Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Suma who wrote (37629)	9/8/2005 12:15:32 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 362296

Suma Bankruptcy laws...trying to get it suspended for Katrina victims...hey we're ALL victims of this govt...suspend the whole thing...this Republican congress has been the most vicious, regressive slimefest in our lifetimes. Bankruptcy law called too tough Move under way to exempt Katrina victims from latest changes Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer Victims of Hurricane Katrina should get a reprieve from a tough new federal bankruptcy law set to go into effect Oct. 17, according to consumer activists and some members of Congress. "We call on Congress to provide emergency relief for Katrina victims from the harsh and inflexible bankruptcy law changes," said Brad Botes, a director of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and a principal in Bond & Botes, a law firm with offices in Gulf Coast states. "In the absence of such relief, the victims of Hurricane Katrina may face a cruel second blow when they try to take steps to put their lives and finances back together." Proponents of the new law say it will crack down on deadbeats who run up credit card debts heedlessly. Opponents say it makes it almost impossible for people and businesses that have gotten in over their heads financially to make a fresh start. Travis Plunkett, legislative director of the Consumer Federation of America, joined with Botes in a conference call Wednesday urging that implementation of the law be delayed by a year for Katrina victims and that some of its provisions be permanently waived for them. Those include a requirement for extensive paperwork such as tax returns and paycheck stubs, a review of the past six months of income, a requirement for debtors to undergo credit counseling and a provision that makes it easier for landlords to evict tenants in bankruptcy. These requirements should be eased for victims of all natural disasters, Plunkett said. Several congressional Democrats have already said that they support shielding Katrina victims from the law. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, plans to co-sponsor legislation as soon as possible to postpone the law's impact on families and small businesses financially devastated by Katrina, said Ludmilla Scott, a legislative assistant to Conyers. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., also is expected to introduce legislation to let Katrina victims file for bankruptcy under the older, more flexible law and to ease some of the new law's requirements for victims of natural disasters, Reuters reported. But it's not clear whether an amendment to the law would attract bipartisan support. Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., seemed to indicate otherwise in remarks quoted by Reuters last week. "The goal of this law was to ensure that all bill-paying Americans, including victims of Hurricane Katrina, don't have to pay the debts of others that can afford to pay," he said. While 34 House Democrats have agreed to co-sponsor Conyers' bill, he said no Republicans have expressed interest. While it may seem self-evident that a natural disaster like a hurricane hurts people economically, experts say that impact often takes a while to show up in bankruptcy filings. sfgate.com

To: Suma who wrote (37629)	9/8/2005 1:15:36 PM
From: techguerrilla	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 362296

The official "swift boating" of Blanco and Nagin is "ongoing" ..... .......... This is a post from Bill Weiler, a freelance journalist in Merritt, Florida, who has been researching what went on before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. I've never heard of Weiler. I found it on a Yahoo investment thread, "second hand." It seems to reflect the chimp administration's tactics while officially stating that now is not the time to "point fingers." In other words, it's not the time for anyone to "point fingers" at the administration. All other finger pointing is clearly permissible. ______________________________________________________________ Here are Weiler's comments-- I think all of Mayor Nagin's pomp and posturing is going to bite him hard in the near future as the lies and distortions of his interviews are coming to light. On Friday night before the storm hit Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of calling Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of NO and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after the NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was destroyed. President Bush spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with his advisors and administrators drafting all of the paperwork required for a state to request federal assistance (and not be in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act or having to enact the Insurgency Act). Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up. He was told that they didn't think it necessary for the federal government to be involved yet. After the President's final call to the governor she held meetings with her staff to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds would not be invited in. Saturday before the storm hit the President again called Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin requesting they please sign the papers requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency area, and begin mandatory evacuation. After a personal plea from the President, Nagin agreed to order an evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing federal action. In frustration the President declared the area a national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could legally begin some advanced preparations. Rumor has it that the President's legal advisers were looking into the ramifications of using the insurgency act to bypass the Constitutional requirement that a state request federal aid before the federal government can move into state with troops--but that had not been done since 1906 and the Constitutionality of it was called into question to use before the disaster. Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to NO for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to fund a marina and support the gambling ships. Toss in the investigation that will look into why the emergency preparedness plan submitted to the federal government for funding and published on the city's website was never implemented and in fact may have been bogus for the purpose of gaining additional federal funding as we now learn that the organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or coordinating into any planning--though the document implies that they were. The suffering people of NO need to be asking some hard questions as do we all, but they better start with why Blanco refused to even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation documents until Wednesday which further delayed the legal deployment of National Guard from adjoining states. Or maybe ask why Nagin keeps harping that the President should have commandeered 500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own emergency plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his disposal to use between the local school busses and the city transportation busses--but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them. This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but been destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of thousands more suffering, but it's certainly not a time for people to be pointing fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local corruption and incompetence. Pray to God for the survivors that they can start their lives anew as fast as possible and we learn from all the mistakes to avoid them in the future. ______________________________________________________________ I would love to have some feedback regarding the legitimacy or relevance of any of these charges leveled at Blanco and Nagin. /john