As Americans we have aways prided ourselves as a “national of laws,” ruled by a Constitution which established clear checks and balances against the egregious usurpation of power by any branch of Congress. Going beyond that, we have conferred special status on the press – necessary because of their courageous efforts to investigate wrongdoing and speak truth to power.
Will this all be flushed down the drain by a government which has grown self-sufficient, unwieldy and increasingly corrupt?
The reason why the Constitution of the United States is not a living document is because it is a generational contract with the citizens of America; providing security, stability and predictability in both certain and uncertain times. It is s because the law needs to be clearly defined, transparent in its functioning, predictable so as to provide a rational and equitable basis for making decisions – and above all, not subject to the momentary whims of those for whom celebrity and triviality trumps the hard work of understanding and action.
What the Obama Administration is attempting to do …
One, the Obama Administration is attempting to use taxpayer funds to bail out a private corporation for the benefit of private investors, both foreign and domestic;
Two, circumvent the orderly judicial review of the courts in dealing with bankrupt entitites;
Three, destroy the certitude that certain senior lenders have first claim on the assets of a bankrupt corporation over those of subordinate and/or unsecured claims; and
Four, exert the power of the Executive Branch over that of co-equal branches of government, namely the Congress and the Judiciary.
The Constitutional issues at hand …
From the “Application for Immediate Stay of Sale Orders Issued by the Bankruptcy Court”
“Without a stay, the section 363 sale will close as soon as Monday, June 8 at 4:00 p.m., which is when the present stay issued by the Second
Circuit will be lifted. Stay App. 74a (Second Circuit Mandate). Under section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. § 363(m)), closing the sale will essentially moot the case.”“If that happens, a number of consequences will follow:
(1) The United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), purporting to
utilize powers conferred upon it by the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) established under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, 12 U.S.C. 5201 (“EESA”), will have been permitted to structure and finance the reorganization of Chrysler without any judicial review of its
authority to do so (the Bankruptcy Court incorrectly disposed of the issues by deciding that Appellants lacked standing);(2) Chrysler will have been permitted to reorganize under chapter 11 of the
United States Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. 101 et seq. pursuant to a transaction that was structured and financed by Treasury, without having been required to comply with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Bankruptcy Code for doing so; and
(3) The secured claims of Chrysler’s first lien lenders (including the Indiana Pensioners) and any unsecured deficiency claims they may have if their collateral properly valued is in fact worth less than the amount they are
owed, will have received materially less favorable treatment than most of
Chrysler’s general unsecured creditors.”And the most important and significant part of the filing …
“The public is watching and needs to see that, particularly, when the system is under stress, the rule of law will be honored and an independent judiciary will properly scrutinize the actions of the massively powerful executive branch.”
Will the rule of law hold up and will the Obama Administration be forced to act in a lawful manner?
I guess not …
“High court won't block Chrysler sale”
According to the Associated Press …
“The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Chrysler's sale to Fiat, turning down a last-ditch bid by opponents of the deal.”
“The court said late Tuesday it had rejected a plea to block the sale of most of Chrysler's assets to the Italian automaker. Chrysler, Fiat and the Obama administration had warned that the high court's intervention could have scuttled the sale.”
It should be noted that the Administration has attempted to capitalize on a crisis of their own making to push their own ideological agenda. The single reason driving the fast-action sale is that the Obama Administration appears to be beholden to the unions for their part in securing the democrat election and that the Chrysler sale was structured in such a manner as to:
One, eliminate the possibility that the bankruptcy court would exercise its powers to set aside any existing union contracts; thus eliminating their ongoing source of funding and reducing their political power; and
Two, to pay more money to on a proportionate basis to the unions, which are unsecured creditors, over monies rightfully due to the first-lien senior secured creditors.
“A federal appeals court in New York had earlier approved the sale, but gave opponents until Monday afternoon to try to get the Supreme Court to intervene.”
“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ordered a temporary delay just before a 4 p.m. deadline on Monday.”
“Now the court has freed the automakers to complete their deal.”
The Court’s decision …
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A denial of a stay is not a decision on the merits of the underlying legal issues. In determining whether to grant a stay, we consider instead whether the applicant has demonstrated "(1) a reasonable probability that four Justices will consider the issue sufficiently meritorious to grant certiorari or to note probable jurisdiction; (2) a fair prospect that a majority of the Court will conclude that the decision below was erroneous; and (3) a likelihood that irreparable harm will result from the denial of a stay." In addition, "in a close case it may be appropriate to balance the equities," to assess the relative harms to the parties, "as well as the interests of the public at large." "A stay is not a matter of right, even if irreparable It is instead an exercise of judicial discretion, The applicants have not carried that burden. "[T]he propriety of [a stay] is dependent upon the circumstances of the particular case," and the "traditional stay factors contemplate individualized judgments in each case." Our assessment of the stay factors here is based on the record and proceedings in this case alone. To read in context: <Source> |
To my way of thinking, there were fundamental Constitutional issues of society at stake. To simply dismiss the request points up the growing problem with the court and so-called activist judges who are essentially unaccountable to anyone.
Making a mockery of the court …
To allow the remaining assets to be processed by the bankruptcy court would be to make a mockery of the bankruptcy proceedings and the primacy of the bankruptcy court.
Expanding the Administration’s powers …
To argue exigent circumstances demanded fast action and bypassing judicial review of the most lucrative portion of the transaction is to give rise to a theory which could justify even the most egregious of actions of a corrupt administration; up to and including a declaration of war against individuals, corporations, institutions as well as sovereign countries.
Czars?
The Administration is fast enabling a class of overlords, known as Czars, who duplicate the power of Cabinet Secretaries which must be confirmed by the Senate of the United States and whose actions are strictly controlled.
If we have a Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services with a complete support infrastructure, why do we need a Health Czar?
If we have a Secretary of the Department of Energy with a complete support infrastructure, why do we need an Energy Czar?
Why are these executive level czars allowed to bypass a Constitutional chain of command and report directly to the President? Why are these people not required to be confirmed.
This folks is ACORN writ large. A multitude of shifting people with shadowy powers and shifting funding.
How the hell does a bankrupt organization on the public dole provide a private organization in Beverly Hills with $2 BILLION to buy the Delphi Automotive Group?
“General Motors Corp said on Friday it would provide $2 billion cash plus credit to support private equity firm Platinum Equity's buyout of its bankrupt former parts unit, Delphi Corp” <Source>
I know that name … I wrote a blog entry titled “A demonstration of the clear and present danger of union politics on the cost of government services ...” which mentioned that:
“According to the Los Angeles Times …
‘Police Union Wants Union-Tribune Editorial Writers Sacked’
‘The union representing Los Angeles police officers is pressuring the owner of San Diego's main newspaper to change the paper's editorial stance on labor issues or to fire its editorial writers.’
‘The feud is rooted in the recent purchase of the San Diego Union-Tribune by Platinum Equity, a private Beverly Hills firm.’
“Platinum relies on a $30-million investment from the pension fund of Los Angeles police officers and fire fighters, along with large sums from other public-employee pension systems around the state, to help fund its acquisitions of companies.”
‘As League President Paul M. Weber views it, that makes the League part owner in the flagging Tribune and League officials are none to happy with the paper's consistent position that San Diego lawmakers should cut back on salaries and benefits for public employees in order to help close gaping budget deficits.’
‘Since the very public employees they continually criticize are now their owners, we strongly believe that those who currently run the editorial pages should be replaced,’ Weber wrote in a March 26 letter to Platinum CEO Tom Gores.”
Wait a minute … Aren’t the unions involved in the General Motors/Delphi /Platinum deal?
“GM will '’address’' hourly workers' pensions, which no longer will be Delphi's responsibility once it leaves bankruptcy, Delphi said in its filing. GM assumed $2.1 billion in Delphi's unfunded hourly pension obligations Sept. 29.”
“Delphi said the salaried pension plan and other ‘'subsidiary’' plans may be terminated by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the federal agency that insures private pensions.
“Karen Krolopp, president of 800-member International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 717, said the union contract will be honored but said that union leaders don't have a lot of details.”
The costs of the pension plan are likely to be shifted to the government? To be paid by taxpayers fronting the money for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation? And the whole damn shooting match is to be owned by an organization funded by the unions?
More than ever, I believe Barack Obama and his band of thieves are winging it – they do not know what they are doing –- and stealing with both hands to reward themselves and their special interest friends.
What can YOU do?
Recognize that the Administration is encouraging blatantly unconstitutional, if not criminal, actions. Two hundred and thirty years of law is being subverted by a Marxist socialist named Barack Obama.
“We the people” can take action by vowing not to buy vehicles from Fiat/Chrysler and to avoid doing business with those concerns which profited from this travesty of justice. Ditto with General Motors … or Government Motors as it is now called.
We should also seriously consider restrictions on unions and their ability to influence elections and the selection of politicians. This has gone way beyond monopolistic practices, it is now bordering on subverting the Constitution of the United States.
Start considering a grass roots movement to demand that Barack Obama produce documents proving that he is eligible to be the President of the United States.
Start considering a grass roots movement to pressure elected officials to investigate Barack Obama and draft articles of impeachment citing massive self-dealing and corruption involving trillions of dollars.
We need to let our Senators know that we will not accept an activist judge and that there will be consequences for their actions when they come up for reelection.
And we need to let our elected officials on all levels know that we are serious about not reelecting any incumbents.
-- steve
A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius
Reference Links:
High court won't block Chrysler sale
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OneCitizenSpeaking: Saying out loud what you may be thinking …
The rule of law is slowly but definitely going away. With not rule of law, contracts are meaningless and there is no reason to invest or go into business.
This is prevelent on the state level also,
Dixie Burkhart
Facts Don't Matter
www.eloquentbooks.com/FactsDontMatter.htm
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So true! -- steve
Posted by: Dixie Burkhart | June 10, 2009 at 01:02 PM