#banks

If you've never read any of his books, read one of his books. Then read another. Even the bad ones were good, and the good ones were astonishing.

The New York law firm Steven J. Baum P.C., which specialized in mortgage foreclosures, announced that it would close today, less than a month after the New York Times published photos of its employees dressed as homeless people for Halloween, in a twist too absurd for 30 Rock. "Disrupting the livelihoods of so many dedicated and hardworking people is extremely painful, but the loss of so much business left us no choice but to file these notices," said Baum in a statement. Last week, following Times columnist Joe Nocera's publication of the offensive pictures from the company's Halloween party last year, Nocera received an angry e-mail from Baum: "Mr. Nocera — You have destroyed everything and everyone related to Steven J. Baum PC. It took 40 years to build this firm and three weeks to tear down." Our sympathy receptors must be broken today.

MSNBC's "Up with Chris Hayes" broke the story today of a memo by Washington D.C. lobbyists to the American Bankers Association on how to go about discrediting the Occupy Wall Street movement, which is evidently perceived as a powerful threat to the interests of the financial industry.

Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) is known for his anti-Obama rhetoric on cable television and his inability to pay his child support payments. But during a recent meeting with constituents in his Chicago-area suburban district, Walsh lost his cool when several attendees asked about why banks have so much power in government. At one point, Walsh even threatened to eject a man who asked Walsh about the revolving door of bank lobbyists infiltrating Congress and financial regulatory agencies.

TL;DR - I handed out flyers. The bankers panicked and called their private security people, then more private security and finally the cops. That's when they found out that they didn't have a leg to stand on

Via Crooks & Liars we learn that Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is “incensed” about all the pressure being brought to bear on his bank and its shady practices. In other words, what Moynihan is saying is: “The pressure is working. Keep it up.”