Is Our Children Learned Yet?

Clearly our town is hellbent on turning out thousands of uneducated kids in the future as New Milford has frozen the school budget for the second year straight. This is from an email that is circulating around and was forwarded to myself by more than one person:

Dear Friends,


Below is a letter I sent to NBC 30 today.


According to emails circulating from the New Milford Town Wide PTO; "The School Board [for the town of New Milford] requested for 2010-2011 school year a budget of 58.73 million. The Town Council only approved 56.945 million -a 0% increase- cutting nearly 1.8 million. This is the second 0% budget increase in a row! The Town Council's cut will have a deep negative impact on the quality of education of our children not only this year, but in future years as well."


As we are all aware, we are in the middle of an economic recession, which has affected not only the economy, but has also changed the job market. Those fields that once insured you a job with security no longer exist. Children need a different set of skills/knowledge to compete in college and in the real world. Skills and knowledge that children will not completely be able to absorb and reapply if they are crowded in classrooms with teachers, administrators, and support staff that are overworked, underappreciated, concerned with meeting standards, and worried about keeping their jobs.


With this budget cut, New Milford stands to lose excellent, highly qualified, talented teachers to not only other districts but other states. Passing this budget will result in the demise of the academics within this town, further increasing the gap of achievement. This lack of increase in the budget will result in larger classes, more stress on Special Ed and ELL students and teachers, as well as a lack of support staff within the buildings.

It is extremely important for the public to know about the possible cuts (38 teachers) to the New Milford Education system. There are two meetings to discuss these issues: March 30, 7:30 at Sarah Noble Intermediate School and April 1, 7:00 at Sarah Noble Intermediate School in New Milford.

The fact that the state of Connecticut has already served up one idiot extremist who we had the great misfortune of watching go on to higher office in this nation is disgraceful enough. Do we really want to be producing thousands more semi-epsilon-moron-minuses' to lead this nation into the future?

My daughter actually mentioned this to me when she got home today and said that "hundreds of students" planned to show up to the meeting tomorrow night. I suspect there may not be enough room for them all to get in there if their taxpaying parents form both sides of the political dance are there, as well. We shall see...

Typically I don't cover local town politics that much. For this meeting? I plan on being there myself. I know that my Blog covers mostly national politics so for most of my readers this post is meaningless but for those of you that are from this town that read this place?

Please do yourself a favor and show up.

There is a Facebook group to help show support for keeping our schools functional and for stopping the right wing from destroying our future while using the present disaster they created and we are going through right now as a reason for it.

And for those of you don't get it... This is all about taking advantage of their free market failures and using it as an excuse to starve Public Education. Then once they have made a Public Education bad enough they will propose privatizing it with vouchers and other free market stupidity. And don't think your kids will benefit from the good private schools unless you are obscenely rich.

You are witnessing - first hand, up-close and personal-like - disaster capitalism at its worst.

Lamont In - Rell Out There Somewhere?

Still waiting on word from Rell on whether or not she will be running - presumably she is having trouble forming an opinion on whether or not to run without Dautrich first poll testing the ideas - but, via Paul Bass, it looks like Lamont is getting ready to run for Governor:

Ned Lamont, who took on U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman three years ago, has formed an “exploratory committee” for a challenge to Gov. M. Jodi Rell in 2010. He plans to talk about Moody’s, not Moody.

Lamont planned to start informing past supporters of his move Wednesday morning, a day after the polls closed on the 2009 municipal elections and attention officially turns to the already crowded 2010 campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate.

h/t to TPMDC for the full press release from Ned Lamont:

NED LAMONT ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE

Norwalk, CT - Ned Lamont, successful businessman, co-founder of the state policy center at Central Connecticut State University, and Democratic nominee for US Senate in 2006, announced that he will be filing papers today with the State Elections Enforcement Commission establishing an Exploratory Committee for statewide office:

"As I have continued to meet with citizens across our state over the last three years, as co-chairman of President Obama's Connecticut campaign and on behalf of health care reform, I have been constantly reminded that Connecticut is not living up to its potential and that too many of our families are being left behind," said Lamont.

"Like businesses, states thrive with strong executive leadership, and they fall behind with weak leadership. As measured by the loss of jobs, young people leaving our state, and the never-ending budget crisis, Connecticut's Chief Executive is simply not getting the job done."

Since the 2006 campaign, Lamont has continued to serve as Chairman of the Board of Campus Televideo, a Connecticut company he founded twenty-five years ago. He is also a distinguished professor of political science at Central Connecticut State University, where he co-founded a policy center which has brought together leading business, labor, and non-profit leaders to formulate a strategic plan for the state of Connecticut. In addition, he serves on the boards of Conservation Services Group, a leading provider of energy efficiency programs, Teach for America/CT, and Mercy Corps, an international non-profit organization that focuses on job training and small business start-ups around the world.

Gov. Rell: "The Computer Ate My Homework!"

When you read stuff like this you really don't have to wonder if Dautrich focus group tested this message before she sent it out:

A review of documents provided by the university to The Day also shows that the governor's office did not fully comply with previous requests for public records, leaving out a handful of e-mail responses from Moody to Dautrich, including a message that thanks the professor for his help in crafting Rell's budget speech.

Harris declined to comment on any of the new findings in the UConn documents, but said in an interview this week that the Moody e-mails had been withheld from a reporter inadvertently because the governor's staff had not correctly used the "Find" function in the Outlook e-mail program when complying with The Day's records request.

 1st thing: Harris, she wasn't complying with The Day's record request. You know... Kind of like what happens in a "cover-up". A really big part of this story.  

2nd thing: Was Dautrich Rell's equivalent of Bush's Brain? Because her excuse is what I might expect to hear from a child. Her messaging is all over the place without his focus group tested waste of taxpayers' money asshattery.

Rell's politics and policies were always marginal. Now her excuses for them are too.

Clashes in East Haven Over Immigration

Via the New Haven Independent:

Violence flared in East Haven, as New Haven activists marching to protest alleged police racism tangled with out-of-state “white nationalists.”

The clash happened during an event organized Saturday by New Haven immigrant advocacy organization Unidad Latina En Acción. More than 100 people marched through the streets of East Haven on Saturday, protesting alleged racial profiling on the part of East Haven police. They met groups of counter-protesters along the way, including a visiting band of white supremacists.

Go on over and read the whole thing...

Senator Dodd Wants to Know What YOU Think About Healthcare Reform

More specifically, he wants to know your likes and dislikes in the admittedly dysfunctional American Healthcare system:

I am thinking that this is another opportunity to drive home the message of support for Single Payer!

Have at it right over here:

Senator Dodd asks: Is your health care working? What changes would you like to see? Add your ideas at YouTube's Senate Hub at http://youtube.com/senatehub

Democratic Senators are writing a major health reform bill. Rising costs are hitting families and businesses and now 46 million Americans live without health coverage. We need reform. Respond now with your ideas as the Senate writes health care legislation. You can help.

What are you still doing here?

Connecticut Universal Healthcare Solution

ctblogger interviews "Juan Figueroa (President, Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut) and talked to him about the importance of HB 6600." Figueroa is pushing for a universal healthcare solution on the Connecticut state level.

Proposition 8 Dishonor Roll - Starring CT

Via Californians Against Hate:

Below is a list of the Top 12 contributors to the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign that took away marriage equality in California. Click on the names for more information.

1. Knights of Columbus, New Haven, CT $1,425,000
2. Howard Ahmanson, Jr., Irvine, CA
   Fieldstead & Co.
   $1,395,000
3. John Templeton, Bryn Mawr, PA
   John Templeton Foundation, Chairman/President
   $1,100,000
4. National Organization for Marriage,
   Princeton, NJ
   $1,041,134.80
5. Alan Ashton, Lindon, UT
   $1,000,000
6. Terry Caster & Family, San Diego, CA
   $693,000
7. Robert Hurtt, Orange, CA
   $550,000
8. Focus On the Family, Colorado Springs, CO
   $539,643.66
9. American Family Association, Tupelo, MS
   $500,000
10. Claire Reiss, La Jolla, CA
    Reisung Enterprises
    $500,000
11. Elsa Prince, Holland, MI
    $450,000
12. Concerned Women for America, Washington DC
    $409,000

Just so as you know...

Who are they kidding here?

From the NY Times - 7th paragraph of the article:

The bill also would increase the borrowing authority for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to $100 billion from $30 billion, a move that will save banks billions of dollars by reducing the extra premiums that they would have had to pay to shore up the deposit insurance fund.

Title of the article:

Senate Approves Measure to Reduce Home Foreclosures

And the relief for home foreclosures?

The new Senate bill does not include additional money to aid mortgage borrowers, but it does draw $2.3 billion from the Treasury’s $700 billion financial bailout fund for various provisions.

This is a joke:

Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and chairman of the banking committee, said at a news conference after the vote. “The bill does other things, but certainly, a major target is to deal with peoples’ housing issues and try to stem the tide.”

Another $70,000,000,000.00 giveaway to the banks and measly 2.3 Billion dollars taken from the already pissed away 700 billion is about helping homeowners? And no cramdown either.

Note to the NY Times and Sen. Chris Dodd:
A fine fuck you to you two, too!

12 Connecticut Towns Get Foreclosure Money

From the NewsTimes, 12 towns, including New Milford, will get some money to help fix up and fill many of the empty foreclosed homes:

NEW MILFORD -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell has identified New Milford as one of 12 cities and towns in the state eligible for $3.6 million in federal stimulus money to buy and upgrade foreclosure properties.

The intent is for towns, through their agencies or local nonprofit groups, to make the improved homes available as affordable housing to low- and middle-income families, officials said Friday.

State Department of Economic and Community Development spokesman Jim Watson said Friday it is uncertain how much money any of the towns will receive, but they can make applications based on need and capacity.

This will be in addition to $25 million in mortgage assistance funding Connecticut was given under the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. While even I view this as a great thing that we need to see done across the country, I just wish that actions like this had been taken early before many of these families had lost their homes. (And yes! I know I am biased in that department because of our experience with Countrywide...)

If you are on the edge of losing your home, HUD has some information that may help you while you wait to find out what sort of help may or may not come down from the State of Connecticut:

Guide To Avoiding Foreclosure

Whether you're in foreclosure now or worried
about it in the future, we have information that can help.

Get Help Now!

	Talk to a foreclosure avoidance counselor
	Talk to your lender
	Find state and local foreclosure resources
	Contact HOPE NOW

Keep Your Home

	Are you at risk of foreclosure?
	Tips for avoiding foreclosure
	Foreclosure scams

Refinance Options

	Learn about HOPE for Homeowners
	Who to call when a lender won’t work with you

If You Can't Keep Your Home

	Redemption period - your last chance to save your home
	Local renting resources
	Rental assistance
	Relocation resources
	U.S. Postal Service Movers Guide

Before you even consider trying to buy a home anywhere or anytime you might need some of this information:

Predatory lending - beware if you're buying or refinancing your home; don't become a victim of unfair lending practices

Stuff that I wish we had known about before we got stuck in the financial death spiral of our mortgage with Countrywide...

DeLauro and Emanuel Involved in a Scandalous Affair?

I doubt it. And NO! Not that kind of affair. Gawker says that they are sharing a single dwelling in Washington, something that is very common among legislators trying to save a few bucks.

He's the cheapskate of staff. Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's right-hand man, lives in a basement apartment on Capitol Hill rented to him by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. Just one problem: He's not allowed to live there.

That's what private investigator Joseph Culligan discovered after asking questions of D.C. officials. A zoning administrator responded to Culligan's inquiry and told him that DeLauro's house at 816 E. Capitol St. NE was listed as a single-family dwelling, and as such, could not be rented out.

She rents a place and they share it. I am trying to figure out what the real scandal is? Empty space in newspapers and on Blogs that need to be filled?

Get back to me with pictures of them messing around in a hot tub together with some Playboy bunnies while some Chippendale guys are swinging from the chandeliers butt naked with their asses painted candy apple red and pissing pissing on the crowd. Then you might have have a real scandal.

Anyways... Emanuel is looking for new DC digs already.

I gotta say that I do find it interesting that one of the more lefty leaning members of the Democratic party, Rosa Delauro, and the brass knuckles more conservative type politician, Rahm Emanuel, are able to accomplish the feat of co-existance under the same roof without some kind of nuclear dust up? Sounds like "fly on the wall" type fun.

Himes Tied with Shays

Yanked in its entirety from MissLaura at dKos:

How do things look for the last House Republican in New England? Not so good. This may be why he's been leading his ads with an image of Obama -- even as his statement just a couple weeks ago that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" show that he really stands with McCain and the Republicans on the issues.

And as the collapsing financial markets show just how badly out of touch Shays' statement was, an internal poll from his challenger, Orange to Blue candidate Jim Himes show just how endangered Shays is.

The Feldman Group for Himes for Congress, 9/17-18, 500 sample (don't know MoE, sorry)

• Shays 45
• Himes 45
  (Via email)

A tied race at this point bodes well for the challenger, especially with a strong Democratic presidential lead -- the same poll shows Obama leading McCain in the district, 56% to 33%. Himes still faces significant challenges, given the difficulty of advertising in a New York City media market, which is why every dollar counts.

But it's looking good for cleaning House in New England.

On the web:

Jim Himes for Congress

Orange to Blue ActBlue Page

With Obama likely to pull in a lot of extra votes for Democratic party politicians everywhere... Things are looking good for the Himes campaign.

[update] Via Scarce at MLN:

The Himes campaign have released results for CT-04 by Democratic pollster The Feldman Group.

The campaign's tracking poll, fielded September 17th and 18th, shows that Democratic challenger Jim Himes has pulled even with Republican Congressman Christopher Shays. Each candidate has 45 percent support. Additionally, their support is equally strong with 27 percent certain to support Himes and 28 percent certain to support Shays. An even contest six weeks before Election Day means that the contest now favors Himes.

Our last poll, shortly before the Democratic convention in August, showed Shays in the lead. In the interim, however, Democrats have moved decisively toward Himes to give him a 69 percent to 23 percent lead among registered Democrats. Additionally, independents, who remain a plurality in this district, now break almost evenly between the candidates, with 45 percent for Shays and 43 percent for Himes.

In a district notoriously difficult to communicate in due to the dominance of the New York City media market, familiarity with Himes has continued to climb. Now, 60 percent of voters say they are familiar with Himes, compared to 49 percent in August. Meanwhile, 36 percent of voters feel Chris Shays deserves re-election, while 46 percent believe someone else deserves a chance. Only 43 percent of voters believe he is doing a good job in Congress and only a third reject the description that he is too close to unpopular President George W. Bush while 44 percent believe that is at least partly true.

Poll pdf

Cappiello Steals Material from HatCityBLOG

ctblogger had some material stolen from him and misused and abused by Republican candidate David Cappiello:

Then it dawned upon me why the image caught my attention...because I shot the photograph.

Seeing that the budget for this ad was rather low, and most (if not all the images) in this so-called "ad" were a result of a google image search, it's no surprise that the top-notch Cappiello campaign used my photo seeing that it's the first image that comes up in google after a search for the words "Congressman Chris Murphy"

Now... I'll admit that I will yank material from others' Blogs freely. Some of ctblogger's material is found in here. He knows because I link to it. It is the only way we can keep track of our intellectual property and other contributed materials. The same thing he does when he yanks material from here.

Attributing material to the original thinkers on an idea, or research they have done or hard copy material is what makes the Blogging world go round. It is the unwritten law of the Blogging jungle in some cases, in others it is protected under copyrights or - like in ctblogger's material - it may be covered under a Creative Commons license.

I could go into the settled law about all of this, but the reality is that you really have to wonder a about Cappiello's character if this is the type of thing he would do. It's not that different than the kind of person that will pick up your money off of the table in your house and shove it in their pockets.

Here you have Cappiello getting a truckload of money from a recent fund raiser held by his BFF bush:

Ken Curran, Murphy's campaign manager, said the recent visits from Republican leadership shows that Cappiello "cares more about raising money from political allies than he does about the families of the 5th District."

"Cappiello's reliance on raising money from the Bush administration may help fill his bank account but it shows how out of step he is with the damage this administration has done to the people he claims to want to represent," Curran said. "Chris is making this campaign about listening to the people of the 5th District."

And Cappiello can't even afford a photographer of his own or, at least, to buy material legally from some established photogs archives? Show some frigin' common sense lad!

It also makes me wonder if Cappiello may be as computationally illiterate as his warmongering heir to bush wannabe McCain is. Most campaigns have figured out already that not only do they need to attribute the work done in the Blogosphere, but that it is the right thing to do politically.

Genghis, over at Connecticut Local Politics, had some things to say about Cappiello's serious mistakes.

As for Connecticut's GOP, I really have to ask: Is this the best and brightest you have to offer this year? Because we have already seen enough illegal actions from the Republicans that are currently and deservedly getting run out of office. We don't need more GOP idiots like them.

CT State Official Involved In Middletown Hit-And-Run Investigation

Via the Hartford Courant:

State Official Involved In Middletown Hit-And-Run Investigation

Law enforcement sources said that a witness has identified a vehicle traced back to Thomas F. White, director of operations for the department's Court Support Services Division, as being involved in Saturday afternoon's accident. The boy was hit while walking his bicycle across an intersection at Cross Street and Knowles Avenue.

The boy saw a car coming toward him and held up one hand but was hit and run over, a police source said. The boy was taken to Hartford Hospital with severe internal injuries. His condition could not be determined Wednesday morning.

A witness described the vehicle that left the scene and gave police a license plate number that helped police link the car to White, according to police sources.

Middlesex State's Attorney Timothy Liston had no comment other than the investigation is ongoing and, so far, the Courant has not reached Mr. White for comment.

Just some conjecture here, but there would be some serious irony (not to make light of the 9 year old child's injuries) in this if it turns out alcohol was involved in this incident based on Thomas White's duties listed at Connecticut's Court Support Services Division website:

Operations- Thomas F. White,Director -
Tel: 721-2110; Fax: 258-8976

• Adult Probation & Bail Services
  
• Residential Services
  
• Alcohol Education
  
• DNA Project
  
• Interstate Compact
  
• Program & Services

Needless to say, there is always the possibility that somebody else was behind the wheel of the car at the time.

SEC Investigates Countrywide CEO Trades

Countrywide Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo might just be in some very big trouble:

SEC Begins Formal Probe Of Countrywide
The Securities and Exchange Commission escalated its scrutiny of Countrywide Financial Corp. into a formal investigation, according to a regulatory filing by Bank of America Corp.

The document didn't specify what aspect of the lender the SEC's probe is focused on, although regulators launched an informal inquiry into Countrywide Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo's stock trades last fall.

Representatives for Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America and Countrywide declined to comment beyond the filing Friday.

Please note the privacy issue story at the end of this because Countrywide's legal troubles just keep getting piled higher and deeper:

Lawsuits Piling Up For Countrywide

Bob at Politics in the Zeros, who has been on top of a lot of banking and mortgage crises issues ever since I have been reading his Blog, provides more info on another lawsuit coming at Countrywide since they were purchased by Bank of America. It appears some of Countrywide's bondholders want to force them into bankruptcy to grab their assets:

Why? Because Countrywide didn’t tell holders of certain of their convertible notes that, due to them being bought, the notes could be cashed in. BNY Mellon as a custodian holder of these notes has sued.

And what is unique in this case is the pack of dogs (Countrywide bondholders), now have a vested interest in pushing Countrywide into bankruptcy so they can get some of the meat (Countrywide’s servicing unit), instead of worthless bones (Countrywide’s Debt).

This must be that “invisible hand of the marketplace” capitalists are so proud of.

Being ever so astute in the world of finances (NOT!) I had to wonder about how this might end up playing out against the recent lawsuits by several states, including Connecticut, against Countrywide:

I think about all of the people that screwed in the Enron scandal because of big corporate creditors getting paid before stockholders did. (or something like that?) I can just imagine that the consumer would be last in line in the pecking order.

Bob, being the typical answer man, asked Sue:

Sue, who is a CPA just looked it up

If bankruptcy, here’s the order of who gets paid first

1) secured creditors
2) non-dischargeable (taxes, student loans, etc.)
3) unsecured creditors

Bonds and preferred stock can be 1) or 3) depending if they were secured or not.

Lawsuits are probably either 2.5) or 3). She says the order of who gets paid is complicated, and can depend on the jurisdiction.

She says call the CT Attorney General (maybe they have a hotline about the lawsuit) and ask.

Yep... Complete and criminally insane deregulation by the "free market run amok" bush administration sure has helped make things safe for everyone from the investors on down to the consumers. The only people that are truly happy about all of this (some vintage brew) are the failed CEOs that regularly bail with golden parachutes:

Countrywide CEO Rapes the Company On Leaving

If the sale of Countrywide to Bank of America goes through:

If he engineers a sale of battered Countrywide Financial to Bank of America, Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo stands to walk away with a severance package worth more than $110 million, the Los Angeles Times' Kathy Kristof reports tonight.

Such a payout would come on top of huge gains Mozilo has made selling Countrywide stock during the mortgage crisis. As the mortgage industry went into a nose dive in late 2006 and 2007, Mozilo cashed out about $140 million in stock options, becoming one of the highest-paid executives in the country,

snip

plus a cash payment equal to three times the greater of his average bonus or the incentive bonus paid the previous year. Net value: $87.8 million.

In addition, Mozilo has two pensions that his severance agreement gives him the right to receive as a lump sum upon his departure. Those pensions were worth $24 million as of December 2006, the last time the company was required to report their value.

$337,800,000.00
for driving a mortgage company into bankruptcy. Meanwhile millions of Americans are losing their homes. Imagine how many homes could be saved if all of that money that turd is getting, and has gotten, for running the company into the ground were put to good use?

No... There is no class war going on in the good ol' USofA.

More recently Brewed in New Milford:

Countrywide sued by Connecticut

Via buzzflash and by Jonathan Stempel, at Reuters, a bit about predatory lending practices getting Countrywide in legal doodoo in Connecticut and across the nation:

Countrywide sued by Connecticut over loans, fees

Calling the lender's practices "oppressive, unethical, immoral and unscrupulous," Connecticut joined California, Florida and Illinois among U.S. states suing Countrywide, which last year made one in six U.S. mortgage loans.

...snip...

"Countrywide conned customers into loans that were clearly unaffordable and unsustainable, turning the American dream of homeownership into a nightmare," said Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, in a statement on Wednesday. He also called Countrywide "an insolvency enabler."

Connecticut is demanding that Countrywide make restitution to affected borrowers, give up improper gains, and rescind, reform or modify all mortgages that broke state laws.

Popcorn time! I have my own personal reasons for enjoying this show...

Previously Brewed in New Milford:

Many of you already knew that we were probably losing our home in the first wave of foreclosures hitting this state and the country. I have been sort of busy the last couple of weeks with this issue and (some of) you may have noticed that my Blog has been dormant because I have been so busy.

The bad news? We have given up trying to save our home.

The good news? Unlike the many American families that are, right now, living in tent cities (from the morgtage crisis, floods and also from hurricane Katrina) we have been fortunate enough to find a house to rent. And we will not have to move from New Milford, either. The kids are happy about that second part. They have made friends and like living here.

Finding a place to live has not been easy. Being in the first wave of foreclosures, many landlords refused to rent to us. This issue will likely resolve itself for others later on as more and more people with foreclosures and bankruptcies on their credit reports will flood the renters market. For now it is still an issue. An issue we that we kind of lucked our way around.

Lemons Meet Lemonade

The house we are renting? It is a little bit smaller than the home we loved but it does have some serious plusses that make this a better place for us. First, it has a nice little wood stove in the living room to curl up in front of on those chilly New England nights. It will also save us money on oil. Second, it has a nice, big and sunny room that I plan on turning into my media room that will look right out over the back yard. Third, it is not on a main street so the kids and the dog will be a little safer playing outside. Fourth, we will be saving hundreds compared to what our original mortgage payment started at, never mind how much our ARM was by the time it doubled.

As for the luck part? Well, we are renting the house from someone that was on the verge of losing it all, as well. She pretty much knows our situtation and, because of her own situtation, was a little more forgiving on our credit check. The lady who owns the house is where we were in the foreclosure process about 9 months ago. She did not have "ARM" or sub-prime issues, but employment/relocation issues. As the real estate agent that helped us find a place said, this is a win/win situation for everyone here. She won't be crushed financially like we were and we will have a roof over our heads.

I'll have more to write on this later but, for now, don't be surpised if my Blogging particiaption is a little bit irregular.

Meanwhile... In other Countrywide news, the FBI recently charged a Countrywide analyst with stealing personal information on customers and selling it off for personal profit:

Rene L Rebollo Jr, 36, of Pasadena, a former employee of Countrywide Home Loan, has admitted downloading the information and selling it to third parties over a number of years. The agents also arrested Wahid Siddiqi, 25, of Thousand Oaks, who was attempting to buy the data.

Rebollo said he got the information from Countrywide computers while working for the company as a senior analyst and removed it on flash drives he bought for the purpose, according to the FBI.

He then opened a personal bank account specifically for depositing the proceeds of the sales. He estimates the actions made him approximately US$50,000 to US$70,000.

He said he was sometimes asked to get specific information about individuals and did so for cash.

If you have been dealing with Countrywide, not only is it likely that you have lost your home or paid exorbitant fees based on their predatory lending practices but your sensitive financial information may already be in the hands of other criminals.

I believe that Blumenthal may need to consider adding Mozilo to his lawsuits and investigations:

Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide's chief executive, was not named in Connecticut's suit but is a defendant in some others.

Countrywide is also facing multiple class-action suits from borrowers and investors, as well as investigations of both its underwriting and servicing practices by the justice department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Trustee, which monitors bankruptcy courts. The legal probes range from investigations into overly aggressive fee policies for borrowers who fall behind on payments to whether the company intentionally overlooked evidence of fraud by borrowers.

Lawsuits Piling Up For Countrywide

Bob at Politics in the Zeros, who has been on top of a lot of banking and mortgage crises issues ever since I have been reading his Blog, provides more info on another lawsuit coming at Countrywide since they were purchased by Bank of America. It appears some of Countrywide's bondholders want to force them into bankruptcy to grab their assets:

Why? Because Countrywide didn’t tell holders of certain of their convertible notes that, due to them being bought, the notes could be cashed in. BNY Mellon as a custodian holder of these notes has sued.

And what is unique in this case is the pack of dogs (Countrywide bondholders), now have a vested interest in pushing Countrywide into bankruptcy so they can get some of the meat (Countrywide’s servicing unit), instead of worthless bones (Countrywide’s Debt).

This must be that “invisible hand of the marketplace” capitalists are so proud of.

Being ever so astute in the world of finances (NOT!) I had to wonder about how this might end up playing out against the recent lawsuits by several states, including Connecticut, against Countrywide:

I think about all of the people that screwed in the Enron scandal because of big corporate creditors getting paid before stockholders did. (or something like that?) I can just imagine that the consumer would be last in line in the pecking order.

Bob, being the typical answer man, asked Sue:

Sue, who is a CPA just looked it up

If bankruptcy, here’s the order of who gets paid first

1) secured creditors
2) non-dischargeable (taxes, student loans, etc.)
3) unsecured creditors

Bonds and preferred stock can be 1) or 3) depending if they were secured or not.

Lawsuits are probably either 2.5) or 3). She says the order of who gets paid is complicated, and can depend on the jurisdiction.

She says call the CT Attorney General (maybe they have a hotline about the lawsuit) and ask.

Yep... Complete and criminally insane deregulation by the "free market run amok" bush administration sure has helped make things safe for everyone from the investors on down to the consumers. The only people that are truly happy about all of this (some vintage brew) are the failed CEOs that regularly bail with golden parachutes:

Countrywide CEO Rapes the Company On Leaving

If the sale of Countrywide to Bank of America goes through:

If he engineers a sale of battered Countrywide Financial to Bank of America, Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo stands to walk away with a severance package worth more than $110 million, the Los Angeles Times' Kathy Kristof reports tonight.

Such a payout would come on top of huge gains Mozilo has made selling Countrywide stock during the mortgage crisis. As the mortgage industry went into a nose dive in late 2006 and 2007, Mozilo cashed out about $140 million in stock options, becoming one of the highest-paid executives in the country,

snip

plus a cash payment equal to three times the greater of his average bonus or the incentive bonus paid the previous year. Net value: $87.8 million.

In addition, Mozilo has two pensions that his severance agreement gives him the right to receive as a lump sum upon his departure. Those pensions were worth $24 million as of December 2006, the last time the company was required to report their value.

$337,800,000.00
for driving a mortgage company into bankruptcy. Meanwhile millions of Americans are losing their homes. Imagine how many homes could be saved if all of that money that turd is getting, and has gotten, for running the company into the ground were put to good use?

No... There is no class war going on in the good ol' USofA.

More recently Brewed in New Milford:

Countrywide sued by Connecticut

Via buzzflash and by Jonathan Stempel, at Reuters, a bit about predatory lending practices getting Countrywide in legal doodoo in Connecticut and across the nation:

Countrywide sued by Connecticut over loans, fees

Calling the lender's practices "oppressive, unethical, immoral and unscrupulous," Connecticut joined California, Florida and Illinois among U.S. states suing Countrywide, which last year made one in six U.S. mortgage loans.

...snip...

"Countrywide conned customers into loans that were clearly unaffordable and unsustainable, turning the American dream of homeownership into a nightmare," said Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, in a statement on Wednesday. He also called Countrywide "an insolvency enabler."

Connecticut is demanding that Countrywide make restitution to affected borrowers, give up improper gains, and rescind, reform or modify all mortgages that broke state laws.

Popcorn time! I have my own personal reasons for enjoying this show...

Previously Brewed in New Milford:

Many of you already knew that we were probably losing our home in the first wave of foreclosures hitting this state and the country. I have been sort of busy the last couple of weeks with this issue and (some of) you may have noticed that my Blog has been dormant because I have been so busy.

The bad news? We have given up trying to save our home.

The good news? Unlike the many American families that are, right now, living in tent cities (from the morgtage crisis, floods and also from hurricane Katrina) we have been fortunate enough to find a house to rent. And we will not have to move from New Milford, either. The kids are happy about that second part. They have made friends and like living here.

Finding a place to live has not been easy. Being in the first wave of foreclosures, many landlords refused to rent to us. This issue will likely resolve itself for others later on as more and more people with foreclosures and bankruptcies on their credit reports will flood the renters market. For now it is still an issue. An issue we that we kind of lucked our way around.

Lemons Meet Lemonade

The house we are renting? It is a little bit smaller than the home we loved but it does have some serious plusses that make this a better place for us. First, it has a nice little wood stove in the living room to curl up in front of on those chilly New England nights. It will also save us money on oil. Second, it has a nice, big and sunny room that I plan on turning into my media room that will look right out over the back yard. Third, it is not on a main street so the kids and the dog will be a little safer playing outside. Fourth, we will be saving hundreds compared to what our original mortgage payment started at, never mind how much our ARM was by the time it doubled.

As for the luck part? Well, we are renting the house from someone that was on the verge of losing it all, as well. She pretty much knows our situtation and, because of her own situtation, was a little more forgiving on our credit check. The lady who owns the house is where we were in the foreclosure process about 9 months ago. She did not have "ARM" or sub-prime issues, but employment/relocation issues. As the real estate agent that helped us find a place said, this is a win/win situation for everyone here. She won't be crushed financially like we were and we will have a roof over our heads.

I'll have more to write on this later but, for now, don't be surpised if my Blogging particiaption is a little bit irregular.

Countrywide sued by Connecticut

Via buzzflash and by Jonathan Stempel, at Reuters, a bit about predatory lending practices getting Countrywide in legal doodoo in Connecticut and across the nation:

Countrywide sued by Connecticut over loans, fees

Calling the lender's practices "oppressive, unethical, immoral and unscrupulous," Connecticut joined California, Florida and Illinois among U.S. states suing Countrywide, which last year made one in six U.S. mortgage loans.

...snip...

"Countrywide conned customers into loans that were clearly unaffordable and unsustainable, turning the American dream of homeownership into a nightmare," said Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, in a statement on Wednesday. He also called Countrywide "an insolvency enabler."

Connecticut is demanding that Countrywide make restitution to affected borrowers, give up improper gains, and rescind, reform or modify all mortgages that broke state laws.

Popcorn time! I have my own personal reasons for enjoying this show...

Previously Brewed in New Milford:

Many of you already knew that we were probably losing our home in the first wave of foreclosures hitting this state and the country. I have been sort of busy the last couple of weeks with this issue and (some of) you may have noticed that my Blog has been dormant because I have been so busy.

The bad news? We have given up trying to save our home.

The good news? Unlike the many American families that are, right now, living in tent cities (from the morgtage crisis, floods and also from hurricane Katrina) we have been fortunate enough to find a house to rent. And we will not have to move from New Milford, either. The kids are happy about that second part. They have made friends and like living here.

Finding a place to live has not been easy. Being in the first wave of foreclosures, many landlords refused to rent to us. This issue will likely resolve itself for others later on as more and more people with foreclosures and bankruptcies on their credit reports will flood the renters market. For now it is still an issue. An issue we that we kind of lucked our way around.

Lemons Meet Lemonade

The house we are renting? It is a little bit smaller than the home we loved but it does have some serious plusses that make this a better place for us. First, it has a nice little wood stove in the living room to curl up in front of on those chilly New England nights. It will also save us money on oil. Second, it has a nice, big and sunny room that I plan on turning into my media room that will look right out over the back yard. Third, it is not on a main street so the kids and the dog will be a little safer playing outside. Fourth, we will be saving hundreds compared to what our original mortgage payment started at, never mind how much our ARM was by the time it doubled.

As for the luck part? Well, we are renting the house from someone that was on the verge of losing it all, as well. She pretty much knows our situtation and, because of her own situtation, was a little more forgiving on our credit check. The lady who owns the house is where we were in the foreclosure process about 9 months ago. She did not have "ARM" or sub-prime issues, but employment/relocation issues. As the real estate agent that helped us find a place said, this is a win/win situation for everyone here. She won't be crushed financially like we were and we will have a roof over our heads.

I'll have more to write on this later but, for now, don't be surpised if my Blogging particiaption is a little bit irregular.

Connecticut Prepares For Plug-In Hybrids

Via Boran2 at Survivor Left Blogistan: Connecticut Prepares For Plug-In Hybrids:

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, in an apparent rare bit of enlightened foresight for a Republican, has indicated that the state will prepare for infrastructure necessary to support widespread use of plug-in hybrid vehicles. (Shocking, I know.)

Link

"We need to make sure the state's electric infrastructure is ready for the additional demand, and we want to avoid problems that could crop up if, say, a high number of EVs are charging on a 98-degree summer day when power is at a premium for air conditioners and other devices," the governor said.

Although none are currently in production, it is anticipated that use of such vehicles could begin as early as 2010.

And, oh my goodness, is this recognition of global warming?!!

Read the rest of what Gov. Jodi Rell had to say over at Survivor Left Blogistan or at The Booman Tribune.

[update] An interesting comment from Zandar1 over at the BooTrib:

"I'd check to see just who will be paying for these infrastructure improvements.

I'm betting the call for "improving infrastructure for power grids to handle hybrids" is the new excuse for energy companies to stay on those multi billion dollar taxpayer subsidies for the next decade.

You know, the ones Democrats want to end?

And of course, if they end, why the poor power companies won't be able to help us save Earth if those nasty Dems have their way.

This is a total sandbag job. In the end, it's greed."

Could be... It would fit the GOP's MO to a T.

West of the Border Bigot

A storyline that has come to typify republican hate is going on just west of the border from North-Western Connecticut:

During a July 2nd meeting of the Pawling, NY town board. Republican town supervisor Beth Coursen called town republican chairman Glenn Carey a "faggot" and said "everybody knows it". The town of Pawling sits about 70 miles North of New York City. This wouldn't be the first time Ms. Coursen has used such language against Mr. Carey.

Lucy Watson, wife of Democratic Councilman David Watson, said, while she did not hear the July 2 exchange, it was familiar to her.

Watson said she was present in late 2007 at a restaurant and in May 2008 in town hall after a board meeting when Coursen referred to Carey in the same manner.

Cross Posted at Political Newsline

Of course, ctblogger is still being kept busy documenting the worst that Connecticut has to offer:

Would you like some death threats with that racism?

Danbury News-Times=all the comments that's fit to print.

And ctblogger is right... It does sound familiar.

Where will you be in 2009? Honestly?

BooMan asks an Honest Question:

Let's say hypothetically that Barack Obama secures the nomination and wins the presidential election in the fall. And let's say that the Democrats substantially increase their majorities in both the House and the Senate. What do you see happening to the progressive blogosphere in 2009? What's our role? What's our significance?

To start off: I don't - and never have - considered myself as a progressive. Nor do have any ties to the Democratic party. I have aligned myself closer to them in the past few years for the simple reason that tend to deal more with reality and less with spin and lies.

The simple fact that Connecticut's progressives were responsibly spearheading the efforts to deal with one of the worst Democratic party abusers of lies and propaganda in the nation - a true neocon through and through - Joe Lieberman (R- Idiot), speaks volumes on how they have chosen to tackle the Democratic party in the past... And, I truly hope, is a telling sign of their future treatment of the worst of the worst politicians that can, and do, come from any and all political parties.

Like most Americans, I believe that most of the worst that American politics has to offer is still rooted deeply in the heart of the Republican party. But that time will likely soon come to pass as they lose more and more power.

I am curious as to what many of my progressive allies, those that I have come to look at as trustworthy friends, in the Democratic party look at as their future goals and objectives?

I already understand that many of them will view "More and Better Democrats" as an obvious part of their agenda if they should clear the hurdles of obstructionism by Republicans in Congress through the likely victories that this election cycle is paving the way for. The shear number of Republican incumbents dropping out coupled with a lack of "top notch" candidates to fill those campaign holes and adding in their lack of grassroots funding at almost every level of national politics is creating the very real likelihood of a tsunami of change with very little the GOP can do to stop this beyond wishful thinking.

I am truly curious as to whether it will be hard for the many on the left that are attached to and/or operating within the Democratic party structure, and have lived off "reality" for so long, to ever find it possible to continue a posture of "cheer leading" for their team while ignoring the failures of some of their own candidates?

If the Democratic party does achieve a complete, or near complete, domination of national politics, what do you Democratic Bloggers view as your goals and objectives?

Like I said: I believe that most of you have more interest in truth. I even believe that the most partisan of you Democrats that I know do honestly have what you think is in the best interests of not just your party at heart but the nations' best interests as well.

My goals will always be to seek out truth. And will always include kicking any dishonest politician regardless of party affiliation. So, I can honestly say that my objectives would never change regardless of who has their hands on the levers of power. Truth and honesty, in a perfect world, would have no political bias. But this world ain't near a perfect world.

Have you considered what your goals and objectives will be, or continue to be, beyond the 2008 election cycle? I am certain that many of your allies, both within and without the Democratic party, would be interested in knowing.

Given the political tides, NOW is probably the time for you to begin contemplating and assessing your future within the blogosphere, and as an activist as well...

CT State Rep. Comes Out of the Closet

Via the Danbury NewsTimes:

State Rep. Jason Bartlett put rumors to rest Tuesday when he announced publicly that he's gay.

Bartlett, a Democrat who represents portions of Bethel, Redding and Danbury, said he has been open about his sexual orientation with relatives and decided now was the time to speak publicly.

Video: Click here to watch Bartlett talk about his decision.

"For me the decision came down to why not now," said Bartlett, 41, during a meeting with The News-Times Tuesday. "To me this is about having a conversation with my larger family - the people of Greater Danbury who voted for me."

Via GayPolitics.com:

The announcement makes Bartlett the nation’s first and only openly LGBT African American state legislator.

I am glad for him that he feels comfortable enough to come out. This should be a non-issue but some close minded individuals may try to make it one. It is not likely that he has the hypocrisy baggage of your typical republican on this issue.

[update] Connecticut Bob digs into his extensive video archives:

At last year's JJB Dinner, I spoke with Jason about the important issues. Here's the video of our discussion:

ctblogger has more video of an extensive interview Jason Bartlett here...

[update deux] Via the Hartford Courant:

Bartlett said he never misled voters about his sexual orientation, either
in how he described his domestic life or by positions he has taken on gay
issues. He said he always has supported gay rights, including same-sex civil
unions and gay marriage.

[update trois] Welcome to Buzzflash readers. A cool place that I highly recommend if you want to keep up with progressive/liberal news as it's breaking. If you like their front page news section... You might like some of these places too:

BuzzFlash.Org | BuzzFlash.Net | Last Chance Democracy Cafe | Wings of Justice.Com
GOP Hypocrites.Com | Media PUTZ.Com | BE-ELECTED.com | Libby Defense Fund.Com
BuzzFlash MarketPlace.Com