The Banks Have Been Bailed Out – But Where Is All Of The Money Going? (Part Two)
Posted by Michelle Moquin on May 18th, 2009
Let me clarify when I said last week that I was having problems with Hope Now. It wasn’t exactly Hope Now that was not returning my phone calls, but one of their affilitate counseling services called ‘Springboard’. I have to say that with a name like that, they weren’t exactly an impetus that I expected them to be.
However, a few days ago, I had a break through. I decided to call back Hope Now and complain about my ‘Springboard’ experience. When I called them and explained the past several weeks events, they were very apologetic and said that they were going to get someone else on the phone from Springboard to assist me.
Within a few minutes I was speaking to Kyle Perry, another Springboard counselor. I again explained to him that I was having communication problems with my first counselor from Springboard and that I had not received my report form their company that I needed in order to move to the second level. Kyle listened and apologized for the lack of communication from his associate. He informed me that the report was sent out on the 6th of last month. I informed him that I never received it.
Without hesitation Kyle moved directly into motion on how he could assist me further by asking for my e-mail address so that he could send it to me while I was on the phone with him. Within minutes he e-mailed me all of the information that I needed and waited on the line to make sure that I had received it. So far Kyle had handled everything that I was hoping my counselor would do for me.
I then asked Kyle what exactly was going to happen when I spoke to another counselor in the next level. He kindly explained to me what their role would be and what Springboard’s role would continue to be.
From the short conversation that I had with Kyle, I felt that he was a person that really cared about my situation. He was so attentive, understanding, and compassionate that I decided to tell him of my experiences with my phone conversations with Wachovia. When I informed him that Wachovia offered their assistance to me because I was late in my mortgage payments and then denied me a loan modification because my mortgage was late; the rules had changed in the midst of the modification going through, he was shocked and said, ‘This isn’t right.’
I then told him that Wachovia informed me that they were not allowed to interview me for the ‘Homeowner Affordability Stability Plan’ because I have a second lien’ He went on to say that Wachovia could only work with the first mortgage and it would be difficult with the second from another bank (or something to that affect). I interjected by saying that my first and second were with Wachovia! At this point he said, “Then having a second shouldn’t matter. Michelle, this isn’t right. Do you have some time for us to get on the phone with them? I want to make sure that you actually have spoken with the loss mitigation dept. I want us to call them together.” “Of course”, I said. I was so delighted that Kyle was going to help me with my bank.
To make a long story short, Kyle was simply awesome. We got Jason on the phone from Wachovia who listened to all of the concerns that both Kyle and I had. We also went over all of my previous conversations that I had with Wachovia. Jason informed us of the new ‘Map Program’ (by Titanium Solutions) that was going to be available to those that held mortgages that were current. Thankfully, I fell in that category. Right now the programs that are available are only available to those that are close to going through foreclosure. Thankfully, I don’t fall in that category.
Kyle asked questions and made statements that I felt were in my best interest and made sure that my file would not fall through the cracks and get lost. He wanted assurance that my file was updated and that although he understood that those in foreclosure needed help now, he wanted to make sure that this program would be available to me so that I didn’t turn out to be in the same foreclosure position in the near future. When Kyle asked when this program would be available to me. Jason said that he did not know. Kyle did not give up. He asked, ’30 days? 6 months? – Can you give me a date?’ Jason informed him that this program should be available within the next two weeks and no more than 30 days, and that they would contact me. However, I could also call back, and check in with them. Of course I noted in my Palm Pilot to alert me to make that phone call in two weeks.
We finished our phone conversation with Jason. I chatted for a few minutes more thanking Kyle for giving me such great support and service. I asked him if he could be my counselor, as I felt so comfortable with him and he now understood my position thoroughly. He was very thankful for the praise, and happy that he could help me. He ended by saying that said he learned everything from my counselor and assured me that my counselor would work in my best interest also. However he did say for me to cc him in any future correspondence should I have any more problems and just to keep him posted on my progress. “You bet I will”, I said.
So, there you have it. I have not given up on Wachoiva or Springboard. Thanks to Kyle, I have the report that I need and today I am calling to schedule a meeting with the second level counselors. In another week, I will be making that phone call to Wachovia to inquire about the availability of the Map Program.
Oh…and before I forget, I did as Robert suggested and sent e-mails to my representative and congress, and to no surprise I have not received one response back. However, it has only been a little over a week. We’ll see if I get a response this week.
I have a little bit more hope than I did last week. I will continue to blog about my experiences contemporaneously. Please share your stories too. I know that many of you are having the same challenges that I am, but if you are having any successes I’d like to hear about that too - Thanks.
*********
Hi Al: First of all , thank you for signing the petition.
Secondly, I usually bring to light women’s issues because I am passionate about women and women’s issues, and quite frankly, when women are in charge of this planet, and men are treated like second class, I will jump on the bandwagon and bring the men’s issues to light – okay? Presently, it is usually men who are in charge of making these decisions over women’s health. In my opinion, no woman in her right mind would ever vote for a woman to leave the hospital 2 hours after a mastectomy, nor would she approve the type of care that you received during your reconstruction surgery. EVERYONE deserves the time they need to heal and to be taken care of by a professional.
As an example, Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician vote every year on the 50 most powerful physician executives in healthcare. This year the top person holding the position is a woman (Yeah! Congratulations Carolyn Clancy!), but there are only 6 other women who made this year’s 50 most powerful list! Men have most of the power here. And although the readers vote, you can see that the majority are voting for men. So….
…in light of Robert’s comment a few days ago and Tal’s comment that I posted yesterday, in regards to women being the majority of the voter population, I will say, “Shame on you women out there that haven’t been supporting women. We have a majority voice and it needs to be heard.” I know I’m being redundant but sometimes things need to be said over and over again until they sink in. So here it is again; an excerpt from Tal’s comment:
It is my opinion that as long as women continue to ask a man for equality rather than simply taking her place along side of him by force of will, she will remain a second class being dependent upon the mood of the 1st class being for her level of comfort.
Before you get upset, examine the state of women in america today, honestly. She has the numerical numbers at the polls to elect a woman for every single office in the land. Yet, she consistently elects males over females. When those males she elects take office, she pleads with them to understand her plight as a woman. Duh, you think it would occur to her to elect a woman. If the supreme court were equally or 5 Women (as it should be according to the population numbers) we would not be hearing all this debate about what a woman should do with her body.
Women readers: Do you get it? Now, let’s do something. Let’s take that position along side of men.
Back to you Al.…
Thirdly, you are right, our medical system is a joke. And like Connie I would rather have our government accountable than an insurance employee. The bottom line should always be safety first for the patient, not whether they’re saving a buck or two.
Connie: Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry to hear about your mother and I hope that she is doing well now.
Juanita: I wouldn’t call that a ‘nice quiet poem’, but it did make me chuckle.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor
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May 18th, 2009 at 8:52 am
SUDDEN HEARING LOSS MAY PRESAGE STROKE
Sudden hearing loss may signal vulnerability to stroke, according to a recent study. Scientists at Taipei Medical University in Taiwan found that people who went deaf with no warning had a 1.64 times greater likelihood of suffering a stroke within five years.
THE STUDY
Researchers examined the records of 1,423 patients hospitalized for sudden hearing loss and a control group of 5,692 patients hospitalized for appendectomies. In the following five years, 180 hearing loss patients (12.7%) and 441 appendectomy patients (7.8%) suffered strokes. After adjusting for other factors such as income, gender and other medical conditions, researchers concluded that the risk was 1.64 times higher in the hearing loss group. Investigators acknowledge that further research is required, as there were limitations in the study. For example, the data did not incorporate information about the severity of hearing loss, the extent of recovery or stroke risk factors such as tobacco use, weight or history of cardiovascular disease. The results were published in the October 2008 issue of the journal Stroke.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS
When I called Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, associate professor of neurology and director of the Stroke Program at Olive-View/UCLA Medical Center in California, to ask about this study, he told me that sudden onset of symptoms is what is most significant. A stroke can affect any part of the brain, he said, urging people to remember that any neurological symptom that comes on suddenly should be considered a potential warning sign — to be followed up with prompt medical attention.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the most common cause of long-term disability in this country. Treatment can be safe and effective, but only if administered promptly. While the standard of care is that treatment should be administered within three hours of the onset of symptoms, recent research suggests that it may be helpful even up to four and a half hours later. Do not ignore symptoms, even if they go away, for they may also be a harbinger of future risk — always follow up with your physician. If you suspect a stroke, call 911 and seek treatment ASAP.
Source(s): ?
Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, associate professor of neurology, director, Olive-View/UCLA Medical Center Stroke Program, Los Angeles, California.
American Stroke Association, http://www.strokeassociation.org.
May 18th, 2009 at 8:53 am
SUDDEN HEARING LOSS MAY PRESAGE STROKE
Sudden hearing loss may signal vulnerability to stroke, according to a recent study. Scientists at Taipei Medical University in Taiwan found that people who went deaf with no warning had a 1.64 times greater likelihood of suffering a stroke within five years.
THE STUDY
Researchers examined the records of 1,423 patients hospitalized for sudden hearing loss and a control group of 5,692 patients hospitalized for appendectomies. In the following five years, 180 hearing loss patients (12.7%) and 441 appendectomy patients (7.8%) suffered strokes. After adjusting for other factors such as income, gender and other medical conditions, researchers concluded that the risk was 1.64 times higher in the hearing loss group. Investigators acknowledge that further research is required, as there were limitations in the study. For example, the data did not incorporate information about the severity of hearing loss, the extent of recovery or stroke risk factors such as tobacco use, weight or history of cardiovascular disease. The results were published in the October 2008 issue of the journal Stroke.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS
When I called Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, associate professor of neurology and director of the Stroke Program at Olive-View/UCLA Medical Center in California, to ask about this study, he told me that sudden onset of symptoms is what is most significant. A stroke can affect any part of the brain, he said, urging people to remember that any neurological symptom that comes on suddenly should be considered a potential warning sign — to be followed up with prompt medical attention.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the most common cause of long-term disability in this country. Treatment can be safe and effective, but only if administered promptly. While the standard of care is that treatment should be administered within three hours of the onset of symptoms, recent research suggests that it may be helpful even up to four and a half hours later. Do not ignore symptoms, even if they go away, for they may also be a harbinger of future risk — always follow up with your physician. If you suspect a stroke, call 911 and seek treatment ASAP.
Source(s): ?
Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, associate professor of neurology, director, Olive-View/UCLA Medical Center Stroke Program, Los Angeles, California.
American Stroke Association, http://www.strokeassociation.org.
May 18th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Once again we see that the Supreme Court will bend over backwards to allow white men the privilege of legally discriminating against OTWs. In a 5(the same five who are bought and paid for before they got their republican appointments) to 4 decision they contorted the law to arrive at a ruling that the plaintiff did not have enough nexus to sue Ashcroft and fellow criminal.
This emphasizes the need for President Obama to appoint a judge that would empathize with the people. The 5 republican appointees empathize on every ruling they make. The difference is they lie about it. The reason they lie is because they empathize for big business, the wealth and their particular religious interest.
Catholicism is being practiced and enforced by the Supreme Court. The 5 republican appointees were selected the way the bush administration went about appointing attorneys to the department of justice. They had to agree to put politics ahead of impartial legal considerations.
A cursory examination of their rulings will show that they have been ruling in favor of the republican political position on every, I said EVERY ruling they made. Whether it was a religious, business, individual, or federal versus state decision, they have towed the line or rather honored the agreement they made to get the appointment in the first place.
These judges allow the political criminals to operate with impunity. They know that they will not have to answer criminally for their crimes. Which brings us back to todays ruling. The 5 Supreme Court appointees are insuring that these two political criminals will not have to serve a day or lose a cent because of their crimes.
Don’t count on bush, cheney, or any of the administration’s other criminals serving any time either. Consider, if a Supreme Court justice feels secure enough to steal an election that results in bush being made President by his ruling, then is there any ruling he would not feel secure making to achieve a situation that he wanted.
Subsequent rulings by the other 4 shows that Antonin Scalia has emboldened the rest to play kings on the bench ruling for the political right. The scuttle butt is that President has to appoint a justice with the intellect to compete with Scalia.
News Flash! Scalia was not appointed because of judicial intellect or any other source of intellect. He was appointed because he agreed to rule according to the appointer’s and the GOP’s political leanings. He is a light weight when it comes to understanding the law. he is just your average white boy with a “father knows best” syndrome, and religious dogma which he uses the bench force others to adopt.
The right is out ahead of him with propaganda proclaiming his judicial wisdom. But examine his ruling before and since he has been on the Supreme Court. You will find no particular judicial or Solomon like judgements.
What you will find is a pattern of rulings that suggest a man who believes that it is okay to use the bench to make his religious beliefs the law of the land. What you will find is a man willing to use the bench to make the political beliefs of his political party the law of the land. What you will find is a man willing to use the bench to keep the white male in a position superior to white females and OTWs, in that order.
White supremacists on federal benches use the ploy that they are “states rights” advocates when they interpret the U.S. Constitution. They do this because it gives them cover to force OTWs to use state courts when seeking justice.
The reason they want to force OTWs into state court is because the US. Constitution protects the rights of the minority from the will of the majority. Simply put in a state a majority vote at the polls can determine the rights a minority may exercise. I.E – The majority of the citizens of California who are heterosexual decided to take away the right of the minority of the citizens of California who are homosexual to get married. That is claimed as a state’s right to one vote per person to decide an issue.
On the national level the vote can not take away a minority’s right which the majority enjoys without a compelling national interest. Hence bigots like Scalia would claim that he was just interpreting the U.S. Constitution to read that what was not specifically given to the national government in the U.S. Constitution belongs to the state under the Tenth Amendment.
However, his decision to nullify the state of Florida’s right in favor of a ruling for the national government in order to make bush the President, showed that claim of states rights advocate was a farce. Subsequent rulings by him have shown that he is simply an opportunist when it comes to claiming that title when issuing judicial edicts.
The right uses “states rights advocate,” “strict constitutional interpretist as a smoke screen for making judicial decisions that force others to abide by their political, religious, business, and racial philosophy.
The only way to counter this blatant stacking of the Court is to appoint judges that will empathize with the spirit of the law as well as the letter.
Robert
May 18th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Hafa adai
Hurry home or get to the polls locally. We need to fix our part-time legislature situation.
___________________________________________________________________________
4-year election cycle will work for Guam
BY RON MCNINCH • MAY 19, 2009
In general, most of our elected leaders don’t lead. They engage in a pretty mediocre set of behaviors and dog paddle from election to election, creating as few ripples as possible in the voting pool.
Mediocre isn’t bad, per se, it is just average or unremarkable. This is in large part due to the very strict two-year election cycle these leaders face. Anything that is not average causes waves.
In our unicameral system, a four-year cycle is far superior to the two year cycle. Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz should be commended for making this proposal.
We track Guam leaders closely and he is one of the few living leaders to fit into the highest rank on the scale. He is a transformative leader. In effect, he is working to create lasting, positive change. Late leaders in this category include Gov. Carlton Skinner, Speaker Carlos Taitano and Delegate Antonio B. Won-Pat.
But making these types of changes is not an easy process.
Some narrow-minded folks will claim that this idea is inorganic. I use the word narrow-minded because these folks don’t really understand politics. Bismarck said it best when he said, “Politics is the art of the possible.” Leaders make things happen. In my experience, the narrow-minded accomplish little because they live in a world with blinders. They can’t see the big picture.
Then there is another group that wants a part-time Legislature. That’s fine, but they need to really understand what they are asking for. In a part-time Legislature, full-time lobbyists will pretty much run the show.
In general, I think that the Legislature should return to 21 members and work to adopt a four-year, staggered election cycle.
Where are the Angel Santos’ in the Legislature today? Where are others who serve key groups in our society?
One downside of the 15-member system is that it strongly limited diversity among the senators. Another downside is that it made it very easy to override vetoes. If the business community wants to improve the Legislature, support going back to 21 and get some key business supporters elected.
If we were really smart, we would lobby Congress to place an amendment clause that applies to the local government parts of the Guam Organic Act. Then the people would be able to truly decide and control any number of local government concerns.
Should future governors and lieutenant governors run as separate offices? Should we have a two-house Legislature? Should we have 30 legislators?
As it stands now, we’d need an act of Congress to change these items.
By the way, Congress could care less about these types of matters. These are local government concerns and concerns of the people. By challenging us to consider the idea of four year terms, maybe we can consider other important items too.
What we need are leaders who promote these discussions. And we need more of these types of discussions.
Ron McNinch, Ph.D., SPHR, is an associate professor of public administration at the University of Guam.
—————————————————-
Peter
May 18th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Michelle: If not for your blog and your link to that petition, I would never had known of this rediculously fast in & out procedure that the insurance companys were trying to make standard practice, or the petition for that matter. You are bringing so many issues to light and I have signed a number of petitions found here.
And I do believe you when you agree that women are not the only victims, and it is mainly men who enact the laws.
I did have an out of body experience, how strange that was. My life was saved at great expense, airlifting me crosstown at rush hour was the only way to the Ryder Trauma Center at JMH. I would not have lasted the trip via ambulance. I wanted to stay after the wrist surgery and go back to my pain pump, but they had already spent a fortune patching me up and I never even received a bill. Another day’s stay would have been prudent, but in this case I really don’t have any complaints at all, and I recovered 100%.
There are many issues in this world that are kept silent.
Your good work has brought a lot of them to light for me.
Our network news is so biased and useless, that one would never know about anything that is happening in the world today if that was ones only source of information, and they never follow a story up if they feel their ratings will be higher reporting a celebrities nipple slip, or some other idiotic nonesense.
Again, thank you for helping me to be informed about some of the less popular issues.
Besides if I am going to be angry and frustrated, and I will be, at least you have helped me focus that anger constructively.
Al
May 18th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Al, I wish I lived in Florida. You sound like a very interesting person. I am 52 and tired of the attention I get from the young men here in Atlanta. They seem to think that their tired euphemism work on getting woman into bed.
I guess it’s because they think that I am their age(35-40). I don’t seem to attract men in my age group. Maybe its because I laugh too much at life around me. You seem like the kind of person who finds humor in lots of things. You never seem to take yourself too seriously.
I like that
Connie
May 19th, 2009 at 12:29 am
Connie: thanks for the compliments. I haven’t euphemized to much. If that would help me to bed a paticular woman, I had already lost interest in her.
I don’t like living in Miami much, I’ve been to Norcross GA once for a week. Nice people in GA. Panasonic had thier regional traing center there. It was just prior to cellphone technology hitting the market.
I was there to learn negative logic truth tables, quite an oxymoron, I’d been using them my whole life. Boolean to boot.
Perhaps Michelle would not mind forwarding you my E-address, I could always use another friend. At 50 I don’t have that many, although the ones I have are very special and unique. I have been rather reclusive lately and that’s not good.
Connie, do you blog here often, and what is a nice lady like you doin’ on a blog like this anyway.
Connie, I too wish your mother well.
Connie, Michelle it is late and I need to say goodnight.
Al
Oh yeah, where has ZL been hiding herself?
May 19th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Al
You’ve made me blush.
May 19th, 2009 at 7:51 am
PISTACHIOS ARE A HEART-HEALTHY TREAT
New research on the heart health benefits of pistachios means we can toss these popular nuts into the “party mix” of good-for-us nuts — right along with the almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts and pecans we’re already enjoying with no guilt. A study from Pennsylvania State University finds that these tasty nuts deliver a handful of cardiovascular benefits, more so than other nuts. To learn more about the study and its implications, I consulted lead author Sarah K. Gebauer, PhD, the graduate student who worked on the study, currently a post-doctoral research associate at the USDA Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland.
GOING NUTS FOR PISTACHIOS
Current government nutrition guidelines recommend consuming between 20% to 35% of calories from fat. In the study at Penn State, participants followed one of three diets: one diet (control group) was lower in total and saturated fat than the typical American diet and consisting of 25% fat… another diet included one serving (approximately 1½ oz) of pistachios and a total of 30% fat… and a third diet included two servings of pistachios (roughly three ounces) with a total of 34% fat. All diets were rich in fruit, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains. For the two nut-eating groups, nuts were consumed as a snack, roasted and salted, and in food that incorporated roasted, unsalted pistachios.
Dr. Gebauer and her colleagues found that both pistachio-rich diets significantly decreased blood levels of blood lipids including LDL, the so-called “bad cholesterol,” while also lowering systolic blood pressure. According to Dr. Gebauer, the beneficial effects of pistachios on cardiovascular disease risk factors may be attributed to their unique nutrient profile, including their…
• Low level of artery-clogging saturated fat and rich level of healthful monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
• High fiber content.
• Large amounts of disease-fighting antioxidants such as lutein, gamma-tocopherol and beta-carotene.
• High levels — the highest of all commonly consumed nuts — of plant chemicals known as phytosterols, which may help decrease LDL-cholesterol.
HAVE A HANDFUL A DAY
Eating nuts is just one element of an overall heart-healthy diet, Dr. Gebauer emphasizes. Experts generally recommend that you consume 1½ ounces of nuts per day. For more information about pistachios or to get a free copy of a new brochure of pistachio recipes from celebrity chefs such as Todd English, Gale Gand and Michelle Bernstein, visit the Web site of the Western Pistachio Association at http://www.westernpistachio.org.
Source(s): ??Sarah K. Gebauer, PhD, post-doctoral research associate, USDA Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland.?