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happy-new-year-i-think
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Allan, others, my inaction at this point is not acedia but rather a retreat to a more defensible position. I am a pacifist in that I KNOW I don’t have to do anything for bad karma to zap its originator.
An unorthodox position, probably, and I have to chastise myself when I think I’m really the winner in this game for sticking the bank with this money pit by walking away. I have to remember they greedily, optimistically appraised it and I assumed ALL the risk in the end so the mental image of them eating their own documentation is priceless.
For over a year I fretted over the Feds’ The HOPE Line telling me “What do you really need anyway?” and “You’re thinking as if your credit rating makes you a better person”. All the while knowing that the Fed would prioritize the bank’s investor interests over my life’s investment in this property and refuse to do that by reworking the loan.
It took me a whole year to experience the 5 symptoms of grief and I have finally arrived at ‘acceptance’. In my case relief will not come in time because my ‘neighbors’ (supposed support people who’ve been put in my path) have not accepted that what happens to me also happens to them in the karmic web and no amount of money they had hoped to make from someone like me can change that (albeit their concern for my lack of money may be a deep rooted fear for their own situations to come but I’d like to be there to remind them what’s important if only to hear some contrition for walking away from me because there was nothing in it for them – I believe in Kant – there is no such thing as altruism ~ just the rational vs the irrational).
For many here who will have to fall back you must impart the ‘live to fight another day’ morés that will cushion the spirits of those who will not win their battle in the current climate. “Revenge is a dish better served cold” comes to mind.
Its more important to go from this day forward keeping in mind some basic tenants of social well being in regards to investments and new paradigms for the ‘American Dream’. I am railing against those telling me ‘the dream’ is still to own a house. To me The American Dream has become trusting you won’t be swindled by fearful neighbors. To know your children won’t be turned into consumerist monsters who’ve not a thought for the needs of others in light of their own wants and needs (yes, spiritual peace is a basic human need satisfied when one serving of bread must be broken to feed two people). I agree with James to a point. We are a nation with laws but for the love of money there is no enforcement.
To Peace and a healing of trust in humanity. Some make things happen by fighting and some by lack of fighting.
Salute!
ps. I’ll now have more money to donate to the local animal shelters and more time to volunteer at the foodbank without so much house to clean & fuss over. Oh, & if you see my motorhome parked at WalMart come have coffee and a laugh at why we feared what we wouldn’t have.
The Leaden-Eyed
~ Vachel Lindsay
“Let not young souls be smothered out before
They do quaint deeds and fully flaunt their pride.
It is the world’s one crime its babes grow dull,
Its poor are ox-like, limp and leaden-eyed.
Not that they starve, but starve so dreamlessly,
Not that they sow, but that they seldom reap,
Not that they serve, but have no gods to serve,
Not that they die, but that they die like sheep.”
Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From~ The Congo & Other Poems | 1914
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1069.html
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/lindsay/19367
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COMMENTARY: When I read or watch that millions of us are in foreclosure, that many are giving up with nary a fight, skulking away ox-like, leaden-eyed, saddened I can’t but think of Vachel Lindsay’s lines, “Let not young souls be smothered out before
They do quaint deeds and fully flaunt their pride.”
We are about to enter a new year, the tenth of the new millennium, a new beginning brimming with promise, a new and hope-filled chapter in this imperfect experiment that is The United States of America. This is a chapter we together will write.
I’ve traveled the world, and every day appreciate that our Founding Fathers looked out for us. They had vision that there’d be broad and dynamic participation in this common enterprise, and with foresight and understanding they gave us the tools to even the field of battle.
Where else but here can we go toe to toe with those who would oppress us?
Where else can we assemble to bring down tyrants?
Where else can each of us pursue and achieve our own vision of the possible?
Though we might not have the resources that access the levers of power, or assure a certain outcome, where else but here, do we have a fighting chance of being heard, of getting our day in court, of seeking the verdict of a jury of our peers?
Men and women are dying abroad to defend what we here too often take for granted, and seldom do we avail ourselves of all we are given.
Do not accede to acedia. Get the lead out.
Let each of us that is embattled, take heart, we are not alone. If we act as one body, as one organism, no way can our loyal opposition handle the overload. Remember when Johnny Carson tried to get an entire nation to flush its toilets at the same time? Now, THAT was overload!
So, forget packing your chattels into a rental and unoccupied, abandoning to vultures or to ransom, a home you sweated for. That’s not worthy of the vision you have for yourself and your important role in this common enterprise! You’re better than that! Stand your ground. Defend your small part of this larger turf.
Just as in days of yore, when there were barbarians at the gate, we all hung together or most certainly we’d hang separately. Today, the barbarians are again at the gate, ready to plunder and take what is not fought over or defended. It’s live-or-die time. It’s war!
Together, let’s be our own heroes*, do quaint deeds, and fully flaunt our pride! We are great in number, not to be smothered, and in the right. What EACH of us defends redounds to the benefit of all!
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
* “ A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. ”
~ Joseph Campbell “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” ~ 1949
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces
My best friend’s nephew, a founder of Move On.org, sent me this urgent time-bound appeal.
The groups impacted by Bernard Madoff’s frauds, are the very same that’d fund the causes contained in Neil Garfield’s grassroots foreclosure defense movement were they approached by him/us.
Contribute first to Livinglies, and then help the following with $3 for every $1! Get your checkbooks out for these progressive foundations!
Thanks,
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the next two days, your contribution to progressive organizations hurt by Madoff’s scam will be tripled.
Contribute
Dear MoveOn member,
You’ve probably heard about how Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff scammed investors out of at least $50 billion.
But you may not have heard that his victims included the foundations that support some really important progressive organizations. Groups that fight for human rights, fair elections and racial justice are getting hit hard—just in time for the holidays. We’ve worked side-by-side with many of them.
If these groups can’t replace the funding that came from investment accounts that Madoff stole, they may be forced to start cutting important projects or, in some cases, even lay off staff.
Can you pitch in $25 or $50 for each of the four organizations we’re highlighting below? Our friends at Atlantic Philanthropies and the Open Society Institute will each match every dollar that comes in until January 1! So, for the next three days, your donation of $25 or $50 means $75 or $150 for groups affected by Madoff. If a few thousand of us give together, it can make an enormous difference—and help repair some of the damage Madoff has done. Click here to contribute:
https://civ.moveon.org/donatec4/dec_2008.html?id=15297-10804034-GJJYpbx&t=3
Your end-of-the-year gift will be tax-deductible as if you had made the gift directly to the designated charities; we will forward 100% of your contribution to the organizations you select.
Many organizations have been hit by this crisis. We’re highlighting the four that MoveOn has worked closely with over the last few years. Here’s a bit about each of the groups:
The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Their work ranges from voting rights to redistricting reform to checking presidential power in the fight against terrorism. MoveOn has worked with the Brennan Center closely in the fight for fair elections. Chip in to help them out here.
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, they give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Its rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. MoveOn has worked with Human Rights Watch on campaigns to preserve the constitution and protect human rights in America and abroad. Chip in to help them out here.
Advancement Project is a policy, communications and legal action group committed to racial justice founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1998. They have pursued critical litigation to protect voters and also support grassroots movements for universal opportunity and just democracy in the areas of education and immigrants’ rights. MoveOn has worked with Advancement Project to stop vote suppression, especially among minority folks. Chip in to help them out here.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a nonprofit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. MoveOn has worked with CCR to hold President Bush accountable for his unconstitutional acts, from illegal wiretaps to Guantanamo. Chip in to help them out here.
2008 has been an extraordinary year. Together, MoveOn’s 5 million members have done so much—and we have a new president and new hope to show for it. But we wouldn’t be where we are as a country without a strong movement of interconnected progressive organizations. Let’s come together one last time to keep that movement going strong.
Thanks for all you do.
–Eli, Carrie, Ilyse and the entire MoveOn.org Civic Action team
Allan (as of late) totally agreeing “Let’s Get Our Message ‘Above The Fold’ ”
There was another ‘Allan’ who predates me. The name may have been that of the Allan Law Group in Malibu, CA. No relation. Not a clone.
Fully agree with you, UsedKarGuy. These are sentiments also strongly voiced by Neil and Mario. We need the equivalent of a publicist to centralize our efforts to get this movement nationwide visibility. Neil, Mario, and others cannot do it alone.
I too have heard the talking heads blaming the victims, CRA (Community Reinvestment Act), Barney Frank, illegal immigrants, fraudulent or self-deceiving borrowers too eager to over-extend. I too lament the flocks being shepherded (too often by lawyers who are clueless or in great need of CLE credits) towards modification, short sale, and saddest, the embarrassed, self-blaming ‘victims’ too quick to fold up their tents upon receiving a foreclosure complaint, feeling too powerless or trapped to mount a good fight or use the American ADVERSARIAL system of justice to confront and push back their accusers. Sometimes we just have to bloody some noses.
We need FIRST prepare an ACTION PLAN
Identify and pitch donors or foundations that would underwrite these efforts.
Gather a database of consumers who have SUCCEEDED turning the tables on lenders (maybe achieving the ultimate prize – owning their homes free and clear, with honorable mention going to those who obtain ‘dismissals without prejudice’ or otherwise ‘live to fight another day’). That gives this movement’s approach CREDIBILITY, especially around attorneys who still don’t “get it.” Divide this database into three groups: Those who succeeded
o 1. Pro Se (specially those guided by the info here, workbooks, or at workshops)
o 2. Pro Se aided by mortgage auditors, or fraud investigators
o 3. Represented by an attorney ‘who gets it’ (private such as those attorneys listed on Livinglies’ Blog or pro bono consumer advocate such as April Charney)
Gather an extensive list of consumers or advocates who know the Garfield Foreclosure Defense BOK (Body of Knowledge) like the back of their hand.
Equip each with a copy of The Workbook.
Prepare and equip each with a Power Point presentation of key points and statistics.
Embed Livinglies blogsite with words that will drive search engine traffic to it from beleaguered homeowners searching for a credible path out of foreclosures, short sales, loan modifications (novations), ruined credit, alternatives to bankruptcy, etc.
Get the message out through viral videos, UTube submissions, chain letters, banner ads, relational advertising and product placement.
Bombard speakers’ bureaus with the names of people who can speak articulately, and with noteworthy reproducible sound bites and statistics about this movement.
Contact radio, talk or TV shows with a one page proposal or blurb with at least one graphic or picture.
Invite media coverage (business/consumer/real estate/law page editors) of those speaking events and WORSHOPS.
Invite Gary Trudeau or another cartoonist to compose a series related to this movement.
Get thoroughly vetted credible consumers who succeeded in clawing back from the brink, accompanied by Attorney Garfield or his nominee onto consumer – friendly shows such as
o 60 Minutes
o Keith Olberman
o Chris Matthews
o Rachel Maddow
o Larry King
o John Stewart
o The Colbert Report
o Jay Leno
o Dave Letterman
o The View
o Good Morning America
o Today
o Democracy Now with Amy Goodman
o Free Speech
o CNN
o CSPAN
o Community Channels
Identify and get the word out to COMMUNITY ORGANIZER associations, legal aid societies, church groups, social service organizations, 211 dispatchers, social workers.
Create BUZZ.
Broadcast the movement, and reach EVERY major area in these United States through postings on CRAIGSLIST.
Contact MoveOn.org to organize a grassroots letter-writing, e-mailing or telephoning campaign to contact politicians, or policy makers about widespread fraud on part of securitization participants, especially recipients of TARP funding.
Get progressive organizations to champion this movement, such as:
o The Brennan Center for Justice (a nonpartisan institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Their work ranges from voting rights to redistricting reform to checking presidential power in the fight against terrorism).
o Human Rights Watch (one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, they give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Its rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse).
o Advancement Project (a policy, communications and legal action group committed to racial justice founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1998. They have pursued critical litigation to protect voters and also support grassroots movements for universal opportunity and just democracy in the areas of education and immigrants’ rights).
o The Center for Constitutional Rights (dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a nonprofit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change).
Invite journalists and investigative reporters and get write-ups in
o LAWYERS WEEKLY
o The Economist
o Newsweek
o TIME
o Rolling Stone
o Vanity Fair
o UTNE Reader
o Mother Jones, and the like.
Contact Attorneys General, Chief Justices in all 50 States, DC, and territories with verifiable accounts of BEST PRACTICES (e.g. precedents taken sua sponte) from other jurisdictions (e.g. Ohio, Florida, New York) demonstrating responses by public officials and judiciary to instances or patterns of consumer fraud, predatory lending, usury, fraud upon the courts, unjust enrichment, et al.
Let’s get the word out PRONTO, like kudzu, set down widespread roots, before these toxic assets get bought back by the very Mortgage Meltdown banks to whom we got punked into coughing up a $700 BILLION in hard-earned taxpayer dollars
carte blanchethat brought us the our taxpayer dollars we surrendered to the TARP, or before judges tip the scales back to the deep pocketed, lawyered up and corporate America.
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
Allan (as of late) totally agreeing “Let’s Get Our Message ‘Above The Fold’ ”
There was another ‘Allan’ who predates me. The name may have been that of the Allan Law Group in Malibu, CA. No relation. Not a clone.
Fully agree with you, UsedKarGuy. These are sentiments also strongly voiced by Neil and Mario. We need the equivalent of a publicist to centralize our efforts to get this movement nationwide visibility. Neil, Mario, and others cannot do it alone.
I too have heard the talking heads blaming the victims, CRA (Community Reinvestment Act), Barney Frank, illegal immigrants, fraudulent or self-deceiving borrowers too eager to over-extend. I too lament the flocks being shepherded (too often by lawyers who are clueless or in great need of CLE credits) towards modification, short sale, and saddest, the embarrassed, self-blaming ‘victims’ too quick to fold up their tents upon receiving a foreclosure complaint, feeling too powerless or trapped to mount a good fight or use the American ADVERSARIAL system of justice to confront and push back their accusers. Sometimes we just have to bloody some noses.
We need FIRST prepare an ACTION PLAN
Identify and pitch donors or foundations that would underwrite these efforts.
Gather a database of consumers who have SUCCEEDED turning the tables on lenders (maybe achieving the ultimate prize – owning their homes free and clear, with honorable mention going to those who obtain ‘dismissals without prejudice’ or otherwise ‘live to fight another day’). That gives this movement’s approach CREDIBILITY, especially around attorneys who still don’t “get it.” Divide this database into three groups: Those who succeeded
o 1. Pro Se (specially those guided by the info here, workbooks, or at workshops)
o 2. Pro Se aided by mortgage auditors, or fraud investigators
o 3. Represented by an attorney ‘who gets it’ (private such as those attorneys listed on Livinglies’ Blog or pro bono consumer advocate such as April Charney)
Gather an extensive list of consumers or advocates who know the Garfield Foreclosure Defense BOK (Body of Knowledge) like the back of their hand.
Equip each with a copy of The Workbook.
Prepare and equip each with a Power Point presentation of key points and statistics.
Embed Livinglies blogsite with words that will drive search engine traffic to it from beleaguered homeowners searching for a credible path out of foreclosures, short sales, loan modifications (novations), ruined credit, alternatives to bankruptcy, etc.
Get the message out through viral videos, UTube submissions, chain letters, banner ads, relational advertising and product placement.
Bombard speakers’ bureaus with the names of people who can speak articulately, and with noteworthy reproducible sound bites and statistics about this movement.
Contact radio, talk or TV shows with a one page proposal or blurb with at least one graphic or picture.
Invite media coverage (business/consumer/real estate/law page editors) of those speaking events and WORSHOPS.
Invite Gary Trudeau or another cartoonist to compose a series related to this movement.
Get credible consumers who succeeded in clawing back from the brink, accompanied by Attorney Garfield or his nominee onto consumer – friendly shows such as
o 60 Minutes
o Keith Olberman
o Chris Matthews
o Rachel Maddow
o Larry King
o John Stewart
o The Colbert Report
o Jay Leno
o Dave Letterman
o The View
o Good Morning America
o Today
o Democracy Now with Amy Goodman
o Free Speech
o CNN
o CSPAN
o Community Channels
Identify and get the word out to COMMUNITY ORGANIZER associations, legal aid societies, church groups, social service organizations, 211 dispatchers, social workers.
Create BUZZ.
Broadcast the movement, and reach EVERY major area in these United States through postings on CRAIGSLIST.
Contact MoveOn.org to organize a grassroots letter-writing, e-mailing or telephoning campaign to contact politicians, or policy makers about widespread fraud on part of securitization participants, especially recipients of TARP funding.
Get progressive organizations to champion this movement, such as:
o The Brennan Center for Justice (a nonpartisan institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Their work ranges from voting rights to redistricting reform to checking presidential power in the fight against terrorism).
o Human Rights Watch (one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, they give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Its rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse).
o Advancement Project (a policy, communications and legal action group committed to racial justice founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1998. They have pursued critical litigation to protect voters and also support grassroots movements for universal opportunity and just democracy in the areas of education and immigrants’ rights).
o The Center for Constitutional Rights (dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a nonprofit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change).
Invite journalists and investigative reporters and get write-ups in
o LAWYERS WEEKLY
o The Economist
o Newsweek
o TIME
o Rolling Stone
o Vanity Fair
o UTNE Reader
o Mother Jones, and the like.
Contact Attorneys General, Chief Justices in all 50 States, DC, and territories with verifiable accounts of BEST PRACTICES (e.g. precedents taken sua sponte) from other jurisdictions (e.g. Ohio, Florida, New York) demonstrating responses by public officials and judiciary to instances or patterns of consumer fraud, predatory lending, usury, fraud upon the courts, unjust enrichment, et al.
Let’s get the word out PRONTO, like kudzu, set down widespread roots, before these toxic assets get bought back by the very Mortgage Meltdown banks to whom we got punked into coughing up a $700 BILLION in hard-earned taxpayer dollars
carte blanchethat brought us the our taxpayer dollars we surrendered to the TARP, or before judges tip the scales back to the deep pocketed, lawyered up and corporate America.
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
http://www.chronique.com/Library/Knights/crispen.htm
St. Crispen’s Day Speech*
Shakespeare’s HENRY V
C. 1599
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although Shakespeare penned this work nearly two hundred years after the Battle of Agincourt (1415), it remains the finest dramatic interpretation of what leadership meant to the men in the Middle Ages.
Prior to the Battle, Henry V had led his English footmen across Northwestern France, seizing Calais and other cities in an attempt to win back holds in France that had once been in English possession and to claim the French crown through the obscure but powerful Salig Law.
The French, aware of Henry’s troops’ weakening condition because of their distance from England and the attacks of dystentery that had plagued the dwindling band, moved between King Henry and Calais, the port he needed to reach in order to return to England. The troops followed Henry’s band along the rivers, preventing their crossing and daring them to a battle they thought they could not win.
The English knights fought on foot after the manner devised by Edward III. Archers were to be used in support, the English and Welsh longbows having established their credentials both at Crecy (1347) and at Poiters (1356). But here the French seemed to have sufficient numbers to deal with even this threat, and they refused to allow Henry pass, angered by the English seizure of the cities.
Morale in the English line as they looked upon the overwhelming force of heavily armoured, highly skilled French knights must have been extremely low. King Henry, rising to the occasion, spoke words of encouragement that rallied the English troops and carried them to a victory. As a result of the victory the French Princess Catherine was betrothed to Henry V, and France and England were at peace for the remainder of Henry’s short life. He perished of dysentery in 1422, but was survived by his son (Henry VI) and was buried at Westminster Abbey, close to the shrine of Edward the Confessor.
Although the speech below is a work of fiction, it is evocative of the spirit with which Henry–and all strong medieval kings–ruled through the strength of their convictions and by force of their personality.
–Brian R. Price
–January 30, 1998
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
St. Crispen’s Day Speech
William Shakespeare, 1599
Enter the KING
WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!
KING. What’s he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark’d to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian.’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
Electronic Version January, 1998
The Chivalry Bookshelf
http://www.chronique.com
The Knighthood, Tournaments & Chivalry Resource Library
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Said of the Chinese ideogram: In crisis there is opportunity.
O, band of brothers, and sisters, we few, we happy few, if we are mark’d to die, we are enow.
All things are ready if our minds be so. By the mass, our hearts are in the trim. Let others think themselves accurs’d they were not here.
Let this be our Battle of Agincourt. Why should they mock poor fellows thus? Let them come no for more for ransom. They shall have none, I swear!
We are but warriors for the working day. We are equal to this royal battle.
LET’S ROLL!**
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crispin
** Let’s take inspiration from the people on board ill-fated United flight 93, ordinary people with extraordinary courage.
I am in the fight of my life for the roof over my family’s head, and my financial future. I use the guidance, inspiration, and endless amounts of information from this site that have taken me from victim to adversary. Neil, Mario Kenny, and Allan (as of late) have all inspired my spirit to fight. I am posting under the “MOVEMENT” page of this blog because I think we, as citizens and victims of the the fraud perpetrated upon the country, need to get mad. And we need some media exposure.
I tune in to the “news, talk, and more…” format on the AM dial and listen to the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Mark Belling (Milwaukee), Michael Savage, and a little Bob Brinker on the weekends, Cavuto and O’Reilly on FOX, EVERYBODY except maybe MSNBC and Larry King . And all of these talking heads (who I sometimes hold in esteem for their stances on assorted and varied issues) have one thing in common: they refuse to acknowledge the existence of fraud and predatory lending on the lender side of the equation. Not one of them, to the best of my knowledge, have taken the time to learn and understand the real issues of the mortgage meltdown: THE DESTRUCTION AND INDENTURE OF THE LOWER-MIDDLE-CLASS (A.K.A. SUBPRIME AMERICA) AND THE THEFT OF THE NATION’S (AND OTHER’S) ASSETS BY THE BANKS. Not one of these people have taken anyone to task over off-balance sheet, bankruptcy remote, securitized predatory lending.
The people on the radio and TV, for which I had a bit of reverence time and again for their insights into all things political (or financial) have continued to deliver THIS story with the phrases “over-extended buyers” who “bought too much house” or “simply couldn’t afford it and they knew it”. They close every conversation by blaming the borrowers more than the lenders.
I would like to suggest that we, as a group, make an effort to get our side of the story “above the fold”, that is, BE NOTICED AND BE HEARD!
What prompted this posting of mine was some lawyer/real estate show broadcast over the 50,000-watt blowtorch that is WLS-890AM this past Saturday morning. As the show-hosts hawked loan modification services for $4000 or so, there was not ONE utterance of “produce the note, quiet title, RICO and wire fraud”. It was all about “we caught the lender in a slew of RESPA/HUD violations so we got the term extended and interest rate reduced, and got the arrears tacked onto the back of the loan”. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! IF THEY CAUGHT THE LENDER IN A VIOLATION OF THE LAW, SHOULDN’T THEY BE GETTING THE MORTGAGE EXTINGUISHED AND CLEAR TITLE TO THE HOME? SHOULDN’T THEY BE INSTITUTING LITIGATION INSTEAD OF MODIFICATION?
We (as in you and me) need to start calling into these shows and forcing those talking heads to tackle the topic of unjust foreclosures, predatory lending, predatory servicing, produce the note, securities fraud, EVERYTHING we discuss here. Send repeated e-mails to the news channels, financial reporters, talk-show hosts, newspaper editors, and make OUR topic THEIR topic. Every time you hear someone say “irresponsible borrower” you should pull your car over and start dialing the number to get on the show. Call the program director and tell him your story. Get your local TV station to hear and then air your story as a “public interest” item. We all have one. LET’S MAKE SOME NOISE. WE HAVE BEEN TOO QUIET TOO LONG.!!
WE (that’s you and I, again) must make our own stories heard!
usedkarguy@yahoo.com
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Do not go gentle into that good night, a villanelle composed in 1952, is considered to be among the finest works by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953). Originally published in the journal Botteghe Oscure in 1951, it also appeared as part of the collection “In Country Sleep.” It is one of his most-quoted works. It was written for his dying father.
The poem has no title other than its first line, “Do not go gentle into that good night”, a line which appears as a refrain throughout the poem. The poem’s other famous refrain is “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”.
Contents
* 1 Poem
* 2 Analysis
* 3 In popular culture
* 4 References
* 5 External links
Poem
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Analysis
Thomas watched his father, formerly in the Army, grow weak and frail with old age. Thus, the speaker in his poem tries to convince his father to fight against imminent death. The speaker addresses his father using wise men, good men, wild men, or serious, somber men as examples to illustrate the same message: that no matter how they have lived their lives or what they feel at the end they should die fighting. It is one of Thomas’ most popular, most easily accessible poems, and implies that one should not die without fighting for one’s life, or after life. [1]
Another explication is that the speaker admits that death is unavoidable, but encourages all men to fight death. This is not for their own sake, but to give closure and hope to the kin that they will leave behind. To support this, he gives examples of wise men, good men, wild men, and grave men to his father, who was dying at the time this poem was written. There is little textual evidence for this interpretation, however, except the words “curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.” Also, it has been historically stated that Thomas never showed this poem to his father; if so, it would seem that Thomas composed it more for his own benefit than his father’s.
A third reading of the poem observes the possibility that the speaker’s listing of various reactions of men in their final hours is a self-addressed rationalization of his father’s scolding catharsis before passing on. The line “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray,” might then suggest a negative interaction between the two generations, and because historical evidence leads readers to believe that the poet never in fact showed this poem to his father, it would not be ridiculous to think that Thomas wrote the poem knowing that his father was not the designated audience at all. He cites all of human beings’ rage, regardless of disposition, against death, and perhaps attempts to write off this negative interaction as a natural byproduct of death’s impending arrival.
Another reading of this poem shows the author’s own fear of death. He seems to fear having little separation between life and death such as in John Donne’s poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, where:
“As virtuous men pass mildly away,
And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
“Now his breath goes,” and some say, “No.”[1]
It shows the author’s fear that there is very little that separates life from death. As such he feels the need for a strong indication of the difference between the two. It does not even matter whether he is being blessed or cursed, he wants to see a reaction (l. 17). The poem could be written as well in the hope that the speaker would be able to see his dying father. He gives the impression that since wise men, good men, wild men and grave men all regret leaving this world his father as well should not be wanting to leave this world without a fight. It seems to be a wild hope, that he will be able to see his father before he passes; that each will be able to say those last words to each other – whether curses or blessings.
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COMMENTARY: Also, from Wikipedia: “The term MORT GAGE comes from the Old French “dead pledge,” apparently meaning that the pledge ends (DIES) either when the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through FORECLOSURE.”
I’ve long been aware that the MORT of ‘mortgage’ means or comes from the root ‘DEATH.’ Many of us are fighting valiantly to prevent the DEATH of our American Dream through FORECLOSURE, a dying of the light against which we must RAGE.
Wasn’t our pledge – our GAGE – which we supported with our toil, sweat and sacrifice, after all, aggregated into a pool of assets that could be leveraged, sometimes egregiously, seventy to one, and ignited to produce explosive and insured profits totally disproportionate to what we put at risk? Did we MORTgagors participate or benefit from these excesses?
We should ‘not go gentle into that good night.’ We should accede neither to short sales nor to loan modifications that strip us of our rights.
Nor should we hand back the keys and walk away from a just fight, if our claim is superior or equity requires we stand our ground or firmly push back.
Remind those who took and parlayed our pledges- upon which we built our dreams – that to come with unclean hands and ask that justice be done, they too must do justice!
For countless millions, this presently is nothing short of a life and death struggle. Do not GO GENTLE! Rage, RAGE!
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
BRUTUS:
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224
Brutus and Cassius are discussing the final phase of their civil war with the forces of Octavian and Marcus Antonius. Cassius has been urging that they group their forces at Sardis and take advantage of the secure location to catch their breath. Brutus, however, advocates heading off the enemy at Philippi before Octavian can recruit more men. Brutus’s main point is that, since “the enemy increaseth every day” and “We, at the height, are ready to decline” (lines 216–217), he and Cassius must act now while the ratio of forces is most advantageous. “There’s a tide in the affairs of men,” he insists; that is, power is a force that ebbs and flows in time, and one must “go with the flow.” Waiting around only allows your power to pass its crest and begin to ebb; if the opportunity is “omitted” (missed), you’ll find yourself stranded in miserable shallows.
Themes: war, philosophy, time
Speakers: Brutus
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COMMENTARY: Our grassroots movement of advocacy and getting the word out on the Garfield Foreclosure Defense BOK is such a venture. On such a full sea are we now afloat. We must take the current when it serves. On to fortune!
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
Go for it!
Nation
Help Calls In L.A. On The Rise As Economy Tanks
by Ina Jaffe
Listen Now [3 min 57 sec] [CLICK ON HYPERLINK ABOVE]
Morning Edition, December 22, 2008 ·
Everyone knows you dial 911 in an emergency and 411 to get phone numbers. But in Los Angeles and many other counties across the nation, you can dial 211 for help with basic needs like food and shelter.
In the past few months the number of those calls has gone up dramatically, especially from families facing FORECLOSURE or eviction, says Yolanda Villasenor. She’s a community resources adviser who takes calls at Los Angeles’ 211, where she has been listening to the voices of L.A.’s poor for 14 years.
“I recently received a call from a woman, a single mother,” says Villasenor. “Her hours were cut so now she’s only working part time, and she’s in danger of FORECLOSING. And she’s contacted her bank and her bank wouldn’t help her.”
But Villasenor did. She put her in touch with a nonprofit organization that gives free counseling to people with mortgage problems. It’s one of 28,000 public and private service providers in the 211 database. But for the newly desperate, says Villasenor, dealing with social service agencies takes some getting used to.
“They’ve always been in control of their lives,” she says, “and [when] you don’t have control, there’s a panic. ”
Each county’s 211 operation is a little different. Some rely almost entirely on donations; some are staffed by volunteers. In Los Angeles, the 211 system is run by the county with additional funding from the state tobacco tax and the United Way.
Before any of the employees start answering the phones, they undergo up to two months of training — all the better to help them handle the increased workload, says Maribel Marin, the executive director of Los Angeles County’s 211 service.
“We have routinely gotten over 400,000 calls a year,” Marin says. “This year we’re very likely to break 500,000.”
Sometimes that means that you have to tell the person on the other end of the phone that you just can’t help him, says Brian Anaya, “because either places are out of food, or the shelter can’t accommodate a women … with five children.”
Anaya says turning someone down is the toughest part of his job, and as he and his colleagues scramble to keep up with the needs of the suddenly poor, there are still the calls from those who have been struggling for years.
“I spoke to somebody who’d been out in the street for 20 years,” Anaya says. So he probed, asked the man questions, tried to assess his needs. The story he heard was “heartbreaking,” says Anaya. It “was about love. He met a woman, fell in love with her, she broke his heart and he felt like he wasn’t good enough for anybody. So his call was him reaching out for the first time … in 20 years.”
And so it goes, 50, 100 even 200 times a day. Every conversation includes some version of these questions: “May I ask you, is this the first time you’re calling our 211 line? And how did you get our number?”
Even though 211 is something that most people have never heard of, Marin isn’t particularly keen on spreading the word just now.
“It would require a doubling of our capacity, so going from 500,000 calls to a million calls — we need to work up to that,” she says.
She says that maybe in a more few years, they’ll be close to meeting the need.
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http://www.infoline-la.org/Content.asp?Content=DatabaseSearch
Search Database
Please click on the link below to search for services contained in 211 LA County’s comprehensive database of health and human service resources.
http://www.healthycity.org
The Healthy City Collaborative has funded the development of this site containing a GIS (Geographic Information System) asset map and detailed service listings derived from 211 LA County’s database.
Getting onto the 211 database
If you would like to be added to our database of human services please see our inclusion criteria you can contact our Resource Department at (626) 350-1841 ext. 2117 or via e-mail ccastaneda@211LA.org.
If you have any questions about specific service information provided on the site, please e-mail 211 LA County at webmaster@211LA.org.
What’s New?
The Resource Newsletter contains information on latest changes to our database:
March 2008
July/August 2007
April 2007
January 2007
December 2006
October 2006
May 2006
© Copyright 2008 211 LA County
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COMMENTARY: Imagine every 211 database call-in center trainee or volunteer being up to speed on the Garfield Foreclosure Defense BOK (Body of Knowledge) when desperate calls come in with heart-breaking questions on foreclosure defense!
Let’s get the word out about Garfield’s comprehensive resource by getting onto every 211 database nationwide!
Let the Garfield Foreclosure Defense BOK compete with or further edify the non-profits to which referals are made giving foreclosure defense advice to 211 callers.
Ready to email ccastaneda@211LA.org?
McDonald’s move over. Garfield – 2 BILLION SERVED!
RSVP
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
Excellent! Yes I will publish them and if we get enough of them we’ll publish a book of those quotations and either give your name or keep your anonymity
By Ortega y Gassett from his The Revolt of The Masses
“The man with the clear head is the man who frees himself from those fantastic “ideas” and looks life in the face, realizes that everything in it is problematic, and feels himself lost. As this is the simple truth- that to live is to feel oneself lost- he who accepts it has already begun to find himself, to be on firm ground. Instinctively, as do the shipwrecked, he will look round for something to which to cling, and that tragic, ruthless glance, absolutely sincere, because it is a question of his salvation, will cause him to bring order into the chaos of his life. These are the only genuine ideas; the ideas of the shipwrecked. All the rest is rhetoric, posturing, farce. ”
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COMMENTARY: Foreclosure is a fate not unlike being shipwrecked. In the slough of despond, when most we feel alone and lost, in our desperation to save ourselves, we sometimes have an epiphany, or reach for something to which to cling. For me it is often the valuable knowledge contained in these pages, for they inform me, restore my power, and give me the sure footing and firm ground on which to find myself.
These are moments of great focus and clarity, when we are most real, ready to bring order to the chaos in our lives.
When I consider speaking truth to power, I’m often guided by David’s wisdom in Psalm 23:1-6: ” The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Got a favorite quotation with which to spur on this, our revolt, our collectively speaking truth to power, in the presence of our enemies?
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
by William Hutchinson Murray (1913-1996), from his 1951 book entitled The Scottish Himalayan Expedition.
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Got a quotation with which to rally the troops?
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
“It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make a great fortune, and when you have it, it requires ten times as much skill to keep it.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Let’s share here what skills we need to FIGHT to keep what fortunes we have. Let our fight be equal or superior to the fight of those arrayed against us!
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
The Washington Post had a great article today you guys may want to look it up, The Alchemy of Finance, What went wrong?
HI—check out this call to action on YOUTUBE–search on March4Homes.
A lady in California is organizing a march on Washington DC for those facing foreclosure and those who have gone through foreclosure.
Feb. 17, 2009 is date and the lady is looking for volunteers to help with organize the march.
Just call up Youtube and search on March4Homes.
THOSE SILLY MODS WILL GIVE WORK TO LAWYERS FOR A VERY LONG TIME
Monday, May 5, 2008
Florida Foreclosure Rescue Conveyances With Buyback Right To Be Treated As Equitable Mortgages Unless Established Otherwise
The Florida legislature recently passed a statute regulating foreclosure rescue transactions. One key provision is contained in Florida Statute Sec. 501.1377(6) which creates a rebuttable presumption that any foreclosure rescue transaction involving a lease option or other repurchase agreement is an equitable mortgage. Below is the provision in its entirety (begins at line 345 of the bill):
(6) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.–Any foreclosure-rescue transaction involving a lease option or other repurchase agreement creates a rebuttable presumption, solely between the equity purchaser and the homeowner, that the transaction is a loan transaction and the conveyance from the homeowner to the equity purchaser is a mortgage under s. 697.01. Unless the lease option or other repurchase agreement, or a memorandum of the lease option or other repurchase agreement, is recorded in accordance with s. 695.01, the presumption created under this subsection shall not apply against creditors or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration and without notice.
[Editor's Note: The reference to "creditors or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration and without notice" is a reference to bona fide purchasers / encumbrancers.]
The following comments relate to how this rebuttable presumption could affect the following legal issues involved in foreclosure rescue conveyances: usury, bonafide purchaser, and tenant evictions.
Usury
Because the new statute creates the rebuttable presumption that the foreclosure rescue conveyance is a loan, it appears that usury claims by the financially distressed homeowner will be much easier to bring in a lawsuit against a foreclosure rescue operator since the statute clearly places the burden of demonstrating that the so-called “rescue” arrangement was a “true sale” (as opposed to a “financing/refinancing arrangement”) on the foreclosure rescue operator. Put simply, the law treats the deal as a secured loan to the financially strapped homeowner unless established otherwise. Accordingly, the operator is simply treated like any mortgage lender and the financially strapped homeowner is still presumed to be the true owner of the the home, notwithstanding any deed and leaseback agreement executed by the parties to the contrary.
Florida arguably has among the toughest usury statutes in the country. Florida’s civil usury statute (where interest exceeds 18% per year) generally requires a forfeiture of the right to collect interest on the loan and requires the creditior to pay a penalty of double the amount of interest actualy reserved or collected (Fla. Statute Section 687.04).
Its criminal usury statutes (where interest exceeds 25% per annum) generally makes the entire amount of money advanced by the operator an unenforceable loan, and triggers those penalties commonly associated with misdemeanor (over 25% but not more than 45%) and felony (over 45%) crimes (Fla. Stat. Section 687.071).
Based on the Florida case law on equitable mortgages, the foreclosure rescue operator in Florida may be hard-pressed to sucessfully rebut the statute’s presumption.(1)
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(1) See Hull v. Burr, 58 Fla. 432; 50 So. 754 (Fla. 1909) – “In case of doubt the transaction will be held a mortgage”; Connor v. Connor, 59 Fla. 467; 52 So. 727 (Fla. 1910) – “A deed absolute on its face may by parol evidence be shown to be a mortgage, and in cases of doubt the instrument should be held to be a mortgage”, citing DeBartlett v. DeWilson, 52 Fla. 497, 42 So. 189; Hull v. Burr, 58 Fla. 432, 50 So. 754; Franklin v. Ayer, 22 Fla. 654; McLendon v. Davis, 131 So. 2d 765; (Fla. App. Ct., 3rd Dist. 1961) – “In applying the rule in doubtful cases, the law will resolve the doubt as to the intent of the parties in the light of the advantage the creditor always has over the debtor whose property he holds, and will give the debtor the benefit of the doubt and hold his equity of redemption to be still existing. Certainly complete justice is done because the creditor’s advances are secured by the debtor’s property and the debtor has the opportunity of full redemption by payment.” (my emphasis added).
Because these cases instruct the courts to treat the transaction as a mortgage “in the case of doubt”, it is arguable that the standard of proof necessary to overcome the equitable mortgage presumption in the new statute is higher than a mere “preponderance of the evidence”, possibly requiring “proof by clear and convincing evidence.”
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Bonafide Purchaser
.
The new statute clearly states that the rebuttable presumption is created “solely between the equity purchaser and the homeowner” (at lines 347-348). In addition, the statute goes on to provide that the presumption is not applicable against those who do not have notice of the “rescue” arrangement (“the presumption created under this subsection shall not apply against creditors or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration and without notice” – at lines 353 to 355) – the so-called bonafide purchasers / encumbrancers.
The statute, however, seems to be silent as to how it applies to those (other than the equity purchaser and the homeowner) acquiring an interest in the property who have notice of the “rescue” arrangement, and who consequently would not be entitled to bonafide purchaser / encumbrancer status. Why is this important?
.
Actual Possession as “Notice To The World”
In a typical foreclosure rescue conveyance (one involving a sale with a concurrent leaseback, coupled with a right to reaquire the home in the future), the financially strapped homeowner never relinquishes actual possession of the property. Florida law (and the law of many other states as well) is that actual possession of the property serves as notice to subsequent purchasers and encumbrancers of all rights and equities that the occupant in possession may have.
The Florida Supreme Court, in the case of Marion Mortgage Co. v. Grennan, 106 Fla. 913, 143 So. 761 (cited in Florida Land Holding Corp. v. McMillen, 135 Fla. 431, 186 So. 188 (Fla. 1938)), stated the following with respect to possession and notice:
Actual possession is constructive notice to all the world or anyone having knowledge of said possession, of whatever rights the occupants have in the land. Such possession when open, visible and exclusive, will put upon inquiry those acquiring any title to or a lien upon the land so occupied to ascertain the nature of the rights the occupants really have in the premises. Carolina Portland Cement Company v. Roper, 68 Fla. 299, 67 So. 115; Tate v. Pensacola G.L. & Dev. Company, 37 Fla. 439, 20 So. 543; McAdams v. Wachab, 45, Fla. 482, 33 So. 702. This court also specifically held in the case of Crozier, et al., v. Ange, 85 Fla. 120, 95 So. 426, that ‘where at the time property is mortgaged it is actually occupied by others than the mortgagor, the mortgagee is thereby put upon notice to inquire as to the rights of the occupants.’ 19 R.C.L. 421, Sections 201 and 202.
The Florida high court reiterated its position in Blackburn v. Venice Inlet Co., 38 So.2d 43, 46 (Fla. 1948) (cited in Waldorff Ins. v. Eglin Nat. Bank, 453 So.2d 1383 (Fla.App. 1 Dist. 1984)), where it stated:
It is settled law in Florida that actual possession is constructive notice to all the world, or anyone having knowledge of said possession of whatever right the occupants have in the land. Such possession, when open, visible and exclusive, will put upon inquiry those acquiring any title to or a lien upon the land so occupied to ascertain the nature of the rights the occupants really have in the premises.
It appears that the new statute may contain an ambiguity with respect to its apparent silence as to whether it applies to “non-bonafide” purchasers and encumbrancers. Assuming the Florida courts, by applying the appropriate rules of statutory construction, rule that the new statute does, in fact, apply to those “non-bonafide” purchasers / encumbrancers (upon whom notice of the “rescue” arrangement is imputed), and given that actual possession by the occupying homeowners imputes said notice on them, one can reasonably conclude that the rights of those acquiring an ownership or security interest in the home during or subsequent to the foreclosure rescue conveyance (ie. the foreclosure rescue operator, straw buyer, mortgage lender providing financing, etc.) will be inferior to the rights of the occupying homeowner under the statutorily “presumed” equitable mortgage (provided that the subsequent purchasers / encumbrancers fail to make proper dilgent inquiries as to the rights and equities of said occupying homeowner as required by Florida case law).
If this is the case, the inferior interests of those “non-bonafide” purchasers / encumbrancers would arguably be subject to being voided by the homeowner. (As an aside, it might be a good idea for any homeowner entering into a foreclosure rescue conveyance to record with the county office that handles the recording of deeds and mortgages, at a minimum, an affidavit / memorandum that places the world on notice of the foreclosure rescue conveyance, and the existence of any (purported) lease, occupancy agreement, and/or right or option to reacquire the home in the future.)
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Tenant Evictions In Foreclosure Rescue Conveyances
.
Given that the new statute creates a rebuttable presumption that the foreclosure rescue conveyance involving a “lease option or other repurchase agreement” is an equitable mortgage, it appears that foreclosure rescue operators will be unable to evict a homeowner who fails to comply with his/her obligations under the “rescue” arrangement (ie. the leaseback or other occupancy agreement) unless and until it can overcome the statute’s presumption by demonstrating that the arrangement was not an equitable mortgage, but rather, a true sale. After all, the presumption that the arrangement is an equitable mortgage means that the homeowner, even after making the foreclosure rescue conveyance, is still the true owner, and the foreclosure rescue operator is only a secured lender and not a landlord, notwithstanding that it may technically be holding the paperwork showing it has legal title to the home.
In addition, it also appears that those seeking to evict homeowners involved in a foreclosure rescue conveyance will no longer be able to accomplish such evictions through a summary proceeding under Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes since the Florida County Courts hearing these proceedings are of limited jurisdiction(2) and, accordingly, don’t have the jurisdiction to determine whether the foreclosure rescue operator can overcome the presumption that the “rescue’ arrangement was an equitable mortgage.
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(2) see Hewitt v. State, 101 Fla. 807; 135 So. 130; (Fla. 1931) – County Judge to dismiss the cause for want of jurisdiction when, in proceedings in the County Judge’s court to recover the possession of land as from a tenant, the title or boundaries of the land in controversy are at issue.
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To get possession in these cases, it appears that the foreclosure rescue operator may first have to seek a declaratory judgment from a Florida Circuit Court declaring that:
the “rescue” arrangement was a “true sale” and not an equitable mortgage (thereby overcoming the statute’s newly created rebuttable presumption), and
the operator is, in fact, the true owner of the home and the (now-former) homeowner is only a tenant.
Failing that, the foreclosure rescue operator, as a lender (equitable mortgagee) may find itself having to proceed ousting the homeowner via a foreclosure action (just like any other mortgage lender).
Community leaders in Pacoima and other northeast San Fernando Valley areas have organized more than 500 Latino immigrant families to negotiate with banks as a group rather than individually.
By Jessica Garrison L. A. Times
December 8, 2008
Shortly after Father John Lasseigne took over last summer as head of Mary Immaculate Church of Pacoima, a man and woman and their well-dressed children came to him after Mass and asked the priest to pray for them because they were about to lose their home.
The startling request was Lasseigne’s introduction to the epidemic of foreclosures afflicting his flock in the northeast San Fernando Valley, a working-class, heavily immigrant area where more than 8,000 homes are either in default or have been foreclosed upon.
Jose HernandezCurrent with payments? You can still lose your house
Over the last three months, Lasseigne and other community leaders have come up with an unusual response: They have organized more than 500 Latino immigrant families who are behind on their payments into teams that will seek to negotiate with banks as a group.
They also intend to compile detailed records of how and whether lending institutions agree to modify loans — information they say could be given to government officials in an attempt to give distressed homeowners more favorable terms.
“If we don’t make progress with the banks, we certainly expect to make progress with our elected officials,” said Lasseigne, whose congregation is a member of the community-organizing group One-LA, a local affiliate of the left-leaning Industrial Areas Foundation.
The effort represents an unusual attempt at collective negotiation between a community and banks, as well as information-sharing among homeowners, housing experts say, and leaders in the northeast San Fernando Valley say they hope it can be a model for other places.
It comes as policymakers grapple with the news, announced Friday, that 1 in 10 U.S. homeowners with a mortgage were either one month behind on a payment or in foreclosure at the end of September.
But the effort has also prompted skepticism from some who say it is unrealistic to expect banks to bail out homeowners who got in way over their heads — especially as a group.
“The loans were not made en masse,” said Tom Kelly, spokesman for Chase Bank. “The issue of mortgages is a home-by-home, mortgage-by-mortgage issue.”
Modifying may be particularly tricky in an area such as the northeast San Fernando Valley, where home values have fallen hundreds of thousands of dollars from their level of a few years ago. That’s because many borrowers have low-paying jobs and poor credit — and may not be able to afford even a modified loan at a fixed rate under strict lending standards.
Many in Pacoima and surrounding communities say they have to do something — and trying to negotiate on their own with banks does not seem to be saving their homes.
The effort had its first big event Sunday, when about 60 homeowners met at a law office in Pacoima with representatives of Chase Bank, which now also handles loans serviced by Washington Mutual.
“Individually, they won’t listen to us. If we come together as a community, maybe we have a chance,” said Jose Hernandez, a 28-year-old special education teacher at Arleta High School who is hoping to save his parents’ home, where he lives with his mother and father, two sisters and three nieces, all of them pooling their resources to scrape together the mortgage payment on a three-bedroom house.
Community leaders say the story of the Hernandez family is sadly typical of what happened to many in the northeast San Fernando Valley.
Hernandez’s parents, immigrants from El Salvador, bought their house for $488,000 in 2005. Although they both had low-paying jobs at a local dry cleaner, they were approved for a loan. And they were able to put $100,000 down, mostly from the proceeds of a small town house they had sold.
“This was something my mom wanted so bad,” Hernandez said, gesturing around the living room. Pride of ownership was evident in myriad little touches, including carefully tended roses in a bed of white gravel out front, a fruit bowl on the shiny dining room table, and an oil painting of a mountainous Latin American village on the living room wall.
At first, Hernandez said, the purchase seemed like a dream. His mother was thrilled to be able to throw birthday parties for her granddaughters in the backyard — and with everyone in the house contributing toward the mortgage, “it felt good. We were all helping each other.”
Then things started to fall apart.
Hernandez said his mother had wanted a fixed rate but was instead steered toward a negative amortizing loan, in which the family was allowed to make less than a standard principal and interest payment each month, and so the total principal slowly increased. Today they owe more than $500,000.
At the same time, the value of their house has plummeted and might now be worth less than $300,000.
Looking back, Hernandez said he can’t believe he was foolish enough to let his mother get into a loan under such terms, but a broker he trusted assured him he would be able to refinance.
Recently, the terms of the loan changed so that the family must now start paying back their principal, meaning their monthly payment has shot up to $4,000 from $2,300.
Jose HernandezCurrent with payments? You can still lose your house
On a recent afternoon, Hernandez held the bill stub in one hand and clutched his forehead with the other.
“This is our home. We don’t want to lose it, but at the same time, there is no way we can do a $4,000 payment,” he said.
Hernandez did not know where to turn and said he had given $300 to a so-called foreclosure vulture who promised to save his home and then stopped returning his phone calls.
Then he heard an announcement at church.
So many people at Mary Immaculate and other local Roman Catholic churches are facing foreclosure that the church began making announcements about it at Mass and set up a table outside services where people could get information. Lasseigne, the priest, had teamed with other leaders from One-LA to try to organize a response.
Over the last few weeks, parishioners have confided a stream of stories to one another — in some cases marking the first time they admitted to anyone the trouble they are in.
Not everyone is in the same situation. Some people appear to have been pushed by unscrupulous brokers into loans that seemed almost designed to fail. Others were so desperate to own homes that they got in over their heads, paying more for houses than they could afford. Still others have lost jobs or suffered illness, making it difficult for them to make their payments.
Government officials and policy experts are watching the effort — especially because financial leaders lately have been saying the private sector has not done enough to prevent foreclosures.
“Foreclosures are a disaster not only for homeowners and lenders but for the communities in which they occur,” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) in a written response to questions from The Times.
“The current loan modification process is very cumbersome and confusing to borrowers, and, far too often, lenders and mortgage servicers are uncooperative. . . . I am very interested in seeing the information that these community groups plan to collect.”
City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the area, said the effort may be a long shot — but it is one he applauds.
Many of his constituents, he said, are financially unsophisticated and may not speak English well.
Some were victims of predatory lending. Others do not understand the foreclosure process well and don’t know what their rights are. Many feel trapped.
Meanwhile, he said, his district is growing more blighted. Some vacant homes have become magnets for rave parties. Other houses have turned into parched wastelands as water bills go unpaid and upkeep undone.
“The need is crying out,” Alarcon said.
Garrison is a Times staff writer.
jessica.garrison@latimes.com
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Will one of you CA lawyers step in and let Father Lasseigne, One-LA, Jose Jernandez and other Pacoima foreclosure fighters know about Neil’s fabulous blog and what foreclosure defenses are available to these desperate people?
RSVP
Allan
BeMoved@AOL.com
The catalyst was the neo-Con corruption of government and the war profiteering of Iraq.
we have become a nation without laws and illegal immigraton was the catalyst stop paying your credit cards and mortgage now !let every citizen have the right to be a bank! we will service our own debt to ourselves
Maybe americans should organize a march on Washington DC. The old saying ‘Hel_ NO WE WON’T GO!’ can be used again when we march to keep our homes.