The Overclass and the Lesser People

What's going on in North Dakota is ultimately the story of America from its earliest episodes with the invaders from Europe to today. It's a microcosm of colonialism and dismissal of the Native Peoples, their interests, their concept of the universe and the place of humanity on the earth. This is pretty serious stuff, and it is the stuff of conflict between Euro-Americans and Native Americans (who we here in New Mexico call Indians as they typically call themselves, but that's another story for another time).

It's a conflict that should never have been.

So often, Natives have had no real issue with Euro-invaders -- so long as they behave in a decent and cooperative manner. The problem has been that so often they don't. It appears that in many ways, they can't.

They think they have to dominate, exploit, destroy or... what? What will happen if they don't? They can't know because so many won't let go of whatever impulse for domination and destruction drives them.

Note, they still call this need, this impulse "Progress."

The Indians say, "No, this is not really 'progress' at all. It's simply a fury of destruction. Why do you do this? What is wrong with you?"

It's customary among "concerned" white people to almost worship Natives as some sort of exemplars of a Paradise Lost. If only whites could be more like the First Peoples in the Americas, how much better we all would be. Yes, that's all well and good but it presumes lack of agency and contemporary ways of life among the multiplicity of Native Peoples throughout the Americas. They are all supposedly driven by their Native Culture(s) -- thought of as a unity -- to be One With Mother Earth, yadda, yadda, in a primitive but righteous understanding of the basic elements of life, elements long forgotten by the Euro-invaders and colonists.

Well, no. This point of view kind of drives me nuts. Indians and Native societies have been so disrupted for so long by the invader-colonists that what the invaders think of as the "primitive" -- permanently primitive, mind you -- righteousness of Indian life and lore is mostly white-folk fantasy of Indians and their cultures and societies.

Indian societies were never perfect by any means, nor did they necessarily live in Paradise(s). The disruption and destruction caused by the invader-colonists -- including genocide -- left a remnant Indian population, one that had fallen so steeply that in the early part of the 20th Century, scholars and politicians and much of the popular media were convinced that the Indian Peoples would shortly become extinct.

Thus an all-out effort was undertaken to "preserve" what could be saved of ancient Indian culture and society for later scholarship and consideration (by Anglo scholars, of course) before all the Indians were gone.

I have friends a few years older or younger than me who believe -- some passionately -- that Indians are a "dying race," that the few pitiful survivors are drunks, drug addicts or criminals, that they all live on reservations where everyone is dirt poor, but where, somehow, the ancient ways and beliefs are preserved intact by medicine men and history preservers, and that those ways and beliefs are -- somehow -- intrinsically superior to those of the invader-colonist-destroyers.

I sometimes try to tell them they believe in a fantasy of Indians, one that has a long history but is basically false.

Indians are not a dying race, for one thing. They reached a low point in population over a century ago and have been on the rebound ever since. Most Indians do not live on reservations, most are not drunks, most are not dirt poor. Quite a few have been de-tribalized, even de-racialized and de-culturalized. They're not quite "white people," but they're not "Indians" in the sense that white people often think of Indians, either. They're somewhere in between.

Indian societies continue relatively intact in isolated pockets where the colonist-invaders were not able to overwhelm and suppress them, but not generally. Some Indians have as much of a fantasy view of their own cultures as many white people do, and some Indians deliberately adopt whatever white folks believe that Indians believe. Other Indians have a deep-seated understanding of their own Native cultures which they cannot and do not share much of with outsiders (not just with Anglos, but with other Indians as well). In other words, the invader-colonists as well as other tribes may never know what these other Indians know. Ever. It's not so much a secret as it's just not shared -- nor is it in some cases sharable.

Much of contemporary Indian society is not traditional or primitive at all. It is in many cases a cobbled together hybrid of limited ancient understandings and a modern (ie: culturally, socially, and economically indistinguishable from the dominant society) way of life. That's probably the way most North American Indians live today.

On the other hand, we have what's going on in North Dakota -- which strikes me as one of the most unifying means of expressing a spiritual understanding of the proper relationship of humans and the earth according to long-held tribal beliefs, beliefs adapted to the contemporary world.

This is not ancient or primitive, this is now.

There are thousands gathered near the pipeline route in North Dakota, Indians and their allies alike, to bring to bear the power and authority of a deeply rooted Native spirituality against the power and authority of crass materialism. Anti-spirituality if you will.

From a practical standpoint, this pipeline is essentially unnecessary and is ultimately a waste of energy and resources. It's dangerous in that it can -- and likely will -- leak oil into water supplies, whether into the Missouri River or elsewhere along its route. A point has been made that this risk is somewhat less than the current method of transporting oil from the Bakken Fields to refineries by rail,  on what are colloquially known as "Bomb Trains," but that diverts attention from the fact that none of this oil needs to be extracted or transported at all. The use of petroleum is declining in the United States. Oil is often sold for less than the cost of production and transportation as it is, and many people have pointed out that it is likely that this oil will be transported and exported, because there is no real need for it in the United States, no market as it were. Consequently, the whole project is in essence a boondoggle, not the first nor the last in the petroleum industry, but one that has reached a kind of absurdity that few have before.

Even the unnecessary KXL pipeline (currently in suspension) was not as absurd as this one.

From a spiritual standpoint, the Dakota Access Pipeline is a form of rape of the Mother, for no other reason than that its makers can do so. Spiritually it's wrong in every conceivable way. In the Judeo-Christian sense, it's a sin. A mortal sin.

Why is this being done? As an assertion of Power? Or is it something else?

This goes back to the origins of the invader-colonial society that became the United States of America (Inc.). Dominance and destruction are the key elements of that society, and when they are challenged or denied, as is the case in North Dakota, then the whole edifice trembles. We see this in the current overreaction of the North Dakota and pipeline authorities to the Water Protectors (love the name) and their actions. The National Guard has been called up. Arrest warrants for journalists and spokes people issued. Checkpoints established along the highways. A tightening protective cordon established around the camps and the pipeline.

Destruction-construction continues despite the denial of permits for construction under the lake that is in the way of pipeline completion. The pipeline will go as close as it can to the Missouri River lake (Oahe) that's in the way until the permits and easements are issued. I don't think anybody doubts that.

It's almost certain that the permits and easements will be issued, it's just a matter of when.

But the actions of the Indians and their allies in North Dakota against the construction or completion of the pipeline have highlighted just how stupid and deleterious the project is. How essentially all of these pipeline projects are idiotic. The overreaction of North Dakota authorities to the actions of the protester/protectors has highlighted how stupid and deleterious the civil authorities have become in their zeal to protect the project at all costs.

This has a cumulative effect, much as civil rights and anti-war actions did back in the day, much as many other forms of activism continue to have.

I suspect that the pipeline will be completed almost on schedule, but the ultimate result will be disastrous for its builders and operators. The shame of it is one thing. The lack of need for it will be something else again. And finally, when it does break or leak, which it will, I suspect it will be quietly shut down, and eventually the Indians will be vindicated. "They were right."

Well, yes.

Isn't that already obvious?

But in the meantime, the Overclass MUST dominate the Lesser People or risk its own extinction. They dare not stop now, oh no. They must continue to the bitter end. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Ryan and Mars

I was watching a Mars Science Laboratory news conference yesterday, and I was struck with how young the panelists were. Of course, the star of the Mission has been "Mohawk Guy," Bobak Ferdowsi, but yesterday, his stardom was totally eclipsed by a bunch of kids going on at great length and detail about the Mars Mission currently underway in Gale Crater. It was an impressive and important display.

While watching the landing drama at JPL, it seemed that "nothing had changed" at the Space Agencies, it was still being operated the same way, with the hierarchies, the same ranks of monitors,  and the same 3 ring binders they've been using since the days of Werner von Braun.

But no. It's not the same. Not at all. There are similarities, to be sure, because what the Space Agencies are now is built on what they were 50 years ago when the Space Program became an integral part of everyone's life with the orbiting of manned spacecraft. The institutions that set our path to the stars are still the same, more or less, as they were at the beginning.

But it's an entirely different atmosphere and spirit than once pervaded NASA and JPL; these young people have a much greater level of accomplishment, when you get down to it, in their 20's and 30's, than their predecessors might have had in their 40's and 50's. They've done more, they've seen more, and with the spectacularly successful landing of the Curiosity Rover, they've managed an amazing task with grace, courage, and utter confidence in their skill and ability to do the impossible.

I just saw Mitt Romney introduce Randian Young Buck Paul Ryan as "the next President of the United States" and it immediately brought to mind the reality of the Bush Jr. presidency, in which the man who ran the show was VP Dick ("What a Dick") Cheney. And if there is a Romney presidency -- looking less and less likely as this Long Hot Summer drags on -- it's obvious that Mittster will defer to the Young Buck in the transformation of American society into a Randian dystopia.

That's the goal and game plan of our Overclass, and they have chosen Ryan as the man to implement their goals.

Ryan brings a young, indeed an almost adolescent, enthusiasm to the task he's accepted: dismantling what's left of the New Deal and Great Society and restoring America's position as a Third World hell hole the way it was meant to be. Like more than a few adolescents, he obviously enjoys bringing an end to the world as we know it, with as much malice and cruelty as he can engineer. It's a high for him.

The contrast between Ryan and the young people at the news conference yesterday could not be more acute. Ryan is a social demolition expert, that's his job. The young people at NASA and JPL, managing a Mars program that may well result in the first confirmation of life on another world (though I'm not holding my breath), are building what could well be a better future, or at least something that leads to The Future.

Ryan and his owners and sponsors (Willard is a nonentity now) have no such vision. They are obsessed with driving us backwards, destroying what's good in American society once and for all.

It is their mission.

It is their quest.

They are relentless.

It will be interesting to see how much Team Obama pre-concedes to them this time.

A Wells Fargo Horror Story -- and an Update On The Van

Rousseau House in California, plundered by a series of banksters

I came across this story over at Naked Capitalism the other day, then I read that the homeowner had killed himself just days before the scheduled eviction in May. And I read the linked amended complaint.

And I thought "JFC on a merry go round, this is the most outrageous WF horror story yet." Almost beyond belief, and yet given all the other horror stories I've read, it's only unusual in that the homeowners had/have decent legal advice, and that the poor guy was driven to suicide.

Notice that the house above is quite a modest little house, similar to many I've been inside during parts of my working career. That the final refinance in 2007 was for over $350,000 is somewhat shocking, but that's what was still happening to real estate values in California at the time. In fact, I was dealing with a lot of builders, brokers and construction contractors during the boom before the crash, and by 2007, the warning signs were very clear that the crash was about to come, indeed had already come, in some cases that I can't detail here, but people were still refinancing and some were able to take cash out of their homes until well into 2008.

I say $350,000 is somewhat shocking for this house because in a realistic market it wouldn't be worth much over $200,000 if that. It's probably appraised for under that now, though WF ultimately acquired the house for a trustees sale bid of over $400,000.

So the homeowner was being screwed, whether or not there was fraud in the final refinance.

Nevertheless, according to the story, the homeowners were diligent in making mortgage payments. The problem came because they made those payments in person with cashier's checks at a Wachovia branch.

That and grossly false, misleading and predatory lending practices by World/Wachovia.

From the narrative in the amended complaint, the homeowners presented a cashiers check at the bank in April, 2009, in the amount of $1615, the stated mortgage payment amount. The check was handled by an employee who -- apparently -- entered a keystroke wrong during the transaction so that the check was not properly credited to the correct account. The homeowners received a receipt for the check and went on their way.

The next day, the check cleared, but what happened to the money is a mystery. There is also the mysterious claim of a stop payment being ordered on the check, which is simply not something that can happen on a cashiers check.

According to the complaint:

On or about May 5, 2009, while making the monthly payment at the WACHOVIA branch, Plaintiff O. ROUSSEAU the teller confirmed that their account still showed a missing payment for April. At Plaintiff’s request, Branch Manager PERI KERMANI called the corporate office to inquire about the disputed payment. Plaintiff was given a facsimile number to send a written dispute and proof of payment.

Which Plaintiffs (the homeowners) did.

From then on, the situation deteriorated alarmingly. While the homeowners continued to be diligent about making payments until the bank refused to accept them, they were dicked around and lied to by bank personnel constantly throughout a torturous process of trying to rectify the erroneous April "delinquency." They submitted all the documentation necessary to clear the supposed "delinquency" and never once did the bank actually clear it, though they were told it had been taken care of. They were assessed more and more collection fees, NSF fees, a constant tidal wave of fees while they not only tried to straighten out the mess the bank had caused, they were attempting to get their loan modified because of loss of income due to unemployment.

 As has so often been the case, while they were attempting to get the loan modification, the bank was proceeding with foreclosure, which the homeowners tried to get them to stop but were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, even as the bank was refusing to accept offered mortgage payments, they were constantly calling and dunning the homeowners for payment.

As has so often been the case, while attempting to secure a loan modification, the homeowners were repeatedly told that required documents had not been received -- though they had been sent over and over again -- and thus they could not get the modification, and then, apparently, the missing documents would somehow be found and the modification process would supposedly continue only to stop again.

Meanwhile, the foreclosure process churned along, oblivious.

Finally, from what I gather, the homeowners were denied a modification and told to pay up the arrears or get out. By the time they found out how much they had to pay to satisfy the largely bogus debt that was caused by a bank error in the first place, they had one hour to meet a deadline to deliver more than $26,000 demanded to the bank's collection agency in Texas. They had the money, but they couldn't meet the deadline because they couldn't access that much at one time given cash withdrawal restrictions on the account in question.

Wells Fargo acquired the property at a trustees sale purportedly held November 22, 2010, five days after the homeowners were told how much to pay and given a deadline they couldn't meet to satisfy the alleged default. At the time of the court filing, dated January 11, 2011, WF was under temporary injunction from enforcing an unlawful detainer against the Rousseaus. Apparently the injunction was lifted in May of 2012, and the Rousseaus were informed that they would be evicted on May 15, 2012; two days beforehand, when Norman Rousseau was unable to complete repairs on the engine of a motorhome that the couple intended to move into once they were evicted, Mr. Rousseau fatally shot himself.

All because a teller at Wachovia failed to credit the correct account for a payment made in April of 2009 and no one at any of the participating financial institutions and collection agencies between then and the date of Norman Rousseau's suicide had the courage or the brains to recognize that the bank had made a simple -- and not uncommon -- mistake that could have been and should have been easily corrected years before Norman Rousseau took his own life.

That and all the appalling fraud and deceit that went into the Rousseau's final refinance.

And all the lies they were told and the promises that were broken.

And the many tens of thousands of dollars that were being pillaged and looted all along the way.

This is a snapshot of a completely brainless and totally out of control modern banking practice. I'm sure that none of the institutions or people involved on the banking end believe they actually did anything wrong or that they are in any way responsible for the Rousseau's agony and eventually for Norman Rousseau's suicide. They never think that way. They can't. There are no personal relationships at all in these situations. Everything is objectified and scripts and flowcharts rule. "If this, then that." There is no provision for acknowledging or correcting errors, even simple ones such as mis-keying a payment.

As has long been obvious, all of the incentives for banks and mortgage servicers are aligned toward pushing homeowners into foreclosure. Despite ostensible programs to prevent foreclosure, the financial and corporate-bureaucratic incentives are still toward foreclosure. Consequently, millions of people are still losing their homes every year when it is highly likely that foreclosure is actually the least desirable outcome not just for the homeowner but for everyone involved including the banks and servicers who are incentivised to foreclose.

How many of these cases are due to fraud at the outset, errors along the way, and corporate-bureaucratic blindness is anybody's guess, but I am sure the Rousseau's situation is not unique. I've read too many similar stories.

It's one reason I was an advocate long ago for the nationalization of the banks; they are simply too hidebound, blind and dumb to function on behalf of even themselves let alone on behalf of the People in the current financial climate.

They should be run strictly in the public interest for the duration.  But until somebody with clout picks up that cudgel, we'll continue to encounter tragic stories like that of the Rousseaus.

None of this has to happen.

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As for the van, I spent part of the morning in Atwater discussing options with repair folks face to face instead of on the phone. I also drove the van for a short distance, and it was obvious that it wasn't going to make it much farther at all. I got it to the repair shop across the street from where I had left it last Saturday, and when the proprietor saw me drive up and said: "You've got a transmission problem." He explained how he had come to that conclusion when Omar at the first shop had brought the van over for a diagnosis on Monday. I asked about the differential. He said he didn't drive the van, but all the sound he heard when the van was on the lift was coming from the transmission and he thought there was metal on metal (oh yes) requiring a rebuild. I asked him whether he could do it, how soon he could have it ready, and how much he'd charge. He said he most certainly could do it; probably take until until Wednesday of next week, and it would cost X number of dollars (a good deal less than I was anticipating.)  I said, "Let's do it."

The vans that I had been considering as replacements were either sold before I could get to them or they were inappropriate for my needs; as I've said, this red Astro van has been a very good friend on the road for a number of years now. I bought it specifically for the trips back and forth between New Mexico and California, and despite the occasional mechanical problem and infrequent breakdown, it has been a godsend and a jewel. And then I think how lucky I am to be able to write that last sentence at all.

So many Americans don't have the option to just go out and "buy a van" or have it repaired as needed let alone to have a second home in New Mexico to go back and forth to. Those are just a few of the examples of the privileges we have. And when I think about the real struggles so many Americans are facing, struggles that are so far beyond my minor inconveniences (in perspective a broken down van or stalled refinancing are minor inconveniences, yes) I'm humbled.

The Rousseau's story is devastating. That sort of thing is happening to way too many Americans, and there seems to be nothing to thwart the demons of destruction abroad in the land.

Rise up, resist, refuse. It's a start!