The Most Oppressive Debt- The Banking Scam You Never Hear About
As a former student organizer and staff of the US Student Association, I always have an eye out for stories about access to higher education, and the affordability crisis. Not only are there few stories, but they usually focus on the impact of rising tuition. The analysis (if there is any) is it is caused by more cut backs in state funding. There's little to no analysis of the declining value of the Pell Grant.This segment on Democracy Now is astonishing. Like I said, I know more than the average person about student loans, the impact on students, and on access to higher education for communities of color; and I am amazed at the analysis and the evidence here of a student loan racket and wholesale ripoff. You have to watch it for yourself starts 13 minutes in (scroll down for audio or the written transcript).
They show clips of Defualt: The Student Loan Documentary, from the website,
"While the media has focused on the disaster that sub-prime mortgages have turned out to be, only superficial attention has been given to financial giants which have been profiting by approving loans to low-income students with variable interest rates up to 25%."
Another guest, Alan Michael Collinge, author of The Student Loan Scam: the Most Oppressive Debt in US History--and How We Can Fight Back, talks about his personal experience with the student loan industry and reveals how private banks have created a perfect monopoly and racket in student loans that even the mob would envy. His website www.StudentLoanJustice.org is fantastic- it names names.In addition to extraordinary and arbitrary fees, student loans have been stripped of consumer protections, not just bankruptcy protection, but truth in lending laws. Under the banking protection laws, it is in their financial interest for students to default- you owe them WAY more, AND they still collect. This graph will help illustrate that profit motive.
YES WE DID! YES WE MUST:
Þ Protect him from harm both verbal & phyiscal
Þ Stay "FIRED UP" by staying active
Þ Work Bi-Partisan to bring "Change" together
Þ Don't just bitch, get active and stay engaged
Þ Start and join a local "Change" group
Þ Be philanthropic, serve your community, state and nation
Þ Stick by Obama, STOP smears on the Right & the Left!!!! Hold yourself responsible as you hold Barack!
Join the future of this movement!!
http://change.gov/joinus
http://www.communityorganize.com
http://www.ourpresidency.com
http://www.usaservice.org
http://www.whitehouse.gov
Barack's DNC 2004 Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0&feature=PlayList&p=B1939005B8A4D4ED&index=188
Barack's DNC 2008 Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ato7BtisXzE&feature=channel
Barack’s Election Acceptance Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJ-2Zu_Iic&feature=channel
Barack’s Inauguration Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4
Hi folks: I am running on the ballot as a candidate for Assembly District Delegate in the 47th Assembly District Election this coming Sunday, January 11th - and, if you live in Culver City, Rancho Park, Baldwin Hills, Fox Hills, Ladera Hgts, Crenshaw area - you should come by and see how the process works. (To see if you are in the 47th District, look at the map here: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/speaker/District/Map/default.aspx. To see if you have other friends who are running for Delegate, check the list here: http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.4840275/k.804C/ADEM_Candidates.htm.) The location of the Election Meeting is the Vets Memorial Building located at the corner of Overland Avenue and Culver Blvd. (catty-corner from Sony Studios.) Registration starts at 3 pm and the election starts at 5 pm. You can vote early and leave if ya want to. Veterans Memorial Complex 4117 Overland Ave. Culver City Please come by and visit! Maybe even vote. Here is a list of Assembly District candidates approved by California CAN:
Micah Scheindlin Margaret-Mary "Hope" Aguilar Panney Wei-ChenDeana IgelsrudSteven BottKian KaeniGwendolyn AustinMichael RagognaMichael Spitzer-Rubinstein
Micah Scheindlin
Margaret-Mary "Hope" Aguilar
Panney Wei-Chen
Deana Igelsrud
Steven Bott
Kian Kaeni
Gwendolyn Austin
Michael Ragogna
Michael Spitzer-Rubinstein
Read on: From: Chairman Art Torres, California Democratic Party <cdpeditor@cadem.org>
In 2008, we were resolute in our fight for change in Washington — change in our state — change in our own communities. But the fight is not over. Now, more than ever, President-Elect Barack Obama needs a strong Democratic Party behind him. That’s why my 2009 resolution is to make sure the California Democratic Party is ready to help our President whenever he needs.
However, I need your help. On January 10 and 11, 2009, California Democrats will gather to elect almost one-third of the delegates to the California Democratic Party. These delegates will decide the direction of the Party and most importantly do whatever it takes to support the Obama-Biden Administration in the coming years.
Can you join me in reorganizing the Party by coming out to vote for your Assembly District delegate representatives on January 10 or 11, 2009? www.cadem.org/ademrsvp
On January 10 and 11, 2009, twelve delegates will be elected from every Assembly District. These delegates will represent you for a two-year term in the California Democratic Party, decide what candidates and ballot initiatives get the official endorsement of the Party, elect Party officers, and write the Party platform.
Will you make sure you are being well represented in the California Democratic Party by coming out to vote on January 10 or 11, 2009?
If you were a registered Democrat as of October 20, 2008 and are still registered democratic in that same Assembly District, you are eligible to participate. Simply pre-register here and come out to your Assembly District Delegate Election on January 10 or 11, 2009 to vote. You can find your specific voting location and time, as well as candidate information on our web site at www.cadem.org/ademlocations. Remember pre-registration is not mandatory, but will save you time.
I hope you can join me in continuing to make this Party strong. It’s the one New Year’s resolution that we can all make—and keep! Pre-register now to vote in the Assembly District Meetings.
Sincerely,
Sen. Art Torres (Ret.) Chairman, California Democratic Party
If Martin had won yesterday, giving the Democrats the potential for a 60 vote majority in the Senate (assuming Franken also wins), then the Republicans would be able to claim they got railroaded every time a piece of legislation passed by a party-line vote. And if the Democrats could not get closure on a particular bill even with a 60 vote majority (for example if one Democrat defected and voted against closure), then the Republicans would be able to claim that the Democrats can't even muster the discipline to pass their agenda even with a supposedly filibuster-proof majority, and the Democrats would look weak. Either way they could try to use the situation to their advantage.
With less than 60 votes, the Democrats now need to get a couple of Republicans to vote to cut off debate and allow a vote on their legislation. If they have to work to get a couple of Republican votes, so much the better. That will make their achievements look more bi-partisan. And if the Republicans stick together and block too many pieces of legislation, then the Republicans will look like obstructionists, and their popularity will sink even further.
We do not have a parliamentary system, and the Senate was not designed to work like the House of Commons, where all the opposition can do is shout at the Prime Minister. We have a system that is supposed to give the minority some real power. So if the people of Georgia voted with their eyes open to maintain the power of the minority to filibuster legislation, well then maybe all we should say is hooray for democracy!
In reviewing the electoral map (www.electoral-vote.com), it appears that Obama did better than Kerry did four years ago in every state in the country, except for Massachusetts, Arizona, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, where the results were essentially unchanged from four years ago; and Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana, where Obama did not poll quite as well as Kerry did.
Massachusetts and Arizona are understandable since they are respectively Kerry's and McCain's home states. The only explanation I can come up with for the results in these other states is not a very pleasant one. Anyone else have any ideas?
What is going to happen to this website? Will it continue to be a place for campaign junkies to gather? Will it morph into an organizing tool for other campaigns or other issues? Can a President Obama use a website like this one?
I will continue to check back here once in a while, but in the meantime, I started migrating my posts to my own site, hopeandchange.net
Please check it out and comment.
I saw first hand this week why Obama won this election. I was one of thousands of out-of-state lawyers recruited to do voter protection work in Ohio. On election day, I visited three campaign offices in Cleveland and met some of the thousands of volunteers who have been working tirelessly to canvass, phone call, and make sure the election was run properly. Why did we do it? We all know that no one volunteer is going to make the difference in the election, no matter how hard any of us worked. But I have no doubt in my mind that this collective effort did make the difference, particularly in close states like Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Florida and others. There was simply no comparison between the level of commitment and enthusiasm shown by the grassroots-organized field staff in the Obama campaign and the Republican regulars who half-heartedly staffed the McCain campaign.
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first. We just made history. And I don't want you to forget how we did it. You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change. I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next. But I want to be very clear about one thing... All of this happened because of you. Thank you, Barack
Find a polling place near you at Last Call for Change.
To learn more about what Ryan's volunteer effort and how you can get involved too, watch below and then go to Last Call For Change to find a phone bank near your house.
Last weekend, I traveled with 150 friends to the battleground state of Nevada, joining thousands of Californians in campaigning for Senator Barack Obama. Over the weekend, our group knocked on over 5,000 doors. We spread out across Las Vegas, meeting people in their homes and talking to them about their hopes and concerns. What we heard is that Nevadans, like many of their fellow Americans, are worried. They are yearning for change and strong leadership to put our country back on track. Most were responsive to Senator Obama's economic plan of tax cuts for the middle class and smarter regulation of our financial sector. I know that an Obama administration would bring renewed focus toward reviving our urban centers, and I will be working to bring that message to other voters between now and Election Day. Join us on another Drive for Change for the final Get Out the Vote Weekend.
McCain senior staffers have dropped hints to CNN that they are giving up on Iowa, Colorado and New Mexico, and going after Pennsylvania. If the Obama campaign were to take this talk seriously, that would mean McCain has decided that to make up for these three states that Bush won in 2004, he must try to take Pennsylvania from the Democrats. This reminds me of Robert E. Lee's strategy for some reason. Is it possible that McCain is just trying to coax the Obama campaign out of places like Virginia and North Carolina, where Obama has been making some real headway, and force him to spend some time and money shoring up Pennsylvania? Should the Obama campaign meet the McCain campaign on the fields of Gettysburg, and hope for a final, decisive confrontation?
Or should the Obama campaign march into Georgia like Sherman, and really throw the McCain people into confusion?
This weekend, the Obama campaign held four ginormous super phonebanks in the Los Angeles area. Harnessing the amazing enthusiasm here in the final weeks of the Presidential campaign, these phonebanks are full of great energy, dedication, and cell phone waves (oh, and yummy snacks). In my neck of the woods, our Hollywood-Los Feliz-Silver Lake phonebanks joined forces at the fabled Sunset-Gower Studios, located at the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Gower St. (This intersection was once known as "Gower Gulch" - silver-screen cowboys used to gather there looking for work as extras on western films.) Last weekend, this particular phonebank drew 200 volunteers who made 13,000 calls to battleground states and, in phonebanks throughout California, over 500,000 voters were called! This weekend our goal was higher - the campaign has challenged California volunteers to reach at least 625,000 voters - the Last Call For Change! Former home of Columbia Pictures ("It Happened One Night", "Funny Girl" and "The Caine Mutiny") and current home to such TV shows as Dexter and Heroes, Sunset-Gower houses many independent film and television production companies. It was also the former home of one of my all-time personal favorites: Six Feet Under. (You can read more about the studio's history here.) Last weekend, entering data from calls to Colorado, I was really heartened by the number of voters solidly in the Obama camp, versus the ones for McCain. The polls there are bearing this out. This weekend, we're over halfway toward beating last week's totals - 111 volunteers on Saturday, making nearly 9,000 calls! Sunday will surely rock. Thanks to the incredible volunteer coordinators who are making this phonebank happen every weekend. Your dedication is inspiring. And of course, the roomful of volunteers who didn't want to leave. Folks, if you haven't tried it yet, it's not too late - get thee to CA.BarackObama.com and find the nearest phonebank. You can make calls, enter data, sell swag, bring snacks - the possibilities are endless. You won't regret it!
11:01 AM PDT, October 17, 2008 It is inherent in the American character to aspire to greatness, so it can be disorienting when the nation stumbles or loses confidence in bedrock principles or institutions. That's where the United States is as it prepares to select a new president: We have seen the government take a stake in venerable private financial houses; we have witnessed eight years of executive branch power grabs and erosion of civil liberties; we are still recovering from a murderous attack by terrorists on our own soil and still struggling with how best to prevent a recurrence. We need a leader who demonstrates thoughtful calm and grace under pressure, one not prone to volatile gesture or capricious pronouncement. We need a leader well-grounded in the intellectual and legal foundations of American freedom. Yet we ask that the same person also possess the spark and passion to inspire the best within us: creativity, generosity and a fierce defense of justice and liberty. The Times without hesitation endorses Barack Obama for president.
