bank foreclosure

· Lenders
should extend moratoriums on home foreclosures to all states, including
Michigan, rather than just those states with judicially supervised
foreclosures.

· Lenders that have initiated moratoriums
should insure that they actually prevent foreclosures rather than just
evictions subsequent to foreclosures.

· The Federal
Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
thereby controlling a major portion of mortgages subject to foreclosure
in the U.S., should review its procedures for proper compliance and
also consider initiating a foreclosure moratorium

At the
same time, Conyers announced plans to investigate mortgage lenders to
learn more about their foreclosure practices, including paperwork
violations and false affidavits, and ascertain what can be done to
protect homeowners from possible abuses. As part of this effort,
Conyers is asking the Federal Housing Finance Agency – the federal
agency charged with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – to ensure
that they abide by the law, to consider initiating a moratorium, and to
conduct an audit of their actions. In addition, Conyers will be calling
upon the DOJ’s Executive Office for U.S. Trustees to investigate the
extent to which false affidavits have been filed in bankruptcy cases by
lenders seeking to foreclose on debtor’s homes.

Thus far, only
three lenders – Ally Financial (parent of GMAC Mortgage), Bank of
America, and JP Morgan Chase – have ceased post-foreclosure enforcement
actions in 23 states that have court- controlled foreclosure
proceedings: Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Even those
lenders appear to have only ceased evictions, while they continue to
engage in foreclosures, which take title from homeowners.

At this
point Michigan and 26 other states are not on the moratorium list for
these lenders, purportedly because they have a non-judicial foreclosure
process. However, without judicial oversight, the possibility of abuse
can be even greater in these states. As a result, elected state
officials in non-judicial foreclosure states such as California,
Colorado, Texas, Massachusetts, and Maryland have recently asked lenders
to suspend their foreclosures.

Widespread concern about
documentation abuses in the mortgage industry is not limited to state
officials. Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of
the California congressional delegation called on the Justice
Department, the Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve to
investigate large mortgage lenders’ handling of delinquent mortgages,
mortgage modifications, and foreclosures. Additionally, Senators Robert
Menendez (NJ) and Al Franken (MN) called on the Government
Accountability Office to investigate the role of federal government
entities charged with overseeing the mortgage lending industry to
determine how they allowed lenders’ misconduct to occur without
detection for so long. Also, Members of Congress from Maryland and
Arizona – two non-judicial foreclosure states - called on large lenders
to halt foreclosures in their states.

“It makes little sense to
limit the moratoriums to judicial foreclosure states when many of the
same errors and paperwork flaws likely plague non-foreclosure states,”
said Conyers. “When the very same lenders that ignored the rules which
helped get us into the real estate bubble are placed in charge of the
foreclosures that are exacerbating the problem, locking millions of
Americans in a financial trap they cannot escape from, we have a
situation that is spiraling out of control and cries out for
intervention.”

“Given the depth of the financial calamity in
Michigan and other states, the huge number of foreclosures, and the
chain reaction of problems involving foreclosures that has impacted
communities and individuals, I would urge home mortgage lenders to cease
their foreclosure activities,” said Conyers. “Rather than spending
their time running mass production foreclosure mills, the lenders should
be working with individuals to keep families in their homes and
restructure their loans.”

“Home foreclosures affect individual
families and devastate entire communities,” said Congresswoman
Kilpatrick. “For home foreclosures to proceed under false pretenses is
patently unwarranted and unfair. I am proud to join one of the founders
of the CBC and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in this
clarion call for justice, fairness, and equality to Michiganders and all
Americans.”

###

 

Asymmetrical Warfare in the Mill Wars Based on UCC Practice II

I'd like to discuss the private and public battlefields where the Mill wars are taking place and present the “controlled opposition” Mills that are rarely presented in the MSM. Filing a UCC 1 Financing Statement is the primary and legal way to claim yourself as the CREDITOR of the DEBTOR corporate fiction. It gives the filer a legal standing to manage his own commercial affairs.

It is your job to read UCC Article 9 thoroughly, which governs the statutes in filing a UCC 1 Financing Statement. Let the UCC statutes and the Black’s Law Dictionary be your guides.

For my first article on the Mill wars, read Asymmetrical Warfare in the Mill Wars Based on UCC Practice at http://www.zerohedge.com/forum/asymmetrical-warfare-mill-wars-based-ucc-practice#comment-677882

 

Synopsis of Part I

All debt-notes are borrowed into existence. If no one (living individual) walked into the bank and signed as an accommodation party, not one bank loan would be made. The bank is the physical place where money is created, but it is a fiction and cannot do anything on its own.

The typical description of how banks operation hides a slight of hand.

1. An individual walks into the bank and signs an application (which means to beg under the law). He becomes a debtor.

2. He sells the promissory note to the bank.

UCC Section 9-102 Definitions

(28) "Debtor" means:

(B) a seller of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes; or

3. The bank gives him debt-notes (a promise to pay). The debt-notes are placed on the debit side of the ledger.

"Then, bankers discovered that they could make loans merely by giving their promises to pay, or bank notes, to borrowers."

Modern Money Mechanics

4. What do banks receive when they make a loan?

"What they do when they make loans is accept promissory notes in exchange for credits to the borrowers' transaction accounts."

Modern Money Mechanics

5. Due to double entry accounting, the bank receives credit in the borrower's transaction account. This is the credit side of the ledger to balance the debit. The Federal Reserve credits the borrower's account to make the bank's balance sheet whole. The credit comes from the borrower's exemption account maintained at the Treasury.

The borrower creates the money and discharges the debt through his own accounts. Then, the loan becomes an asset to the bank. The bank gave no consideration, but the borrower is supposed to pay back his own credit plus interest.

This is called OPM (Other People’s Money), and the banks are hooked on it.

Private and Public Battle Fields

The bankers and lawyers are not twiddling their thumbs. This economic crisis has spearheaded an all out war to strip the American people of their homes and assets. This is the private sphere in which the war is being playing out. People are being foreclosed because they don’t understand the Uniform Commercial Code that enforces the mortgage contracts unless the DEBTOR is able to rebut the presumption that the mortgage loan contract is valid.

In an Equity court only paper speaks. Since two corporations are battling it out, the corporation that continues to produce supporting documents wins. The claims and defenses brought to the court by the homeowner or borrower must not only support a valid claim, but they must also fall under the color of law.

For example, the defendant would argue that the loan was a fraudulent contract, having uncovered the misrepresentation of the mortgage loan contract. The defendant would argue that the foreclosure was fraudulent, because it did not adhere to legal requirements of assignment.

However, with knowledge of the debt-based monetary system--that paper is paper--that a paper loan must be discharged with paper, the DEBTOR accepts for value the banks claim and returns it for discharge, settlement, and closure of the account.

It is the DEBTOR’s duty, and he feels it is his duty, to discharge the debt of the contract by  “paying” off the mortgage loan with a negotiable instrument drawn on the exemption (credit) account at the US Treasury. The defendant discharges the debt by filing a UCC 1 form, and then sending the three pieces of paper and the SF5510 form to the Treasury and the bank. Technically, the Affidavits that show a discharge of debt are truth in fact in the courtroom.

Duty plays a big role in the Common Law and the UCC. A duty is considered a higher degree of integrity than a “right.” You may have a right, but you have a DUTY to uphold your end of the contract. This duty is a belief in oneself, and therefore a colorable action for the court. (Lawyers please attack me here. Your input may clarify these statements even better. I’m swimming in the concept of a colorable action in defense of a claim.)

At the public level, US government has passed or is trying to pass crimpling legislation that reaches directly into the pockets of the taxpayers.  The Cap and Trade legislation was shot down after scandal hit regarding the accuracy of the scientific data supporting global warming. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) of 2008 bailed out the banks to the tune of $700 Billion. The Patient Protection and Affordability Act of March 2010 and the follow on bill HR4872 are medical reform bills written by the lobbyists of the medical insurance and pharmaceutical industries. They will add heavy liabilities to the American people. As of this writing 10/24/2010, the national debt clock shows $122,324 owed by every US Income Tax payer.

The gamesmanship on the part of the government to pile up the Public Debt in all of its components, whether it is the trade deficit or entitlements, is a direct taxation on the American people. Without our knowledge (since none of the bills were ever read by our congressmen) and consent, the US government is stripping the wealth of taxpayers for many generations to come in the public sphere as well.

This public drubbing is the direct result of our adhesion contracts. In this case, the birth certificate is a receipt evidencing a debt. The US Treasury sold the birth certificate to the Federal Reserve in return for a sum of “money.” The Federal Reserve has a purchase money security interest in the bond. The social security number is the property of the US government. It is another adhesion contract. Through this number, our labor is pledged as the surety and guarantor of the debt-based monetary system and the balance sheet of the US government. The assumption that you are the surety and guarantor of the US government is enforceable, unless you rebut the assumption.

The preceding paragraphs describe the public battlefield where the Mill wars are very evident. There is another aspect of the Mill wars that is less talked about. It’s the “controlled opposition,” the unscrupulous businesses that are ostensibly helping the Man on the Land regain his rights as a Sovereign and as a free man. About twenty or thirty years ago and parallel with the banker activity, new social movements were established like the Freeman in Montana, the Tax protester movement, and the Redemption movement. The basic premise of each group is that the government is stealing our money. People are barred from their natural right to live in the Common Law, and they are being subjugated to cash confiscatory statutes that enrich the cities, states, and Federal governments, in addition to companies such as banks, utility companies, insurance, and hospitals and so on, who are driving up costs and extracting exorbitant fees.

The Redemption and Freeman Mills are all over the internet. You can buy a redemption manual for about $120. However, the controlled opposition mills are intended to bring people into dishonor. It is a trap just like all the mortgage loans. Their purpose is twofold.

First, the Controlled Opposition Mills validate people’s anger against the fraudulent government and businesses. They provide an outlet for disinformation that people are willing to dump their money into. It’s a business whose sole purpose is to fill the customer with BS about Redemption or the Uniform Commercial Code and hang him out to dry.

Second, the Controlled Opposition Mills create a whole new source of violators of the currency or taxing laws. They create more felons out of unsuspecting debtors. If you look into the prison industry, you know well that the Corrections Corporation of America is making profits and expanding. They are directly plugged into the exemption account of each debtor. Every month they get “paid” large sums of money to keep prisoners, who themselves are maintained in deplorable conditions. The redemption mills are truly a nightmare. On one freedom site, the UCC 1 Financing Statement form is so severely truncated that if you used it, you would be registering yourself as a debtor for the rest of your life. The entire section for the CREDITOR does not appear.

The manuals themselves are filled with truth, half-truth, and outright lies. They are designed to strip you of “money” and leave you in a prison cell. If you don’t read the Uniform Commercial Code directly yourself, you will not be able to see the truth floating in a stream of garbage.

The first step is to comprehend the meaning of a corporate fiction. What is it? You have been responsible for it your entire life, and you’ve tried to “pay” your debts like an honest man in the Common Law. The corporate fiction is a Ces qui te Trust created for you. It is represented by your name in all capital letters. Your birth certificate has another date on it besides your birthday under Date accepted for Registration. That is the day the Ces qui te Trust was created. My birth certificate is a bit older. It has a stamp on the side indicating a date two days after my birthday. The all caps name is defined from Black’s Law Dictionary below:

Capitis Diminutio Maxima  Black’s Law Dictionary 4th Edition

The highest and most comprehensive loss of status. This occurred when a man’s condition changed from one of freedom to one of bondage, when he became a slave. It swept away with it all rights of citizenship and all family rights.

There should be no dismay remaining as to why our government, bankers, and major corporations take advantage of our pocket books, pass punishing legislation, take over the instruction of our children, impose health directives (like mandatory flu immunizations), and so on. Out of lack of awareness, we’ve neglected to attend to the law and have unwittingly volunteered our property and bodies to a governing agency.

I’ve been challenged many times to prove the existence of the US Treasury Exemption (credit) account. Is it really so hard to imagine that the US Treasury exemption (credit) account is the credit side matching the debit side of the social security account? In any accounting system, there’s always a matching debit/credit account. Imagine that we still lived in a money system backed by intrinsic value of gold and silver. If this were the case, all the money we deposited in the Social Security account is a debit—extra money that is held by the Social Security Administration for us. Consequently, the credit side would be the liabilities that the government pays out in social security or disability payments to us.

However, when we look at the debt-based monetary system, the debit side is our liabilities—the debt-notes piled up from being deposited to the Social Security account. The credit side corresponds to all the credit we have created as accommodating/accommodation parties (the signatures we have sold to the banks) and which has been withheld from us since Day 1.

The research shows that the US Treasury exemption account is indexed by the same number as the social security account, but without the dashes. Through structural symmetry and accounting principles of debit/credit, we know the US Treasury account exists. It also explains why we are so broke. The Federal Reserve as the receiver of the US government has been withholding our credit that represents the physical and mental labor that we have exerted in the economy.

This is a debt war going on. So far the people are on the ropes.

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Tree crushes miner to death at Mahdia - Stabroek <b>News</b> - Guyana

The life of a 49-year old miner was yesterday afternoon snuffed out after a tree fell on him while he was working at a mining area at Mahdia in Region 8.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

bench craft company complaints
bench craft company complaints

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Tree crushes miner to death at Mahdia - Stabroek <b>News</b> - Guyana

The life of a 49-year old miner was yesterday afternoon snuffed out after a tree fell on him while he was working at a mining area at Mahdia in Region 8.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints
· Lenders
should extend moratoriums on home foreclosures to all states, including
Michigan, rather than just those states with judicially supervised
foreclosures.

· Lenders that have initiated moratoriums
should insure that they actually prevent foreclosures rather than just
evictions subsequent to foreclosures.

· The Federal
Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
thereby controlling a major portion of mortgages subject to foreclosure
in the U.S., should review its procedures for proper compliance and
also consider initiating a foreclosure moratorium

At the
same time, Conyers announced plans to investigate mortgage lenders to
learn more about their foreclosure practices, including paperwork
violations and false affidavits, and ascertain what can be done to
protect homeowners from possible abuses. As part of this effort,
Conyers is asking the Federal Housing Finance Agency – the federal
agency charged with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – to ensure
that they abide by the law, to consider initiating a moratorium, and to
conduct an audit of their actions. In addition, Conyers will be calling
upon the DOJ’s Executive Office for U.S. Trustees to investigate the
extent to which false affidavits have been filed in bankruptcy cases by
lenders seeking to foreclose on debtor’s homes.

Thus far, only
three lenders – Ally Financial (parent of GMAC Mortgage), Bank of
America, and JP Morgan Chase – have ceased post-foreclosure enforcement
actions in 23 states that have court- controlled foreclosure
proceedings: Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Even those
lenders appear to have only ceased evictions, while they continue to
engage in foreclosures, which take title from homeowners.

At this
point Michigan and 26 other states are not on the moratorium list for
these lenders, purportedly because they have a non-judicial foreclosure
process. However, without judicial oversight, the possibility of abuse
can be even greater in these states. As a result, elected state
officials in non-judicial foreclosure states such as California,
Colorado, Texas, Massachusetts, and Maryland have recently asked lenders
to suspend their foreclosures.

Widespread concern about
documentation abuses in the mortgage industry is not limited to state
officials. Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of
the California congressional delegation called on the Justice
Department, the Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve to
investigate large mortgage lenders’ handling of delinquent mortgages,
mortgage modifications, and foreclosures. Additionally, Senators Robert
Menendez (NJ) and Al Franken (MN) called on the Government
Accountability Office to investigate the role of federal government
entities charged with overseeing the mortgage lending industry to
determine how they allowed lenders’ misconduct to occur without
detection for so long. Also, Members of Congress from Maryland and
Arizona – two non-judicial foreclosure states - called on large lenders
to halt foreclosures in their states.

“It makes little sense to
limit the moratoriums to judicial foreclosure states when many of the
same errors and paperwork flaws likely plague non-foreclosure states,”
said Conyers. “When the very same lenders that ignored the rules which
helped get us into the real estate bubble are placed in charge of the
foreclosures that are exacerbating the problem, locking millions of
Americans in a financial trap they cannot escape from, we have a
situation that is spiraling out of control and cries out for
intervention.”

“Given the depth of the financial calamity in
Michigan and other states, the huge number of foreclosures, and the
chain reaction of problems involving foreclosures that has impacted
communities and individuals, I would urge home mortgage lenders to cease
their foreclosure activities,” said Conyers. “Rather than spending
their time running mass production foreclosure mills, the lenders should
be working with individuals to keep families in their homes and
restructure their loans.”

“Home foreclosures affect individual
families and devastate entire communities,” said Congresswoman
Kilpatrick. “For home foreclosures to proceed under false pretenses is
patently unwarranted and unfair. I am proud to join one of the founders
of the CBC and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in this
clarion call for justice, fairness, and equality to Michiganders and all
Americans.”

###

 

Asymmetrical Warfare in the Mill Wars Based on UCC Practice II

I'd like to discuss the private and public battlefields where the Mill wars are taking place and present the “controlled opposition” Mills that are rarely presented in the MSM. Filing a UCC 1 Financing Statement is the primary and legal way to claim yourself as the CREDITOR of the DEBTOR corporate fiction. It gives the filer a legal standing to manage his own commercial affairs.

It is your job to read UCC Article 9 thoroughly, which governs the statutes in filing a UCC 1 Financing Statement. Let the UCC statutes and the Black’s Law Dictionary be your guides.

For my first article on the Mill wars, read Asymmetrical Warfare in the Mill Wars Based on UCC Practice at http://www.zerohedge.com/forum/asymmetrical-warfare-mill-wars-based-ucc-practice#comment-677882

 

Synopsis of Part I

All debt-notes are borrowed into existence. If no one (living individual) walked into the bank and signed as an accommodation party, not one bank loan would be made. The bank is the physical place where money is created, but it is a fiction and cannot do anything on its own.

The typical description of how banks operation hides a slight of hand.

1. An individual walks into the bank and signs an application (which means to beg under the law). He becomes a debtor.

2. He sells the promissory note to the bank.

UCC Section 9-102 Definitions

(28) "Debtor" means:

(B) a seller of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes; or

3. The bank gives him debt-notes (a promise to pay). The debt-notes are placed on the debit side of the ledger.

"Then, bankers discovered that they could make loans merely by giving their promises to pay, or bank notes, to borrowers."

Modern Money Mechanics

4. What do banks receive when they make a loan?

"What they do when they make loans is accept promissory notes in exchange for credits to the borrowers' transaction accounts."

Modern Money Mechanics

5. Due to double entry accounting, the bank receives credit in the borrower's transaction account. This is the credit side of the ledger to balance the debit. The Federal Reserve credits the borrower's account to make the bank's balance sheet whole. The credit comes from the borrower's exemption account maintained at the Treasury.

The borrower creates the money and discharges the debt through his own accounts. Then, the loan becomes an asset to the bank. The bank gave no consideration, but the borrower is supposed to pay back his own credit plus interest.

This is called OPM (Other People’s Money), and the banks are hooked on it.

Private and Public Battle Fields

The bankers and lawyers are not twiddling their thumbs. This economic crisis has spearheaded an all out war to strip the American people of their homes and assets. This is the private sphere in which the war is being playing out. People are being foreclosed because they don’t understand the Uniform Commercial Code that enforces the mortgage contracts unless the DEBTOR is able to rebut the presumption that the mortgage loan contract is valid.

In an Equity court only paper speaks. Since two corporations are battling it out, the corporation that continues to produce supporting documents wins. The claims and defenses brought to the court by the homeowner or borrower must not only support a valid claim, but they must also fall under the color of law.

For example, the defendant would argue that the loan was a fraudulent contract, having uncovered the misrepresentation of the mortgage loan contract. The defendant would argue that the foreclosure was fraudulent, because it did not adhere to legal requirements of assignment.

However, with knowledge of the debt-based monetary system--that paper is paper--that a paper loan must be discharged with paper, the DEBTOR accepts for value the banks claim and returns it for discharge, settlement, and closure of the account.

It is the DEBTOR’s duty, and he feels it is his duty, to discharge the debt of the contract by  “paying” off the mortgage loan with a negotiable instrument drawn on the exemption (credit) account at the US Treasury. The defendant discharges the debt by filing a UCC 1 form, and then sending the three pieces of paper and the SF5510 form to the Treasury and the bank. Technically, the Affidavits that show a discharge of debt are truth in fact in the courtroom.

Duty plays a big role in the Common Law and the UCC. A duty is considered a higher degree of integrity than a “right.” You may have a right, but you have a DUTY to uphold your end of the contract. This duty is a belief in oneself, and therefore a colorable action for the court. (Lawyers please attack me here. Your input may clarify these statements even better. I’m swimming in the concept of a colorable action in defense of a claim.)

At the public level, US government has passed or is trying to pass crimpling legislation that reaches directly into the pockets of the taxpayers.  The Cap and Trade legislation was shot down after scandal hit regarding the accuracy of the scientific data supporting global warming. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) of 2008 bailed out the banks to the tune of $700 Billion. The Patient Protection and Affordability Act of March 2010 and the follow on bill HR4872 are medical reform bills written by the lobbyists of the medical insurance and pharmaceutical industries. They will add heavy liabilities to the American people. As of this writing 10/24/2010, the national debt clock shows $122,324 owed by every US Income Tax payer.

The gamesmanship on the part of the government to pile up the Public Debt in all of its components, whether it is the trade deficit or entitlements, is a direct taxation on the American people. Without our knowledge (since none of the bills were ever read by our congressmen) and consent, the US government is stripping the wealth of taxpayers for many generations to come in the public sphere as well.

This public drubbing is the direct result of our adhesion contracts. In this case, the birth certificate is a receipt evidencing a debt. The US Treasury sold the birth certificate to the Federal Reserve in return for a sum of “money.” The Federal Reserve has a purchase money security interest in the bond. The social security number is the property of the US government. It is another adhesion contract. Through this number, our labor is pledged as the surety and guarantor of the debt-based monetary system and the balance sheet of the US government. The assumption that you are the surety and guarantor of the US government is enforceable, unless you rebut the assumption.

The preceding paragraphs describe the public battlefield where the Mill wars are very evident. There is another aspect of the Mill wars that is less talked about. It’s the “controlled opposition,” the unscrupulous businesses that are ostensibly helping the Man on the Land regain his rights as a Sovereign and as a free man. About twenty or thirty years ago and parallel with the banker activity, new social movements were established like the Freeman in Montana, the Tax protester movement, and the Redemption movement. The basic premise of each group is that the government is stealing our money. People are barred from their natural right to live in the Common Law, and they are being subjugated to cash confiscatory statutes that enrich the cities, states, and Federal governments, in addition to companies such as banks, utility companies, insurance, and hospitals and so on, who are driving up costs and extracting exorbitant fees.

The Redemption and Freeman Mills are all over the internet. You can buy a redemption manual for about $120. However, the controlled opposition mills are intended to bring people into dishonor. It is a trap just like all the mortgage loans. Their purpose is twofold.

First, the Controlled Opposition Mills validate people’s anger against the fraudulent government and businesses. They provide an outlet for disinformation that people are willing to dump their money into. It’s a business whose sole purpose is to fill the customer with BS about Redemption or the Uniform Commercial Code and hang him out to dry.

Second, the Controlled Opposition Mills create a whole new source of violators of the currency or taxing laws. They create more felons out of unsuspecting debtors. If you look into the prison industry, you know well that the Corrections Corporation of America is making profits and expanding. They are directly plugged into the exemption account of each debtor. Every month they get “paid” large sums of money to keep prisoners, who themselves are maintained in deplorable conditions. The redemption mills are truly a nightmare. On one freedom site, the UCC 1 Financing Statement form is so severely truncated that if you used it, you would be registering yourself as a debtor for the rest of your life. The entire section for the CREDITOR does not appear.

The manuals themselves are filled with truth, half-truth, and outright lies. They are designed to strip you of “money” and leave you in a prison cell. If you don’t read the Uniform Commercial Code directly yourself, you will not be able to see the truth floating in a stream of garbage.

The first step is to comprehend the meaning of a corporate fiction. What is it? You have been responsible for it your entire life, and you’ve tried to “pay” your debts like an honest man in the Common Law. The corporate fiction is a Ces qui te Trust created for you. It is represented by your name in all capital letters. Your birth certificate has another date on it besides your birthday under Date accepted for Registration. That is the day the Ces qui te Trust was created. My birth certificate is a bit older. It has a stamp on the side indicating a date two days after my birthday. The all caps name is defined from Black’s Law Dictionary below:

Capitis Diminutio Maxima  Black’s Law Dictionary 4th Edition

The highest and most comprehensive loss of status. This occurred when a man’s condition changed from one of freedom to one of bondage, when he became a slave. It swept away with it all rights of citizenship and all family rights.

There should be no dismay remaining as to why our government, bankers, and major corporations take advantage of our pocket books, pass punishing legislation, take over the instruction of our children, impose health directives (like mandatory flu immunizations), and so on. Out of lack of awareness, we’ve neglected to attend to the law and have unwittingly volunteered our property and bodies to a governing agency.

I’ve been challenged many times to prove the existence of the US Treasury Exemption (credit) account. Is it really so hard to imagine that the US Treasury exemption (credit) account is the credit side matching the debit side of the social security account? In any accounting system, there’s always a matching debit/credit account. Imagine that we still lived in a money system backed by intrinsic value of gold and silver. If this were the case, all the money we deposited in the Social Security account is a debit—extra money that is held by the Social Security Administration for us. Consequently, the credit side would be the liabilities that the government pays out in social security or disability payments to us.

However, when we look at the debt-based monetary system, the debit side is our liabilities—the debt-notes piled up from being deposited to the Social Security account. The credit side corresponds to all the credit we have created as accommodating/accommodation parties (the signatures we have sold to the banks) and which has been withheld from us since Day 1.

The research shows that the US Treasury exemption account is indexed by the same number as the social security account, but without the dashes. Through structural symmetry and accounting principles of debit/credit, we know the US Treasury account exists. It also explains why we are so broke. The Federal Reserve as the receiver of the US government has been withholding our credit that represents the physical and mental labor that we have exerted in the economy.

This is a debt war going on. So far the people are on the ropes.

bench craft company complaints

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Tree crushes miner to death at Mahdia - Stabroek <b>News</b> - Guyana

The life of a 49-year old miner was yesterday afternoon snuffed out after a tree fell on him while he was working at a mining area at Mahdia in Region 8.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Tree crushes miner to death at Mahdia - Stabroek <b>News</b> - Guyana

The life of a 49-year old miner was yesterday afternoon snuffed out after a tree fell on him while he was working at a mining area at Mahdia in Region 8.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Tree crushes miner to death at Mahdia - Stabroek <b>News</b> - Guyana

The life of a 49-year old miner was yesterday afternoon snuffed out after a tree fell on him while he was working at a mining area at Mahdia in Region 8.

Sad <b>news</b> for the New York baseball world

You probably didn't know Bill Shannon, but if you did, you would have liked him a lot. Bill died tragically on Tuesday morning, the victim of a fire in his New Jersey home. He was 69. Bill was the senior...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Making Money With a Website

How prescient! I just wrote that the dead-tree book is dying and a tipster sent us in this charming little site dedicated to the joy of paper – funded by a paper manufacturer, one of the biggest in the world.

Domtar is the “largest integrated producer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second largest in the world based on production capacity” and business, thus far, has been good. Like buggy whip manufacturers, however, the writing is on the wall – a great deal of the paper they spew out will soon be replaced by bits.

While most of that information, including the lip-service to sustainability, is false, I don’t envy Dotmar’s position. They are a massive paper conglomerate and their bottom line is being attacked by a free newspaper app you can download for iPad. Their best customers for centuries are now, slowly, turning away from them. That said, the website is a ham-handed attempt (one example bit of advice “Senior Executives prefer print…A resume is a summary of your professional career, not a blog about what you had for breakfast.” That’s why they’re called Senior. Duh!) by an entrenched industry to keep making money.

Read their mission statement:

Domtar is committed to the responsible use of paper. We’re also committed to communicating paper’s place and value to the businesses and people that use our products every day. Paper is a sustainable, renewable, recyclable, plant-based product that connects us in so many ways to the important things in life. Great ideas are started on paper. The world is educated on paper. Businesses are founded on paper. Love is professed on paper. Important news is spread on paper.

Businesses aren’t found on paper unless you count the antiquated filing systems required by some lawyers. Love isn’t professed on paper anymore – it’s expressed by Facebook status updates and YouTube videos. Important news is definitely not spread on paper, that much is clear since they decided to create a website instead of a publish wonderfully-printed 500 page book dedicated to the value of paper from the middle ages to today on expensive paper. I’m not being facetious. I’m being realistic.

I love me some paper as much as the next guy. In fact, I love paper books so much that I’ve been buying my son a few selected tomes in hardback or paperback just so we have them down the line. But friends I’m here to tell you that our book collections, impressive as they may be, will be as quaint as our parents old vinyl collections to our kids. I remember going through my Dad’s vinyl, picking out a bunch of great albums (he basically turned me into a Dylanophile and a Beatles fan, thus ruining my chances of getting a date in high school), and recording them to tape for easier listening. This is how my son will treat my book collection – an antiquated media with a great deal of value that will spur him to find the authors I loved as a youth in e-book form.

In the 19th century, everyone thought whale oil was the fuel of the future. It only a took a few years for the the sperm whaling industry to dry up. The same will happen to a number of entrenched industries in the next few decades including paper, petroleum, and hard disk manufacturing. It’s not a question of whether we like the soft, warm glow of spermaceti over the harsh, unwavering electric light, as PaperBecause is trying to suggest. It’s because electric light makes economic and cultural sense. Change comes fast to those who least expect it.

Democratic Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias said Thursday GOP rival Mark Kirk commited "economic treason" by raising money from Americans in China the day before he voted not to kill tax breaks for U.S. international companies.

The Kirk campaign said in a statement the assertion was "ridiculous both from a timing perspective and the fact that Kirk has been pretty consistent on China relations and against tax increases."

The peg for the Giannoulias statement, made at a press conference in Chicago's Loop: a leaked Kirk campaign memo--scooped by Rich Miller in Capitol Fax-- detailing Kirk's 2010 fund-raising activities, including the solicitation of Americans in Bejing.

Giannoulias said in his press release Kirk "held" a fundraiser in Bejing; rather, Kirk hosted a Skype call (a computer video hookup) with 12 U.S. citizens in Bejing. About $6,000 was raised from the event.

Raising campaign money from U.S. citizens living or visiting abroad is perfectly legal. Giannoulias went to Canada to collect money from U.S. trial lawyers at a convention; President Obama's 2008 campaign had a series of fund-raising events overseas.

Giannoulias said the call was "nothing other than an act of economic treason" and Kirk "held his fund-raiser essentially in China." He defended his statements even when reporters noted that the Bejing event was only a Skype call and was scheduled before May 17 (that was the date on the leaked memo) and that the House Rules Committee did not set the date for the May 28 vote until May 26.

That Skype call, the Kirk campaign said in a statement, "had nothing to do with legislation/votes." The tax break for international companies was an element in a broader bill passed mainly on a party line vote.

Meanwhile, not to let a good skirmish go to waste, later Thursday Kirk campaign chairman Eric Elk sent out a fund-raising appeal based on the "economic treason" charge.

"Alexi Giannoulias should be ashamed," Elk wrote. "That's right. A man who never served one day in uniform is accusing a 21-year Navy Reserve veteran of treason. It's dishonorable and a clear sign of desperation. Help us fight back against this latest desperate Giannoulias attack by making a contribution right now on our website."

Timothy Karr: Fox <b>News</b> Tries to Foreclose on Sesame Street

Every time PBS and NPR have come under attack, the American public has risen up in protest to defend -- not defund -- it. Whatever the rationale, Fox News' ongoing witch hunt tactic is a proven loser.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nielsen: 362000 Monthly Users For <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s Times Paywall <b>...</b>

News International's silence on subscriber numbers for Times and Sunday Times online content continues, three and a half months after the paywall went up. But today audience research company Nielsen has taken a stab at estimating the ...

bench craft company complaints
bench craft company complaints

Timothy Karr: Fox <b>News</b> Tries to Foreclose on Sesame Street

Every time PBS and NPR have come under attack, the American public has risen up in protest to defend -- not defund -- it. Whatever the rationale, Fox News' ongoing witch hunt tactic is a proven loser.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nielsen: 362000 Monthly Users For <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s Times Paywall <b>...</b>

News International's silence on subscriber numbers for Times and Sunday Times online content continues, three and a half months after the paywall went up. But today audience research company Nielsen has taken a stab at estimating the ...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

How prescient! I just wrote that the dead-tree book is dying and a tipster sent us in this charming little site dedicated to the joy of paper – funded by a paper manufacturer, one of the biggest in the world.

Domtar is the “largest integrated producer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second largest in the world based on production capacity” and business, thus far, has been good. Like buggy whip manufacturers, however, the writing is on the wall – a great deal of the paper they spew out will soon be replaced by bits.

While most of that information, including the lip-service to sustainability, is false, I don’t envy Dotmar’s position. They are a massive paper conglomerate and their bottom line is being attacked by a free newspaper app you can download for iPad. Their best customers for centuries are now, slowly, turning away from them. That said, the website is a ham-handed attempt (one example bit of advice “Senior Executives prefer print…A resume is a summary of your professional career, not a blog about what you had for breakfast.” That’s why they’re called Senior. Duh!) by an entrenched industry to keep making money.

Read their mission statement:

Domtar is committed to the responsible use of paper. We’re also committed to communicating paper’s place and value to the businesses and people that use our products every day. Paper is a sustainable, renewable, recyclable, plant-based product that connects us in so many ways to the important things in life. Great ideas are started on paper. The world is educated on paper. Businesses are founded on paper. Love is professed on paper. Important news is spread on paper.

Businesses aren’t found on paper unless you count the antiquated filing systems required by some lawyers. Love isn’t professed on paper anymore – it’s expressed by Facebook status updates and YouTube videos. Important news is definitely not spread on paper, that much is clear since they decided to create a website instead of a publish wonderfully-printed 500 page book dedicated to the value of paper from the middle ages to today on expensive paper. I’m not being facetious. I’m being realistic.

I love me some paper as much as the next guy. In fact, I love paper books so much that I’ve been buying my son a few selected tomes in hardback or paperback just so we have them down the line. But friends I’m here to tell you that our book collections, impressive as they may be, will be as quaint as our parents old vinyl collections to our kids. I remember going through my Dad’s vinyl, picking out a bunch of great albums (he basically turned me into a Dylanophile and a Beatles fan, thus ruining my chances of getting a date in high school), and recording them to tape for easier listening. This is how my son will treat my book collection – an antiquated media with a great deal of value that will spur him to find the authors I loved as a youth in e-book form.

In the 19th century, everyone thought whale oil was the fuel of the future. It only a took a few years for the the sperm whaling industry to dry up. The same will happen to a number of entrenched industries in the next few decades including paper, petroleum, and hard disk manufacturing. It’s not a question of whether we like the soft, warm glow of spermaceti over the harsh, unwavering electric light, as PaperBecause is trying to suggest. It’s because electric light makes economic and cultural sense. Change comes fast to those who least expect it.

Democratic Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias said Thursday GOP rival Mark Kirk commited "economic treason" by raising money from Americans in China the day before he voted not to kill tax breaks for U.S. international companies.

The Kirk campaign said in a statement the assertion was "ridiculous both from a timing perspective and the fact that Kirk has been pretty consistent on China relations and against tax increases."

The peg for the Giannoulias statement, made at a press conference in Chicago's Loop: a leaked Kirk campaign memo--scooped by Rich Miller in Capitol Fax-- detailing Kirk's 2010 fund-raising activities, including the solicitation of Americans in Bejing.

Giannoulias said in his press release Kirk "held" a fundraiser in Bejing; rather, Kirk hosted a Skype call (a computer video hookup) with 12 U.S. citizens in Bejing. About $6,000 was raised from the event.

Raising campaign money from U.S. citizens living or visiting abroad is perfectly legal. Giannoulias went to Canada to collect money from U.S. trial lawyers at a convention; President Obama's 2008 campaign had a series of fund-raising events overseas.

Giannoulias said the call was "nothing other than an act of economic treason" and Kirk "held his fund-raiser essentially in China." He defended his statements even when reporters noted that the Bejing event was only a Skype call and was scheduled before May 17 (that was the date on the leaked memo) and that the House Rules Committee did not set the date for the May 28 vote until May 26.

That Skype call, the Kirk campaign said in a statement, "had nothing to do with legislation/votes." The tax break for international companies was an element in a broader bill passed mainly on a party line vote.

Meanwhile, not to let a good skirmish go to waste, later Thursday Kirk campaign chairman Eric Elk sent out a fund-raising appeal based on the "economic treason" charge.

"Alexi Giannoulias should be ashamed," Elk wrote. "That's right. A man who never served one day in uniform is accusing a 21-year Navy Reserve veteran of treason. It's dishonorable and a clear sign of desperation. Help us fight back against this latest desperate Giannoulias attack by making a contribution right now on our website."

bench craft company complaints

Timothy Karr: Fox <b>News</b> Tries to Foreclose on Sesame Street

Every time PBS and NPR have come under attack, the American public has risen up in protest to defend -- not defund -- it. Whatever the rationale, Fox News' ongoing witch hunt tactic is a proven loser.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nielsen: 362000 Monthly Users For <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s Times Paywall <b>...</b>

News International's silence on subscriber numbers for Times and Sunday Times online content continues, three and a half months after the paywall went up. But today audience research company Nielsen has taken a stab at estimating the ...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Timothy Karr: Fox <b>News</b> Tries to Foreclose on Sesame Street

Every time PBS and NPR have come under attack, the American public has risen up in protest to defend -- not defund -- it. Whatever the rationale, Fox News' ongoing witch hunt tactic is a proven loser.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nielsen: 362000 Monthly Users For <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s Times Paywall <b>...</b>

News International's silence on subscriber numbers for Times and Sunday Times online content continues, three and a half months after the paywall went up. But today audience research company Nielsen has taken a stab at estimating the ...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Timothy Karr: Fox <b>News</b> Tries to Foreclose on Sesame Street

Every time PBS and NPR have come under attack, the American public has risen up in protest to defend -- not defund -- it. Whatever the rationale, Fox News' ongoing witch hunt tactic is a proven loser.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nielsen: 362000 Monthly Users For <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s Times Paywall <b>...</b>

News International's silence on subscriber numbers for Times and Sunday Times online content continues, three and a half months after the paywall went up. But today audience research company Nielsen has taken a stab at estimating the ...

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

foreclosure

Simply put, the problem with the housing market right now, not the problem for investors or banks but the problem for the people living in the homes, is that it has become more lucrative for many servicers to foreclose on the property than to work out a modification. That changes all of the incentives around housing, and makes fraud attractive. That the system was swamped with calls for modifications after pushing people into loans that they couldn’t afford when they recast makes fraud all the more attractive. Foreclosure pays in particular for servicers who don’t also own the loan: for them, they’d rather pay a foreclosure mill a flat rate to process the homes rather than pay more staff to do person-to-person modifications and all the things that go with that: verification of income, negotiation, etc. This happens to be, in most cases, the mega-servicers who are owned by the big banks.

And foreclosure not only pays for servicers, it really pays off for the foreclosure mill law firms, who can process this stuff at a rapid pace and, until the revelations, get judgments with virtually no opposition. And lo and behold, Wall Street private equity firms are behind the foreclosure mills in some cases. The lawsuit on behalf of homeowners claims that Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm, has benefited from what the lawsuit calls an illegal fee-splitting arrangement between Prommis Solutions and several of the busiest foreclosure law firms it controls. Great Hills is the biggest stakeholder in Prommis, a company that acts as a middleman between mortgage servicers and law firms. A lawyer for Prommis rejected that claim, and officials of Great Hill Partners did not respond to inquiries. But a review of public filings, company news releases and other public statements shows that several private equity firms or entities they control have stakes in the business operations of some of the busiest foreclosure law firms in New York, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia and Texas. Cue the line about Wall Street sticking its blood funnel into anything that makes money. Prommis Solutions adds nothing of value but is just a go-between for the servicers and the foreclosure mills. They just skim off the top. And their profit margins are likely pretty low, and so they encourage cost-cutting measures:

Weekly Audit: Foreclosuregate Hits Home

by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger

Earlier this month, Bank of America (BOA), the country's largest bank, announced a moratorium on foreclosures in all 50 states.

The bank promised not to sell any foreclosed homes or take any more delinquent borrowers to court until it had reviewed its potentially defective foreclosure process. Other major lenders soon announced that they too were suspending foreclosures in dozens of states. Why are the biggest banks in the country voluntarily calling for a time-out? It's a hint that we're facing a huge problem: The banks aren't sure if they have the legal right to foreclose on millions of homes.

Here's what's new in foreclosuregate since the Audit took up the story last week. The Bank of America announced that it would resume some foreclosures on Oct. 25, having deemed its own methods sound. The stock market begged to differ. BOA's stock fell over 5% on Thursday and other bank stocks also took a beating, as did mortgage bonds. This pattern indicates that investors are very worried about the effect of the foreclosure crisis on the health of the banks.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) is calling for a foreclosure moratorium under the new Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), as Ellen Brown reports for Truthout. The FSOC has the power to preemptively break up any large financial institution that threatens U.S. economic security. Grayson wants a moratorium on all mortgages securitized between 2005 and 2008 until the FSOC can determine which foreclosures are valid and which are bogus.

The missing link

So, what kind of "defects" in the foreclosure process are we talking about? Fraud, basically.

Zach Carter of the Campaign for America's Future explains to Chris Hayes of the Nation why Bank of America and other major lenders are in so much trouble: They are just administering loans for other lenders. You make your check out to the Bank of America, but the bank is just babysitting after the loan for the bondholders.

The real creditors are the investors who own bonds made up of pieces of many different mortgages, including yours. The bond gives the bondholder a share of the money that you and other borrowers pay each month. If you don't pay, BOA initiates foreclosure. If you're late, BOA charges you fees.

However, the bank can't just hire a foreclosure company to take your home away on a whim. The bank must first show proof that it is entitled to foreclose because you've defaulted on your mortgage in the form of a mortgage note. If you hold one of those toxic asset mortgages, there's a good chance the bank doesn't have the note.

As Dean Baker explains in Truthout, in many, if not most, cases, "liar loans" (mortgages issued with no proof of income or assets) have become given way to "liar liens" (foreclosures with no proof of default).

According to Carter, all the big banks have been hiring foreclosure mills to rubber-stamp their claims without checking. Unscrupulous foreclosure companies are admitting to "robo-signing," i.e., foreclosing without even checking whether the bank's claims were legit.

Foreclosuregate

According to Andy Kroll of Mother Jones, the Bank of America stands to lose up to $70 billion over what's come to be known as "foreclosuregate." A mortgage starts out with an originator, typically a bank or a mortgage broker. In the heyday of mortgage-backed securities, investment banks were buying up hundreds of thousands of mortgages, making them into mortgage-backed bonds, and selling them to investors.

Unfortunately, if the bank doesn't have the note, who does? The mortgage originator may have gone bankrupt, many were fly-by-night operators that folded when the housing bubble burst. Many mortgages were bought and resold more than once before they found their way into a mortgage-backed bond.

So, the question is whether the bank really owned the mortgages it made into mortgage backed-securities and sold to individuals, pension funds, and other institutions. If not, the banks stand could be on the hook for selling assets they didn't actually own to investors.

Moratorium now

The scandal affects so many mortgages that some lawmakers are calling for a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures until investigators can sort out who owns what once and for all. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! that Congress needs to stop banks from putting people out on the street until there is some way to differentiate between fraudulent foreclosures and justified ones:

And so, I just think that people who are saying that this is going to hurt--I think that it's going to help, because once people gain confidence in the fact that they're being treated fairly and that there's no discrepancies in the records, then people will feel very comfortable in terms of trying to move forward. But until that happens, you're always going to have these comments about the fact that that was not done right, it was done unfairly. And, of course, I think there's enough here for us to stop and to pause and to say, let's take a look here before we move forward. So a moratorium is definitely in order.

The Obama administration opposes the moratorium on the grounds that it would hurt the housing market and thereby slow the economy. Towns counters that what would really be bad for the economy is letting banks take people's homes away without any semblance of due process. If the government doesn't act to protect the innocent, foreclosuregate could shatter the confidence of potential home buyers. Would you want to invest in a house if you were afraid the bank could just take it away from you?

In AlterNet, Mike Lux argues that fraudulent foreclosures are one more assault on poor and middle class Americans. He argues that the banks are so used to being coddled by Washington that they're counting on legislators to retroactively change the rules to protect them from the consequences of their own devious behavior.

At this point we don't know what percentage of foreclosed-upon homes have simply been stolen by banks to pay bondholders, but we do know the problem is vast and systemic. The Obama administration is content to let the banks seize private property first and ask questions later. We need a moratorium to take stock and restore the rule of law.

This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the economy by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Audit for a complete list of articles on economic issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.

After <b>news</b> of Google tax dodges, Obama raises money with Google <b>...</b>

Google, according to a report by Bloomberg News, has used paper transactions to shift $3.1 billion of its income to Bermuda and other low-tax havens in recent years. The company's aggressive use of such tax dodges has reduced its ...

Nuclear submarine runs aground off Skye | Scotland | STV <b>News</b>

Royal Navy submarine HMS Astute stranded after accident near Skye Bridge.

Energy and Global Warming <b>News</b> for October 22nd: Five renewable <b>...</b>

Polls, including the one from Wall Street Journal/NBC News released Wednesday, have shown that some voters are disenchanted with the Democrats and many voters remain undecided. Speaking at the Solar Power International (SPI) conference ...

eric seiger eric seiger

Simply put, the problem with the housing market right now, not the problem for investors or banks but the problem for the people living in the homes, is that it has become more lucrative for many servicers to foreclose on the property than to work out a modification. That changes all of the incentives around housing, and makes fraud attractive. That the system was swamped with calls for modifications after pushing people into loans that they couldn’t afford when they recast makes fraud all the more attractive. Foreclosure pays in particular for servicers who don’t also own the loan: for them, they’d rather pay a foreclosure mill a flat rate to process the homes rather than pay more staff to do person-to-person modifications and all the things that go with that: verification of income, negotiation, etc. This happens to be, in most cases, the mega-servicers who are owned by the big banks.

And foreclosure not only pays for servicers, it really pays off for the foreclosure mill law firms, who can process this stuff at a rapid pace and, until the revelations, get judgments with virtually no opposition. And lo and behold, Wall Street private equity firms are behind the foreclosure mills in some cases. The lawsuit on behalf of homeowners claims that Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm, has benefited from what the lawsuit calls an illegal fee-splitting arrangement between Prommis Solutions and several of the busiest foreclosure law firms it controls. Great Hills is the biggest stakeholder in Prommis, a company that acts as a middleman between mortgage servicers and law firms. A lawyer for Prommis rejected that claim, and officials of Great Hill Partners did not respond to inquiries. But a review of public filings, company news releases and other public statements shows that several private equity firms or entities they control have stakes in the business operations of some of the busiest foreclosure law firms in New York, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia and Texas. Cue the line about Wall Street sticking its blood funnel into anything that makes money. Prommis Solutions adds nothing of value but is just a go-between for the servicers and the foreclosure mills. They just skim off the top. And their profit margins are likely pretty low, and so they encourage cost-cutting measures:

Weekly Audit: Foreclosuregate Hits Home

by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger

Earlier this month, Bank of America (BOA), the country's largest bank, announced a moratorium on foreclosures in all 50 states.

The bank promised not to sell any foreclosed homes or take any more delinquent borrowers to court until it had reviewed its potentially defective foreclosure process. Other major lenders soon announced that they too were suspending foreclosures in dozens of states. Why are the biggest banks in the country voluntarily calling for a time-out? It's a hint that we're facing a huge problem: The banks aren't sure if they have the legal right to foreclose on millions of homes.

Here's what's new in foreclosuregate since the Audit took up the story last week. The Bank of America announced that it would resume some foreclosures on Oct. 25, having deemed its own methods sound. The stock market begged to differ. BOA's stock fell over 5% on Thursday and other bank stocks also took a beating, as did mortgage bonds. This pattern indicates that investors are very worried about the effect of the foreclosure crisis on the health of the banks.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) is calling for a foreclosure moratorium under the new Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), as Ellen Brown reports for Truthout. The FSOC has the power to preemptively break up any large financial institution that threatens U.S. economic security. Grayson wants a moratorium on all mortgages securitized between 2005 and 2008 until the FSOC can determine which foreclosures are valid and which are bogus.

The missing link

So, what kind of "defects" in the foreclosure process are we talking about? Fraud, basically.

Zach Carter of the Campaign for America's Future explains to Chris Hayes of the Nation why Bank of America and other major lenders are in so much trouble: They are just administering loans for other lenders. You make your check out to the Bank of America, but the bank is just babysitting after the loan for the bondholders.

The real creditors are the investors who own bonds made up of pieces of many different mortgages, including yours. The bond gives the bondholder a share of the money that you and other borrowers pay each month. If you don't pay, BOA initiates foreclosure. If you're late, BOA charges you fees.

However, the bank can't just hire a foreclosure company to take your home away on a whim. The bank must first show proof that it is entitled to foreclose because you've defaulted on your mortgage in the form of a mortgage note. If you hold one of those toxic asset mortgages, there's a good chance the bank doesn't have the note.

As Dean Baker explains in Truthout, in many, if not most, cases, "liar loans" (mortgages issued with no proof of income or assets) have become given way to "liar liens" (foreclosures with no proof of default).

According to Carter, all the big banks have been hiring foreclosure mills to rubber-stamp their claims without checking. Unscrupulous foreclosure companies are admitting to "robo-signing," i.e., foreclosing without even checking whether the bank's claims were legit.

Foreclosuregate

According to Andy Kroll of Mother Jones, the Bank of America stands to lose up to $70 billion over what's come to be known as "foreclosuregate." A mortgage starts out with an originator, typically a bank or a mortgage broker. In the heyday of mortgage-backed securities, investment banks were buying up hundreds of thousands of mortgages, making them into mortgage-backed bonds, and selling them to investors.

Unfortunately, if the bank doesn't have the note, who does? The mortgage originator may have gone bankrupt, many were fly-by-night operators that folded when the housing bubble burst. Many mortgages were bought and resold more than once before they found their way into a mortgage-backed bond.

So, the question is whether the bank really owned the mortgages it made into mortgage backed-securities and sold to individuals, pension funds, and other institutions. If not, the banks stand could be on the hook for selling assets they didn't actually own to investors.

Moratorium now

The scandal affects so many mortgages that some lawmakers are calling for a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures until investigators can sort out who owns what once and for all. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! that Congress needs to stop banks from putting people out on the street until there is some way to differentiate between fraudulent foreclosures and justified ones:

And so, I just think that people who are saying that this is going to hurt--I think that it's going to help, because once people gain confidence in the fact that they're being treated fairly and that there's no discrepancies in the records, then people will feel very comfortable in terms of trying to move forward. But until that happens, you're always going to have these comments about the fact that that was not done right, it was done unfairly. And, of course, I think there's enough here for us to stop and to pause and to say, let's take a look here before we move forward. So a moratorium is definitely in order.

The Obama administration opposes the moratorium on the grounds that it would hurt the housing market and thereby slow the economy. Towns counters that what would really be bad for the economy is letting banks take people's homes away without any semblance of due process. If the government doesn't act to protect the innocent, foreclosuregate could shatter the confidence of potential home buyers. Would you want to invest in a house if you were afraid the bank could just take it away from you?

In AlterNet, Mike Lux argues that fraudulent foreclosures are one more assault on poor and middle class Americans. He argues that the banks are so used to being coddled by Washington that they're counting on legislators to retroactively change the rules to protect them from the consequences of their own devious behavior.

At this point we don't know what percentage of foreclosed-upon homes have simply been stolen by banks to pay bondholders, but we do know the problem is vast and systemic. The Obama administration is content to let the banks seize private property first and ask questions later. We need a moratorium to take stock and restore the rule of law.

This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the economy by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Audit for a complete list of articles on economic issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.

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Forum Making Money

Online forums and communities present a largely untapped opportunity for making money — at least according to Dan Gill, cofounder and chief executive of Huddler.

The San Francisco startup is officially launching today. It’s one of those weird launches where the company has actually been working with customers for more than a year, and is only now getting around to telling the media that it exists. Gill said he wanted to make sure the technology was solid before doing too much to publicize it and attract competition.

Community-building software is a broad category, but Huddler approaches the market with a specific audience and mission. It’s looking for popular, product-focused forums that are built on either vBulletin or phpBB technology. Huddler contacts the owner of the site, offering to modernize the forum and bring in more money too.

Gill gave me a long list of benefits that Huddler can offer over older platforms. It gives the sites a makeover, so they look a bit less old-fashioned, not to mention more advertising-friendly. It optimizes the pages for search engines, and also makes them easier to share through Facebook Connect. And all the software is hosted online, rather than installed on someone’s computer, which means there’s less hassle for whoever’s managing the site.

Financially, there’s not much risk to the forum owner, since the software is free. Huddler is only paid by through a percentage of the increased revenue that it brings to a site. That revenue boost comes in a number of ways, Gill said — since the sites are product-focused, Huddler creates a product page with a link where visitors can buy the item in question. It also allows companies selling related products to create their own pages on the forum and engage with the community. And of course the sites can run advertising.

The transition to Huddler can be a challenging one because of the technology issues, as well as the likelihood that change will upset some forum members. Gill didn’t offer any details, but he hinted that he has seen his share of angry comments from users who didn’t like a new forum. But Huddler has become more proficient at both moving content to a new site and preparing users for the change, he said.

There are now 24 sites using Huddler, adding up to a total of 9 million unique monthly visitors. The success stories include EpicSki, which saw a 70 percent increase in natural search traffic after switching to Huddler, and DenimBlog, which doubled pageviews in two months and is now bringing in three times the amount of revenue.

Huddler raised $5.5 million in funding from New Enterprise Associates last year. For now, the company is focusing on existing forums because they’ve already got the audience, but Gill said, “There’s no reason you won’t be able to start your own Huddles in the future.”

[image via Flickr/Daniel Borman]

Next Story: Salesforce: Yes, Chatter really does improve productivity Previous Story: Otoy scores important deals for its server gaming technology

style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;">

“What’s needed most right now is creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed.”

“Let’s move beyond the old, narrow debate over how much money we’re spending [on anti-poverty programs] and let’s instead focus on results—whether we’re actually making improvements in people’s lives.”

Those quotes would certainly resonate with proponents of reform to America’s welfare system—a massive labyrinth of 70 different programs whose rolls of dependents have increased steadily throughout the past 50 years, even as they have failed to boost a small percentage of impoverished families to self-sufficiency.id="more-44265">

The one exception to this trend was the successful reform incorporated in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in 1996. Unlike the rest of the programs, TANF encouraged work and marriage and, as a result, put nearly 3 million families on a pathway to independence.

The quotes above would also be welcomed by grassroots leaders seeking a new paradigm for the remaining failed anti-poverty programs, which would involve personal responsibility, reciprocity, and an avenue to upward mobility following the model of the success accomplished through TANF.

Such reformers have been disappointed by recent policy changes under the Obama Administration that have even rolled back the TANF reform. The Obama policy changes have dictated that, once again, states should be rewarded for the size of their welfare rolls rather than their effectiveness in helping people rise from poverty.

But here’s the surprise: Those quotes are not the words of champions of welfare reform but are, in fact, comments made by President Obama during a recent U.N. forum discussing strategies for assistance to developing countries. If only the President would apply the sentiments he expresses on foreign aid to the poverty that exists in his own back yard!

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Online forums and communities present a largely untapped opportunity for making money — at least according to Dan Gill, cofounder and chief executive of Huddler.

The San Francisco startup is officially launching today. It’s one of those weird launches where the company has actually been working with customers for more than a year, and is only now getting around to telling the media that it exists. Gill said he wanted to make sure the technology was solid before doing too much to publicize it and attract competition.

Community-building software is a broad category, but Huddler approaches the market with a specific audience and mission. It’s looking for popular, product-focused forums that are built on either vBulletin or phpBB technology. Huddler contacts the owner of the site, offering to modernize the forum and bring in more money too.

Gill gave me a long list of benefits that Huddler can offer over older platforms. It gives the sites a makeover, so they look a bit less old-fashioned, not to mention more advertising-friendly. It optimizes the pages for search engines, and also makes them easier to share through Facebook Connect. And all the software is hosted online, rather than installed on someone’s computer, which means there’s less hassle for whoever’s managing the site.

Financially, there’s not much risk to the forum owner, since the software is free. Huddler is only paid by through a percentage of the increased revenue that it brings to a site. That revenue boost comes in a number of ways, Gill said — since the sites are product-focused, Huddler creates a product page with a link where visitors can buy the item in question. It also allows companies selling related products to create their own pages on the forum and engage with the community. And of course the sites can run advertising.

The transition to Huddler can be a challenging one because of the technology issues, as well as the likelihood that change will upset some forum members. Gill didn’t offer any details, but he hinted that he has seen his share of angry comments from users who didn’t like a new forum. But Huddler has become more proficient at both moving content to a new site and preparing users for the change, he said.

There are now 24 sites using Huddler, adding up to a total of 9 million unique monthly visitors. The success stories include EpicSki, which saw a 70 percent increase in natural search traffic after switching to Huddler, and DenimBlog, which doubled pageviews in two months and is now bringing in three times the amount of revenue.

Huddler raised $5.5 million in funding from New Enterprise Associates last year. For now, the company is focusing on existing forums because they’ve already got the audience, but Gill said, “There’s no reason you won’t be able to start your own Huddles in the future.”

[image via Flickr/Daniel Borman]

Next Story: Salesforce: Yes, Chatter really does improve productivity Previous Story: Otoy scores important deals for its server gaming technology

style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;">

“What’s needed most right now is creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed.”

“Let’s move beyond the old, narrow debate over how much money we’re spending [on anti-poverty programs] and let’s instead focus on results—whether we’re actually making improvements in people’s lives.”

Those quotes would certainly resonate with proponents of reform to America’s welfare system—a massive labyrinth of 70 different programs whose rolls of dependents have increased steadily throughout the past 50 years, even as they have failed to boost a small percentage of impoverished families to self-sufficiency.id="more-44265">

The one exception to this trend was the successful reform incorporated in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in 1996. Unlike the rest of the programs, TANF encouraged work and marriage and, as a result, put nearly 3 million families on a pathway to independence.

The quotes above would also be welcomed by grassroots leaders seeking a new paradigm for the remaining failed anti-poverty programs, which would involve personal responsibility, reciprocity, and an avenue to upward mobility following the model of the success accomplished through TANF.

Such reformers have been disappointed by recent policy changes under the Obama Administration that have even rolled back the TANF reform. The Obama policy changes have dictated that, once again, states should be rewarded for the size of their welfare rolls rather than their effectiveness in helping people rise from poverty.

But here’s the surprise: Those quotes are not the words of champions of welfare reform but are, in fact, comments made by President Obama during a recent U.N. forum discussing strategies for assistance to developing countries. If only the President would apply the sentiments he expresses on foreign aid to the poverty that exists in his own back yard!

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Online forums and communities present a largely untapped opportunity for making money — at least according to Dan Gill, cofounder and chief executive of Huddler.

The San Francisco startup is officially launching today. It’s one of those weird launches where the company has actually been working with customers for more than a year, and is only now getting around to telling the media that it exists. Gill said he wanted to make sure the technology was solid before doing too much to publicize it and attract competition.

Community-building software is a broad category, but Huddler approaches the market with a specific audience and mission. It’s looking for popular, product-focused forums that are built on either vBulletin or phpBB technology. Huddler contacts the owner of the site, offering to modernize the forum and bring in more money too.

Gill gave me a long list of benefits that Huddler can offer over older platforms. It gives the sites a makeover, so they look a bit less old-fashioned, not to mention more advertising-friendly. It optimizes the pages for search engines, and also makes them easier to share through Facebook Connect. And all the software is hosted online, rather than installed on someone’s computer, which means there’s less hassle for whoever’s managing the site.

Financially, there’s not much risk to the forum owner, since the software is free. Huddler is only paid by through a percentage of the increased revenue that it brings to a site. That revenue boost comes in a number of ways, Gill said — since the sites are product-focused, Huddler creates a product page with a link where visitors can buy the item in question. It also allows companies selling related products to create their own pages on the forum and engage with the community. And of course the sites can run advertising.

The transition to Huddler can be a challenging one because of the technology issues, as well as the likelihood that change will upset some forum members. Gill didn’t offer any details, but he hinted that he has seen his share of angry comments from users who didn’t like a new forum. But Huddler has become more proficient at both moving content to a new site and preparing users for the change, he said.

There are now 24 sites using Huddler, adding up to a total of 9 million unique monthly visitors. The success stories include EpicSki, which saw a 70 percent increase in natural search traffic after switching to Huddler, and DenimBlog, which doubled pageviews in two months and is now bringing in three times the amount of revenue.

Huddler raised $5.5 million in funding from New Enterprise Associates last year. For now, the company is focusing on existing forums because they’ve already got the audience, but Gill said, “There’s no reason you won’t be able to start your own Huddles in the future.”

[image via Flickr/Daniel Borman]

Next Story: Salesforce: Yes, Chatter really does improve productivity Previous Story: Otoy scores important deals for its server gaming technology

style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;">

“What’s needed most right now is creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed.”

“Let’s move beyond the old, narrow debate over how much money we’re spending [on anti-poverty programs] and let’s instead focus on results—whether we’re actually making improvements in people’s lives.”

Those quotes would certainly resonate with proponents of reform to America’s welfare system—a massive labyrinth of 70 different programs whose rolls of dependents have increased steadily throughout the past 50 years, even as they have failed to boost a small percentage of impoverished families to self-sufficiency.id="more-44265">

The one exception to this trend was the successful reform incorporated in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in 1996. Unlike the rest of the programs, TANF encouraged work and marriage and, as a result, put nearly 3 million families on a pathway to independence.

The quotes above would also be welcomed by grassroots leaders seeking a new paradigm for the remaining failed anti-poverty programs, which would involve personal responsibility, reciprocity, and an avenue to upward mobility following the model of the success accomplished through TANF.

Such reformers have been disappointed by recent policy changes under the Obama Administration that have even rolled back the TANF reform. The Obama policy changes have dictated that, once again, states should be rewarded for the size of their welfare rolls rather than their effectiveness in helping people rise from poverty.

But here’s the surprise: Those quotes are not the words of champions of welfare reform but are, in fact, comments made by President Obama during a recent U.N. forum discussing strategies for assistance to developing countries. If only the President would apply the sentiments he expresses on foreign aid to the poverty that exists in his own back yard!

robert shumake hall of shame

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Do you like to shop? Would you like to make a little money at the same time you're spending it? If this sounds interesting, and if you'd also like to help businesses do a better job of serving their customers, then mystery shopping may be for you.

What is mystery shopping, and why is it important?
Most businesses have standards about how their locations are supposed to operate. However, it can be hard for them to ensure that these standards are being met. Some have their own evaluators, but this can be expensive, because they have to hire, train, and pay these people, who are usually members of upper-level management. Plus, the stores usually know in advance when the evaluators are coming. This means they can prepare by cleaning up, stocking, and treating customers well-which may not be the way they usually operate.

Mystery shoppers, on the other hand, can't be prepared for. Store personnel usually don't even know they're being evaluated. Mystery shoppers go into the stores, interact with the staff, and buy something, all without saying anything about what they're really there for. They seem to be just "regular customers." The difference is that after they get home, mystery shoppers send a report about their experience to the mystery shopping company, who passes the information along to the business who owns the store. The business can then decide how to act on that information.

This is a really useful service for the business because the evaluations are done secretly and by an unbiased person who is not on their payroll. They pay the shopping company for the service, and the shopping company pays the shopper.

What does mystery shopping involve?
If you decide you want to do mystery shopping, you register with one or more shopping companies. They will send you offers for "shops" in your area, providing just enough information for you to decide whether you're interested. If you are, you contact them and apply for the shop. If you're qualified for the shop, and no one else has been assigned (most shops are "first come, first served"), you'll get the assignment. Then the shopping company will send you the specifics, including the date and time of the shop, the name and address of the store, and what you must do while you're there.

Keep in mind that this is not a simple shopping trip. You won't be able to just walk in the door, browse for a while, pick up a few items, pay for them, and go. Mystery shopping is very detail-oriented work, and while you're shopping you may be required to make certain observations and interact with the staff in certain ways. Here are examples of what you may be asked to observe and report on:
- the date and exact time you arrived and left
- the condition of the floors, dressing rooms, and restrooms
- how prices were displayed
- how many cashiers were present when you arrived and when you left
- the names or descriptions of staff members you interacted with, possibly including exact conversations

Because these observations are so important to the evaluation process, you'll need to find a way to minimize distractions. This means you'll probably need to shop alone (unless the shopping company has requested otherwise) and refrain from talking on a cell phone when you're doing a shop. You also need to have a good memory, since you can't take notes during the shop; that might give you away.

Mystery shoppers can be used to evaluate all kinds of businesses. The most obvious ones are retail stores, but shoppers have also been sent to restaurants and car dealerships, and have even been used for vision and health screenings. (Unlike most others, car dealership shops don't require a purchase.)

How much does it pay?
The average is $10-$20 per shop; the pay may be higher if there are special circumstances involved.

Are there expenses involved?
Most mystery shoppers are required to make a purchase; the amount of the purchase is usually specified with the initial information. Some companies will reimburse for purchases, but often the shopper is expected to either keep them or return them later. There are also less tangible costs, like travel expenses and the shopper's time. And if you make more than a few hundred dollars a year, you'll have to pay self-employment taxes. Mystery shoppers are always contract workers, not directly employed by the companies they shop for.

In addition, it's useful to have a credit card. Some shopping companies, in fact, require that purchases be made that way.

What about career advancement?
Some people really enjoy mystery shopping, and do fairly well with it. If you decide to take this more seriously, there's a certification program through the Mystery Shopping Providers Association that will improve your credentials and make you more valuable to the shopping companies - which should get you better offers.

Where to get more information
The best site for mystery shopping information, including actual assignments, is Volition.com. This site also has a message board where you can get to know other mystery shoppers and find out about mystery shopping companies.

Mystery shopping scams
You may find online ads for services that will get you started with mystery shopping - for a fee. But actually, you don't have to pay to start doing this work. Mystery shopping companies don't charge you to register with them.

If the paid services do anything at all - and some of them are nothing more than scams - all they will do is put you in touch with the shopping companies. This is something you can do on your own, without paying for it. It can be hard to locate the shopping companies, even on a search, but the information is there; start with Volition, read some of the posts, and check out the links.

Final observations
Mystery shopping does have its drawbacks. It may not be a good choice if any of the following applies to you:
- You're not detail-oriented, or you're easily distracted.
- You don't want to make purchases you'll have to return later.
- You don't have a credit card.
- You're not comfortable with playing a role (some shops may require that you be a "difficult customer" to evaluate how the staff handles the situation).

If none of these applies to you, though, mystery shopping can be a good source of supplemental income, especially if you don't work outside your home. You can work as much - or as little - as you want, and in whatever locations you want. And if you find you don't like it, or if something more lucrative comes along, you can always cancel your accounts with the shopping companies; there's no need to give two weeks' notice.

If you need to make a little extra money, but also need work with flexible hours, check out mystery shopping. It may be just what you're looking for.



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