A Saturday Morning Cartoon

My love of classical music started with Woodie Woodpecker and Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2:

Wall Street Crooks: The Rest Of The Story

We could also title this as BOHICA America!

A Bad Deal Wall Street banks fraudulently and illegally foreclose on your house. You get $2,000. The bank gets let off the hook. We'd call that a bad deal. And yet yesterday, at the urging of the White House, federal regulators along with 49 state attorneys general announced a settlement deal for mortgage servicer abuse that does essentially that. It lets banks off the hook for widespread foreclosure fraud. Press releases have trumpeted a $26 billion deal which may sound like a lot, but it's a paltry sum when you break down the numbers. With an average mortgage of $180,000, and loan instruments executed illegally, a family that lost their home will get a check for just over 1% of the value of the mortgage. That is not a victory. The amount of money this deal makes available to help homeowners is an order of magnitude too small and incommensurate with the harm done by the banks. The estimated $10-$20 billion in the deal for principal reduction would reduce only about 2% of the $700 billion in equity destroyed during the financial crisis. And the banks themselves will only pay $5 billion out of their own pocket. By far the lion's share of the cost will be borne by investors and taxpayers, who had no part in the robo-signing scandal.  No doubt the deal is far better than the deal that was offered months ago. And this most certainly is a result of activism from members of CREDO and many of our allies in the progressive movement who worked with progressive attorneys general like New York's Eric Schneiderman, California's Kamala Harris, Delaware's Beau Biden, Massachusetts' Martha Coakley and Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto to fight a bad deal. But the final deal, while better, still can't be characterized as a good deal or even as a good first step towards real accountability for Wall Street banks. The reported $26 billion settlement will not come close to inflicting any real pain on the banks all of which have already reserved the full amounts required from them under the deal. As Robert Reich said, the "$26 billion settlement with banks over mortgage fraud is far short of what they should pay and distressed home owners deserve." One in five Americans with mortgages owe the banks more than their homes are worth, and these home owners are underwater by an average of $50,000 each. This is a collective negative equity of nearly $700 billion. Consider the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street paid for by U.S. taxpayers5 and the more than $1.2 trillion in loans6 provided by the Federal Reserve to Wall Street banks. Or another way to put the deal in perspective is to compare it to the tobacco industry settlement in 1998 — the largest previous multi-state agreement. That deal was worth $350 billion in today's dollars — more than ten times the size of the mortgage deal. And that's not even all that's wrong with this deal. The federal government's track record for enforcing settlement terms with Wall Street banks is abysmal. Furthermore, even if the banks follow the terms of the deal, it's quite possible than when all is said and done, not only will the banks have suffered no pain, they may actually come out having profited from their illegal schemes to rip off homeowners. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the largest mortgage banks saved $20 billion by taking illegal shortcuts — an amount far greater than the $5 billion out of pocket they will be required to pay in this deal. All of which adds up to a scenario in which this settlement does literally nothing to deter the banks from engaging in the same fraudulent behavior in the future. Senator Dick Durbin famously said the Wall Street banks own the politicians in Washington, DC. Today, this could not be more clearly true as we closely examine the deal that the Obama administration cut with Wall Street and pressured state attorneys general to sign. There has yet to be a full investigation of the robo-signing scandal despite what Reuters called "copious evidence" of "widespread forgery, perjury, obstruction of justice, and illegal foreclosures...."  By establishing settlement terms before there has been any meaningful investigation, the deal whitewashes the widespread lawlessness of the banks and virtually ensures that no bankers will be held criminally responsible for their part in the robo-signing scandal and foreclosure fraud. Though the exact terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, we understand that it will not cut off other important avenues to hold the banks accountable. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is co-chairing a federal task force that if fully resourced and left to operate unhindered by the White House could achieve hundreds of billions in reduced principal for underwater homeowners and criminal indictments for bankers who broke the law and helped drive our economy off a cliff. And other state attorneys general can continue investigating Wall Street's role in causing the housing crisis to ensure that the banks that caused the crisis are held accountable for their wrongdoing. This is the biggest case of fraud in our history. Homeowners deserve justice for crimes committed against them by Wall Street banks that in many cases literally stole their homes from underneath them. Unfortunately, yesterday's settlement doesn't even provide anything close to a down payment on justice. As the election season heats up, we must be insistent about real accountability for Wall Street crooks. Pressure from activists like us will be even more important in the days to come if we are to achieve any real measure of accountability for Wall Street bankers who profited from their crimes and left the 99% to pay to the price for their reckless disregard. Becky Bond, Political Director

A Friday Treat - Dock Green Silverhawk

My bride and I met while we were both employed by GTE of Florida. One of our coworkers on Toll 3 was Dock Green. We have a lot of fond memories of the years we worked together.

The last I heard Dock was still with the company that is now Verizon, but there is more to Dock than just being a telephone man. Besides being a martial arts master, Dock is also a musician. And, let me add that Dock is a heck of a nice guy.

The Oracle is proud to present The Lakota Flute.

I Shall Now Rain On Your Parade

In the paper and on the tube this morning was a story to gladden the hearts of all people who travel by air, to wit:

The TSA plans to offer quicker airport screening to some passengers. 

The key word here is SOME.

Who are the "some" you may ask?

From the TSA Pre✓™ website:

Certain frequent flyers from Delta and American Airlines and certain members of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP's) Trusted Traveler programs, including Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS, who are U.S. citizens, are eligible to participate in this program, which could qualify them for expedited screening at select checkpoints with the following airlines:

American Airlines – Dallas/Fort Worth International Las Vegas’ McCarran International, Los Angeles International, Miami International and Minneapolis-St. Paul International airports

Delta Air Lines – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Las Vegas’ McCarran and Minneapolis-St. Paul International airports

Tampa International Airport (TIA) will not be added to the program until sometime later this year.

So, what does all of that mean to you? First off, members of the two frequent flyer airlines must be invited to participate. If you haven't received your invitation, then American and Delta didn't feel that you met their criteria.

If you didn't get an invitation or you are not a member of these two frequent flyer programs does this mean you are SOL (that doesn't mean sun in Spanish - well, actually it does, but that isn't what I meant)? Moving on, moving on. The quick answer is, "No, you are not SOL." The long, drawn out answer may be found below.

Working in conjunction with the TSA pre-screen program is Global Entry (see link above). Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Though intended for frequent international travelers, there is no minimum number of trips necessary to qualify for the program. Participants may enter the United States by using automated kiosks located at select airports. TIA, by the way, isn't one of the airports.

If you go to the Global Entry website you will find an application. Once you have completed that application and paid the non-refundable fee of $100 you can then sit back and cool your jets whilst your application undergoes a rigorous background screening.

Once it has been determined that you might not be a scumbag terrorist, you will be invited to set up an interview at a location that is totally inconvenient if you live here in the Tampa area. During that in-person interview a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer will ask you questions, take your photo, and collect biometric information. Biometric information does not mean collecting bodily fluids and tissue samples (I don't think so, anyway). I think it just means they are going to fingerprint you. You will also be required to present your passport and one other form of ID.

If you get through that entire process unscathed, you will receive a special card that you can scan in at various airports (not TIA) and maybe skip customs.

So far so good, right? And, we are almost through.

Once you have attained non-terrorist status and are a current member of CBP’s Global Entry (or NEXUS, or SENTRI) you eligible to participate in the TSA Pre✓™ concept if you are flying on a participating airline at a participating airport:

Atlanta: T-South Checkpoint (Delta only)
Dallas: Terminal C, Checkpoint C30 (American only)
Detroit: Checkpoint 2 on the ticketing level (Delta only)
Las Vegas: D Gates First Class Checkpoint (American and Delta)
Los Angeles: TSA Pre✓™ screening lane (American only)
Miami: D2 Checkpoint (American only)
Minneapolis: Lindbergh Terminal, Checkpoint 4 (American and Delta)

Nothing to it! Piece of cake! Right?

That dear readers is what the papers and the TV didn't tell you, and you are welcome. 

The Tea Party Cream Of The Crap

Joe Walsh. Steve King. Sean Duffy. Frank Guinta. Chip Cravaack. Allen West.

Even in the most extreme Congress in history, these six stand out.

They've all voted to let women die, to gut the Clean Air Act and to destroy Medicare.

But that's just the beginning of the bigoted, sexist, anti-science, hypocritical, corrupt and downright crazy things that have been said and done by these clowns.

From CREDO Action:

• You'd think, as an elected member of Congress, you wouldn't scream at your constituents for blaming the banks for our financial crisis. But Illinois' Joe Walsh sure did.
• You'd think you wouldn't openly praise shamed Senator Joe McCarthy or his shameful "un-American activities committee." Meet Iowa's Steve King.
• You'd think you wouldn't say publicly that "Goebbels would be proud of the Democratic propaganda machine" or that anyone with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker was "a threat to the gene pool." But Allen West is so crazy he thinks that's ok.
• Wisconsin's Sean Duffy is a former reality TV star who has co-sponsored every anti-choice bill in Congress, and admires Gov. Walker's attacks on Wisconsin workers.
• New Hampshire's Frank Guinta campaigned on overturning Roe V. Wade, and is also called one of the most corrupt members of Congress.
• And Minnesota's Chip Cravaack is so hypocritical, he didn't just run away from his Tea Party support when he got to Congress, he ran away from Minnesota — and moved his family to New Hampshire.

It's crazy. These people are representing the American people in Congress. That is unacceptable.

_______________________________

And yet, they didn't get in to Congress through osmosis. Somebody voted them into office. 

I wonder who?

The Holy "Santorum" Crap

Tuesday night, Man of the Froth, Rick Santorum (R-Douchebag) scored "stunning" upset wins in the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses, and in Missouri's nonbinding beauty pageant.

If that doesn't elicit a collective "Holy Crap!" all across America I can only assume the country has been infected with a serious dose of Headuptheassitis. Seriously, there is such a thing and one of the symptoms is having the cranial globe lodged so far up the anal orifice that cognitive thought is fatally impaired.

I mean, have the fine folks in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri not been paying attention to the froth emanating from this bozo - especially, the women. Santorum wants to send those of the female persuasion, and those who maybe aren't sure, back to the dark ages of America - back before women had any semblance of rights.

Yeah boy, those four F days were some of the good old days in America. Come on guys, you remember the junior high locker room cheer - Find'em, Feel'em, Fuck'em, and Fergit'em! And, what the hell if you get'em pregnant - that was just their tough luck. Or to paraphrase Santorum, "If you get impregnated by a rapist, consider the resulting little bundle of joy a gift from God."

Should you be an underage and/or unemployed female who gets knocked up for whatever reason, don't worry your little head because Santorum will be there for you...er, uh...hold on a minute, there's a FLASH coming in on the Oracle BullShit-O-Meter. 

I stand corrected: It appears that Santorum's position, should he assume the position of Ayatollah of America, is that you are F**ked - literally and figuratively. Santorum, as overseer of this country's morals, is not going to subsidize your immoral decision to be raped.

_________________

Before deciding to devote my life to heavy drinking and Oracle writing, I delivered corporate training classes to some really fine folks in Colorado and Minnesota, and I don't remember coming across any who were this irrational. I can't say anything one way or the other about Missouri except for the line from the Eastwood movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales, "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining."

Well, Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri, I think somebody has rained on you.

Florida: Mired In The Muck

I see that Florida's Carpetbagger-in-Chief Scott, the high speed rail killer, has appointed a staunch anti-rail campaigner to serve on Hillsborough County's transit agency. Scott made Josh Burgin, 35, of Plant City, one of his two appointments to the board of Hillsborough Area Regional Transit this past Monday.

How nice, how very nice for Hillsborough County.

Realistically, Hillsborough County and the state of Florida need to move away from the 20th century mentality on transportation options, and this guy is most likely going to be a wart on the ass of progress.

Before I go on, let me admit right up front that I am one of those who voted against the penny sales tax for light rail in Hillsborough County. I did this not because I oppose light rail, but because I was not willing to see my tax dollars supporting someone's pipe dream, and that's all this was - a pipe dream. We were asked to finance a project now that would be defined later. That was asinine!

If there was a concrete plan, I still might not have voted for it.

You might ask,"Why not?" For one thing I don't feel that all options were even considered, or if they were we were not made aware of them. Light rail sharing the roadway with normal vehicular traffic does not have a very good safety record in addition to being disruptive to existing traffic.

When any discussion of light rail or high speed rail comes up for debate I have never heard the word "monorail" being uttered. After watching a documentary on The Travel Channel sometime ago, I have to wonder why not. A monorail system appears to be a viable means of mass transit - it's less disruptive, is cost effective, ecologically sound, and some systems can even be relocated in an urban environment if traffic demands change. Once rail is in place - it's pretty much there to stay.

Major urban centers around the world have unclogged roadways, and reduced vehicle produced pollutants by building a monorail system. The longest monorail is in China. The oldest is in Germany. Las Vegas has a dandy one as does Disney World.

Why must Florida remain mired in the "Cracker Country" of the past? Oh yeah, Rick Scott.

Public transportation in Wuppertal, Germany in 1901. The hanging monorail is still in service today.

Photographer unknown

Here in Florida around the same time period:










How do we move around Florida in the 21st century?

Photographer unknown