Via Atrios, who cares about the rule of law?

It’s actually a bit sickening to hear defaulted borrowers describing the misdeeds of banks as “mortgage fraud.” What some banks have done might well be fraud—but the fact of that fraud doesn’t erase the other fact that the borrower agreed to make payments or face the penalty of losing her home.

"These companies that are too big to fail apparently also think they're also too big to comply with the law of the land and it's beyond outrageous," D’Amelio’s lawyer tells CNNMoney. Maybe I’ve missed something here. Can someone please explain why banks being ‘too big to fail’ should mean that D’Amelio should get to live in a house she hasn’t paid for?

Citi does not own the note on the house. Fannie Mae does. Foreclosure is a process by which the actual creditor gets to try and recover monies owed to it. Citi does not own the debt. Fannie Mae does. Citi has no right to seek to recover monies that are not owed to it. How hard is it to understand this basic point?

Speaking for me only

Atrios links to Felix Salmon's discussion of Tim Geithner's argument against a foreclosure moratorium:

I think it’s important to recognize, Charlie, that if you — a national moratorium would be very damaging to exactly the kind of people we’re trying to protect, because the consequence of that would be in neighborhoods that have been most affected by the foreclosure crisis, where you see lots of houses on the block empty, unoccupied, what it means is those communities will be living longer with houses unoccupied, with more pressure on their house price with the people still in their houses.

Salmon recognizes that foreclosure is in fact the process by which many of these homes are emptied. In response, Geithner argues:

It's a busy work day for both BTD and me today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome. I'll be back this evening.

NYTimes Editorial:

[I]n three terms, [Feingold] has distinguished himself for trying to bring fairness to campaign finance and decency to national security, among other achievements. He has routinely crossed party lines to work with Republicans and has had the courage to break with his own party more often than almost any other senator.

He voted against confirming Tim Geithner as Treasury secretary, citing Mr. Geithner’s personal tax issues. He refused to support the Wall Street reform package because it did not go far enough. He was the only senator who voted against the misguided Patriot Act in 2001. He has supported gun rights — more than we like — and has opposed hate crime measures.

[. . .] Mr. Feingold is one of the very few [Democrats] with the self-confidence to offer a full-throated defense of his votes. [. . .] Mr. Feingold is making the case that there is a choice to make on Nov. 2 and that there is a need for thoughtful voices in Washington.

If you can, give Russ some cheddar.

Speaking for me only

The third miner has just surfaced. If you aren't watching, turn it on. It's heartwarming and real. Everyone is calm and joyous.

The President and First Lady of Chile are right there, they seem so down to earth and connected to the relatives, the workers and the miners. Watching the President physically bear-hug the miners as they emerge is amazing. His smile is a mile wide.

The emotion on everyone's faces is palpable. It's rare to see such expressions of pure joy these days.

A lot of expertise and planning went into this rescue and it shows. Congratulations, Chile (and those from other countries who helped.) You've done yourselves proud. The world is watching and we are all impressed and smiling with you.

Love the Goo Goo Dolls who were on DWTS tonight. (I'm just starting to watch, having DVR'd it earlier.) Bristol is in the bottom three, where she belongs. I doubt she'll be leaving tonight. Not when her mom was in the studio audience last night. (All the tea partiers will call in to vote for her.) Mike "the Situation" is the more likely choice. Neither one can dance, but since the Situation has a lot of personality, I hope it's not him.

After DWTS, it's the Good Wife.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Mexican authorities say the killing of Mexican police investigator Rolando Flores (Commander of state investigators in Ciudad Miguel Aleman) who was part of the team investigating the disappearance of Texan David Hartley while vacationing with his wife on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake, is not related to the investigation. Hartley's wife said they were attacked by pirates who shot and killed him.

Mexican authorities say Flores "was making further inquiries in New Ciudad Guerrero, which have nothing to do with the death of David Hartley, when he was killed."

Nor has Mexico confirmed the Flores "decapitation" story. That information stems from Zapata County, TX Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez (who gave it to the state congressman who tweeted it.) Mexican authorities will only say he was assassinated, and they don't know how.

According to a Texas local ABC News station, over the weekend, Flores met with them, gave them documents identifying two potential suspects, brothers who allegedly are with the Zetas drug cartel, and said the hunt for the pair was stepping up. [More...]

Update: Federal judge enjoins DADT The full three page order is here.

The White House announced today it was lifting the moratorium on deepwater drilling for oil and gas.

The Chilean miners are about to begin the rescue process.

Has debtor's prison returned? A report from the Brennan Center: Criminal Justice Debt: A Barrier to Reentry examines practices in 15 states.

Many states are imposing new and often onerous “user fees” on individuals with criminal convic­tions. Yet far from being easy money, these fees impose severe – and often hidden – costs on com­munities, taxpayers, and indigent people convicted of crimes. They create new paths to prison for those unable to pay their debts and make it harder to find employment and housing as well to meet child support obligations.

I'll be at the jail the remainder of the day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Prop. 102 is on the Colorado ballot and it's a terrible idea. It would require many defendants to pay to get out of jail.

[Prop]102 prohibits the release of a defendant on an unsecured bond to supervision by a pretrial-services program unless that defendant was arrested for a first-offense nonviolent misdemeanor.

Law enforcement officers, prosecutors and defense lawyers have formed a coalition to oppose the measure. Who is in favor of the bill? The bail bond industry. [More...]

Remember the "Denver Three" who were kicked out of a Colorado campaign event for George Bush? The Tenth Circuit ruled the officials had qualified immunity. They petitioned for cert and the Supreme Court denied their request today. The question presented:

Whether clearly established First Amendment law prohibits government officials who are speaking at events that are open to the public and paid for by taxpayers from excluding people from the audience on the basis of viewpoint

Justice Ginsburg dissented, joined by Justice Sotomayor:

I cannot see how reasonable public officials, or any staff or volunteers under their direction, could have viewed the bumper sticker as a permissible reason for depriving Weise and Young of access to the event. Nevertheless, the Court of Appeals held respondents entitled to qualified immunity because “no specific authority instructs this court . . . how to treat the ejection of a silent attendee from an official speech based on the attendee’s protected ex-pression outside the speech area.” 593 F. 3d 1163, 1170 (CA10 2010).

[More...]

Via the National Journal: Captured on video in March (about 1:50 in):

Questioner: "If you were the chief executive of New York, what would your response be to the attorney general of the United States deciding to hold terrorist trials in New York?"

Paladino: "F*** him. F*** him."

His audience laughed.

Carl Paladino steps in more dog poop. He says:

"That's not how God created us," Paladino said of being gay, "and that's not the example that we should be showing our children." ....."I don't want [children] to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option," he said.

On the other hand, Paladino says:

"My feelings on homosexuality are unequivocal; I have absolutely no problem with it whatsoever. My only reservation is marriage."

And, Paladino insists, "he would recruit gays to serve in his administration and currently has homosexual staffers working on his campaign."

Just what New York needs, another politician who talks out of both sides of his mouth. If his views don't sink him, this pathetic attempt to two-step will.

Take your pick. He's a homophobe or a lying, two-faced politician with a trust factor of zero. 30 days until this clown fades into oblivion.

Update: From the Daily Beast: Ten Fun Facts About Paladino