Every year, Talking Points Memo hands out (metaphorically at least) its Golden Duke awards for the year’s “best purveyors of public corruption, outlandish behavior and The Crazy.” The awards are named for the famously corrupt Rep. “Duke” Cunningham and are given in several categories, including Best Scandal – Local Venue, where Missouri’s own Brian Nieves is one of the nominees. He’s competing against such dignitaries as Detroit’s extortionist ex-mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, and Arizona’s financially irresponsible bigot, Joe Arpaio. Nieves is running last in the voting right now, but, if you are so inclined, you can vote for him – or any of the other candidates – here. Surely there’s enough of The Crazy in Missouri to merit representation in the Golden Dukes winners circle?
Clark is correct when he acknowledges that Claire McCaskill did Missouri proud with her votes on DADT and the DREAM Act – and also with her vote for the START Treaty today. He is equally correct that if she really is serious about fighting for reform of rules that permit the abuse of the filibuster, we will owe her majorly. We need to give our Senator a little Christmas gift and let her know how much we appreciate her willingness to line up with the real Democrats on these issues. Her support for these measures justifies to a certain extent those people who continue to say that no matter what she has done, she is still better for Missouri than her GOP opponent, Jim Talent, would have been.
These generous-minded folks are right, but, Grinch-like, I still have to take back some of the Christmas goodwill McCaskill may have generated in progressive circles in the last week. The reason I am still seething deep down is her propensity to sign on to really bad ideas, ideas that can hurt us all seriously if she can’t be persuaded to change her mind.
This month, while she was doing the right thing on DADT, DREAM and START, she also signaled her intent to vote against the omnibus spending bill had it made it to the floor. Although the congress did manage to push through a temporary spending extension, the failure to pass the omnibus bill hands the GOP the tools they need to deny funding for implementation of the Affordable Care Act (AFC) and the financial reform bill. Thanks for nothing, Claire.
Why did McCaskill do this to us? She wants to impress small-town Missouri that she’s serious about the big, bad deficit so she’s pushing the asinine spending caps that she and her GOP ally, Jeff Sessions, have been shopping around the Senate for the past year or so:
She says a similar spending policy worked in the 90s when America was operating at a surplus, not a deficit. Along with spending caps, she says there were slightly higher taxes and Pay Go, meaning new programs had to be funded before they could be implemented.
What’s wrong with this? Last time I heard we’re in a recession – not the boomtime 90s and not the right time to cut government spending. And guess what else: the tax rate got lower a long time ago – it’s one of the reasons we’re in such bad shape. Doesn’t sound like the 90s environment to me at all. Am I foolish to expect my Senator to address our current situation? We certainly shouldn’t be putting the breaks on stimulative, short-term, spending hikes in order to address long-term problems, like the deficit, that we can deal with more intelligently when we are in better shape job-wise. I bet if I were to ask her why she doesn’t go at the deficit from the perspective of raising revenue (taxes to you and me), she would say that a recession isn’t the right time to do that – well, the same thing goes double for cutting stimulative government spending.
It would be bad enough if McCaskill were consistent in her misdirected war against government spending, but she’s not. Last week she signed onto a letter at the behest of Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) to extend ethanol subsidies – a bad idea at any time since ethanol is of questionable value as an alternative energy source, and subsidizing its production amounts to little more than shoveling pork at chemical and big agricultural interests. And this particular bad idea comes at a cost of $5.3 billion dollars. Coming from Senator “Earmarks-hurt-my-brain” McCaskill, who thinks “entitlements” like Social Security have to be “fixed ASAP,” it’s inexcusable.
Paul Krugman, last Sunday, described the failure of the pragmatic left as a failure to stand firm against what economist John Quiggin calls zombie economics, “ideas that the crisis should have killed, but didn’t.” Krugman contrasts Reagan and Obama:
People tend to forget that Ronald Reagan often gave ground on policy substance – most notably, he ended up enacting multiple tax increases. But he never wavered on ideas, never backed down from the position that his ideology was right and his opponents were wrong.
President Obama, by contrast, has consistently tried to reach across the aisle by lending cover to right-wing myths. He has … adopted G.O.P. rhetoric about the need for the government to tighten its belt even in the face of recession, offered symbolic freezes on spending and federal wages.
None of this stopped the right from denouncing him as a socialist. But it helped empower bad ideas, in ways that can do quite immediate harm.
Sound like somebody we know here in Missouri? Understand why I’d like to be McCaskill’s own private Grinch? But still … as all my gay and lesbian friends who have been fighting for equality for so long would attest, she’s much, much better than Talent would have been. She’s certainly the closest approximation to a Democrat we have to run against the raggedy GOP crew that’s lining up for a go at her Senate seat – unless we get really lucky between now and 2012.
Obviously, I’m no big McCaskill fan, and she’s going to have to do more to get my enthusiasm (and shoeleather) come campaign season. But after her tough votes on the DREAM Act and on DADT repeal, she’s following up with something historic: filibuster reform.
Among the chief revisions that Democrats say will likely be offered: Senators could not initiate a filibuster of a bill before it reaches the floor unless they first muster 40 votes for it, and they would have to remain on the floor to sustain it. That is a change from current rules, which require the majority leader to file a cloture motion to overcome an anonymous objection to a motion to proceed, and then wait 30 hours for a vote on it.
“There need to be changes to the rules to allow filibusters to be conducted by people who actually want to block legislation instead of people being able to quietly say ‘I object’ and go home,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair. We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.
The opening of the 2010 legislative session in Jefferson City:
RT @tonymess: Some lawmakers said Capitol was more somber today. Definitely a different feeling than some recent past opening days. about 8 hours ago from DestroyTwitter
Tomorrow there will be a “technical session” – a significant number of House members were heading home this evening due to the incoming inclement weather.
We made a trip to Jefferson City in the middle of the session and promptly got booted from the press gallery, supposedly because the capitol press corps complained about our presence on their turf. We contacted various folks in Jefferson City about the situation and eventually were allowed to work from a side gallery in the House chamber during the last week of the session in May.
Representative Luke Scavuzzo (D-124) (center, seated) in conversation on the House floor while other representatives (standing in the background) wait to be recognized by the Speaker.
Representative Beth Low (D-39) speaking against ant-choice legislation for the “millionth time”.
A typical end of session scene on a representative’s desk on the floor of the House.
Representative Jason Holsman (D-45) in debate on the House floor.
State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) in the House chamber side gallery.
Bank of America is looking into negotiating another mortgage with Mike and Mary Boehm. Well, so their representative said in a phone message. Monday night. But he hasn’t returned any of the three messages the Boehm’s have left for him since then. So far, that phone message and reports given to the Post-Dispatch and KMOV-tv that the Boehms are in no imminent danger of foreclosure are, at the very least, unverified.
We hope these claims are more than just an attempt from B of A to shunt aside nuisance publicity until the media spotlight ricochets to some other story. The Boehms would like to think that the assurances have some substance, but the family was not reassured on that score by today’s mail. Mike and Mary had printed a request for 13 items pertaining to the loan off of Attorney General Koster’s site and sent it to Bad for America. Today the family received a letter from the bank that included three of those pieces of documentation but that said: “Please note that all other requests are declined as they seek documentation that goes beyond that which is available.”
Translated loosely, that means, ‘We’ll give you what we damn well find convenient.’ Not the spirit of cooperation the Boehms are looking for. Yes, I realize that this is probably something the bank’s bureaucracy churned out before the action on Monday, but here’s the thing. The letter went out. The phone message was left on the machine. But nobody at the bank seems to be engaged in settling this problem. It will take continued pressure from activists to move Bank of America to let the Boehms off the hook.
Meanwhile, I’ve spoken to two women in Attorney General Koster’s office. This entire brouhaha was news to the first one, Chris. But someone named Nancy called me back a couple of hours later to say that the office has called Bank of America about the Boehms and has not yet received a return call. Good on them for that prompt action. I asked Nancy if the AG’s office has legal authority to press a case against B of A for disobeying the federal mandate to modify mortgages for qualified applicants. She’ll check. And I asked whether Chris Koster will consider taking such action on behalf of the many complainants against B of A. She’ll check.
Koster’s office needs to hear from you. 1-573-751-3321
The bank been reportedly identified as a target by WikiLeaks — it reportedly maintains a war room to defend against the leak — it’s the subject of a federal racketeering lawsuit, one of many high profile lawsuits involving its foreclosure practices.
Now, the bank has been accused of breaking into a woman’s home and taking her possessions, including her late husband’s ashes.
That incident is part of a pattern of home break-ins reported by other homeowners, according to a New York Times article. The piece describes a typical Bank of America subterfuge that the Boehms will recognize:
“Every day, smaller wrongs happen to people trying to save their homes: being charged the wrong amount of money, being wrongly denied a loan modification, being asked to hand over documents four or five times,” said Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.
Sounds like what I described happening to the Boehms:
They spent hours upon hours on the phone trying to straighten out glitch after snafu after hitch caused by the bank’s carelessness. “You faxed us this information already? Really? Then do it again. You’ve faxed it twice? Oh. Try faxing it to this other number.”
It’s gotten so that it’s easier to have faith in Santa than to believe that Bank of America can be trusted.
The Attorney General’s office released a list of the worst charities in Missouri. Worst being defined by how little the charity actually does for charitable purposes. The #1 worst charity? Missouri Chapter of the United States Navy Veterans Association
Now, the USNVA caught my eye for a reason I will reveal shortly.
The Missouri Attorney General’s office Check-A-Charity page for the Missouri Chapter of the USNVA has a pretty low-key notice at the bottom
So, if you followed the encouragement, you would find this:
A man who falsely identified himself as “Bobby Thompson,” director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, is wanted by Ohio authorities, and Attorney General Richard Cordray is turning to Ohio veterans – the group that the imposter cheated – to help find him.
“There are almost one million veterans who live in Ohio,” Cordray said. “Those are men and women who put their life on the line for our country. The man who presented himself as ‘Bobby Thompson’ traded on their honorable reputation and service to benefit himself.”
Hmmm… let’s dig deeper here.
“Bobby Thompson” (name presented in quotation marks due to his lack of a known real name).. now if you look him up in relation to the USNVA, you find that the St. Petersburg Times had their own reporting on this matter:
The Navy Veterans group lists 85 officers in its national headquarters and state chapters, but the Times could only find one of them, Bobby Thompson, who operated out of a duplex in a low-income area of Tampa.
Ok, so a charity, with problems with fraud and identity theft.. and one where 80+ people are listed but only one may have actually run things.. but I know where I know the name “Bobby Thompson” from… America’s Most Wanted!. Yes, if your charity is headed by a fugitive from justice who was featured on America’s Most Wanted, it’s probably a good candidate for “worst charity”.
5/6/2009 Friends of Steve Tilley for Missouri House $2,000
5/15/2009 Ron Richard for Missouri House $2,000
6/15/2009 Kevin Engler for Missouri State Senate $2,000
Hey, I know those names for some reason!
So, three of the most powerful men in the Missouri legislature got checks from this guy from Florida, who made no other Missouri contributions, probably never lived here (under any identity), and who operated a fraudulent charity with a Missouri chapter. You can go to the Ethics Commission site, search under the name “Bobby Thompson” in 2009 donations, and verify the reporting of the St. Petersburg Times about the donations.
And that’s where the storyline goes cold. Why did someone whose activities have led him to become a nationally-featured fugitive wind up donating money to the Speaker of the House, the House Majority Floor Leader, and the Senate Majority Floor Leader? Admiration of the 2009 session? Random chance? Did “Thompson” feel one of the bills being considered at the end of the 2009 session by the House had relevance to his operations? “Thompson”‘s political contributions mainly focused on his home state of Florida, and Virginia where he’s also suspected of lobbying for passage of a bill to loosen rules on charitable solicitation, and where recipients of his money gave it to legitimate charities.
Considering the time of the year, and what we now know about Mr. “Thompson” and his activities. I think some charitable giving of $6,000 by 3 officials would be in order.
Along with Missouri, Illinois (-1), Iowa (-1), Louisiana (-1), Massachusetts (-1), Michigan (-1), New Jersey (-1), New York (-2), Ohio (-2) and Pennsylvania (-1) will lose seats [pdf]. Arizona (+1), Florida (+2), Georgia (+1), Nevada (+1), South Carolina (+1), Texas (+4), Utah (+1) and Washington (+1) gain seats.
Mike and Mary Boehm did everything right. Well, except for Mike getting fired in June 2009. But I’m assuming that was a byproduct of the Great (Republican-caused) Recession. Anyway, the couple had trouble meeting their house payments and applied to the Bank of America for a loan modification. They were told it would take about 45 days. That was 409 days ago. It sure as hell didn’t take Bank of America that long to get a federal bailout for billions of bucks. And that bailout stipulated that banks which received the funds were to work to modify mortgage payments so that fewer people would face foreclosure.
The Boehm family
So the Boehms applied. And they did everything right–and many things two or three times over. Although the modification had not received final approval, the process was started, and the Boehm’s made every modified payment on time. They spent hours upon hours on the phone trying to straighten out glitch after snafu after hitch caused by the bank’s carelessness. “You faxed us this information already? Really? Then do it again. You’ve faxed it twice? Oh. Try faxing it to this other number.” After all that effort on Mike and Mary’s part, the Bank of America has decided to foreclose. Proceedings will start the day after Christmas.
Monday, a group of Mike and Mary’s friends and activists mobilized by M.O.R.E. (Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment) staged a protest in front of the Clayton office of the bank in St. Louis County. Ninety people showed up and most of them stayed the better part of two hours in the cold. The hope was that a strong showing would move the bankers to relent and allow a loan modification. Not only did BoA not do so, it got the Clayton Police to arrest six activists who had the gall to go up four steps onto bank property. The six were led away in handcuffs, issued two summonses apiece (for trespassing and refusing to obey a lawful order) and then released in less than two hours. Kat Logan Smith, the Executive Director of Coalition for the Environment and Hannah Allison, who organized today’s protest for M.O.R.E., were among the six.
Hannah Allison (in foreground) and Kat Logan Smith (ahead of her) are led away in cuffs
Kat Logan Smith (wearing her Bank of America exec devil’s horns) displays her summonses
The video below opens with a few seconds of chants at the rally but consists mainly of an interview the Boehms gave me at the Clayton Police Station while they waited for the arrestees to be released.
The Boehm’s have complained to the Missouri Attorney General’s office. In doing so, they noticed that there were five pages of complaints that have been lodged for similar foreclosure problems on the website. And that’s just for Bank of America. But Koster’s office coolly informed them that they are taking the matter under advisement. (Should the Boehms translate that as: ‘Go away. You don’t interest me’?)
Meanwhile these level headed, hard working people are living in a nightmare, courtesy of their mortgage lender. But don’t blame Bad for America. A buck has no conscience and neither do most corporations. In throwing the Boehms under the bus, BoA is simply minding the bottom line. The bank makes money when it forecloses:
While homeowners, lenders and investors typically lose money on a foreclosure, mortgage servicers do not, says report author Diane E. Thompson, of counsel at the National Consumer Law Center. Servicers are the companies that manage the mortgages and collect payments.
“Servicers may even make money on a foreclosure,” she writes. “And, usually, a loan modification will cost the servicer something. A servicer deciding between a foreclosure and a loan modification faces the prospect of near certain loss if the loan is modified and no penalty, but potential profit, if the home is foreclosed.”
Thompson attributes this to a system of perverse incentives created by lawmakers and rulemakers in the market, like credit rating agencies and bond issuers.
Hmm. Do you suppose that Bad for America was hoping that the Boehms would be a little less responsible about dotting every i and crossing every t in the paperwork and less persistent about verifying that the bank had received it all? Few people are as organized and responsible as Mike and Mary. If the Boehms had been a little less reliable, the bank could have leaped on some miniscule mistake as an excuse to foreclose. Not that BoA cares that the family made payments for an extra year. Who knows but what Bad for America strung the Boehms along for more than a year just to get that additional money out of them before finally cashing in its foreclosure chip. All that is just guesswork, of course, and I could be wrong about it; but I’m not wrong about this: BoA’s attitude is to hell with people. In fact, to hell with the American economy and all the damage these foreclosures are doing to it. As for bad publicity, this corporate entity might as well shoot us the finger. In fact, that’s what it did when it ordered the arrests. Such arrogance is hardly surprising when you remember that Bank of America is the main investor in QC Holdings, the biggest payday lender in Missouri. Bank of America is used to screwing people over and getting away with it.
The question then is, are we–and the Boehms–helpless? The answer is that we’re not, but we’ll have to be like water on stone: a persistent force. Homeowners who have a problem like the one the Boehms face should contact Attorney General Chris Koster both by e-mail and by calling 1-573-751-3321. They should also call M.O.R.E.’s national hotline: 1-877-59HOME9.
As soon as I post this, I will call Koster’s office and urge that they take action. Please do the same. Unless we annoy the spit out of Koster, he won’t do diddly squat.
The most comprehensive solution would be for laws that encourage this predatory lending practice to be changed. But the House is about to be in Republican hands. So lotsa luck with that. For now, progressives need to get Bank of America as much rotten press as we can generate. Yesterday’s action mustn’t be the end of that effort, just the beginning. We will have to be our own 21st century Charles Dickens, exposing the Scrooges of the nation.
I wish I could tap Mike and Mary on the shoulder and tell them it’s time to wake up, that it was just a bad dream. I can’t do that, but if they want me to, I’ll keep their story front and center.
The committee which was formed to support the continuation of the earnings tax for Kansas City which will be voted on in the April 2011 election received two more large contributions.
A101430 12/17/2010 SAVE KANSAS CITY COMMITTEE Industry Advancement Fund Heavy Constructors 3101 Broadway, Suite 780 Kansas City, MO. 64111 12/17/2010 $100,000.00
A101430 12/17/2010 SAVE KANSAS CITY COMMITTEE Kansas City Power & Light Co P.O. Box 418679 Kansas City, Mo 64131 12/17/2010 $50,000.00
Clark is correct when 
Bank of America is looking into negotiating another mortgage with Mike and Mary Boehm. Well, so their representative said in a phone message. Monday night. But he hasn’t returned any of the three messages the Boehm’s have left for him since then. So far, that phone message and reports given to the Post-Dispatch and KMOV-tv that the Boehms are in no imminent danger of foreclosure are, at the very least, unverified.
