Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans halts foreclosures

by: jsalera

Sun Feb 08, 2009 at 09:25:00 AM EST

And his declaration last week that he would stop enforcing sales of foreclosed homes was a political stunt with no basis in law. He shouldn't have done it. And he shouldn't be so disposed to political gamesmanship as a way to raise his campaign's profile.

Senate Democrats Continue Fight for Foreclosure Protection

by: Senate Dems

Thu Jan 29, 2009 at 17:24:40 PM EST

These foreclosure bills ( http://tinyurl.com/b8hujf ) were originally introduced early 2008 by Senator Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) and were sent to the Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions where they did not receive a hearing. This legislation would also help those whose landlords are going into foreclosure by giving them a 90 day notice and also requiring the new owner to hold to the terms of the tenants lease.

Foreclosure rates are continuing to hurt Michigan's economy and during these tough times, this crisis can be stabilized by implementing this legislation as stated by Senator Clarke: http://tinyurl.com/c5qc49. By tie barring foreclosure protection legislation to the MBT Surcharge repeal Senate Democrats hoped to tackle two of Michigan's largest problems: jobs and foreclosures. Although the motion to attach foreclosure protections to the repeal failed on a party line vote, Senate Democrats will continue their fight to keep people in their homes and continue to push legislation that will help do just that.  

The Bailout Boogeyman

by: LiberalLucy

Wed Sep 24, 2008 at 10:48:22 AM EDT

The news coming out of Wall Street and Washington is grim at best. We all thought Black Friday of 1929 was bad, and now we hear a $700 Billion bailout is needed. For those of you who find that number a little unfathomable, it looks like this

yes, that's a heck of a lot of money. Even more than Amway Guy has with all of his soap and hope, but I digress.

With an economy and workforce reeling from the constant blood-letting of the Auto Industry, Michigan foreclosures are at an all-time high. So when we hear the bulk of this collapse stems from bad mortgages and shady sub-prime markets, we brace ourselves for the worst. From the Freep-

"I know in our arena in Michigan, because we have ranked so high on that list of foreclosures, we will be the first ones on the totem pole to be impacted by whatever solutions they come up with," said Robert Rahal, president of Birmingham-based Shore Mortgage.

Michigan had the fifth-highest foreclosure rate in the nation in August. From January to August, it had 95,272 foreclosure filings and 33,829 bank repossessions, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

But don't actually fool yourself into thinking that Michigan residents completely brought this on ourselves. Michael Barr is a professor of banking and financial services law at UM Law School and had this to say to Crain's Detroit Business 

...Barr said the Bush administration refused to enact serious mortgage market reform to protect homeowners and ignored growing evidence that a wedge was forming in the financial markets among the incentives facing borrowers, brokers, lenders, investment banks and investors.

“Conflicts of interest, lax regulation, and ideological blinders fed this crisis; boom times and lack of transparency hid it for a time, but no more,” Barr said.

Now this same administration is advocating that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to run a muck and unchecked with our nation's financial system, and telling Congress they have no choice but to pass his recommended plan. Anyone else scared yet? I don't like government without checks and balances. But government running the markets without checks and balances makes me even more uncomfortable.

Who knows what the next hours and days will bring. What we can all do is make sure our voices are heard with our public servants in Washington. Speak out because if you don't, how much can you really complain afterward. 

And so that we aren't all completely depressed, many thanks to last night's Colbert Report's The Word for making us laugh while we cry about it. (Watch the video below the fold)

Mich. GOP Targets Foreclosure Victims for Election Day Dirty Tricks

by: Project Vote

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 15:28:01 PM EDT

GOP goes after foreclosure victims in Macomb County

by: Eric B.

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 11:56:19 AM EDT

Fresh off crushing efforts in Macomb County to get absentee ballots to elderly shut-ins, the Republican Party is now hell-bent on making sure that people who lose their homes don't get to vote in November.

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” (GOP) party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

As Eartha Jane Melzer noted in her story, it's only the latest way that the GOP has benefited from the housing crisis.  A few months ago, it was learned that the McCain campaign is renting office space from one of the state's leading foreclosure attorneys, an attorney who has also raised more than $100,000 for McCain.

Update! ... Progress Michigan has a page and a petition on this that can be found here (again, I don't endorse these things, but provide links to them as services for any as such who might be interested).

HEADS UP! Make Every Vote Count!

by: William Allen Simpson

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 06:49:02 AM EDT

Lose your house, lose your vote

Help Us Make Every Vote Count!

In the meantime, everybody should call your TV stations and newspapers across the state. Write letters to the editor. Publicize this as widely as possible -- how cruel, how cynical. This is not about protecting the sanctity of the vote. They're trying to win an election on the backs of the unfortunate.

Remember, you can vote even after your house has burned down, even after moving to another city, another county, another state, or another country.

There's no requirement that you have a mailing address. You can live in a cardboard box, or on a grate, or in an alley.

Enforcement will require a court order. You are only protected by having enough money to go to court, or banding together for enforcement.

ALERT:Michigan Republicans Foreclosing Your Vote!

by: The Blue State Bandit

Wed Sep 10, 2008 at 14:36:32 PM EDT

If you have lost your home due to foreclosure in Michigan, the Republicans plan to deny your right to vote! This is not a joke, and it may not be happening in just Michigan.

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

"We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses," party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

State Rep. Andy Meisner officially launches his bid for OC Treasurer this Sunday!

by: Michael McGuinness

Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 00:19:03 AM EDT

Join State Representative Andy Meisner's fight to protect our property values and prevent foreclosures at  the official launch of Andy’s 2008 campaign to become our next Oakland County Treasurer.  

Official Launch of the Andy Meisner for Oakland County Treasurer Campaign
Date: Sunday, April 27, 2008
Time: The event begins at 2:00 PM
Fees: None; free and open to the public
Location: Troy Community Center, Room 303
3179 Livernois, Troy, MI 48083

Following the launch, interested volunteers may join Andy and his team in going door to door in Troy to bring his plan for restoring Oakland County's prosperity directly to the voters.

We look forward to seeing you at this important event! Please RSVP online today at http://launch.andymeisner.com or contact us at launch@andymeisner.com. Thank you!

Sen. Tupac A. Hunter: Fight Foreclosures, Save the Dream

by: Tupac Hunter

Wed Feb 27, 2008 at 16:31:17 PM EST

As the Democratic Vice-Chairman of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, I recently helped usher the bills implementing the Save the Dream initiative through the committee process.

One of the main goals of the Save the Dream campaign is to establish an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) Refinance Program that will help homeowners switch to a lower-interest, fixed-rate loan. These ARM's have been one of the major factors contributing to our state's foreclosure crisis, which is why I am proud to have sponsored Senate Bill 948 to make sure homeowners in this state can transition into a stable, long-term mortgage that they can actually afford.

Schauer Again Highlighted in National Media for Leadership on Foreclosure Crisis

by: SchauerforCongress

Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 18:22:44 PM EST

In Michigan, housing is driving a wedge between Republican Rep. Tim Walberg and his opponent, Democrat Mark Schauer, a state senator. Mr. Walberg voted against legislation that would have toughened oversight of mortgage lenders, while Mr. Schauer is pushing proposals to stiffen oversight of loan officers and ease foreclosure rates among veterans. "It is a huge economic issue in Michigan," Mr. Schauer said.

This is not the first time Schauer's efforts to combat the foreclosure crisis have been highlighted by the national media. Here's what Jay Newton-Small of Time Magazine wrote last November:

After Walberg's narrow victory in 2006 (a race in which he outspent his opponent by $1.2 million to $46,000), the Democrats this time have recruited a top-tier opponent: State Senator Mark Shauer, who has championed the predatory lending issue in the state legislature, co-sponsoring legislation that would tighten oversight on loan officers and support programs to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. Schauer plans on campaigning on the issue and accuses Walberg of turning his back on people in need. "The people in Michigan are struggling, and we're doing what we can to help at the state level," Schauer said. "But Washington and my opponent need to step up."

Yesterday Sen. Schauer had this to say about President Bush's new plan for foreclosures:

"It's about time that Washington realized we have a foreclosure crisis in this country. Unfortunately, the solutions proposed by the Bush Administration and their supporters appear to be more of a short-term band-aid, when at least in Michigan, we need a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. I'll continue to push for real, comprehensive solutions to this crisis because people are suffering and our future is at risk."

Communities across this  district have been hit particularly hard by record foreclosures and Schauer is working to help struggling consumers. People from the 7th district are hungry for change and ready for a Congressman who will represent the interests of south central Michigan, not the failed policies of the Bush administration that helped create this foreclosure crisis in the first place.

Here's what you can do to support Sen. Schauer's people-powered campaign:

*Visit markschauer.com and join our email list
*Join the Mark Schauer for Congress Facebook group to show your support
*Subscribe to our YouTube videos
*Support our grassroots effort by making a contribution through ActBlue

Join us, and together we can unseat another Bush Republican and send a proven leader to Washington who will fight to move Michigan forward.