From HuffPo:

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration, state attorneys general, and, perhaps, the nation's largest banks are close to a final settlement on the years-long struggle over allegations of massive foreclosure fraud, according to several sources familiar with the talks. And the final details of the arrangement, according to the source who revealed them, will apparently not preclude prosecutors and regulators from taking legal action against many of the common abuses during the house bubble. It remains to be seen whether all parties will ultimately sign off on the language.

Another win for the right to peacably assemble for redress of grievances!

Here. I mean, the Big Lies here is just so interconnected and deeply impacted.

Banks aren't people (just as corporations aren't people), and the banksters, who are people, are "overwhelmed" only by the money gushing from their own criminality, for which Romney, Obama, and the entire political class have already granted them impunity as a matter of policy, and are now busily turning that policy into what we used to call "the law."

26 Arrested At Occupy Foreclosure Auction Blockade

Wonderful what you can get done when you cease being "pragmatic."

Kiki the Kitty

Kiki is brought to us by jjmtacoma, she of "Cheap Eats" fame and much more. Here's what jjmt had to say about the wonderfully wide-eyed Kiki:

This is Kiki, my tuxedo cat. She is about seven or eight years old. We adopted her as a rescue kitty about 4 years ago. I thought this picture of her laying on my kitchen table would be perfect!

RE-POST from 5/11/11

[Hugh's Obama's Scandals List]

What is JSOC? Joint Special Operations Command.

I got that it was some kind of secret U.S. SWAT-team-like paramilitary program, ever growing and being unleashed onto scores of nations. I can't begin to imagine the breathtaking “black budget” it must suck up both crippling the welfare of the US citizenry and enabling it to wreak horror among non-US populations.

JSOC. Frontline addressed JSOC somewhat tonight about capture/kill operations in Afghanistan but not critically enough by a long shot. (Is it me or is Frontline getting more and more “careful” in its explorations?) I decided to do some fast googling.

A lot of people are dying, and the health insurances are making a boatload of money.

(TARP is the the only bailout*, (and a good deal for the taxpayers, (and the endlessly repeated talking point, they paid it all back))). Taking the lies in order:

Bloomberg, an excellent read:

n the North, where slavery had been abolished and cotton failed to grow, the enterprising might transform slave-grown cotton into clothing; market other manufactured goods, such as hoes and hats, to plantation owners; or invest in securities tied to next year's crop prices in places such as Liverpool and Le Havre. This network linked Mississippi planters and Massachusetts manufacturers to the era's great financial firms: the Barings, Browns and Rothschilds.

Just like his tyrant brother:

There is an inevitable trade-off between rising health care costs and things liberals really care about, like access to college and good wages for working Americans. We cannot have it all. The health care reform act will help us save — mainly by changing how physicians and hospitals are paid and delivering better care to our most expensive patients. But more can be done: for starters, we could speed up the implementation of payment reform, stop Medicare payments for tests and treatments that provide no benefit and endorse competitive bidding for medical goods and services.

I hardly ever watch TV or anything TV-like, and haven't for years, so this video came as a bit of a shock:

(Or "OFU" heh). McClatchy:

A sympathetic member of the congressionally created Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, charged with getting to the bottom of the 2008 financial crisis, also questioned Obama's timing.

"He should have done it three years ago in January 2009, when the trail would have been fresh, witnesses' memory would have been fresh, the statutes of limitations would have been necessarily missed," said the commissioner, who requested anonymity to speak freely. "I think it's high time that it be done — people need to be held accountable." ...

Quelle surprise:

Opponents of Walker have submitted petitions with more than 1 million signatures to force a recall vote, far more than needed. But Democrats have yet to settle on an opponent to face Walker in a recall.

The Marquette University Law School poll shows Walker leading Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, whom he beat in 2010, by 50 to 44 percent. Dane County executive Kathleen Falk, who has announced she will run for the nomination to challenge Walker, trails Walker by 49 to 42 percent.

The poll also shows Walker leading former congressman David Obey by 7 percentage points and state Senator Tim Cullen by 10 points. Cullen said last month he would run.

The survey of 701 registered Wisconsin voters was taken by telephone from January 19 to 22 and has a margin of error of 3.8 percent. It is the first of a series of polls on the race that Marquette University said it would be conducting.

Some other polls have shown either that Walker is more narrowly leading, or is trailing his potential competitors.

If two or more Democrats decide to run for the right to challenge Walker in a recall election, a primary will be held.

Here's my question:

Just too transparent:

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said President Barack Obama's decision to expand investigations into home lending and sales of mortgage securities could stop settlement talks with the states over foreclosure practices.

"It has a pretty good chance of derailing it," Dimon said in a televised interview with CNBC from Davos, Switzerland on Thursday.

Everybody knows Obama would never do anything to make "savvy businessmen" like Jamie feel sad.

Do we have any Correntians who live near Telluride, Colorado?

Jill Stein to visit Norwood, Telluride

The San Miguel Greens, a local chapter of the Colorado Green Party, will this week host Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in virtual viewings and public live discussions in Norwood and Telluride.

The event is today at 12 noon, at the Wilkinson Library in Telluride.

Colorado Green Party Blog

White Phalaenopsis

Moth Orchid

The classic white Phal, another orchid in honor of the World Orchid Conference.

See also, twig's post on the WOC, twig's post on a Phal, and my earlier post on the Phalaenopsis orchid.

Mark Thoma:

The plan the president outlined is fine as far as it goes, but I wanted a jobs plan that was big and bold. I wanted a plan that puts immediate job creation at the forefront. However, this plan is largely tax cuts, it's piecemeal, and it's mostly directed at our long-run problems. Bringing business home doesn't happen overnight, R&D takes time, so does infrastructure, and so on. Millions of people need jobs now, not later. They don't have time to wait, for example, for manufacturing to move from China back to the US, and there's no certainty that will happen in any case. What was missing from the speech is a strong, coherent plan to create jobs immediately. Don't get me wrong, we need to address our long-run problems. But we also need to get people back to work as soon as possible.

Professor! Professor! Haven't we learned by now that Obama does what Obama wants?

Last year I prepared for the SOTU by speculating about the “fairy tales” the President would tell about fiscal responsibility, fiscal sustainability and the debt/deficit problem. That series ended here, and here. Yesterday’s SOTU covered many subjects, but once again, the President paid lip service to the irresponsible religion of fiscal responsibility. Here are some comments on the parts of the SOTU related to it.

RE-POST from 1-26-10

This view from outside Obamaworld is that Obama is a corrupt community organizer. That is, he is a corrupt organizer of a corrupt and profoundly wounded national community. The lack of protection by and sense of responsibility, an "ability to respond", of an amoral "legacy" leadership, now Obama, is dooming what is left of our democracy and our collective and individual security.

See David Dayen here, starting at "liberal groups offering huzzahs."

See this photo also.

Fed Signals That a Full Recovery Is Years Away