The 1% Gone Wild!!!

No, there's no topless drunk chicks in this post.  That would be clean compared to the shit that the 1% has pulled off in these three stories.  Here we go!

Number THREE story...

Mortgage lender GMAC pulls a shit move on the people of Massachusetts (why can I never spell this state correctly on my first try?  sigh):

GMAC Mortgage, the mortgage lender of Ally Financial Inc., is exiting the vast majority of its lending in Massachusetts a day after the state sued it and other lenders over its allegedly improper foreclosure practices, a decision the state's attorney general called an admission. 

The nation's fifth-largest mortgage originator said it "has taken this action because recent developments have led mortgage lending in Massachusetts to no longer be viable."

So it must be something pretty bad to make Massachusetts "no longer viable" as a market to help people get homes.  It's got to be something really, really bad to destroy the mortgage market for GMAC to the point where there's just ZERO business for them anymore.

Actually, what happened was the state Attorney General filed a lawsuit against GMAC for illegal mortgage practices.  You know, the same practices that led to thousands of foreclosures and contributed to the crash of the economy.  So the state tries to hold this company accountable (which the taxpayers have a 74% stake in thanks to the bailout) for their crimes, and instead they retaliate.  Its very mafia of them... "You try and hold us responsible, and we'll blow up your house."

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Number TWO  story...

In case you were wondering whether or not Republicans are just stooges of the 1%, here's what they do when they have power in the house:

The House on Thursday approved a bill ending the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) that was set up to ensure states meet certain standards at the voting booth, and ending the public financing of presidential campaigns. The bill passed in a mostly partisan 235-190 vote...

"There is no doubt that a voter suppression effort is underway in this nation," Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) charged on the House floor. "Abolishing the Election Assistance Commission, an agency charged with ensuring that the vote of each American counts, is just another step in the voter suppression effort and would completely remove oversight of the most important process in our democracy."

 
Republicans have said ending the EAC would save $33 million over the next five years. The GOP says the EAC has already served its purpose, and that any work it still does offering guidance to states can be transferred to the Federal Election Commission.

 Really?  REALLY?!?  WTF?  Suddenly you're concerned about $33 million over FIVE YEARS?  *ugh*  Makes me so stabby*.  What's more important to a democracy?  Saving chump change, or oversight of the voting process?  

The only reason the Republicans want to end oversight of the voting process is so they continue with their voting suppression efforts without any obstacle.  And while they do this, they scream about voter fraud, ACORN, etc.  All that is really just code for them to suppress the votes of minorities, the poor, women, and youth.  Don't want power to be taken away from the stooges of the 1% now.

Maybe they want to get rid of this commission because they're afraid their CRIMINAL actions might be found out.  Just saying...

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And the Number ONE story...

In a move of dickishness that may rival the levels of Newt Gingrich, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the following:

In a speech at MIT last night to discuss the packed sweepstakes to build a tech campus in New York City, Mayor Bloomberg said he prefers City Hall to the White House. Almost immediately after Mayor Bloomberg dampened recent speculation he’s eyeing a White House bid, he added fuel to the fire by explaining why a mayor would be the best person for the job.

“I have my own army in the NYPD, which is the seventh biggest army in the world. I have my own State Department, much to Foggy Bottom’s annoyance. We have the United Nations in New York, and so we have an entree into the diplomatic world that Washington does not have,” Mayor Bloomberg said.

 "Whatchu talkin 'bout Bloomy?!?"

Uh, so let's get one thing straight Mr. Bloomberg.  The New York Police Department is NOT and will never be your own personal army.  The Police Department won't ever be an army.  I don't know what its like to live in your reality or your world, but I'm pretty sure I know what the police is all about.

The police, for example, are separate from the military.  The police are paid for by our tax dollars.  The police are there to protect our neighborhoods and communities.  The police are there to enforce the law and protect the citizens that pay for them from abuse.  The power of the police is limited, including in matters of arrest, search and seizure, and use of force.

What they are NOT is your own personal army.

For a view into Mr. Bloomberg's world where he has his own army, let's consider an interesting fact.  Bloomberg is the 12-richest person in the United States with a worth of $19.5 billion.  What can you do with that much money?  Own 88% of your own media company.  What else can you do with that much money?  Oh I don't know, maybe buy your own army...  *sigh*

But all this makes me wonder, does $19.5 billion put the mayor of NYC in the 1% that the Occupy movement is protesting against?  Tough question...

PEACE

*((the "stabby" reference was from a wonderful podcast I listen to called the LiberalOasis.  Please check out their blog and weekly podcast, both very good))