...</b>

Gordon Ramsay has opened up about the death of 'Kitchen Nightmares' contestant Joseph Cerniglia. According to Entertainment Weekly, Ramsay expressed.

Weather HD comes to iPhone, iPod touch | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Weather HD comes to iPhone, iPod touch. Find more Apps + Games news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

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Ways of Making Money

Challenge To Graham Henderson: Please Point Out Who Believes Music Should Just Be A Hobby

from the we're-waiting... dept

There's been a bizarre shift lately in the recording industry's attempt to demonize people who believe in embracing new business models and new technologies in the music business. We just wrote about Universal Music's Jim Urie claiming that "copyleft" supporters don't care about art, and along those same lines, Zeropaid points us to Graham Henderson, the head of the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA -- which is almost entirely dominated by foreign companies) going to Washington DC to lobby in favor of more draconian copyright laws.



We had just caught Henderson falsely claiming that the reason streaming music services won't come to Canada is because of the "piracy," there -- even though the same article where he made those claims showed a bunch of streaming music companies who want to launch in Canada, but can't because of the ridiculous licensing demands of the recording industry. It seems Henderson just can't stop making statements that appear to have little basis in reality. In making this push, Henderson, too, has decided to make up a total strawman of an "enemy," in the blogosphere:

"There is a certain set of bloggers out there who think music is nothing more than a hobby, that it should be free. But I think Canadians as a whole are more open to supporting their creative industry and so we're finally at the point where Ottawa is going to act. I refuse to believe that this brand-new digital era is going to make beggars of creators and send them back to the 1800s."

So, here's my challenge to Henderson: prove it. Or, in the parlance of Wikipedia: [citation needed]. Where are these bloggers who "think music is nothing more than a hobby?" I read most of the blogs of the folks I'm pretty sure you're talking about, and I don't know any of them who think that music is nothing more than a hobby (with the possible exception of Suzanne Lainson who is hardly your typical "copyleft" blogger -- in fact, she keeps saying she doesn't pay attention to copyright issues and thinks it's a waste to even pay attention to copyright policy discussions). Most of us, however, have spent an awful lot of time and effort trying to highlight great new ways to make money for musicians, such that we're seeing that musicians are actually able to make more money than they did in the past -- and we celebrate whenever we such news.



Of course, we all know what's really going on. Part of the reason many of these musicians who are embracing new technologies and new business models are making more money than before is because those business models route around the gatekeepers that make up the RIAA and the CRIA. And those companies have a long history of keeping money away from musicians rather than helping them make a living. Most of the bloggers that Henderson is slamming love to see artists making money. They love to see creative new business models that are fan friendly and that allow fans to support artists. We don't believe that music is just a hobby. We think, in fact, that there are many more opportunities for musicians to make money. It's just that, quite frequently, those methods involve not filtering the money through Henderson's corporate masters, where they take an excessive cut.



But, as these industry folks continue to lie to politicians and the press, it's important to keep calling them out. I've still not heard any response on my open challenge to Jim Urie to talk about this publicly, so I'll issue the same challenge to Graham Henderson. Please, point out who these bloggers are, and show me how their reasons for being against your attempt to put forth unnecessary, damaging and ever more draconian copyright laws is because they think that "music is nothing more than a hobby." I'd be perfectly happy to discuss this publicly with Henderson, where we can discuss great new ways to help musicians make more money.



If Henderson can't do that, then it should be clear that he knows he's lying to the public, to the press and to politicians.

26 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Among those charged was Robert Rizzo, the former city manager of Bell, whose compensation package led the way with annual salary and benefits totaling more than $1.5 million. Prosecutors accused him of illegally writing his own employment contracts and steering nearly $1.9 million in unauthorized city loans to himself and others. He was booked into Los Angeles County Jail and was being held on $3.2-million bail.

The charges follow months of nationwide outrage and renewed debate over public employee compensation since The Times reported in July that the city's leaders were among the nation's highest paid municipal officials.

Cooley described Rizzo as the "unelected and unaccountable czar" of Bell, accusing him of going to elaborate lengths to keep his salary secret. Prosecutors alleged that Rizzo gave himself huge pay raises without the City Council's approval.

"This was calculated greed and theft accomplished by deceit and secrecy," Cooley said.

Rizzo's attorney, James W. Spertus, said the charges came as no surprise and were politically motivated by Cooley, who is running for California attorney general.

"The allegations are mistaken," Spertus said. "They are factually untrue in many readily provable ways."

Cooley denied that his election effort played any part in the decision to file charges.

At a news conference, Cooley accused City Council members of failing to oversee Rizzo's actions, saying that they instead had collected more than $1.2 million in total pay since 2006 for presiding over city agency meetings that never occurred or lasted just a few minutes.

Many city residents greeted news of the charges with joy.

"Finally the crooks are going to suffer what the city suffered for many years," said Carmen Bella, a longtime Bell activist.

About two dozen Bell residents gathered outside City Hall to celebrate. One man used a bullhorn to broadcast the Queen rock song, "Another One Bites the Dust," while others laughed, cheered and applauded.

But at least one resident wondered what would happen to his embattled city.

"Who's going to call the shots?" asked Hassan Mourad, 32. "That's the most important thing right now."

-- Richard Winton and Jack Leonard

Photo: Booking shots of Robert Rizzo, former city manager, and Bell Mayor Oscar Hernandez. Credit: L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

Photos: Arrests in Bell

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New Scapegoat for a Lousy Economy: Fox News is Hogging All the Success.

Challenge To Graham Henderson: Please Point Out Who Believes Music Should Just Be A Hobby

from the we're-waiting... dept

There's been a bizarre shift lately in the recording industry's attempt to demonize people who believe in embracing new business models and new technologies in the music business. We just wrote about Universal Music's Jim Urie claiming that "copyleft" supporters don't care about art, and along those same lines, Zeropaid points us to Graham Henderson, the head of the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA -- which is almost entirely dominated by foreign companies) going to Washington DC to lobby in favor of more draconian copyright laws.



We had just caught Henderson falsely claiming that the reason streaming music services won't come to Canada is because of the "piracy," there -- even though the same article where he made those claims showed a bunch of streaming music companies who want to launch in Canada, but can't because of the ridiculous licensing demands of the recording industry. It seems Henderson just can't stop making statements that appear to have little basis in reality. In making this push, Henderson, too, has decided to make up a total strawman of an "enemy," in the blogosphere:

"There is a certain set of bloggers out there who think music is nothing more than a hobby, that it should be free. But I think Canadians as a whole are more open to supporting their creative industry and so we're finally at the point where Ottawa is going to act. I refuse to believe that this brand-new digital era is going to make beggars of creators and send them back to the 1800s."

So, here's my challenge to Henderson: prove it. Or, in the parlance of Wikipedia: [citation needed]. Where are these bloggers who "think music is nothing more than a hobby?" I read most of the blogs of the folks I'm pretty sure you're talking about, and I don't know any of them who think that music is nothing more than a hobby (with the possible exception of Suzanne Lainson who is hardly your typical "copyleft" blogger -- in fact, she keeps saying she doesn't pay attention to copyright issues and thinks it's a waste to even pay attention to copyright policy discussions). Most of us, however, have spent an awful lot of time and effort trying to highlight great new ways to make money for musicians, such that we're seeing that musicians are actually able to make more money than they did in the past -- and we celebrate whenever we such news.



Of course, we all know what's really going on. Part of the reason many of these musicians who are embracing new technologies and new business models are making more money than before is because those business models route around the gatekeepers that make up the RIAA and the CRIA. And those companies have a long history of keeping money away from musicians rather than helping them make a living. Most of the bloggers that Henderson is slamming love to see artists making money. They love to see creative new business models that are fan friendly and that allow fans to support artists. We don't believe that music is just a hobby. We think, in fact, that there are many more opportunities for musicians to make money. It's just that, quite frequently, those methods involve not filtering the money through Henderson's corporate masters, where they take an excessive cut.



But, as these industry folks continue to lie to politicians and the press, it's important to keep calling them out. I've still not heard any response on my open challenge to Jim Urie to talk about this publicly, so I'll issue the same challenge to Graham Henderson. Please, point out who these bloggers are, and show me how their reasons for being against your attempt to put forth unnecessary, damaging and ever more draconian copyright laws is because they think that "music is nothing more than a hobby." I'd be perfectly happy to discuss this publicly with Henderson, where we can discuss great new ways to help musicians make more money.



If Henderson can't do that, then it should be clear that he knows he's lying to the public, to the press and to politicians.

26 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Among those charged was Robert Rizzo, the former city manager of Bell, whose compensation package led the way with annual salary and benefits totaling more than $1.5 million. Prosecutors accused him of illegally writing his own employment contracts and steering nearly $1.9 million in unauthorized city loans to himself and others. He was booked into Los Angeles County Jail and was being held on $3.2-million bail.

The charges follow months of nationwide outrage and renewed debate over public employee compensation since The Times reported in July that the city's leaders were among the nation's highest paid municipal officials.

Cooley described Rizzo as the "unelected and unaccountable czar" of Bell, accusing him of going to elaborate lengths to keep his salary secret. Prosecutors alleged that Rizzo gave himself huge pay raises without the City Council's approval.

"This was calculated greed and theft accomplished by deceit and secrecy," Cooley said.

Rizzo's attorney, James W. Spertus, said the charges came as no surprise and were politically motivated by Cooley, who is running for California attorney general.

"The allegations are mistaken," Spertus said. "They are factually untrue in many readily provable ways."

Cooley denied that his election effort played any part in the decision to file charges.

At a news conference, Cooley accused City Council members of failing to oversee Rizzo's actions, saying that they instead had collected more than $1.2 million in total pay since 2006 for presiding over city agency meetings that never occurred or lasted just a few minutes.

Many city residents greeted news of the charges with joy.

"Finally the crooks are going to suffer what the city suffered for many years," said Carmen Bella, a longtime Bell activist.

About two dozen Bell residents gathered outside City Hall to celebrate. One man used a bullhorn to broadcast the Queen rock song, "Another One Bites the Dust," while others laughed, cheered and applauded.

But at least one resident wondered what would happen to his embattled city.

"Who's going to call the shots?" asked Hassan Mourad, 32. "That's the most important thing right now."

-- Richard Winton and Jack Leonard

Photo: Booking shots of Robert Rizzo, former city manager, and Bell Mayor Oscar Hernandez. Credit: L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

Photos: Arrests in Bell

corporate reputation management

LinkedIn Beefs Up Company Profiles With <b>News</b> Feeds, Career Data <b>...</b>

We recently wrote about the fast growing number of company profiles on professional social network LinkedIn (the network has over one million to be exact). Launched in April, the company profile gives organizations a centralized profile ...

COD: Black Ops zombies spotted again <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our news of COD: Black Ops zombies spotted again.

Michelle Malkin » New Scapegoat for a Lousy Economy: Fox <b>News</b> is <b>...</b>

New Scapegoat for a Lousy Economy: Fox News is Hogging All the Success.

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LinkedIn Beefs Up Company Profiles With <b>News</b> Feeds, Career Data <b>...</b>

We recently wrote about the fast growing number of company profiles on professional social network LinkedIn (the network has over one million to be exact). Launched in April, the company profile gives organizations a centralized profile ...

COD: Black Ops zombies spotted again <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

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Michelle Malkin » New Scapegoat for a Lousy Economy: Fox <b>News</b> is <b>...</b>

New Scapegoat for a Lousy Economy: Fox News is Hogging All the Success.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

Terrific Endeavors

First you must know that you can do anything you want in life, you h=just have to lnow where to start. Let’s get back ut there and try to do whatever we can to aspire for the best. I know plenty of way in which you can start living life to its fullest in the meantime.

one of the thing s we first must do is forget about the negative and just go for it. That’s right in everything we do, we must strive to get higher, get more, earn more etc. You get the point, right?

So where do we start?…. where can we acheive the results we are looking for?

Every time you wake up above ground, its a good day! You need to start acting as if…act as if you are already the ceo of a major corporation. Now I’m not saying to start living beyond you means, I’m just simply stating that you need to take charge of your life and you finances. Make life changing decisions when it comes to your job, your future and everything about you.

This is how people go from being average to wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. but nothing will happen until you make it happen. So what are you waiting for? It will not happen just because you wish it to, you must do something to jump start the chain reaction that will in fact change your life.

Please let me know when you have started. I’d like to know about your progress. I record my results and so should you. Thisis the only way you will be able to know how well you’re doing.

be honest in you finding, and be honest with yourself . This is the only way to gain ground fast.

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Making Fast Money

President Obama reportedly will propose two big corporate tax cuts this week.

One would expand and make permanent the research and experimentation tax credit, at a cost of about $100 billion over the next ten years. The other would allow companies to write off 100 percent of their new investments in plant and equipment between now and the end of 2011 at a cost next year of substantially more than $100 billion (but a ten-year cost of about $30 billion since those write-offs wouldn't be taken over the longer-term).

The economy needs two whopping corporate tax cuts right now as much as someone with a serious heart condition needs Botox.

The reason businesses aren't investing in new plant and equipment has nothing to do with the cost of capital. It's because they don't need the additional capacity. There isn't enough demand for their goods and services to justify it. Consumers aren't buying because they're trying to come out from under a huge debt load, including mortgage debt; they have to start saving because their nest eggs are worth substantially less; and they've lost or are worried about losing jobs and pay.

In any event, small businesses don't have enough profits against which to use these tax credits and deductions, and large corporations are sitting on over a trillion dollars of profits and don't need them.

Republicans and corporate lobbyists have been demanding tax cuts on corporate investments for one reason: Big corporations are investing in automated equipment, robotics, numerically-controlled machine tools, and software. These investments are designed to boost profits by permanently replacing workers and cutting payrolls. The tax breaks Obama is proposing would make such investments all the more profitable.

In sum, Obama's proposed corporate tax cuts (1) won't generate more jobs because they don't put any cash in worker's pockets (as would, for example, exempting the first $20,000 of income from the payroll tax and making up the difference by applying the payroll tax to incomes over $250,000); (2) will subsidize companies to cut even more jobs; and (3) will cost $130 billion -- money that could better be spent helping states and locales avoid laying off thousands of teachers, fire fighters, and police.

So why is Obama proposing them? To put Republicans in a bind. If they refuse to go along he can justifiably say they have no agenda other than obstruction. After all, the only thing they've been arguing for is lower taxes. On the other hand, if Republicans agree to support these corporate tax cuts, Obama can claim a legislative victory that will help Democrats neutralize their opponents in the upcoming elections.

The proposals also make it harder for Republicans to argue the Bush income tax cuts should be extended for the richest 3 percent of taxpayers because small businesses need it. Obama's corporate tax cuts would appear to do the trick.

The White House probably figures even if Republicans agree to the proposed tax cuts, nothing will come of it. Congress will be in session for only about two weeks between now and the midterm elections so it's doubtful these proposals would be enacted in any event.

But this cynical exercise could backfire if Republicans call Obama's bluff and demand the corporate tax cuts be put on a fast track and get signed into legislation before the midterms.

More troubling, Obama's whopping proposed corporate tax cuts help legitimize the supply-side dogma that the economy's biggest obstacle to growth is the cost of capital, rather than the plight of ordinary working people.

This post originally appeared at RobertReich.org.

Clearly the plot of these Fast & Furious movies aren’t all that important and certainly aren’t what fans flock to the theaters for. But all movies need a plot and we finally get a look at the official one for Fast Five today.

Take a look at the official synopsis for below:

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of returning all-stars from every chapter of the explosive franchise built on speed in Fast Five. In this installment, former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) partners with ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) on the opposite side of the law. Dwayne Johnson joins returning favorites Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar for this ultimate high-stakes race.

Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they’ve blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he’s not the only one on their tail.

Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can’t separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey…before someone else runs them down first.

Maybe it’s not the most imaginative plot in the world, but at least it’s taking things in an interesting direction. I really dig the addition of Dwayne Johnson as an agent who apparently never fails at his job (he looks badass in the set photos we posted last month).

Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite

You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...

Pentax announces price and availibilty for 645D camera: Digital <b>...</b>

Pentax announces price and availibilty for 645D camera: Photokina 2010: Pentax has announced its 645D medium format digital camera will start shipping globally from December 2010. The camera will sell at a retail price of $9999.99 for ...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Ecclestone pushing for medals system

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone plans to make a fresh push to introduce his gold medal system into the sport, after suggesting that the new points system introduced this year has not improved matters.

robert shumake

Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite

You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...

Pentax announces price and availibilty for 645D camera: Digital <b>...</b>

Pentax announces price and availibilty for 645D camera: Photokina 2010: Pentax has announced its 645D medium format digital camera will start shipping globally from December 2010. The camera will sell at a retail price of $9999.99 for ...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Ecclestone pushing for medals system

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone plans to make a fresh push to introduce his gold medal system into the sport, after suggesting that the new points system introduced this year has not improved matters.

President Obama reportedly will propose two big corporate tax cuts this week.

One would expand and make permanent the research and experimentation tax credit, at a cost of about $100 billion over the next ten years. The other would allow companies to write off 100 percent of their new investments in plant and equipment between now and the end of 2011 at a cost next year of substantially more than $100 billion (but a ten-year cost of about $30 billion since those write-offs wouldn't be taken over the longer-term).

The economy needs two whopping corporate tax cuts right now as much as someone with a serious heart condition needs Botox.

The reason businesses aren't investing in new plant and equipment has nothing to do with the cost of capital. It's because they don't need the additional capacity. There isn't enough demand for their goods and services to justify it. Consumers aren't buying because they're trying to come out from under a huge debt load, including mortgage debt; they have to start saving because their nest eggs are worth substantially less; and they've lost or are worried about losing jobs and pay.

In any event, small businesses don't have enough profits against which to use these tax credits and deductions, and large corporations are sitting on over a trillion dollars of profits and don't need them.

Republicans and corporate lobbyists have been demanding tax cuts on corporate investments for one reason: Big corporations are investing in automated equipment, robotics, numerically-controlled machine tools, and software. These investments are designed to boost profits by permanently replacing workers and cutting payrolls. The tax breaks Obama is proposing would make such investments all the more profitable.

In sum, Obama's proposed corporate tax cuts (1) won't generate more jobs because they don't put any cash in worker's pockets (as would, for example, exempting the first $20,000 of income from the payroll tax and making up the difference by applying the payroll tax to incomes over $250,000); (2) will subsidize companies to cut even more jobs; and (3) will cost $130 billion -- money that could better be spent helping states and locales avoid laying off thousands of teachers, fire fighters, and police.

So why is Obama proposing them? To put Republicans in a bind. If they refuse to go along he can justifiably say they have no agenda other than obstruction. After all, the only thing they've been arguing for is lower taxes. On the other hand, if Republicans agree to support these corporate tax cuts, Obama can claim a legislative victory that will help Democrats neutralize their opponents in the upcoming elections.

The proposals also make it harder for Republicans to argue the Bush income tax cuts should be extended for the richest 3 percent of taxpayers because small businesses need it. Obama's corporate tax cuts would appear to do the trick.

The White House probably figures even if Republicans agree to the proposed tax cuts, nothing will come of it. Congress will be in session for only about two weeks between now and the midterm elections so it's doubtful these proposals would be enacted in any event.

But this cynical exercise could backfire if Republicans call Obama's bluff and demand the corporate tax cuts be put on a fast track and get signed into legislation before the midterms.

More troubling, Obama's whopping proposed corporate tax cuts help legitimize the supply-side dogma that the economy's biggest obstacle to growth is the cost of capital, rather than the plight of ordinary working people.

This post originally appeared at RobertReich.org.

Clearly the plot of these Fast & Furious movies aren’t all that important and certainly aren’t what fans flock to the theaters for. But all movies need a plot and we finally get a look at the official one for Fast Five today.

Take a look at the official synopsis for below:

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of returning all-stars from every chapter of the explosive franchise built on speed in Fast Five. In this installment, former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) partners with ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) on the opposite side of the law. Dwayne Johnson joins returning favorites Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar for this ultimate high-stakes race.

Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they’ve blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he’s not the only one on their tail.

Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can’t separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey…before someone else runs them down first.

Maybe it’s not the most imaginative plot in the world, but at least it’s taking things in an interesting direction. I really dig the addition of Dwayne Johnson as an agent who apparently never fails at his job (he looks badass in the set photos we posted last month).

robert shumake

Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite

You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...

Pentax announces price and availibilty for 645D camera: Digital <b>...</b>

Pentax announces price and availibilty for 645D camera: Photokina 2010: Pentax has announced its 645D medium format digital camera will start shipping globally from December 2010. The camera will sell at a retail price of $9999.99 for ...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Ecclestone pushing for medals system

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone plans to make a fresh push to introduce his gold medal system into the sport, after suggesting that the new points system introduced this year has not improved matters.

robert shumake

Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite

You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...

Pentax announces price and availibilty for 645D camera: Digital <b>...</b>

Pentax announces price and availibilty for 645D camera: Photokina 2010: Pentax has announced its 645D medium format digital camera will start shipping globally from December 2010. The camera will sell at a retail price of $9999.99 for ...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Ecclestone pushing for medals system

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone plans to make a fresh push to introduce his gold medal system into the sport, after suggesting that the new points system introduced this year has not improved matters.

Money Making Websites

Interactivity is a key element when it comes to successfully spreading web content, which is why the ARG or transmedia experience — which works across platforms to create a narrative that the user has to discover on his or her own — has become a much more visible part of the landscape. Enter a recently launched ARG created specifically for the web series community, one that celebrates it.

Created by producer Jenni Powell and No Mimes Media, Webishades launched earlier this month via an article posted on Tubefilter. That article included a link to the Webishades website, which had secrets to be unlocked with phone calls, emails and ads on websites for series including The Guild, Squatters, Compulsions and The Temp Life. “It was a lot insidery, but that was part of the fun of it,” Powell said via phone.

To be honest, I completed the Webishades challenge in about ten minutes, because I cheated. And while I cheated — with some help from the ARG forum Unfiction, where previous players have documented the complete path to victory — that low level of commitment is deliberate.

Webishades is part of No Mimes’ recent string of 10 Minute ARG projects, which are created to be self-sustaining in perpetuity. “People don’t do stuff when we want them to, necessarily,” No Mimes managing director Benham Karbassi said via phone. “So we want to give them the opportunity to do it when they want to.”

So far, by Karbassi’s estimations, “a few thousand” people have checked out the Webishades website, with “a few hundred” following up on the phone call. But every component of the Webishades experience is automated, and as long as the participating web series don’t remove the clues from their websites, the game will be playable for the foreseeable future.

Not that there’s a lot there, to be frank — Webishades doesn’t have much in the way of story, instead operating as a promotional engine for the shows involved, and the reward is relatively Spartan. “It’s not as narrative as other ARG games,” Powell said. “It’s very different because it’s advertisement-based: ‘Here’s this fun fake product, let’s talk about it.’ That’s more of the game. We could have blown this out more, but it was just a fun way for us to work together.”

One of the complications is that Felicia Day, who in the project’s original iteration played a much larger role, was cast in a multi-episode arc on the SyFy Channel series Eureka this summer, meaning that her involvement had to be scaled back dramatically. “As you go, you have to be really flexible — that’s why ARGs are so fun to design,” Powell said. “You have to be on your toes the entire time.”

No money exchanged hands in this project, with everyone instead donating their time to put the elements together (with the exception of performance fees for actors in the Webishades commercial). That’s because Webishades isn’t intended to be a moneymaker; in fact, a Crackle representative, during a call with Powell and the No Mimes team, directly challenged No Mimes as to why they were doing this project — because it was just going to cost them money.

Karbassi’s reply at the time was that it would be great advertising for them, and also give them access to the web series community. Which seems to have paid off, at least in regard to the latter point: The number of series which participated in the project does represent an impressive range of the talent currently making web narrative. And while the numbers are low on players who have fully engaged with the project, those Webishades ads do remain on all the respective sites. The game is still on.

Related GigaOm Pro Content (subscription required): Shattering the Fourth Wall To Find Web Audiences

Democrats allege in a legal filing that, by plugging an Ohio gubernatorial candidate's website in a chyron, Fox News illegally contributed to the Republican's campaign.

A seven-page complaint filed Thursday by the Democratic Governors Association with the Ohio Elections Commission accuses Fox News of making an illegal in-kind contributions to gubernatorial candidate John Kasich (R-OH), reports Sam Stein.

During an Aug. 18 appearance on Bill O'Reilly's show, the network displayed the candidate's website at the bottom of the screen as he spoke, which the DGA says constitutes an in-kind contribution. Kasich's campaign raised over $21,000 from the FOX News solicitation, according to the complaint.

DGA Executive Director Nathan Daschle told Stein that there was a difference between running a website URL on screen and just allowing a candidate to pitch his or her website on their own

"We did our homework," he said. "We talked to other networks and other networks told us they have policies against putting up campaign websites like Fox did... Certainly other networks will have candidates on the air. But people don't take it as far as Fox does."

But as Stein points out, there is another possible motivation for the complaint -- feuds between Democrats and the network can reel in the donations. A recent $1 million donation by Fox News parent company News Corp. brought in a similar amount for the DGA.

Kasich is not the only GOP member pulling his URL on Fox. Nevada Republican Sharron Angle, Sen. Harry Reid's Republican opponent, has said she goes on shows which allow her to give out her web address.

"Well, in that audience will they let me say I need $25 dollars from a million people go to Sharron Angle.com send money? Will they let me say that? Will I get a bump on my website and you can watch whenever I go on to a show like that we get an immediate bump," Angle said.

The DGA complaint is embedded below.

ohio fox -

Google New: It&#39;s Google <b>News</b> About New Google Stuff In One Place

In terms of blog networks, no one ever seems to talk about Google, but they actually have one of the biggest. The search giant has well over 100 blogs devoted to everything from general company news to niche things that only webmasters ...

WRC demo on Xbox Live now Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of WRC demo on Xbox Live now.

More People Watched Fox <b>News</b> Monday Than Obama Town Hall <b>...</b>

In fact, far more people watched the Fox News Channel's "Happening Now" with Jon Scott and Jenna Lee airing at the same time than tuned in to see what the President had to say. Potentially even more embarrassing, when you add in those ...

robert shumake

Google New: It&#39;s Google <b>News</b> About New Google Stuff In One Place

In terms of blog networks, no one ever seems to talk about Google, but they actually have one of the biggest. The search giant has well over 100 blogs devoted to everything from general company news to niche things that only webmasters ...

WRC demo on Xbox Live now Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of WRC demo on Xbox Live now.

More People Watched Fox <b>News</b> Monday Than Obama Town Hall <b>...</b>

In fact, far more people watched the Fox News Channel's "Happening Now" with Jon Scott and Jenna Lee airing at the same time than tuned in to see what the President had to say. Potentially even more embarrassing, when you add in those ...

Interactivity is a key element when it comes to successfully spreading web content, which is why the ARG or transmedia experience — which works across platforms to create a narrative that the user has to discover on his or her own — has become a much more visible part of the landscape. Enter a recently launched ARG created specifically for the web series community, one that celebrates it.

Created by producer Jenni Powell and No Mimes Media, Webishades launched earlier this month via an article posted on Tubefilter. That article included a link to the Webishades website, which had secrets to be unlocked with phone calls, emails and ads on websites for series including The Guild, Squatters, Compulsions and The Temp Life. “It was a lot insidery, but that was part of the fun of it,” Powell said via phone.

To be honest, I completed the Webishades challenge in about ten minutes, because I cheated. And while I cheated — with some help from the ARG forum Unfiction, where previous players have documented the complete path to victory — that low level of commitment is deliberate.

Webishades is part of No Mimes’ recent string of 10 Minute ARG projects, which are created to be self-sustaining in perpetuity. “People don’t do stuff when we want them to, necessarily,” No Mimes managing director Benham Karbassi said via phone. “So we want to give them the opportunity to do it when they want to.”

So far, by Karbassi’s estimations, “a few thousand” people have checked out the Webishades website, with “a few hundred” following up on the phone call. But every component of the Webishades experience is automated, and as long as the participating web series don’t remove the clues from their websites, the game will be playable for the foreseeable future.

Not that there’s a lot there, to be frank — Webishades doesn’t have much in the way of story, instead operating as a promotional engine for the shows involved, and the reward is relatively Spartan. “It’s not as narrative as other ARG games,” Powell said. “It’s very different because it’s advertisement-based: ‘Here’s this fun fake product, let’s talk about it.’ That’s more of the game. We could have blown this out more, but it was just a fun way for us to work together.”

One of the complications is that Felicia Day, who in the project’s original iteration played a much larger role, was cast in a multi-episode arc on the SyFy Channel series Eureka this summer, meaning that her involvement had to be scaled back dramatically. “As you go, you have to be really flexible — that’s why ARGs are so fun to design,” Powell said. “You have to be on your toes the entire time.”

No money exchanged hands in this project, with everyone instead donating their time to put the elements together (with the exception of performance fees for actors in the Webishades commercial). That’s because Webishades isn’t intended to be a moneymaker; in fact, a Crackle representative, during a call with Powell and the No Mimes team, directly challenged No Mimes as to why they were doing this project — because it was just going to cost them money.

Karbassi’s reply at the time was that it would be great advertising for them, and also give them access to the web series community. Which seems to have paid off, at least in regard to the latter point: The number of series which participated in the project does represent an impressive range of the talent currently making web narrative. And while the numbers are low on players who have fully engaged with the project, those Webishades ads do remain on all the respective sites. The game is still on.

Related GigaOm Pro Content (subscription required): Shattering the Fourth Wall To Find Web Audiences

Democrats allege in a legal filing that, by plugging an Ohio gubernatorial candidate's website in a chyron, Fox News illegally contributed to the Republican's campaign.

A seven-page complaint filed Thursday by the Democratic Governors Association with the Ohio Elections Commission accuses Fox News of making an illegal in-kind contributions to gubernatorial candidate John Kasich (R-OH), reports Sam Stein.

During an Aug. 18 appearance on Bill O'Reilly's show, the network displayed the candidate's website at the bottom of the screen as he spoke, which the DGA says constitutes an in-kind contribution. Kasich's campaign raised over $21,000 from the FOX News solicitation, according to the complaint.

DGA Executive Director Nathan Daschle told Stein that there was a difference between running a website URL on screen and just allowing a candidate to pitch his or her website on their own

"We did our homework," he said. "We talked to other networks and other networks told us they have policies against putting up campaign websites like Fox did... Certainly other networks will have candidates on the air. But people don't take it as far as Fox does."

But as Stein points out, there is another possible motivation for the complaint -- feuds between Democrats and the network can reel in the donations. A recent $1 million donation by Fox News parent company News Corp. brought in a similar amount for the DGA.

Kasich is not the only GOP member pulling his URL on Fox. Nevada Republican Sharron Angle, Sen. Harry Reid's Republican opponent, has said she goes on shows which allow her to give out her web address.

"Well, in that audience will they let me say I need $25 dollars from a million people go to Sharron Angle.com send money? Will they let me say that? Will I get a bump on my website and you can watch whenever I go on to a show like that we get an immediate bump," Angle said.

The DGA complaint is embedded below.

ohio fox -

robert shumake

Google New: It&#39;s Google <b>News</b> About New Google Stuff In One Place

In terms of blog networks, no one ever seems to talk about Google, but they actually have one of the biggest. The search giant has well over 100 blogs devoted to everything from general company news to niche things that only webmasters ...

WRC demo on Xbox Live now Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of WRC demo on Xbox Live now.

More People Watched Fox <b>News</b> Monday Than Obama Town Hall <b>...</b>

In fact, far more people watched the Fox News Channel's "Happening Now" with Jon Scott and Jenna Lee airing at the same time than tuned in to see what the President had to say. Potentially even more embarrassing, when you add in those ...

robert shumake

Google New: It&#39;s Google <b>News</b> About New Google Stuff In One Place

In terms of blog networks, no one ever seems to talk about Google, but they actually have one of the biggest. The search giant has well over 100 blogs devoted to everything from general company news to niche things that only webmasters ...

WRC demo on Xbox Live now Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of WRC demo on Xbox Live now.

More People Watched Fox <b>News</b> Monday Than Obama Town Hall <b>...</b>

In fact, far more people watched the Fox News Channel's "Happening Now" with Jon Scott and Jenna Lee airing at the same time than tuned in to see what the President had to say. Potentially even more embarrassing, when you add in those ...

Making Money Cash

→ Washington’s Blog

Everyone knows that the American consumer is deleveraging … living more frugally, and paying down debt.

Right?

Well, actually, as CNBC’s Diana Olick pointed out in April, many consumers are stopping their mortgage payments, and then blowing the money they would usually pay towards their mortgage on luxuries:

I opened up a big can of debate Monday, when I repeated some chatter around that consumer spending might be juiced by all those folks not paying their mortgages.

They have a little extra cash, so they’re spending it at the mall.

Some of you thought the premise had some validity, others, as is often the case, told me I was an idiot.

Well after the blog went up Erin Burnett put the question to Economist Robert Shiller, of the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index, during an interview on Street Signs.

He didn’t deny the possibility, and added:

“In some sense there might be a silver lining in that.”

Then I decided to ask Mark Zandi, of Moody’s Economy.com, who will often shoot down my more ridiculous theories.

I asked him if this was a crazy idea:

No, not crazy. With some 6 million homeowners not making mortgage payments (some loans are in trial mod programs and paying something but still in delinquency or default status) , this is probably freeing up roughly $8 billion in cash each month. Assuming this cash is spent (not too bad an assumption), it amounts to nearly one percent of consumer spending. The saving rate is also much lower as a result. The impact on spending growth is less significant as that is a function of the change in the number of homeowners not making payments.

I’m not sure I would say this is juicing up spending, but resulting in more spending than would be the case otherwise.

Many of these stressed homeowners (due to unemployment) are reducing their spending, just not as much as they would have if they were still making their mortgage payment.

Okay, so 6 million American homeowners are not being super frugal about either paying their mortgages or saving the money for another investment.

But surely the hundreds of millions of other Americans are reducing debt and deleveraging, right?

In fact, as the Wall Street Journal notes today, the overwhelming majority of debt reduction by consumers is not due to voluntary debt reduction, but due to defaulting on their debts and having them involuntarily written down by the banks:

The sharp decline in U.S. household debt over the past couple years has conjured up images of people across the country tightening their belts in order to pay down their mortgages and credit-card balances. A closer look, though, suggests a different picture: Some are defaulting, while the rest aren’t making much of a dent in their debts at all.

First, consider household debt. Over the two years ending June 2010, the total value of home-mortgage debt and consumer credit outstanding has fallen by about $610 billion, to $12.6 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. That’s an annualized decline of about 2.3%, which is pretty impressive given the fact that such debts grew at an annualized rate in excess of 10% over the previous decade.

There are two ways, though, that the debts can decline: People can pay off existing loans, or they can renege on the loans, forcing the lender to charge them off. As it happens, the latter accounted for almost all the decline. Over the two years ending June 2010, banks and other lenders charged off a total of about $588 billion in mortgage and consumer loans, according to data from the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

That means consumers managed to shave off only $22 billion in debt through the kind of belt-tightening we typically envision. In other words, in the absence of defaults, they would have achieved an annualized decline of only 0.08%.

The Journal graphically shows that virtually all debt reduction is due to loan charge offs:

Karl Denninger notes:

From a peak in 2005 of $13.1 trillion in equity in residential real estate, that value has now diminished by approximately half to $6.67 trillion!Yet outstanding household debt has in fact increased from $11.7 trillion to $13.5 trillion today.

Folks, those who claim that we have “de-levered” are lying.

Not only has the consumer not de-levered but business is actually gearing up – putting the lie to any claim that they have “record cash.” Well, yes, but they also have record debt, and instead of decreasing leverage levels they’re adding to them.

In short don’t believe the BS about “de-leveraging has occurred and we’re in good shape.” We most certainly have not de-levered, we most certainly are not in good shape, and the Federal borrowing is what, for the time being, has prevented reality from sticking it’s head under the corner of the tent.

Indeed, as I’ve pointed out repeatedly, the government has done everything it can to prevent deleveraging by the financial companies, and to re-lever up the economy to dizzying levels.

As Jim Quinn wrote last month:

You can’t open a newspaper or watch a business news network without seeing or hearing that consumers and businesses have been de-leveraging. The storyline as portrayed by the mainstream media is that consumers and corporations have seen the light and are paying off debts and living within their means. Austerity has broken out across the land.

***

Below is a chart that shows total credit market debt as a % of GDP. This chart captures all of the debt in the United States carried by households, corporations, and the government. The data can be found here:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/accessible/l1.htm

Total credit market debt peaked at $52.9 trillion in the 1st quarter of 2009. It is currently at $52.1 trillion. The GREAT DE-LEVERAGING of the United States has chopped our total debt by 1.5%. Move along. No more to see here. Time to go to the mall. Can anyone in their right mind look at this chart and think this financial crisis is over?

During the Great Depression of the 1930′s Total Credit Market Debt as a % of GDP peaked at 260% of GDP. As of today, it stands at 360% of GDP. The Federal Government is adding $4 billion per day to the National Debt. GDP is stagnant and will likely not grow for the next year. The storyline about corporate America being flush with cash is another lie. Corporations have ADDED $482 billion of debt since 2007. Corporate America has the largest amount of debt on their books in history at $7.2 trillion.

Indeed, as this chart courtesy of Zero Hedge confirms, traditional banking liabilities are higher than ever:

Granted, the liabilities of the shadow banking system have fallen off of a cliff.

But Tyler Durden argues:

The latest plunge in the shadow banking system is merely the most recent confirmation that the deleveraging in America is only just beginning.

So what does it all mean?

The government, big financial companies and the American consumer are all guilty of fighting deleveraging instead of voluntarily paying down their debt.

Like a junkie looking for “one last score”, the entire country has sold out our future to try to keep the artificial high going a little longer.

As I pointed out in July 2009:

Every independent economist has said that too much leverage was one of the main causes of the current economic crisis.However … the Federal Reserve and Treasury have, in fact, been encouraging massive leveraging.

***

Economists pushing voodoo theories justifying the tremendous increase in leverage were promoted and lionized, while those questioning such nonsense were ridiculed.In other words, economists and financial advisors – in academia, government and elsewhere – have been subservient to the financial elites, and have trumpeted the safeness and soundness of cdos, credit default swaps, and all of the rest of the shadow economy which allowed leverage to get so out of hand that it brought the world economy to its knees.

This is no different from the promotion of sports doctors to become team doctor when they are willing to inject various painkillers and feel-good drugs into an injured football star so he can finish the game. If he is willing to justify the treatment as being safe, he is promoted. If not, he’s out.

Economists have acted like team docs for the financial giants. When the football team doctor who gives the injured patient steroids and stimulants and tells him to get back in the game, it might be good for the team in the short-run, but the patient may end up severely injured for decades.

When economists have prescribed more leverage and told the banks to go trade like crazy to get the economy going again, it might be good for the banks in the short-run. But the consumer may end up being hurt for many years.

Using another analogy, this is like prescribing”hair of the dog” to the suffering alcoholic or heroin to the withdrawing junkie.

And as I wrote in August 2009:

In an essay entitled “The risk of a double-dip recession is rising”, Nouriel Roubini affirms two important points:

This is a crisis of solvency, not just liquidity, but true deleveraging has not begun yet because the losses of financial institutions have been socialised and put on government balance sheets. This limits the ability of banks to lend, households to spend and companies to invest…

The releveraging of the public sector through its build-up of large fiscal deficits risks crowding out a recovery in private sector spending.

In other words, Roubini is confirming what Anna Schwartz and many others have said: that the problem is insolvency, more than liquidity, that the government is fighting the last war and doing it all wrong, and that we should let the insolvent banks fail.

Roubini is also confirming that incurring huge deficits in order to have the federal government itself act as a super-bank is causing a reduction in – and “crowding out” a recovery in – private sector spending. [Roubini also said last year: "Deleveraging requires the writing down of debt as reflationary policies are not a free lunch and won't solve the debt overhang problem"].

As I have repeatedly pointed out, a recovery cannot occur until we move through the painful deleveraging process. But instead of allowing this to occur, the government is trying to increase leverage as a way to try to re-start the economy and save the insolvent banks. See this, this and this.

Of course, all of the massive government spending might also be putting governments themselves at risk . . . but that is another story.

The newly formed �super PAC� of abortion rights advocacy group EMILY�s List drew most of the $430,000 it raised in August from just five sources, a Center for Responsive Politics review of campaign finance reports filed Thursday shows.

Last month, the PAC, known as Women Vote!, raised $250,000 from the Service Employees International Union and another $95,000 from four wealthy women philanthropists and investors who have been prolific political donors over the years, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis. Such contributions illustrate how relatively few people may now, in the aftermath of major federal court decisions, significantly affect the financial fortunes of certain political groups.

This $95,000 represents more than 50 percent of all non-SEIU contributions Women Vote! collected in August.

The largest individual contribution the group received in August came from New York investor Judith-Ann Corrente, who contributed $50,000.

Along with her husband, Blenheim Capital Management Chairman Willem Kooyker, Corrente is among the top 50 donors to all federal candidates, parties and committees so far this election cycle.

The other women to drop five-figure checks for the committee are as follows:

• Anne D. Taft, of Binghamton, N.Y. She contributed $25,000 and her occupation is listed as �investor� on the group�s Federal Election Commission filings


• Emily H. Fisher, a philanthropist who lives in Sheffield, Mass. She contributed $10,000 and her occupation is listed as �retired� on the group�s FEC filings


• Anne Bartley, of San Francisco. She contributed $10,000. Her occupation is listed as �investor� on the group�s FEC filings. She is married to Larry B. McNeil -- who is the director of the SEIU�s Institute for Change and who was a �Saul Alinski organizer for 25 years,� according to an official online biography
  

Bartley is also currently a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. (Full disclosure: This foundation is a funder of the Center for Responsive Politics.)

The EMILY�s List�s Women Vote! PAC was established earlier this year for the explicit purpose of making independent expenditures in hot races, for example, running advertisements overtly telling voters to support or defeat specific candidates. It is one of more than two dozen groups to register with the FEC as an �independent expenditure-only committee,� as OpenSecrets Blog has previously written about on numerous occasions.

The group has raised $1.5 million between January and August. It ended August with about $703,000 cash on hand.

It has spent $826,900 since January, including $65,800 on mailings in August touting Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Robin Carnahan and opposing Republican Senate candidate Roy Blunt in Missouri.

During previous election cycles, federal rules limited how much money PACs could collect from individuals. It was illegal to collect more than $5,000 per person, per year. But recent federal legal rulings -- including Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission -- have changed that.

Survey: AT&amp;T to keep 63% of iPhone customers | iLounge <b>News</b>

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robert shumake

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→ Washington’s Blog

Everyone knows that the American consumer is deleveraging … living more frugally, and paying down debt.

Right?

Well, actually, as CNBC’s Diana Olick pointed out in April, many consumers are stopping their mortgage payments, and then blowing the money they would usually pay towards their mortgage on luxuries:

I opened up a big can of debate Monday, when I repeated some chatter around that consumer spending might be juiced by all those folks not paying their mortgages.

They have a little extra cash, so they’re spending it at the mall.

Some of you thought the premise had some validity, others, as is often the case, told me I was an idiot.

Well after the blog went up Erin Burnett put the question to Economist Robert Shiller, of the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index, during an interview on Street Signs.

He didn’t deny the possibility, and added:

“In some sense there might be a silver lining in that.”

Then I decided to ask Mark Zandi, of Moody’s Economy.com, who will often shoot down my more ridiculous theories.

I asked him if this was a crazy idea:

No, not crazy. With some 6 million homeowners not making mortgage payments (some loans are in trial mod programs and paying something but still in delinquency or default status) , this is probably freeing up roughly $8 billion in cash each month. Assuming this cash is spent (not too bad an assumption), it amounts to nearly one percent of consumer spending. The saving rate is also much lower as a result. The impact on spending growth is less significant as that is a function of the change in the number of homeowners not making payments.

I’m not sure I would say this is juicing up spending, but resulting in more spending than would be the case otherwise.

Many of these stressed homeowners (due to unemployment) are reducing their spending, just not as much as they would have if they were still making their mortgage payment.

Okay, so 6 million American homeowners are not being super frugal about either paying their mortgages or saving the money for another investment.

But surely the hundreds of millions of other Americans are reducing debt and deleveraging, right?

In fact, as the Wall Street Journal notes today, the overwhelming majority of debt reduction by consumers is not due to voluntary debt reduction, but due to defaulting on their debts and having them involuntarily written down by the banks:

The sharp decline in U.S. household debt over the past couple years has conjured up images of people across the country tightening their belts in order to pay down their mortgages and credit-card balances. A closer look, though, suggests a different picture: Some are defaulting, while the rest aren’t making much of a dent in their debts at all.

First, consider household debt. Over the two years ending June 2010, the total value of home-mortgage debt and consumer credit outstanding has fallen by about $610 billion, to $12.6 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. That’s an annualized decline of about 2.3%, which is pretty impressive given the fact that such debts grew at an annualized rate in excess of 10% over the previous decade.

There are two ways, though, that the debts can decline: People can pay off existing loans, or they can renege on the loans, forcing the lender to charge them off. As it happens, the latter accounted for almost all the decline. Over the two years ending June 2010, banks and other lenders charged off a total of about $588 billion in mortgage and consumer loans, according to data from the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

That means consumers managed to shave off only $22 billion in debt through the kind of belt-tightening we typically envision. In other words, in the absence of defaults, they would have achieved an annualized decline of only 0.08%.

The Journal graphically shows that virtually all debt reduction is due to loan charge offs:

Karl Denninger notes:

From a peak in 2005 of $13.1 trillion in equity in residential real estate, that value has now diminished by approximately half to $6.67 trillion!Yet outstanding household debt has in fact increased from $11.7 trillion to $13.5 trillion today.

Folks, those who claim that we have “de-levered” are lying.

Not only has the consumer not de-levered but business is actually gearing up – putting the lie to any claim that they have “record cash.” Well, yes, but they also have record debt, and instead of decreasing leverage levels they’re adding to them.

In short don’t believe the BS about “de-leveraging has occurred and we’re in good shape.” We most certainly have not de-levered, we most certainly are not in good shape, and the Federal borrowing is what, for the time being, has prevented reality from sticking it’s head under the corner of the tent.

Indeed, as I’ve pointed out repeatedly, the government has done everything it can to prevent deleveraging by the financial companies, and to re-lever up the economy to dizzying levels.

As Jim Quinn wrote last month:

You can’t open a newspaper or watch a business news network without seeing or hearing that consumers and businesses have been de-leveraging. The storyline as portrayed by the mainstream media is that consumers and corporations have seen the light and are paying off debts and living within their means. Austerity has broken out across the land.

***

Below is a chart that shows total credit market debt as a % of GDP. This chart captures all of the debt in the United States carried by households, corporations, and the government. The data can be found here:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/accessible/l1.htm

Total credit market debt peaked at $52.9 trillion in the 1st quarter of 2009. It is currently at $52.1 trillion. The GREAT DE-LEVERAGING of the United States has chopped our total debt by 1.5%. Move along. No more to see here. Time to go to the mall. Can anyone in their right mind look at this chart and think this financial crisis is over?

During the Great Depression of the 1930′s Total Credit Market Debt as a % of GDP peaked at 260% of GDP. As of today, it stands at 360% of GDP. The Federal Government is adding $4 billion per day to the National Debt. GDP is stagnant and will likely not grow for the next year. The storyline about corporate America being flush with cash is another lie. Corporations have ADDED $482 billion of debt since 2007. Corporate America has the largest amount of debt on their books in history at $7.2 trillion.

Indeed, as this chart courtesy of Zero Hedge confirms, traditional banking liabilities are higher than ever:

Granted, the liabilities of the shadow banking system have fallen off of a cliff.

But Tyler Durden argues:

The latest plunge in the shadow banking system is merely the most recent confirmation that the deleveraging in America is only just beginning.

So what does it all mean?

The government, big financial companies and the American consumer are all guilty of fighting deleveraging instead of voluntarily paying down their debt.

Like a junkie looking for “one last score”, the entire country has sold out our future to try to keep the artificial high going a little longer.

As I pointed out in July 2009:

Every independent economist has said that too much leverage was one of the main causes of the current economic crisis.However … the Federal Reserve and Treasury have, in fact, been encouraging massive leveraging.

***

Economists pushing voodoo theories justifying the tremendous increase in leverage were promoted and lionized, while those questioning such nonsense were ridiculed.In other words, economists and financial advisors – in academia, government and elsewhere – have been subservient to the financial elites, and have trumpeted the safeness and soundness of cdos, credit default swaps, and all of the rest of the shadow economy which allowed leverage to get so out of hand that it brought the world economy to its knees.

This is no different from the promotion of sports doctors to become team doctor when they are willing to inject various painkillers and feel-good drugs into an injured football star so he can finish the game. If he is willing to justify the treatment as being safe, he is promoted. If not, he’s out.

Economists have acted like team docs for the financial giants. When the football team doctor who gives the injured patient steroids and stimulants and tells him to get back in the game, it might be good for the team in the short-run, but the patient may end up severely injured for decades.

When economists have prescribed more leverage and told the banks to go trade like crazy to get the economy going again, it might be good for the banks in the short-run. But the consumer may end up being hurt for many years.

Using another analogy, this is like prescribing”hair of the dog” to the suffering alcoholic or heroin to the withdrawing junkie.

And as I wrote in August 2009:

In an essay entitled “The risk of a double-dip recession is rising”, Nouriel Roubini affirms two important points:

This is a crisis of solvency, not just liquidity, but true deleveraging has not begun yet because the losses of financial institutions have been socialised and put on government balance sheets. This limits the ability of banks to lend, households to spend and companies to invest…

The releveraging of the public sector through its build-up of large fiscal deficits risks crowding out a recovery in private sector spending.

In other words, Roubini is confirming what Anna Schwartz and many others have said: that the problem is insolvency, more than liquidity, that the government is fighting the last war and doing it all wrong, and that we should let the insolvent banks fail.

Roubini is also confirming that incurring huge deficits in order to have the federal government itself act as a super-bank is causing a reduction in – and “crowding out” a recovery in – private sector spending. [Roubini also said last year: "Deleveraging requires the writing down of debt as reflationary policies are not a free lunch and won't solve the debt overhang problem"].

As I have repeatedly pointed out, a recovery cannot occur until we move through the painful deleveraging process. But instead of allowing this to occur, the government is trying to increase leverage as a way to try to re-start the economy and save the insolvent banks. See this, this and this.

Of course, all of the massive government spending might also be putting governments themselves at risk . . . but that is another story.

The newly formed �super PAC� of abortion rights advocacy group EMILY�s List drew most of the $430,000 it raised in August from just five sources, a Center for Responsive Politics review of campaign finance reports filed Thursday shows.

Last month, the PAC, known as Women Vote!, raised $250,000 from the Service Employees International Union and another $95,000 from four wealthy women philanthropists and investors who have been prolific political donors over the years, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis. Such contributions illustrate how relatively few people may now, in the aftermath of major federal court decisions, significantly affect the financial fortunes of certain political groups.

This $95,000 represents more than 50 percent of all non-SEIU contributions Women Vote! collected in August.

The largest individual contribution the group received in August came from New York investor Judith-Ann Corrente, who contributed $50,000.

Along with her husband, Blenheim Capital Management Chairman Willem Kooyker, Corrente is among the top 50 donors to all federal candidates, parties and committees so far this election cycle.

The other women to drop five-figure checks for the committee are as follows:

• Anne D. Taft, of Binghamton, N.Y. She contributed $25,000 and her occupation is listed as �investor� on the group�s Federal Election Commission filings


• Emily H. Fisher, a philanthropist who lives in Sheffield, Mass. She contributed $10,000 and her occupation is listed as �retired� on the group�s FEC filings


• Anne Bartley, of San Francisco. She contributed $10,000. Her occupation is listed as �investor� on the group�s FEC filings. She is married to Larry B. McNeil -- who is the director of the SEIU�s Institute for Change and who was a �Saul Alinski organizer for 25 years,� according to an official online biography
  

Bartley is also currently a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. (Full disclosure: This foundation is a funder of the Center for Responsive Politics.)

The EMILY�s List�s Women Vote! PAC was established earlier this year for the explicit purpose of making independent expenditures in hot races, for example, running advertisements overtly telling voters to support or defeat specific candidates. It is one of more than two dozen groups to register with the FEC as an �independent expenditure-only committee,� as OpenSecrets Blog has previously written about on numerous occasions.

The group has raised $1.5 million between January and August. It ended August with about $703,000 cash on hand.

It has spent $826,900 since January, including $65,800 on mailings in August touting Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Robin Carnahan and opposing Republican Senate candidate Roy Blunt in Missouri.

During previous election cycles, federal rules limited how much money PACs could collect from individuals. It was illegal to collect more than $5,000 per person, per year. But recent federal legal rulings -- including Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission -- have changed that.

robert shumake

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Survey: AT&amp;T to keep 63% of iPhone customers | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Survey: AT&T to keep 63% of iPhone customers. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Sony product-lineup at Photokina 2010: Digital Photography Review

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