Say what you may about Pat Buchanan but he does make you think and many times his opinions make sense. According to him race played a key role in the astonishing come-from-behind win of Scott Brown in Massachusetts. But it wasn’t racial hatred. Instead it was the anti-white policies and agenda of Mr. Marxist Obama that energized this demographic group to vote as a bloc against the Democrats.Click here.

It’s not just an isolated incident. The stories of Christians being persecuted while exercising their First Amendment right of free religious speech/expression are becoming legion. Praise God that this one had a happy ending.Click Full Story.

The architect for President Reagan’s successful campaign [Ed Rollins] has some insightful comments to make about the Massachusetts political massacre. Prepare to nod your head in agreement as you read.Click here for full story.

The Demcrats don’t give up very easily. They’re constantly devising newer schemes to win and stay in power. Senator Charles Schumer is the most dangerous lawmaker in America and is the leader of this voter fraud mob.Click here.

Hands down and no contest the Obama Administration is the most dangerous presidency ever to be elected in my lifetime. His radical agenda was there for anyone to see. But those who voted for him either were not aware of his extreme socialist and anti-Judeo-Christian leanings or simply couldn’t care less. Obama’s contempt for the First Amendment is highlighted in the following article from newsbusters.org:Click here.

With the economy in a tailspin many people in debt are being pursued aggresively by overly aggressive bill collectors. To avoid unecessary stress and sleepness nights I am providing needed advice to my readers. Even if you are not in debt your relatives, coworkers, and friends might be. So, pass this important information on to them.

Dirty tricks of debt collection: What you need to know
Martha C. White
Jan 18th 2010 at 6:00AM

With more Americans than ever falling behind on their house, car and credit card payments, collection agents are turning up the heat and getting tough on debtors in an effort to recoup overdue funds.

“Some collection agents attacked my integrity,” says Ken Golde (pictured), who was more than $200,000 in debt in 2007 after his business partner died unexpectedly. “They’d say, ‘How can you look yourself in the mirror?’ And one asked me, ‘Do you have a wife? Do you have a girlfriend? What would your girlfriend think?’”

This sort of shaming happened often, says Golde: “One asked, ‘Don’t you feel just wrong about this?’ Another asked, ‘Don’t you have any integrity?’”

As Golde unfortunately discovered, some bill collectors get rude and invasive. In some cases, they even cross line of legality. WalletPop spoke with lawyers and consumer advocates to find out what debt collectors can legally threaten you with — and how to know when they’ve crossed the line.

Crossing the line into harassment

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a federal law that applies to third-party debt collectors, prohibits what it refers to as “harassment.” “[A] debt collector can’t use obscene language or threaten violence,” says Chi Chi Wu, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center in Boston. They are, however, allowed to talk down to you and make you feel crummy about yourself.

Four years ago, Denise Brown was 42 years old, $65,000 in debt and humbly moving back in with her parents after a business venture that she started failed to turn a profit.The collectors soon found her at her new residence, though. While the majority of the collection agents she dealt with were courteous, she recalls some who weren’t so nice. “They were so angry with me,” says Brown.

One agent, in particular, threw her into a panic after insisting that her debt couldn’t be negotiated, settled or paid off more slowly. (That’s not true, you always have the power to negotiate.) According to Brown, the agent would demand to know when she was going to pay, then reject her offer as not good enough. “I just felt like I was this terrible criminal,” she says.

No matter what, you have the right to be treated professionally, says Robert Hobbs, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. “If they’re doing something that causes you anxiety and anguish, at that point, you need to start taking notes,” he says. “If you’re being mistreated by debt collectors, there are lawyers in almost every state that will represent you on a contingency basis.”

Aside from using profanity or threatening violence, debt collectors are also forbidden to call your friends, family and co-workers in order to spread the word that you were delinquent on your debts. Yet, some collectors are still legally able to get around this rule because of a loophole: Collection agencies are allowed to call people who know you if they’re trying to track you down.

One collection agent called Golde’s father looking for his phone number and made a point of saying Golde was delinquent on a debt. Golde hadn’t changed his phone number for nearly two decades and had been in touch with that same agency earlier, making him suspicious that the creditor was just trying to hurt his reputation.

Despite what you may have heard, bill collectors cannot threaten you with jail time. There are no debtors’ prisons in the U.S. But threatening imprisonment is a common tactic for bill collectors targeting immigrant communities, since they are less likely to be familiar with U.S. laws and may even come from a country that does jail debtors.

The phone won’t stop ringing

Besides bullying and threats, debt collectors also try to break debtors down through persistent phone calls. “I had seven different accounts, and I would sometimes get two, three, even four phone calls a day,” Golde says. “At the beginning, the conversations were stressful. The intent was to throw me emotionally.”

The FDCPA stipulates that a collection agency can’t call you “repeatedly,” meaning that your phone would ring continuously with their calls. Other than that, though, there are no limits placed on how many times an agency can contact you. One exception is the state of Massachusetts, which sets a limit of two calls per week per account.

To stop the calls, send a letter by certified mail stipulating that the company no longer can contact you regarding your debt. They legally have to stop once they receive the letter. The only exceptions are if they’re contacting you to tell you they’ve waived your debt (unlikely) or that they’re suing you for it (more likely). They can also sell the debt to another collection agency, which means you’ll have to start all over again.

Getting sued by your creditors

Unfortunately, debt collectors can and do sue people. If you receive a lawsuit, verify that it is legitimate by visiting the courthouse and looking for the filing paperwork. It’s illegal for a collection agency to send a letter saying they are suing you if they haven’t actually done so. If this happens, contact your state’s Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission and file a complaint, says Jose Garcia, associate director for research and policy at advocacy group Demos.

Claudia Wilner, senior staff attorney for Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, says verification is crucial. Collection agents will sometimes tell a debtor not to worry about a lawsuit, hoping that you won’t show up to defend yourself in court. You can’t win if you don’t show up to court, but you can lose. “People get served with legal process papers and don’t appear in court,” Wilner says, “and the next thing is, they have a default judgment against them.”

A lawsuit isn’t the end of the world, though. Golde says he was threatened with legal action and often told his accounts were in “pre legal” status — a meaningless term from the standpoint of the courts. When Golde was sued by one creditor, they added interest, legal fees and damages to his debt, which hiked it from

SAF SCHEDULES SHOT SHOW PRESS
CONFERENCE ON CHICAGO GUN BAN CASE

The Second Amendment Foundation will hold a special press conference during the Las Vegas SHOT Show on Wednesday, January 20, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. to provide an update on the current challenge to the Chicago handgun ban now before the U.S. Supreme Court. This case could decide whether the Second Amendment applies to the states and their subdivisions. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 2, 2010.

McDonald v. Chicago

Presented by the Second Amendment Foundation

Featuring:

Alan Gura, lead attorney for plaintiffs in McDonald v. Chicago,

who also argued the Heller case, previewing key issues in McDonald;

Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel

for the amicus National Shooting Sports Foundation,

and officers of the plaintiff Second Amendment Foundation, Illinois State Rifle Association and National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

11:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.

Press Conference Room,

Venetian Level 2,

Bassano Rooms 2601-2605

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

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Second Amendment Foundation
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email: InformationRequest@saf.org

Who is more delusional? The followers of Obama or the elected Democratic lawmakers who believe everything written in the NY Times is the gospel truth? There’s a lot of handwringing going on amongst the Democrats. They were so caught up in the euphoria of being totally in power that they underestimated the anger of the people. Believe it or not the NY Times has a very good piece on this topic.Click here.

As a minister I have the opportunity to speak with foreign clergymen on a wide variety of issues. To a person they insist that the homosexual movement strives [and is allowed] in the West but not in the third world. For example, South America, the Philippines, and Africa are vehemently opposed to ordaining homosexual ministers and intolerant of homosexuality practices in their nations.

Now Uganda is being pressured by Europe and the US to vote against a proposed anti-gay law. As a mostly Christian country the Ugandan church insists that no amount of [outside] pressure will dissuade them from enacting the above mentioned law.Click here.

Here’s another story on desperate Democrats fearing the outcome of Tuesday’s Senate race in Massachusetts. Their hatred of Republicans knows no bounds when you can embrace “the end justifies the means” tactic in order to win an election. Listen to Ed Schultz waishing out loud how he could vote several times. You can’t make this stuff up.Click here.