Supreme Court Stiffs Obama - puts Chrysler sale on hold

The fact that Justice Ginsburg issued the stay is shocking. There must be some merit or I don't believe she would have considered even issuing this temporary stay, as it is absolutely a slap in the face to Obama and his fellow thugs that intimidated attorneys to force this through under Obama's terms. They disregarded bankruptcy law and hopefully the Supreme Court will make them backup and start over again. There might well be still a glimmer of hope that contract law still means something in this Country.

The Supreme Court is in place to defend our Constitution. I hope that they will live up to the purpose for their existence given to them by our founding fathers. Maybe they will be the ones to put the brakes on Obama's Administration before we experience a Constitutional train wreck.

It's been nauseating how Obama declares that everything is an emergency, that it has to be passed right now. It's intentional on his part so there's not enough time to mount a defense against what he's trying to do. Honestly, how many times did he shove something down our throats by telling us that Western Civilization would cease to exist if some massive trillion dollar budget busting bill wasn't immediately passed? Maybe this is the beginning of the end for Obama's fiscal emergencies.
Rees

from Yahoo News
June 8, 2009

High court blocks Chrysler sale to Fiat

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday delayed Chrysler's sale of most of its assets to a group led by Italy's Fiat, but didn't say how long the deal will remain on hold.

Ginsburg said in an order that the sale is "stayed pending further order," indicating that the delay may only be temporary.

Chrysler LLC has said the sale must close by June 15, or Fiat Group SpA has the option to walk away, leaving the Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker with little option but to liquidate.

A federal appeals court in New York approved the sale Friday but gave opponents until 4 p.m. EDT Monday to try to get the Supreme Court to intervene. Ginsburg issued her order right before the deadline.

Ginsburg could decide on her own whether to end the delay, or she could ask the full court to decide. It is unclear when she or the court will act.

Chrysler said it had no comment until it receives further information from the court.

Chrysler claims the agreement with Fiat is the best deal it can get for its assets and is critical to the company's plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

But a trio of Indiana state pension and construction funds, which hold a small part of Chrysler's debt, have been fighting the sale, claiming that it unfairly favors Chrysler's unsecured stakeholders ahead of secured debtholders like themselves.

As part of Chrysler's restructuring plan, the automaker's secured debtholders will receive $2 billion, or about 29 cents on the dollar, for their combined $6.9 billion in debt. The Indiana funds bought their $42.5 million in debt in July 2008 for 43 cents on the dollar.

The funds also are challenging the constitutionality of the Treasury Department's use of money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to supply Chrysler's bankruptcy protection financing. They say the government did so without congressional authority.

Consumer groups and individuals with product-related lawsuits also are contesting a condition of the Chrysler sale that would release the company from product liability claims related to vehicles it sold before the "New Chrysler" partnered with Fiat is created.

Individuals with claims against "Old Chrysler" would have to seek compensation from the parts of the company not being sold to Fiat. But those assets have limited value and it's doubtful that there will be anything available to pay consumer claims.

The appeals come as Congress intensifies its scrutiny of the Obama administration's government-led restructuring of Chrysler and General Motors Corp. The Senate Banking Committee said it planned to call Ron Bloom, a senior adviser to the auto task force, and Edward Montgomery, who serves as the Obama administration's director of recovery for auto communities and workers, to a hearing Wednesday.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the committee's chairman, planned to review the use of TARP funds to help the auto companies and look at whether taxpayers will receive a return on their investment.

GM and Chrysler executives faced questions last week from Congress over the elimination of hundreds of dealerships as part of the companies' reorganizations
Click to read the rest of the article and the comments

Germany is the latest under the Obama Bus

from Don Surber
June 5, 2009

President Obama continues to praise tyrranical enemies, while scorning the democratically elected leaders of our longtime allies.

I am really beginning to wonder about this guy. He seems to hate everything this nation has stood for 233 years.

In embracing the theocracies of Arabia — Cairo was on a lockdown for his sppech on Thusday — President Obama has to lie and gloss over the decades of anti-Semitism and anti-democratic and anti-liberty actions of his new friends.

It is incredible that this man who stands up for the “rights” of terrorists in Gitmo is a silent abettor of the negation of rights for the law-abiding peaceful citizens of Egypt and all those other sand lands.

Our allies notice.

“A rift has quietly opened up between Germany and the United States, marked by official statements of harmony and private grumbling. It is not an outright crisis in relations, but there are underlying tensions and disagreements on matters ranging from the global economic crisis to the future of inmates held at Guantánamo Bay,” the New York Times reported.

Obviously if the Official State Newspaper is reporting this, the rift is deeper.

John Kornblum, a former United States ambassador to Germany, told the Times, “They’re not angry, they’re not anti-Obama or anti-American. But they’re confused by the wave of criticism which has been sent at them by the administration and people close to the administration. It’s not that they don’t like him. They just feel like things aren’t working, like the levers of government are not being engaged to make issues run smoothly.”

Obama is a likeable guy. He is just anti-Western.

Germans get it.

He should have run for president of Kenya.

The New York Times story is here.

Click to read this and other great articles and comments at Don Surber

The Obama's decline dinner with the Sarkozys

from The Times Online
by Charles Bremner in Paris
June 5, 2009

The Obamas turn up in Paris this evening, but have declined a dinner invitation from the couple next door: the Sarkozys.

President Obama’s reluctance to spend more than minimum time with the French leader on his visit for the D-Day anniversary has come as an embarrassment to the Elysée Palace.

America’s First Family will not be dining with President Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, even though they are staying at the residence of the US Ambassador, yards from the Elysée apartments where the Sarkozys spend their weekends.

Mr Sarkozy’s staff were trying yesterday to arrange another private moment between the couples. Mr Obama is due to fly back to Washington tomorrow night or on Sunday.

Mr Sarkozy’s dream date would be dinner somewhere spectacular such as the Jules Verne, an Alain Ducasse restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. The Obamas were reported on French celebrity websites to be planning a meal there.

A glamorous joint outing might be compared with the ones that President de Gaulle undertook with John and Jackie Kennedy in 1961. On that trip, Mrs Kennedy was such a hit that JFK presented himself as “the man who accompanied Jackie Kennedy to Paris”.

Failure to socialise with the Obamas will add to mockery that has greeted Mr Sarkozy’s attempts to stage the 65th anniversary of D-Day as a “Barack and Sarko show”. The media and Opposition have mocked Mr Sarkozy over Mr Obama’s coolness towards him, which is only partly due to his handling of the Normandy commemoration.

Mr Sarkozy has been pilloried in France for his failure to invite the Queen to the events. “The palace is fearing a snub,” Le Parisien newspaper said yesterday after the news emerged of the Obamas’ plans to keep themselves to themselves.

Yesterday the popular comedian Nicolas Canteloup did an impression of Mr Sarkozy worrying that he had “only two days to become tall, handsome and elegant”. The French leader is 5½ inches shorter than Michelle Obama.

The French were also piqued after the White House said that it was working on an invitation to Normandy for the Royal Family. Face was saved when the Prince of Wales agreed to attend with Gordon Brown. “Sarkozy has pulled off a double hit: insulting Queen Elizabeth and exasperating Obama,” the weekly Canard Enchaîné said on Wednesday.

French worries about being snubbed were matched in Germany, where media and politicians are convinced that the brevity of Mr Obama’s trip there and a decision to avoid Berlin demonstrated his disapproval of Angela Merkel, the Chancellor. Mr Obama was due in Germany last night for a visit to Dresden and the Buchenwald death camp.

Mr Obama’s irritation with his French counterpart began when Mr Sarkozy tried to grab the limelight at the G20 summit in London in April and talked condescendingly of the US President in private. Mr Sarkozy told colleagues that he found Mr Obama to be inexperienced and unbriefed, especially on climate change. Mr Obama hit back last month, telling a visiting French minister: “Please tell Nicolas that I shall do my homework, and in two months I’ll know all about climate change.”

The leaders will have lunch in Caen tomorrow while their wives meet near by. They will then all attend the ceremony at the US cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, above Omaha Beach.

Philippe Duron, the Mayor of Caen, has minted a slogan for his town in honour of Mr Obama: “Yes we Caen!”
Click to read the rest of the article and the comments

Obama just can't apologize enough...

from Investor's Business Daily
by Michael Ramirez
June 5, 2009

Obama Apology Tour Cartoon

from Investor's Business Daily
by Michael Ramirez

Romney to Obama: Stop apologizing - Great Video!

from Hot Air.com
by Allahpundit
June 3, 2009

Eh. American pride is smart retail politics, especially vis-a-vis Islam — according to CNN’s latest poll, the Muslim world is viewed less favorably in the U.S. now than it was in 2002 — but even so, this is a missed opportunity. Rather than Hannitized boilerplate about America being a force for good, Mitt should have explained why, given the irreconcilable differences in the Middle East and the entrenched jihadist elements that benefit from conflict, an apology won’t accomplish much of anything except flattering the left’s dogma about “root causes.” Instead he resorts to an argument about how self-abasement projects weakness, which may be true; but it’s also true that some kids who are flirting with radicalism might think twice after hearing it. How to quantify which of the two is likelier? It reminds me of the argument over whether to use drones in Pakistan, which the left is forever telling us only breeds more terrorists (or rather, they used to tell us that when Bush was giving the orders). That may be true too — but what if the drone strikes are killing more jihadis than they’re creating? Debates about unknowable numbers aren’t terribly interesting.

If he does apologize, doubtless it’ll be in the form of a “both sides are at fault” wheeze. I’m not expecting much, and neither are Muslims:

Beirut-based analyst Paul Salem, who heads the Carnegie Middle East Centre, said he expected Arabs to be disappointed by Obama’s speech.

“What they want him to say is more than what he’s going to say,” he said.

“They want him to say that he’s going to come down hard on the Israelis, that he’s going to confront the settlement policy and that he’s going to push the Israelis to
withdraw from the West Bank.

“Of course that is what every Arab would like to hear.”

Yes, truly, the key to a new golden age of Israeli/Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran/Wahhabist relations is withdrawal from the West Bank. Just like disengagement from Gaza was a few years ago. Go for the gold, Barry. Exit question from Dick Morris: Why isn’t The One stopping in Israel during his trip?



Click to read the article and the comments

ROMNEY BLASTS OBAMA FOR 'TOUR OF APOLOGY'

from MSNBC
June 01, 2009
From NBC's Abby Livingston, Katelin Schartz, and Mark Murray

At a speech today in DC sponsored by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, Mitt Romney called for increased defense spending, and also again criticized President Obama for going on a "tour of apology" while traveling abroad.

"It’s not because America hasn’t made mistakes -- we have -- but because America’s mistakes are overwhelmed by what America has meant to the hopes and aspirations of people throughout the world," he said, adding: "Britain’s Guardian newspaper noted that Mr. Obama has been more critical of his own country, while on foreign soil, than any other president in American history. That would be a most unfortunate distinction at any time."

Seeking to bolster his national security credentials, especially if he makes another White House bid, the one-term Massachusetts devoted much of his speech to calling for more defense spending. "We cannot allow the economic crisis to conceal the very real threats to our nation’s security," Romney said. "We cannot ignore the intentions of competitors who would replace America’s leadership with their own, and set back the cause of freedom."

In fact, Romney was fiercely critical of Obama's "domestic" spending at the expense of funding for national defense. "I fear ... that he will look to the military budget to find the biggest cuts and finance his domestic priorities.”

The potential 2012 presidential candidate detailed a litany of other criticisms of the Obama administration -- including its handling of North Korea. “Arrogant, delusional tyrants can not be stopped by earnest words and furrowed brows. Action, strong bold action coming from a position of strength and determination, is the only effective deterrent.”

After the speech, Romney spoke to reporters about GM filing for bankruptcy. He cited a November op-ed he penned advocating for bankruptcy and showed frustration that the action has taken so long and that the federal government has been a party to that delay. When asked if either the Bush or Obama administration were to blame for the drawn out bankruptcy, he expressed a hesitancy to "point fingers" but ultimately said, "Both."
Click to read the article and the comments

Romney critical of government ownership of GM

by Gordon Trowbridge
from the Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington -- The Obama administration and the United Auto Workers should immediately distribute their stock in a restructured GM to American taxpayers, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Sunday.

"We don't want a president and the head of the UAW running General Motors," Romney, a Michigan native and son of former Gov. George Romney, said in an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."

Romney suggested that the roughly 70 percent of GM that the government could own after it emerges from bankruptcy should be immediately distributed to taxpayers, and the 17.5 percent that will go to a UAW trust fund for retiree healthcare should be handed out to UAW members.

Such a scheme is highly unlikely. The Obama administration has signaled that it wants to sell its stake as soon as possible, but wants to ensure that it recoups as much as possible of the billions of taxpayer dollars already pumped into the company. The UAW is likely to try to maximize the return it receives on its shares to boost its ability to pay for healthcare for retirees.

Romney repeated his criticism of the auto policies followed by both the Bush and Obama administrations, saying GM and Chrysler should have been pushed into a restructuring, either in or out of bankruptcy court, months ago.

A former Massachusetts governor, Romney grew up in Oakland County as his father served as a top executive at American Motors and later as governor. He won the 2008 Michigan GOP primary in a tough campaign against eventual nominee John McCain, a campaign that centered around who was best suited to help the auto industry recover.

"I'm a son of Detroit. My dad was an auto executive," Romney said. "I drive American cars, I love American cars. My heart bleeds for the people in Michigan, in Detroit, for all those auto workers.

"This is a very sad circumstance for this country, and it represents bad decisions by management, overreaching by the UAW. It's really tragic in a lot of ways, and it has not been well-played either in my opinion by the Bush administration or the Obama administration."

You can reach Gordon Trowbridge at gtrowbridge@detnews.com
Click to read the article and the comments

UAW Workers - what a bunch of Einsteins

from Holger Awakens
Saturday, May 30, 2009

UAW Workers Vote At New York Plant: Work For Less or Lose All Jobs? They Voted To Lose Jobs

Way to go United Auto Workers! Once again you have proven your leadership to be nothing short of brilliant. At the Magna parts plant in Syracuse, New York, the UAW took a vote that would make wage and benefit concessions in order to keep the plant open and save their jobs - this from the article over at Breitbart. The UAW workers proceeded to vote "No" to the new contract and the plant will be closed and all 1,400 workers will lose their jobs. Like I said, what a bunch of Einsteins.

Now, perhaps the Union here has some inside information that President Obama will open the plant back up after his Government buys the plant and begins to run it, but I don't think Magna operations are quite visible enough for that to happen....lol.

So, 1,400 union drones just voted to slit their throats - and now they can all shuffle along in the unemployment lines and make the kind of wages the rest of us make. Enjoy your newfound economic security, putzes! Oh and don't let it bother you that your Union bosses who told you to vote "No" are all on a plane for their new assisgnment at another location where they will enjoy the same pay, the same benefits, the same perks...that you paid for.

G.M. Posts a Quarterly Loss of $6 Billion - Will someone please turn-off the lights and lock the door?

So let's review a few of things:

- G.M. has borrowed $15.4 billion from the government (should read taxpayers)

- G.M. lost $6 billion in the first quarter

-G.M. says it needs $11.6 billion more

They want to borrow 11.6 billion more, which they will just lose in another 2 quarters if they continue losing $6 billion a quarter?

G.M. hasn't come close to stopping these outrageous quarterly losses. It is insane to continue to keep pouring money down the drain trying to keep the company afloat.
Rees

from The New York Times
By Nick Bunkley
May 7, 2009

DETROIT — General Motors, which faces a June 1 deadline to cut debt and expenses or else file for bankruptcy protection, on Thursday said it lost $6 billion in the first quarter.

G.M. said it depleted $10.2 billion from its cash reserves in the quarter, or $113 million a day, leaving the company with $11.6 billion as of March 31. That is roughly the minimum amount of liquidity needed to keep G.M. in business, the automaker has said.

“Our first-quarter results underscore the importance of executing G.M.’s revised viability plan, which goes further and faster to lower our break-even point,” G.M.’s chief executive, Fritz Henderson, said in a statement.

The first-quarter loss, equal to $9.78 per share, is the eighth consecutive quarterly loss for G.M. A year ago, the company lost $3.3 billion, or $5.80 a share.

Excluding special items, G.M. lost $5.9 billion, or $9.66 a share, which is better than the $6.7 billion that analysts were expecting the company to lose.

Revenue fell 47 percent to $22.4 billion due to a 40 percent drop in global sales during the quarter.

G.M. has borrowed $15.4 billion from the federal government since December to stay afloat, and the company says it needs $11.6 billion more. But the chances that it will end up in bankruptcy court at the end of this month are growing, particularly after Chrysler’s Chapter 11 filing last week.

Mr. Henderson, who took over running the company after the Obama administration forced Rick Wagoner to resign a month ago, has said bankruptcy is a probable outcome for G.M. but one that executives still hope to avoid.

G.M. is resuming negotiations with the United Automobile Workers union on Thursday as it seeks a deal to cut labor costs before the government’s deadline. The company also has offered to swap equity for more than $27 billion in debt held by bondholders, but analysts are skeptical of the chances that enough of the bondholders will accept the deal.

Under a plan unveiled last week, G.M. would give a majority stake in a restructured version of itself to the Treasury Department and more than a third of the company would be held by the U.A.W.’s new retiree health care fund.

Bondholders would own roughly 10 percent and existing shareholders would account for just 1 percent of the new company. G.M. is planning a reverse stock split, which would turn every 100 shares outstanding into one new share. Shares of G.M. have lost more than 90 percent of their value in the last year as the company has descended toward a possible bankruptcy.

As part of its restructuring, G.M. now says it will, by the end of 2010, cut 21,000 factory jobs, close 13 plants and get rid of about 2,600 dealerships. More job cuts and plant closings would occur in later years.

G.M. intends to slash its brand portfolio in half, by closing Pontiac and trying to sell Saturn, Saab and Hummer.

“This is a defining moment in the history of General Motors, and we are committed to our plan, which we believe will lead to a stable and sustainable operating structure with a strong balance sheet,” Mr. Henderson said. “Our goal is to fix this business once and for all to position ourselves to win in the long-term.”
Click to read the rest of the article and the comments

GM To Layoff Additional 21,000 By Year's End

Th e 21,000 is the GM number only. It obviously doesn't reflect all the workers that will be laid off by the subcontractors and businesses that support GM. The total number will be staggering. I'm sure we're going to see the Obama administration adjusting their numbers over the next several weeks. I don't believe we've seen the bottom of this recession yet, and probably won't until at least next sometime next year.
Rees

GM Scrambles to Survive
from The Wall Street Journal
By KERRY E. GRACE
April 27, 2009

General Motors Corp. said Monday it will continue to reduce its work force and dealer network and eliminate its Pontiac brand by the end of next year as the auto maker works furiously to survive

GM is also starting an exchange offer for $27 billion of its unsecured public notes as part of its restructuring plan, saying a successful exchange offer would allow it to restructure out of bankruptcy court.

The company said by the end of the year, it will employ 21,000 fewer hourly workers than it does now.

The company is offering to exchange 225 common shares for each $1,000 principal amount of outstanding notes. The stock closed Friday at $1.69 a share and shares were recently up 11% at $1.87 in premarket trading.

The exchange will commence only if 90% of bondholders agree to the terms. Under the plan, if GM fails to get adequate participation, it would file for bankruptcy protection.

GM, which is surviving on federal loans, is racing to restructure by June 1 under close watch of the Obama administration.

The U.S. Treasury will extend an additional $11.6 billion to GM, in addition to $15.4 billion in existing loans. The government will forgive half the debt in exchange for equity in a restructured GM.

GM, in setting forth tough terms for a bond exchange and requiring almost compete participation, has stepped up the likelihood for a Chapter 11 filing on June 1 without further government intervention.

The company said it will focus on four core brands in the U.S. -- Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC -- as it looks to make fewer different models and focus on product development programs.

It will also restructure its U.S. dealer organization, reducing its U.S. dealer count by more than 40% by the end of next year, a reduction of 500 more dealers four years sooner than its earlier viability plan.

Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said the company is taking "tough but necessary actions" that are critical to GM's long-term viability.

The company added that negotiations regarding contract changes with the United Auto Workers union are still ongoing.

Write to Kerry E. Grace at kerry.grace@dowjones.com
Click to read the rest of the article and comments