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Jun
19

FOR THE FATHERS

By | Foreclosure Blog News, HAMP, Housing & Economic Research, Weidner

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Re-posted from last year by special request, and because it’s Fathers’ Day!

I’m a father and there’s no father in the whole world happier than I am about being a father.  I love my daughter more than words could ever express, and if I had one wish, without hesitation it would be to be able to relive my life with my daughter over and over for eternity.  Every second I spend with her is the best moment of my life, and I hope we are together forever.

There’s nothing to compare to fatherhood.  In fact, someone once asked me to recount one of my life’s most embarrassing moments, and for a moment I considered telling them about the time…

… It was just after a big rain storm, and I was driving my car with the window open, waiting to turn left at the light, staring out the window, just daydreaming for a moment, head leaning to my left, supported by my hand, and apparently with my mouth open just a bit, when a car turning in the oncoming lane passed through a six or eight inch deep puddle of water that was exactly 90 degrees to the side of the car, soaking me from head to toe, as if standing under a waterfall, but more importantly, filling my mouth with puddle so entirely, so unexpectedly that I believe I lost all composure for several moments.

… Or, there was the time, back in second grade, when I was running extra fast to impress Susie Mulvahill, while playing tag in the playground during recess, when I failed to notice one of the eight inch wide, vertical iron girders that rose from the cement to support the four story tall fire escapes that stood on either side of the old red brick school building that was Wightman School… girders that had been painted black, but should have probably been “Alert Yellow,” and I was running at full speed when I slammed straight into the unforgiving iron and knocked myself out, only to remember being awaken by a teacher and gaggle of classmates all yelling, “wake up!”.

… Or, there was the time when I was eleven and, against the advice and strong objections of my parents, I went swimming far too soon after eating a large Italian Hoagie and… well, maybe we don’t need to talek about that one.  I don’t think we know each other well enough for that one.

Anyway… I decided instead to say that my most embarrassing moments were all of those in which, before my wife and I had a child, someone who did have children invited me into a discussion about raising children… and I participated.  Wooooo-boy… I would not want to learn that any of those discussions had been taped, and I was about to be a guest on “This is Your Life”.  That’s the sort of thing that makes me want to run screaming from the room… even now, as I’m writing this.

There is nothing that compares with having a child.  Nothing even close.  I really don’t believe you know joy, fear or sadness until you have a child… at least I did not.

So, for that… I am happy today.  Very, very happy because I’m a father.

But, it’s hard for me to be happy without thinking about the hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of fathers who while they smile through their day, are also worrying about what will happen tomorrow because they know that, despite their best efforts, they may lose their homes.  And I know that most of them blame themselves for decisions they made during a very different time that now seem so irresponsible or foolish but that then seemed entirely reasonable. And that makes me sick because I understand that it’s not their fault that things have changed so dramatically. They could not have known what was to come. They didn’t do anything wrong, yet they blame themselves.

It’s also not a natural disaster. It’s the fault of a very small, specific and definable group of Wall Street bankers and related financial types… criminals, in my mind, if not in the eyes of the law… that literally plotted to abuse the system to such a degree that what they did for profit has essentially bankrupted millions. They’re not bankrupt, however, they made tens of millions, and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars off of their scheme.

Then when it started to unravel… when Alan Greenspan raised rates 17 times in a row by the summer of 2006 in an effort to cool off an overheated housing market… at the same time something else was about to break… something else that was much harder to see than the houses that would soon start going into foreclosure: the bond market, and specifically the market for mortgage backed securities.

You could say that one triggered the other on top of a mountain of loans designed to be refinanced every couple of years. You see, the bankers designed loans that needed to be refinanced every 2-3 years. That way, they could make more money refinancing loans. They didn’t have to make loans that needed to be refinanced so frequently, they could have made them sustainable loans that someone could keep for 30 years, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as profitable so they made them so they would blow up if not refinanced.

When rates went up, some went into default, and then when the pension plans that had bought Wall Street’s securitized and re-securitized bonds and derivatives realized that the bonds were improperly rated triple A, they dumped them immediately and at fire sale prices. No one trusted the ratings, so no one would buy the bonds, so the banks couldn’t sell their mortgages, so they stopped lending. It was like a 10th Avenue Freeze Out, as The Boss, Bruce Springsteen sings.

So, people were defaulting because rates had risen, and because they had loans that had been designed to need to be refinanced, but there was no refinancing because Wall Street had sold improperly rated bonds and now no one trusted the ratings, so the banks wouldn’t lend because they couldn’t sell the loans to Wall Street because no one wanted the bonds… and the winners were the people who bought credit default swaps… and then there was the leverage… whew! Hold it right there.

Do you see why I’m saying that it wasn’t any father’s fault? Because it wasn’t, and anyone who would like to argue that is welcome to come my way because I’m gunning for the next one who wants to go down.

It wasn’t the borrowers, it was the God damn bankers. And don’t write to me about saying God damn in this situation because I mean specifically that God should damn them. So, if that makes you uncomfortable then read someone else, because you are not welcome here.

When it all happened, the media started blaming the thing they could see, and the bankers pushed the point of view… it was the borrowers who were causing their own plight. It was a lie then and it’s still a lie.

And it’s caused so much pain, and it caused more today, a day when fathers should feel nothing but joy. So, instead of my feeling only joy today, I cried for the fathers who felt guilt and shame and fear inside, while they smiled through their special day. Because they shouldn’t have had to feel any of those things because they didn’t do anything wrong… they didn’t put their family’s home at risk of foreclosure… the Wall Street bankers and catatonic government regulators did that.

Because fathers do anything and everything for their families they love, and one of my readers reminded me of that today by sending me the video below to remind me that I’m fighting for my family and for fathers everywhere. I’ve seen the video before, but the reader who sent it to me reminded me that I am fighting for my family and families everywhere.

Watch it… and then scroll down… there’s more and it matters…

Someone else sent me something today. Danny Schechter, the writer, producer and director of the new movie PLUNDER, contacted me by email today. He had just found Mandelman Matters and he wanted me to watch his film and talk to him about how I could help get the message out about the film.

So, I did. I watched the whole thing and was glued to it the whole time. I stumbled over a couple of things in the beginning, but I stayed with it, and found those things didn’t matter at all.

PLUNDER is the first and only movie that explains what I’ve written hundreds of pages about in a movie that’s 1 hour and 40 minutes long. It’s way better than Michael Moore’s Capitalism – Love Story, if you happened to see that.

And you need to see it. All of you, but especially the fathers out there that are feeling that they let themselves and their families down. If you’re a father… BUY IT!!! If you know a father… BUY IT!!!! If you’re a mother BUY IT!!!! EVERYONE PLEASE BUY IT!!!!

HAVE PARTIES… PLUNDER PARTIES!

INVITE EVERYONE YOU KNOW OVER TO WATCH IT WITH YOU!

LET THE FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF THIS COUNTRY OFF THE HOOK. IT WASN’T THEY WHO CAUSED THIS, IT WAS THE BANKERS. PERIOD. THE END.

HERE’S A TRAILER, AND A LINK TO AMAZON WHERE YOU CAN BUY IT RIGHT NOW FOR LIKE $16. BUY IT. BUY IT. BUY IT FOR YOUR FRIENDS. BUY IT FOR EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

Jul
29

Mandelman on the News Dissector Radio Show

By | HAMP, Housing & Economic Research, Weidner

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My goodness, I’ve been doing quite a few radio programs lately, have you noticed?  I really like doing the radio show thing, it’s a lot easier than writing long, in-depth articles… LOL… just kidding… sort of.  Anyway, this is a link to me on Danny Schechter the News Dissector’s show, which is out of New York.  We’re talking about the economy and the foreclosure crisis, what else?

Here’s a link to the show:

Mandelman on the News Dissector, with Danny Schechter

Danny Schechter produced and directed the movie, PLUNDER, and I like the movie so much that I suggested that others watch it and even hold “Plunder Parties” so that people across the country would start to realize who caused the economic catastrophe we’re going to be living with for the next way-too-many years.  Here’s a link to that, in case you missed it:

Have a Plunder Party and Help Change Our World

I’m not kidding when I say, “help change our world,” by the way.  The only way we’re going to change things in this country (short of waiting for them to change on their own which will happen eventually, but at 49 years old, it won’t matter to me by then) is for the people to speak out and demand balance… in other words, tell our elected representatives that the banks aren’t the only important members of our society… and the only way the people will speak out is if they realize that what’s happened is not their fault.

Until they (read: you) understand that its not the borrowers, it’s the banks that caused our national meltdown… they’ll (read: you’ll) remain ashamed and unable to speak out.  So, watch Plunder… seriously… buy it and watch it.  It’s like $16.99… and  you can throw $16.99 at something this important.

Anyway… all this radio show practice is going to come in handy… because soon I might just be doing a radio show of my own.  And maybe even some Podcasting… I’m so techie, after all.

Mandelman out.

Jul
08

Have a “Plunder Party” and Help Change Our World

By | HAMP, Housing & Economic Research

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People write to me all the time asking what they can do to help change what’s happening in this country as related to the tragedy that is the foreclosure crisis.  They read articles I’ve written and say, ” Yes, I agree… but what can I do to help change what’s going on?”

I could answer by saying that you have to “speak out,” but what the heck does that really mean?  I could say, “Write to your congressional representative,” but for most people, that feels like it will be about as effective as trying to remove sand from the beach with a teaspoon.

I want to answer the question today of what you can do to help change what’s being allowed to go on in this country as far as your fellow citizens are concerned, but before I do I want to make sure everyone understands two things:

  1. There’s no magic bullet here, no single thing that’s going to do the trick.  But, that’s not a reason to do nothing.  Doing “The Wave” at a baseball game starts with a handful of people, and soon that “wave” pulses through a stadium packed with 50,000 people.  Changing what’s happening in this country is the same thing.  It’s how you eat an elephant, right?  One bite at a time.
  2. If you don’t believe that a “grassroots” movement can overpower or even compete with the power of the banking and financial services industries, I would ask you to consider that our current president is an African American, who was the Junior Senator from Illinois, by the name of Barack Obama.  Does anyone think that the day he began his campaign he or anyone else for that matter, thought: “This is a lock.  No way we can lose?”  Unlikely, don’t you think?
  3. And if you don’t believe Congress will ever be responsive to the demands of the people, I’d ask you to consider that just over a year ago, when there were people marching in the streets, expressing their outrage over $165 million in AIG bonuses that were about to be paid out to the very executives responsible for AIG’s financial ruin, it took Congress less than two weeks to pass an entirely unprecedented law that would have taxed those bonuses at the rate of 90%.  That bill died quietly in the Senate, of course, but it isn’t the point.  That 90% bonus tax bill being passed in less than two weeks should have proved beyond any doubt that Congress actually can take action quickly on behalf of the people in this country… if they are motivated to do so.

Okay, so what can you do today… right now, as a matter of fact… to start changing the course our nation is currently following?  And, let me assure you of something: If we don’t change that course, if we allow the foreclosure crisis to continue unabated, we will most assuredly increasingly experience the pain of a nation whose economy in an ongoing decline… for years… and by “years” I mean decades.

In 1929, on one day of the stock market’s crash, the NYSE traded 16 million shares.  The next time it would trade 16 million shares it was 1969… 40 years later.  On January 1, 1960, the DOW was roughly 700… on January 1, 1970, it was 800, and on January 1, 1980, the DOW was 838.  That’s 20 years, between 1960 and 1980, and the DOW basically went from 700 to 800.  People in this country today have never really experienced “hard times,” but that doesn’t mean they’ve never happened or won’t happen again.

So, what am I suggesting you do?  Have a “Plunder Party!”

PLUNDER – The Crime of Our Time, is a movie produced and directed by Danny Schechter, that shows what Wall Street did to destroy our economy.  It’s the first movie that clearly shows that what’s happened over the last several years was not a natural disaster, nor was it a market correction.  The destruction of our credit and financial markets, along with the housing market was not caused by irresponsible borrowers, it was the result of financial terrorism… a series of criminal acts perpetrated by Wall Street’s bankers who made billions as a result.

I don’t care what your views are today… they will have changed after you watch PLUNDER – The Crime of Our Time.  It’s entertaining, never boring, and it’s never “over anyone’s head”.  Anyone who watches this movie will at least be angry, but if enough watch it, they’ll be ready to take action… the next step, whatever that step turns out to be.  Think of it as the foundation upon which we can begin to call on the citizens of this country to speak out and demand real change.

I think everyone has a friend or family member who thinks the crisis was caused by irresponsible sub-prime borrowers, who are now lowing their homes and should be.  They’re wrong, and you know they’re wrong, but it’s a tough argument to win.  More than a few of my readers have contacted me over the last year saying that they wish I could come over and set their special someone straight, and frankly I wish I could too, because no one… and I do mean no one… has any chance of winning that argument if I’m involved, and not because I’m such a brilliant debater, but because they have their facts wrong… they are misinformed.  I am not, and neither is Danny Schechter.

“A hard-hitting investigative film by Danny Schechter. The “News Dissector” explores how the financial crisis was built on a foundation of criminal activity uncovering the connection between the collapse of the housing market and the economic catastrophe that followed. To tell this story Schechter speaks with bankers involved in these activities, respected economists, insider experts, top journalists including Paul Krugman, and even a convicted white-collar criminal, Sam Antar, who blows the whistle on intentionally dishonest practices.”

It’s easy to have a PLUNDER PARTY… and even if you don’t want to have an actual party… start by ordering the DVD by clicking the link below.  When the DVD arrives, watch it.  It will make you mad, it may make you cry.  The make the decision… who would you like to have over to watch it with you?  Make a list, it doesn’t matter whether you invite two people… 20 people… or 200 people.  Make popcorn… serve lemon aide… set up chairs so your guests are comfortable.

Tell everyone why you think this is such an important film to watch.  Write to me and I’ll help you write something, help you plan it out.  If you want, you can even set up a speaker phone and call me after the movie has ended and I’ll answer any questions you guests might have… I’m sure I can get Danny Schechter to be on many of those calls too.

People, let’s do this… really do this.  It’s not the only thing we’ll do… but it’s a starting place and it’s something we all can do now.  For what it’s worth, I’m having my own PLUNDER PARTY in early August, and I’ll be sure to film it and post it on my blog so you’ll be able to see how it went.

I’m thinking of setting out a metal tub filled with apples and a sign that says “Apples 5¢,” just like during the Great Depression, and serving chili, but calling it “Rabbit Stew,” or something like that.  Maybe I’ll even dress in clothes that look like I just walked out of The Grapes of Wrath, if you remember that book or the movie with Henry Fonda.

I don’t know… I think it’s going to be a hoot!  A lot more fun than one of those Pampered Chef parties I got dragged to a few years ago.  (Sorry, I’m just saying…)

So… get started now… click the link in the red box and order the DVD from Amazon.com right now… while you’re thinking about it.  And yes… in the spirit of full disclosure, I’m an Amazon affiliate, so I’ll make 6.5% of the $16.99 sales price, which is about a buck.  Just so you know…
“Plunder -

What’s next?  Here’s what I think should be next.  It’s called “A Hundred Thousand Homeowners – Voices of Hope & Change“.  Click the link and find out how you can join 100,000 homeowners in sending a message to Washington that will be heard.

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