Boy Scouts of America Files for Bankruptcy

There are stark parallels between the Boy Scouts of America and the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy.  The leadership of both organizations put protecting their reputations over the safety of children and youths and both maintained extensive records of abuse cases that remained hidden from the public.  Meanwhile, little was done to make sure pedophiles - which is something markedly different from being gay despite Christofascist and Catholic Church efforts to conflate the two even though the vast majority of pedophiles are heterosexual - did not find positions within the organization.  In the end, it was the deliberate cover ups and lies to the public and police authorities that have lead to the disgrace of the institutions and now a bankruptcy filing by the Boy Scouts much like numerous Catholic Church dioceses. The New York Times looks at this development.  Here are highlights:

The Boy Scouts of America, an iconic presence in the nation’s experience for more than a century, filed for bankruptcy protection early Tuesday, succumbing to financial pressures that included a surge in legal costs over its handling of sexual abuse allegations.

Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts have long maintained internal files at their headquarters in Texas detailing decades of allegations involving nearly 8,000 “perpetrators,” according to an expert hired by the organization. Lawyers have said in recent months that former scouts have come forward to identify hundreds of other abusers not included in those files.

The bankruptcy filing, in Delaware, is expected to disrupt continuing litigation and establish a deadline for when former scouts can pursue claims.

Jim Turley, the national chair of Boy Scouts of America, said in an open letter that the organization was entering bankruptcy in order to equitably compensate all victims of abuse through a trust.

It is unclear how much of an overhaul the bankruptcy process will bring to the Boy Scouts, which reports having 2.4 million youth participants, but Mr. Kosnoff said the filing seemed necessary given the totality of the claims that have emerged. At a minimum, Mr. Kosnoff said he would like to see the organization clean out its management and end lucrative salaries for leaders, some of whom earn more than half a million dollars annually.

Even then, Mr. Kosnoff said that he finds it “difficult to impossible” for him to envision a new structure that would give him confidence that the nonprofit has sufficiently changed. He said the organization, which has operated under a congressional charter since 1916, may need to liquidate and allow some new organization with better controls come in to fill the void.

Other organizations, including Catholic dioceses and U.S.A. Gymnastics, have also sought bankruptcy protection in recent years as they have faced sexual-abuse lawsuits.

The Boy Scouts’ troubles have lingered for decades. In a 1935 article in The New York Times, the organization described having files on hundreds of people who had been leaders in the scouts but had been labeled “degenerates.”

While their records date back a century, the Boy Scouts fought the release of some of the files in an Oregon case in the early 2000s — a case that led a jury to hold the Scouts liable in 2010 for $18.5 million in punitive damages. The records in that case stayed private until a ruling from the Oregon Supreme Court in 2012 made them public.

Paul Mones, a lawyer in that case, said he recalled musing with his co-counsel at the time that the files may just be the tip of the iceberg that could ultimately send the Boy Scouts toward bankruptcy. But instead of trying to establish a compensation fund for victims over the years, he said, the organization continued trying to protect its reputation.

Mr. Mones said that the bankruptcy filing will deny other victims an opportunity to hold the scouts accountable in court.

Victims and their lawyers have argued that the files hid the problem and left scouts at risk. Mr. Pierce said he did not know until much later that there was a systemic problem in the Boy Scouts. He said that while the organization helped shape him and gave him many positive experiences, he now believes it must be abolished or radically changed.

“It provides pedophiles with access to boys,” Mr. Pierce said. “That has to stop. I don’t know if that means getting rid of the Boy Scouts or some new oversight.”

Once again, its a case of those irresponsibly seeking to protect an organization being the ones to destroy it. Yet, over and over again we see the same pattern. especially in religious organizations. 

Twin Cities Archdiocese Files Bankruptcy to Freeze Abuse Lawsuits

In what has become a common pattern for Catholic dioceses around the country, the  St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese has filed bankruptcy to limit likely pay outs to victims of sexual abuse by priests.  In today's Catholic Church - actually, the Church throughout most of its history - money and protecting Church assets is far more important than justice and accountability, especially accountability on the part of high clergy who aided and abetted predatory priests.  The National Catholic Reporter looks at the latest bankruptcy filing.  Note the disingenuous claim that this step would be "fair" to victims of abuse.  Here are highlights:

The St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Friday morning in response to pending lawsuits related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

The Associated Press first reported the development, long expected in a region gripped for more than a year by a sexual abuse scandal that has seen trust deteriorate in the local church. It is the 12th U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy. 

The filing of Chapter 11 reorganization came in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of Minnesota. The archdiocese pointedly stated its current situation is “because of the scourge of sexual abuse of minors.”

The archdiocese described bankruptcy as “the fairest way” to resolve existing and future claims of sexual abuse while at the same time continuing its ministries within the local church.

In its court filing, the archdiocese estimated assets between $10 million and $50 million, and liabilities between $50 million and $100 million. It listed its number of creditors between 200 and 1,000, with clients of attorney Jeff Anderson representing 17 of the 28 largest claimants.

In November, the archdiocese released its 2014 fiscal year financial statements that showed a $9 million deficit in operating activities, net assets down $8.9 million and total cash dropping 60 percent, from $9.5 million to $3.8 million.

At a press conference Friday, Anderson said his firm has been working for months to determine the fairest way to compensate victims. Past bankruptcies have seen average payouts from $42,000 (Helena, Mont.), to $750,000 (Wilmington, Del.), to $1.4 million (San Diego), the lawyer said, though it's uncommon for claimants to receive equal shares and numerous variables determine how much is paid and to whom.

Bankruptcy will put on hold cases filed against the archdiocese, including three set for trial Jan. 26. Two involve Anderson, whose firm has filed 16 total claims, in addition to another 112 notices of claims on behalf of alleged abuse victims.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who in July awarded Anderson an inaugural Pioneer Award, put forth a different view, that bankruptcy allows the archdiocese to change the subject from who was responsible for clergy sexual abuse to how will funds be divided. 

"Chapter 11 enables a bishop to protect what he cares about most: his own reputation, comfort and secrets. It stops depositions, discovery and clergy sex abuse and cover up trials. It's a smart but selfish legal maneuver that will effectively prevent Catholics from getting key information and victims from getting real justice," said Barbara Dorris, SNAP outreach director, in a statement. 

 

Virginia GOP's E. W. Jackson - A Growing Train Wreck

The entertainment factor and ongoing exposure of just how insane the Virginia GOP base has become just goes on and on in the form of GOP Lt. Governor candidate E. W. Jackson.   The man is a train wreck.  And what must remembered is that despite the efforts of Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain to distance themselves from Jackson, all three hold virtually the same anti-gay, anti-women and anti-modernity positions.  They are the face of The Family Foundation and the religious extremists who hijacked the Republican Party of Virginia.  In a press conference yesterday, Jackson admitted drug use in his past - and not just marijuana - filing bankruptcy and claimed to have taken course at Harvard that Harvard has no record of.  Jackson is exhibit A as to why the GOP ticket needs to be thoroughly defeated in November.  Here are highlights from a Virginian Pilot piece:

The Republican nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor acknowledged Wednesday that he used marijuana and experimented with other controlled substances in his youth, and that he was forced to file for bankruptcy.

Jackson sought to get out front on his past on Wednesday. He said during his speech that he used marijuana as a youth, and when questioned after the speech, acknowledged that he experimented with other controlled substances, but did not go into detail. 

He spent a lot of time discussing his 1993 bankruptcy filing, which he said came after nine years of work to make a go of an AM gospel radio station in Boston. He said many of the difficulties came from extended battles with the Federal Communications Commission  .  .  .  .

He also talked about his transition over time from lawyer to minister. He said that while he graduated from Harvard Law School, he took several classes at the divinity school, even though Harvard apparently has no record of it.  "They were not teaching what I believed to be orthodox Christian biblical theology but rather a liberal version of that. I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture; they did not," Jackson said of the Harvard divinity classes.

He acknowledged that he was asked to leave his first ministerial position in 1982, after two years at a Baptist church in Cambridge.

Jackson said many of his statements have been taken out of context to try to make it sound as though he believes that birth defects are caused by parents' sins or that yoga leads to Satanism.

"I do not believe that birth defects are caused by parents' sin unless, of course, there's a direct scientific connection between the parents' behavior and the disabilities of the child," he said, giving the example of birth defects that might result from a child born to a mother addicted to heroin.

He added, "I do not believe that yoga leads to Satanism. One of my ministers is a yoga instructor. What I said was that Christian meditation does not involve emptying oneself but filling oneself ... with the spirit of God. That is classic Biblical Christianity."

The uproar over yoga came last week when the National Review posted an excerpt of a book that Jackson had written in which he wrote, "When one hears the word meditation, it conjures an image of Maharishi Yoga talking about finding a mantra and striving for nirvana. ... The purpose of such meditation is to empty oneself. (Satan) is happy to invade the empty vacuum of your soul and possess it."

The man is a nutcase and any party that could nominate Jackson for Lt. Governor is simply unfit to govern.  Between now and November Virginia voters need to realize that Cuccinelli, Jackson and Obenshain are all cut out of the same cloth.

More Dire Housing News - Especially for Hampton Roads

For the last three and one half years or more, I have argued that until the residential housing market stabilizes, there will be no improvement in the overall economy and the middle class will continue to become increasingly financially strapped. Government efforts to help home owners to date have been largely ineffectual and the ongoing wave of foreclosures is driving home values lower and lower. As Westlaw News is reporting U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley seems to get the message and he is pushing for reforms to stem the foreclosure tidal wave and the attendant decimation of home values in some cities and regions. Part of his solution would be to add "cram down" relief in bankruptcy cases which would force lenders to accept lesser payoffs and/or to rusticate loans. The reality is that other than investors with money who are reaping incredible deals, everyone loses in a foreclosure, but most particularly homeowners losing their homes and their surrounding neighbors who find themselves with ruinous "comparables" when they go to sell or refinance in the form of nearby foreclosed homes. Here are highlights on Merkley's proposal:
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U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley is urging President Obama to pay greater attention to the nation's foreclosure crisis and is pushing a revived proposal that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of first mortgages on primary homes.
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Key Democrats have sought unsuccessfully for more than three years to give bankruptcy judges the power to reduce the principal balances on such loans, a process known as “cramdown,” as a way to stem the tide of mortgage foreclosures.
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In a letter to the president, Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, said that despite the administration’s efforts, the country’s housing market continues to struggle.
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“[F]oreclosure filings continue at a pace of over 300,000 per month, devastating families across our nation,” Merkley wrote. He focused on the shortcomings of the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, which was designed to help mortgage borrowers who meet certain eligibility criteria avoid foreclosure by obtaining loan modifications from participating servicers.
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“The goal of HAMP was to prevent 3 to 4 million foreclosures, but to date fewer than 600,000 homeowners have been approved for permanent loan modification,” Merkley wrote.
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In his letter, the senator outlines a six-point proposal to alleviate the foreclosure crisis. He fleshed out the plan in a document available on his website.
A key component of the plan is a “lifeline bankruptcy option,” which is essentially the same as “cramdown,” a process under which bankruptcy judges would be allowed to modify the terms of mortgages on primary residences.
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Another component of the plan is the establishment of a “national short refinance program” that would enable homeowners facing foreclosure to refinance their mortgages based on current interest rates and home values. This is designed to help homeowners who have steady income but who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth.
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Meanwhile predictions for property value drops in Hampton Roads, if accurate, will leave large numbers of homeowners "underwater" on their loans and often with no incentive to not simply walk away. Obviously, without relief, the downward spiral will then continue anew. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:
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The slide in local home prices doesn't appear to be over. A local economist suggested that home prices in Hampton Roads will fall 3 to 5 percent this year. A local real estate executive suggested that home prices will fall 10 to 15 percent.
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Now, a new national forecast has suggested that the region's home prices will fall about 13 percent this year - more than in any other major metro area in the country.
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Clear Capital's conclusions are similar to those drawn by Van Rose, president of the new homes division of Rose & Womble Realty Co. In a column in the Tidewater Builders Association's magazine, Rose said he expects a 10 to 15 percent decline in prices for existing homes this year. "There is nothing to help stop the 7 million foreclosures in the pipeline, which means values will continue to be hard to hold," Rose said of the national foreclosure problem.
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"Prices have been steadily declining since mid-2007, with prices now 24 percent below the market peak," Villacorta said.

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President Obama, are you paying any attention to this ongoing disaster?

Catholic Diocese of Wilmington Files Bankruptcy

In yet another attempt to avoid the financial consequences of turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse of minors for decades or, worse yet, covering up the crimes, the Archdiocese of Wilmington filed bankruptcy last night on the eve of a trial civil trial in a high-profile sex abuse case against the diocese and a former priest. The case that was to begin today is the first of eight consecutive abuse trials scheduled in Delaware. Sadly, hitting the Church in its wallet seems to be the only thing that truly gets the attention of the bishops, cardinals and Popes that allowed this horrific problem to go on for years and years as part of the Vatican approved system of cover ups and efforts to silence victims and their families. Personally, I would like to see members of the Church hierarchy up on criminal charges for obstruction of justice and /or various conspiracy charges. Here are some highlights from MSNBC:
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The bankruptcy filing automatically delays the case in Kent County Superior Court, the first of eight consecutive abuse trials scheduled in Delaware. "This is a painful decision, one that I had hoped and prayed I would never have to make," said the Rev. W. Francis Malooly, the bishop of the diocese, on the diocese's Web site.

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"Our hope is that Chapter 11 proceedings will enable us to fairly compensate all victims through a single process established by the Bankruptcy Court," Malooly said. The diocese covers Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland and serves about 230,000 Catholics. It is the seventh U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy since allegations erupting seven years ago against Catholic clergy in Boston.

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Thomas Neuberger, an attorney representing 88 alleged victims, described the bankruptcy filing as a "desperate effort to hide the truth from the public and conceal the thousands of pages of scandalous documents" from being made public in court. "This filing is the latest, sad chapter in the diocese's decades long 'cover-up' of these despicable crimes, to maintain the secrecy surrounding its responsibility and complicity in the sexual abuse of hundreds of Catholic children," Neuberger said in a statement.

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Neuberger said he would make court filings in Delaware to "meet this fraudulent tactic with the full and immediate force of the law." He also vowed to seek out all assets of the diocese and its parishes. More than 20 Delaware plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against former priest Francis DeLuca. DeLuca served for 35 years but was defrocked last summer after having been jailed in 2007 in New York for repeatedly molesting his grandnephew.

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An annual report filed earlier this year by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that the church has paid more than $2.6 billion in settlements and related expenses since 1950.

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As I repeatedly note, the Church hierarchy is morally bankrupt and Catholics need to stop underwriting these corrupt, falsely pious flim flam artists from the Vatican on down. Faith is separate from financially supporting those who ought to be behind bars.

Supporters Continuing to Lose Faith in Obama

Yesterday's New York Times included an op-ed by Bob Herbert that looked at the growing erosion of belief in Obama among those who vocally supported him and helped put him in office. I was such a supporter, but on LGBT issues, Obama has delivered nothing whatsoever. As for health care reform - which I believe is critical for most Americans, Obama seems to be pissing away a historic opportunity to reform the system so that only the wealthy are guaranteed the availability of coverage. Increasingly, employers are reducing plan coverage as costs soar and between the erosion of coverage and lost coverage for those now unemployed, it is nothing less than a national embarrassment. Here are some highlights from Herbert's column:

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The president may be sanguine, but the same cannot be said of the general public, including some of Mr. Obama’s most ardent supporters. The American people are worried sick over the economy, which may be sprouting green shoots from Ben Bernanke’s lofty perspective but not from the humble standpoint of the many millions who are unemployed, or those who are still working but barely able to pay their bills and hold onto their homes.
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This is the reality that underlies the anxiety over the president’s ragged effort to achieve health care reform. Forget the certifiables who are scrawling Hitler mustaches on pictures of the president. Many sane and intelligent people who voted for Mr. Obama and sincerely want him to succeed have legitimate concerns about the timing of this health reform initiative and the way it is unfolding.

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Men and women who once felt themselves to be securely rooted in the middle or upper middle classes are now struggling with pay cuts, job losses and home foreclosures — and they don’t feel, despite the rhetoric about the recession winding down, that their prospects are good. People worried about holding on to their standard of living need to be assured, unambiguously, that an expensive new government program is in their — and the country’s — best interest. They need to know exactly how the program will work, and they need to be confident that it’s affordable.

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It’s still early, but people are starting to lose faith in the president. I hear almost daily from men and women who voted enthusiastically for Mr. Obama but are feeling disappointed. They feel that the banks made out like bandits in the bailouts, and that the health care initiative could become a boondoggle. Their biggest worry is that Mr. Obama is soft, that he is unwilling or incapable of fighting hard enough to counter the forces responsible for the sorry state the country is in. People want more from Mr. Obama. They want him to be their champion. But they don’t feel that he is speaking to them in a language that they understand.

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As for claims that the economy is turning around, I have yet to see any sign of it in the Hampton Roads area - an area that is normally cushioned in a stormy economy by the huge military personnel presence and military related spending. One of today's local headlines was as follows: Personal Bankruptcy Filings Soar 42% Locally. Meanwhile foreclosures remain at near record highs. Obama and the Congressional Democrats need to act and regain the public confidence. If not, I predict a clean GOP sweep in Virginia's statewide races in November which will put far right extremists in the Governor's office and the office of Attorney General. Here's more on the bankruptcy story:

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Prompted by mounting job losses and cutbacks in work hours, more Hampton Roads residents are resorting to bankruptcy this year. Through July, the number of individuals seeking to wipe out all or most of their debt through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing jumped 42 percent to 2,910, according to data compiled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. That was up from 2,049 filings in the January-through-July period last year.

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While higher unemployment accounts for part of the increase in personal Chapter 7 filings, more workers in Hampton Roads are resorting to bankruptcy because their job hours have been cut back sharply, said Thomas B. Dickenson, a Norfolk bankruptcy lawyer.

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As the recession drags on, more out-of-work individuals have exhausted their savings and lack the access to credit, such as home equity lines of credit, that they once had, said Robert V. Roussos, a Norfolk bankruptcy lawyer. Roussos expressed surprise that the increase in personal bankruptcies through July wasn't higher. The 42 percent rise in personal Chapter 7 filings for Hampton Roads was less than a nationwide increase of 47 percent for the six months ended June 30, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. . .

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People need to feel that Washington is doing something to change things for the better. That is not happening and time and opportunities are being squandered as Obama foolishly looks for bipartisanship that will never happen.

Bankruptcies Up Significantly in Hampton Roads

Even though the ex-wife and her attorney do not live in the world of economic reality, objective criteria show that the local economy is reeling and more and more families and businesses are resorting to bankruptcy as a possible method of saving their homes or restructuring their businesses. Filings for personal bankruptcies in the local bankruptcy court (pictured at left) are up 23% from a year ago - a number that was already up markedly from previous years. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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Under pressure from mounting debts and a faltering economy, Hampton Roads residents are seeking relief in bankruptcy court in greater numbers. The volume of personal bankruptcies filed during January, February and March climbed 23 percent from the same months last year, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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More businesses also are filing for bankruptcy. Filer, along with bankruptcy lawyers in the region, attributed the sharp rise in personal filings to the pressure of unaffordable mortgages adding to the traditional causes of bankruptcy, such as a job loss, medical bills and credit card debt. An increasing number of consumers are using bankruptcy to forestall foreclosure, Filer said.

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However, the rising job losses in Hampton Roads and number of households wrestling with mortgage payments have set off a tidal wave of bankruptcies that "has just started to come in," said Robert Roussos, a Norfolk bankruptcy lawyer. "Many people are one paycheck away from a disaster."

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Despite predictions of a possible upturn in the U.S. economy later in the year, it's likely that the volume of bankruptcies will continue climbing through the remainder of 2009, predicted Filer and local bankruptcy lawyers. That's partly because a recovery in the job market - a major influence on the pace of bankruptcy filings - tends to lag a rebound in the economy. In Hampton Roads, the number of consumers using a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which enables individuals to liquidate most of their debt, jumped 31 percent in the first quarter. . .

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Businesses, too, are resorting to bankruptcy court as the economy loses steam. In Hampton Roads, the number that filed during the January-through-March quarter jumped 47 percent from the year-earlier period . . .

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Before turning to bankruptcy, some retailers have tried to negotiate with their landlords for a break on the rent, Roussos said. Their message to mall owners, he said, is, "If you don't reduce the rent, you'll have a vacant space." It doesn't always work. More cash-strapped businesses are choosing to liquidate in Chapter 7 rather than trying to restructure their debts under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and continue operating. That's partly because the administrative fees are significant and financing for a business in Chapter 11 is scarce, Roussos said.

U.S. Bankruptcy Filings Rise 28.9%

As the presidential campaign rhetoric picks up this week it is telling that John McCain still doesn't get it when it comes to what is happening to many formerly middle class families. As the the Los Angeles Times is reporting, the number of individuals filing bankruptcy is up by nearly a third from a year ago. I know that a number of my clients who were very prosperous as recently as two years ago have now been forced to seek Chapter 13 protections or have placed their businesses into Chapter 7 because of the fall out from the collapse of the real estate market. Even though the new bankruptcy code makes it harder for people to file, the number of filings is up. The economy IS BAD whether or not McCain notices it as he travels from one of his wife's mansions to the next. Here are some story highlights:

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NEW YORK -- Nearly 1 million individuals and businesses filed bankruptcy in the 12 months ended June 30, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court data released Wednesday.There were 967,831 bankruptcy cases filed since July 1, 2007, up 28.9% from the prior 12 months, when cases totaled 751,056.

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Nonbusiness filings made up 96.5% of the bankruptcies nationwide, totaling 934,009. Of those cases 592,376 were Chapter 7 filings, which involve liquidation of nonprotected assets, such as family homes. The total also included 340,852 filings for Chapter 13 protection, which allows individuals to reorganize their finances and pay down their debt.

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Another economic report Wednesday found that U.S. thrifts lost $5.4 billion in the second quarter and set aside a record amount to cover losses from bad mortgages and other loans.Data from the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision showed federally insured savings and loans posted their second-largest quarterly loss ever in the April-June period, after the $8.8-billion loss in the fourth quarter of last year.