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Shell Games
Author: Raine
Date: 04/23/2018 12:56:25
A story broke last night that is getting traction this morning. From the Guardian:
Sean Hannity, posing as the guy who is blue collar just like his viewers, was actually profiting from the foreclosure crisis. He used a number of shell companies to do so. While he was railing about the evils of a special Obama Administration program HUD program, he amassed 870 properties under a program created to help people purchase low-income homes.
Hannity has praised Ben Carson (as the head of HUD) and tRump for wanting to privatize government subsidized housing.
From 2016:
It's one thing to want privacy, it's very different to be so secretive that no one knew about his conflicts of interest. We learned last week that Cohen claimed Hannity was his client. What else is he hiding? We know the FBI has been investigating Michael Cohen for some time and I have a feeling they know a lot more than meets the eye.
Buckle up! it's Monday!
and 
Raine
The records link Hannity to a group of shell companies that spent at least $90m on more than 870 homes in seven states over the past decade. The properties range from luxurious mansions to rentals for low-income families. Hannity is the hidden owner behind some of the shell companies and his attorney did not dispute that he owns all of them.
Dozens of the properties were bought at a discount in 2013, after banks foreclosed on their previous owners for defaulting on mortgages. Before and after then, Hannity sharply criticised Barack Obama for the US foreclosure rate. In January 2016, Hannity said there were “millions more Americans suffering under this president†partly because of foreclosures.
Hannity, 56, also amassed part of his property collection with support from the US Department for Housing and Urban Development (Hud), a fact he did not disclose when praising Ben Carson, the Hud secretary, on his television show last year.
(snip)
Late last month, Hannity’s mortgages were replaced with loans for $22.9m that were rewritten with Carson’s Hud and a new bank. There was no indication that Carson was personally involved in the process. Carson does, however, have the authority to allow Hannity from 2019 to convert the rental complexes into condominiums for sale, which could be lucrative for the television host.
The Georgia mortgages supported by Hud were guaranteed as part of a program aimed at protecting investors such as Hannity who buy rental apartment buildings. The government promises to cover losses if borrowers default on their mortgages. Borrowers pay an insurance premium to Hud in return. Bigger loan guarantees are available if the building houses low-income families.
Hannity has praised Ben Carson (as the head of HUD) and tRump for wanting to privatize government subsidized housing.
From 2016:
HANNITY: And it's a big step for him. When Donald Trump mentioned yesterday -- and I was kidding around yesterday with Michael Cohen -- $2 billion, some guy in Dubai. And I said can you give him my number? I said I'm interested in that deal myself. So there really is a sacrifice. Donald Trump legally does not though have to recuse himself from his business. But he's doing it to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
It's one thing to want privacy, it's very different to be so secretive that no one knew about his conflicts of interest. We learned last week that Cohen claimed Hannity was his client. What else is he hiding? We know the FBI has been investigating Michael Cohen for some time and I have a feeling they know a lot more than meets the eye.
Buckle up! it's Monday!
and Raine
Comments:
Order comments Newest to Oldest Refresh Comments
Comment by 
wickedpam on 04/23/2018 13:20:25
wickedpam on 04/23/2018 13:20:25
Morning 
I've never read any of Ayn Rand's but I gotten the gist of what her usual theme is. So anyone else feel like we are living in like one of her books, or even bad Randian fanfic?
I've never read any of Ayn Rand's but I gotten the gist of what her usual theme is. So anyone else feel like we are living in like one of her books, or even bad Randian fanfic?
Comment by 
Scoopster on 04/23/2018 13:37:01
Scoopster on 04/23/2018 13:37:01
Mornin' all! 
Not. even. close. At least as far as her own works go. Rand's works are almost purist in their fictional portrayal of her objectivist philosophy & ideology, and that includes her 'destroyers' who are the pure anathema to everything she believes in. Even the way she portrays sex, which has been decried as rape, is actually more like pure animal mating without emotion or meaning (I know, subtle differences).
And ehhhh... I can't speak for fanfics.
Quote by wickedpam:
Morning
I've never read any of Ayn Rand's but I gotten the gist of what her usual theme is. So anyone else feel like we are living in like one of her books, or even bad Randian fanfic?
Not. even. close. At least as far as her own works go. Rand's works are almost purist in their fictional portrayal of her objectivist philosophy & ideology, and that includes her 'destroyers' who are the pure anathema to everything she believes in. Even the way she portrays sex, which has been decried as rape, is actually more like pure animal mating without emotion or meaning (I know, subtle differences).
And ehhhh... I can't speak for fanfics.
Comment by wickedpam on 04/23/2018 13:41:58
Eek, I stand corrected then.
wickedpam on 04/23/2018 13:41:58
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all!Quote by wickedpam:
Morning
I've never read any of Ayn Rand's but I gotten the gist of what her usual theme is. So anyone else feel like we are living in like one of her books, or even bad Randian fanfic?
Not. even. close. At least as far as her own works go. Rand's works are almost purist in their fictional portrayal of her objectivist philosophy & ideology, and that includes her 'destroyers' who are the pure anathema to everything she believes in. Even the way she portrays sex, which has been decried as rape, is actually more like pure animal mating without emotion or meaning (I know, subtle differences).
And ehhhh... I can't speak for fanfics.
Eek, I stand corrected then.
Comment by 
BobR on 04/23/2018 15:07:03
BobR on 04/23/2018 15:07:03
The Hannity story is gaining traction. Expecting an announcement of a "vacation" any moment
Comment by 
TriSec on 04/23/2018 16:04:41
TriSec on 04/23/2018 16:04:41
Greetings, comrades!
3pm today - NO MORE GLASSES!!
Getting my new contact lenses, with approximately 20/25 vision in the left eye, and 20/20 in the right.
<-- no longer I.
And asking purely rhetorically now....
I've spent much of the last 6 weeks re-working my tour, adding new soundbites, and working on a better flow of stories whilst out in traffic. ("smooth", as one of the managers has already described it.) You've all known me long enough - when was the last time I put this much effort into a unrewarding health care desk job?
3pm today - NO MORE GLASSES!!
Getting my new contact lenses, with approximately 20/25 vision in the left eye, and 20/20 in the right.
<-- no longer I.And asking purely rhetorically now....
I've spent much of the last 6 weeks re-working my tour, adding new soundbites, and working on a better flow of stories whilst out in traffic. ("smooth", as one of the managers has already described it.) You've all known me long enough - when was the last time I put this much effort into a unrewarding health care desk job?
Comment by 
livingonli on 04/23/2018 18:03:39
With all this coming down, there should be an arrest but he's only a business criminal.
livingonli on 04/23/2018 18:03:39
Quote by BobR:
The Hannity story is gaining traction. Expecting an announcement of a "vacation" any moment
With all this coming down, there should be an arrest but he's only a business criminal.
Comment by 
Raine on 04/23/2018 18:23:07
Raine on 04/23/2018 18:23:07
They got the Nashville shooter. Alive it appears.
Comment by Raine on 04/23/2018 18:25:25
SOUNDBITES? you get to make your own sounds for the tours?!
Raine on 04/23/2018 18:25:25
Quote by TriSec:
Greetings, comrades!
3pm today - NO MORE GLASSES!!
Getting my new contact lenses, with approximately 20/25 vision in the left eye, and 20/20 in the right.
And asking purely rhetorically now....
I've spent much of the last 6 weeks re-working my tour, adding new soundbites, and working on a better flow of stories whilst out in traffic. ("smooth", as one of the managers has already described it.) You've all known me long enough - when was the last time I put this much effort into a unrewarding health care desk job?
Comment by Will in Chicago on 04/23/2018 19:03:03
Will in Chicago on 04/23/2018 19:03:03
Hello bloggers. I am closing in on a month of school days until graduation.
As for Hannity, I expect no more punishment than a brief "vacation."
As for Hannity, I expect no more punishment than a brief "vacation."
Comment by BobR on 04/23/2018 20:31:06
I hope you're enjoying your new career, and it's everything you hoped it would be
BobR on 04/23/2018 20:31:06
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Hello bloggers. I am closing in on a month of school days until graduation.
As for Hannity, I expect no more punishment than a brief "vacation."
I hope you're enjoying your new career, and it's everything you hoped it would be
Comment by TriSec on 04/23/2018 21:39:23
TriSec on 04/23/2018 21:39:23
Alright - about 2 hours with the new lenses. No issues, my eyes settled down, and I even got them out without poking out my own eye. Going well so far.
Comment by TriSec on 04/23/2018 21:45:01
Oh, yes!
We have "stock" soundbites, but I've gone above and beyond. Got battle sounds at Bunker Hill, sports calls passing the Garden and Fenway, Jazz snippets and Michael Jackson around the Berklee neighborhood, Bells, sound effects, and even a TARDIS for when we go back to Colonial Boston in my stories.
Come and ride, you know you want to!
TriSec on 04/23/2018 21:45:01
Quote by Raine:
SOUNDBITES? you get to make your own sounds for the tours?!
Oh, yes!
We have "stock" soundbites, but I've gone above and beyond. Got battle sounds at Bunker Hill, sports calls passing the Garden and Fenway, Jazz snippets and Michael Jackson around the Berklee neighborhood, Bells, sound effects, and even a TARDIS for when we go back to Colonial Boston in my stories.
Come and ride, you know you want to!