Category: Politics

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Foreclosure Fraud?

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor

Since the Great Recession officially started in December of 2007, millions of people have lost their homes to foreclosures.  It turns out that many of those foreclosures may have been fraudulent or in violation of foreclosure laws. According to the Southern Essex County, Massachusetts Register of Deeds, John O’Brien, a forensic audit of his recording files suggests that at least 75% of the mortgage assignments were invalid.

“My registry is a crime scene as evidenced by this forensic examination. The Audit makes the finding that this was not only a MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems) problem, but a scheme also perpetuated by MERS shareholder banks such Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan and others. I am stunned and appalled by the fact that America’s biggest banks have played fast and loose with people’s biggest asset – their homes. This is disgusting, and this is criminal.” Nation of Change Continue reading “Foreclosure Fraud?” →

Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Journalists In Turkey Sentenced To Prison For Reporting Corruption In Government

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

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In another example of the diminishing freedom of the press in Turkey, Yurt newspaper reporter Meriç Şenyüz and Ulusal Kanal reporter Özer Sürmeli received sentences of six and five months respectively for their reporting of a December seventeenth corruption probe involving, among others, then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son Bilal Erdoğan.

Turkey has an unfortunate history of repression of media critical of government, though in the last year an estimated forty imprisoned journalists have been released. According to BIA Media Monitoring Reports, the number of jailed journalists in Turkey fell from 104 in 2010 to 59 last year and to 19 by November 2014. However the underlying trend of jailing journalists in Turkey and many other nations of the world continues.

Continue reading “Journalists In Turkey Sentenced To Prison For Reporting Corruption In Government” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Catalonian President Faces Prosecution For Staging Referendum On Independence

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

artur-masPresident of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Artur Mas i Gavarró, his deputy, and his education minister face prosecution by the Spanish Government for alleged civil disobedience, abuse of power, usurpation of duties, and embezzlement of public funds according to a statement released by the public prosecutor’s office of the Spanish Government.

In what many see as clearly dubious prosecution by Spanish authorities, President Mas remarked: “It is sad to see that when the Catalan people want to express their opinion … the reaction of the state comes from the courts and prosecutors.”

The action comes several weeks after Catalonia held a non-binding vote on independence from Spain, buoyed by what many Catalonians hailed as a close race with the Scottish Independence referendum, a worrisome event to the Spanish government.

The matter brings into the discussion of Parliamentary Immunity and Executive authority held by other nations, and the chilling effect the threat of prosecution can have for representative government of constituents.

Continue reading “Catalonian President Faces Prosecution For Staging Referendum On Independence” →

Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

HOUSE FILES CHALLENGE OVER THE CHANGES TO THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

800px-Capitol_Building_Full_ViewToday, we filed our complaint United States House of Representatives v. Burwell (Case 1:14-cv-01967), in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The House’s complaint contains eight counts concerning constitutional and statutory violations of law related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). There are a myriad of unilateral amendments to this Act, ordered by President Obama’s Administration, which could be the subject of a challenge, and there are a number of changes that are already being litigated, including King v. Burwell, which has been accepted by the Supreme Court for review. The House’s complaint, however, focuses on the Administration’s usurpation not only of the House’s Article I legislative authority, but also of the defining “power of purse.” Both of these powers were placed exclusively in Article I by the Framers of our Constitution. These constitutional and statutory claims are highly illustrative of the current conflict between the branches over the basic principles of the separation of powers. The House’s complaint seeks to reaffirm the clear constitutional lines of separation between the branches – a doctrine that is the very foundation of our constitutional system of government. To put it simply, the complaint focuses on the means rather than ends. The complaint is posted below.

Continue reading “HOUSE FILES CHALLENGE OVER THE CHANGES TO THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Criminal Cackling? Irish Pro-Life Advocate Convicted Of Harassment Over Protest At Clinic

maxresdefaultThere is a troubling report out of Ireland that raises many of the concerns that we have discussed earlier about the erosion of free speech in the West. Bernadette “Bernie” Smyth is one of Northern Ireland’s most prominent anti-abortion activists and the founder of Precious Life, a pro-life group. She was convicted this week of two counts of harassment that stem from her picketing of the country’s only abortion clinic. The charges were brought by the clinic’s director, Dawn Purvis, who runs the Belfast branch of Marie Stopes. However, the line drawn in the case could create a chilling effect on political and religious speech in the future.

Continue reading “Criminal Cackling? Irish Pro-Life Advocate Convicted Of Harassment Over Protest At Clinic” →

Bizarre, International, Military, Politics

Pentagon Accused Of Paying Ransom For Bergdahl To An Afghan Con Man Who Disappeared With The Money

305px-USA_PFC_BoweBergdahl_ACU_CroppedDefense_Finance_Accounting_Services_(DFAS)_Official_SealIt has been a virtual mantra of U.S. policy for decades that we do not negotiate with terrorists and never never pay ransoms. That is why a new report is so startling even though it has received relatively little attention. The Pentagon reportedly gave an unspecified but large amount of money to an Afghan for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and then found out the money and the Afghan disappeared without a trace. The Pentagon is denying that it tried to pay a ransom for Bergdahl.

Continue reading “Pentagon Accused Of Paying Ransom For Bergdahl To An Afghan Con Man Who Disappeared With The Money” →

Bizarre, International, Media, Military, Politics, Society

Syrian Sniper Film Revealed To Be Hoax Funding By The State-Supported Norwegian Film Institute

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We have previously discussed how filmmakers are releasing fake videos such as the recent profiling video out of New York — a practice that is not only dishonest but highly counterproductive for groups seeking to address such abuses. Now it appears that a moving video of a Syrian boy heroically rescuing a little girl under fire is a fake, but director Lars Klevberg, 34, is heralding his hoax as a wonderful success and is entirely unapologetic for misleading millions of people.

Continue reading “Syrian Sniper Film Revealed To Be Hoax Funding By The State-Supported Norwegian Film Institute” →

Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

TURLEY AGREES TO SERVE AS LEAD COUNSEL FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE

800px-Capitol_Building_Full_ViewAs many on this blog are aware, I have previously testified, written, and litigated in opposition to the rise of executive power and the countervailing decline in congressional power in our tripartite system. I have also spent years encouraging Congress, under both Democratic and Republican presidents, to more actively defend its authority, including seeking judicial review in separation of powers conflicts. For that reason, it may come as little surprise this morning that I have agreed to represent the United States House of Representatives in its challenge of unilateral, unconstitutional actions taken by the Obama Administration with respect to implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It is an honor to represent the institution in this historic lawsuit and to work with the talented staff of the House General Counsel’s Office. As in the past, this posting is meant to be transparent about my representation as well as my need to be circumspect about my comments in the future on related stories. Continue reading “TURLEY AGREES TO SERVE AS LEAD COUNSEL FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE” →

Academia, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Nole Contendere: FSU Football Player Allegedly Drove On Suspended License, Totaled Approaching Car, Fled Scene . . . Then Given Two Minor Tickets

FSU_Seminoles_logoThere are serious questions raised this week as to whether a star football player from Florida State was given preferential treatment not only by university police but Tallahasee police after a hit-and-run where two cars were totaled. At the heart of the controversy, is starting cornerback P. J. Williams who was allegedly driving the car that slammed into an oncoming vehicle. A second starting cornerback, Ronald Darby, also reportedly fled the scene at 2:30 am. However, neither was charged and the incident was not written up by the university police — as if it never happened. Just a couple of minor tickets for the “Noles.” It is a new meaning to nolo contendere. It usually means a defendant not contending a charge. In this case, Nole contendere is used by police to say “I do not wish to contend” a criminal charge against a FSU player. [For full disclosure, my wife is an FSU graduate and a “Nole”].

Continue reading “Nole Contendere: FSU Football Player Allegedly Drove On Suspended License, Totaled Approaching Car, Fled Scene . . . Then Given Two Minor Tickets” →

Congress, Environment, Politics, Religion, Science

The Theological Dimensions of Climate Science Denial

By Mike Appleton, Weekend Contributor

“What you going to do when the rain comes?

Are you going to sail on the rising seas like Noah?

What you going to feed your little orphans

When there’s no more fish in the sea forever?”

–Brendan Perry, “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” from Ark (Cooking Vinyl, 2010)

In April of this year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued the first part of its Fifth Assessment Report on climate change. Among its conclusions is that “atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years.” The report also states that it is “extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.” In order to limit the increase in global temperature to two degrees Celsius, the panel estimates that it will be necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 70 percent below 2010 levels by 2050 and to virtually nothing by the end of the century.

The political response was predictable. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a short hearing, promptly declaring that the science is not “settled” and accused Democrats of “trying to scare America.” Republican reaction to this week’s announcement of a climate agreement with China was even harsher, with Sen. Mitch McConnell complaining that “these carbon emission regulations are creating havoc in my state and other states across the country.”

Although there are serious scientists who dispute the IPCC findings, the cumulative scientific evidence that anthropogenic activities significantly impact climate change is overwhelming.  So why are the IPCC’s findings so controversial? The answer is that the politics of climate science denial are largely shaped by two forces: the contrived skepticism of the energy industry and the religious skepticism of the evangelical right.

Continue reading “The Theological Dimensions of Climate Science Denial” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Banks Ignore the Bankruptcy Laws

US Trustee Program

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor

In the past, I have written about the Big Banks continued unlawful actions that only result in “slap on the wrist fines” that in many cases are passed on to the shareholders and/or used as a tax deduction. It seems that Wall Street and the Banksters have not learned a thing.  Or have they?

The latest wrinkle in Banksters taking advantage of American citizens is noted in a Crooks and Liars report which detailed an investigation into several Big Banks and their alleged refusal to honor the orders of Bankruptcy judges across the country. Of course, the “usual suspects” have been named in the latest investigations.  Continue reading “Banks Ignore the Bankruptcy Laws” →

Constitutional Law, Politics

Seattle City Council To Study Possible “Millionaires Tax”

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

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The Seattle City Council is considering a resolution directing the city Law Department to investigate the possibility of imposing an excise tax on individuals having incomes in excess of one million dollars.

Washington has no state income tax. Seattle’s pursuit of this might be attractive to many voters who view income tax as a form of balance against what is considered by some to be the regressive nature of Washington’s taxation system. Yet voters over the years have resorted to the voting booth to end the discussion among some politicians who have tried to enact similar measures. The city garnered much national attention by working toward a controversial fifteen dollars minimum wage.

Seattle might have a difficult task if it chooses to enact such an ordinance as the State Supreme Court declared income taxes of this type to be unconstitutional.

Continue reading “Seattle City Council To Study Possible “Millionaires Tax”” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, International, Politics

House Bill Denying Social Security Benefits To Ex-Nazis Could Set A Troubling Precedent

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

NaziFlagCongress is drafting legislation to deny Social Security benefits to those accused of participating in persecutions of others by the Nazis. HR 5706 directs the Justice Department to provide names of individuals suspected as such to the Social Security Administration which would then terminate all social benefits to these individuals. This could occur despite payments by these individuals into the social security system and who are presently receiving such benefits.

The Bill, titled the “Nazi Social Security Benefits Termination Act of 2014,” came into being after the Associated Press reported that millions of dollars in benefits have been provided to those beneficiaries, many of whom the AP claims received the promise of social benefits on the condition they removed themselves from the United States. The Justice Department disputes this claim.

While there is no question that those who participated in genocides should be held accountable for their actions, the steps Congress is taking has substantial long term risks to due process rights, entitlements, and using retirement benefits as a form of collective punishment to individuals deemed undesirable by the U.S. Government.

Continue reading “House Bill Denying Social Security Benefits To Ex-Nazis Could Set A Troubling Precedent” →

Academia, Congress, Media, Politics

The Purging of Professor Gruber: ACA Architect Disavowed In The Beltway

Screen Shot 2014-11-13 at 8.45.49 AMPelosi-denies-Gruber-2014nov-fullIt appears that friends (albeit a dwindling number) of MIT professor Jonathan Gruber may soon have to put his face on milk cartons to locate the economist. After a series of frank but embarrassing statements on the strategies behind the Administration’s passage of the Affordable Car Act (ACA), Gruber has moved from the status of “disfavored” to “disavowed” to “disappeared.” This week, Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi expressed a complete lack of knowledge of who Gruber is, was, or will be — even though she previously cited his work and he was paid $400,000 as one of the architects of Obamacare and has made over $2 million from HHS. Such roles are often difficult for scholars in moving between the political and academic worlds, but it is rare to find an academic become such an issue in a national debate.

Continue reading “The Purging of Professor Gruber: ACA Architect Disavowed In The Beltway” →

Academia, Congress, Media, Politics

New Video Shows Gruber Discussing How Health Taxes Were Structured To Exploit The Lack of Knowledge Of The American Voter

Screen Shot 2014-11-13 at 8.45.49 AMThis week we discussed another videotape of Jonathan Gruber, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist who played a major role the ACA, or “Obamacare,” making revealing and highly embarrassing statements about the strategy behind the passage of the Act. Gruber had already previously attracted controversy with statements where he endorsed the theory at the heart of the recent decisions in Halbig and King by challengers to the ACA: to wit, that the federal funding provision was a quid pro quo device to reward states with their own exchanges and to punish those that force the creation of federal exchanges. That issue will now be decided by the United States Supreme Court. Gruber caused uproar when, after he had denounced the theory as “nutty” during the arguments in Halbig and King, he was shown later to have embraced that same interpretation. Gruber has become a major liability in the litigation. Gruber then was back in the news with an equally startling admission that the Obama Administration (and Gruber) succeeded in passing the ACA only by engineering a “lack of transparency” on the details and relying on “the stupidity of the American voter.” Now a new videotape has surfaced from Gruber speaking at the University of Rhode Island in 2012 and expressing the same contempt for the intelligence of citizens — suggesting again that they were hoodwinked to “the lack of economic understanding of the American voter.” Gruber was paid roughly $400,000 to help design the ACA by the Obama Administration, but he is proving far far more costly in its aftermath.

Continue reading “New Video Shows Gruber Discussing How Health Taxes Were Structured To Exploit The Lack of Knowledge Of The American Voter” →