What Happens in Vegas: Fraud & Abuse by Banks on Home Loans

A lot of conservatives--whether politicians, pundits or just internet warriors--like to blame poor people for a lot of things. Herman Cain said, if you aren't rich or don't have a job, "blame yo'self!" Yakkers like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity lay the entire economic collapse on poor people. Or government "forcing" banks to give home loans to poor people. That is not true, but that really doesn't matter in their realm. But even here on my blog, I've gotten in arguments in the comments section, over poor people. And in real life, a friend said, "Hey, if you signed the mortgage papers, you pay the bill or you get forclosed. It's only fair."

Fair. Did the banks play fair? Watch this incredible report below from Las Vegas reporter George Knapp. Some people who were in foreclosure, but renegotiated are in trouble. As are some people who simply bought a foreclosed home. Because the paperwork trail is so complicated, and because there was so much fraud by the banksters, these people in actuality do not own their own homes. Knapp himself bought a home three years ago, and technically does not own it!

[Excerpt]

Desert Underwater: Who Owns Your Home?


The foreclosure crisis has several causes, but government investigators now believe that high risk gambling by major banks is mostly to blame for the economic meltdown. Millions of Americans who played by the rules and paid their bills have lost their homes because banks and their service providers cranked out mountains of bogus mortgage documents. . .

Read more at: 8NewsNow

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

Colonial Bank Fails

And as a stock holder, I can only say, "Awww, crap!"

[Excerpt]

Feds shut Colonial BancGroup in largest failure of 2009

Real estate lender Colonial BancGroup Inc. has been shut down by federal officials in the biggest U.S. bank failure this year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was appointed receiver of the Montgomery, Ala.-based Colonial and its about $25 billion in assets, said the failed bank's 346 branches in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas will reopen at the normal times starting on Saturday as offices of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

John McCain Un-suspends Non-suspended Campaign

As The Other Half said to me this morning, "John McCain fumbled the 'Hail Mary' Pass?" It certainly does look that way, doesn't it? I'm quite sure that after eight years of rationalizing, making excuses and cognitive dissonance, the right-wing has some kind of spin for this that doesn't equal epic fail, but I'm not sure it's going to play.

So, tonight's debate should be interesting. If my suspicions are correct, McCain pulled this whole stunt after performing poorly in pre-debate practice sessions. So with all the other stuff going on between then and now, he must really be having to cram now. Maybe he thrives on pressure? Maybe expectations will be low, and he will easily meet them, I don't know. But, unless Barack Obama really steps in it tonight, I think he's got a good chance of doing well.

[Excerpt]

The Debate Is On; McCain Will Attend

Republican John McCain agreed to attend the first presidential debate Friday night even though Congress doesn't have a bailout deal, reversing an earlier decision to delay the forum until Washington had addressed the financial crisis. . .

Read more at: AOL News

Breaking News: Washington Mutual (WaMu) Seized

Image from source, MSNBC

And the big banks keep on failing. I think Washington Mutual is the very definition of "too big to fail." Amazing. . .

[Excerpt]

Government seizes WaMu, sells some assets

Largest bank failure in U.S. history; JPMorgan buys $1.9B in WaMu assets

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. came to the rescue of Washington Mutual Inc. Thursday, buying the thrift's banking assets after WaMu was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in the largest failure ever of a U.S. bank. This is the second time in six months that JPMorgan Chase has taken over a major financial institution crippled by bad bets in the mortgage market. . .

Read more at: MSNBC