Economics Update

Unemployment Claims 2008-Present

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Things aren't getting better, they are just running out of people to lay off.
H/t The Washington Independent.

It's jobless Thursday, and initial unemployment claims are back in the 450K-480K "sweet" spot, with initial claims rising 13,000 to 462K, the 4 week moving average rising 2¼K to 459,000, though both continuing and emergency claims fell.

Seeing as how the number really needs to be below 300,000 for any meaningful recovery in jobs, we remain in a bad place.

In non-existent inflation land, we saw producer prices rise 0.4% in September, though that was largely on food, the core rate was 0.1%, and the price of imports fell by 0.3%, even as the trade deficit rose.

I would note here to all the free trade fetishists, we have a deflation problem in our economy right now, and most of it is being imported.

Meanwhile, the us dollar has fallen to a low for the year.

Kochtopus

The Koch brothers, who have been using their Stalin derived fortunes^* to back the teabaggers, have steadfastly denied any involvement in the movement.

Well, let's role tape:

David Koch told New York Magazine earlier this year, "I’ve never been to a tea-party event. No one representing the tea party has ever even approached me."

But the Guardian reports that footage has emerged showing David Koch at the podium during an AFP gala receiving direct and detailed reports from his astroturf AFP army on their efforts to organize tea parties around the nation.

It appears that, "Never been to a tea-party event," means getting reports from the people you are bankrolling on stage in right wing speak.


^*Really, patriarch Fred Koch made his fortune setting up refining for Josef Stalin.

They Write Letters

Alan Grayson has written to the FBI requesting a criminal investigation of fraud by the bankers in their foreclosure proceedings.

He is correct when he says that, " It is time for handcuffs. Fraud does not become legal just because a big bank does it. … This is absurd. This is deliberate, systemic fraud, and it is a crime."

Full letter after the break:

October 14, 2010

Robert S. Mueller III
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20535

Robert O’Neill
U.S. Attorney
Middle District of Florida
400 North Tampa Street, Suite 3200
Tampa, FL 33602
Dear U.S. Attorney O’Neill and Director Mueller,

When it comes to foreclosures, there is mounting evidence of a state of rampant lawlessness in Central Florida. There are increasing signs that big banks routinely evade laws meant to protect homeowners, in many well-documented cases of ‘foreclosure fraud.’ Despite the demonstrated existence, for instance, of ‘robosigners’ signing affidavits attesting to documents that they have never seen, the parties engaging in such misconduct are not being brought to justice. Big banks are mischaracterizing this as mere ‘technical problems,’ and apologizing only where there is clear and very public evidence of harm.

It is not enough for big banks only to apologize for fraud, perjury, and even breaking and entering – when they are caught. It is time for handcuffs. Fraud does not become legal just because a big bank does it.

On September 20, 2010, after my office found evidence of systemic foreclosure fraud perpetrated by big banks and foreclosure mills, I called for a halt to illegal foreclosures.

Since then, big banks such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, GMAC, PNC and others have suspended foreclosures or foreclosure sales. These banks are still claiming that the massive fraud they have perpetrated amounts to nothing more than a series of technical mistakes. This is absurd. This is deliberate, systemic fraud, and it is a crime.

To give but two of the many available examples, attached is a deposition from an ex-employee of one of the largest ‘foreclosure mills’ in the state, the Law Offices of David Stern. In it, this employee testifies under oath that it was routine for that office to falsify documents regarding military records, in order to move foreclosure cases along more quickly.

The local media has reported on the case of Nancy Jacobini; a contractor for JP Morgan Chase broke into her home after the bank mistakenly foreclosed on it. JP Morgan Chase ‘apologized’ for terrifying her. But , US ; we have a system of laws. I am writing to ask you to enforce them.

The organized and systematic manufacturing of falsified documents to deprive people of their homes is not only a threat to the integrity of the legal system. It also aggravates and extends the weakness in the housing market. Who is going to feel comfortable buying a home if a big bank can simply take it, whether or not that bank has a right to it? Given the securitization of mortgage-backed securities, this misconduct is a threat to our securities markets as well. But fundamentally, this is a question of protecting basic property rights – if you don’t own it, then you shouldn’t try to take it. Without clear property rights, and a legal system that insists on clear proof of those rights before transferring ownership by force, the economy will fall apart.

If perpetrators of perjured affidavits and other systematic criminal activity can get off simply with civil liability – or even less, an insincere bureaucratic apology – the freedom that Americans enjoy will erode quickly in the face of lawless seizures of property. I appreciate your work on the joint Middle District of Florida’s Mortgage Fraud Initiative, and respectfully request that the efforts of your offices turn towards reining in this rampant criminality.

Regards,

Alan Grayson

Member of Congress

Obama Administration Requests Stay on DADT Injunction

There's a shocker. They want to continue the witch hunts and persecutions while they are appealing:

The Obama administration on Thursday asked a judge to allow the Pentagon to keep its ban against openly gay men and women in the military while it appeals her decision that ruled the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was unconstitutional.

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and military leaders have backed ending the policy, but have urged that it be done by the U.S. Congress and military so that there is no disruption to military operations, morale or recruiting.

At a town hall meeting with young voters, a woman pressed Obama on why he wasn't ending the policy immediately.

"This is not a situation where with a stroke of a pen I can end the policy," he said and noted that he cannot ignore laws on the books. "This policy will end and it will end on my watch."

This is a lie. Obama, with a stroke of a pen, could end the separations, and if Congress passes something (ha!) then it is his pen that will sign the bill.

When we look at Obama, one has to wonder whether he, or those people closest to him, like Valerie "gay is a lifestyle choice" Jarrett say about gays when they are having their private moments.

I'm beginning to think that the policy here is to find a path to do the least possible without fatally alienating the party.

If Obama were a Republican, we would be talking about his homophobia right now.

Foreclosures Hit a New Record in September

I wonder how many of them were fraudulent or otherwise in error:

More than 100,000 U.S. homes were seized by lenders in September, a record number that probably will decline in coming months as major banks halt repossessions and review their foreclosure practices.

Lenders took over 102,134 properties last month, RealtyTrac Inc. said in a report today. That was the highest monthly tally since the company began tracking the data in 2005, surpassing the August record of 95,364. Foreclosure filings, including default and auction notices, rose 3 percent from the prior month to 347,420. One out of every 371 households received a notice.

I'm dubious of that the, "number that probably will decline," as, "major banks halt repossessions and review their foreclosure practices."

The banks will rush the moratorium, and in any case the moratorium will be very porous, because the banks are evil, so I expect the numbers to rise.

Describing the Green Party to a T

In Illinois the Green Party Candidate for Governor, Rich Whitney, had his name misspelled on voting machines. It reads Rich Whitey.

I know that there are "people of color" in the Green Party. The late Ed Boyd, an African American, ran for governor in Maryland in 2006, but received no party support, because they were focusing on (equally doomed) the Senate candidacy of rich whitey Kevin Zeese.

Ed Boyd was kind of pissed, but that really is how the Green Party rolls. It's the comfortable pretending to afflict the comfortable.

So, the Solar Panels are Going Up at the White House

He will be putting both photovoltaic\ and hot water panels on the roof.

I'm honestly kind of surprised, seeing as how, less than a month ago, some solar enthusiasts were treated like complete crap for making this request.

I guess that someone thought that maybe that episode was a hippie cock punch too far.

Your Bank Foreclosure Fraud Update

Barry Ritholtz opens a can of whup ass on a clueless Diana Olick (@ 8:20 but watch the whole thing)

First, some perspective.

When I went to UMass, there was a murder case in the Amherst area. Someone bought some land, and they met on the property to exchange deed and money, and when he got the deed, he shot the seller, and took back the money.

At the time, I wondered how someone could be so stupid to think that this would still work.

The requirements of real estate transactions are such that, even if they never find the body or suspect you of murder, you won't get the property, and it's been that way since well before the Civil War, and possibly since before the Revolutionary War in Massachusetts.

That's what all these transactions are about. They are the product of hundreds of years of social and legal development in order to ensure that someone does not just shoot you and take the deed.

But the bankers just want to shoot you and take the deed, so they take short cuts.

It's why Barry Ritholtz calls the foreclosure fraud an assault on the basic property rights that make capitalism work in our society.

On a slightly less philosophical level, read Rortybomb's Foreclosure Fraud for Dummies, Part One, Part Two, and Part 3. It's clear, it's concise, and it helps you understand just what is going on here with the fraudulent paperwork.

Additionally, Felix Salmon points out that the entire mortgage backed securities process was a deliberate fraud perpetrated on investors:

………

This is where things get positively evil. The investment banks didn’t mind buying up loans they knew were bad, because they considered themselves to be in the moving business rather than the storage business. They weren’t going to hold on to the loans: they were just going to package them up and sell them on to some buy-side sucker.

In fact, the banks had an incentive to buy loans they knew were bad. Because when the loans proved to be bad, the banks could go back to the originator and get a discount on the amount of money they were paying for the pool. And the less money they paid for the pool, the more profit they could make when they turned it into mortgage bonds and sold it off to investors.

Now here’s the scandal: the investors were never informed of the results of Clayton’s test. The investment banks were perfectly happy to ask for a discount on the loans when they found out how badly-underwritten the loan pool was. But they didn’t pass that discount on to investors, who were kept in the dark about that fact.

………

In any case, it’s clear that the banks had price-sensitive information on the quality of the loan pool which they failed to pass on to investors in that pool. That’s a lie of omission, and if I was one of the investors in one of these pools, I’d be inclined to sue for my money back. Prosecutors, too, are reportedly looking at these deals, and I can’t imagine they’ll like what they find.

The bank I talked to didn’t even attempt to excuse its behavior. It just said that Clayton’s taste-testing was being done by the bank — the buyer of the loan portfolio — rather than being done on behalf of bond investors. Well, yes. That’s the whole problem. The bank was essentially trading on inside information about the loan pool: buying it low (negotiating for a discount from the originator) and then selling it high to people who didn’t have that crucial information.

We should be looking at throwing these folks in jail. (read the whole thing)

In terms of shoes dropping, we now have Wells Fargo initiating a review of its foreclosures, and J.P. Morgan announcing in an investor call that it has stopped using MERS as its agents in foreclosures, which indicates that the big banks have real concerns about the legality of what is basically a database containing an incomplete record of scanned images:

JP Morgan Chase is a valued member of MERS. They currently have their correspondent loans registered on the MERS System. They do not, nor have they ever, registered their retail loans on the MERS System. As members of MERS and for loans registered on the MERS System, banks have the option of foreclosing in their own name, or MERS foreclosing for them.

Notwithstanding the people out there who are maintaining that this is just a bit of paperwork, one of the more savvy banks out there is clearly concerned.

610 Grand, Not Enough

The lawsuit against the Lower Merion school district for spying on children with webcams has been settled for $610,000:

The Lower Merion School District will pay $610,000 to settle lawsuits over its tracking of student laptop computers, ending an eight-month saga that thrust the elite district into a global spotlight and stirred questions about technology and privacy in schools.

School board members voted unanimously Monday night to pay $185,000 to the two students who claimed the district spied on them by secretly activating the webcams on their laptops.

Someone should have gone to jail over all of this.

The fact that there was not a serious criminal investigation of this, with dozens of school officials under scrutiny is a disgrace.

Holy Crap

LoL Cat approves of the investigation

State Attorney Generals have opened investigations into foreclosures.

No, really, I don't mean that some of them, I mean all of them. All 50 state Attorneys Generals have opened investigation:

Top legal officers of all 50 states opened a joint investigation into home foreclosures, saying they will seek an immediate halt to any improper practices at banks and mortgage companies.

The states will conduct a coordinated inquiry into whether banks and loan servicers used false documents and signatures to justify hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. The group intends to establish independent monitoring, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading the probe, said today in a statement.

Great googly moogly!

Every single one of them.

Still, I expect that the net result of all this will be that there will be changes in the law to wallpaper this all over, and leading the charge for banker amnesty will be the White House.

Seriously, when you have Virginia State AG Ken "Misuse my office to abuse climate academics" Cuccinelli joining in on this, the political and legal landscape is pretty unambiguous.

While it is clear that the United States needs a functioning credit system, it does not need these banks, who f%$#ed our whole country (with out lube), but little Timmy Geithner^* is determined to shield the people who broke the law and defrauded the their customers, because he^* is completely unable to see behind the needs of the megabanks.

^*But remember, the Cossacks work for the Czar.

Good Riddance

I was listening to a hagiography on Michelle Rhee, now former Chancellor of the DC public schools on NPR today, and I had to change the channel.

She got test scores up by focusing on nothing but, and the evidence is that, in one of the most disadvantaged school districts in the nation, she had no interest at all in early education, basically ignoring it in her 5 year plan.

As Matthew Yglesias noted 2 years ago, "A certain type of person isn’t interested in any education improvements that don’t involve picking fights with teacher’s unions, and this seems to me like perhaps an example of Rhee suffering from that affliction."

Basically, she spent a lot of time being an asshole, because that's what got her the good press, and teaching to the test, along with a headlong embrace of gentrification, were what caused the bump in her numbers.

I Haven't Posted, Because I Have Nothing to Say

I really haven't had much to add to the rescue of the Chilean minors miners.

Well, thanks to Nick Mueller,I now have this bit of artwork to share.

My congratulations to the minors and the rescue team.

The mine owners, however, can go Cheney themselves.

Not Feeling Hopey Changey

The Obama administration has lifted the moratorium on deep water drilling in the Gulf.

Well, at least this means that Mary Landrieu has dropped her hold on Obama's OMB chair, right?

Wrong.

It appears that she wants to be sure that the EPA and the Department of the Interior are sufficiently compliant:

“I am not going to release my hold on Jack Lew. Instead, I will take this time to look closely at how [Interior] is handling the issuing of permits and whether or not drilling activity in both shallow and deep water is resuming. When Congress reconvenes for the lame duck session next month, I will have had several weeks to evaluate if today’s lifting of the moratorium is actually putting people back to work,” Landrieu said in a prepared statement Tuesday after the Interior Department announced the lifting of the deepwater ban ahead of schedule.

You just got called a c*cks*ck*r by Mary F%$#ing Landrieu, and you are supposed to be the umpire, to mangle a Bull Durham moment.

What are you going to do now?

This is what happens when people know you have no guts.

Economics Update

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Small Business Hiring Down


The index still sucks wet farts from dead pigeons

H/t Calculated Risk for the graph pr0n

Oh, those invisible bond vigilantes are at again, with the 3-year Treasuries hitting a record low yield, 0.57%. (!)

Meanwhile the National Federation of Independent Business released its September survey of small business optimism, and the numbers remain grim, essentially flat, up from 88.8 to 89.0 from August, still highly contractionary, and the businesses are looking to lay off more workers.

We also saw 30-year mortgage rates continue to fall, but no one is borrowing, because non one is buying.

They Do This Because They Believe that Minorities Should Not Vote

I have to invoke this when discussing the travails of anyone named "Kirk".


In any case, let's roll tape^*

That is why Republicans like Mark Kirk spend enormous amounts of time and effort trying to keep minorities from voting.

The difference is that this time, he got caught on tape:

In a private phone conversation that was secretly recorded, Mark Kirk, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Illinois, told state Republican leaders last week about his plan to send "voter integrity" squads to four predominately African American neighborhoods of Chicago "where the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat."

Kirk's campaign confirmed the candidate was secretly taped last week as he was talking about his anti-voter fraud effort.

Someone taped this discussion, and then released it into the wild.

There are some values of the Republican party that have been present since its founding, like opposition to organized labor, and there are some that are the product of the politically expedient decision to embrace the white racist portion of the electorate with the "Southern Strategy."

It started with Barry Goldwater, was embraced and extended by Nixon, and finally came to full fruit under Ronald Reagan, who did his best to make bigotry look cool.

In the process, the bigots subsumed the party.

Thus we are left with the Republican definition of "vote fraud": to them, it means allowing n*gg*rs to vote.

^*The "tape" is actually illegal, as Illinois, like Maryland is a 2 party consent state, but that is largely irrelevant to the fact that a rock got turned over, and the slime beneath was revealed.

Stop Drinking and Watch

Jon Stewart on unforced campaigning errors.

If you drink, you will spew:

What Atrios Said:

When Atrios notes that Barack Obama had nearly complete freedom in designing the Home Affordable Modification Program. The money was allocated largely without strings, and he was free to do anything short of throwing it from a helicopter, or as he so pithily notes, "This program did not require President Snowe to sign off.

Still, as David Dayen at FDL notes, the program was designed to benefit banks and loan servicers, and in fact paid for the sort of foreclosure abuses and law-breaking at the expense of home owners in peril.

This is more than a policy failure, it is a deliberate betrayal of the basic ideals of liberalism, and an embrace of Bush/Cheney style crony capitalism.

If anything comes from the current foreclosure implosion, it will be in spite of the Obama administration, not because of it.

Gotta Post This Before the Inevitable DMCA Take-Down

The best Simpsons opening ever, courtesy of graffiti artist great Banksey.

This is BRUTAL, and I understand why Murdoch does not want this to go viral:


The Simpsons - Banksy's intro (HD) | Flabber
I think that their server is getting hammered, so let it buffer a bit before playing.

Judge Enjoins Don't Ask Don't Tell, Obama Defends DOMA

A month ago, Judge Virginia Phillips ruled Don't Ask Don't Tell unconstitutional, and today, she issued a permanent injunction against the policy, forbidding the military from conducting investigations or proceeding with separations:

A federal judge in California issued a permanent ban Tuesday on the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays and lesbians in the military, ordering the Defense Department to immediately halt any efforts to remove personnel because of their sexual orientation.

The government has 60 days to appeal the ruling, which gives the administration until after the midterm election next month to make a decision. But it also presents a problem for President Obama as he tries to rally his Democratic base.

As a presidential candidate, Obama said he would work to do away with the policy. But should the Justice Department appeal the ruling, it could anger many of the president's liberal supporters, something Obama and congressional Democrats can ill afford.

In a separate case that posed a similar problem, the administration decided Tuesday to appeal two court rulings in Massachusetts that found unconstitutional the federal definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

The administration filed a notice of appeal to protect the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which bars gay marriages, although Obama opposes the law. A Justice Department spokeswoman told the Associated Press that the administration was obligated to defend federal laws when challenged in court.

So we know where this is going. On November 3, when there is no immediate electoral consequence, the DoJ will file an appeal, because, to paraphrase Kanye West, Barack Obama doesn't care about gay people,

If Congress wants to change the law, there will be no support from the White House, and we know this because there has been no support from the White House, but rest assured he'll probably sign a repeal if it hits his desk, because it's the easy thing to do.

Well, This is Nice…

Now if only he would continue his attacks on corrupt Republicans after the election:

The White House intensified its attacks Sunday on the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce for its alleged ties to foreign donors, part of an escalating Democratic effort to link Republican allies with corporate and overseas interests ahead of the November midterm elections.

………

David Axelrod, a top Obama adviser, said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that secret political donations to the chamber and other groups pose "a threat to our democracy."

Axelrod also took the unusual step of calling on the chamber to release internal documents backing up its contention that foreign money is not being used to pay for U.S. political activities. Democrats have seized on a report by a liberal blog alleging that dues from chamber-affiliated business councils could be used in that way.

"If the chamber opens up its books and says, 'Here's where our political money's coming from,' then we'll know," Axelrod said. "But until they do that, all we have is their assertion."

The chamber has vehemently denied the allegations, characterizing them as part of a desperate strategy to stave off a GOP takeover of Congress. The business lobby has vowed to spend up to $75 million on the midterm elections, primarily in favor of Republicans.

On November 3, Obama will be back to kissing their asses.

They should be beating this drum every day.

And the Obama Administration's Response to the Widespread Foreclosure Fraud by the Banks Is…

To take the side of the big banks who are ignoring the law, with Obama proxy David Axelrod on Face the Nation saying that he hopes that this, "moves rapidly and that this gets unwound very, very quickly," meaning allowing the banks to continue breaking the law, while an "administration source is saying that, "the administration was also seeking the servicers' help with modifying the home loans of millions of borrowers to help them avoid foreclosure."

The translation here is that because the administration was perpetrating a fraud on homeowners on behalf of the banks with the HAMP, they couldn't be expected to pursue them when they broke the law.

The most egregious quote is from Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David Stevens:

We believe freezing foreclosures for all banks in all states, whether we have reason to believe them to be in error or not, is simply not the prudent step to take in this fragile housing market

(emphasis mine)

So, even if the banks broke the law, it is the victims who have to pay for this, because the banks own Barack Hussein Obama.

I would suggest that you read Yves Smith here, here, and here. She touches all the bases, and does it better than I am.

This is Getting Ugly Fast…

Bank of America just suspended all foreclosures nationwide:

Bank of America Corp. imposed a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures and the sale of foreclosed homes after it came under intense pressure from a government-run housing-finance giant worried about documentation problems, people familiar with the situation said.

The bank called the halt as concern mounted from legislators and state prosecutors about procedures used by lenders to foreclose on homes. Many banks use so-called robo signers, employees who sign hundreds of documents a day, without carefully reviewing their contents, when foreclosing on homes. Critics say that could result in improper foreclosures.

Freddie Mac, the government-run mortgage-finance company that along with Fannie Mae owns many of the mortgages serviced by banks, pressed Bank of America to expand its search for problems with the foreclosure documentation process, said the people familiar with the situation.

A year ago, I wrote about potential issues with MERS, and I figured that there might be a fair number of cases out there, but the developments of the past few weeks, which, credit where credit is due, were spotted and covered with far more detail and intellect by Yves Smith than by me, have been remarkable.

This is all falling apart at a far greater speed than did the collapses of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers in 2008.

We had low key mainstream coverage on the brokerage houses' issues in 2007, but the first mainstream coverage of the mortgage debacle is from just a month ago.

I would further note, that what is going on now has NOTHING to do with MERS, which remains the elephant in the room.

This feels like the first few pebbles hitting us from an avalanche.

Stewart on HR 3808

Seriously. I don't know why I blog. It takes Jon Stewart 7 minutes and 6 seconds to capture the essence of a problem in a way that is both clearer and more entertaining than anything that I cold ever do.

The Inevitable HR 3808 Veto Downfall Parody

At least until the studio hits YouTube with a takedown notice:

No Bank Failures This Fridays

Not sure if things are turning around, of if regulators are trying to avoid influencing elections, or they are just running out of banks.

Here is the pretty graph pr0n:

The Employment Numbers are Out, and We Are Boned

Unemployment remains at 9.6%, and non-farm payrolls fell by 95,000, driven largely by cuts in state and local governments.

The Obama administration is arguing that the growth of 65,000 jobs in the private sector show an (anemic) recovery, but this won't help in November.

The numbers suck, they have sucked, and initial weak tea stimulus is running out.

Not good.

Economics Update

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The paradox of thrift continues

It's jobless Thursday, and initial unemployment claims fell out of the 450K-485K sweet spot that they have been bouncing around in for most of the year. Initial claims fell by 11,000 to 445,000, better than forecast, with the 4-week moving average falling by 3,000 to 455,750, with continuing claims falling by 48,000 to 4.46 million, and emergency claims rising by 257K to 5.14 million.

So fewer people are losing work, but hiring has not picked, so overall unemployment has increased (257K - 48K - 11K = 198K more people collecting unemployment).

We also had good news on the retail front, with better than expected same store retail sales in September, though I am unclear how consumers are financing this, since wages are stagnant, and consumer credit fell in August. (See graph pr0n)

I guess that it could be that people took out their credit cards more in September, and that the conflicting figures are simply the result of month to month changes.

In Europe, both the Bank of England and the ECB held rates steady, and the BoE says that it will continue quantitative easing (printing money).

ECB bank president Jean-Claude Trichet went further full inflation idiot in statement to the press, tut-tutting other central banks easing moves, andstating that the ECB will be, "gradually phase out its non-standard liquidity measures."

Yes, we are seeing more pronouncements from the pain caucus about austerity, and the most vocal of these folks, Tory PM David Cameron, has apparently succeeded in pushing UK house prices down by 3.6% in the month of September.

Note that I am not talking about a -3.6% annual rate, I am talking about a £6,000 drop in home prices in just that month. (!)
UK home prices -3.6% in a month (!)

Veto

The White House has announced that Barack Obama is vetoing HR 3808, the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act, which created a South Dakota/Delaware credit card processing style race to the bottom, only this time with forged foreclosure paperwork.

They are actually claiming that it is a pocket veto, but they are also sending it back to Congress with a notice of disapproval, since the Senate is entering into pro forma sessions, making that whole "pocket veto" thing dicey, as you can only pocket veto a bill when Congress is in recess.

This is his second veto, his first was when he vetoed a stop-gap spending bill when the regular bill came in on time, so this is his first real veto, the last one was about cleaning up the bookkeeping.

I would note that there is an important lesson here: If you hold the White House's feet to the fire, the Obama administration will do the right thing ……… at least occasionally.

It's why the Fanboi who maintain that it's all eleventy dimensional chess are so wrong.

Were it not for the firestorm that erupted in the past 72 hours or so, largely due to the efforts of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, not only would have Obama not vetoed it, but he probably would likely have seen it as an innocuous bill streamlining interstate commerce.

If there is not vigorous criticism from liberals directed toward the White House, then they will continue to follow the path of least resistance and do the wrong thing when they can.

Full statement from the White Houseafter the break:

Why President Obama is Not Signing H.R. 3808
Posted by Dan Pfeiffer on October 07, 2010 at 01:15 PM EDT

Today, the White House announced that President Obama will not sign H.R. 3808, the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010, and will return the bill to the House of Representatives. The Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010 was designed to remove impediments to interstate commerce. While we share this goal, we believe it is necessary to have further deliberations about the intended and unintended impact of this bill on consumer protections, including those for mortgages, before this bill can be finalized.

Notarizations are important for a large range of documents, including financial documents. As the President has made clear, consumer financial protections are incredibly important, and he has made this one of his top priorities, including signing into law the strongest consumer protections in history in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. That is why we need to think through the intended and unintended consequences of this bill on consumer protections, especially in light of the recent developments with mortgage processors.

The authors of this bill no doubt had the best intentions in mind when trying to remove impediments to interstate commerce. We will work with them and other leaders in Congress to explore the best ways to achieve this goal going forward.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

Politics Trumping Science In the Obama Administration

Yet another Bush policy that Obama has doubled down on.

In this case, we now have a report showing that the Obama administration actively suppressed science based reports from the NOAA during the BP oil spill:

The White House blocked government scientists from warning the American public of the potential environmental disaster caused by BP's broken well in the Gulf of Mexico, a report released by the national commission investigating the oil spill said yesterday.

The report, produced by a panel appointed by Barack Obama to investigate the spill, said that about two weeks after the BP rig exploded scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) asked the White House for permission to release their models showing their worst case scenarios for the spill.

The White House office of management and budget, which is a traditional clearing house for decisions, turned down the request, the report said, quoting interviews with administration officials.

The report, one of four released today by the commission, provides the most compelling evidence to date of direct attempts by the White House to spin the BP oil spill disaster.

I've been a cynic about Barack Obama since he started embracing gay bashers in late 2007, but his full court press to embrace and protect BP is something that has managed to disappoint me, and my expectations for him are remarkably low.

Judge Says Torture Evidence Inadmissible

Actually, he did not say torture, he said "harsh interrogation", but he also said that any information arising from the CIA's torture of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was inadmissible.

I believe that the term is "fruit of the poisoned tree," and by harsh, he does not mean what Jon Steward did to Jim Cramer, he means torture:

In the months since Mr. Ghailani was brought to New York from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of United States District Court in Manhattan has rejected defense requests to dismiss the case because of violations of Mr. Ghailani’s right to a speedy trial and because of accusations he was tortured.

But just as the trial was to begin on Wednesday, Judge Kaplan ruled that he would not allow the witness to testify. He noted that the government had acknowledged that it had identified and located the witness through interrogation of Mr. Ghailani when he was earlier held in a secret overseas jail run by the Central Intelligence Agency. His lawyers have said he was tortured there.

Judge Kaplan said he was “acutely aware of the perilous nature of the world in which we live.”

“But the Constitution is the rock upon which our nation rests,” he went on. “We must follow it not only when it is convenient, but when fear and danger beckon in a different direction. To do less would diminish us and undermine the foundation upon which we stand.”

It really is remarkable how the torture fetish of Bush and His Evil Minions^™ continues to f%$# up everything that it touches to this day.

This is why we need prosecutions of both the torturers and those who authorized torture, because when this sh%$ goes down, it hurts all of us, and without consequences for the criminals, more people will be encouraged to break the law.

I Gotta Check This Flick Out

I want the torch and pitchfork concession.
It will sell better than popcorn

This looks like a documentary that I want top see.

Somehow I think that it will be difficult for me to convince my kids that we want to see this on movie night though.

And the Winner of the Economics Prize Is

The executives and directors of Goldman Sachs, AIG,Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Magnetar for creating and promoting new ways to invest money -- ways that maximize financial gain and minimize financial risk for the world economy, or for a portion thereof.

They are, of course winners of the 2010 Ig Nobel Prize, who, in 2009, awarded the prize to, "The directors, executives, and auditors of four Icelandic banks The directors, executives, and auditors of four Icelandic banks — Kaupthing Bank, Landsbanki, Glitnir Bank, and Central Bank of Iceland — for demonstrating that tiny banks can be rapidly transformed into huge banks, and vice versa — and for demonstrating that similar things can be done to an entire national economy."

I so want to get one of these prizes, but I think that I lack the requisite imagination.

There is a Hallmark Card for That

Jon Stewart at his best.

Least Surprising News of the Day

Former HHS Secretary nominee, and enthusiastic free rider Tom Daschle^* has let slip that Obama cut a deal with pharma and insurers to kill the public option at the start of the healthcare reform process.

Eleventy dimensional chess, my ass. We are dealing with someone who has created faux reform because he does not want real reform.

^*The great Matt Taibbi noted, when he talked about his lobbying activities, "Tom Daschle would suck off a corpse for a cheeseburger.'"

Your Bank Foreclosure Fraud Update

Alan Grayson connects the dots

The lede here has to be that the Ohio Attorney General has sued GMAC mortgage:

This is big news. I just got off a conference call with Richard Cordray, the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has filed a lawsuit in Lucas County (Toledo) Common Pleas Court against GMAC Mortgage and their parent company Ally Financial, in a suit which names Jeffrey Stephan, the infamous “robo-signer” who signed off on up to 10,000 foreclosures a month across the country with affidavits, without verifying the information in the foreclosure documents. The lawsuit alleges fraud on the part of GMAC, along with violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, in filing false affidavits to mislead the courts in what they describe as “hundreds” of Ohio foreclosure cases. And, the Attorney General is treating every single false affidavit filed in an Ohio court as a separate violation, with a fine of up to $25,000, plus additional restitution for the homeowner of an unspecified amount.

This is a major lawsuit, and as Cordray told reporters, “We’re at the beginning of this, not the middle or end, and we’ll see where it leads us.” For context, approximately 450,000 foreclosures have been filed in Ohio since 2005, and potentially all of them used this robo-signing process. At the outer edge of this, if every one of those foreclosure processes is seen as a single case of fraud, the fines for the entire lending industry would add up to $11.25 BILLION dollars, just in the state of Ohio, not including the extra restitution for homeowners.

Cordray is also requesting information from the other major lenders, and has moved for an injunction against GMC, so it looks like this snowball once he gets to discovery.

Additionally, we have more calls for investigations and a moratorium, with both Nancy Pelosi,the Republican Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper raising concerns. (talk about the odd couple)

Congress has weighed in, sort of, with an unexpected vote in the Senate a week ago approving an electronic notary law which, at least according to Jennifer Brunner, the Ohio Secretary of State, increases the possibility of fraud by creating a credit card style race to the bottom in terms of legal standards.

This growing furor may explain one of the peculiarities of the property meltdown, why banks seem to favor foreclosures over short sales even when the former generate more money.

I was unaware of the fact, but the standards for titles are much lower in the event of a foreclosure sale:

If you know anyone in real estate, you have bumped into countless frustrated agents who were attempting to complete shortsales for their selller clients only to have the whole thing fall apart at the last moment and then they later see the same property go into foreclosure for LESS than what the pre-approved shortsale buyer had offered just weeks earlier. Why, why, why, they moan. Why would a bank or mortgage servicer take less than what they could have had?

Well, now I wonder if one potential answer doesn’t have something to do with the types of deeds that get conveyed in a foreclosure and the tie to title insurance. In foreclosures in many states the buyer obtains a specialized deed – a special warranty deed, or a bargain and sale deed which make fewer guarantees for the buyer than the general warranty deed which is transferred in a normal sale(which I believe a short sale still falls under)

………

Is it possible that the foreclosers realized it was in their best interest to abort short sales in favor of foreclosures in order to pass the more limited deeds conveyed in a foreclosure? Did that decision come back to haunt them once the entire foreclosure process itself became highly suspect and publicized? (There is already a large title insurer who is denying title insurance on some foreclosures.)

Of course, the real elephant in the room is that anyone who has gotten a mortgage in the past decade^* is just as likely to have problems with their title.

Foreclosures do not create title problems, foreclosures merely reveal those problems.

This is going to be uglier than David Boehner in a thong.

^*Full disclosure, like me.

What is the Difference Between a Cat and a Croissant?

Damned if I know:

Teabaggers Hate Puppies

No, I'm serious. I'm not joking, and it's not The Onion.

I mean that they have come out in favor of abusive puppy mills in Missouri.

Why are they doing this? Because puppies are just like cattle to Teabaggers, because, I guess, They Eat Puppies!!1!!

Again, really, I'm not joking:

A conservative group in Missouri is picking up the backing of the Tea Party and Joe The Plumber in its quest to stop the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other animal rights groups from passing "radical" anti-puppy mill legislation.

………

The Alliance For Truth also has the support of some better-known conservative activists, like Joe 'The Plumber' Wurzelbacher, who wrote on the Alliance For Truth site that the HSUS is "cowardly hiding behind animal cruelty, lying to our citizens and taking our constitutional rights away - one state at a time."

He continues:

This bill forces breeders to limit the number of dogs they can own - regardless of care. Think about this a minute . . . . Should the government have the right to limit the number of houses a realtor can sell? Or the number of cattle a rancher can raise?

To serve puppies, it's a cookbook!!!!!

<Facepalm>

Stewart Spoke on the Firing of Rick Sanchez

And he was really pretty gentle about the whole thing.

It will still leave a mark, but compared to what he did to Jim Cramer, or what he does to Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker's new show at the end of this clip in under 10 seconds, it's really gentle.

Supreme Court's Citizen's United Case Allows Foreigners to Contribute to US Campaigns

What a surprise. The US Chamber of Commerce is raising millions of dollars in foreign contributions, and spending them on political activities, though they are claiming that they are claiming that it's on the up and up:

The US Chamber of Commerce has responded to this post in a statement to the Politico's Ben Smith. The Chamber's Tita Freeman did not dispute that the Chamber's 501(c)(6) organization running attack ads receives foreign funds, and simply claimed, "We have a system in place" to prevent foreign funding for the Chamber's "political activities."

It's called money laundering, and it's illegal.

We also a complaint filed against Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS group with the IRS for misuse of their 501(c)4 tax status.

If Barack Obama really wanted to change the atmosphere in Washington, going after crap like this, where people are not just bending the rules, but are

I am not suggesting that Obama specifically get the FBI on the Chamber of Commerce and Rove, that's Nixonian, but making it clear to the senior staff of the DoJ that there will be a zero tolerance policy on crap like this is both ethically sound and justified by the facts.

Don't hold your breath though.

Not gonna happen……

Wouldn't be prudent.

Barack Obama, Watch This and Learn

Why yes, that is the President of Bolivia, and he is driving someone's testicles to the top of Nevado Sajama^* (0:35)

Someone had the grand idea of having political rivals in Bolivia play a friendly game of football (soccer).

So, when you have political enemies on the field, what happens?

Well, it appears that there was a bit of rough play:

During a soccer match between teams of political rivals in Bolivia, the country’s president, Evo Morales, was caught on tape delivering a swift knee to an opponent’s groin in retaliation for a hard foul.

As Rory Carroll reported for The Guardian, the incident took place on Sunday in the Bolivian capital, La Paz, as the president’s men took on a team led by the city’s mayor, Luis Revilla.

Mr. Obama, the next time that John Boehner opens his mouth, take your cue from Bolivian President Evo Moralez, please.

^*The tallest mountain in Bolivia.

Your Moment of Schadenfreude

If there is a bright spot this year it is the meltdown in the Colorado Gubernatorial race, where John Hickenlooper is cruising to victory as Republican Dan Maes and wingnut Republican turned 3^rd party candidate Tom Tancredo pummel each other, but I did not think that it was much beyond that.

Well, I was wrong, because Maes appears to be polling near 10%, and if he gets less than 10% of the vote, then the Republican Party becomes a "minor party" in Colorado:

But a big win for Tancredo — or even drawing much closer — could spell a big loss for both the GOP and his adopted third party, the American Constitution Party, for the next four years.

If Republican nominee Dan Maes receives less than 10 percent of the vote in November, the GOP becomes a minor party and subject to rules that could cut in half the amount its candidates can collect in campaign contributions. [Because they cannot get a separate donation for the primary if it is uncontested for state and local positions]

As Republicans absorb the news, leaders of the 2,000-plus-person ACP worry about their potential promotion to the majors if Tancredo exceeds 10 percent at the polls, a status that comes with new and costlyorganizational requirements.

Former ACP chairman Doug Campbell reveled in the GOP predicament, if not that of his own party, which may have to host precinct caucuses throughout the state and mail out primary ballots.

Additionally, it would mean that the party would not be placed in the to ballot spots, but rather would be ranked down ballot on the basis of a lottery with crazies like the Monster Raving Loony Party:

“The effect of the designation of minor party status for the 2012 election would be that our candidate for president will not be in the top two lines which will be reserved for the Democrat and American Constitution Party candidates. We will be left to compete for ballot position with the Greens, Socialists, American Communist Party, Libertarians. Prohibitionists etc.

“Our state house and senate candidates will similarly be relegated to bottom positions. In 2014, when we have our US Senate, Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer etc races, again, we will be at the bottom of the ballot fighting the libertarians etc for ballot placement. As we all know, being at the top or toward the top can mean several percentage points in the vote, enough in a close race to secure victory.”

Admittedly, Maes is polling significantly above the 10% line, he is polling at 15%, and I think that when it becomes clear that neither of them will win that there will be the governor voters will hold their nose and vote for Maes to avoid chaos for the next 4 years in the Colorado Republican Party.

Still, heh.

This May be the Future of America

And Ayn Rand is smiling in hell.

You have probably heard the story, a fire department sitting idly by while someone's house burns, because the homeowner had not bought a subscription.

The story is not quite as straightforward as it first appears, since the fire department is run and funded by the city of South Fulton, while the resident, Gene Cranick, lives in the county, so this is not a case of a governmental unit failing its citizenry, but rather it's governmental units failing society as a whole.

Most at fault is Obion County's Republican dominated government, which has steadfastly refused to create some sort of county-wide system because of the $30 or so a year that it would cost households.

It is Republican governance in a nutshell.

A Reason to Consider Subscribing to the Washington Post

Not a reason to actually subscribe, mind you, it's still a cesspool of conventional thinking and bad access journalism (Hi, Bob Woodward) but the fact that the professional hack masquerading as a media critic, Howard Kurtz is leaving the Washington Post and moving to the Daily Beast, Tina Brown's online news web site.

Well the Washington Post's gain is Tina Brown's loss.

He is, after all, a guy who writes on cable news while pulling down a 6-figure income from CNN, and writes on politics while his wife pulls down a 6-figure income as a Republican political consultant.

Well, it's a reason second source anything that you see on the Daily Beast.

Economics Update

There is a lot of news today, mostly in currency and international finance, but the lede, at least for a US focused post, which this is, is the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index, well above forecast.

In international finance news, we are seeing central banks all over the world beginning to open the spigots again as they see the recovery sputtering.

We have the Bank of Japan engaging in another round of quantitative easing (printing money) by setting up a ¥5 trillion ($60 billion) fund to buy government and private bonds in order to keep interest rates at 0%, and Australia, one of the first countries whose central banks increased rates, has kept rates at 4.5%, surprising the experts who were expecting another rate hike.

Interestingly enough, currency has gone in the opposite direction expects from these actions, with the Australian Dollar approaching a 2-year high, and the US dollar fell.

Generally, interest rate surprises on the low side for other countries would drive the dollar up, but it appears that there is an expectation that the Fed will go heavily back into QE like the BoJ.

There is another potential blip on the horizon, as crude oil appears to be on an upswing again.

I'm Sure That ADL President Abraham Foxman will Be Endorsing Them

Considering the degree to which Abraham Foxman has allied himself with the right-wing, nativist, and bigoted Christofascist right, it's only a matter of time before he shows up at a fundraiser for the Swedish SD far right anti-Islamic party:

'It won't be long before Sweden Democrats show true anti-Semitic nature'

Far-right, anti-immigrant party won an unprecedented number of seats in recent elections; local Jewish leader warns its pro-Israel stance is just an expression of anti-Islam policy.

By Danna Harman

It will not be long before the true anti-Semitic nature of the far-right anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats (SD) party - which won an unprecedented number of seats in Sunday’s elections, is revealed - a leader of the local Jewish community there warned on Monday.

“This is a neo-Nazi party… articulate, and talented…but very dangerous,” said Lena Posner, President of the Official Council of Jewish communities in Sweden, an umbrella organization of Jewish groups in the country. “We know where these people are coming from. They are Nazi sympathizers who, under their jackets, are still wearing their brown shirts.”

The local Swedish Jewish community, at least in the person of Ms. Posner , is showing way more sense and decency that does Mr. Foxman did on the entire Park51 community center matter.

Not Enough Bullets

So, once again, Congress refuses to act, so billionaire hedge fund managers can continue to pay less in taxes than the janitors who clean their offices:

Once again a key piece of news has passed virtually without comment.

While the entire nation argues over nonsense like the WTC Mosque, Rick Sanchez, and, yes, blue-red culture war stuff like the Tea Party, congress yesterday quietly took a knee on the “carried interest” tax question. In doing so they decided not to take a vote on changes already approved by both houses that would scale back perhaps the most preposterous tax break in the entire federal code, one that leaves hedge-fund gazillionaires like Stevie Cohen and John Paulson paying less than half the top tax rate paid by most middle and upper-middle class Americans.

In case you don't recognize the writing style, it's Matt Taibbi, and I suggest that you read the whole article, because he communicates the disgust that I feel far more cogently that I ever could.

Warren Goes European

In terms of drafting the rules for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Elizabeth Warren has eschewed a rules based approach to regulating consumer credit, instead choosing to go with the principle based system of regulations favored by European regulators:

In her speech and in an interview earlier in the day, Warren said she hopes to take a more “principles-based approach” to regulation, rather than simply saddling companies with more of what she calls “thou shalt not” rules — which make for burdensome, costly compliance and which banks often start trying to skirt as soon as they are written

“Regulators can make more pronouncements from on high, identifying suspicious practices in the various markets and banning them. Or regulators can layer on more disclosure requirements,” Warren said in her remarks. “But neither restores customer trust.”

Rather, she said, “Let’s measure our success with simple questions” — Can customers understand a product? Do they know the risks? Can they easily figure out what it really costs?

To the degree that this will produce uncertainty for the banks, this is a good thing, because regulatory certainty has been used as a license to rape consumers.

I'm still waiting to see how Timothy "Eddie Haskell" Geithner manages to cut her legs out from under her on November 3, because it's clear that consumer protection is the last thing that he wants.

Foreclosure Fraud Hits Prime Time

Yesterday, we've had a New York Times editorial, and today, Getchem Morgenson hits their front page with a survey of "flawed paperwork" issues:

As some of the nation’s largest lenders have conceded that their foreclosure procedures might have been improperly handled, lawsuits have revealed myriad missteps in crucial documents.

It's good that this story has hit the big time, but Ms. Morgenson is wrong. There were no flawed documents, this was deliberate fraud, and the dead tree media is behind the curve on this.

We are seeing Fitch making noises about downgrading mortgage servicers over this issue, and on the regulatory front the Connecticut Attorney General has placed a 60 day moratorium on foreclosures, so that paperwork can be reviewed, and the Comptroller of the Currency has ordered 7 of the larges banks to review their paperwork.

On the private side of the business, we are seeing title insurance companies refusing to write policies on foreclosures for some of these banks.

In terms of the irregularities that we are seeing:

• Repeated instances of bank executives signing foreclosure paperwork certifying that they had reviewed the filings, even though they had never actually read the documents. (robo-signing)
• Fraudulent affidavits of the service of process, which blows my mind.
• They wanted to take your house, but the foreclosure mill law firms don't want to spend 60 bucks or so to physically tape a notice to a door.
• Yves Smith finds an actual price list of forged documents.

If you think that the housing crash is bad, just wait until millions of foreclosed homes hit the market, and no one is willing to buy them, because the title is not clear, than the sh%$ really hits the fan.

My earlier post on the subject is here.

I Believe That the Term Here is "Vigorish"*

Bummer of a birth mark, Sharron Angle

Nevada Republican Senate Candidate Sharron Angle had a meeting with the 3^rs party Scott Ashjian in an attempt to get him out of the race.

Unfortunately for her Mr. Ashjians recorded the conversation, and she was offering a piece of the action:

Says the grass roots movement “gives me juice. That’s really all I can offer to you (Ashjian) is whatever juice I have, you have as well…You want to see DeMint, I have juice with him….I go to Washington, DC and want to see Jim DeMint, he’s right there for me. I want to see Tom Coburn, he’s right there for me. I want to see Mitch McConnell, he’s there.”

She goes on to say that Republicans are corrupt, and that she will lose if the Teabagger Ashjian stays in the race.

Let me make this clear: I do not support the surreptitious taping, and if this happened in a state where it's illegal, like Maryland, I would support prosecution.

That being said, these revelations could not happen to a more deserving character.

Pass the popcorn.

^*I believe that the "juice" in the quote is a reference to transactional profits similar to those of a bookie, hence "vigorish".

Economics Update

The lede here is that capital goods orders fell and contracts existing home sales rose in August.

Note that the home purchase data is still well below what it was a year ago, and that capital goods orders ex-airliners was up.

On a slightly more concrete level, bankruptcies have hit the highest level since the congress sold out to the banksters with bankruptcy "reform" in 2005.

Finally, it looks like the invisible bond vigilantes remain in hiding, as, the yield on Treasuries 2-year fell to a record low, 0.37% (!).

Damn

Click for full size

---

Tudza (l) and Lavi (r) as radioactive zombie cats

We took Lavi to the vet for what appeared to be some tooth problems.

It's a tumor, and an aggressive malignant one in her head.

She probably will not make it to year's end.

She's had a good run, being over 17½, and had survived a bout of hepatic lipidosis about 5½ years ago, but it looks like she will not make it through year's end.

It's to be expected when cats reach this age, but it is still a bummer.

These Contemptible F%$#s Are Our Betters?

Worst Conference Call Ever!

Ireland held a conference call on its debt, and due to an error in the settings, comments from the other participants were heard across the call.

So what did this collection of hedge funds and other investment firms do?

They crudely heckled the Finance Minister of a sovereign nation:

Mr Lenihan had been speaking for less than two minutes on Friday before a mistake by Citigroup meant that the bank's clients were all able to be heard on the line.

Between 200 and 500 investors are understood to have been on the call, and as they realised their lines were not muted many began to heckle Mr Lenihan.

Some traders began making what one banker on the call described as "chimp sounds", while another cried out "dive, dive". A third man said "short Ireland" before adding "why not short Citi too?"

As the call descended into chaos, with one participant heard to say "this is the worst conference call ever", Citigroup officials shut down the line.

We are not dealing with competent financial professionals here. We are dealing with hyper-competitive frat boys with brains the size of walnuts who are too incompetent to recognize their own incompetence.

This is why these people need to be "hit like a piñata with a stick," because they are incompetent, overpaid, self-obsessed, morons who have the ability to destroy our economy.

Letting them do what they want is like giving opposable thumbs, assault weapons and espresso to rabid wolverines.

It won't end well.

So Far in the Closet He's Found Narnia*

Let's Roll Tape

An Assistant Attorney General for the state of Michigan, one Andrew Shirvell, has engaged in what can only be described as a relentless campaign of stalking, both Cyber and Real, against the Chris Armstrong, the gay president of the student assembly. (See the embedded vid)

Shirvell has now been placed on leave and is facing a disciplinary hearing, despite the fact that Michigan AG, and Christofascist right-winger, Mike Cox, has defended the right to stalk someone for being gay, no doubt because this is how Cox defines his base.

The crux of the batsh%$ insane jihad seems to be Armstrong's push for LGBT friendly housing on campus, which has led the Assistant AG to make blog posts with swastikas, and to allegedly hang around and photograph Armstrong's house in the early hours of the meeting, which has led him to file for a restraining order against Shirvell.

In the scheme of things, this incident will work itself out in the near term, the restraining order will likely be granted, and I'm pretty sure that Shirvell will eventually be fired, despite his being a long time supporter, and campaign worker, for Cox, because this has simply gotten too politically toxic.

This would all be silly and funny, but I figure than in the next 10-15 years, as Shirvell realizes what he is, and the video makes it clear that he is deeply in the closet, we are likely to hear a story about him in which the lede is, "Killed his wife and children, and then shot himself."

^*The bon mot is not mine, it's from Bladesmith at the by invitation only Stellar Parthenon BBS.

Quote of the Day

Vast forests have already been sacrificed to the public debate about the Tea Party: what it is, what it means, where it's going. But after lengthy study of the phenomenon, I've concluded that the whole miserable narrative boils down to one stark fact: They're full of sh%$.

--Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone

($# mine)

He had a conversation with a man who has worked as a tax assessor his whole life, and hence is being paid by our tax dollars, and whose wife is on Medicare, and has a scooter funded by the program, but they aren't the problem, it's the other who is sucking the marrow out of our society.

Just go read it.

I Can Now Retire as a Blogger

All I have to do is to outsource my political analysis to Jon Stewart, and use this article by Martin Robbins for science:

This is a news website article about a scientific paper

In the standfirst I will make a fairly obvious pun about the subject matter before posing an inane question I have no intention of really answering: is this an important scientific finding?

In this paragraph I will state the main claim that the research makes, making appropriate use of "scare quotes" to ensure that it's clear that I have no opinion about this research whatsoever.

In this paragraph I will briefly (because no paragraph should be more than one line) state which existing scientific ideas this new research "challenges".

………
This paragraph contained useful information or context, but was removed by the sub-editor to keep the article within an arbitrary word limit in case the internet runs out of space.

The final paragraph will state that some part of the result is still ambiguous, and that research will continue.

Related Links:

The Journal (not the actual paper, we don't link to papers).

The University Home Page (finding the researcher's page would be too much effort).

Unrelated story from 2007 matched by keyword analysis.

Special interest group linked to for balance.

I think that there is a Dilbert cartoon in which Dogbert sells a "forever" newspaper, but this is better written, and the article is better drawn as well, or at least the, "picture has been optimised by SEO experts to appeal to our key target demographics," is.

It's Bank Failure Friday!!!! (Delayed for Holiday)

And here they are, ordered, and numbered for the year so far.

128. Wakulla Bank, Crawfordville, FL
     
129. Shoreline Bank, Shoreline, WA
     

Only two banks this week.

Full FDIC list

So, here is the graph pr0n with trendline (FDIC only):



It does appear that the actual rate is falling behind the trend-line, though it is still a grim year for banks, worse than 2009.

Rahm Leaves White House to Run for Mayor of Chicago

It was made official yesterday.

My condolences to the people of Chicago. I don't think that he's done a good job wherever he has been.

He has a real history of failing up: For example, as head of the DCCC, he spent thousands to displace Christine Cegelis with the hapless Tammy Duckworth, and advised Democrats to be hawkish on Iraq in 2006, he was point man on NAFTA in 1994, etc.

I rather expect he won't get the streets plowed in Chicago.

I would also note that if the LGBT political establishment is interested in getting some respect from Obama and his administration, working to make sure that Emanuel does not win the February mayoral primary would be a good place to start.

If Jon Stewart Goes After You, It's Because You Are a Jerk

Let's Roll Tape

Not because you are some sort of bigot.

That's what CNN anchor Rick Sanchez claimed on Pete Dominick's radio show, but he went further and said that Jews run the entertainment industry.

So, he is now a former CNN anchor.

The lesson here is that if Jon Stewart makes fun of you, look inward for the fault, not outward, thought I do find Conan O'Brien's tweet a hoot:

Some More Meta on Comments

I have a comment in the spam box right now, and blogger is giving me an error when I try to flag it as "not spam."

Unfortunately, the morons on blogger have made spam filtering of the comments mandatory, and it has a huge false positive rate, so if you don't see the comment after posting, blame them, not me.

Henry Rollins' Is Saying Something About Politics

A metaphor for our times

Yes, it does sound like our body politic, particularly the bit infected with the teabagger manifestation:

I'll tear (rip) your mind up, I'll burn your soul
I'll turn you into me, I'll turn you into me
'cause I'm a liar, a liar, a liar, a liar…

Then again, the whole element of pathological need of the person to whom he is lying to keep believing reminds me of a wider range of political fanboi out there.

Your Friday of Muppets

Kermit is a better actor than Keanu Reeves, hoodoodanode.