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(Photo: Chris Buck/Corbis Outline) |
It was a call that, in a sense, Steven Rattner had been waiting for most of his life. It was the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and he was vacationing in Europe when Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner got him on his cell phone. Geithner isn’t chatty, and came right to the point: He wanted Rattner to head the task force charged with saving the American auto industry, “if they could get him,” as one White House official put it. The assignment was one of the most difficult jobs in the American economy and, as such, a huge honor for an enlightened capitalist like Rattner.
Rattner had already had three highly successful careers, first as a journalist, then an investment banker, and finally the head of a private-equity fund—“a New York financier” was the shorthand used in the papers. He was already a power in politics; Rattner and his wife raised millions, and any Democrat of ambition beat his way to their door. Mayor Bloomberg picked him to manage his money. His network, too, encompassed the top tier of the Obama administration, as well as most of boldface Washington. He’d known Geithner, along with the president’s chief economic adviser, Larry Summers, for years; they were, in effect, residents of the same small neighborhood, as Rattner sometimes thought of it.
For a man like Rattner, government service was the necessary next step. It would crown consummate financial competence with high moral purpose. Without it, the triumph of ambition would not be quite complete. And yet Rattner hesitated. He’d long been a matchless careerist who, as one admirer said, “never made a misstep.” He wasn’t one to leap impetuously. The decision would be evaluated in terms of gradations of risk, a business problem.
To help him, Rattner turned to his friends, fellow residents of the neighborhood. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of the Times, who counts Rattner among his closest friends and counseled him, says, “This was something he had to do. He would have kicked himself if he hadn’t, though on a personal level, I hated to lose him [to Washington].” Bloomberg, whom Rattner considered a very close friend, voted no. Why would Rattner want to get mired in bureaucracy? “You’re out of your mind,” he told Rattner.
Rattner, too, worried about the fallout. Would he be tainted if he failed? After careful reflection, he assessed the risks as middling. “Nobody’s going to blame me for the downfall of the American automobile industry,” he told a friend. He leaned toward taking the post. And yet it was difficult to make the leap. It was Barry Diller, CEO of IAC, who helped to nudge him over the edge. “It’s an adventure, but only if you take it. Don’t be afraid of failing,” he said.
Several weeks after taking Geithner’s call, Rattner arrived at a response, the one most everyone expected all along. “What am I saving myself for? If not now, when?” he asked a friend, with theatrical flourish.
Six months after taking the job, Rattner (who declined to comment for this story) had helped to perform a seeming magic trick, rewriting the understanding between the car companies and the unions while bending the companies’ financiers—his friends and peers—to his will. With what seemed a cool, almost arrogant confidence—his casual dismissal of GM CEO Rick Wagoner reflected this quality—he had played a large role in restructuring the American car industry, accomplishing what few had thought possible a few months earlier, and in record time.
Then, on July 13, Rattner announced that he was stepping down. His resignation took most of Washington and New York by surprise. Though the work of the task force was winding down, Rattner had let friends know that he’d planned to stay in Washington, a financial samurai ready to attack the next problem the president set before him. The announcement was accompanied by praise for his performance, but the applause was almost drowned out by a scandal Rattner had left behind in New York. He hasn’t been accused of anything, yet Rattner had become ensnared in a “web of corruption,” as it was sometimes called, in order to get state pension money for his private-equity firm to manage.
In Rattner’s conception, money was necessary but not sufficient. He wanted to be useful, to give back—noblesse oblige, after all. But Rattner’s previous life pulled him back, and faced with the reality of politics, where appearances matter, Geithner and Summers didn’t push for him to stay. “If this thing gets worse, and it sounds like it might, if they jam him,” explains a Treasury source, reflecting the view at the top, “and [New York attorney general Andrew] Cuomo makes things hotter, it’s untenable. Everyone decided it was better for him to go.”
Read more:
How Former Car Czar Steve Rattner Lost Control Just as He Reached the Top of the New York-Washington Elite -- New York Magazine http://nymag.com/news/features/58193/#ixzz0WtVWLjQZ*************************************************************************
The Truth Behind Auto Dealership Closings
>>> Definition of Change:
>>> --- Clever New Methods Of Graft & Political Dirty Tricks.
>>>
>>>
>>> This could be a scandal of epic proportions and one that makes
>>> Nixon's Watergate or Clinton's Monica Lewinsky affair pale by
>>> comparison. Why was there neither rhyme nor reason as to which
>>> dealerships
>>> of the Chrysler Corporation were to be closed? Roll the clock back to
>>> the
>>> weeks just before Chrysler declared bankruptcy. Chrysler, like GM, was
>>> in
>>> dire financial straights and federal
>>> government graciously offered to "buy the company" and keep them out of
>>> bankruptcy and "save jobs." Chrysler was, in the words of Obama and his
>>> administration, "Too big to fail," same story with GM.
>>>
>>>
>>> The feds organized their "Automotive Task Force" to fix Chrysler and
>>> GM.
>>> Obama, in an act that is 100% unconstitutional, appointed a guy named
>>> Steve
>>> Rattner to be the White House's official Car Czar- literally, that's
>>> what
>>> his title is. Rattner is the liaison between Obama, Chrysler, and GM.
>>>
>>>
>>> Initially, the national media reported that Chrysler had made this list
>>> of
>>> dealerships. That is not true. The Washington Examiner, Newsmax,
>>> Fox
>>> New and a host of other news agencies discovered that the list of
>>> dealerships was put together by the "Automotive Task Force" headed by no
>>> one
>>> other then Mr. Steve Rattner. Now the plot thickens.
>>> Remember earlier we said earlier that there was neither rhyme nor reason
>>> why
>>> certain dealerships were closed? Actually there's a very interesting
>>> pattern
>>> as to who was closed down. Again, on May 27, 2009, The Washington
>>> Examiner
>>> and Newsmax exposed the connection. Amazingly, of the 789 dealerships
>>> closed
>>> by the federal government 788 had donated money, exclusively, to
>>> Republican
>>> political causes, while contributing nothing to Democratic political
>>> causes.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The only "Democratic" dealership on the list was found to have donated
>>> $7,700 to Hillary's campaign, and a bit over $2,000 to John Edwards.
>>> This
>>> same dealership, reportedly, also gave $200.00 to Obama's campaign. Does
>>> that seem a little odd to you?
>>>
>>> Steve Rattner, the guy who put the list together. Well he happens to be
>>> married to a babe named Maureen White. Maureen happens to be the former
>>> national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As such,
>>> she
>>> would have access to campaign donation records from everyone in the
>>> nation,
>>> Republican or Democrat. But of course, this is just a wacky coincidence,
>>> we're certain.
>>>
>>>
>>> Then comes another really wacky coincidence. On that list of dealerships
>>> being closed down, a weird thing happed in Arkansas, North
>>> Louisiana, and Southern Missouri. It seems that Bill Clinton's former
>>> White
>>> House Chief of Staff, Mack McClarty, owns a chain of dealership in that
>>> region, partnered with a fellow by the name of Robert Johnson. Johnson
>>> happens to be founder of Black Entertainment Television and was a huge
>>> Obama
>>> supporter and financier. These guys own a half dozen Chrysler stores
>>> under
>>> the company title of RLJ-McClarty-Landers. Interestingly, none of their
>>> dealerships were ordered closed - not one- while all of their competing
>>> Chrysler/Dodge and Jeep dealership were! Eight dealerships located near
>>> the
>>> dealerships owned by McClarty and Johnson were ordered shut down. Thus,
>>> by
>>> pure luck, these two major Obama supporters now have virtual monopoly on
>>> Chrysler sales in their zone.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Isn't that amazing? Go look in The Washington Examiner, the story's
>>> there, and it's in a dozen or so other web-based news organization, this
>>> isn't being made up.
>>>
>>>
>>> Now if you thought Chrysler was owned by Fiat, you are truly mistaken.
>>> Under
>>> the federal court ruling, 65% of Chrysler is now owned by the federal
>>> government and the United Auto Worker's union- Fiat owns 20%. The other
>>> 15%
>>> is till privately owned and presumably will be traded on the stock
>>> market.
>>> Obama smiles and says he doesn't want to run the auto industry.
>>>
>>>
>>> As horrifying as this is to comprehend, and being as how this used to be
>>> the
>>> United States of America, it would appear that the president has the
>>> power
>>> to destroy private businesses and eliminate upwards of 100,000 jobs,
>>> just
>>> because they don't agree with his political agenda. This is Nazi Germany
>>> stuff, and it's happening right here, right now, in your back yard.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> There are voices in Washington demanding an explanation, but the
>>> "Automotive Task Force" has released no information to the public or any
>>> of
>>> the senators demanding answers for what has been done. Keep your ear to
>>> the
>>> ground for more on this story. If you've ever wanted to make a
>>> difference
>>> about anything in your life, get on the phone to your national senator
>>> or
>>> representative in the House and demand an investigation on this.
>>>
>>> Benjamin Franklin had it right when he said, "All that's necessary for
>>> evil
>>> to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Car Czar No More
>>> An amazing thing happed as this story was going to press. Obama's Car
>>> Czar,
>>> Steve Rattner, resigned on July 13 and was promptly replaced by former
>>> steel
>>> workers union boss Ron Bloom. According to CBS News,
>>> Rattner left "to return to private life and spend time with his
>>> family."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Treasure Secretary Tim Geithner said, "I hope that he takes another
>>> opportunity to bring his unique skills to government service in the
>>> future." By the way, Rattner is under investigation for a multi-million
>>> dollar pay-to-play investment bank scandal in New York. Uh-oh! But,
>>> we're
>>> certain that had nothing to do with his resignation. And, according to
>>> several news sources out there, there are rumors he's being investigated
>>> for
>>> what could be pay-to-play scandal involving the closing of Chrysler and
>>> GM
>>> dealerships.
>>> ---- Really? Again, that couldn't have anything to with his resignation-
>>> that's ridiculous! Like CBS said, this guy just wants to spend more
>>> quality
>>> time with his family. Obama has thirty-two personally appointed "czars"
>>> that
>>> answer to no one but him, all of whom are acting without any
>>> Constitutional
>>> authority. But hey, we're sure they all have "unique skills," as Tim
>>> Geithner likes to say.
*********************************************************
BARRY SOETORO aka BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA
IS A
USURPER
He is not eligible to be
President of the United States
because he is not a Natural Born Citizen
as required by Article Two, Section One, Clause Five of the United States Constitution.
This is a fact REGARDLESS of
where he was born (Mombassa, Hawaii, Chicago, Mecca or Mars).
He is not eligible
because he was not born of
TWO PARENTS
BOTH OF WHOM WERE UNITED STATES CITIZENS
AT THE TIME OF HIS BIRTH
as required by the Constitution.
Barack Hussein Obama Jr. is not eligible to be President of the United States because – according to public admissions made by him – his “birth status was governed” by the United Kingdom. Obama further admits he was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies at birth.
Since Barack Hussein Obama Jr. was, if born in the state of Hawaii, a dual citizen, who – according to his own State Department – owed allegiance to the Queen of England and United Kingdom at the time of his birth – he cannot therefore be a “natural born” citizen of the US according to Article 2, Section 1, Clause 5 of the US Constitution.
His father, who did not live in the United States for more than a couple of years, was a subject/ciitizen
of Kenya/Great Britain at the time of Barack’s birth and afterwards, AND further, as Barack himself admitted on his website during the 2008 campaign, Barack was therefore born SUBJECT TO THE GOVERNANCE OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Here is a direct quote from Obama's "Fight the Smears/Fact Check" 2008 website:
‘When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children…’ “
The FACT that he was not born of TWO US CITIZEN PARENTS is all that matters. The question of his birth certificate is a distraction (a distraction fostered by Obama’s supporters?) that ought not to occupy our time and resources. BUT if you are really convinced of the value of the COLB (certificate of live birth) that Obama posted on his website, see this:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9830547/Sun-Yatsen-Certification-of-Live-Birth-in-Hawaii
Also, it is possible that he is not a United States
citizen at all through his mother if he was born in Kenya, as three witnesses have testified. The reason is because his mother could not pass her US citizenship on to her son because she did not live continuously in the United States for five full years after her fourteenth birthday as required by the US immigration law in effect during that period of time.
Check it out:
http://www.TheObamaFile.com/ObamaNaturalBorn.htm
Also, an excellent introductory primer on Obama Presiidential Eligibility is to be found at:
http://people.mags.net/tonchen/birthers.htm
His usurpation can only be corrected (1) by Congress through his Impeachment and Removal [something which will never happen in a Congress controlled by Pelosi/Reid], or (2) it can be
corrected by his resignation, which could happen if the public presssure on him to resign becomes great enough, or (3) by his removal by the United States Supreme Court affirming a Quo Warranto decision of the United States Federal District Court for the District of Columbia [which process Attorney General Eric Holder would never allow to even begin] or (4) by an amendment to the Constitution,
which will never happen because that again would require the agreement of a Congress controlled by Pelosi/Reid.
_
HERE IS THE QUESTION WHICH EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN SHOULD BE ASKING HIS OR HER CONGRESSMAN AND SENATORS
“During the 2008 election, then Senator Obama published a statement at his website which said that his birth status was ‘governed’ by the British Nationality Act of 1948. Can you please tell me, and the American people, how a person governed - at birth - by British law, can be a natural born citizen of the United States and thus constitutionally eligible to be President of the United States?”
---
- Leo Rugiens
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