In the aftermath of the foreclosure fraud settlement, and as we look ahead to the working group on securities fraud co-chaired by Eric Schneiderman, one of the best people to look to for answers on how this whole thing could have gone – how it could still go – is William K. Black. The author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One, and a central figure in exposing fraud among both financial executives and members of Congress during the S&L scandal, Black has been relentless on exposing the lax nature of regulation and prosecution during the past decade and more. His latest scoffed at the new task force on securitization fraud.

If you or anyone you know have been affected by foreclosure fraud, we want you to share your thoughts on the settlement with us. Unlike some who laid ground cover for this carnage by hailing Schneiderman a hero but remain silent today, we will not allow this deal — and what it means to the victims of foreclosure fraud — to be buried under a mountain of pro-settlement propaganda.

So there I was this morning, having completed my daily check for jobs in my chosen field of Software Quality Assurance and Testing (I do wish it would take longer than five minutes as that would mean there are actually some improvements in the economy but such is life), when I reached the NY Times and saw this article with the headline from Mayor Bloomberg that “‘Tent City’ Goes Beyond Free Speech”:

New documents obtained by ProPublica through the Freedom of Information Act provide new insights into what a complete disaster the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has been. HAMP was supposed to facilitate mortgage modifications but the Treasury apparently had little or no real oversight of the program that was rife with problems.

It is an article of faith among Republicans (and far too many Democrats) that all those pesky “regulations” are to blame for the lack of jobs today and the ongoing economic slowdown. Just the first of this month, McClatchy had an article where they had surveyed small business owners across the country and the consensus was that in fact regulations are not the problem for small business but lack of demand is.

It is almost impossible for me to freshly describe the ongoing disconnect between what we see and hear coming out of the mouths of people in and around the Beltway Village and the facts on the ground for the rest of the country. I won’t say that they must be on drugs because I’ve used drugs and I never was as far away from reality as the Beltway Village Idiots Pundits, Politicians, and Courtiers. They just live inside a fantasy bubble. It might be acceptable if the decisions they make each day didn’t have such negative consequences for the rest of us.

I guess things are getting better, except for the long term Un and Underemployed, who are seemingly being forgotten by most of the people in power.

On Wednesday, I wrote a post with the (admittedly rhetorical) title “Is Cutting Jobs Programs to Create Jobs Like Cutting Taxes to Increase Revenues?”

Today, I’d like to offer up a few more examples of how the new governors’ of Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin are treating workers within their states as they “create” jobs.

2010 gave us a lot to write about here at Firedoglake. From passing student loan reform, to covering the BP oil disaster, to elevating the national conversation around marijuana policy, FDL bloggers and diarists came through with amazing reporting and analysis on the wide variety of issues facing the country.

Here’s a round-up of the top 10 blog posts at Firedoglake in 2010 (based on pageviews) — feel free to share your favorite FDL posts from last year in the comments!

It’s a propitious time to be welcoming in Greg Mitchell for a discussion about his book “The Campaign of the Century.” Over the past couple weeks, Mitchell has virtually turned over his blog at The Nation to painstakingly chronicling the Wikileaks story, and chronicling how the political, corporate and media elite have mounted an effort to discredit, destroy and punish Julian Assange. 76 years earlier, these forces came together in an electoral context, to disable the candidacy of Upton Sinclair for Governor of California.