"Could a media
system, controlled by a few global corporations with the ability to overwhelm all competing voices, be able to turn
lies into truth?" - George Orwell, 1984
The police departments of Boston, Massachusetts and Rochester, New York are arresting people video taping their arrest in public places. In the case of Rochester, a homeowner was arrested for filming a traffic stop arrest from her own front yard. We’re accustomed to reading about these sorts of things in Communist countries and other dictatorial countries. So what are we supposed to conclude from this?
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In Congress, pork is a very bipartisan issue. 33 members are guilty of directing funding of federal projects within 2 miles of their own property. Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Harold Rogers (R-Kentucky), Jack Kingston (R-Georgia), John Oliver (D-Massachusetts), Roscoe Bartlett (R-Maryland), Todd Akin (R-Missouri), Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), G.K. Butterfield (D-North Carolina), Darrell Issa (R-California) and Doc Hastings (D-Washington) are just the big spenders. 16 lawmakers sent tax dollars to companies, colleges or community programs where their spouses, children or parents work as salaried employees or serve on boards. (See names and pictures of others.)
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Government-Sponsored Enterprise’s (GSE), knew about foreclosure fraud for 10 years yet did absolutely nothing about it. Nye Lavalle, a wealthy businessman in Florida, blew the whistle on this in 2003. But, then as now, nobody wanted to listen to whistleblowers. In fact, whistleblowers are demonized today, thanks to a very successful propaganda political campaign from the right.
“Even then, [Lavalle] discovered, some loan-servicing companies that worked for Fannie Mae routinely filed false foreclosure documents, not unlike the fraudulent paperwork that has since made “robo-signing” a household term. Even then, he found, the nation’s electronic mortgage registry was playing fast and loose with the law — something that courts have belatedly recognized, too…For two years, he corresponded with Fannie executives and lawyers. Fannie later hired a Washington law firm to investigate his claims. In May 2006, that firm, using some of Mr. Lavalle’s research, issued a confidential, 147-page report corroborating many of his findings.”
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Michael Dunn, A former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner, has sold his after-public-life services to Patton Boggs, a lobbying firm headquartered in Washington, DC. He was appointed to the CFTC by former President George W. Bush. Dunn served with the CFTC from January 2006 until recently. No word yet on how big his payoff salary is.
1 comment to Reasons No. 45, 46, 47 and 48 for #OWS: Illegal Police Arrest, Political Pork for Personal Gain, Fannie-Freddie Corruption and Another Revolving Door
". . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed." - Abraham Lincoln, 1864
Wells Fargo and a Foreclosure Suicide - ...things were fine until the bank claimed in 2009 that the couple missed a mortgage payment. The Rousseaus presented proof they had made the payment with a cashier’s check, but Wells Fargo insisted the money was still owed. This mistake set off a series of fees and problems that resulted in foreclosure proceedings. The couple fought the bank’s attempt to evict them from their house, even filing a lawsuit, but on Mother’s Day, a few days before being kicked out, Norman Rousseau reportedly gave up and shot himself.
Inhofe Staffer Asks Oil Lobbyist ‘Partners’ For ‘Better Coordination And Communication’ - “Moving forward, we --- your partners --- would kindly ask for better coordination and communication from you to prevent the Obama administration from pulling similar stunts in the future,” wrote Inhofe aide David Banks in the 800-word e-mail to two dozen lobbyists.
Matt Taibbi Can’t Believe Wall Street Donors Have Dried Up For Obama - The only reason banks backed Obama in 2008 is that they knew after the disastrous 8 years of Bush II there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell a Republican was going to win. But they're betting on Romney in 2012.
Issa’s monstrous witch hunt - Since taking over as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last year, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has been investigating President Obama’s administration with the tenacity of Captain Ahab in “Moby Dick.”
White House & Dems Back Banks over Protests: Newly Discovered Homeland Security Files Show Feds Central to Occupy Crackdown - A new trove of heavily redacted documents provided by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) on behalf of filmmaker Michael Moore and the National Lawyers Guild makes it increasingly evident that there was and is a nationally coordinated campaign to disrupt and crush the Occupy Movement.
today, tomorrow and forever.
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[...] CPS News: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Government-Sponsored Enterprise’s (GSE), knew about foreclosure [...]