Free Republic

Bank of America is even still referring people to the ACORN offices caught on tape. A sample from the banks' website: Local Home Ownership Programs We work with local and national organizations to bring potential homebuyers education and financial resources to obtain a mortgage. Phoenix * ACORN. Bank of America works with Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Housing to provide special mortgage products to potential homeowners in Phoenix. For more information, call ACORN's Phoenix office at 1.602.253.1111 or visit the website at www.acornhousing.org. * NCLR. Bank of America works with National Council of La Raza (NCLR) to...

n prepared remarks for a Congressional hearing obtained today by ABC News, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson admits telling Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis that the Federal Reserve could remove the bank's board members if they backed out of their proposed merger with Merrill Lynch last December. In prepared remarks for a Congressional hearing obtained Wednesday by ABC News, former Treasury... (AP Graphics) On Thursday morning, Paulson will defend his actions before the House Oversight Committee in the last of three hearings that the panel has conducted on the controversial merger. When Bank of America considered scuttling the merger...

Ooh, the sheer brazenness of this is almost admirable. Bank of America is trying to wriggle out of paying the taxpayer $4 billion in fees, which it owes the taxpayer, in exchange for the backstop of $118 billion in Merrill Lynch assets. On what basis are they doing this? According to Bloomberg, they never actually signed the agreement, and since the backstop was never employed, they don't want to pay up. Sorry, Ken, but this is total nonsense. That the backstop was never used means nothing, since it's only a backstop if it's possible that it might not be used....

The integrity of the government's bailout actions are called into question by a new report. There's a lot at stake. A new report by the New York Attorney General says that government officials bullied Bank of America Chief Ken Lewis into accepting a merger with Merrill Lynch--then ordered him to keep mum about losses at Merrill. What's at stake? The integrity of the government's bailout actions, for one. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's reputation, for another. And of course Lewis' job. Thursday, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released documents charging that in December former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pressured...

Just got today RE: stock symbol BAC The above listed stock is part of a non-mandatory reorganization or tender offer, which requires your timely attention. For details regarding this offer, contact your local branch office. Please note that failure to advise Scottrade of your intent may result in no action being taken, and we cannot be held responsible for any resulting loss. If you decide to participate in this offer, you will need to inform your local Scottrade branch office no later than 10 a.m. ET on the expiration date, and a $25 fee will be charged to your account....

Wells Fargo also will likely cut dividend to boost capital, analyst says BY ALISTAIR BARR SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Bank of America Corp. needs more than $80 billion in new common equity capital to support the huge amount of assets on its balance sheet, an analyst said Tuesday. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey's Paul Miller also said Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) probably will have to cut its dividend soon as that bank tries to boost capital. Shares of Bank of America slumped 29% to close at $5.10 on Tuesday. That's the lowest level since late 1990. Wells Fargo lost 24% to...

I am forming a Conservative group here in the Bay Area starting in 2-3 weeks. We have approximately 15 people who are going to meet and be a sounding board to the outlandish liberalism happening in our nation. Some of my fellow FReepers live in red states, we live in the Berkeley/SF 'belly of the beast' and need an outlet for our sanity. If interested, please e-mail me at: wac3rd@yahoo.com No Libs, no RINO's and no relatives of John F. Kennedy.

Democrat Takes 52-43 Lead Among Likely Voters, Erases Republican's Post-Palin Pick Gains Barack Obama has seized the reins of economic discontent, vaulting over John McCain's convention gains by persuading voters he both better understands their economic troubles and can better address them. In a head-to-head-match-up he's now supported by 52 percent of likely voters vs. McCain's 43 percent, the first significant advantage for either candidate among likely voters in ABC/Post polls. Add third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Bob Barr and it's essentially the same, 51-43 percent. The contest has shifted from a 49-47 percent McCain-Obama race immediately after the Republican...

Credit-card issuers have drawn fire for jacking up interest rates on cardholders who aren't behind on payments, but whose credit score has fallen for another reason. Now, some consumers complain, Bank of America (BAC) is hiking rates based on no apparent deterioration in their credit scores at all. The major credit-card lender in mid-January sent letters notifying some responsible cardholders that it would more than double their rates to as high as 28%, without giving an explanation for the increase, according to copies of five letters obtained by BusinessWeek. Fine print at the end of the letter—headed "Important Amendment to...

When it comes to investing, I'm a contrarian at heart. I'm also a cheapskate, generally more interested in stocks trading at low multiples than those with forecasted earnings-growth estimates that have catapulted investor expectations to infinity and beyond. Don't get me wrong: If you're the Buzz Lightyear type, you should certainly check out the likes of Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Sony (NYSE: SNE). Each sports a five-year earnings-growth forecast of 15% or higher -- and a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) that surpasses the broader market's average. Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) makes the cut, too. Deep discounts If, however, you're mainly an investor...

Two of the nine suspected illegal immigrants detained Monday when they arrived for work at Hotel Bethlehem had criminal records, District Attorney John Morganelli said Tuesday. Morganelli said Flor Rocha, of Falls Church, Va., was wanted in California for a dangerous drugs charge, but officials wouldn't extradite him back to California. Juan Carlos Hinjosa, of Springfield, Va., was wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after he was arrested in February 2005. Morganelli said the subcontractor was a Virginia-based company which claims the men were individual contractors. "We know that's just a way to avoid worker's compensation," Morganelli said....

Last night a "GDFD" (get drunk, fall down) was brought into the Emergency Department by aid car. She arrived, as most drunks do, bellowing obscenities and calling the staff vile names. And this young lady was also a spitter. Nice.The law allows us to restrain a patient who poses a threat to himself or to staff, and our MD, a particularly excellent one, wasted no time in decreeing that it be made so. Security is always down there, so we summoned them to help us put the leathers and a spit sock on the young lady. We then shifted her...

CARLISLE, Pa. -- A man charged with drunken driving from the passenger's seat has asked a judge to throw out an incriminating statement he made to a state trooper. Derek Randall Pittman, 26, of Carlisle, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.237 percent when he was arrested, said Michelle Sibert, a Cumberland County assistant district attorney who is prosecuting the case. Trooper Jeffrey D'Alessandro said he pulled the car over early on the morning of Dec. 26 after watching it swerve from a turning lane into a travel lane on U.S. Route 11. When D'Alessandro approached the vehicle, he said he...

No one wants to see a family of four killed by a drunk driver. But the United States has veered way out of the lines in its DUI laws, and it’s time to rethink them from bumper to bumper.Whether you’re a 220 lb. guzzler with an iron liver or a 120 anorexic who’s just had her first drink, you will be evaluated by the same standard in determining whether you’re capable of driving. The standard in most states is a .08 blood-alcohol content or BAC. But other states have policies in which an even lower BAC can send you to...

By JON FRANK, The Virginian-Pilot © September 10, 2005 Last updated: 12:02 AM VIRGINIA BEACH — Citing national security concerns, a Navy admiral has asked that cameras be kept out of the courtroom when a Navy SEAL goes on trial in January in the 2004 murder of a fellow SEAL .In a letter to defense attorney James O. Broccoletti filed in Circuit Court, Rear Adm. Joseph Maguire, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command in San Diego, objected to photographing or filming the trial of Ronald J. Gasper. Maguire said such filming “could expose the identities of our personnel and...

Police officer charged with rape after offering woman ride home BROCKTON - A police officer was charged with rape after he allegedly forced an intoxicated woman to perform oral sex on him while in uniform. Daniel MacIntosh, 28, of Brockton, pleaded innocent at his arraignment Tuesday in Brockton District Court. His attorney, Kevin Reddington, said MacIntosh was stunned by the allegations. ``He is very distraught by this,'' Reddington told The Enterprise of Brockton. ``He is a very, very nice young man who dreamed of becoming a police officer.'' According to court papers, the woman told authorities she was too drunk...

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- Two off-duty state police officers were arrested after a run-in with on-duty Albuquerque police officers. The state police officers allegedly got drunk at a downtown Albuquerque bar, flashed a badge, cursed at Albuquerque police and fought Albuquerque police officers as they were taken into custody. Officer Thomas Morrissey, 30, is a patrolman assigned the Gallup district. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Officer Saul Canialis, 28, was arrested on a battery on a police officer charge. He is assigned to the Grants district. Morrissey was released on his own recognizance by Bernalillo County Metropolitan...

VICTORVILLE — A woman who strangled a friend with her bra when she discovered he had taken one of her undergarments has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Karen Denise Chades was drinking and dancing with 67-year-old Sesario "Rocky" Roque, a friend and neighbor, in his garage after a party on Sept. 24, 2002, when she discovered that Roque had one of her bras. Enraged, Chades attacked Roque with a broom, knocking back two of the victim's teeth. She then strangled him with the bra, jurors found. Deputies arrested Chades in August 2003, at her home in...

William Henkle had more than 20 alcoholic drinks in his system when he attacked police with a chain saw outside his Forty Fort home last month, toxicology tests reveal. Henkle, who was killed by a flurry of police bullets following the attack, had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.495 percent, according to test results recently received by the Luzerne County coroner's office. The 40-year-old's blood-alcohol concentration was more than six times the amount (0.08) to be considered legally drunk in Pennsylvania. No traces of illegal drugs were found in the two blood samples and one urine sample tested at National Medical...

As part of settlement, parents of drunk driver agree to move By MICHELLE WASHINGTON, The Virginian-Pilot © February 22, 2005 Last updated: 11:39 PM NORFOLK — Reminders of her son’s death lurk everywhere for Donna Chambers. She cries at the grocery store when she sees Landon’s favorite kind of Pop-Tarts . More tears come at the mailbox when letters from colleges arrive addressed to him. Sometimes, just driving through her neighborhood, she must pass the house of the drunken driver who killed her son. But not for much longer. As part of the settlement of the Chambers family’s lawsuits against...