Snark: to annoy or irritate

"Snark" has been in English language dictionaries since at least 1906, and Lewis Carroll used the word to describe a mythological animal in his poem, The Hunting of the Snark (1874). Most recently, the word has come to characterize snappish, sarcastic, or mean-spirited comments or actions directed at those who annoy or irritate us.

At first, this blog was just going be a place to gripe, but because it's more satisfying to take action than it is to merely complain, now most of the posts/reposts suggest ways to get involved in solving problems.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Fight the Big Banks


A message from MoveOn.org:
We all know that when the big banks tanked the economy, they were engaged in flat-out fraud. How awesome would it be if they had to pay back the billions they stole?

Well, thanks to some brave state attorneys general, it could really happen.1

Eric Schneiderman of New York and Beau Biden of Delaware—with the backing of MoveOn members, Occupy protesters, and other grassroots heroes—have used their power under state laws to demand a real investigation.2 But the banks will do anything to stop them, and these progressive attorneys general are under crushing pressure to back down.3

This is it—our last real chance to hold these Wall Street crooks accountable. We know the anger is out there—Occupy Wall Street proved that—but we need a sharp publicity campaign to make it politically impossible to let the banks off the hook ... again. To ramp up this campaign, we need to raise $140,000 this week. Can you help?


The big banks pulled one of the greatest cons in American history. Hundreds of millions of people lost their jobs, saw their retirement wiped out or their home values plummet because of a housing crisis caused by banks who were routinely lying about document notarizations, forging mortgage documents, and defrauding investors.4 They made billions doing it and then got billions more in bailout money.

We can win an investigation and fair settlement that would put that money back in the pockets of homeowners and investors, who will spend it and help restart our economy.

And this is one fight where the partisan gridlock is irrelevant. The banks are headquartered in the states of these progressive attorneys general, which means they don't need the approval of Congress, a Super Committee, or even the administration. We can get real relief for homeowners as long as the progressive attorneys generals refuse to back down. 

But we're at a tipping point. So far, the banks have failed to get immunity. Progressives have momentum and now we have to ramp up the pressure on the banks before they regroup and start pushing for a new sweetheart deal.

To do that, we need to raise some money this week. The banks have millions to spend on lobbyists. We have each other, so let's all pitch in. :-) Can you give $5 today to win real accountability for Wall Street?


Thanks for all you do.

–Daniel, Elena, Stefanie, Mark, and the rest of the MoveOn team

Sources:

1. "Attorney General of N.Y. Is Said to Face Pressure on Bank Foreclosure Deal," The New York Times, August 21, 2011  
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263392&id=33471-18623853-KxlSk%3Dx&t=4

2. "State is key to deal on mortgages," Los Angeles Times, September 24, 2011  
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=268439&id=33471-18623853-KxlSk%3Dx&t=5

3. "BofA's Moynihan Said to Press Geithner on Foreclosure Agreement," Bloomberg Businessweek, August 12, 2011 

4. "I was a robo-signer," CNN, October 28, 2010 
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=268436&id=33471-18623853-KxlSk%3Dx&t=7

"Mortgage mess: Who really owns your mortgage?" CBS News, August 7, 2011 
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=268437&id=33471-18623853-KxlSk%3Dx&t=8

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