What Guys in South Alabama Really Talk About

from the Get This Department:

I’m at lunch at the airport today with Neil and the Mayor and Fox is on the TV in the corner.  Now Neil was in the Navy (in the Persian Gulf), never went to college and is about as great a redneck as you have ever met, he looks at Fox and then quotes Thomas Jefferson’s letter to Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin in 1802:

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

This from an Auburn fan, no less!

I Am Back! After Saving the Economy, the World

and the nation.  I did it by sitting silently for more than 40 minutes, more observer than leader, and then by offering only a vague sense of where I stood.

I Am Suspending My Blog

to fix the economy!

(Hey, its a better post than noting the penis amputation lawsuit)

What Happens When you Handcuff Trial Lawyers

The thieves take over.

Credit card insiders tell of deceptive practices

By Pedro Nicolaci da CostaWed Sep 24, 7:51 PM ET

Two former employees of credit card issuer MBNA, now owned by Bank of America, said on Wednesday they were forced to use aggressive and deceptive practices with customers in order to boost revenues.

Cate Colombo, from Maine, said she signed up for a customer service job but was instead instructed to make insistent sales pitches aimed at getting MBNA customers deeper into debt.

“I was hired to sell money,” she said on a conference call organized by Americans for Fairness in Lending, an advocacy group. “We had a goal of selling $25,000 an hour, $4 million per month. And I was one employee among hundreds, just at this one site.”

To meet these goals, Colombo said she was told to turn every regular call from a customer into a sales call. She would do this by running the customer’s name through the computer and finding out every possible line of credit they had ever obtained through MBNA.

She would then total the amount of credit outstanding and offer it to the customer as a blank check. MBNA was a bit lighter on disclosure details, such as telling customers that taking on more debt would reduce the borrower’s credit score and thereby boost their outstanding interest rates.

“If we didn’t attempt to max out, we were considered insubordinate,” said Colombo.

In July, a U.S. House of Representatives committee passed legislation aimed at curbing credit card billing practices that surprise borrowers with unexpected interest rate increases.

It is unclear if credit card legislation will make it through Congress this year with the legislative session shortened by November elections.

Consumer indebtedness is a major problem in the United States, one that is becoming worse amid a financial crisis that threatens the economy with a recession. Americans had $969.9 million in outstanding credit card debt as of July, according to Federal Reserve data.

A spokeswoman for Bank of America said the bank does not seek to extend credit to customers who cannot pay.

“We don’t comment on allegations of former employees, but I can tell you that the allegations cited do not reflect our practices,” said Betty Riess, a spokesperson for Bank of America. “Bank of America has nothing to gain by extending credit to people who do not have the ability to pay us back.”

“By the way, if you’re talking about former MBNA employees, their employment would date back many years ago prior to the merger with Bank of America,” Riess said.

Bank of America completed its purchase of MBNA in January 2006.

Colombo said in one instance she was disciplined for not being aggressive enough in “pushing product” to a 90-year-old man who could barely hear over the phone.

Jerry Young, another MBNA rep, said he was asked to intensely target customers in such a way as to leave them little choice but to stretch their finances, to the company’s profit.

Travis Plunkett, legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America, said the behavior continues at Bank of America but current employees are too frightened to speak out on the record.

“We can assure you that these same practices are being done up to the present at Bank of America,” said Plunkett.

Colombo said another tactic employed by MBNA was to hide the existence of the Soldiers and Sailors Act, which gives spouses of troops on active military duty the right to a lower interest rate.

“We were not allowed to offer that information to them,” the former service representative said.

Car Wrecks and Darwin Award Winners

I’ve been to a rat killing, a Hindu bridal shower and a donkey rodeo, but this is a new one on me:

Woman Burnt to Death After Setting Car Aflame in Road Rage Incident

From the London Times Online:

It was the ultimate expression of road rage. A furious woman driver died after ramming another vehicle and spinning her wheels so fast that her own car burst into flames.

Serena Sutton-Smith, 54, burnt to death after refusing to get out of her Vauxhall Nova as she sat with her foot flat on the accelerator.

She spun the wheels so fast that her tyres disintegrated and the metal rims sent a shower of sparks into the engine, igniting the brake fluid and setting the car on fire.

Appalled onlookers urged her to get out of the car as the flames licked around her but she told them to “F*** off”, an inquest in Gloucester was told.

The road-rage attack took place on a quiet country road in the Cotswolds between Weston sub Edge and Mickleton in Gloucestershire.

The inquest heard that Paula Small was driving her Fiat Punto when Ms Sutton-Smith emerged from a side road without stopping, causing her to swerve to avoid a collision. Mrs Small was forced on the grass verge and she flashed her lights as Ms Sutton-Smith passed her.

Ms Sutton-Smith then pulled over and Mrs Small stopped a short way in front of her. She was getting out when the Vauxhall Nova rammed her car.

Mrs Small said: “I opened my door and put my foot out but as I was getting out there was a bang and I hit my head on the door frame. I was frozen with terror.” As neighbours came to investigate they saw Ms Sutton-Smith sitting with a furious expression, revving her engine and spinning her wheels.

Nicholas Willmore told the inquest that he was in his workshop at Cottage Farm Antiques when his mother alerted him to what was happening outside. As he walked across the road to the two cars he saw smoke coming from the engine of the Nova.

He said: “There was a deafening sound of an engine running as though someone had a foot stuck on the accelerator.

“The car’s front wheels were spinning and there was loads of revving. I could see a biggish person at the wheel and there was movement in the car. Flames were coming from underneath the car and I thought the person might be trapped inside although I couldn’t hear any shouting.

“I opened the driver’s door wide. It opened easily. The person looked at me, it was a big built woman. I said ’You’ve got to get out of the car. It’s going to burst into flames’.

“The person replied ’F*** off, just f*** off’ and she raised her right fist towards me in a threatening manner before slamming the door shut.

“I was a bit bewildered and moved 3-4 yards back. I could see her gesturing towards me. She seemed to be in quite a rage. Both fists were raised and being shaken and the person was looking right at me.

“This was definitely done in a manner to tell me to stay away from her car.” Mr Willmore grabbed a fire extinguisher from his workshop but it failed to put out the flames. Another motorist also tried to extinguish the flames.

Mr Willmore added: “The heat was getting more and more intense and the flames were growing. I could no longer see inside. There was nothing that could be done to help the person inside.

“There was no attempt by the person to get out. In my opinion it was against all human instincts for someone to stay inside that car.” Ms Sutton-Smith was dead by the time fire fighters arrived to put out the blaze.

Fire officer Andrew Clayton said: “The circumstances indicate that this was a deliberate act. She remained in the vehicle after ramming a car and then sat with the front wheels spinning until fire developed.

“The front nearside passenger wheel gouged into the road surface by 50mm and the tyre was totally destroyed by the friction. This would have produced sparks igniting fluid, most probably brake fluid.” The inquest heard that Ms Sutton-Smith, who had previously worked behind the bar at a working men’s club in Ashton sub Edge, had a history of erratic behaviour and suffered from bipolar disorder.

Alan Crickmore, the Gloucestershire coroner, said that her mental condition meant that she failed to appreciate the danger she was in.

He said “At no time, prior to becoming incapicitated, was Serena trapped in her vehicle. She was certainly able to get out of it when Mr Willmore opened the door and invited her to do so.

“I am driven to the conclusion that if at any time she had wanted to do so before becoming incapacitated she could have got out of the car and would not have died as a result of the fire.

“I am satisfied the fire was started because of her deliberate actions. But I am far from satisfied that at that point in time it was her clear intention that death would ensue.

“I think it is more likely than not that she failed to understand the peril she was in and the consequences of her actions.” He recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Great Americans: Juilana Taylor

Juilana Taylor is a wonderful woman and a great lawyer.  She is devoted to her clients and is worried more about them than a dollar bill.  If you ever need a great domestic lawyer that really cares, Juilana is your lawyer.  I was surprised to see the Montgomery Advertiser cover this.

From the September 24, 2008 Advertiser:

City attorney blasts McCain’s economic stance

By Markeshia Ricks

A Montgomery attorney held a news conference Tuesday to say that Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain’s views on the economy are out of touch with the lives of working families in Alabama.

Juilana Taylor, a lawyer who works with families and children, said McCain’s view that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong,” are so out of touch that she felt compelled to write him a letter about it.

“I would love to get a response,” Taylor said, during the news conference in the empty parking lot of the Montgomery Mall.

In the letter, Taylor details the struggles of the families she works with as they hold down multiple jobs to afford gas, food and school supplies for their children.

“In your world, senator, maybe the increases in food and gas and medicine and day care don’t have the same impact, but among the working families of my state and this country, the increases mean the difference in quality of life, safety and health,” she wrote. “You are fundamentally out of touch with this country’s working class if you don’t believe this economy is striking at the very heart of the American family.”

The news conference was held at the abandoned mall as a symbol of the shaky economy and hard times that people are experiencing. Other than Harper’s, a H. Councill Trenholm State Technical College-run restaurant that is open for lunch Tuesday’s and Wednesdays, the mall is empty. Steve and Barry’s, its last major store, closed its doors early this week.

“Ten years ago, people in Montgomery, Ala., were doing their Christmas shopping in this mall,” Taylor said. “The economy is hit every day by the fact that people can’t spend money on luxuries, or things that they need or desire because they have to pay for things like food and gas.”

Jim Spearman, executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party, said the mall is exemplary of the deterioration of the middle class in America and Alabama and a by-product of eight years under the financial policies of the Bush administration.

“The evidence of the failed economic policies of George W. Bush is present in the closing of the Montgomery Mall, which has been a fixture in our community for many years,” he said.

A random telephone survey by the mobile Press-Register and the University of South Alabama Polling Group found 52 percent of those voters surveyed support McCain, while 30 percent back Obama. Undecided voters, or those supporting someone else, represented 13 percent of the 406 people surveyed.

Maverick Roberts, an Obama supporter, said he believes those undecided voters will come around by election time.

“We’re being flooded with more people who are excited about this election,” he said.

Alabama Republican Party spokesman Philip Bryan said Democrats are grasping at straws and the poll shows that McCain’s views are in line with the views of Alabamians.

“Sen. McCain’s views on the issues and the Republican view of the issues are more in line with the views of the people of Alabama,” he said. “Whether it’s education, keeping taxes lower — issue by issue McCain is stronger and more in line with the conservative values of Alabama.”

Bryan also pointed out that the state Democratic Party’s candidate for the District 2 congressional race, Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright, has been at the wheel during the Montgomery Mall’s long road to ruin. Bright is running against Republican state Rep. Jay Love for the seat that is being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Terry Everett.

So When a great man dies

“So when a great man dies
For years beyond our ken
The light he leaves behind him lies
Upon the paths of men.”
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi

Our friend and fellow democrat Reo Kirkland passed away.  Reo was a great lawyer and a fixture in Escambia County politics.

From the Brewton Standard, an excellent summation from Publisher Kerry Whipple Bean:

“Friends and colleagues of Reo Kirkland Jr. are mourning the death of one of “the last great Southern lawyers.”

Kirkland, who was 60, died Wednesday evening at D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital. He was an assistant district attorney and chairman of the Escambia County Democratic Executive Committee.

Friends said he was an avid outdoorsman who kept rattlesnakes on the front porch of his boyhood home and once led the Alabama Wildlife Federation; a former state senator and Democratic party leader who cast a vote for his mother at the 1984 Democratic National Convention; and a passionate prosecutor who visited the grave of Stephanie King throughout his investigation into her murder.

“He was the consummate public servant,” said former district attorney Mike Godwin, with whom Kirkland worked as an assistant. “We wouldn’t have been as successful without his dedication.”

Prickly but passionate, Kirkland was known as a “stern taskmaster,” Godwin said. But that side of his personality only showed his dedication to the law and to justice.

“He didn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve,” Godwin said. “He could be charming, but he could hurt people’s feelings. But he loved the law, and he was passionate about his role as a public servant.”

Sallie King saw the compassionate side of Kirkland when he helped prosecute her daughter’s murderer.

“He really knew Stephanie was someone,” King said. “She wasn’t just a case to him.”

Kirkland’s attention to detail – even when she thought he wasn’t listening – helped bring a conviction, King said. But she will also remember his compassion toward her and her husband, a quality some people may not have seen in Kirkland.

“If I could have had any attorney, there is no one else I would want other than him,” King said. “I wish people could have known the side he didn’t allow them to see.”

Often, when King visited Stephanie’s grave, she saw Kirkland’s business card and knew he had been there. “He’d go sit there and try to clear his head,” King said.

A lifelong resident of Brewton, Kirkland graduated from T.R. Miller High School, Auburn University and Jones School of Law. He served two terms as state senator and was a delegator for the Alabama Wildlife Commission.

He was the son of Reo Kirkland Sr. and Martha Terry Kirkland, both of whom served as probate judge in Escambia County.

He is survived by a son, Reo Kirkland III, and a brother and sister.

The longtime chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee in Escambia County, Kirkland nominated his mother for president during Alabama’s roll call vote at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

Escambia County tax assessor Jim Hildreth, a friend since childhood, said Kirkland was instrumental in his run for the office.

“He really had a great political mind,” Hildreth said. “He could give good advice. When I first ran for the tax assessor’s office, Reo took me and led me by the hand. I don’t think I would have been successful without his help.”

But while he was passionate about politics, Kirkland’s biggest success may have come in the courtroom.

District Attorney Steve Billy said Kirkland was “one of the finest prosecutors in the state.”

“He was definitely a friend of the victim and a nightmare for the criminal,” Billy said. “He was passionate in court and compassionate toward the victim.”

Kirkland was always well prepared for every case, Billy said.

That professionalism about every case carried over into Kirkland’s courtroom demeanor, Godwin said.

“He never lost his professional decorum in the courtroom,” Godwin said. “He was the last of the old Southern lawyers.”

The “Bailout” and Moral Hazard

This is really a simple issue.  The big boys on Wall Street engaged in very risky behavior with their investments.  They lost money.  A lot of money.  The bailout will reward and protect them from their bad choices.

As we make our walk through life, there is nobody available to guard us from our bad decisions.  If we lose money on a real estate deal or the used car dealer swindles us, there is no protection from our bad choices.

(Well, there used to be, when the Republicans and Big Business did not control the Appellate Courts in Alabama, but that is the subject of another day and another post.)

The bailout will insulate the wealthy and take its toll on the rest of us.  We will pay the toll by a reduction in the value of the dollar and the resulting price increase in oil.  The oil increase will reverberate through the economy increasing transportation costs and other elements of the economy (everything) that rely on oil.

Meanwhile the rich get richer.