Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The other day I saw this report posted at the Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) Americans Elect becomes recognized political party in Arizona: Advertisement The Americans Elect Party doesn’t have a platform or philosophy, but it will be an officially recognized party on Arizona ballots in 2012. The Washington, D.C.-based party submitted 27,288 … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: No, not that commission. I am talking about the Governor's "Privatization" Commission. The Governor stacked the commission with like-minded individuals who would parrot back to her what she wanted to hear and to produce the desired result — a commission recommendation to which she will point in support of her policy proposals. … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste, and what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do." — Rahm Emanuel The Arizona Republic took this advice to heart last fall when it ran a multi-part series on the "crisis" in … Read more

Posted by AzblueMeanie:

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that was the creation of Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren (h/t Rachel Maddow Show for Elizabeth Warren graphic) in the wake of the financial services sector melt-down in 2008 due to unregulated speculative casino capitalism by the banksters of Wall Street is up and running as of this past Thursday.

The Tea-Publican Congress and their banksters of Wall Street masters are doing everything in their power to undermine the Bureau if not kill it before it has a chance to be effective. Tea-Publican senators have promised to filibuster any nominee for director of the Bureau. They want a return to business as usual that got us into this economic morasse in the first place. New consumer protection agency launches Thursday:

The consumer-protection agency that was created in the wake of the financial crisis launches Thursday lacking key powers that Congress had intended to give it.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will begin this week to enforce dozens of rules that Congress lumped together as part of last year's overhaul of financial regulations. It will help ensure that credit card holders have a clear understanding of the plastic in their wallets, borrowers are protected from unfair lending and military families have a dedicated financial watchdog.

Yet without a confirmed director, the agency can't write or enforce new rules for nonbank financial companies, which made about half of the riskiest subprime loans before the crisis. The agency was created as the first-ever federal regulator for many of these companies. Lawmakers wanted to prevent them from sidestepping rules that already applied to banks.

For payday lenders, prepaid card companies and other nonbanks, the new rules may be a little like the 1930s and the advent of the Securities and Exchange Commission, says Eugene Ludwig, who was Comptroller of the Currency, the top regulator for national banks, during the Clinton administration.

The lack of a confirmed director means those companies have less to worry about in the short term. President Barack Obama's choice for the job is former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray.

Republicans say they will block him or any other nominee until the power of the agency and its director are scaled back. They have introduced legislation that would replace the agency's director with a five-person commission and give Congress more control over its budget.

* * *

Until Congress confirms Cordray or another director, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will serve as the agency's acting director. Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law School Professor tapped by Obama to help set up the agency, will return to teaching. [And explore running for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts against flash-in-the-pan Scott Brown.]

Tea-Publicans want the American consumer to be victims of the predatory banksters of Wall Street. They are not looking out for your interests. You should demand to know why.

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On the Web: www.consumerfinance.gov, www.scoreinfo.org, and www.consumerfinance.gov/knowbeforeyouowe/.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Our Tea-Publican legislature and governor are committed to their faith based supply-side "trickle down" economics orthodoxy. Their slash and burn budget cuts to education and health care they told us would magically create jobs. Their corporate welfare tax bailout plan for corporations would magically create jobs. Question for our Tea-Publican legislature and governor: … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The "we heart Russsell Pearce" group that challenged the certification of the recall election now has a scheduling order in the case. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Oral arguments in Pearce recall challenge set for Aug 8: Oral arguments in a lawsuit hoping to derail the recall of Senate President … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Arizona Daily Star came out strongly for preserving the independence of the Independent Redistricting Commission in its Sunday editorial opinion, with pointed criticism of Sen. Frank Antenori, Rep. Terri Proud, and Attorney General Tom Horne for their partisan hackery. Districting panel's distractions need to be swept away (excerpt, emphasis added): But, of … Read more