[Peace-discuss] NYT: Bloomberg's Dystopia on Unconstitutional War

[David Green]

I watched a 30-second Bloomberg ad yesterday that interrupted my music
viewing. It showed the young, black mayor of Stockton, CA, dutifully
supporting Bloomberg's agenda as a result of his city having some Bloomberg
money thrown at it, as well as the mayor attending some sort of Bloomberg
mayoral re-education camp. Stockton is a city of 300,000 or so, 80 miles
east of SF. It was one of the hardest hit cities in the country by the
2006-07 mortgage crisis. It had the highest foreclosure rate in the
country, 10%.

*From Wikipedia: *

City bankruptcy[edit
<https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stockton,_California&action=edit&section=8>
]

Following the 2008 financial crisis, in June 2012 Stockton became the
largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy protection. It was
surpassed by Detroit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_bankruptcy> in
July 2013. The city approved a plan to exit bankruptcy in October 2013,[48]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-Smith-48> and
voters approved a sales tax on November 5, 2013, to help fund the exit.[49]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-Marcum-49>

The collapse in real estate valuations had a negative effect on the city's
revenue base. On June 28, 2012, Stockton filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapter_9,_Title_11,_United_States_Code>.[50]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-50> On April
1, 2013, a federal judge accepted the bankruptcy application.[51]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-51>[52]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-Reuters-52> On
April 1, 2013, judge Christopher M. Klein, United States Bankruptcy Court
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bankruptcy_Court> Eastern
District of California, Sacramento Division, ruled that Stockton was
eligible for bankruptcy protection.

The Stockton bankruptcy case lasted more than two years and received
nationwide attention. While many factors led to the Chapter 9 filing
including the real estate crash and failed city projects, Stockton was
watched along with Detroit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit> to see
whether a federal judge will override state law and rule that pensions for
municipal employees could be at risk. At issue were contractual obligations
to CalPERS <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalPERS> that cities throughout
California had undertaken. Pensions in California are protected by the
so-called "California Rule," which says that public workers are guaranteed
the pension in place the day they were hired.[53]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-53>

On October 4, 2013, Stockton City Council approved a bankruptcy exit plan
by a six-zero vote[48]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-Smith-48> to
be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of California,
Sacramento. Voters approved a 3/4-cent sales tax on November 5, 2013, to
help fund the bankruptcy exit.[49]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-Marcum-49>

If federal courts rule on this aspect of the bankruptcy exit plan it could
set a precedent for a state with one of the largest municipal bond
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_bond> markets in the country.
According to the US Constitution
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Constitution> and laws passed by the US
Congress all bankruptcies in the US are administered by federal courts
according to federal law with some allowances for state law.[54]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-54>

On October 30, 2014, a federal bankruptcy judge
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_bankruptcy_judge> approved the
city's bankruptcy recovery plan, thus allowing the city to continue with
the planned pension payments to retired workers.[55]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California#cite_note-55>

The city exited from Chapter 9 bankruptcy on February 25, 2015.

On Sun, Feb 16, 2020 at 8:45 AM Robert Naiman via Peace-discuss <
peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:

>
> https://www.facebook.com/robert.naiman/posts/10159164201132656
>
> This NYT article exposes the dystopia on offer if Bloomberg becomes POTUS.
> In the world in which we ALREADY live, in which Bloomberg holds no elected
> office, the Center for American Progress censored a report on anti-Muslim
> bias in NYC policing in order to appease Bloomberg. In the world in which
> we ALREADY live, in which Bloomberg holds no elected office, the leaders of
> Emily's List took a dive on distancing themselves from Bloomberg after he
> slammed #metoo, because the leaders of Emily's List believed they needed
> Bloomberg's money. That's the world we live in NOW. Imagine if Bloomberg
> were POTUS. POTUS Bloomberg comes and says, "OK, we're profiling Muslims
> now, and if you don't like it, shut your mouth." And all the Dems shut
> their mouths. ACLU complains, CCR complains, NLG complains, CAIR complains,
> but it's teardrops in the rain. Dems are silent, because Bloomberg owns
> them all. And now imagine the world on unconstitutional war. If the ACLU
> objects to POTUS Bloomberg's policy of profiling Muslims, the ACLU can go
> to court, and maybe they can get a judge to do something. The opponents of
> unconstitutional war have no recourse to a court of law. No judge will take
> our case if we don't have the Speaker of the House onside, and we will
> never have the Speaker of the House onside in any future we can see. Our
> only recourse is Congress, and the ability of a single Member of Congress
> to call the question under the War Powers Resolution. And if Bloomberg is
> POTUS, no Democrat will say boo, because Bloomberg will own all the
> Democrats. Do you remember when Obama unconstitutionally bombed and
> overthrew the government of Libya in 2011? No Democrat said boo except
> Dennis Kucinich. And we don't have Dennis Kucinich anymore. Now replace
> 2011 Obama with 2021 Bloomberg. No Democrat will say boo, if Bloomberg is
> POTUS, because Bloomberg will own all the Democrats.
>
> Bloomberg’s Billions: How the Candidate Built an Empire of Influence
> By Alexander Burns and Nicholas Kulish
> Feb. 15, 2020
>
> https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
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