A must read for every college kid heading back to campus!

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:12:35 -0400

Credit Card Tips for College Students

Now that you're making financial decisions for yourself, be sure to protect yourself from credit card tricks and traps. Here are some tips to consider before you break out the plastic. Adapted from "Credit Card Tips for College Students,” Consumers Union...

That Student Loan, So Hard to Shake

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:28:08 -0400

MOST people struggling to pay off their student loans keep quiet about it. They do not want to acknowledge that, perhaps in a fit of naïve, youthful optimism, they borrowed more than they could handle.

Then there is Alan Collinge, who for years has described his struggle with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt to anyone who will listen. He has appeared on “60 Minutes” criticizing...

Avoiding College's Plastic Hangover

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:25:34 -0400

The immediate gratification of using plastic to buy an iMac, tickets to a Coldplay concert and nights of bar hopping has a way of coming back to haunt college students after graduation.

Despite their lack of a credit history and sizable student loans, most college students can get their hands on credit cards with as much ease as a swipe. And they're often lured into doing so with awards like free T-shirts. Along with the freebies, however, come some not-so-pleasant surprises: high interest rates and a range of fees and penalties.

Lack of regulation of manipulative lenders has led to an explosion of foreclosures across the country, but it seems mortgages aren't the only loans spiraling out of control. Bankruptcy filings rose 38% in 2007.

Borrowers are loosing their footing as lenders create new tricks to max customers out.

Lawmakers claim that bankruptcy allows sneaky borrowers to wiggle out of debt, but even after restricting struggling ...

Fear of Regulating

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:53:50 -0400

NEW YORK TIMES

April 3, 2008
EDITORIAL

Fear of Regulating

To understand the White House’s blueprint for regulating the financial markets, start with what the Bush administration did not do. It did not offer America a plan to respond to the ongoing credit crisis or to the Federal Reserve’s dramatic intervention to prevent the collapse of Bear Stearns. It certainly did not provide a roadmap for avoiding this sort of meltdown in the future.

The Fed’s role in the Bear debacle has put taxpayers at risk of having to s...

Plastic Card Tricks

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:52:56 -0400

Editorial

Plastic Card Tricks

Published: March 29, 2008

Americans are struggling with a very rocky economy while they are also holding almost $1 trillion in credit card debt. In most cases, those cards provide a little flexibility with the monthly bills. But an increasing number of people are defaulting because of the “tricks and traps” — s...

Chase mortgage memo pushes 'Cheats & Tricks'

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:12:48 -0400

The bank says it never backed the strategies, which detail how to get an iffy loan approved

Thursday, March 27, 2008

JEFF MANNING

The Oregonian Staff

A newly surfaced memo from banking giant JPMorgan Chase provides a rare glimpse into the mentality that fueled the mortgage crisis.

The memo's title says it all: "Zippy Cheats & Tricks."

Ex-Sub-Prime Borrowers Live In Tent Cities On LA Outskirts

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:05:52 -0400

When is enough enough? What will it take for Congress to stop predatory lenders and regulate sup-prime lending?

It's time to demand change!

Endorse the Principle of Fair Lending

Tell Congress that your're outraged by predatory lending

Excellent Video on Earth Day TV

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:25:30 -0500

Here is an excellent video from the Earth Day Network - It's a production of the University of South FLorida, about an hour long, and very inspiring! A great model for what we can do with the 3 finger Solution! Look at www.SustainabilitySymbol.com and check out EarthDay TV

Tell the Senate to Stop Foreclosures!

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:44:16 -0500

In the aftermath of reckless subprime lending, our nation's economy is in serious trouble. This week the Senate will vote on a new bill that would prevent unnecessary foreclosures and stabilize the housing market. Please take a moment now to tell your Senators to support this bill – call toll-free 1-800-580-5739 to be connected with them. Here’s a sample message:

I understand that the Senate will vote this week on Senator Reid's "Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008," S. 2636. This is a time to st...

Jim Campen on Fox Business

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:29:38 -0500

Jim Campen, Executive Director of Americans For Fairness In Lending, tells it like it is on Fox Business! Check it out:

Focus the Nation hiring Organizers for FTN 2009

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:33:13 -0500

National Organizer, Focus the Nation 2009

Description:

In January 2008, Focus the Nation events reached close to one million people in a day of education and civic engagement on global warming solutions taking place at 1,900 locations in all 50 states. 64 members of Congress and 15 Governors’ offices participated in the events along with hundre...

Success! 120,000 Valentines going to Congress

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:27:41 -0500

We did it! Right now, 120,000 Valentine’s Day postcards are being delivered to Congress telling them that we've had enough credit card tricks and traps. The message is loud and clear: the time for reform is now! If you haven’t already you can still participate – send your Representative and Senators a Valentine’s Day email.

Let’s keep the pressure on and the discussion going. Do you have a credit card horror st...

Mortgage Crisis Spreads Past Subprime Loans

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:54:54 -0500

By VIKAS BAJAJ and LOUISE STORY

Published: February 12, 2008

The credit crisis is no longer just a subprime mortgage problem.

As home prices fall and banks tighten lending standards, people with good, or prime, credit...

Zip Code 'Redlining': A Sweeping View of Risk

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:22:22 -0500

Will your zip code keep the American Dream out of your reach? Check out this article from WashingtonPost.com

Zip Code 'Redlining': A Sweeping View of Risk

By Kenneth R. Harney

Saturday, February 2, 2008; Page F01

Critics call it the new redlining: Many of the country's largest mortgage lenders are imposing loan restrictions in entire counties or Zip codes that they...

Principles of Fair Lending

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:24:30 -0500

Reinforcing the regulatory apparatus of the nation’s economy that has collapsed under this administration is indeed one of the most important challenges facing us today (“After the Fed,” editorial, Jan. 31).

What won’t work is the typical patchwork approach to reform predatory lending. If Congress and presidential candidates want to truly make a difference for borrowers, they need a comprehensive approach to regulation.

A set of principles of fair lending, agreed to by Americans for Fairness in Lending, a coalition of national consumer grou...

Daily Show on Subprime Loans

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:08:44 -0500

Lenders Who Sold and Left

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:11:53 -0500

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON Published: February 3, 2008

THE Federal Bureau of Investigation said last week that it had opened criminal investigations into 14 companies that played a part in the mortgage boom and bust. While it did not identify the companies on its dance card, the F.B.I. said they included mortgage brokers, lenders, and the Wall Street banks that packaged and sold the securities. Investigators are looking for accounting fraud and possible insider trading at the companies, an F.B.I. spokesman said.

The burea...

Send a "Valentine's Day" postcard to Congress: Kiss Credit Card Abuses Goodbye!

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:34:41 -0500

Each year credit card companies sap billions of dollars from consumers’ wallets in excessive fees, unexpected rate hikes and other unfair practices. AFFIL is partnering with Consumers Union in asking folks to take a moment to tell Congress to protect you, not the big credit card companies!

Just go to www.CreditCardReform.org and with one click youâ€™ll send a real post card to each of your representatives this Valentine’s Day. Consumers Union will hand deliver postcards in your name to your Representative and Senators on February 14th.

AFFIL and James Scurlock talk to Wall Street!

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:11:50 -0500

On January 29, AFFIL members and Maxed Out director James Scurlock hit Wall Street to talk to bankers about Maxed Out, the subprime mortgage crisis and its effect on our economy. The conversations were surprising – even bankers agreed that we need regulation to keep the economy on track and prevent predatory lending.

After the Fed

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:34:50 -0500

January 31, 2008 EDITORIAL After the Fed

Whether or not the Federal Reserveâ€™s recent dramatic interest rate cuts are the right medicine for todayâ€™s stalling economy â€” and the jury is very much out on that â€” it is clear that the Fed has used up a big chunk of its recession-fighting ammunition in a very short span of time. In just over a week, it has slashed its benchmark interest rate by a total of 1.25 percentage points, to 3 percent. That doesnâ€™t leave a lot of room to cut further without opening the door to a potentially nasty upsurge in pr...

Crashing the Subprime Party

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:46:58 -0500

Wall Street strikes again! Putting corporate interest before good judgment and consumer protection has to be stopped! Check out this article from Slate by Nicholas Bagley: Crashing the Subprime Party How the feds stopped the states from averting the lending mess.

’...Some of the biggest players in the secondary mortgage market are national banks, and the states’ efforts to curb predatory lending clashed with the banks’ fervent desire to keep the market in subprime loans rolling. And so the national banks turned to the Treasury Department’s Office of th...

Killer Credit

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:30:42 -0500

When is enough enough? This is a great article by Adam Doster that sheds some light on the plastic hell Americans are living in. It’s time to start fighting back!

Killer Credit Attack of the $915 billion consumer debt monster By Adam Doster

Candace Angus is not one to break the rules. When she served on the Chicago police force for 25 years, it was her duty to maintain order. And as a longtime credit card user, she was never late on a payment and never in debt. So when she found interest on her Capital One balance considerably higher than she anticipated, she wa...

Correction of the web address! - Philip McMaster

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:22:01 -0500
Sorry, CORRECTION... the web address is: http://www.sustainabilitysymbol.COM hope to see you online February 1st --- Don't forget to invite 3 people to share a 3 finger Photo!

You're invited to Celebrate the One Year Anniversary of 3 Finger "Peace Plus One" - Philip McMaster

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:40:21 -0500
Hello Sustainability Symbol Friends around the WORLD (Especially in Beijing) - IT'S A PARTY / CELEBRATION of the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the 3 Finger Sustainability Symbol... and we're having a WEB-CAM World Party connecting YOUR town with Beijing China, site of the 2008 Olympics. You are most welcome to attend our party celebration for the One Year Anniversary of the 3 Finger "Peace Plus One" Sustainability Symbol on February 1st at 7pm - 9pm Friday, Feb 1st The Bookworm Building 4, Nan sanlitun Road Chao Yang District, Beijing Tel: 65869507 www.chinabookworm.com Plea...

URGENT - Please sign Bali Petition, and share the Sustainability sign! - DragonTHINK

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:37:53 -0500
Please take a moment RIGHT NOW to sign the new global emergency petition at this link (the server may be overwhelmed tomorrow), then tell all your friends: http://www.avaaz.org/bali_emergency/3.php Take this opportunity to join the virtual climate change march in Bali, and hold your 3 fingers of the Sustainability Symbol high above your head. Sign the global petition, share the Sustainability Symbol (www.SustainabilitySymbol.com) and consider encouraging more allies on Rethos http://www.rethos.com I just joined a virtual climate change march on Bali--one of hundreds of thousands...

My early Holiday gift to the Rethosaria - sharing an opportunity and recognizing your talent! - Philip McMaster

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:47:28 -0500
HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! My gift to you this season are some of the valuable Sustainability-related domains I've collected over the years. All I ask in return is that you design a really cool site that gets people involved, spreads the Sustainability Symbol around the world and brings attention to at least one of the Climate Change related projects we're working on (Like "STOP the GLOFs") The rest will be up to you to use and design as you wish. Almost one year ago we introduced the 3 Finger Sustainability Symbol (Peace Plus One) to the HK Environmental Protection Association. http://www.d...

Opportunity for Webmasters and Bloggers! FREE USE OF WEBSITES

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:32:14 -0500

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

My gift to you this season are some of the valuable Sustainability-related domains I’ve collected over the years.

All I ask in return is that you design a really cool site that gets people involved, spreads the Sustainability Symbol around the world and brings attention to at least one of the Climate Change related projects we’re working on (Like “STOP the GLOFs”) The rest will be up to you.

Almost one year ago we introduced the 3 Finger Sustainability Symbol (Peace Plus One) to the HK Environ...

Be a Solution Pioneer - the Sustainability Symbol Anniversary February 1, 2008

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:49:16 -0500

Almost one year ago we introduced the 3 Finger Sustainability Symbol (Peace Plus One) to the HK Environmental Protection Association. http://www.dragonpreneur.com/images/3fingerPhotos/EPA_0228.jpg http://www.dragonpreneur.com/images/3fingerPhotos/EPAgrp_0256.jpg

Since that time, the Peace Plus One Sustainability Symbol, representing a balanced THINKING considering SOCIETY, ENVIRONMENT and ECONOMY has been shared by hundreds (maybe thousands) of people around the world.

DragonTHINK – h...

Simplify the Holidays and stay away from Credit Card Traps - Americans for Fairness in Lending

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:13:52 -0500
As you consider how to celebrate the holidays responsibly, take some time to protect yourself from credit card tricks & traps. Read AFFILâ€™s Holiday Credit Card Tips before you break out the plastic this season, at http://www.affil.org/consumer_rsc/holiday-credit-card-tips. 1. Donâ€™t get tricked, trapped or suckered into a card with bad terms. If you want a credit card, get one with a long-term low interest rate (APR). If you get a low introductory rate, chances are itâ€™ll start at 0% and then jump to 20% with one almost-on-time-but-didnâ€™t-quite-make-it payment. Still want a credit ...

Overdraft Abuse: Tell Your Story - Americans for Fairness in Lending

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:05:19 -0500
Congress needs to hear your story: A message from the Center for Responsible Lending Jennifer Rakowski of Oakland, CA had been with her bank for 15 years when, before she knew what hit her, she accumulated a series of overdrafts in quick succession that put her over $300 in the red. Has something like this happened to you? Consumers are catching on to the ways in which banks artificially increase overdrafts, costing their account holders billions per year in unfair fees. When the House Financial Services Committee was debating H.R. 946 this month, Congresswoman Carolyn Malone...

EcoEverest Expedition 2008 - Interested in participating? - Philip McMaster

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:02:30 -0500
Sorry to all the schools and organizations that asked for a presentation about the 3 Finger Sustainability Symbol... something very important that may help nudge the tipping point to Sustainable Thinking has arrived. ...and the Rethos.com community is the FIRST to hear about it! I'm off to Nepal to help with the EcoEverest expedition - if you are interested in participating, enjoying an amazing adventure, and helping bring a "three finger focus" to this area of the planet where climate change and global warming are having a measurable and devastating effect RIGHT NOW... please se...

Alliance Accepted! - DragonTHINK

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:59:09 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Peace Plus One

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:49:18 -0500

Alliance Accepted! - Technology For People Group Inc.

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:58:24 -0500

Write for Celsias - Climate Change Site

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:35:25 -0400

Celsias is rapidly becoming the â€œgo toâ€ online destination for emerging and seasoned writers to showcase their passion for the environment, sustainability and global warming.

Get published alongside world’s climate change thought leaders

Develop an online following

Become a recognized authority online

Be read in over 120 nations

Get paid

Save the world

Contact us at www.celsias.com/contact-us and you could be published by supper time!

Alliance Accepted! - Americans for Fairness in Lending

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:49:46 -0500

Are you a great designer, or translator?

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:15:45 -0400

We are in the process of translating the word/concepts/phrase of

1. SOCIETY

2. ENVIRONMENT

3. ECONOMY

... into the languages of the world, and adapting the different ways of writing to the three fingered hand symbol.

You can see a sample of the Sustainability Symbol in Chinese script on this message.

Your name will be forever associated with the chosen modification of the symbol that represents “Society, Environment, Economy” in your lingui...

Convert website into something attractive

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:51:00 -0400

The three finger Sustainability Symbol is beginning to attract attention on and off the internet. This is a double-edged sword.

On one hand, more and more people are learning about the campaign (personally passing it along from one individual to another),

on the other hand, our website stinks.

It’s homemade, and as you will see, I’m no web designer!

If there are any talented web designers out there in the Rethosarian community, please have a look at www.DragonTHINK.com and make a suggestion of how we could use some of the existing conte...

Alliance Accepted! - Philip McMaster

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:28:01 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Jesse Smale

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 02:07:45 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Jason Boyer

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:28:04 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Sonya Shalnikov

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 13:50:18 -0400

Ally Request - Margaret Foley

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 13:42:26 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Lesley Schuster

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 06:47:34 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Frank Miller

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:11:28 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Hardcastle

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 05:38:19 -0400

Make Friends, Have Fun and Make Money Saving the Earth

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:55:33 -0400

Are you Part of the Problem… or the SOLUTION?

Be the first in your community to start the transformation process to sustainability.

+Become a Black Belt Dragonpreneur, Trainer / DragonMentor + (Seminar / Workshop Presenter – CSR Business Consultant – Private Tutor – Sustainable Lifestyle Coach)

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: - Excellent Communications and Interpersonal Skills - Unlimited Positive Enthusiasm & Entrepreneur THinking - Assertive Development of you...

Save Our Planet

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 11:56:11 -0400

Enough is enough, and it’s time for a change.

-Christopher Howse – EarthThreat.org

Rethos.com - franscud's Global Feed

A must read for every college kid heading back to campus!

Credit Card Tips for College Students

Simple Fall 08 Ads

Simple Fall 08 Ads

Simple Fall 08 Ads

Simple Fall 08 Ads

War on the middle class

What Will Mac ’n’ Mae Cost You and Me?

That Student Loan, So Hard to Shake

Avoiding College's Plastic Hangover

Fear of Regulating

Plastic Card Tricks

Chase mortgage memo pushes 'Cheats & Tricks'

Ex-Sub-Prime Borrowers Live In Tent Cities On LA Outskirts

Excellent Video on Earth Day TV

Tell the Senate to Stop Foreclosures!

Jim Campen on Fox Business

Focus the Nation hiring Organizers for FTN 2009

Success! 120,000 Valentines going to Congress

Mortgage Crisis Spreads Past Subprime Loans

Zip Code 'Redlining': A Sweeping View of Risk

Principles of Fair Lending

Daily Show on Subprime Loans

Lenders Who Sold and Left

Send a "Valentine's Day" postcard to Congress: Kiss Credit Card Abuses Goodbye!

AFFIL and James Scurlock talk to Wall Street!

After the Fed

Crashing the Subprime Party

Killer Credit

Correction of the web address! - Philip McMaster

You're invited to Celebrate the One Year Anniversary of 3 Finger "Peace Plus One" - Philip McMaster

URGENT - Please sign Bali Petition, and share the Sustainability sign! - DragonTHINK

My early Holiday gift to the Rethosaria - sharing an opportunity and recognizing your talent! - Philip McMaster

Opportunity for Webmasters and Bloggers! FREE USE OF WEBSITES

Be a Solution Pioneer - the Sustainability Symbol Anniversary February 1, 2008

Simplify the Holidays and stay away from Credit Card Traps - Americans for Fairness in Lending

Overdraft Abuse: Tell Your Story - Americans for Fairness in Lending

EcoEverest Expedition 2008 - Interested in participating? - Philip McMaster

Alliance Accepted! - DragonTHINK

Alliance Accepted! - Peace Plus One

Alliance Accepted! - Technology For People Group Inc.

Write for Celsias - Climate Change Site

Alliance Accepted! - Americans for Fairness in Lending

Are you a great designer, or translator?

Convert website into something attractive

Alliance Accepted! - Philip McMaster

Alliance Accepted! - Jesse Smale

Alliance Accepted! - Jason Boyer

Alliance Accepted! - Sonya Shalnikov

Ally Request - Margaret Foley

Alliance Accepted! - Lesley Schuster

Alliance Accepted! - Frank Miller

Alliance Accepted! - Hardcastle

Make Friends, Have Fun and Make Money Saving the Earth

Save Our Planet