self delete

[hang a left]

After critical article, conservative nonprofit accuses Raw Story of violating copyright

John Byrne
Published: March 3, 2006



The National Center for Public Policy Research, the conservative nonprofit where fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff served as a director, has instructed RAW STORY to remove a fundraising letter the group sent in 2004.

Noland MacKenzie Canter, III, a lawyer for the group, says the publication of the center’s fundraising letter violates their copyright. To many outside Washington, the center is known for being the group that Abramoff used to cover posh junkets for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).

RAW STORY published the letter in January of 2005. The story it accompanied detailed the effort by the conservative nonprofit to raise money from senior citizens by disguising a solicitation for a political donation under the guise of a “Task Force” to save Social Security.
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Sent amidst a climate of growing concern about the Social Security program, the group's letters targeted seniors of both parties, aiming to convince them their Social Security benefits were in jeopardy in hopes of inducing them to donate money. The mailings also encouraged seniors to keep the missive secret from others, perhaps even from family members.

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http://rawstory.com/news/2006/After_critical_article_conservative_nonprofit_accuses_0303.html

[hang a left]

1. Here is a woman charge with a hate crime for conning the elderly

Woman pleads guilty to hate crime for conning elderly men

Sherry Kaslov, 30, who most recently resided in Florida but once lived at 24-39 87th St. in East Elmhurst, admitted in court that she conned two men, aged 80 and 84, into giving her tens of thousands of dollars for nonexistent medical bills and other expenses, DA Richard Brown said. She was charged under a 2000 hate crime law because she targeted elderly people, prosecutors said.
She will be sentenced on May 3, the DA said.
Last month a 43-year-old Bayside woman was sentenced to four months in jail for a similar scheme, prosecutors said.


http://www.timesledger.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=1622768...

[Catrina]

2. I remember this woman's testimony at the Abramoff Senate hearings

I don't remember those letters ~

Abramoff was well known to her, as I recall ~ she was extremely righteous in her claims that her organization had never done anything wrong.

But reading the letters sent out to seniors, that on its own, is unbelievable! In fact, it is cruel and if it's not a crime, it ought to be.

As far as copyright claims, they sent them out didn't they? How many people received them I wonder? I don't know copyright law, but if you are the recipient of a letter, unsolicited, does it not become your property? If so, then all that would be needed is to locate those who received this scary missive and ask THEIR permission to publish it.

Interesting too that they only became concerned after the revelations about Abramoff's Malaysia activities ~

That letter is horrible, if it had come to anyone in my family, I would have taken it to a lawyer immediately ~ the scare tactics involved, the implication that the recipient must only talk about it to 'trusted friends' ~ that has to be illegal ~ no wonder they are trying to hide what they were doing ~

Let's hope all these scams (this is on a par, imo, with the emails from African princes promising millions of dollars to the 'trusted recipient') are uncovered and if not already illegal, laws passed to prevent the elderly from being victims of these ruthless people ~ they are disgusting ~ all of them.