Disappeared News

by Larry Geller

Democrats were just by chance caught doing something really, really bad to their constituents (the voters, I mean, not their corporate sponsors). Obama is probably complicit but was forced to save Democrats from the ballot-box consequences of their action.

Everyone knows that foreclosures and job loss continue unabated. The people have not yet been bailed out. In fact, the evildoer big banks remain in business doing what they have always done. Right now, they are concentrating in particular on foreclosing people out of their homes. Tough job (though profitable, of course), but someone’s got to do it.

Congress has thrown the middle class under the bus, but they decided to do the banks yet another favor. Without public hearings Congress rushed through HR 3808, a bill that would have made it much more difficult for homeowners to contest foreclosures. Right. Congress passed a bill to screw homeowner and benefit the banksters. It’s full name is “The Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010.” Had it become law, banks would have received a “Get Out of Jail Free” card for the recently revealed foreclosure crimes they were caught perpetrating.

So then the “robosigning” scandal hit. Rapidly, having been exposed for doing something undeniably illegal, some big banks called a halt to foreclosure actions. Secretaries of state began to take action. All hell broke loose. And it should, because countless numbers of families appear to have been kicked out of their homes illegally. Strangely, even as the scandal spread, lawyers for the banks continued to press on with foreclosures. Sorry, that’s not strange, is it.

That’s undeniably horrible. So is Congress’ action. And horrors—they actually tried to pull this off before an election. Of course, one expects the Republicans to protect the banksters, so this will likely harm the Democrats most. They were supposed to be different.

One small incident brought more bad publicity: someone was home when bankster operatives came to change the locks on their front door. They called 911. Their house wasn’t even in foreclosure (see Comedy Central video below).

News of the bankster lawbreaking came at a bad time for President Obama. So he didn’t sign the law, he exercised a “pocket veto.” Because Congress is not in session, he said he would not sign the bill into law, but nor would he veto it.

The trouble is, his action may be unconstitutional. The House is ready and able to receive his normal veto. There’s a detailed discussion of this here.

So Obama tried to save Congress’ butt, and he might have gotten away with it were it not for Jon Stewart.

Question: Will banksters go to jail for their wrongdoing? Unlikely. Especially since the coverup is already underway. Our compliant commercial press is assisting in the damage control. Sam Smith writes (snip):

If you were to sign a false legal document, the courts and police would not call it "flawed paperwork." But that's the term the Associated Press is using about the foreclosure situation  with similar soft pedaling by other major media. In fact, this is potentially one of the largest scandals of recent times. Fortunately, attorneys generals in more than three dozen states are about to launch investigations into mass falsification of legal statements by the nation's banks. You can get a sense of just how serious this is from the fact that Bank of America, JP Morgan and PNC have stopped their foreclosures in states where judges have to approve the action. Despite what the AP says, this isn't about "flawed paperwork;" it's about a potential major criminal scandal. [Progressive Review Undernews, 10/12/2010]

Obama saved Congress with his pocket veto. Will his Justice Department pursue the “criminal scandal?”

Related question: If the Democrats care so little for us, why, in an election year, should we express love for them?  They need to answer for HR 3808 as individuals. But no, I’m not expecting a letter of apology in my mailbox from our Congressional delegation any time soon.

Permalink posted by Larry @ 10/11/2010 03:17:00 PM