Category: Class War

Police state

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

Sounds like every cop in Wisconsin’s at the Capitol today. From Uppity Wisconsin:

An anonymous State Patrol officer cited Wisconsin State Statute 110.07(2m) which says in part that, “No state traffic officer shall be used in or take part in any dispute or controversy between employer or employee concerning wages, hours, labor or working conditions… .”

Aware of this, many of the state troopers who were ordered to mobilize this week in response to protests at the Capitol reportedly voiced strenuous objections to their managers. They were ordered to deploy regardless, without any rationale being offered for why the statute might not be applicable in this instance.

But what are a few violations of state law here and there when you’re a besieged governor trying to undo the peoples’ work?

More Wisconsin

~ susie

Because damn it, this makes me hopeful that we’re not going to hand our country over to these bastards!

This union-busting strategy was planned by the Republican Governors Association, of which the corporate media seems oddly unaware:

MADISON, Wis. — Thousands of public employees and supporters converged at a hearing at the capitol here that ran into the wee hours of Wednesday morning to voice their objection to a proposal to cut their benefits and remove most of their unions’ ability to bargain.
Related

Wisconsin May Take an Ax to State Workers’ Benefits and Their Unions (February 12, 2011)
The show of anger was powerful. Madison schools were closed on Wednesday after scores of teachers called in sick and appeared headed to lobby exhausted-looking lawmakers, who had heard more than 17 hours of comments in a public hearing that began on Tuesday morning. More buses of public workers from other parts of the state were still pulling up near dawn on Wednesday.

The target of their fury was a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican elected in November, to press through a “repair bill” that would help solve the state’s $137 million budget shortfall by requiring government workers to contribute significantly more to their pensions and health care, while limiting collective bargaining for most state and local government employees to the issue of wages, excluding an array of issues like health coverage and vacations.

Be still, my heart

~ susie

The attorney on this case is my friend Alex’s father, a lifelong public interest lawyer who’s really, really good. Philly represent! (h/t Ron.)

Patrick Rodgers, an independent music promoter in Philadelphia, has won a judgment against his mortgage lender, Wells Fargo, which Wells hasn’t paid, and so he’s foreclosed on them and arranged for a sheriff’s sale of the contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, 1341 N. Delaware Ave to pay the legal bill.

Rodgers made all his mortgage payments on time, but Wells decided out of the blue that he had to carry insurance for the full replacement value of his home — $1 million — and started to charge him an extra $500 a month in premiums. When Rodgers sent a formal letter to the lender questioning this, they did not answer in good time, so a court awarded him $1,000 in damages, which Wells wouldn’t pay. So the court is allowing him to sell the contents of the lender’s office to make good on the bill.

Hoo-ah!

“It’s a completely unreasonable demand,” says Irv Ackelsberg, a mortgage expert at the Philadelphia law firm Langer, Grogan & Diver. “Their interest is in protecting their mortgage, not ensuring that the house is rebuilt.”

Rodgers’ next step put him at some risk, he concedes now. He refused to renew the higher-cost policy. Instead, Wells Fargo bought him so-called forced-placement insurance – a policy that typically costs much more than ordinary coverage and only protects the mortgage-holder’s interests.

But he fought back with his suit under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Last month, Wells Fargo sent him more than $1,000, and Menke says it intended to fully satisfy the judgment. “We had considered this matter closed,” he says.

What about Rodgers’ four-page letter demanding answers about how much Wells is trying to charge him – charges that have added $500 a month to his statement?

Menke says Wells Fargo sent a written response “within the last month.” As of Monday, Rodgers hadn’t seen it.

Vanishing act

~ susie

Imagine that! You mean they lied?

A new study backed by pro-business groups takes a harsh stance on rules intended to bring transparency to the $600 trillion derivatives market. The report, published on Monday, claims that proposed regulation could cost 130,000 jobs and could cut corporate spending by $6.7 billion.

The findings are clearly meant to scare politicians and drum up public support — just as financial regulators are set to testify on the issue before a Congressional committee on Tuesday. And at first blush, the study would seem to be good ammunition for the Chamber of Commerce and its other supporters.
Continue reading “Vanishing act” →