The most important news in America right now

Call me biased (this is my beat, admittedly). But I would argue that despite the news surrounding MJ, Palin, McNair, et al., this is the most important news to have emerged in the last few days — at least as it pertains to the lives and well-being of ordinary Americans, particularly across the Rust Belt.

Glad to see the disaster has been avoided for now:

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Gerber issued an order late Sunday approving the sale, saying it was “necessary to avoid immediate and irreparable harm.”

“As nobody can seriously dispute, the only alternative to an immediate sale is liquidation — a disastrous result for GM’s creditors, its employees, the suppliers who depend on GM for their own existence, and the communities in which GM operates,” Gerber wrote. “In the event of a liquidation, creditors now trying to increase their incremental recoveries would get nothing.”

via Judge OKs sale of good assets to new GM | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press.

Appeals from individual accident litigants are already underway, but (for what it’s worth) GM doesn’t expect the appeals process to last beyond this week. Let’s hope GM is right, and lets hope the company gets its act together toward a viable long-term business strategy so we  don’t have to keep having this discussion.