Hey Shaun Duff of Bank of America (One of the Top 10 Least Trusted Banks). . .

Hey Shaun Duff, from the short sales division. All we need is one piece of paper with a signature to move forward. Thats it. One paper, one signature. Its been almost 2 weeks and you can't fax a piece of paper?  Emails and phone calls haven't worked so maybe shaming you into action will.  This offer was accepted in August of 2009.  Investor approval has already been made.  Is the fax machine down?  Do you need a stamp?  I guess now we know why Bank of America is The Most Hated bank in the nation and in the Top Ten Least trusted banks!


>>UPDATE<<  As of May 13, we still have not received that piece of paper.  Not only that, but Shaun Claims that he has been in constant communication with the broker.  If by constant communication he means the broker emails or calls him practically every day and he responds after a month or so, then YES.  He is in communication.  FYI pal, we have the email chain to show exactly how often you have contacted us.  You can bet we will be holding on to that.  So a quick recap:  Offer to purchase house first accepted August 2009.  As of May 2010, we still don't have a house.



The 10 Worst Banks in America

Mark Green: On Sunday, Will GOP be on Wrong Side of History Again?

Mark Green: On Sunday, Will GOP be on Wrong Side of History Again?
The Huffington Post:

Republicans warn Democrats about the political downside if Obama-Pelosi win Sunday's vote on Health Care. Actually, it's the GOP that's in a lose-lose -- either the Democrats earn due credit for change or the public will blame the GOP for opposing major social breakthroughs as it so often has.

It's happening again, and for much the same reasons. At the brink of a major social advance, the GOP is standing at the doorway of history shouting STOP! Let the free market status quo continue to screw things up, is in effect the message. Whatever the short-term headlines and polls -- and probably a third of America will buy whatever anti-government rhetoric if offered -- there's a long-term cost to a party that's been so consistently on the wrong side of reform and reality.

Apparently there's a reason the GOP constantly has to refer back 150 years as "the party of Lincoln" given its track record since.

While at the time there appeared to be robust debates on the following divisive issues, eventually history has rendered verdicts in favor of these social reforms as measured by real-world success and voter appreciation:

- Civil Rights. From anti-lynching and civil rights bills in the 50s and 60s, it was "the party of Lincoln" that used the rhetorical cover of "states rights" to hold minorities down. Of course a rare species then known as Southern Democratic senators joined in, but as any student of the 1957, 1964 and 1965 civil rights laws knows, a large majority of Democrats voted yes and a large majority of Republicans voted no.

The consequent rise of minority voting and representation -- and laws against discrimination in the workplace, coupled with affirmative action -- have changed the face of America...to the point that even President George W. Bush had to support extending the 1965 voting rights Act in 2005.

- Consumer Regulation. The contest between free markets and regulated markets continues in today's battle over financial regulation, but what percentage of Americans truly accept the logic of rhetoric against "big government over-regulation and would go back to a time without testing toys for lead, cars for safety, stock prospectuses for truthfulness and banks for soundness?

It was the famous Republican team of "Marton to Barton to Fish" that tried to thwart FDR's New Deal policing of market abuses - and the Reagan-Bush theology of weakening bank regulation (with Clinton's unfortunate acquiescence in 1999) that allowed the economic meltdown of September 2008.

Even Alan Greenspan and Richard Posner have admitted shock that their free market models failed, though one wouldn't know it from GOP unanimity against Banking Chairman Chris Dodd's modest financial reform proposals.

- Environmental Justice. Similarly, few Americans other than Tea-Party nihilists and polluters really want to go back to the pre-EPA era when Love Canal was abandoned and the Cayahoga River caught fire. And while a shrewd President Nixon knew to stay in step with public opinion by signing the Clean Air Act in 1970 at the launch of Earth Day, all environmental laws since then - Clean Water, Superfund -- have been enacted over GOP opposition. And of course today's climate change-deniers are largely from one party in America, the one that elevates abstractions against "big government" over evidence called "science."

- Choice. The Roe v. Wade decision was and is controversial, largely because both sides have their respective moral arguments. But women are watching and, on this issue, overwhelming favor the party that believes that it's their choice. And depending on how the question is framed, by 2-1 the public believes that the right to an abortion should not be outlawed or criminalized.

- Campaign Finance Reform. Stalled for generation by one party - an Incumbent Party with two names, Republicans and Democrats - real campaign finance reform got enacted in 1974 only after the Watergate scandal. Then there were both limits on contributions and more transparency. 30 years later a bill that was bi-partisan in name - McCain-Feingold - was enacted to further restrict special interest money flooding the system just before elections. But that vote and all others have, again, been dominated by a majority of Democrats pushing for more democracy and Republicans favoring more corporate money under the illogic that money is speech and corporations are people. This is as persuasive as the argument that "states rights" should keep Blacks from voting, but it has been constitutionalized by five Justices in the recent Citizens United case--all appointed by Republican presidents. Polls show a 3-1 opposition to a decision so stupid and unrealistic that only ideological lawyers could have written it. And it's Democrats like Senator Schumer and Rep. Van Hallen who have introduced legislation to mitigate its impact.

- Gay Rights. Although all state referenda have voted down same-sex marriage, usually narrowly, can anyone seriously doubt the trend line? Since the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs have just said that don't-ask/don't tell hurts the military - and since a majority of Americans over 60 oppose gay marriage while a majority under 30 support it - the issue for gays is not whether but when. And when they win these rights and nothing happens to heterosexual couples, it's not hard to predict which party will gain politically and which won't.

- Deficits and Taxes. Even on a signature Republican issue like deficits and taxes, the data is damning. By far most of Obama's first two years of deficits (actual and projected) trace to the enormous gap between Reagan-Bush's tax cuts without spending cuts. Today, the real rate of taxation of the super-rich has plunged and our national rate of taxation is lower than that of nearly all other Western nations. And when President Clinton raised taxes on wealthier Americans - with zero Republican votes (sound familiar?) -- the economy boomed.

Should the GDP and jobs grow far more under Clinton and Obama than under Bush, as seems likely, how much longer can a Senator McConnell credibly assert that "Democrats spend too much and tax too much?"

- Health Care. History this year and week is exactly repeating itself as the arguments against Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid - big government takeover!, socialism! - are trotted out. But while this may excite the loud voices of a minority of a minority called the Tea Party, history will note that the vast majority of Americans appreciate the security that these programs provide.

All in all, this is quite a losing streak, akin to Canute shouting at the tides. As judged by voter polls and real-world reality - air is cleaner, minorities are now in office, cars are safer, women don't want forced pregnancies - the Republican party and philosophy truly has been the Party of No. And voters like women, Blacks, Latinos, parents, consumers, and gays have received the message. That's a lot of people.

If the GOP was a baseball team, we'd fire its manager - or if a school in Rhode Island, we'd fire the school. And after Health Care passes on Sunday - and the a) sky doesn't fall as predicted by the McConnells, Boehners, Limbaughs and Becks and b) millions get health care and there's deficit reduction - what then will Republicans say? For now, they resolutely promise to try to run this Fall on a platform favoring an insurance industry re-takeover of health care. Don't they understand the aphorism that if you're in a hole, stop digging?

The Whigs disappeared because they flunked the test of slavery. And a modern party that's all Lutz and no-heart, that rejects modern reality, that fails to adapt to the needs of families buffeted by change in a global economy will deserve to suffer as did the British at Gallipoli when they too overrelied on outdated tactics and bravado.

Over time, today's Republicans are tomorrow's Whigs. What historian Tony Judt complained about in his recent book Ill Fares the Land will come to be understood by a grateful country -- the idea that taxes might be a common good, "a contribution to the provision of collective goods that individuals could never afford in isolation (roads, firemen, policemen, schools, lamp posts, post offices, not to mention soldiers and warships, and weapons)."

RNC fear mongering.

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San Diego Unified Budget Cuts. . . Sound OFF!

The San Diego Unified School District is once again attempting to make deep cuts to its budget at the expense of vital programs. Some of the proposed cuts include arts and music, 6th grade camp (known as OCILE), learning centers for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities and traumatic brain injuries as well as a reorganization of a programs for gifted students. This is on top of slicing 8% off of educators pay.

Sound off. What do you think of these changes?

Do you think we should cut arts and music in order to keep athletics and nursing?

Is it fair that deeper cuts are being made in special education than in gifted student programs?

Who has more of a need? Students with disabilities or students that are already ahead of other students?

What do you think of the school board? Are they helping the process or hindering it with bureaucracy and sucking up funds which can be used elsewhere?

Give us your thoughts.  Make sure to leave your comments.
Here is the 2009-2010 budget.

Conservative Radical James O'Keefe screws himself.

As Reported by POLITICO:

Manu Raju, Erika Lovley – Tue Jan 26

Federal authorities have arrested four men on felony charges for attempting to infiltrate Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office, including one filmmaker who targeted the community group ACORNlast year in damaging undercover videos.

Among those arrested was 25-year-old James O’Keefe, theconservative filmmaker, along with Joseph Basel, Robert Flanagan and Stan Dai, all 24. They were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses and attempting to gain access to the Democrat’s office by posing as telephone repairmen, according to a copy of an FBI affidavit unsealed Tuesday.

The complaint said that O’Keefe was waiting in the office when Flanagan and Basel each entered the premises, wearing light green fluorescent vests, denim paints and blue work shirts, tool belts and hard-hats. They informed a member of Landrieu’s staff that they were telephone repairmen and requested access to the main telephone at the reception desk.

At that point, the two men allegedly attempted to manipulate telephones and accessed the telephone closet, saying they needed to work on the entire system. The men, who said they left their credentials in their vehicles, were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service soon afterward. O’Keefe, who had been filming the two men on his cell phone camera, was allegedly involved with planning, coordination, and preparation of the operation, according to an affidavit signed by Steven Rayes, special agent at the FBI.

According to the FBI, the four men could each face up to 10 years and a fine of $250,000 if they are convicted. The case, which is being investigated by special agents of the FBI and deputy marshals with theUnited States Marshal’s Service, is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.

Michael Madigan, O’Keefe’s lawyer, told POLITICO Tuesday afternoon that he was still unclear exactly what happened at the senator’s office.

"I don't know the facts yet of what exactly happened, but at heart James O'Keefe is a good kid,” said Madigan, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer who served as counsel to Sen. Howard Baker during the Watergate investigation and helped run former Tennessee Republican Sen. Fred Thompson’s investigation of the Clinton administration.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, Landrieu said: “This is a very unusual situation and somewhat unsettling for me and my staff. The individuals responsible have been charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purposes of committing a felony. I am as interested as everyone else about their motives and purpose, which I hope will become clear as the investigation moves forward.”

In a statement, ACORN said O’Keefe’s arrest is “further evidence of his disregard for the law in pursuit of his extremist agenda.”

This was not the first of O’Keefe’s legal troubles: ACORN is pressing charges him with a six-figure lawsuit in Baltimore for videotaping its employees with a hidden video camera over the summer. The lawsuit is still ongoing, and the Philadelphia branch of the group alleged in federal court this month that O’Keefe and co-filmmaker Hannah Giles caused emotional distress, harm and injury in their publicizing of the videos.

O’Keefe made waves last year when he unveiled undercover videos of ACORN employees seeming to encourage two people – who were pretending to be sex workers – to circumvent the law, embarrassing the group and forcing many of its supporters to spurn its ties with it. ACORN has long been a punching bag for conservatives who say that the community-organizing group engages in underhanded activities as it tries to beef up voter registration among the poor, charges that the group roundly dismisses.

O’Keefe’s original ACORN videos – filmed last year -- appeared on the conservative news websitebiggovernment.com, which is run by Andrew Breitbart, a prominent conservative.

In a statement, Breitbart denied that he knew anything of the latest incident involving Landrieu.

"We have no knowledge about or connection to any alleged acts and events involving James O'Keefe atSenator Mary Landrieu's office,” Breitbart said in a statement. “We only just learned about the alleged incident this afternoon. We have no information other than what has been reported publicly by the press. Accordingly, we simply are not in a position to make any further comment."

In one of O’Keefe’s videos, a woman pretending to be a prostitute informs an ACORN employee that she wants to traffic in a dozen underage women from El Salvador and wants assistance obtaining a loan for a brothel, in an attempt to avoid tax laws and launder money into a congressional campaign. The video shows an employee from a Baltimore field office giving the advice to the two people, seeming to ignore the fact that they were characterizing themselves as sex workers.

Similar videos also emerged, including another by O’Keefe where he filmed ACORN workers in San Bernardino, Calif. talking to a woman pretending to be a prostitute how she could avoid police detection.

Conservatives pounced on the videos as evidence that the organization was corrupt, and it prompted an array of efforts in Congress to shut down all federal funding to the community group. In November, the group sued the federal government, alleging it is unconstitutional for Congress retaliate against a specific group.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), a leader of the effort, couldn’t be reached for comment on the incident in Landrieu’s office, and a lead House critic of ACORN, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), declined to comment as well.

Rep. Pete Olson, the Texas GOP congressman who sponsored a resolution last fall to honor O’Keefe and the other filmmaker, said Tuesday night that “individuals who lawfully expose wrongful activities by an entity like ACORN receiving federal tax dollars should be praised.

“However, if recent events conclude that any laws were broken in the incident in Senator Landrieu’s office – that is not something I condone,” Olson said. “Citizens have an important role in helping to expose waste and/or fraud when their tax dollars are being spent, but it must be done in a lawful manner.”

Democrats who support ACORN say that the group has been the subject of unsubstantiated criticism, and they point to a December study by the Congressional Research Office that suggested that the group has not improperly used its federal funds or engaged in illegal activities at the polls, and it raises the possibility that the filmmakers broke the law by its undercover sting.

The videos prompted an embarrassed ACORN to launch an internal review conducted by former DemocraticMassachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, who recommended a series of improvements but said that there was no pattern of intentionally inappropriate or illegal conduct by the group’s staff.

Immediately after Tuesday’s news broke, some conservatives seemed sympathetic to O’Keefe’s latest troubles.

“Hang in there buddy, we’re on your side,” a fan wrote on O’Keefe’s Facebook page.

Michael Calderone contributed to this story.

Pat Robertson & Rush Limbaugh: AKA Dementia and Da' Drug Addict PART 1.

PAT ROBERTSON

In another glaring exapmple of people WAY past their prime we have the blithering Pat Robertson. At one time a great religious pillar for countless in the United States and around the world, but now reduced to a rambling old fool with senile dementia who is allowed to spew ignorance across the airwaves. To recap (with our comments in RED of course), in case many of you haven't heard, Pat Robertson stated the following:

"And you know, Kristi, something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it.

“They were under the heel of the French, uh, you know Napoleon the 3rd and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. (Not a fact but merely a legend.)

“They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.'

“True story. (If you also believe in Hobbits and Fairies.)

“And so the Devil said, 'Okay, it's a deal.’

“And, uh, they kicked the French out, you know, with Haitians revolted and got themselves free.

“But ever since they have been cursed by, by one thing after another, desperately poor.

“That island of Hispaniola is one island. It’s cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti on the other side is the Dominican Republican.

“Dominican Republic is, is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etcetera.

“Haiti is in desperate poverty.

“Same island.

“They need to have and we need to pray for them a great turning to God and out of this tragedy I’m optimistic something good may come. But right now we’re helping the suffering people and the suffering is unimaginable.”

Call me silly, but if I am not mistaken, he is basically saying that the reason why Haiti is in bad shape as a country and suffered an earthquake is because they are cursed for allegedly making a deal with the Devil. Is this right? White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs addressed his comments plainly by calling them "utterly stupid".

In an attempt to possibly excuse the old man's statements, CBN which broadcasts Robertson's show said this in a press statement:

“On today’s The 700 Club, during a segment about the devastation, suffering and humanitarian effort that is needed in Haiti, Dr. Robertson also spoke about Haiti’s history (again, let us restate: alleged history. More an old wives tale than anything). His comments were based on the widely-discussed 1791 slave rebellion led by Boukman Dutty at Bois Caiman, where the slaves allegedly made a famous pact with the devil in exchange for victory over the French. This history, combined with the horrible state of the country, has led countless scholars (by definition, scholars don't believe in curses due to their belief in empirical data) and religious figures over the centuries to believe the country is cursed. Dr. Robertson never stated that the earthquake was God’s wrath (this is true, he merely implied it was payback for making a pact with the Devil). If you watch the entire video segment, Dr. Robertson’s compassion for the people of Haiti is clear. (This is also true. I am not knocking Christians, I am knocking Pat Robertson. Hang it up dude.) He called for prayer for them. His humanitarian arm has been working to help thousands of people in Haiti over the last year, and they are currently launching a major relief and recovery effort to help the victims of this disaster. They have sent a shipment of millions of dollars worth of medications that is now in Haiti, and their disaster team leaders are expected to arrive tomorrow and begin operations to ease the suffering.”

I am not here to bash Christians. That is not why I am posting this blog. I am here to bash Pat Robertson. The same Pat Robertson who said that Hurricane Katrina was payback for Louisiana allowing legalized abortion. The same mad man who wrote, "The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians" in regards to a 1992 Iowa ballot initiative that would extend the protections of the state constitution to women. This was not in the 20's or 30's. Not even in the 40's. This was in 1992.

But wait, there's more:

• In late 1976, Robertson predicted that the end of the world was coming in November or October 1982.
• In May 2006, Robertson declared that storms and possibly a tsunami would hit America's coastline sometime in 2006. Robertson supposedly received this revelation from God during an annual personal prayer retreat in January. The claim was repeated four times on The 700 Club. On May 8, 2006 Robertson said, "If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms." On May 17, 2006 he elaborated, "There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest."^[61]While this claim didn't garner the same level of controversy as some of his other statements, it was generally received with mild amusement by the Pacific Northwest media.
• On the January 2, 2007 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson said that God spoke to him and told him that "mass killings" were to come during 2007, due to a terrorist attack on the United States. He added, "The Lord didn't saynuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."
• Called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
• Stated that the stroke that Israeli President Ariel Sharon suffered was punishment 'for dividing God's Land.'

You've heard the term "radical Muslim cleric". Well replace the word 'Muslim' and replace it with 'Christian' and you have Pat Robertson.

Pat Robertson & Rush Limbaugh: AKA Dementia and Da' Drug Addict PART 2.

RUSH LIMBAUGH

Let us truly take into account the political hackery that went into the vile and insensitive remarks made by an unapologetic, insensitive and out of touch Rush, by dissecting his comments from his very own radio show.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here's President Obama speaking about Haiti this morning in Washington at the White House. He held a press conference. Now, I want you to remember, it took him three days to respond to the Christmas Day Fruit of Kaboom Bomber, three days. (An incident where nobody died vs. in Haiti where possibly over 100,000 people have died) And when he came out after those three days, he was clearly irritated that he had to do it (Because he would rather that the system have worked and caught this guy. Irritated probably, because of ongoing lapses in security in vital aspects of our nation's security). He didn't want to do it. He comes out here in less than 24 hours to speak about Haiti. OBAMA: I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives. The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian relief, the food, water, and medicine that Haitians will need in the coming days. RUSH: Oh, this is what he lives for (a callous assumption). He lives for serving those in misery. Now, don't misunderstand here, folks. I don't have the whole press conference, but I wonder did he apologize for America before acknowledging we are the only people on earth that can possibly help 'em out down there in any significant way? (Why should he apologize?) By the way, I've checked it out, Cuba has offered nothing. Venezuela has offered nothing. (Do we as decent human beings wait to see if someone else is going to offer someone else help if they fall and hurt themselves? No. We just help them up. Not because other people are offering and we don't want to look bad, but because it is this decent thing to do.) They have nothing to offer. (interruption) Venezuela is going to send 30 people? Well, they're people who want to get out of there anyway because they're having rolling blackouts in Venezuela, in Caracas, which is an oil-driven -- it's the most amazing thing. The vision of our future is right before our eyes in Venezuela. Socialist country, devalued the currency on purpose a couple days ago, putting people in jail if they raise prices as a result of this. We are devaluing our own currency, not as rapidly as Hugo Chavez did but we're doing it with all of our deficit spending and borrowing. (Biggest difference between Obama and Chavez; Obama is not a delusional egomaniac.) At any rate, here's another portion of the president's statement. OBAMA: Despite the fact that we are experiencing tough times here at home, I would encourage those Americans who want to support the urgent humanitarian efforts to go to WhiteHouse.gov where you can learn how to contribute. We'll be resolute in our response, and I pledge to the people of Haiti that you will have a friend and partner in the United States of America today and going forward. May God bless the people of Haiti and those working on their behalf. Later on he states: RUSH: Yes, I think in the Haiti earthquake, ladies and gentlemen -- in the words of Rahm Emanuel -- we have another crisis simply too good to waste (A gross misrepresentation of Rahm Emanuels' words regarding the economy and how in difficult times its a good opportunity to try things you haven't tried before, and which are originally economist Paul Romer's words.) This will play right into Obama's hands. He's humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their, shall we say, "credibility" with the black community -- in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. (How is this NOT a RACIST assumption?) It's made-to-order for them. That's why he couldn't wait to get out there, could not wait to get out there.