Change.org: Call to action
The petition to save an occupy supporter from eviction needs your support. Ms. T has offered to help the movement and the foreclosure proceedings initiated by Wells Fargo appear to be flawed. Ms. T wants to make her payments. Wells Fargo has refused and seeks to evict her from her home. Call to action. Please sign her petition found at this link and look for updates here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/wells-fargo-bank-reinstate-borrower?share_id=iytujdcEoT&
Change.org has set up their website to accommodate those petitioning for justice in the mortgage racket. Here's an update on civil rights activist Helen Bailey.
“Occupy Nashville is fighting back. And they know that enough publicity on Chase's hypocrisy will embarrass the bank into letting Ms. Bailey keep her home.
“Click here to sign the petition demanding that Chase stop foreclosing on civil rights activist Helen Bailey.” http://www.change.org/petitions/chase-bank-dont-foreclose-on-helen-bailey?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&alert_id=bzgQYmKehh_UUnKRWKVeL&me=aa
“Helen and her attorney have struggled to find any solution that would stop Chase's drive to foreclose. When Helen asked to modify her high-interest loan, Chase refused. When Helen found another lender who'd buy the home for just $9,000 less than what Chase said the home was worth, letting her live there for free, Chase refused. When Helen found someone else who'd buy her home and let Helen rent it, Chase refused again.
“This isn't an isolated incident. A former Chase banker — James Theckston — told Nick Kristof of the New York Times that his bank repeatedly pushed dangerous subprime mortgage loans on minority borrowers, then tried to cover up the racial disparity. Now, 25% of all minority borrowers are in foreclosure or deeply behind on payments. It's a crisis. “But it's one our the best opportunities to fight back. You can help Occupy Nashville keep Ms. Bailey in her home, and highlight the growing movement of communities standing up to foreclosures. “Click here to sign the petition.” http://www.change.org/petitions/chase-bank-dont-foreclose-on-helen-bailey?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&alert_id=bzgQYmKehh_UUnKRWKVeL&me=aa
Report on yesterday's foreclosure actions:
Occupiers Rally at State Attorney General's L.A. Office and Wells Fargo
Link to Make Banks Pay: Home defenders
http://www.makebankspaycalifornia.com/home_defenders_action_center
Occupy Our Homes:
Financial services may lose $185 billion: Tough luck
“Bank Transfer Day and the Occupy Movement have received tremendous attention, and for the first time we have market research data to measure the impact on the financial services industry. Javelin’s research estimates that 5.6 million U.S. adults with a banking relationship changed providers in the past 90 days. Of those switchers, 610,000 US adults (or 11% of the 5.6 million) cited Bank Transfer Day as their reason and actually moved their accounts from a large to a small institution.”
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/02/02/417054/americans-moving-banks-90-days/?mobile=nc
TYT video:
Baca investigation: No personnel records
LA County Sheriffs are under investigation after credible reports of abuse. The Feds also ran a sting operation that caught a deputy bringing cell phones into the jail facility, but they forgot to tell Baca about it, causing consternation at Baca's office. Now Baca doesn't want to cooperate and he's using a flimsy excuse to stonewall.
“Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has been warned by the union representing his rank-and-file deputies that he would be violating the law if he releases personnel records to the special commission examining allegations of inmate abuse inside the county's jails.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jail-probe-20120204,0,2270640.story
Fullerton police chief out:
After a lot of bad ink over a shooting and some unpopular decisions, the police chief that has been on medical disability has decided to call it quits.
“Sellers had been criticized by residents and some members of the City Council for not stepping up to more of a public role after the incident made headlines across the country.”
http://www.ocregister.com/news/sellers-338806-chief-city.html
Bill Maher changes tune:
"'They did a great job of bringing up the issue of income inequality to the floor, but now it's just a bunch of douchebags who think throwing a chair through the Starbucks window is going to bring on the revolution,' he also said to his panel.”
Josh Healy of Occupy Oakland made the same point a few days ago in his blog post found at http://oaklandlocal.com/posts/2012/02/occupy-oakland-crossroads-rebirth-or-self-destruction.
The issue of socio-economic disparities, exacerbated and perpetuated by the major financial institutions, continues to be primary. As the encampments have disappeared, a lot of the social services endeavors also went away. What was left was a rather clear statement of facts regarding predatory lending practices, illegal foreclosures, systematic divestiture of the poor and middle class, and the pervasive influence of big bucks contaminating the supposedly democratic process that precludes political solutions or even dissent (see NDAA, SOPA, etc.)
So how did the “douchebags” become the face of occupy? Easy. They threw stuff at cops. The mainstream media has been patiently waiting for this sort of thing to dissemble the message, then turn it into a rock and bottle throwing video party. This tends to isolate those that want nothing to do with this sort of behavior. Some leave the movement. Others try and prevent it. But as long as there are those that think that breaking a window is somehow an effective way to make a point, the movement will be in jeopardy of losing its focus and the message will be lost in these artificial street theatrics.
As noted previously, the OWS message cannot be co-opted. Obfuscated perhaps, but regardless what happens in the streets of Oakland, the message remains clear and independent of those with a different agenda (and different tactics).
Yesterday's foreclosure action in LA proved that the vast majority of protests are peaceful, organized and stay on message throughout. And also noted previously, violence and vandalism in Oakland has caused a precipitous drop in support. Bill Maher no doubt will endure some criticism for his comments, but at least the guy is honest. He doesn't really have a dog in the fight, but he's typical of those that will never be seen camping out in a city park or marching in an organized protest. They only want to know what it is they are supposed to be supporting, so when the Occupation Movement is portrayed as a bunch of rock-throwing malcontents, people like Maher are going to be put off. That's just the way it is.
And unfortunately, those that get their jollies throwing rocks and bottles not only destroy property for no particular reason, they also destroy the good work of those like the protesters at the foreclosure action yesterday by overshadowing their message and their efforts. Counterproductive at best.
War, Inc.
Brave New Foundation released a video about the cozy arrangements between defense contractors and military brass. The feed each other. They live of the largesse of the taxpayers, and they spend a shitload of money that just happens to be about the same amount as the total of social security payments in a given year. So where do Republicans propose cuts? Clue: not the military.
Thanks to registeredrep.com for the photo. Link to site, worth a read:
”Moody’s announced Thursday that it may downgrade the debt ratings of Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo due to a reduced appetite in Washington to bail out the banks under Dodd-Frank.”
Grumpy
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