truth be told: Federal Reserve Has Been Issued Police Powers

truth be told: Federal Reserve Has Been Issued Police Powers: Federal Reserve Has Been Issued Police Powers by Tim Brown Did you know that the Federal Reserve is not a government entity? They aren...

Stockton, CA Filed for Bankruptcy, but What's Next?

Stockton, California files for bankruptcy

By Jim Christie
SAN FRANCISCO | Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:49pm EDT
(Reuters) - Stockton, California, became the largest city to file for bankruptcy in U.S. history on Thursday after years of fiscal mismanagement and a housing market crash left it unable to pay its workers, pensioners and bondholders.

The filing by the city of 300,000 people followed three months of confidential talks with its creditors aimed at averting bankruptcy.

"We are now a Chapter 9 debtor," Marc Levinson, the lawyer who filed the city's voluntary petition in the Eastern District of California, in Sacramento (Case 12-32118) told Reuters.

Pleadings in support of Stockton's eligibility for Chapter 9 bankruptcy will be filed on Friday, Levinson said.

Stockton, which officially declared insolvency and its desire to restructure its debt, also filed a separate list of its major unsecured creditors.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, which manages Stockton's pension plan, tops the list. The retirement system has a $147.5 million claim for unfunded pension costs.

Other top creditors include investors holding $124.3 million of Stockton's pension obligation bonds, $40.4 million of the city's variable rate demand obligations, $35.1 million of the city's public facilities fees bonds and $31.6 million of the city's parking garage debt.

Wells Fargo Bank NA is listed as the trustee for the investors.

"We are extremely disappointed that we have been unable to avoid bankruptcy," Mayor Ann Johnston said in a statement. "This is what we must do to get our fiscal house in order and protect the safety and welfare of our citizens."

Negotiations with creditors ended on Monday with Stockton failing to win enough concessions to help close its budget shortfall for the fiscal year starting on July 1. The city will also file a motion to request permission to share information from the confidential mediation process.

HEALTHCARE TO BE PHASED OUT, PENSIONS UNCHANGED

The Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing, a rare event for U.S. municipal debt issuers, was left as the only option to close a deficit of $26 million in Stockton's budget for its the new fiscal year, according to city officials.

The budget approved on Tuesday by Stockton's city council suspends $10.2 million in debt payments and cuts employee compensation and retiree benefits by $11.2 million to help close the deficit.

About $7 million in savings would come from cutting retiree medical benefits for one year.

While the retiree medical benefits will eventually be eliminated, Stockton plans to leave its public pensions unchanged while in bankruptcy proceedings. Attempts to pare them would invite long and expensive challenges.

City Manager Bob Deis said he was out of options to balance the city's budget after deep cuts in recent years to Stockton's work force. City leaders rejected further cuts to the police department as Stockton is experiencing a surge in violent crime.

The city will maintain current levels of public services, although at the cost of Stockton shedding its retiree medical program and defaulting on more of its bonds, Deis told Reuters.

Stockton has already defaulted on about $2 million in debt since February, allowing the trustee for one of its bond insurers to seize a building once slated to be its future city hall and three parking garages.

"We need to spread the pain. What's left are creditors, our bondholders and retirees," Deis said.

Stockton has suffered a sharp drop in revenue since the collapse of its once red-hot housing market, forcing it to cut more than $90 million in spending in recent years.

The housing boom transformed the farming city into a distant bedroom community of the San Francisco Bay area, and the bust put it at, or near, the top of national foreclosure rankings in recent years.

Stockton becomes the nation's most populous city to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. But Jefferson County, Alabama, remains the biggest municipal bankruptcy in terms of debt outstanding, as it had a debt load exceeding $4 billion when it filed in 2011. Stockton has about $700 million in bond debt.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded Stockton to default from selective default on Wednesday, citing the city's move toward bankruptcy and expectations that it will not substantially pay all of its obligations as they come due.

Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday cut to 'Caa3' various general fund-supported debts of the city, putting the ratings in the "substantial risk" category, one notch above the "may be in default, extremely speculative" grouping. Moody's said its move was based on Stockton's bankruptcy budget.

(Reporting by Jim Christie, Hilary Russ and Joan Gralla; Editing by Tiziana Barghini and Stacey Joyce)

America 2012: The Supreme Court Has Made It Legal For The Police To…

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police in the United States can strip search anyone that they arrest. It doesn’t matter how minor the crime is and it doesn’t matter if they suspect that you have contraband on you or not. The Supreme Court even said that you can be strip searched if you have been arrested for a traffic violation. Any type of arrest will do. Once you are arrested, if the police want to strip off your clothes and see you naked there is not a thing you can do about it. You can read the entire Supreme Court decision right here. Considering the fact that 13 million Americans are put in jail at some point each year, this is a very frightening thing. The notion that we are all “innocent until proven guilty” is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Thanks to the Supreme Court, it is now legal for the police to strip search you any time they want. All they have to do is find some excuse to arrest you. And considering the fact that almost everything is illegal in America, that is not hard to do. America continues to become a very dark place in 2012, and very few people are speaking up in defense of liberty and freedom.

But don’t the police need probable cause before they search you? Aren’t we protected against unreasonable searches by the U.S. Constitution? After all, the 4th Amendment says the following….

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Unfortunately, not even the Supreme Court seems to care much about the U.S. Constitution anymore.

As I have written about previously, in the “new America” you don’t get any rights.

Instead, the government gives you a limited number of “privileges” that it can revoke at any time.

The story of the man that was at the heart of the Supreme Court case mentioned above demonstrates this. His name was Albert Florence and he was arrested for not paying a fine that he had already paid.

But the fact that he was innocent didn’t seem to matter too much to the police. They held him in prison for six days and strip searched him twice. The following is how CNN describedwhat Florence went through after his arrest….

Court records show Florence was subjected to an invasive strip and visual body-cavity search. He was then held for six days in the county lockup before being transferred to a Newark correctional facility, where, he claims, he was subjected to another more intrusive search before being placed in the general prison population.

“It was very disgusting. It was just a bad, bad experience,” he told CNN’s Kate Bolduan recently. “I was just told, ‘Do as you’re told.’ Wash in this disgusting soap and obey the directions of the officer who was instructing me to turn around, lift my genitals up, turn around, and squat.”

Are you upset when you read that?

You should be.

You see, this is how totalitarian governments act. Totalitarian regimes love to dehumanize and humiliate their “detainees” by stripping them naked.

So when we see this kind of behavior by authorities in the United States we should be very concerned.

And when we see the U.S. Supreme Court giving the stamp of approval to this kind of activity, we should be sounding the alarm.

finish reading

STOCKTON TAKES DOWN TWO MORE WITH HELP FROM U.S. MARSHALS

MIND MASTERY

STOCKTON, CA - Stockton police officials said a recent effort to reduce deadly violence has led to the arrest of 32 people on the city's most wanted list.

Several U.S. Marshals have been helping police track the city's most dangerous criminals for the past several weeks. Federal help arrived in Stockton as part of Mayor Ann Johnston's Marshall Plan.

Among the 32 people arrested, 11 were, at one time, on the "Top 10 of Most Wanted" list. Two men arrested Wednesday were part of that list.

Javier Corona was arrested in connection to a murder that happened in the parking lot of a south Stockton shoe store.

U.S. Marshals also arrested Steven Fernandez Domingo on Wednesday.

Officer Pete Smith said the success of the effort is not a surprise.

"They're not answering calls for service, the 1,100 calls we get every day," Smith said. "They're focused on the list, running down leads, and focused on the intelligence as it comes in. When you can do that in law enforcement, you'll be successful."

By Tim Daly, tdaly@news10.net

Hoodie March Planned For Stockton - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Hoodie March Planned For Stockton - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

We will show the rest of the USA how we can turn 'the worst city in America' into a contender for the best! Vote Greg Pitsch Mayor in 2012!

Calif. Democratic treasurer perpetrated $7M fraud

By TOM VERDIN and DON THOMPSON
Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, Mar. 27, 2012 - 10:20

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee defrauded at least 50 candidates, officeholders and political organizations out of $7 million in a scheme that dates back more than a decade, according to a court filing made Tuesday by federal prosecutors.

The U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento filed the additional charges in federal court, providing the most detailed account to date in a case that has left some Democratic candidates scrambling for campaign cash in an election year.

Such filings typically are a prelude to a plea, but prosecutors would not confirm such a development or offer any further details.

Durkee, who heads Durkee & Associates in Burbank, was arrested in September and charged with suspicion of mail fraud after millions of dollars disappeared from the campaign accounts of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, other Democratic members of Congress and several Democratic state lawmakers.

The filing details a complex shell game in which Durkee shifted campaign money to cover an array of personal and business expenses.

In one example, $23,000 taken from Feinstein's account was used to help pay American Express credit card charges from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Amazon.com, Disneyland, Trader Joe's and Turners Outdoorsman.

Other misappropriations from Feinstein's account covered payments for a Long Beach condominium owned by Durkee and to the 401(k) plan for her employees.

The court filing said Durkee had devised a scheme from January 2000 until she was arrested last September "to defraud clients of Durkee & Associates, and to obtain money from them by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises."

It said she had signature control over roughly 700 bank accounts, including those used by political campaigns.

Durkee's attorney, Daniel Nixon, did not return telephone and email messages Tuesday evening.

John Kevin Vincent, the assistant U.S. attorney listed as the chief prosecutor in the case, declined to discuss the material in the latest filing and would not say whether a plea deal was in the works.

"When we get to that point, we'll send out a notification," Vincent said.

Durkee was scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon at a hearing that had been set before Tuesday's developments.

She has been accused of looting the accounts of dozens of Democratic officeholders, candidates and political organizations. Prosecutors also say Durkee filed false information with the Federal Election Commission and the California Secretary of State, which track campaign contributions and expenditures.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/27/4371582/prosecutors-filing-hints-at-plea.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/27/4371582/prosecutors-filing-hints-at-plea.html#storylink=cpy

Grandfather Gets Arrested for Holding Burglar at Gunpoint While Waiting for Police to Arrive

by Jenny Erikson

A New Hampshire grandfather has been arrested and is facing a possible prison sentence for firing a shot into the ground and holding a burglar at gunpoint until the cops could arrive. Dennis Fleming, 61, came home on Saturday night to discover that his home had been robbed. He saw the burglar, Joseph Hebert, 27, climbing out of his neighbor’s window. Mr. Fleming yelled, “Freeze!” and fired a shot into the ground before holding the crook at gunpoint.

When the police arrived, they arrested Hebert, but instead of a big old “thank you” and a slap on the back for Fleming, he got arrested too, on a charge of reckless conduct.

Yes, you read that right: A grandfather of 14 was arrested for not letting a criminal escape. What was he supposed to do -- hold him down? Then they probably would have arrested him for assault and battery. Besides, we are talking about a 61-year-old man versus a 27-year-old man. Fleming did the math on that one himself. He told FoxNews:

I didn’t think I could handle this guy physically, so I fired into the ground. He stopped. He knew I was serious. I was angry ... and I was worried that this guy was going to come after me.

The police also seized Fleming’s collection of firearms including seven rifles and a .38-caliber handgun. Just in case any other bad guys out there get it in their minds to rob an unarmed house, keep in mind that Fleming still has his Louisville Slugger.

Vigilantes can be dangerous, and people should not take the law into their own hands. But that’s not what happened here. The police were called and were on their way. Unfortunately, teleportation hasn’t become a reliable source of transportation quite yet, so the cops were not able to spontaneously appear out of thin air to arrest Hebert. Fleming did what he had to do to keep the younger man from escaping and/or harming him. By breaking-and-entering at least two homes, Hebert had already proved that he doesn’t play by the rules. I doubt he would’ve waited around to be arrested just because Fleming said, “Pretty please.”

Americans should have the right to protect their personal property. It’s a keystone to an ordered society. What happens when crooks know that people are unable to defend themselves? Penny Dean of Gun Owners of New Hampshire says, "The fact that this man would be charged is an outrage. Burglars in New Hampshire must know it's open season, since homeowners cannot defend themselves, as evidenced by this case. This is charging the victim."

Here’s to hoping County Attorney Tom Veladi shows some common sense when he reviews this case. People should not have to worry about getting arrested or going to jail for self-defense or for protecting their personal property.

There's The Phone, Hey Mom!

Maine Voter Fraud!!

When are Police Gonna Stick to the Script

Stockton, California. What a place to live. That is if your not bothered by the drive by shootings, police brutality, and corruption in the city's foundation. I tend to ignore everything that is not an immediate threat to my livelihood, because I've been through a couple of odd run ins with the Stockton Police Department, and let me tell you, these were not protectors of the public. The things along my own journey that blessed me with enough patience to deal with the bullshit I've had happen to me while living in "The All-American City."

Just recently, I had gone out one night with a friend of mine, well I thought he was a friend. We went to a buddy's of his Auto Shop to talk business. After we pounded a couple of adult beverages, several hours had passed, and now the three of us rode to another friends of his house. At this lady's house we continued to discuss business, in relation to investing in a few of my new start-ups. My buddy Alex tries getting me to drive him home before 2am, otherwise it's all bad for him being that he lives at his parents house still.

"I never drive after drinking, because unlike you, I learn from my mistakes," I told him because of his fifth DUI he received nearly two months prior.

This started an argument, that later turned physical. After defending myself for nearly 30 minutes, catching him off guard a few times with my own heavy hitters. Eventually we were both tired so I went and sat on the curb to catch a breath or two, when I was struck in the back of the head with either the handle of a pistol, or a flat square-ish rock, possibly even a brick and as a result I was knocked unconscious. Face down in the intersection just south of Downtown Stockton is where I laid for Several hours.

While I was out, Alex must have dug into my pockets, and took my keys as well as my wallet and cell phone. He then took my car in an attempt to beat his curfew. When he was driving towards his house, he totaled my car, and ditched it.

When I finally woke up, I was in the San Juaquin County Hospital with no shirt, no hat, no wallet, no phone, and later I found out I no longer had a car.

I walked home from the Hospital and asked my wife, if she drove me to the Hospital. Wow was she mad, furious with me for even leaving the night before, and not calling her all night. Well After I had explained to her the entire story she was more understanding about the missing car not being completely my fault. We had decided to call the Stockton Police Department and Report it Stolen. Several hours passed, before they located the car and called us. They told us where it was and that we had to come and tow it ourselves because it was on Private property.

We were stunned when we finally got to see it, complete disarray, all of my belongings were missing, there was no key, and we are talking about a 2003 All-road with a 2.7 L V6 Bi-Turbo engine, in optimal conditions this beast is boasting nearly 400 Horsepower. More than likely, since my thoughts resonated in my memory that he was the culprit, he was acting strange the whole night.

Later after we took care of the insurance, our insurance company, told us to get a copy of the report from the Police Departrment. When my wife called, they told her there was no report on file. No Report, yet they had record of our call to report the car stolen. So they sent a "sworn officer," to take a report. When the Stockton Police officer arrived, I greeted him, and politely started explaining to him what my issue was. After completing all of the above, the corrupted official told me, "Well, here is what's going to happen, nothing!" "What, why are you telling me nothing? Can you at least write us the report, so our Insurance company can make their diagnosis of the situation." I beckoned with reason. "No, no, no... because I don't feel that a crime has been committed." he said with conviction. "But it doesn't matter what you think, I am telling you facts, I am only asking that you put it into a report." I replied. "We are not going to do that, you got the call log, sorry!" And after he stated this he got into his car and drove off.

Opinion-BAY: The Problem That Is Destroying America

  I am disgusted with the {profane}morals of one of America's most known Websites, a true icon for the whole online auction industry.  It inspired the creation of Amazon, WeBidz, Overstock, and the list goes on.  However, there is something new the bay has introduced, called "BUYER PROTECTION (BP)."
To a lot of you out there that's great!  But where is the Seller's Protection?

My Entrepreneurial self couldn't process the worst business principle I have ever heard, "Our buyers' opinion matters more than the facts, because it helps future buyer's from having a negative experience with that seller."  - Words from YAB-E representative during a phone call I placed after having my account suspended.  How did my Account get suspended?  They said I had too many Negative Feedback Ratings.

This is where the story gets mind-boggling, but try to understand as much of this as possible, because this virus-like characteristic is spreading quickly from State to State, and that's only if this disease doesn't swim, otherwise it's damn near global by now.  I was starting off as a new Seller on YAB-E, and through the first month and a half, I sold 9 items.  Out of these nine sales, five of them came back negative.  The first two I received were on the first two items I sold.  Well, let's just say I learned to calculate what the cost to ship it will be, before posting it for sale.

I had no idea, a Wakeboard would be $90 dollars to ship using USPS. Wow, I only charged the buyer $35 USD.  After e-mailing the buyer to notify him of my mistake and asked if he would reimburse me the difference if I mailed him a copy of the receipt with the product?  He said no, because he shouldn't have to pay for my mistake.  So I refunded him 100 percent of his money, and canceled the transaction.  His emotions stained my reputation.  Why would a customer become upset after receiving a full refund of their money? They must be {profane} morons.  When they're the one who refused to pay the necessary amount to have it shipped.  That was the first complaint against my Account.  My second sale that resulted in negative feedback was also due to a error with estimated shipping cost, as I was unaware that Hawaii isn't included if it says free shipping to U.S.?

The first two were followed by 3 consecutive Positive Ratings which helped extend my income for a little while. Thanks to these blessed people I was able to pay a third of one month's mortgage payment.

(+)        (+)        (+)

A third negative feedback was posted on my profile when I sold an old siemens cellular phone and charger for $3.99, plus $3 for shipping.  It was stolen by a now ex-customer.  Stressing out about what to do, I decided to explain to the Buyer that I couldn't find it, so I will give him a full refund, which was a few days after the auction ended.  --Feedback--(NEG) "Seller is BS, wasted my time and gave me a refund days later."

The fact: After a refund, No transaction has occured.  
The Opinion: The Buyer felt that he was cheated out of his time.

why would a buyer's opinion, be any sort of basis on which a business is permitted to sell?  YAB-E wants to ensure that their customers have a great buying experience.  Did they forget that it is the sellers that are covering all of their overhead?  This could be the reason they are steadily losing legit Sellers and profits, causing their stock value to plummet.  This is the wrong way for Meg Whitman's legacy to fall, being overprotected to the point you are unable to Compete in any fashion.  Not to mention Meg, but 225 Million dollars on Advertising, and not a penny contributed to the State of California.  Wouldn't that have helped us lower the deficit that we were and still are facing?

Sorry for rambling there, do you see the opinions develop more often than the facts.  How is this?  Aren't the facts the story, and opinions feelings about the story?

"FEELINGS DON'T EXIST!"

Now for the fourth negative mark to my feedback had to do with "Lobby Cards."  Apparently I was misinformed by the lobby card collecter who sold them to me, because they were 8x10 photos from the set.  I gave her a full refund after she returned the item to me by mail.  Her opinion of the non-existant transaction is that I obviously don't know what Lobby cards are.  The fact was I handled an unsatisfied customer the same way I was taught, the customer is always right. Right? When did the businesses start losing credibility for serving the needs and wants of their customers?