Frank Louis
It is all so complex: or is it
By Frank Louis
When I first read the recent stories about the "Philadelphia Housing Authority Director in Foreclosure," I was going to use words like "It doesn't Get any Nuttier than this" in the headline for this story but then I discovered that the Mayor of Philadelphia's name is "Nutter." I just couldn't do it in good conscience. I mean "Nutter" and "Nuttier?" Really, who can make this up?
But, before I get to this story, let me first say that the more I write about thestate of our nation and our growing lack of a moral compass, the sicker it makes me. Really, I usually discussthe housing crisis and I will today throughout this piece. After all, it is all interrelated: the crooks who sold the nation a bill of goods with housing and the less than morally guided individuals running our banks, cities, states and beyond. Those who perpetrated the crime against hard working men and women who saved for years to perhaps invest in some real estate for their familiesonly to have it all undermined in front of their eyes as they learned about the multitudes of "straw buyers," crooked real estate and mortgage "professionals," and sub-prime loans that usurped the values of our homes. Robbed!
The lenders continue to tell Americansthey have a legal and binding obligation to pay these notes. Although the game was fixed and the valueswere grossly overstated by those very same lenderswho hold us liable. We have a "moral obligation" they tell us. Which makes me wonder just how these folks think they would recognize a "moral anything" if they fell over it. Due to the games these bankers were playing under the disguise of making the "American Dream" accessible to "everyone," millions of Americans have lost all and no one is asking any questions about how this should resolved or what happened to thealleged "fiduciary" responsibility these "professionals" had to us, their clients, in these transactions. No, only Frank Louis asks about this.
This week we learn that housing has taken yet anothermajor turn for the worse. However, at the same time, I saw an article whose headline read something like real estate sales being up 11% in June 2010 from June 2009 but further on it also reports that the prices were down 20% in the same time period" (PRNewswire, August 24).Where is the good news in that? Foreclosures on the increase and not a "short Keep" in sight (The Short Keep, the Frank Louis solution to the housing crisis. Read some past articles to learn what it is). So, property values will continue downward and they tell us we have a moral obligation to respect these contracts created under fraud? Yes, the housing crisis was not a result of Americans Overbuying, it was a result of underhanded unscrupulous dealings and we have been left holding the bag.
But back to my lead line: "Philadelphia Housing Authority Director in Foreclosure." Can you believe it? This guy, Carl Greene is his name, whose job it is to oversee a$350 million taxpayer budget for the city's public housing, (and makes about $350,000 a year doing it) is in foreclosure. And, in addition, he is facing a sexual misconduct charge, on top of being behind on his mortgage payments. This according to the online version of Business Week and other news sources this week.I have to admit that this is what I have grown to expect as typical for ourcurrent and recent government officials. A bit reminiscent of Tim Geithner's tax issues prior to taking over the treasury wouldn't you say or Chris Dodd's "FOA" (Friend of Angelo) loans with Countrywide? You just can't even begin to make this stuff up. You can't.
Oh yeah, Mr. Greene also has an IRS debt of about $50,000. Now, he says it is all paid up, and his mortgage also; we will wait and see. Who can make this stuff up? I mean, who could have made up the idea that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd would draft the nation's 2400 page financial regulations (excepting Fannie and Freddie of course)? Nobody! Like I said earlier, its Nutter than Nuttier!
But Mr. Greene, in the midst of his foreclosure, IRS problems, and sexual misconduct charge, is also being accused of having some sort of a fund scheme in whichhis employees have to pay into (according to the Philadelphia Inquirer). For this he may also be charged for "improperly soliciting payments from employees." Yup, he is what I am beginning to see as a "typical public servant," a sort of "Acorn-like" quality, wouldn't you agree, "looking out for us" with no moral compass to be found. Yup, these are the individuals that we are turning health care, the financial reform, our communities and moral futures of our children and nation over to. Wow, we vote for these people or the people who appoint them?
Think about it. For a country that was founded on Biblical Principles by men who prayed for Scriptural guidance daily in drafting the founding documents of this nation, perhaps we are missing the mark. I am not sure exactly which Biblical principles this fellow is following here. Maybe he can tell me.
The mentor for many of those running our government today, I have been hearing is Saul Alinsky. In his 1971 book Rules for Radicalshe writes the following:
My point? This nation was founded on the belief that individuals are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (That might be construed to infer home ownership) Guys like this Greene fellow and others like those who got this housing crisis in gear, make it hard for us to live in the environment the Declaration of Independence described, visualized, and created. They in fact destroy that environment. When the moral compass is gone, nobody can live in the pursuit of life, liberty, or happiness. It will all be stolen and/or taken away from you. No moral code, bad decision-making. A "you need to live in a watch your back society."Sorry.
This is what caused the housing crisis, is it not? No moral code. It surely wasn't people who worked hard their entire lives, put 20% or more on their long earned and saved money into their investments as down payments. No, I do not think it was they. But they are the ones who are paying now. And big.
Now we read that President Obama is making another $3 Billion available in housing aid while we also read that the mortgage modification programs so far have been total disasters. Of course we all know why. They target the wrong people and give the money to the banks... our money. Find me one modification program that targets the people who paid traditional down payments in an era that everyone else was getting the "American Dream" with no money down; turning the dream into a nightmare. There are none. And so, modifications fail, well of course they will, the same people who created the problem are the ones the government seems to want to bail out. And they want to do it with realtors and mortgage brokers, without whom this crisis would have never been made possible. You figure this out. Working Americans who invested their life savings in real estate investments at false, inflated, values because of this no money down, no-doc PonziScheme "need not apply." They should just keep paying.
The Bible uses the term "reprobate minds." It states in Romans 1:28 people with reprobate minds have been "given over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." You can surely understand then just why and how all of this upside down thinking is coming about. Especially if you take the Scriptural passage above and contrast it to the earlier Saul Alinsky quote. Look at who is in charge here, including folks like Mr. Greene.
The Founders surely read this verse in Romans. They developed a system of government that would, for the most part, be self-regulating, based on the common principles and a moral code outlined in Scripture, not this style of unscrupulous-behavior that takes its lead from Satan himself.
So, back to the housing crisis: we have a couple of options in front of us. Take the loss (the fact that your down payment has evaporated... say "goodbye all my money") and keep paying on a worthless piece of real estate. We can leave the planet in bankruptcy. Or, let the bank have it now and cut our losses. What other choice are we offered? None that I can see and I know why. It is because folks like Mr. Greene here are running our nation (and Barney Frank, and Chris Dodd, and ... well, you know), and they are not exactly making Biblical decisions with regard to how this nation should be run. They are evidently taking their lead from Saul Alinsky and his old buddy Lucifer. Go figure.
© Frank Louis
August 25, 2010
When I first read the recent stories about the "Philadelphia Housing Authority Director in Foreclosure," I was going to use words like "It doesn't Get any Nuttier than this" in the headline for this story but then I discovered that the Mayor of Philadelphia's name is "Nutter." I just couldn't do it in good conscience. I mean "Nutter" and "Nuttier?" Really, who can make this up?
But, before I get to this story, let me first say that the more I write about thestate of our nation and our growing lack of a moral compass, the sicker it makes me. Really, I usually discussthe housing crisis and I will today throughout this piece. After all, it is all interrelated: the crooks who sold the nation a bill of goods with housing and the less than morally guided individuals running our banks, cities, states and beyond. Those who perpetrated the crime against hard working men and women who saved for years to perhaps invest in some real estate for their familiesonly to have it all undermined in front of their eyes as they learned about the multitudes of "straw buyers," crooked real estate and mortgage "professionals," and sub-prime loans that usurped the values of our homes. Robbed!
The lenders continue to tell Americansthey have a legal and binding obligation to pay these notes. Although the game was fixed and the valueswere grossly overstated by those very same lenderswho hold us liable. We have a "moral obligation" they tell us. Which makes me wonder just how these folks think they would recognize a "moral anything" if they fell over it. Due to the games these bankers were playing under the disguise of making the "American Dream" accessible to "everyone," millions of Americans have lost all and no one is asking any questions about how this should resolved or what happened to thealleged "fiduciary" responsibility these "professionals" had to us, their clients, in these transactions. No, only Frank Louis asks about this.
This week we learn that housing has taken yet anothermajor turn for the worse. However, at the same time, I saw an article whose headline read something like real estate sales being up 11% in June 2010 from June 2009 but further on it also reports that the prices were down 20% in the same time period" (PRNewswire, August 24).Where is the good news in that? Foreclosures on the increase and not a "short Keep" in sight (The Short Keep, the Frank Louis solution to the housing crisis. Read some past articles to learn what it is). So, property values will continue downward and they tell us we have a moral obligation to respect these contracts created under fraud? Yes, the housing crisis was not a result of Americans Overbuying, it was a result of underhanded unscrupulous dealings and we have been left holding the bag.
But back to my lead line: "Philadelphia Housing Authority Director in Foreclosure." Can you believe it? This guy, Carl Greene is his name, whose job it is to oversee a$350 million taxpayer budget for the city's public housing, (and makes about $350,000 a year doing it) is in foreclosure. And, in addition, he is facing a sexual misconduct charge, on top of being behind on his mortgage payments. This according to the online version of Business Week and other news sources this week.I have to admit that this is what I have grown to expect as typical for ourcurrent and recent government officials. A bit reminiscent of Tim Geithner's tax issues prior to taking over the treasury wouldn't you say or Chris Dodd's "FOA" (Friend of Angelo) loans with Countrywide? You just can't even begin to make this stuff up. You can't.
Oh yeah, Mr. Greene also has an IRS debt of about $50,000. Now, he says it is all paid up, and his mortgage also; we will wait and see. Who can make this stuff up? I mean, who could have made up the idea that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd would draft the nation's 2400 page financial regulations (excepting Fannie and Freddie of course)? Nobody! Like I said earlier, its Nutter than Nuttier!
But Mr. Greene, in the midst of his foreclosure, IRS problems, and sexual misconduct charge, is also being accused of having some sort of a fund scheme in whichhis employees have to pay into (according to the Philadelphia Inquirer). For this he may also be charged for "improperly soliciting payments from employees." Yup, he is what I am beginning to see as a "typical public servant," a sort of "Acorn-like" quality, wouldn't you agree, "looking out for us" with no moral compass to be found. Yup, these are the individuals that we are turning health care, the financial reform, our communities and moral futures of our children and nation over to. Wow, we vote for these people or the people who appoint them?
Think about it. For a country that was founded on Biblical Principles by men who prayed for Scriptural guidance daily in drafting the founding documents of this nation, perhaps we are missing the mark. I am not sure exactly which Biblical principles this fellow is following here. Maybe he can tell me.
The mentor for many of those running our government today, I have been hearing is Saul Alinsky. In his 1971 book Rules for Radicalshe writes the following:
-
"Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history... the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer."
My point? This nation was founded on the belief that individuals are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (That might be construed to infer home ownership) Guys like this Greene fellow and others like those who got this housing crisis in gear, make it hard for us to live in the environment the Declaration of Independence described, visualized, and created. They in fact destroy that environment. When the moral compass is gone, nobody can live in the pursuit of life, liberty, or happiness. It will all be stolen and/or taken away from you. No moral code, bad decision-making. A "you need to live in a watch your back society."Sorry.
This is what caused the housing crisis, is it not? No moral code. It surely wasn't people who worked hard their entire lives, put 20% or more on their long earned and saved money into their investments as down payments. No, I do not think it was they. But they are the ones who are paying now. And big.
Now we read that President Obama is making another $3 Billion available in housing aid while we also read that the mortgage modification programs so far have been total disasters. Of course we all know why. They target the wrong people and give the money to the banks... our money. Find me one modification program that targets the people who paid traditional down payments in an era that everyone else was getting the "American Dream" with no money down; turning the dream into a nightmare. There are none. And so, modifications fail, well of course they will, the same people who created the problem are the ones the government seems to want to bail out. And they want to do it with realtors and mortgage brokers, without whom this crisis would have never been made possible. You figure this out. Working Americans who invested their life savings in real estate investments at false, inflated, values because of this no money down, no-doc PonziScheme "need not apply." They should just keep paying.
The Bible uses the term "reprobate minds." It states in Romans 1:28 people with reprobate minds have been "given over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." You can surely understand then just why and how all of this upside down thinking is coming about. Especially if you take the Scriptural passage above and contrast it to the earlier Saul Alinsky quote. Look at who is in charge here, including folks like Mr. Greene.
The Founders surely read this verse in Romans. They developed a system of government that would, for the most part, be self-regulating, based on the common principles and a moral code outlined in Scripture, not this style of unscrupulous-behavior that takes its lead from Satan himself.
So, back to the housing crisis: we have a couple of options in front of us. Take the loss (the fact that your down payment has evaporated... say "goodbye all my money") and keep paying on a worthless piece of real estate. We can leave the planet in bankruptcy. Or, let the bank have it now and cut our losses. What other choice are we offered? None that I can see and I know why. It is because folks like Mr. Greene here are running our nation (and Barney Frank, and Chris Dodd, and ... well, you know), and they are not exactly making Biblical decisions with regard to how this nation should be run. They are evidently taking their lead from Saul Alinsky and his old buddy Lucifer. Go figure.
© Frank Louis
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