By Carter Clews
Executive Editor of ALG News Bureau
I feel sorry for Sir Walter Scott. And I think you should, too.
Oh, I know Wikipedia tells us that he was “the first English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime,” adding that, “His novels and poetry are still read today.”
All of which is well and fine. And I say, bully for him.
But, the truth is, the poor man died a good 176 years (1832) before the true wisdom of his insights into the twisted morass of the human mind could be fully plumbed. And, he ought to be around to accept the horrifying accolades.
Of course, we all know that Scott penned the timeless line, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” But it would take the near-criminal collusion of Barack Obama, ACORN, and the weak-kneed hoity-toits at CitiBank better than a century and a half to demonstrate for all the world to see what a tangled web that would one day be.
Here’s the essence of the story, as it actually appeared on Telemundo on September 7, 2005:
“NUEVA YORK, NY. — Gracias a una iniciativa de la banca privada ahora es posible para inmigrantes indocumentados comprar casa en los Estados Unidos sin necesidad de tener número de seguro social.
“Un nuevo programa ayuda a los inmigrantes que no pueden comprar casa, a cumplir su sueño americano.
“Durante mucho tiempo Elena Hernández ha tenido la ilusión de comprar una casa, pero no lo ha logrado, según ella por no tener papeles migratorios.
“La inmigrante mexicana dice: ‘creo que se me han cerrado las puertas para comprar una casa porque no tengo una tarjeta de número de seguros social’, así que sin el numero de seguro social no puedo hacer nada”.
“Históricamente los indocumentados que han comprado casa en Estados Unidos, lo han hecho bajo cierto riesgo; con documentos falsos o con la ayuda de otras personas.
“Hay personas que si tienen su propiedad, pero están a nombre de otra persona que si tiene documentos legales”.
“Pero ahora el Ctigroup se ha unido a Acorn, la asociación de organizaciones comunitarias para reformas, para ayudar a inmigrantes a comprar su casa aunque no tengan el número de seguro social ….”
Well, enough of that. If you had any trouble reading it, you might want to ask any one of the more than 12,000,000 illegal aliens – whoops, I’m sorry, ACORN prefers we call them “undocumented workers” – who are now living the good life on the lam in Section 8 housing near you.
For those who don’t have time to get a full translation, here are the highlights:
“New York, NY– Thanks to a private bank initiative, it is now possible for undocumented immigrants to the United States to purchase a home, without having a Social Security Number.
“A new program, it will now help those immigrants who have not been able to purchase a home, and to help them achieve the American Dream …
“Traditionally, undocumented who wanted to buy a home in the United States had to resort to underhanded means, such as with false documents, or with the help of other persons….
“But now thanks to the Citigroup, in alliance with a group ACORN, the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now, they are able to help immigrants to buy homes who do not even have Social Security numbers…..”
Now, let’s make sure we understand exactly what we’re looking at here: In 2005, the spineless bigwigs at CitiBank, in collusion with the shakedown artists at ACORN, scammed up a program to provide no-doc home loans to people who entered the country illegally, had no social security numbers, did not pay taxes, could not legally establish credit, and could skip the country on a moment’s notice and head back home to Latin America where their entire families would greet them with open arms. Muy bien!
Certainly sounds like a good credit risk to me. Why would anyone think that such fiduciary due diligence could possibly help lead to the collapse of the entire banking and loan industry in this country? I mean, who better to shell out unsecured loans to than low-income day laborers, living on the lam, with no fixed address?
So, where, you might ask, does former community organizer and ACORN trainer Barack Obama come into all of this?
Well, I’m glad you asked – because the fact is: it was Barack Obama, as ACORN’s legal counsel, who led the way in cowing CitiBank officials into genuflecting every time ACORN’s thug brigades descended upon the executive suite.
That’s right, in 1994, a full 11 years before the full realization of the CitiBank-ACORN-illegal alien scam (and a full 162 years before Sir Walter Scott predicted its manifestation), Barack Obama led ACORN in using the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to turn bankers’ spines to jelly.
You will recall that ACORN, ever eager to reward sloth and illegality, fixed upon CRA lawsuits as a means to blackmail banks into making high-risk loans to low-income applicants. In these lawsuits, as the blog mediacircus.com explains, ACORN would make a bogus claim of “redlining” (denying poor people loans because of their ethnic heritage). They would stage noisy protests and get the local media to sound the alarm. This alarm would mean that the bank would risk thousands of people closing their accounts and local politicians lobbying to stop the bank from doing some future business, expansions, and mergers.
Of course, if the bank went to court, it would likely win. But, the damage would already be done, and the bank would have to spend a fortune trying to redeem its reputation.
Enter Barack Obama (again, many thanks to mediacircus.com):
Case Name
Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank
Docket / Court 94 C 4094 ( N.D. Ill. ) FH-IL-0011
State/Territory Illinois
Case Summary
Plaintiffs filed their class action lawsuit on July 6, 1994, alleging that Citibank had engaged in redlining practices in the Chicago metropolitan area in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), 15 U.S.C. 1691; the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601-3619; the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1982. Plaintiffs alleged that the Defendant-bank rejected loan applications of minority applicants while approving loan applications filed by white applicants with similar financial characteristics and credit histories. Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief, actual damages, and punitive damages.
U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo certified the Plaintiffs’ suit as a class action on June 30, 1995. Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank, 162 F.R.D. 322 (N.D. Ill. 1995). Also on June 30, Judge Castillo granted Plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery of a sample of Defendant-bank’s loan application files. Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank, 162 F.R.D. 338 (N.D. Ill. 1995).
The parties voluntarily dismissed the case on May 12, 1998, pursuant to a settlement agreement…
Plaintiff’s Lawyers
Alexis, Hilary I. (Illinois)
FH-IL-0011-7500 | FH-IL-0011-7501 | FH-IL-0011-9000
Childers, Michael Allen (Illinois)
FH-IL-0011-7500 | FH-IL-0011-7501 | FH-IL-0011-9000
Clayton, Fay (Illinois)
FH-IL-0011-7500 | FH-IL-0011-7501 | FH-IL-0011-9000
Cummings, Jeffrey Irvine (Illinois)
FH-IL-0011-7500 | FH-IL-0011-7501 | FH-IL-0011-9000
Love, Sara Norris (Virginia)
FH-IL-0011-9000
Miner, Judson Hirsch (Illinois)
FH-IL-0011-7500 | FH-IL-0011-9000
Obama, Barack H. (Illinois)
FH-IL-0011-7500 | FH-IL-0011-7501 | FH-IL-0011-9000
Wickert, John Henry (Illinois)
FH-IL-0011-9000
Now, you know what a community organizer really does. And, more than that, you know what it can cost good and decent people who watch their country’s entire financial community collapse because some nefarious shysters mobilize the indigent to prey upon those who won’t – or, in the case of average, work-a-day Americans, can’t – defend themselves.
Besides predicting the Obama-ACORN-CitiBank nexus, Sir Walter Scott also wrote, “The consequences of our crimes long survive their commission, and, like the ghosts of the murdered, forever haunt the steps of the malefactor.”
Come November 4, we shall see.
