THE CHRYSLER BANKRUPTCY SALE HEARING: DAY 3

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The hearing for the Section 363 sale of Chrysler's most valuable assets to FIAT has gone into a third day.

The Chrysler hearing is a major test of whether this is a nation of laws, administered impartially, or a nation of men.

If the Obama Administration is permitted to roll over the vested property rights of the Indiana Pensioners and ignore decades of bankruptcy law merely because of political expediency, our Nation will be traveling down a dangerous path.

The Indiana Pensioners are entitled to obtain in chapter 11 at least as much as they would in a chapter 7 liquidation. Moreover, the Chrysler dealers who are being forceably terminated have argued that approximately ONE BILLION DOLLARS in claims against Chrysler will be left virtually worthless if the Section 363 sale is approved.

Using a Section 363 sale to evade the “best interest of the creditors” test and to give the UAW’s unsecured claims a de facto superpriority is contrary to law. The Obama Administration’s actions in the Chrysler bankruptcy, if allowed to stand mock bankruptcy law and shread the Constitution.

The rush to sell Chrysler's assets is poltically motivated. The Obama Administration promised a surgical 30-60 day bankruptcy and apparently it intends to deliver, notwithstanding the property rights of Chrysler's creditors. The Chrysler bankruptcy has admittedy been a trial run for the impending "Government Motors" nee General Motors bankruptcy.

While none of us want to see Chrysler die (and Truth With Speedzzter has placed much of the fault of Chrysler's decline on the hands of the federal government), if the price of keeping it alive is disregarding bankruptcy law, property rights, and the Constitution, its temporary survival is too costly to our Republic.

“THE GOODE FAMILY” – BRILLIANT SATIRE (SO FAR)

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A street racing, power-sliding Prius (covered of course with the obligatory radical left-wing bumper stickers)?

A vegan dog named “Che” who stalks the neighborhood on the Q.T. for fresh meat?

An adopted (South) African-American sixteen-year-old Caucasian decked out in African Nationalist garb that drives like Elwood Blues, scarfs plate-fulls of odd vegan cuisine, and apparently has a secret bent toward auto mechanics?

These were just a few of the gems awaiting viewers who took a chance on ABC-TV’s new animated series, “The Goode Family.” (9:00 p.m. E.D.T. Wednesdays)

Veteran satirical animators Mike Judge, John Altshuler, and Dave Krinsky took a blow-torch to many of the pretentious, hypocritical secular progressive tropes of modern holier-than-thou, politically-correct “Green” liberalism in the initial episode of “The Goode Family.”

The show’s premise is summarized as “A family obsessed with doing the ‘right’ thing environmentally, politically and socially.” Or better yet, in one of the throwaway phrases of the first episode: “WWAGD – What Would Al Gore Do.”

Truth With Speedzzter wonders how such an edgy program made it through the gauntlet of New York/Southern California political correctness in the humorless “Age of Obama” to air on a major television network.

While some allege that Judge & Co have plagiarized the BBC sitcom “The Good Life,” others will see an updated, if not nitromethane-fueled tweaking of the formula of the 1980s sitcom “Family Ties.” Still others will hear echos of the early years of “All in the Family,” albeit with most of the extremist pretensions from the radical left of the spectrum. However, unlike those politicized American satires, the intergenerational conflicts have thus far been more muted.

What “The Goode Family” did in its first episode was to broadside the conceits of secular progressivism and radical environmentalism in a way that will resonate with many ordinary Americans. Just as Rush Limbaugh sometimes claims that his success comes from saying what his listeners are already thinking, “The Goode Family” gives animated voice to some of our deeply held hunches about those who seek to impose their extreme, restrictive "green" value system on the community at large.

That’s not to say that “The Goode Family” has a perfect pitch. After all, the Prius DID apparently win the street race, which is highly improbable at best.

Moreover, Judge & Co’s handling of Church-related themes appeared inconsistent and lacked the precision of the show’s skewers of left-wing topics. The religious portions of the show oddly oscillated between a somewhat secularized fundamentalism (the deceptive “Safe Sex” abstinence booth at the Community College sex fair) and a mainline denominational approach (the father-daughter “Purity Dance”) which seemed to fit neither niche of modern Christianity particularly well.

However, the closed-mindedness, miss-perceptions and overreactions of the Goode parents and daughter Bliss Goode tracked accurately with how secular progressives fear and fail to understand or appreciate the value and intellectual richness of Christianity. Of course, the show presented a generic, inoffensive “Church” mostly stripped of Jesus Christ (architectural features, a “dog-collar” clad minister, and a few cross pendants were the only allusions to the actual “meat” of Christianity). The lack of precision evidenced a basic unfamiliarity with the intricacies of the subject matter.

By far, the most entertaining portions (other than the improbable driving antics of a newly-minted teen driver in a hybrid-electric automobile and a forced-vegan dog that cheats on his diet like a rabid pit bull) involved the send-up of “green” commerce. Judge & Co. did not miss a beat here, from lampooning the ridiculous cost add-ons for organic produce, “sustainability,” and "economic justice," to ripping the hypocrisy of the tedious reuseable shopping bag movement.

Given that Mr. Goode is a community college administrator, hopefully the pretensions and hypocrisy of academia will be roasted in future episodes. As it was, “The Goode Family” left a lot on the table in this department.

At the heart of “The Goode Family,” however is an ideological vacuity.

One reviewer called the show’s world view “pragmatic.” Undoubtedly, in its attempt to blend scorching satire with a venire of respectfulness, the show will track down a secular majoritiarian path. But the emptiness at the center and the inability of the Goodes to assemble their jumble of causes and prejudices into a coherent world view – as suggested by their struggle to determine the “right” thing, and their obsession with environmentalism and symbolic, secularized “social justice,” while mostly neglecting issues of personal piety under prevailing 1960s libertarian mores – is emblematic of the cold, vacant, rotten heart of secular progressivism.

The false “gods” of secular progressivism are collective, redistributive action masking private rebellions (the "morality of consent”) and prejudices, separated by a thin, inconsistent venire of selective non-judgmentalism and fealty to “acceptable” forms of “diversity.” Secular progressivism is focused almost exclusively on external appearances and mostly neglects the inner man and the soul.

Thus, a icy river of empty sadness, self-isolation, and existential futility underpins the all of the surface satire. Whether this reflects the actual world view of Judge & Co is unknown. But to some degree it is inherent in an accurate depiction of post-modern liberal extremism.

The inaugural episode of “The Goode Family” was brilliant satire. It was a worthy effort at lampooning the radical left and the bi-coastal, elite, quasi-intellectual tropes of this age. Only time will tell whether it will gain sufficient traction in the shallow network marketplace and whether the episodic quality will remain “Goode.”

But perhaps more importantly, will “The Goode Family” manage to escape the P.C. buzzsaw that will undoubtedly be aimed at it from the humorless secular progressives that the show relentlessly lampoons? Truth With Speedzzter is skeptical of that.

CAN NASCAR BE FIXED?

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NASCAR's over-publicized closed-door meetings following the debacle at the Memorial Day UN-Classic "Coca-Cola 340" have now come and gone. The ideas, if any, of the superteams and the scripted, prepackaged millionaire "star" drivers are now rattling around in the seemingly empty heads of the NASCAR bosses.

Did NASCAR actually listen? More importantly, will NASCAR someday listen to racing fans, who are the ones that really are paying the billions (directly and indirectly) for the "show?"

Truth With Speedzzter doubts it.

Undoubtedly NASCAR will take some action to prop up the status quo. It will be mostly window dressing and will not address the growing structural problems that undermine fan interest in "stock car" racing.

The real question is, can NASCAR BE SAVED FROM ITSELF?

If NASCAR is to be saved, fundamental changes are necessary.

Here's a few of the problems (and some modest solutions):

1. The fans cannot identify with the cars anymore.

Solution: return to production-based race cars and engines; dump the "common template" FUNNYCar-of-Tomorrow (COT).

2. The fans cannot identify with the superteams.

Solution: return to production-based race cars and dump the "common template" COT so that 100+ crewmen and engineers aren't necessary to run a "Cup team;" Force the superteams to disclose all of their engine, chassis and body specifications to the public on the Internet (which wouldn't really be a problem with a more production-based formula) and to sell cars and engines to whomever wants to buy them (or require participating OEMs to sell turnkey NASCAR racers, similar to Ford Racing's FR500 Mustangs); Ban the "big rig" transporters and put strict limits on crew sizes; institute a separate championship award for single car teams; Limit the number of chassis and engines that a team can use for a season (tracked with VIN numbers and permanent markings).

3. The fans cannot identify with all of the "riding instead of racing" and stroking.

Solution: return to production-based race cars and dump the "common template" COT so that there's a greater possibility of passing; cut the maximum engine size to 300 cid, require modern OEM production EFI V8s and allow production OHC/DOHC; change the points system to encourage more battling for the lead: payout prize money and points based on position at the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full race distances.

4. The fans cannot identify with cookie-cutter tracks.

Solution: fewer visits to the "McOvals;" protect the unique, historic "Wrigley Field' tracks like Darlington, Martinsville, Bristol, Richmond and Dover; ban new ovals longer than 3/4 miles; Put more short tracks and wide road courses on the schedule; institute a "cup" class at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

5. The fans cannot identify with highway robbery ticket prices.

Solution: Cut the prices; Get rid of the Camping World Trucks and the Nationwide Series and make all of the support series races run "cup-spec" cars; add more variety to events (i.e. "Roval" support or qualifying races for an oval "cup" event; run an event or two on dirt).

6. The fans cannot identify with rain delays and cheap, rain-shortened wins.

Solution: Rain tires and windshield wipers. Red flag only torrential downpours. Cut the points and prize money awarded for rain-shortened races.

7. The fans cannot identify with single-file, "follow the leader" "racing."

Solution: Double file restarts or perhaps even Indy/WOO-style 3-wide restarts at some tracks; encourage development of an OEM production KERS system for "push to pass" power boosts; allow production-based six-speed transmissions with multiple top-gear ratios so that drivers will have an Indy-style option of a cruising gear and a passing gear.

8. The fans cannot identify with single car qualifying and the protected "Top-35" rule.

Solution: Qualifying heats and fields inverted on season points.

9. The fans cannot identify with "Toyotas" in NASCAR.

Solution: Limit the series to U.S.-Headquartered manufacturers and cars designed and built in North America; require current, production-based car engines (no truck engines; no "clean sheet" racing engines; no "common-template" engines).

10. The fans cannot identify with "the aero push."

Solution: return to production-based race cars and dump the "common template" COT; raise the ride height; reduce downforce and make the cars more dependent upon mechanical grip; reduce speeds at most tracks with smaller engines and reduced aerodynamic "slickness" (increased drag); return to harder bias-ply tires that produce fewer "marbles," are more "forgiving," and which will smoke when over-driven in the corners; force track owners to repave and/or prepare their tracks for multiple grooves.

Don't count on much, if any, of this happening. NASCAR is dead and the France Family apparently has no clue how to reanimate the frigid corpse.

FORD POISED TO BUILD MORE VEHICLES IN AMERICA THAN ANYONE ELSE

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Now that "Government Motors," nee General Motors has run out of options and is virtually guaranteed to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy on or before June 1, and Chrysler's unconstitutional, Government-sponsored, cherry-picking buyout by FIAT may blow up "on the launch pad," Ford Motor Company is poised to be the last American automaker standing.

But even if GM and OBAMAFIATCHRYSLER somehow make it out of the bankruptcy litigation thicket, Ford is poised to assume the honor of building more vehicles in America than anyone else.

Ford . . . will rank first in 2009 with 1.9 million units, according to data from forecasting group IHS Global Insight, which released its North American light-vehicle production forecast this month.

GM . . . is idling most of its plants over the next couple of months and will produce an estimated 1.7 million vehicles this year.

What about Honda and Toyota? PLEASE! They'll still be behind Chrysler (which is in the midst of a total production shut-down during its bankruptcy) when the 2009 counting is done. And the domestic content of Honda and Toyota still lags far behind Ford.

[A]mong the most popular U.S.-built cars and trucks, the models with the highest domestic content ratings come from Detroit automakers. Of the 35 most popular U.S.-built 2008 and 2009 models — based on sales through May 31, 2008 — 43 percent of GM, Ford and Chrysler contenders had domestic content ratings of 75 percent or higher. In comparison, just 25 percent of the Nissan, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota models on the list achieved that.

Ford is quietly emerging out of the Obamanomics chaos as the only true AMERICAN CHOICE.

TOYOTA STEALS A SOGGY ONE IN CHARLOTTE

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The fiftieth running of the World/Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, nee Charlotte, was idiomatic of the corpse that used to be NASCAR.

The 600 was supposed to be the capstone of the greatest single day of Motorsports for the year. Instead, it failed to launch due to weather. Tuning in the next day, viewers saw a forgettable race to half-way on the prototypical 1.5 mile "cookie-cutter" oval that was dominated by the traitorous Joe Gibbs "Toyota Camry" FUNNYCar-of-Tomorrow aimed by the universally-loathed Kyle "Rowdy" Busch. A couple of dozen laps after the event was "official" in the apparently raisin-size minds of the NASCAR officials, it started raining again.

In a legendary display of short-sightedness, all but three cars on the lead lap pitted, gifting the eventual win to Toyota's David Reutimann -- the first lead lap team with enough common-sense not to stop under the rain caution.

A few observations about the "Coca-Cola 340 1/2"

1. To NASCAR and all of those folks who say "rain tires won't work" on ovals: Have you ever seen the Rolex 24 at Daytona? (Hint: Rain tires are often used on the "ROVAL" -- and the cars do not slide off of the banking in the rain).

Real men race in the rain. It's the same for all of the competitors.

Overpaid, overrated prima donnas, such as most of NASCAR's plastic-homogenized-scripted-stroker-ace "drivers," cower at the sight of mere sprinkles, whine about anything but "perfect" weather, and do silly "rain dances" to cheat the fans out of the racing they paid to see.

2. What a "Reutimann awakening" for all of those brain-dead crewchiefs from Hendrick and Roush who apparently forgot everyone was racing to half-way . . . .

Carl Edwards and FORD threw away the win by following Rowdy down into the pits when anyone with the Weather Channel should have figured out that the "24 Hours of Charlotte" race was OVER (except for the made-for-TV "drama" of waiting). At least Toyota had sense enough to leave one of their backmarkers out to STEAL THE WIN. Sadly, Jack Roush and Ford cannot figure out how to use their cars strategically . . . . (Thankfully Roush and his thoughtless crewchiefs weren’t in charge of beating the Japanese in WWII. )

3. Seemingly most of the Fox TV announce crew is beholden to Toyota in some way (ensuring about two hours of tedious, televised lobbying to "call" the race with a hideous Waltrip-owned Toyota "FunnyCar of Tomorrow" in the lead) Apparently there are no conflict-of-interest rules in the tiresome joke that has become NASCAR.

4. Fox TV has about the worst possible "rain delay" fill package. At times, a blue screen and white noise would have been better than the repetitive bilge pumped out by Waltrip, McReynolds and Co. Thankfully, Fox, Waltrip, Digger and the whole mess are about to go off-the-air until 2010 (and not a lap too soon).

5. Fox's 50th Anniversary "package" on Charlotte skipped from the mid-1960s until the 2000s. Short-sighted and weak.

All in all, the "COKE 340" was about as bad a "show" as NASCAR can deliver nowadays.