Monday, July 20, 2009
Muskegon residents asked to sound off on state's future for think tank
Muskegon residents asked to sound off on state's future for think tank
"A free, two-hour group conversation July 28 on issues facing the state will be offered by The Center for Michigan, a nonpartisan Ann Arbor think tank.
The 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. 'community conversation' will be at the Holiday Inn Muskegon Harbor, 939 Third."
"A free, two-hour group conversation July 28 on issues facing the state will be offered by The Center for Michigan, a nonpartisan Ann Arbor think tank.
The 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. 'community conversation' will be at the Holiday Inn Muskegon Harbor, 939 Third."
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICIALS PERMIT POLICE AND FIREFIGHTER ‘PENSION SPIKING’
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICIALS PERMIT POLICE AND FIREFIGHTER ‘PENSION SPIKING’ - GRAND JURY ALLEGATION
"55 percent of safety officers who retired between 1998 and 2008 receive a pension that was more than their annual compensation [or salary] at retirement.”
All obtained by fraud?
"55 percent of safety officers who retired between 1998 and 2008 receive a pension that was more than their annual compensation [or salary] at retirement.”
All obtained by fraud?
Rexrode: Spartans aren't No. 1, but they'll be in top 5
Rexrode: Spartans aren't No. 1, but they'll be in top 5
"4. MSU: Seven of the top nine are back.
If everyone takes a step forward, Delvon Roe keeps getting healthier and Raymar Morgan plays like he did before mononucleosis nailed him in January, this will be an excellent team.
If Tom Herzog and incoming freshmen Garrick Sherman and Derrick Nix do something with the center position, it can be another great team."
"4. MSU: Seven of the top nine are back.
If everyone takes a step forward, Delvon Roe keeps getting healthier and Raymar Morgan plays like he did before mononucleosis nailed him in January, this will be an excellent team.
If Tom Herzog and incoming freshmen Garrick Sherman and Derrick Nix do something with the center position, it can be another great team."
July 17th Nationalized Healthcare Protest « Asheville “Tea Party” Protest
July 17th Nationalized Healthcare Protest « Asheville “Tea Party” Protest
"All of which prompts the question: If 250 people gather in the name of health freedom and AC-T, MtnXpress, and Tribune reporters aren’t there to cover it, are the Asheville Citizen-Times, the Mountain Xpress, and the Tribune Papers still fishwrap?"
"All of which prompts the question: If 250 people gather in the name of health freedom and AC-T, MtnXpress, and Tribune reporters aren’t there to cover it, are the Asheville Citizen-Times, the Mountain Xpress, and the Tribune Papers still fishwrap?"
Poor in Colorado may get free phones
Poor in Colorado may get free phones
"Thousands of low-income Coloradans reliant on public assistance could get a free cellphone under a plan before the state Public Utilities Commission."
"Thousands of low-income Coloradans reliant on public assistance could get a free cellphone under a plan before the state Public Utilities Commission."
God, Guns, Guts, and CNN's Idiot Reporters
God, Guns, Guts, and CNN's Idiot Reporters
"You don't have a problem with God, do ya?'
This is a question posed to CNN reporter Carol Costello during a recent interview with Mark Muller, a Missouri car dealer whose company is offering an unusual incentive: a free AK-47 with the purchase of a vehicle.
Thanks to Muller, we now know Costello doesn't have a problem with God. (She answered in the negative).
We also know she's, for lack of a more dignified term--not because I can't think of one but because she doesn't deserve it--just plain dumb."
"You don't have a problem with God, do ya?'
This is a question posed to CNN reporter Carol Costello during a recent interview with Mark Muller, a Missouri car dealer whose company is offering an unusual incentive: a free AK-47 with the purchase of a vehicle.
Thanks to Muller, we now know Costello doesn't have a problem with God. (She answered in the negative).
We also know she's, for lack of a more dignified term--not because I can't think of one but because she doesn't deserve it--just plain dumb."
INTELLIGENCE GAMES
INTELLIGENCE GAMES
"These new allegations, letters and calls for investigations are part of a strategy by Democrats to attack intelligence personnel and agencies. Why? To protect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- who is in hot water over her May 14 comments that the CIA 'lies all the time' and misled her about enhanced interrogation of terrorist suspects."
"These new allegations, letters and calls for investigations are part of a strategy by Democrats to attack intelligence personnel and agencies. Why? To protect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- who is in hot water over her May 14 comments that the CIA 'lies all the time' and misled her about enhanced interrogation of terrorist suspects."
The great public-sector pension rip-off: Dodging the bill
The great public-sector pension rip-off: Dodging the bill
"There is a lot of debate about the right discount rate to use, but the conservative approach is to take the cost of government borrowing.
Use that rate, and the liability of American state and municipal pension schemes may be $3 trillion—three times the value of all the authorities’ existing debts.
In Britain the liability adds up to 85% of GDP."
"There is a lot of debate about the right discount rate to use, but the conservative approach is to take the cost of government borrowing.
Use that rate, and the liability of American state and municipal pension schemes may be $3 trillion—three times the value of all the authorities’ existing debts.
In Britain the liability adds up to 85% of GDP."
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sergeant John Beale, RIP
Sergeant John Beale, RIP
"Reader John Throckmorton served in Iraq in 2006-2007. He sends us this video and comments: 'This is a moving video of a community's response to the death of a U.S. Army sergeant in Afghanistan.
The tape runs 12 minutes and is a must see.' He adds:
Killed in action the week before, John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, on June 11, 2009.
The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough, Georgia.
A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time.
This was filmed during the procession by a State Trooper.
I was tempted to offer additional commentary, but I think the video stands by itself. I don't know the views of John Beale, or his neighbors who turned out to support him, so I can't purport to speak for them by attempting to connect this video to a larger statement on the current state of American politics or culture -- I'll save it for another time.
I am, however, immeasurably proud of them."
"Reader John Throckmorton served in Iraq in 2006-2007. He sends us this video and comments: 'This is a moving video of a community's response to the death of a U.S. Army sergeant in Afghanistan.
The tape runs 12 minutes and is a must see.' He adds:
Killed in action the week before, John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, on June 11, 2009.
The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough, Georgia.
A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time.
This was filmed during the procession by a State Trooper.
I was tempted to offer additional commentary, but I think the video stands by itself. I don't know the views of John Beale, or his neighbors who turned out to support him, so I can't purport to speak for them by attempting to connect this video to a larger statement on the current state of American politics or culture -- I'll save it for another time.
I am, however, immeasurably proud of them."
Reformers' Claims Just Don't Add Up
Reformers' Claims Just Don't Add Up
"Many extravagant claims have been made on behalf of the various health care 'reforms' now emerging from Congress and the White House. But on closer inspection, virtually all prove to be false."
"Many extravagant claims have been made on behalf of the various health care 'reforms' now emerging from Congress and the White House. But on closer inspection, virtually all prove to be false."
ANOTHER FAILED SPENDING PROGRAM
ANOTHER FAILED SPENDING PROGRAM
"the program hasn’t stopped the rising tide of foreclosures: Experts predict that at least another 2 million homes will be lost this year, and the administration’s plan has so far reached only about 160,000 of the 3 million to 4 million homes it was supposed to protect over the next three years."
"the program hasn’t stopped the rising tide of foreclosures: Experts predict that at least another 2 million homes will be lost this year, and the administration’s plan has so far reached only about 160,000 of the 3 million to 4 million homes it was supposed to protect over the next three years."
The Faculty Lounge: An Orgasm A Day Keeps The Doctor Away. Is This Really NHS?
The Faculty Lounge: An Orgasm A Day Keeps The Doctor Away. Is This Really NHS?: "Sometimes the real news seems so good that you wonder whether The Onion is mere surplussage. Such is the state of affairs today, as leading British papers the Times of London , the Daily Mail, and the Telegraph notify us of a new leaflet, Pleasure, created and...disseminated (?!?)... to parents, teachers, and youth workers by the a branch of the NHS out of Sheffield, England.
From the Times story headlined 'NHS tells school children of their 'right' to 'an orgasm a day'':
Alongside the slogan “an orgasm a day keeps the doctor away”, it says: “Health promotion experts advocate five portions of fruit and veg a day and 30 minutes’ physical activity three times a week. What about sex or masturbation twice a week?”"
From the Times story headlined 'NHS tells school children of their 'right' to 'an orgasm a day'':
Alongside the slogan “an orgasm a day keeps the doctor away”, it says: “Health promotion experts advocate five portions of fruit and veg a day and 30 minutes’ physical activity three times a week. What about sex or masturbation twice a week?”"
States Hit Hardest by Recession Get Least Stimulus Money
States Hit Hardest by Recession Get Least Stimulus Money
"But FOXNews.com has analyzed data tracking how the stimulus money is being given out across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and it has found a perverse pattern:
the states hardest hit by the recession received the least money.
States with higher bankruptcy, foreclosure and unemployment rates got less money."
"But FOXNews.com has analyzed data tracking how the stimulus money is being given out across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and it has found a perverse pattern:
the states hardest hit by the recession received the least money.
States with higher bankruptcy, foreclosure and unemployment rates got less money."
Commerce Secretary: Americans ‘Need to Pay’ for Chinese Emissions
Commerce Secretary: Americans ‘Need to Pay’ for Chinese Emissions
"With the U.S. secretaries of energy and commerce in China this week, much of the attention focused on the standoff over emissions reductions or small breakthroughs in clean-tech cooperation.
But yesterday, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said something amazing—U.S. consumers should pay for part of Chinese greenhouse-gas emissions.
From Reuters:
“It’s important that those who consume the products being made all around the world to the benefit of America — and it’s our own consumption activity that’s causing the emission of greenhouse gases, then quite frankly Americans need to pay for that,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke told the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai."
What the f!!!!!!!!!
"With the U.S. secretaries of energy and commerce in China this week, much of the attention focused on the standoff over emissions reductions or small breakthroughs in clean-tech cooperation.
But yesterday, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said something amazing—U.S. consumers should pay for part of Chinese greenhouse-gas emissions.
From Reuters:
“It’s important that those who consume the products being made all around the world to the benefit of America — and it’s our own consumption activity that’s causing the emission of greenhouse gases, then quite frankly Americans need to pay for that,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke told the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai."
What the f!!!!!!!!!
Gov paying over a half million dollars a pound for sliced ham?
Gov paying over a half million dollars a pound for sliced ham?
"According to Recovery.gov, the new Obama website showing us how much the country is being stimulated by government spending, the taxpayers are buying sliced frozen ham at $550,000 per pound.
I wonder what they would pay for fresh ham?
And here I thought prosciutto was expensive. Is this going to be served to guests at one of the many parties the Obamas like to throw? Half million dollar a pound ham won't really impress the Saudis, if Obama offers it to them, no matter how low he bows.
This makes the $100/lb wagyu steaks used at White House parties look like a bargain.
You can find the details here:"
"According to Recovery.gov, the new Obama website showing us how much the country is being stimulated by government spending, the taxpayers are buying sliced frozen ham at $550,000 per pound.
I wonder what they would pay for fresh ham?
And here I thought prosciutto was expensive. Is this going to be served to guests at one of the many parties the Obamas like to throw? Half million dollar a pound ham won't really impress the Saudis, if Obama offers it to them, no matter how low he bows.
This makes the $100/lb wagyu steaks used at White House parties look like a bargain.
You can find the details here:"
Celebrating Cronkite while ignoring what he did - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
Celebrating Cronkite while ignoring what he did
Writing in Harper's a few weeks later, Lapham -- in the essay about Russert (entitled "An Elegy for a Rubber Stamp") where he said Russert's "on-air persona was that of an attentive and accommodating headwaiter, as helpless as Charlie Rose in his infatuation with A-list celebrity" -- echoed Halberstam by writing:
Long ago in the days before journalists became celebrities, their enterprise was reviled and poorly paid, and it was understood by working newspapermen that the presence of more than two people at their funeral could be taken as a sign that they had disgraced the profession.
That Lapham essay is full of piercing invective ("On Monday I thought I’d heard the end of the sales promotion. Tim presumably had ascended to the great studio camera in the sky to ask Thomas Jefferson if he intended to run for president in 1804"),
Writing in Harper's a few weeks later, Lapham -- in the essay about Russert (entitled "An Elegy for a Rubber Stamp") where he said Russert's "on-air persona was that of an attentive and accommodating headwaiter, as helpless as Charlie Rose in his infatuation with A-list celebrity" -- echoed Halberstam by writing:
Long ago in the days before journalists became celebrities, their enterprise was reviled and poorly paid, and it was understood by working newspapermen that the presence of more than two people at their funeral could be taken as a sign that they had disgraced the profession.
That Lapham essay is full of piercing invective ("On Monday I thought I’d heard the end of the sales promotion. Tim presumably had ascended to the great studio camera in the sky to ask Thomas Jefferson if he intended to run for president in 1804"),
Fetuses Proven to Retain Memories; Abortionists Will Forget This
Fetuses Proven to Retain Memories; Abortionists Will Forget This
"'In addition, results indicated that 34-week-old fetuses are able to store information and retrieve it four weeks later,' said the research, which was released Wednesday."
"'In addition, results indicated that 34-week-old fetuses are able to store information and retrieve it four weeks later,' said the research, which was released Wednesday."
$100 million ends prisoner sex-abuse suit
$100 million ends prisoner sex-abuse suit
"The State of Michigan has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a class-action by more than 500 female prisoners who said they were sexually assaulted by prison guards."
No problem.... heck it's only $100 million....
"The State of Michigan has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a class-action by more than 500 female prisoners who said they were sexually assaulted by prison guards."
No problem.... heck it's only $100 million....
Gov. Jennifer Granholm says 'dangerous' budget cuts must be avoided
Gov. Jennifer Granholm says 'dangerous' budget cuts must be avoided
"Michigan has overall projected budget shortfalls of roughly $2.7 billion for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
'It's important to distinguish between painful cuts that will happen and dangerous cuts which I will not allow to happen,'"
Like the automatic COL AND the annual stepup in pay every state employee gets?
"Michigan has overall projected budget shortfalls of roughly $2.7 billion for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
'It's important to distinguish between painful cuts that will happen and dangerous cuts which I will not allow to happen,'"
Like the automatic COL AND the annual stepup in pay every state employee gets?
The Republican-American Ethically bankrupt
The Republican-American Ethically bankrupt
"Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd has been going around talking up KennedyDoddCare by claiming '62 percent of all personal bankruptcies were caused by medical problems.'
His source was so-called research by Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), hardly a disinterested bystander. To achieve that lofty number, it had to distort the definition of medical bankruptcy while failing to control for household overspending, the No. 1 cause of personal bankruptcies in the aftermath of illness or injury.
But when medical bankruptcies are more accurately defined as those attributable solely to medical-related costs beyond a household's control, the rate plummets to just 29 percent. Even then, U.S. Justice Department statistics show that in personal bankruptcies blamed at least in part on unpaid physician and hospital bills, medical costs comprised no more than 13 percent of all unsecured debts."
"Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd has been going around talking up KennedyDoddCare by claiming '62 percent of all personal bankruptcies were caused by medical problems.'
His source was so-called research by Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), hardly a disinterested bystander. To achieve that lofty number, it had to distort the definition of medical bankruptcy while failing to control for household overspending, the No. 1 cause of personal bankruptcies in the aftermath of illness or injury.
But when medical bankruptcies are more accurately defined as those attributable solely to medical-related costs beyond a household's control, the rate plummets to just 29 percent. Even then, U.S. Justice Department statistics show that in personal bankruptcies blamed at least in part on unpaid physician and hospital bills, medical costs comprised no more than 13 percent of all unsecured debts."
New PETA Crusade – Fish Are Sea Kittens | Sweetness & Light
New PETA Crusade – Fish Are Sea Kittens Sweetness & Light: "RADICAL international animal rights group PETA has launched its most bizarre campaign yet, demanding fish be renamed 'sea kittens'."
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Will Small Be Beautiful for GM?
Will Small Be Beautiful for GM?
"once it was clear that GM planned to build compacts somewhere in the U.S. a bidding war broke out between Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin -- all of which had GM plants slated to be closed.
Michigan won by giving away the store.
The Orion plant will get $1 billion in tax incentives and job training grants from the state, which will pay for the $800 million GM will spend on retooling."
"once it was clear that GM planned to build compacts somewhere in the U.S. a bidding war broke out between Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin -- all of which had GM plants slated to be closed.
Michigan won by giving away the store.
The Orion plant will get $1 billion in tax incentives and job training grants from the state, which will pay for the $800 million GM will spend on retooling."
Wasteful Defense Spending Is a Clear and Present Danger
Wasteful Defense Spending Is a Clear and Present Danger
"When John McCain was shot down over Hanoi in 1967, he was flying an A4 Skyhawk. That jet cost $860,000.
Inflation has risen by 700% since then. So Mr. McCain's A4 cost $6.1 million in 2008 dollars. Applying a generous factor of three for technological improvements, the price for a 2008 Navy F18 fighter should be about $18 million. Instead, we are paying about $90 million for each new fighter. As a result, the Navy cannot buy sufficient numbers. This is disarmament without a treaty.
The situation is worse in the Air Force. In 1983, I was in the Pentagon meeting that launched the F-22 Raptor. The plan was to buy 648 jets beginning in 1996 for $60 million each (in 1983 dollars). Now they cost $350 million apiece and the Obama budget caps the program at 187 jets. At least they are safe from cyberattack since no one in China knows how to program the '83 vintage IBM software that runs them.
There are other problems. Navy shipbuilding fiascoes like the staggering overruns on new surface combatants, the near total failure of the Army's Future Combat System that was meant to re-equip the entire army, the 400% cost overrun of the new Air Force weather satellite -- to name but a few -- all prove that we are currently unable to design, develop and deliver major weapons systems in anything approaching a cost-effective and timely manner. The Government Accountability Office recently reported that the cost overruns for the top 75% procurement programs were over $295 billion. We are rapidly disarming ourselves, even as defense spending grows.
On May 22, President Obama signed the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act. Despite the grandiloquent name, it is in fact just an addition of 20,000 more bureaucrats who will only make matters worse.
Why is this happening? Wher"
"When John McCain was shot down over Hanoi in 1967, he was flying an A4 Skyhawk. That jet cost $860,000.
Inflation has risen by 700% since then. So Mr. McCain's A4 cost $6.1 million in 2008 dollars. Applying a generous factor of three for technological improvements, the price for a 2008 Navy F18 fighter should be about $18 million. Instead, we are paying about $90 million for each new fighter. As a result, the Navy cannot buy sufficient numbers. This is disarmament without a treaty.
The situation is worse in the Air Force. In 1983, I was in the Pentagon meeting that launched the F-22 Raptor. The plan was to buy 648 jets beginning in 1996 for $60 million each (in 1983 dollars). Now they cost $350 million apiece and the Obama budget caps the program at 187 jets. At least they are safe from cyberattack since no one in China knows how to program the '83 vintage IBM software that runs them.
There are other problems. Navy shipbuilding fiascoes like the staggering overruns on new surface combatants, the near total failure of the Army's Future Combat System that was meant to re-equip the entire army, the 400% cost overrun of the new Air Force weather satellite -- to name but a few -- all prove that we are currently unable to design, develop and deliver major weapons systems in anything approaching a cost-effective and timely manner. The Government Accountability Office recently reported that the cost overruns for the top 75% procurement programs were over $295 billion. We are rapidly disarming ourselves, even as defense spending grows.
On May 22, President Obama signed the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act. Despite the grandiloquent name, it is in fact just an addition of 20,000 more bureaucrats who will only make matters worse.
Why is this happening? Wher"
Second City Ruse
Second City Ruse
"When President Obama chose Arne Duncan to lead the Education Department, he cited Mr. Duncan's success as head of Chicago's public school system from 2001 to 2008. But a new education study suggests that those academic gains aren't what they seemed. The study also helps explain why big-city education reform is unlikely to occur without school choice.
Mr. Obama noted in December that 'in just seven years, Arne's boosted elementary test scores here in Chicago from 38% of students meeting the standard to 67%' and that 'the dropout rate has gone down every year he's been in charge.' But according to 'Still Left Behind,' a report by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a majority of Chicago public school students still drop out or fail to graduate with their class. Moreover, 'recent dramatic gains in the reported number of CPS elementary students who meet standards on state assessments appear to be due to changes in the tests . . . rather than real improvements in student learning.'"
"When President Obama chose Arne Duncan to lead the Education Department, he cited Mr. Duncan's success as head of Chicago's public school system from 2001 to 2008. But a new education study suggests that those academic gains aren't what they seemed. The study also helps explain why big-city education reform is unlikely to occur without school choice.
Mr. Obama noted in December that 'in just seven years, Arne's boosted elementary test scores here in Chicago from 38% of students meeting the standard to 67%' and that 'the dropout rate has gone down every year he's been in charge.' But according to 'Still Left Behind,' a report by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a majority of Chicago public school students still drop out or fail to graduate with their class. Moreover, 'recent dramatic gains in the reported number of CPS elementary students who meet standards on state assessments appear to be due to changes in the tests . . . rather than real improvements in student learning.'"
Urban Meyer to Notre Dame rumors are magically delicious
Urban Meyer to Notre Dame rumors are magically delicious
"'I was contacted by one, but I'm not interested. I love it here. We have a lot of work to do. That's the bottom line.' — Bowling Green coach Urban Meyer, 2002. Six days later, he was coach at Utah.
'All I keep saying is I plan on being the coach here at Utah.' — Utah coach Urban Meyer, 2004. Five days later, he was coach at the University of Florida.
'I'm not going to Notre Dame. Ever.' — UF Coach Urban Meyer, 2009.
So UF Coach Urban Meyer says he is never coaching at Notre Dame. Ever. No way. Nu-uh. Never. Ever. Not in your dreams. Not in a billion years. Nope. Not me.
We've heard that one, oh, seemingly a million times."
"'I was contacted by one, but I'm not interested. I love it here. We have a lot of work to do. That's the bottom line.' — Bowling Green coach Urban Meyer, 2002. Six days later, he was coach at Utah.
'All I keep saying is I plan on being the coach here at Utah.' — Utah coach Urban Meyer, 2004. Five days later, he was coach at the University of Florida.
'I'm not going to Notre Dame. Ever.' — UF Coach Urban Meyer, 2009.
So UF Coach Urban Meyer says he is never coaching at Notre Dame. Ever. No way. Nu-uh. Never. Ever. Not in your dreams. Not in a billion years. Nope. Not me.
We've heard that one, oh, seemingly a million times."
Will Small Be Beautiful for GM?
Will Small Be Beautiful for GM?
"This time, the Orion plant is a symbol of government regulation run amok as Washington keeps GM on life support so that it will produce the cars Washington wants to build.
On June 1, GM Vice President for Global Manufacturing Gary Cowger announced as part of the company's bankruptcy filing that it would close the Orion facility in its drive to become a 'leaner, stronger and more flexible' company. Though still a relatively modern facility making midsize Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans, Orion's once 5,000-strong labor force had shriveled to 1,200 as the recession ravaged sales and the company planned to eliminate its Pontiac brand and consolidate Malibu production at a Kansas City facility.
But a few weeks later, the company reversed course. GM now says it will retool Orion to make compact, gas-sipping cars. The change of heart says a lot about how GM's new owners -- the federal government owns 60% of the company and the United Auto Workers (UAW) owns 17% -- are making considerations other than profitability a top priority for the auto maker.
The Obama administration is increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandates to 35.5 mpg for all vehicles in a company's fleet by 2016, up from 27.5 mpg for cars and 23 mpg for light trucks now. Not a single GM vehicle meets the new CAFE standard, so the company is scrambling to make new high-mileage cars.
It was planning to build a new compact car in China (it already works with Daewoo to make the tiny Chevy Aveo in South Korea). Most auto makers have similar arrangements -- profit margins are so low for compacts made in America that not a single auto company makes a compact inside the U.S. Not the Japanese. Not the Koreans. And not even Ford, which plans to make its new Fiesta in Mexico."
"This time, the Orion plant is a symbol of government regulation run amok as Washington keeps GM on life support so that it will produce the cars Washington wants to build.
On June 1, GM Vice President for Global Manufacturing Gary Cowger announced as part of the company's bankruptcy filing that it would close the Orion facility in its drive to become a 'leaner, stronger and more flexible' company. Though still a relatively modern facility making midsize Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans, Orion's once 5,000-strong labor force had shriveled to 1,200 as the recession ravaged sales and the company planned to eliminate its Pontiac brand and consolidate Malibu production at a Kansas City facility.
But a few weeks later, the company reversed course. GM now says it will retool Orion to make compact, gas-sipping cars. The change of heart says a lot about how GM's new owners -- the federal government owns 60% of the company and the United Auto Workers (UAW) owns 17% -- are making considerations other than profitability a top priority for the auto maker.
The Obama administration is increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandates to 35.5 mpg for all vehicles in a company's fleet by 2016, up from 27.5 mpg for cars and 23 mpg for light trucks now. Not a single GM vehicle meets the new CAFE standard, so the company is scrambling to make new high-mileage cars.
It was planning to build a new compact car in China (it already works with Daewoo to make the tiny Chevy Aveo in South Korea). Most auto makers have similar arrangements -- profit margins are so low for compacts made in America that not a single auto company makes a compact inside the U.S. Not the Japanese. Not the Koreans. And not even Ford, which plans to make its new Fiesta in Mexico."
Unions Seem Determined to Kill Michigan Film Industry
Unions Seem Determined to Kill Michigan Film Industry
"A lot can be said about unions supporting wage earners and creating a middle class. However, a lot can also be said about unions ruining this country. Case in point: Michigan.
You would think that after the UAW destroyed the auto industry and the tax base in Michigan, the people of the state and the unions based there would have learned.
However, this is not the case.
In the latest union disaster for the state of Michigan, the IATSE has decided that the blooming film industry in the state must be stopped before it even gets started."
"A lot can be said about unions supporting wage earners and creating a middle class. However, a lot can also be said about unions ruining this country. Case in point: Michigan.
You would think that after the UAW destroyed the auto industry and the tax base in Michigan, the people of the state and the unions based there would have learned.
However, this is not the case.
In the latest union disaster for the state of Michigan, the IATSE has decided that the blooming film industry in the state must be stopped before it even gets started."
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