[Grig]

For the report on the press confrence her LAWYER held, see this article

This lawyer is a member of a prestigious downtown firm, and the press briefing was in the firm's luxurious conference room.

[alisasny]

This reminds me of my now estranged father who declared bankruptcy this past fall and I saw him pull up in a brand new lincoln continental a couple of months later before even the discharge. He never had that car before...HUMMM...in fact he never owned a luxery car before.

[Pylot]

Begging like this has become an industry.

In Boulder, Colorado there is a beggar at virtually every intersection where the traffic is good.

Cracks me up to see a young, healthy college student sucking the cash out of the liberals pockets.

They put a little dirt on their faces, wear some extra shabby and soiled clothes and hold out their goofy god bless you sign.

Since you know they surf the web in their off time I expect to see them all start shaking this week.

[Alouette]

This is an old begging scam, going on as long as there have been beggars and suckers. There's even a Sherlock Holmes story about a successful Victorian businessman who begged for a living, "The Case of the Twisted Face" I think it's called.

[TADSLOS]

Reminds me of Eddie Murphy's faux limbless character in "Trading Places". "Is there a problem, officer?"

[jimtorr]

When I lived in England, I used to see this sort of thing in London. There was this woman who hung out near the hotel I usually stayed at. She was youngish and looked well fed and healthy. She wore dirty, badly worn clothing, and smeared dirt on her face.

During the summer and on weekends she had two small children with her, also with dirt smeared on their faces, but she was alone during school hours. I once offered to buy her and the children lunch at McDonalds, but she refused. Of course, McDonalds in England are pretty bad, much worse than they are in USA.

[3AngelaD]

I live in northern Virginia. At the Route 1 exit onto 15th Street in Crystal City, four blocks from Pentagon Center Mall, there is always a white-headed man sitting at the stoplight begging. Sometimes there is a woman there with him, looking pitiful as well. One day when I was first in line at the stop light, I glanced over, and he had a DIAMOND EARRING in one ear, and not a little one, either, I would estimate it to be 3/4 of a carat. Of course, I couldn't jump out of my car and look at this guy's diamond with my loup, but if it isn't a real diamond, it's a pretty good CZ -- not the accessories you usually associate with beggars. Obviously, he's unclear on the concept. He is there every weekend, his sign always says he's stranded and I think he's a huge fraud. If he is stranded, he's been stranded there since sometime last summer.

[EggsAckley]

I watched a fake beggar in Cologne, Germany, for about an hour. She looked middle eastern or gypsy, hunched over, ragged and dirty, and had a small child who seemed to be unconscious on the sidewalk. At twelve noon the bells of the cathedral announced noontime, and I watched in amazement as she straightened up, smoothed her hair and her skirt, picked up her handbag, and gracefully walked briskly away from the child. As I watched, I saw a well-dressed young man greet her with a hug, and off they went, seemingly for lunch. Meanwhile, another woman appeared near the child, assumed the hunched-over pose, and began begging. I was told that they actually drug the children to make them look sick and weak. Blech!!

[Rebelbase]

There is a crew of beggers in my town that appear to have a deal worked out where they rotate intersections every week. You see one at this part of town one week and the same one at another part of town the next week week. It takes about 3-4 weeks to run the circuit before they repeat the same intersection.

[Rebelbase]

PS, My all time favorite sign was "Homeless, Hungry", written on the back of a Budweiser 12 pack.

[Destructor]

Here in Austin they make $600-$800 a day begging by the side of the road at busy intersections.

[freedox]

The only ones who get MY money are the ones who are smart enough to bring a dog with them. The sight of a quivering little pooch at their feet, remaining loyal to a master who has nothing.......yep, that'll sucker me in every time.......sighhhhhhhhh.

[Liberal Classic]

This is not uncommon. On my way to work there was this hobo who would ask for handouts. I would give him a buck or two depending on the weather. So, one day I'm at a party with some friends, when who do I see but Mr. Hobo wearing clean chinos and a sweater. I finally asked him how long it took to wash off the shoe polish that he applied to his skin, but he wouldn't answer.

One of the ways you can tell about these people is to give them food instead of cash. I used to carry around canned goods, such as fruit and chili, and give it to beggars at intersections. The ones who are out for dough will not take canned food, nor will they let you feed them, because they want your money. Someone who is really a hobo won't turn down a meal. The fakers don't want your charity, they want hard currency.

This is my test, anyhow. Don't know how reliable it is, but it seems ok.

I asked the guy on the side of the road, "hey you need a can opener?"

"No," he replied. "I have a .45!"

[Spook86]

I saw a similar story in the Arizona Republic a few years ago. The newspaper dispatched a reporter to observe some of the "homeless" in Phoenix. One apparently homless family had the panhandling routine down pat. Everyone in the family--including children--were working separate street corners. Business was brisk, and the family apparently raked in several hundred dollars in less than three hours. At the end of the day, the "family" walked to a late-model mini-van, parked behind a nearby building, and drove away. The reporter followed them to a $150,000 home. Neighbors claimed the family had been begging for years, claiming homelessness and poverty. According to the neighbors, the family netted $1,000-$2,000 in a "good week."

[Melinator]

These people are harmless. They'll cheat you out of a couple of bucks "for a meal" and pay for a modest lifestyle (including a chauffer driven Lumina).

Big Government on the other hand will take 50% of your income at gunpoint, "for the Children", and pay for lifestyle that would make Donald Trump blush.

[Atticus]

I do NOT give money to beggars. You might as well give the money to the nearest liquor store owner, because that's where it's going. I do give money and have donated a valuable used car to a nonprofit organization that actuall feeds hungry people, takes them off the street, cleans them up and preaches to them. I remember once I was on a crowded subway in NYC (pre-Guliani) when a manacing black man came in from the next car and shouted "Listen up!" Everyone immediately assumed we were going to be robbed and the subway was silent. Then, he shouted "I am not going to rob anyone." The sighs of relief were audible. He then explained how he had just gotten out of prison and needed money so he would not go back to a life of crime, etc. Out of the 80 or so people on the subway car, at least 65 contributed at least a quarter, and many people forked over a dollar.

[patent]

When I was in college, scraping my way through financially, I came out of a grocery store one day. The guy outside was panhanding. He wanted "37 cents, man, just 37 cents." I looked up at him. He was wearing a brand new polo from the gap, decent jeans (I forget which kind now) and good shoes. Between the two of us I was the one who looked more like a beggar.

Some of these people make far too much money in this country. In other countries people starve.

patent