Myrtle Beach Real Estate by Mirela Monte

As a Real Estate Agent specializing in short sales and foreclosures, I know first hand how devastating this market can be to scores of hard working Americans. As Realtors and as consumers, I think it's important to know the latest foreclosure developments. Here are some of the lesser known stories, not typically covered by the major media. Each title is a link that will take you to the original post:

Pulling Back the Curtain: Exposing the 1% Behind the 2011 Big Bank Bonuses:

The nation’s top six banks—Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs—paid out $144 BILLION in bonuses and compensation this past year, making 2011’s payday the second highest on record for these six firms.

Just half of the banks’ bonus and compensation pools would be enough to write down the principal on all underwater mortgages in the country. (video provided at the bottom of this post)

____

A Huge Housing Bargain -- but Not for You:

The largest transfer of wealth from the public to private sector is about to begin. The federal government will be bulk-selling the massive portfolio of foreclosed homes now owned by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to private investors -- vulture funds.

These homes, which are now the property of the U.S. government, the U.S. taxpayer, U.S. citizens collectively, are going to be sold to private investor conglomerates at extraordinarily large discounts to real value.

You and I will not be allowed to participate. These investors will come from the private-equity and hedge-fund community, Goldman Sachs(GS_) and its derivatives, as well as foreign sovereign wealth funds that can bring a billion dollars or more to each transaction.

In the process, these investors will instantaneously become the largest improved real estate owners and landlords in the world. The U.S. taxpayer will get pennies on the dollar for these homes and then be allowed to rent them back at market rates.

____

The Foreclosure-to-Rental Screwjob:

And, why–in heaven’s name–would congress want to take on more risk when they can keep millions of people in their homes by simply reducing the principle on their mortgages to the present value of the house?

Did you catch that? Taxpayers are going to get slammed for another $750 billion. That’s nearly as much as Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the fiscal stimulus that added 2 percent to GDP and kept unemployment from rocketing to 13 percent. Bernanke wants to throw that same amount down a Wall Street sinkhole.

____

New York Federal Reserve Estimates 3.6 Million Foreclosures Will Occur In The Next Two Years:

While foreclosure rates hit a four-year low in 2011, the early signs for 2012 don’t look good when it comes to housing, as banks have begun to work through a backlog of foreclosures that were delayed by the foreclosure fraud scandal. In fact, the New York Federal Reserve anticipates that 3.6 million foreclosures will occur in the next two years, piling on to the 1 million in 2010 and the 800,000 last year. “The ongoing weakness in housing has made it more difficult to achieve a vigorous economic recovery,” said New York Fed President William Dudley. “Housing has inhibited economic activity through a number of channels.”
____

The Democratically-controlled Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed an enormous $662 billion defense bill, including a provision that would give the military the responsibility to indefinitely detain suspected terrorists, even if they are American citizens caught on U.S. soil.
Despite a vow from President Obama that he would veto the bill if it still contained the dangerous detainment provision, the Senate blocked not one but two attempts to strip it from the legislation, ultimately passing the bill in a 93-7 vote.

H.R. 1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1540&tab=summary

S. 1867: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-1867

S.1867: http://bit.ly/S1867 and http://1.usa.gov/S1867b

Final Senate vote on the bill: http://1.usa.gov/NDAAvote

Final Vote in the House: http://bit.ly/NDAAHouseVote

How it unfolded in the Senate: http://1.usa.gov/NDAAsteps

Synopsis: http://bit.ly/NDAAsynopsis

NDAA Final Transcript from the Senate Floor: http://bit.ly/NDAAfinal

List of Twitter IDs for senators who voted for/against the NDAA: http://on.fb.me/TweetListNDAA

Impeach Every Senator Who Votes for "U.S. is a Battlefield" Bill that Violates Basic Rights": http://bit.ly/Impeach

1 Billion AGAINST Indefinite Detention without trial law: http://on.fb.me/NoIndefiniteDetention

Recall Every Congressman Who Voted for the NDAA: http://on.fb.me/RecallCongress


Interpretations and Opinions:

The upper chamber granted presidential authority to detain American citizens indefinitely without evidence or trials. As one lawmaker pointed out, this flagrantly defies the Constitution. http://bit.ly/NDAA3

Feinstein was able to include a largely symbolic amendment which states that “nothing in the bill changes current law relating to the detention of U.S. citizens and legal aliens,” but this measure is meaningless according to Republican Congressman Justin Amash, a fierce critic of the bill.
“Some have asserted that Sen. Feinstein’s amendment, S Amdt 1456, protects the rights of American citizens and preserves constitutional due process. Unfortunately, it does not. It’s just more cleverly worded nonsense.” http://bit.ly/NDAAscrewed4

The reason the compromise amendment worked is that it leaves the question of domestic military detention open, leaving the matter for Supreme Court to resolve should a future president decide to assert the authority to detain a US citizen on American soil. http://bit.ly/NDAAscrewed

They're not even pretending to do things in line with the Constitution anymore: http://read.bi/NDAAscrewed3

The only “silver lining,” if one can call it such, is that the military isn’t forced to detain American citizens without trial, it’s merely allowed to. The Senate has officially declared the entire United States to be a battleground. And you and I are potential enemies. http://bit.ly/NDAAscrewed5

“The detention mandate to use indefinite military detention in terrorism cases isn’t limited to foreigners. It’s confusing, because two different sections of the bill seem to contradict each other, but in the judgment of the University of Texas’ Robert Chesney — a nonpartisan authority on military detention — “U.S. citizens are included in the grant of detention authority,” http://bit.ly/NDAA9

Amnesty International: The new National Defense Authorization Bill (S1867) presented to the Senate by the Armed Services Committee is such a disaster for civil liberties and human rights it is difficult to know where to begin. http://bit.ly/NDAA4

The ACLU: "The bill is an historic threat to American citizens and others because it expands and makes permanent the authority of the president to order the military to imprison without charge or trial American citizens," said Christopher Anders, ACLU senior legislative counsel. "The final amendment to preserve current detention restrictions could turn out to be meaningless and Senators Levin and Graham made clear that they believe this power to use the military against American citizens will not be affected by the new language. This bill puts military detention authority on steroids and makes it permanent. If it becomes law, American citizens and others are at real risk of being locked away by the military without charge or trial. http://bit.ly/ACLUonNDAA

I guess we can now end the wars, since they can't hate us for our freedoms anymore!

s.1867, The 'National Defense Authorization Act' creates a police state:

The bill was drafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), before being passed in a closed-door committee meeting without any kind of hearing. http://mediamonarchy.blogspot.com/2011/11/senate-bill-to-turn-us-into-battlefield.html

Yes, Americans Will Be Targeted As Terrorists Under the NDAA - Dark Politricks
http://bit.ly/rBhHex

The U.S. Senate is considering the unthinkable: changing detention laws to imprison people — including Americans living in the United States itself — indefinitely and without charge. The ACLU petition: http://bit.ly/uNaKsM

The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself. http://bit.ly/t7egus

This bill is over 600 pages long, and even according to its sponsors, covers a wide variety of issues. Something as important and unique as criminal justice should not be part of a military authorization bill, but should be the subject of its own bill: http://bit.ly/twwNKA

Is Guantanamo forever?
The Senate contemplates a bipartisan bill to make permanent the failed system of indefinite detention: http://bit.ly/vIseRQ

Secret Bill To Be Voted On Today Would Allow The Military To Sweep Up US Citizens At Home Or Abroad: http://read.bi/vnp2sc

The language contained in sections 1031, 1032, and 1033 operates to create a dangerous framework certain to curtail civil liberties and hamstring effective policing. As written, these sections establish indefinite detention, military custody, and a “national security waiver” prohibiting certain transfers from Guantánamo Bay: http://bit.ly/vk7fcW

There's a problem: Within this year's NDAA bill are problematic new provisions that could allow the U.S. military to capture and indefinitely detain American citizens, even here on U.S. soil. Senator Udall's petition: http://bit.ly/uTLYhz

As the Occupy protests grow with each passing day, the threat to the 1% is growing as well. It is no wonder that our government, who is a decades long supporter of the police state as both a profit center and business model, has tried to slip this legislation through. http://bit.ly/vL3uSL

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 is mind-bogglingly unconstitutional, especially Sections Sections 1031 and 1032. It's unconscionable. http://bit.ly/t3ythO

Recent efforts to militarize our justice system and reimpose the use of torture during interrogation are ill advised. They can only further erode the safety of American citizens. In addition, this plan rejects the best advice of U.S. military and intelligence professionals. http://bit.ly/uxrlvu

This bill gives the president the authority to indefinitely imprison American citizens without a court hearing, both domestically and abroad. Senate Bill 1867 is bringing the battlefield to the homeland. Alex Jones, radio host of The Alex Jones Show, tells us what this could mean for America's future. http://bit.ly/tdPxyq

The NDAA is so expansive in scope & dangerous in nature that it makes the PATRIOT Act look like the Bill of Rights. http://bit.ly/rsrNpc

According to Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield.” http://bit.ly/vVcYWB

"I'm very, very, concerned about having U.S. citizens sent to Guantanamo Bay for indefinite detention," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the Senate's most conservative members. http://huff.to/tItjaQ

I was arrested with this fine man yesterday morning. This is Captain Lewis and November 17th also happens to be his Birthday.

We all sang him Happy Birthday as we stood in our cuffs waiting to be booked for peacefully protesting. We all greeted him with cheers for joining the movement.

He said that we, meaning all of us who have been involved in Occupy Wall Street these last two months, were the ones who deserved the applause because our strength and courage to stand up for what we believe in inspired him. Ah, what a beautiful day!

~Raina Hamner