Whitney Elizabeth Houston
August 9, 1963 - February, 11, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
CLIENT UPDATE: Actress Demi Moore seeks help from Dr. Deepak Chopra
It is now confirmed that actress icon Demi Moore is currently under the spiritual guidance of one of our clients, spiritual guru and self-help icon Dr. Deepak Chopra.
Ms. Moore and Dr. Chopra have a long and positive history of association. She has frequently referred to Dr. Chopra's book, "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" as her "bible". Ms. Moore has also served on the board of directors of Dr. Chopra's healing center, among other connections.
Ms. Moore and Dr. Chopra have a long and positive history of association. She has frequently referred to Dr. Chopra's book, "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" as her "bible". Ms. Moore has also served on the board of directors of Dr. Chopra's healing center, among other connections.
FORECLOSURE UPDATE: 5 U.S. Banks Settle Government Lawsuit for $25 Billion
Five (5) U.S. bank accused, charged, and sued for abusive mortgage practices have agreed to a $25 billion settlement with the Federal Government. It is anticipated that the $25 billion settlement will be used to help approximately one million mortgage borrowers, at least a little, for fault foreclosures and their mishandling of requests for loan modifications.
The accused banks who have settled are: (1) Bank of America Corporation, (2) Wells Fargo & Company, (3) JP Morgan Chase & Company, (4) Citigroup, Inc., and (5) Ally Financial, Inc.
Relief from the settlement will be wide, but certainly not deep. Roughly 750,000 mortgage borrowers who lose their homes to foreclosure between 2008 and 2011 may get about a $2,000 cash payment each.
The accused banks who have settled are: (1) Bank of America Corporation, (2) Wells Fargo & Company, (3) JP Morgan Chase & Company, (4) Citigroup, Inc., and (5) Ally Financial, Inc.
Relief from the settlement will be wide, but certainly not deep. Roughly 750,000 mortgage borrowers who lose their homes to foreclosure between 2008 and 2011 may get about a $2,000 cash payment each.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Alabama Immigration Law: Update!
Alabama's immigration law is proving too strict and too costly
ALABAMA’S immigration law, boasted Micky Hammon, an Alabama legislator and one of its co-authors, “attacks every aspect of an illegal immigrant’s life. They will not stay in Alabama…This bill is designed to make it difficult for them to live here so they will deport themselves.” It is not, however, designed to introduce visiting executives from Mercedes-Benz, which employs thousands at its factory in the state, to the pleasures of Alabama’s jails. But that is what happened to Detlev Hager, who was caught in November driving in Tuscaloosa with only German ID on him.
Alabama’s immigration law is the nation’s toughest. It requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain, stop or arrest and have a “reasonable suspicion” of being in the country illegally. It bars illegal immigrants from working, soliciting work, attending public universities or entering into “a business transaction” with the state. It invalidates any contract to which an illegal immigrant was party. It prohibits people from renting apartments to illegal immigrants, taking them in their cars or giving them shelter, and it requires officials in state schools to determine whether pupils are legal or illegal.
As enacted, however, the law has not turned out quite as its backers planned. In September a federal judge struck down four provisions, including the prohibition on illegal immigrants working, the section forbidding citizens from concealing, harbouring or transporting them, and the part that makes hiring or retaining an illegal immigrant actionable. In October an appellate court blocked the law’s directive requiring schools to determine their pupils’ immigration status, as well as the section making it a crime for illegal immigrants not to have proper identification. And in December a district judge struck down the section forbidding illegal immigrants from doing business with the state.
The law’s authors shrewdly included a severability clause, ensuring that if a court strikes down or prohibits one part of the law, the rest remains in effect. So it has, and Mr Hammon’s fond hope—that illegal immigrants will leave—seems to have come true. Anecdotal reports suggest that thousands of Latinos, legal as well as illegal, have left Alabama. Farmers complain of rotting crops and building companies of rising costs, both because there are too few workers. Samuel Addy, an economist at the University of Alabama, estimates the law’s total cost—taking into account productivity declines, increased enforcement cost, and declines in aggregate consumer spending and tax revenue since so many workers have left—in the billions.
Then there are the less quantifiable costs. They may be there illegally, but undocumented immigrants are still people; a Human Rights Watch report tells of families fleeing in darkness, of crime victims too scared to go to the police, of workers being cheated out of wages. And then there are innocents like Mr Hager, who was kept in custody until a colleague could produce his passport and driving licence. Foreign companies have flocked to Alabama in recent years; they employ over 54,000 Alabamans. How many more will want to come if their employees risk being treated like Mr Hager, or worse?
[http://www.economist.com/node/21543541]
ALABAMA’S immigration law, boasted Micky Hammon, an Alabama legislator and one of its co-authors, “attacks every aspect of an illegal immigrant’s life. They will not stay in Alabama…This bill is designed to make it difficult for them to live here so they will deport themselves.” It is not, however, designed to introduce visiting executives from Mercedes-Benz, which employs thousands at its factory in the state, to the pleasures of Alabama’s jails. But that is what happened to Detlev Hager, who was caught in November driving in Tuscaloosa with only German ID on him.
Alabama’s immigration law is the nation’s toughest. It requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain, stop or arrest and have a “reasonable suspicion” of being in the country illegally. It bars illegal immigrants from working, soliciting work, attending public universities or entering into “a business transaction” with the state. It invalidates any contract to which an illegal immigrant was party. It prohibits people from renting apartments to illegal immigrants, taking them in their cars or giving them shelter, and it requires officials in state schools to determine whether pupils are legal or illegal.
As enacted, however, the law has not turned out quite as its backers planned. In September a federal judge struck down four provisions, including the prohibition on illegal immigrants working, the section forbidding citizens from concealing, harbouring or transporting them, and the part that makes hiring or retaining an illegal immigrant actionable. In October an appellate court blocked the law’s directive requiring schools to determine their pupils’ immigration status, as well as the section making it a crime for illegal immigrants not to have proper identification. And in December a district judge struck down the section forbidding illegal immigrants from doing business with the state.
The law’s authors shrewdly included a severability clause, ensuring that if a court strikes down or prohibits one part of the law, the rest remains in effect. So it has, and Mr Hammon’s fond hope—that illegal immigrants will leave—seems to have come true. Anecdotal reports suggest that thousands of Latinos, legal as well as illegal, have left Alabama. Farmers complain of rotting crops and building companies of rising costs, both because there are too few workers. Samuel Addy, an economist at the University of Alabama, estimates the law’s total cost—taking into account productivity declines, increased enforcement cost, and declines in aggregate consumer spending and tax revenue since so many workers have left—in the billions.
Then there are the less quantifiable costs. They may be there illegally, but undocumented immigrants are still people; a Human Rights Watch report tells of families fleeing in darkness, of crime victims too scared to go to the police, of workers being cheated out of wages. And then there are innocents like Mr Hager, who was kept in custody until a colleague could produce his passport and driving licence. Foreign companies have flocked to Alabama in recent years; they employ over 54,000 Alabamans. How many more will want to come if their employees risk being treated like Mr Hager, or worse?
[http://www.economist.com/node/21543541]
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Breakings News!!! --- PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS FOR CONSUMERS AND LABOR RELATIONS
President Barack Obama has made 4 recess appointments, on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012, to his Administration: including 3 new members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the first person to head the brand new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) --- Richard Cordray.
The three newly-appointed NLRB members are Sharon Block, Terence F. Flynn and Richard Griffin.
Richard Cordray was, from 2008 to 2010, the Attorney General for the State of Ohio. He will lead the new CFPB with enforcement of Federal rules aimed at reining in abusive mortgage servicers, student lenders and payday-loan companies, among others.
[Also see, "Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets", Charles Jerome Ware, iUniverse Publishers (2011)]
The three newly-appointed NLRB members are Sharon Block, Terence F. Flynn and Richard Griffin.
Richard Cordray was, from 2008 to 2010, the Attorney General for the State of Ohio. He will lead the new CFPB with enforcement of Federal rules aimed at reining in abusive mortgage servicers, student lenders and payday-loan companies, among others.
[Also see, "Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets", Charles Jerome Ware, iUniverse Publishers (2011)]
Monday, January 2, 2012
NEWS LAWS IN 2012: PART 2
[Part 1 was posted on Friday, December 30, 2011 as "2012: NEW LAWS UPDATE"]
About 40,000 new state laws are now in effect as of January 1st, 2012.
(6) There are new laws about getting abortions in New Hampshire: girls seeking abortions must tell their parents or a judge first.
(7) Employers in California cannot use consumer credit reports to evaluate job candidates, except for some exempted positions or when employers obtain prior consent from job applicants.
(8) In Delaware, civil union or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples are now legal.
(9) In Georgia, municipalities with 911 call centers require retailers who sell prepaid cellphones to charge fees to support the emergency systems.
(10) In Illinois, motorcyclists who are stopped at a red light may proceed through the light if it fails to change to green after a "reasonable period of time".
(11) In Nevada, a statewide emergency alert system is established for vulnerable elderly persons, very similar to the Amber Alert system for abducted children.
(12) The California Dream Act expands eligibility for private scholarships to students brought to the U.S. illegally when they were infants.
(13) Eight (8) states have now raised the minimum wage: Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Colorado, Ohio, Vermont and Florida.
[See also: "The Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases", by former U.S. Immigration Judge Charles Jerome Ware; and "Understanding the Law: A Primer", by Attorney Charles Jerome Ware]
About 40,000 new state laws are now in effect as of January 1st, 2012.
(6) There are new laws about getting abortions in New Hampshire: girls seeking abortions must tell their parents or a judge first.
(7) Employers in California cannot use consumer credit reports to evaluate job candidates, except for some exempted positions or when employers obtain prior consent from job applicants.
(8) In Delaware, civil union or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples are now legal.
(9) In Georgia, municipalities with 911 call centers require retailers who sell prepaid cellphones to charge fees to support the emergency systems.
(10) In Illinois, motorcyclists who are stopped at a red light may proceed through the light if it fails to change to green after a "reasonable period of time".
(11) In Nevada, a statewide emergency alert system is established for vulnerable elderly persons, very similar to the Amber Alert system for abducted children.
(12) The California Dream Act expands eligibility for private scholarships to students brought to the U.S. illegally when they were infants.
(13) Eight (8) states have now raised the minimum wage: Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Colorado, Ohio, Vermont and Florida.
[See also: "The Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases", by former U.S. Immigration Judge Charles Jerome Ware; and "Understanding the Law: A Primer", by Attorney Charles Jerome Ware]
"VERIZON RIP-OFF" Rescinded
Following up on our Verizon blogs and tweets on Friday, December 30, 2011, Verizon has now "blinked" and will not go ahead with its plan to charge a $2 fee pre transaction to customers for paying their Verizon bill with a credit card.
The public outcry against Verizon for proposing this onerous plan was, and continues to be, most dramatic.
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