The Hollywood Liberal

Wage Theft Is Rampant in America — Is Your Boss Ripping You off?
U.S. employers are stealing millions of dollars from their own employees — often right out in the open, unchallenged.

It’s the Revenue, Stupid
Today The New York Times’ editorialists ratify one of the top, upcoming bogus stories for 2011 — the fiscal crisis of the states. The bogosity lies not in the fact of crisis, but in the purported remedies, remedies sought after…

How Jerry Brown Saved the World
I had a bad case of the blues. My woman up and left me, my daughter is a juvenile delinquent, my cat does nothing but complain. I needed to be taken to another place. Sitting under a tree in the…

Barbour, the Citizens’ Councils, and the GOP
Every few years it seems the public is treated to an unguarded moment by a southern Republican of a certain age expressing admiration for his political forebears. The latest is Mississippi governor Haley Barbour’s celebration of the Citizens’ Councils as…

Exclusive: Huckabee Working With Scam Artist Notorious For Targeting Foreclosure Victims
Fox News personality and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) recently began appearing in television commercials calling for viewers to dial a 1-800 number to sign a repeal petition against health reform called “Repeal It Now.” The ad, a “project of Restore America’s Voice” (RAV), a political action committee run by Huckabee’s friend Ken Hoagland, also […]

Fox News personality and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) recently began appearing in television commercials calling for viewers to dial a 1-800 number to sign a repeal petition against health reform called “Repeal It Now.” The ad, a “project of Restore America’s Voice” (RAV), a political action committee run by Huckabee’s friend Ken Hoagland, also directs viewers to a website that solicits donations. “Well now, we’ll do our spanking on the Congress,” says a cheerful Huckabee before claiming that Americans will “rule” again if the petitioned is signed.

Huckabee, who has a history of using his ubiquitous media presence to fundraise for political groups benefiting himself and his family, is again associating with a shady political venture. ThinkProgress has learned that Huckabee is working with a firm notorious for defrauding families facing foreclosure with false promises and predatory fees.

According to disclosures filed with the FEC, RAV’s campaign is managed by a firm called the 949 Media Group. 949 has been paid tens of thousands of dollars to set up RAV’s website and Google search optimization, and receives a regular commission of $10,000 for related media work from RAV. ThinkProgress spoke to a representative from RAV, who told us that 949 is run by an individual named Derek Oberholtzer. According to the representative, Oberholtzer has worked with RAV since the PAC formed in October.

Oberholtzer is well known as a scam artist who has used a myriad of tricks to defraud people out of their money. In addition to 949 Media Group, he started a number of companies, including “Apply 2 Save” (A2S) and Giant Media Works. Consumer report websites are rife with complaints about Oberholtzer’s odious business practices. In one scheme, Oberholtzer paid for radio and other advertisements telling distressed homeowners to contact his company A2S to pay a flat $595 fee to receive assistance in renegotiating their loans or to block a bank foreclosure. The Federal Trade Commission has prosecuted Oberholtzer for deceptive practices. In numerous cases, Oberholtzer took the $595 payment, and never did anything to stop a foreclosure or even contact the mortgage company in question. In many instances he continued billing his customers further fees totaling nearly $1,000 without lifting a finger to actually renegotiate their mortgage or halt a foreclosure, as his “Apply 2 Save” company promised.

On message boards discussing mortgage fraud, story after story details A2S’s trickery. There are heartbreaking tales of families spending their last savings on a lifeline promised by Oberholtzer’s company — only to be defrauded and forced out of their homes.

After receiving over 150 complaints about Oberholtzer’s companies charging up-front fees of over $1,500 without delivering on any foreclosure assistance, the Idaho attorney general banned Oberholtzer from engaging in the home loan business in his state. “Apply 2 Save operated for less than a year, signed up hundreds of clients, and took in millions of dollars,” said Lawrence Wasden, Idaho’s attorney general. “Yet few consumers ever received the mortgage modification services they purchased.” After a successful lawsuit, Wasden was able to win $45,000 from A2S to distribute to Oberholtzer’s victims. In Maryland, Oberholtzer has been served an order to cease and desist after the state commissioner of financial regulation received multiple complaints about Apply 2 Save’s fraudulent scheme. Eventually, A2S was forced into bankruptcy and a wave of legal action in Idaho spurred Oberholtzer to move to California. Oberholtzer also agreed to pay $4 million to settle a civil suit filed by the Federal Trade Commission.

Once he was driven out of the business of defrauding already desperate people facing foreclosure, Oberholtzer became active in Republican politics. The “Repeal It Now” campaign set up by Restore America’s Voice and 949 Media Group claims endorsements from Huckabee, Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher, and somehow from deceased president Ronald Reagan. Olberholtzer also owns inactive domains called electmichele.org (presumably for Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), repeality.biz, electme2012.com, and ravpac.info. The “Repeal It Now” campaign Huckabee stars in does nothing to accurately discuss health reform or address the health care crisis. It only exists to rake in donations and spread right-wing hysteria.

As ThinkProgress has reported, there are a number of right-wing consultants who appear to orchestrate campaigns simply to enrich themselves. For example, one of the well-paid leaders of the Tea Party Patriots made a career before the Tea Party movement concocting pyramid schemes with herbal nutrient products and the Tea Party Express is run by an infamous Republican consulting firm known for starting front groups to funnel donations back to themselves. Similarly, people like Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich seem to be willing to say or do anything to earn a quick buck. However, Huckabee’s central role in legitimizing fraudsters like Oberholtzer might be a new low, even for the radical right.

Rep.-Elect Walsh Joins Just Four Other Republicans In Forgoing Government Health Care For Themselves
Responding to Rep.-elect Andy Harris’ (R-MD) hypocritical demand for government-sponsored health coverage last month, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) circulated a letter among his colleagues calling on Harris and other members of Congress who want to repeal President Obama’s health care law to forgo their own government health care plans. At least four GOP congressmen have […]

Responding to Rep.-elect Andy Harris’ (R-MD) hypocritical demand for government-sponsored health coverage last month, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) circulated a letter among his colleagues calling on Harris and other members of Congress who want to repeal President Obama’s health care law to forgo their own government health care plans. At least four GOP congressmen have already announced they will turn down their congressional benefits, and a recent poll found that a majority Americans “think incoming Congressmen who campaigned against the health care bill should put their money where their mouth is and decline government provided health care now that they’re in office.” In an interview with the New York Times published yesterday, Rep.-elect Joe Walsh (R-IL) has said he too will forgo government health coverage:

And get this: he’s turned down the usual congressional health care, pension and retirement packages.

“I don’t think congressmen should get pensions or cushy health care plans,” he said. His wife is not exhilarated with the latter decision; she has a pre-existing medical condition and is now forced to hunt for a plan.

Walsh’s decision to forgo government coverage is noteworthy because it is extremely unusual. Of the eighty-plus incoming Republican congressmen, all of whom ran campaigns railing against the Affordable Care Act, and the hundreds of incumbent GOP lawmakers, ThinkProgress has been able to identify only five who are willing to put their money where their mouth is and turn down government health care for themselves. This translates to just 2 percent of the 242 GOP House members of the 112th Congress. Moreover, those who have turned down their congressional health plans are either covered by other government programs, such as veterans benefits, or are wealthy, like Walsh, and can afford to pay for their own coverage.

Walsh’s wife, however, may have a hard time finding coverage no matter what she’s willing to pay due to her preexisting condition. If only Congress has passed some sort of law barring insurance companies from discriminating against people with preexisting conditions…

Jonathan Capehart: Bipartisan ‘birther’ backlash in Hawaii
Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on a heckuva a lot. But in the Aloha State of Hawaii when it comes to dealing with those seriously cracked people who refuse to accept that President Obama is an American citizen, there is bipartisan agreement that ‘birthers’ are a blot on the body politic. E…

Miller not done, but won’t stand in way of Murkowski’s Senate certification
Attorney Joe Miller has not finished fighting his months-long legal challenge over the Senate contest in Alaska, but he says he will not stand in the way this week when the state is expected to certify his opponent, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, as the victor in the closely watched race.

Activist groups take full advantage of new media outlets to spread their message
When black college students began the sit-in protests that led to the integration of the Jim Crow South, news spread quickly by word of mouth. Soon, students in several states were engaged in similar nonviolent sit-ins, spurring on the civil rights movement.

Ezra Klein: Why we’re not likely to get tax reform
There’s no issue that lends itself to as many applause lines as tax reform. At about 70,000 pages, the tax code is both intrinsically absurd and widely disliked. Rep. Dave Camp, the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has a particularly good one: “The tax code is 10 times lon…

Miss. Gov. Barbour takes heat for jet trips
Just a week after coming under fire for saying he didn’t remember the civil-rights era being that bad, Politico reports that Mississippi governor and potential 2012 presidential candidate Haley Barbour (R) has been flying lavishly on the taxpayer’s dime. According to records, Mississippi has spen…

How Govt Failure Caused the Great Recession
Perry & Dell, The American
The banking crisis that began in August 2007 shocked markets and precipitated the Great Recession. To fully explain the banking crisis, one must account for its timing, severity, and global impact. One must also confront a startling historical contrast. If we define “banking crisis” to mean bank failures and system losses exceeding 1 percent of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), we find that in the period 1875-1913, a period of marked expansion in international trade and capital flows comparable to the last three decades, there were only four …

A ‘Breeze of Change’ Blows in Helmand
Thomas Harding, Daily Telegraph
On Christmas Day, as on every other day this year, British troops stepped out to patrol central Helmand's pleasant, Provence-like countryside of tree-lined paths and streams "“ fortified on this occasion by turkey and the traditional Christmas shot of “gunfire” (whisky and tea).This is the 10th Christmas that UK forces have spent looking out on to Afghanistan's seemingly untamed landscape. But while no one is clamouring to say it "“ there have been too many false dawns "“ there is a feeling in the air that,…

Frank Rich Rewrites History
Byron York, Washington Examiner
Nothing irritates New York Times columnist Frank Rich more than Republicans who — in Rich's view — want to turn the clock back to the 1950s.  That long-ago time in America was never the idyll it is sometimes portrayed to be, Rich believes, but rather a “phony nirvana” rife with racism, sexism, homophobia, and economic injustice.So it is surprising that in a new column, “Who Killed the Disneyland Dream?” Rich waxes nostalgic about…the 1950s.  He tells the story of Robbins Barstow, a union official living in suburban Connecticut…

Why WikiLeaks Is the Death of Big Business
Noam Scheiber, New Republic
I confess that I'm torn. I had the same cranky reaction to Time's Person of the Year choice as pretty much the entire Internet: It's hard to see the calculation that makes Mark Zuckerberg more influential than Julian Assange in 2010. Still, there's something about this conventional wisdom that's annoying in its own right.When people riff about the impact of Wikileaks, you typically hear how it's forever changed diplomacy or intelligence-gathering. The more ambitious accounts will mention the implications for journalism, too. All of that's true and…

Airborne Cargo Not Screened to Federal Standards

Late, Late Night FDL: Happy Kwanzaa!
The Kwanzaa Song – Billy Paul Williams

The Kwanzaa Song – Billy Paul Williams

Happy Kwanzaa to all!

Here’s Kwanzaa’s founder, Dr. Maulana Karenga…

What’s on your mind tonite…?

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That’s Entertainment…or something
The Arts are going to kill us all…hopefully sooner rather than later.

pic via Andyi at flickr.com

Two vital news stories broke and I will discuss them in order of importance (least to most):

Republicans plan to lift the ban on the use of electronic gadgets like the iPad, iPhone and BlackBerry on the House floor.

John Boehner gets to make tee times from the Speakers’ chair…and now porn is not just for office chambers.

And the first member of Congress caught on C-Span looking at foot fetish porn is? I’m guessing it will be Jet’s fan Peter King.

But that’s not the big news. This is!

Earlier this month an army doctor, Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Lakin, was sentenced to six months in prison and thrown out of the military after he failed to turn up for a tour of duty in Afghanistan, arguing that because of Obama’s foreign birth his orders as commander-in-chief were illegal.

[Orly] Taitz said that she was now trying to turn the Lakin story into a musical, and is appealing for Andrew Lloyd Webber to contact her.

That’s right… ORLYHOMA!

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Help Stop Destruction of the Free Internet Now
The recent FCC decision to “protect” the free and open Internet was long awaited by activists but it turned out to be smoke and mirrors, catering largely to service providers such as Comcast and AT&T.

By Elliot D. Cohen

The recent FCC decision to “protect” the free and open Internet was long awaited by activists but it turned out to be smoke and mirrors, catering largely to service providers such as Comcast and AT&T.

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Mike Larsen: WTF Is an Independent Voter?
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A Teen’s Third World America
In the next five years, the American Society of Civil Engineers http://www.asce.org/ estimates that the United States will have to spend more than one trillion…

The Biggest Battles In This Year’s War On Christmas
Every year, there is a war that rages throughout the nation. The 76 percent of Americans who call themselves Christian face a nearly existential threat from the myriad forces that come together to conspire against them. This year, the battles…

Giuliani, Tom Ridge Go To Paris To Support Iranian Marxist Terrorist Group
This Wednesday, a group of prominent Bush-era Republicans, including former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, former White House adviser Frances Townsend and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, flew to Paris to speak in support of an Iranian exile group there — one that’s been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.

AlterNet’s 10 Most Popular Economic Stories of 2010
We worked hard to shed light on what’s happening in the American economy this year — here are your favorite articles of 2010.