Letter From Richard Mourdock Regarding Chrysler Outrage

This is a letter I found on Zero Hedge, written by the Indiana Treasurer of State after the loss of the Supreme Court appeal he brought on behalf of Indiana pension funds that had invested in what they thought was secured senior debt of the company.

The disgraceful thing is that neither the court or any of the commentators or critics of Mourdock could say he was not defending his historic and formerly absolute rights under the bankruptcy code. The law is now seen as a frivolous inconvenience and people who bring it up are held up as villains.

Dear Friends & Supporters:

Now that all of the media attention and inquires have lessened, I wanted to thank all of you for the supportive phone calls, kind notes, and encouraging e-mails regarding Indiana’s involvement in the Chrysler, LLC bankruptcy proceedings. I have tried to respond to each of you individually, but given the enormous number of letters, calls, and emails have made that impossible. Forgive me for this impersonal note, which may read like a form letter, but please know that I have been personally touched by the incredible response of kindness by all of you.

From the beginning, Indiana’s legal challenges to the Chrysler, LLC bankruptcy dealt with the federal government throwing away the rules of bankruptcy law to benefit a select few. Indiana’s retired state police officers, retired teachers, and Hoosier taxpayers were victimized by illegal acts of the federal government, which was wrong. Let me be very clear, we never once suggest that Chrysler, LLC had broken the law. In reality, Chrysler, LLC, like any other corporation, could not have ignored 150 years of bankruptcy law like the federal government did.

I hold as a point of pride -- despite all the attacks by a couple of newspaper editorials, Chrysler, LLC, Indiana Congressman Joe Donnelly, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, and some others -- no one EVER challenged us on the points of law. In the New York Bankruptcy Court, the New York District Court, the United States 2nd District Court of Appeals, and even the United States Supreme Court, no attorney for either the federal government or Chrysler, LLC, ever attempted to dispute our legal arguments. Even in the denial of our request to halt the bankruptcy proceedings by the Supreme Court of the United States, Madame Justice Ginsburg stated, “This denial of stay is not a decision on the merits on the underlying legal issues.” In essence, the Supreme Court prohibited our case from being heard on a technicality therefore deciding not to rule on the points of law that we raised.

The bankruptcy proceedings are finished and most of Chrysler, LLC is now the Chrysler Group. I hope to see them be productive, profitable, and prosperous.

Thank you again for your words of encouragement and for your support of my efforts to protect Indiana’s retirees and taxpayers.

Sincerely,

Richard E. Mourdock
Indiana Treasurer of State

Obama Gives 73 Million Dollars To Robert Mugabe

Warning the videos below and almost every fact about the rule of Robert Mugabe is disturbing, frightening and disgraceful. If ever there was a chance for Obama to stand up for basic humanity this was it.

"The president, President Mugabe, I think I've made my views clear, has not acted, oftentimes, in the best interests of the Zimbabwean people"



Claims that the aid is not going directly through the Mugabe government are a sham. Every dollar will only extend the agony of the people of Zimbabwe.




"It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master."

Ayn Rand

There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.

Ayn Rand

The man who lets a leader prescribe his course is a wreck being towed to the scrap heap.

Ayn Rand

We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.

Ayn Rand



"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"

Benjamin Franklin

"Mercy to the guilty is treason to the innocent"

Ayn Rand

Silence = Death No More: Pension Funds Speak Up About Chrysler Bankruptcy

I was too depressed and upset to air my feelings when the few remaining Chrysler creditors were threatened into giving in to Obama's illegal Chrysler "deal".

Thankfully, several major pension and retirement plans in the state of Indiana have filed to protect their legally binding contractual rights.

Obama and his administration have tried to paint this as a dispute between "greedy" investors most of whom must be "filthy rich" and poor, helpless union workers. But in fact, these investors were acting on behalf of a wide range of retires and investors whose assets they had a fiduciary duty to protect and who made investments based on what they thought were legally binding criteria.

"Funds representing Indiana teachers and police, as well as a construction infrastructure fund, are seeking the appointment of a trustee in the Chrysler case to protect their rights as holders of first-lien loans to the bankrupt carmaker. They are arguing that the federal government is violating their rights by giving more junior creditors, like the United Auto Workers union, greater recovery on their debt, and that the government is improperly using federal bailout money earmarked for banks to prop up Chrysler.

The pension funds are also seeking to move the Chrysler case to federal district court, a higher authority than the bankruptcy court, to deal with what they argue are constitutional issues.

“As fiduciaries, we can’t allow our retired police officers and teachers to be ripped off by the federal government,” Richard Mourdock, Indiana’s treasurer, said in a statement. “The Indiana state funds suffered losses when the Obama administration overturned more than 100 years of established law by redefining ‘secured creditors’ to mean something less.”"

Of course, the courts which many think are there to protect our rights and enforce the law are looking for excuses to let the law breakers operate at will. They have long since agreed that the executive branch is above the law since it's an emergency, Obama and his pals know better and shouldn't be restrained by the law.

And so it is that one of the last nation's of law has become just another lawless state ruled by imperial whim.

Rule Of Law Vs. Rule Of Thugs

No time to do a more complete comment on this, but David Frum, nailed a real good post about Obama's recent assault on (what's left of) the rule of law.

As a strong Libertarian Republican, I've been very angry about both parties disregard for the rule of law. But, the recent moves by Obama have taken this to a new level. The hide in the cave crowd, which looked so loony to most can now make a strong case that a fully totalitarian state is now weeks or months away.

The thing to understand is that given what we know about what Obama has done already, we can only assume it's the tip of the Iceberg. One thing is clear, this administration -- always thinks the ends justify the means which is the central maxim of the dictator.

Frum focuses on the recent Chrysler "deal" and his threat to withhold Simulus money if California cuts the pay of union workers but sadly one can come up with many, many, many more examples.

Chrysler "deal"

"The trouble was: those assets belonged to somebody else. They belonged to the company's bondholders, who had a legal first claim. Under the administration's plan, those senior-secured creditors would have received just 29¢ on the dollar.

For a failing company to shuffle assets so as to favor some creditors over others with a stronger claim is a very serious wrong, potentially even a crime. There's a sound economic reason for this rule of law: Bondholders accept lower returns in good times in exchange for greater security in bad times. Protecting bondholders in bad times ensures that future borrowers will be able to borrow in good times."

California "deal"

"The state of California faces a desperate fiscal situation. California now has the worst credit rating of any American state. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic majority legislature have struggled to balance the books, as they are constitutionally obliged to do. They have raised taxes dramatically, but they have also cut some programs. Among the cuts: a $2-an-hour cut in the wages of home health-care workers.

Those workers were unionized, and their union -- the Service Employees International Union - carries clout in Obama's Washington. On Thursday, California state officials told the Los Angeles Times that they had received a warning: The federal government would deny California $6.8-billion in stimulus funds unless the wage cut was rescinded. Since the wage cut will save only about $74-million, the state will have little choice but to surrender."

What's happening is a clear pattern of intimidation using all the force of the state sending the message-- do what we say- or else!

Peter Schiff Video Of The Week

Thankfully, Peter Schiff now has made his awesome weekly videos which were previously only availabe to subcribers available on Youtube.

The latest one dissects the contradictions underlying Obama's farcical bank "Stress Tests" as well as discussing the Illegal actions by Bernanke and company to blackmail a major company into commiting securities fraud.