Sherry Hunt blew the whistle on Citigroup’s corrupt mortgage practices. The suit eventually got the feds about $158 million, of which about $31 million will go to Hunt. Three weeks after settling the Hunt case, Citigroup rewarded its CEO with $15 million, even though most of the mortgage shenanigans happened under his watch. Wotta country!
via Woman Who Couldn’t Be Intimidated by Citigroup Wins $31 Million.
MrMild sent us this link via carrier pigeon, along with the comment “These guys are all in favor of funding religious schools — as long as they aren’t Muslim.”
Lawmakers concerned about vouchers funding Muslim school | WBRZ News 2 Louisiana : Baton Rouge, LA |.
The Jersey dude claimed to have put 10% of the NJ state legislature in jail. A bold claim, for sure. His exact words: “As you know when I was U.S. Attorney we wound up putting 10 percent of the state Legislature in jail during my seven years.”
In fact he actually charged five Democratic legislators and they all served jail time. That’s 3%. An impressive record, but undermined by his narcissistic need to inflate the numbers.
It’s not news that banks search for ever-sneakier ways to glom onto your money. But sometimes their methods can be breathtaking in their audacity. For example, the recent Pew Charitable Trusts study of bank checking account policies showed that the length of disclosure statements have decreased since 2010 to a median length of 69 pages.
I remember reading that Mitt Romney thinks these abuses can be regulated by the action of the free market but he — and the banks — can Bite Me.
Banks still rig checking account policies so consumers lose, study says | cleveland.com.
Read the Pew report.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney recently said that Wisconsinites who voted down the recall of Gov. Scott Walker had, in doing so, rejected the hiring of more teachers, police officers and firefighters.
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker (here at BiteMe.ME, we call him the anti-Christ) begs to differ: “I know in my state our reform allowed us to protect firefighters, police officers and teachers; that’s not what I think when I think of big government,” said Walker on “Face the Nation.”
Maybe Walker is smarter than he looks.
via Scott Walker: GOP can’t win referendum on Obama – CBS News.
“Socceer mom Madam” Anna Gristina’s lawyer, Norman Pattis “said that the Manhattan district attorney’s office abused the bail system by offering to release her without bail, if she cooperated with their investigation. ‘We have bond being used as a tool to interrogate,’ he said. ‘If you cooperate, you get to go home, if not, sit tight.'”
Bail is a right. It’s supposed to guarantee a suspect’s appearance at trial, not be used as a tool to cause a suspect to relinquish his or her fifth amendment rights. This is outrageous and Vance can Bite Me.
via Soccer Mom Madam may slip bondage as appeals court rips $2 million bail – NY Daily News.
“Indiana is the first U.S. state to specifically allow force against officers, according to the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys in Washington, which represents and supports prosecutors. The National Rifle Association pushed for the law, saying an unfavorable court decision made the need clear and that it would allow homeowners to defend themselves during a violent, unjustified attack. Police lobbied against it.”
Pushed by the NRA and passed by a Republican legislature. Holy crap!
NRA-backed Indiana law spells out when it’s OK to shoot police | cleveland.com.
In the future, we may see advertising on the bathroom mirror. If that doesn’t enhance my user experience, what will? Maybe some custom printed toilet paper.
There’s no escape: Public bathroom mirrors may soon play ads – latimes.com.
With no fanfare, no press conference and no photo op, Mayor Bloomberg has ditched his 2004 pledge to end social promotion — the practice of advancing students to the next grade regardless of their ability to perform at grade level.
The Department of Education announcement was sent out on a Friday, presumably so it would appear in Saturday newspapers, which are the least-read of the week. The email said that the Bloomberg flip-flop came “in response to . . . feedback and research showing that being retained multiple times can be detrimental for students.”
Duh. It’s not news that putting slow 16-year-olds in a class of 14-year-olds can cause problems. Nor is it news that promoting them a grade when they’re unprepared can also cause problems.
But, instead of solving the problem back in 2004 (which would involve putting children who aren’t ready for the next grade into separate classes for additional help), Bloomberg trotted out his magic fix. When that didn’t work, he backed off. But he’s still clueless.
Bloomberg administration has social-promotion change of heart – NY Daily News.
‘ “There’s no device known to mankind that will prevent people from being idiots,” said Mark Rasch, director of network security and privacy consulting for Falls Church, Virginia-based Computer Sciences Corp. CSC’
Read the article for several hilarious stories: Human Errors Fuel Hacking as Test Shows Nothing Stops Idiocy – Bloomberg.
Thanks to artyw2 on alt.fan.cecil-adams for the link.