pkarnig’s posthaven

In an eight-page order, two judges said they were persuaded by the Department of Justice's argument that U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips' worldwide injunction against the policy "will seriously disrupt ongoing and determined efforts by the Administration to devise an orderly change."

"The public interest in enduring orderly change of this magnitude in the military – if that is what is to happen – strongly militates in favor of a stay," Judges Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain and Stephen S. Trott wrote in their majority order. "Furthermore, if the administration is successful in persuading Congress to eliminate (the policy), this case and controversy will become moot."

Another reason they gave for imposing the freeze was decisions by four other federal appeals courts that cast doubt on whether Phillips exceeded her authority and ignored existing legal precedents when she concluded gays could not serve in the military without having their First Amendment rights breached.

This is another case of: "Why is it illegal to do X?" Where X is something that many people do openly in public. If it is illegal for gays to serve the country in the military, then how can it be legal for gays to run for office or teach in public schools? What is the basis for this unequal treatment under the law?

The failure of BOA and the other mega banks to come clean on this is what lies at the heart of our economic morass. It CAN be cleaned up and with some degree of fairness to ALL stakeholders — but not by bullying.

The only way this is going to get cleaned up is loan by loan settlements in which we do the best we can to provide the right incentives for all stakeholders to agree or be forced to comply with an equitable solution. Anything one-sided will not work.

Principal correction (that is what it is, not “reduction”) is the only impediment to getting this process rolling. Investors can strive for full par value with put-backs but we all know that the cases will be settled for less. Homeowners can strive for full ownership of their homes and that is exactly what will happen if the banks continue to insist on digging their heals in issues for which they have no legal support. Homeowners will leap at the chance to straighten this out WITH mortgages and enforceable notes and encumbrances, but only if the incentive is there for them to do so.

Call your representative and demand action against these illegal practices!

Across the country, struggling homeowners are increasingly tripped up by mortgage lenders that press ahead with foreclosures regardless of any effort they make to provide borrowers with relief on unaffordable mortgages.

Amid the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, mortgage companies have established a dual-track approach toward troubled homeowners, negotiating with them over loan modifications while trying to seize their homes.

Top government officials have been urging lenders to redouble their efforts at modifying burdensome loans and have barred lenders from foreclosing on homeowners who are seeking to rework their mortgages under a federal program. Mortgage companies, however, have continued to pursue this two-track strategy, with a widening toll especially on those homeowners who have been trying to resolve their mortgage difficulties before they snowball, according to federal and state officials and consumer advocates.

People need to go on the offensive and demand action by the regulators and our congressmen/women. Banks must be held accountable for their fraudulent practices. We need to see some equality under the law.

If Treasury is indeed behind the Date hit-piece, there could be no real question about Geithner’s machinations. Trash-talking Warren, her top advisers and the CFPB itself would be an unmistakable effort to compromise the entire enterprise. If it worked, Geithner could deny Warren the formal nomination as CFPB director, Warren would go the way of Brooksley Born, and less consumer-friendly officials could quietly crush the young agency.

If Treasury is indeed sabotaging Warren's efforts at the CFPB, it is a bad sign for those of us that believe we need real reform in our Financial Systems. Watch out for news about this in the days and weeks to come.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama defended his administration's beleaguered foreclosure-prevention initiatives on Wednesday by arguing that more aggressive steps to assist homeowners might help people who don't deserve to be helped.

Asked if his administration had done enough to stem the foreclosure crisis, Obama opted not to address the foreclosure fraud scandal that has forced banks to temporarily halt home repossessions across the country. Instead, he claimed that the government's efforts had stabilized the housing market, and argued that the "biggest challenge" was to make sure speculators and deadbeats didn't take advantage of the government's help.

YOU LIE OBAMA. You can't claim ignorance, you are part of the fraud perpetrated on the american people if you don't push for prosecution of the fraudulent banks, read BofA, JPMorgan,etc.

No Mr. President, Larry Summers Did Not Resolve the Financial Crisis for a Pittance, He Just Papered Over the Problem

Read this post by William K. Black. He is telling it straight up how it is. And, it's not pretty. We have been lied to and stolen from. It's time to fight back. Stop paying your mortgage. It's the only way people can get a real resolution to the mess that our totally unregulated banking system has caused. The banks have to re-value our homes and modify loans so that average citizens can keep their homes. If not, chaos will ensue!

It's utterly shocking, even to a congenital skeptic like me, to see that giant institutions such as Bank of America, GMAC and J.P. Morgan were allegedly using misleading affidavits to oust people from their homes. Employees of these institutions - the "robo-signers" - repeatedly misled courts by saying they had examined documents they hadn't examined.

The people should DEMAND that banks be held accountable for their fraudulent practices and they should be prosecuted! If, under "citizens united" companies are equal to individuals, then companies should be held equally responsible for their actions!

In a post this weekend, I wrote about how the cable tv industry was finally stepping towards the cliff. And we’d learn more today when Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator, reported earnings. Well, the numbers are out, and it’s not a surprise.

275,000 Comcast subscribers cut the cord last quarter. Its subscriber count is down 3.5% from the same quarter last year. To be fair, some of that loss was offset by a gain in 219,000 digital cable subs. Revenue was up as customers bought higher priced bundles of tv, internet and phone service. But….

Why am I not surprised that they would say this. It's doubtful that they really believe that this is the reason. But, lying about this publicly will not slow the inevitable....

Today at a press event in San Francisco, Intel and a group of 70 companies announced an alliance to build a system of open standards for cloud computing. Part of the Cloud 2015 initiative, The Open Data Center Alliance makes it easier for customers to deploy cloud computing solutions, as it focuses on interoperability, flexibility and unifying industry standards. The Open Data Center Alliance will represent more than $50 billion in annual IT investment.

While they talk about it. Others will innovate and wipe them out.