Who was the judge in the United Airlines pension revocation case?

[Tactical Progressive]

Because I'm thinking this could be something that gets people to wake up to the importance of the federal judiciary in the struggle of labor against corporate power. That's the very type of thing that is causing Democrats to block Bush's more extremist judges.

It might well be the appropriate reading of the law to allow corporations to do this, in which case it would be a legislative matter. But maybe the judicial discretion in this case swung it over to UAL.

[Bluebear]

1. A Reagan appointee named Eugene Wedoff

http://www.ilnb.uscourts.gov/JudgeWedoff/Wedoff.htm

http://www.ilnb.uscourts.gov/JudgeWedoff/bioerw.htm

[Tactical Progressive]

2. Oh good, a Republican judge.

Now Democrats can point to corporations reneging on their pensions thanks to Republican judges. It might provide an awakening and should prove to be a very accessible situation for the average person to understand just how savage the right-wing assault on the middle class really is. It should play well as the judge filibustering issue comes to a head and leads to a possible nuclear escalation and promised retaliation.

Republicans want right-wing judges on the appelate benches so they can maul the working man out of a lifetime of 'hard earned' retirement money. They love to say 'hard earned'.

[TaleWgnDg]

3. Judge Eugene R. Wedoff attended and graduated from

.
Judge Eugene R. Wedoff attended and graduated from the University of Chicago, B.A., 1972, and the University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1975. I'd say that Judge Wedoff had a conservative post-secondary education re University of Chicago. However, having not read any of his written legal opinions, I don't know if it has followed through on the bench. And I refuse to comment about United Airlines "dissolution" of it's pension fund in his bankruptcy court because, again, I've not read his written opinion.

However, I will comment broadly . . . this is not a precedent in law, and I believe such will happen again and may become more frequent re corporate pension funds. I wonder what the Adam Smith crowd has to say about it as such actions impact upper management as well as mid-management and overall employees in America's "free trade" race to "globalization?" (said w/ tongue-in-cheek)

In any event, here's further insight into Judge Wedoff's views on the recently passed bankruptcy "reform" act, although the judge's comments are made in 2001 it remains relevant. (http://www.creditcollectionsworld.com/news/031901_2.htm) Note the url is the "credit collections world" and that the judge was giving a speech at the 5th Annual National Collections & Credit Risk Conference in Las Vegas. And he was a former partner w/ Jenner & Block, LLP, a law firm that practices corporate law.

Does this begin to give one an insight about the judge? Can one begin to understand why this person was a Republican nominee to the bench?

.

[Tactical Progressive]

4. Exactly - a pro-corporate Republican judge

Straight from the Chicago school of economics, and not just figuratively. How perfect.

This is the issue that will reach the don't-give-a-shit-about-anybody-else's-problems people that almost always support Republicans, even without any clear understanding of what Republicanism is all about. The hordes that are helping the even worse people to turn America into a sewer.

They thought their pensions were sacrosanct. They couldn't care less about judges. They care about themselves, and only those things that impact what they care about make it past their eardrums. Now judges are tied to their pensions, and in a way they never though could, let alone would, happen to them. Oh, my. Still don't care about judges?

I need a bumper sticker that reads:

"Get it now, MORON?
Right-wing corpo-judges
mean NO PENSION FOR YOU!

Keep kissing Republican ass
and you won't even have Social Security!"

[Jose Diablo]

7. My history on Leo Strauss is a little fuzzy

But didn't he teach in Chicago someplace. And wasn't there a bunch of followers from Strauss involved with Pinochet's Chili. Also something about Argentina's experiences with the globalists and privatization of utilities comes to mind.

Vaguely I remember something about a group of financial experts from Chicago 'helping' in South America and bringing financial ruin to the whole country. What were they called? The Chicago boys I think it was.

Edit: Yes, here it is:

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-chichile.htm

"The Chicago School of Economics got that chance for 16 years in Chile, under near-laboratory conditions. Between 1973 and 1989, a government team of economists trained at the University of Chicago dismantled or decentralized the Chilean state as far as was humanly possible. Their program included privatizing welfare and social programs, deregulating the market, liberalizing trade, rolling back trade unions, and rewriting its constitution and laws. And they did all this in the absence of the far-right's most hated institution: democracy.

The results were exactly what liberals predicted. Chile's economy became more unstable than any other in Latin America, alternately experiencing deep plunges and soaring growth. Once all this erratic behavior was averaged out, however, Chile's growth during this 16-year period was one of the slowest of any Latin American country. Worse, income inequality grew severe. The majority of workers actually earned less in 1989 than in 1973 (after adjusting for inflation), while the incomes of the rich skyrocketed. In the absence of market regulations, Chile also became one of the most polluted countries in Latin America. And Chile's lack of democracy was only possible by suppressing political opposition and labor unions under a reign of terror and widespread human rights abuses.

Conservatives have developed an apologist literature defending Chile as a huge success story. In 1982, Milton Friedman enthusiastically praised General Pinochet (the Chilean dictator) because he "has supported a fully free-market economy as a matter of principle. Chile is an economic miracle." (1) However, the statistics below show this to be untrue. Chile is a tragic failure of right-wing economics, and its people are still paying the price for it today. "

And also on Strauss:

http://members.tripod.com/Cato1/strauss-bio.htm

"From 1949 to 1973 Strauss remains a member of the faculty, University of Chicago. From 1949 to 1968, he is a professor of political philosophy."

Maybe this is why the Federal judiciary in Chicago is how it is. We have that Strauss to thank for this.

[funflower]

5. "Don't let Frist nuke your retirement." How's that?

[Sgent]

6. won't matter

You make a mistake to think that most employees in red states have a pension plan retirement -- other than govt workers, most don't. They may have 401(k)'s, etc. But not a traditional pension.

[funflower]

8. That's what we have... guess that's good.

[Sgent]

9. It depends

If the employer doesn't match in company stock, or at least lets you sell it after 90 days or so, its an improvement. Plus they should match preferably 6% or so total at a minimum (and assuming no other retirement plan).