longtooth

Griff': Through back-channels out of the UAW Locals that I'm affiliated with, I'm hearing this very idea. Collateral of sorts. Stay tuned. But again I've seen many rumors/hypothesis crash and burn. The UAW's single 'demand' if you will: Maroon Rep. John Boehner ® Ohio on a desert island.

As if this all is not going on some Celestial American Express Card. GM. Ford and Chrysler are National assets as it pertains to a solid manufacturing base. The petty dialogue of perceived past misdeeds is simply petty and petulant. I believe they should be admonished, absolved and then helped. The argument is being made that our grand-children's children will be paying for all of this. I think that in 3 or 4 generations hence they'll have licked the time travel thing, coming as it will be as a part of PlayStation 24, and if they haven't been back here already to kick our asses then they must have come up with a solution to reconcile this.

There is simply no way that this would be allowed. Those that know nothing all 'voicing' their opinions and bloviating all over the 'Net. Those that do know are saying nothing and leak tidbits through surrogates.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Chairman Wagoner, given the implacable GOP component of the current U.S. Congress, Rick had best have a contingency to remain appearing as solvent as possible through at least the end of March '09. I don't see any 'give' in terms of GM getting their bridge-loan/rescue package/bail-out during any lame-duck session.

Reuters Auto bankruptcy protection won't work: report Friday November 14, 5:12 am ET Excerpt from the article:" "It doesn't add up that they (the Bush Administration) are letting GE and American Express to become banks to get aid, but they won't save the car industry," Ross told the agency." http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/081114/business_us...ss_gm.html?.v=3 You don't say.

Okay, a work in progress. And nothing emerges unscathed. Even Santa is laying-off elves permanently. Word is Keebler, under a reciprocal agreement with Polar Union Local #1, picks 'em up. There was no word from the 'Hollow Tree' at this time.

Attributed to bargain hunters. Lowly GM, costing less than a Double Whopper w/cheese, trails behind the rally.

I'm subscribing to a limited moratorium on GM-related articles for the rest of the day. (so I say now) It feels like my brain is peeling and it can't discern new-age from nuance. There's definitely no shortage of opinion being bandied about now is there? I'm calling it a late lunch even as President Bush in his overly deliberate, precise and mind-numbing cadence blathers on in ineffectiveness. Hang in there folks.

Yes. Consider how many there are among us that seem rudderless and living in broken homes. Or not knowing Mother or Father perhaps, estranged from one or both, brothers and sisters. Good grief. An identity crisis.

S&P Breaches Low, Triggering Selling Wave Jeff Cox | 13 Nov 2008 | 01:08 PM ET http://www.cnbc.com/id/27697872/site/14081...C&par=yahoo Hmm. My own age-contemporaries are mostly in charge now. I hope that they're up to the task. It's all starting to resemble "The Lord of the Flies" by William Golding. There ought to be klaxons sounding in some distant station somewhere.

Camino: The real truth is in the living of it. Great memories can be retrieved at will. I rerun the good times spent with my wife of 26 years as often as I dare. She was in my life for many gatherings and through thick and thin as it were. Family forms the foundation of our lives. From lessons learned in our past, with familial support, we can chart the course of our future.

Cletus: We've seen those conditions you have described. Another eye-opening fact is the use of undocumented illegal alien workers. Dad's never hired anyone but responsible legal citizens on his crews. The effect of the undocumented laborers presence in our region has been to undercut the prevailing wages in the areas where 'Illegals' are prevalent. Unions out of Philly and North Jersey have been vigilant in pushing them back mostly into the rural areas of Western PA. Enough about that though. Through the years it's been word-of-mouth via satisfied customers that has kept the masons busy. One brother-in-law is one of the largest HVAC contractors in Bucks County, PA. Another brother-in-law is a certified electrician. They all refer/recommend each other all of the time. Even they have seen a pronounced slowdown in business. The work ethic is under assault even as it evolves. I've personally met youngsters that eagerly took to the heavy, dirty and dangerous aspects of brick-laying. Seeing them show up regularly, work diligently does my soul good. I've seen my Father stretch his personal resources in order to keep the majority of his workers fully-employed. Of the regular workers, all own Chevy, GMC, Ford or Dodge pick-up trucks. None of the guys (and one woman) think much of the Toyota full-sized p/u especially after having seen the 'bed-flex' video on YouTube. Good. Standing at a job-site last Winter it was gratifying to see one crew building granite 'bump-outs' on an immense and new single home, near twilight and 2 days before Christmas. It appeared as a scene from a Norman Rockwell-styled piece of Americana. There was a light spirit in the air as work proceeded to accelerate just prior to quitting time. The thought of a week off cheered many. Hammers and chisels sang, biting deep into granite as the cherry smoke rose from the recently finished chimney into he deepening indigo of the winter sky. You don't get this sitting indoors selling imported Flat Screens nor from plotting arbitrage in a windowless cube in a nondescript and airless office. Americans, I think, hunger for real work. Substance. Or at least I would hope.

It's far too early to breathe a sigh of relief, yet I believe many are beginning to feel as the mouse, after seeing the shadow of the hawk having passed over it and moving on. There'll be pain aplenty within GM in reconciling any 'assist' from the Government.

Here 'BIZ, I scrounged this from my favorite enlightened souls from CNBC... 16 minutes ago Big Three Bailout: What It Will "Cost" The Automakers Posted By:Phil LeBeau An old friend of mine always used to say, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." That's true. And now the Big 3 are about to find out the price they'll pay for a government bailout. Yes, whether you like it or not (and I have heard from many of you that you don't like the idea of a bailout) Washington will lend the Detroit the money they need to survive this crisis... http://www.cnbc.com//id/27697969?__source=...C&par=yahoo

Again, 'BIZ, It'd behoove Canada to embrace GM to it's bosom and supply the wherewithal to get GM righted. What wouldn't that do to the pedantic media here? Likely make them even more liberal in splashing misinformation and vitriol around. Oh, if only. We, your Southern neighbors, generally venerate someone or something, then take gleeful sport in slashing them/it to ribbons. I'm just focusing too heavily on the negative of late I suppose, but I'd be happy to see the naysayers in the media eat their words. I still feel that after putting GM through the crucible of public opinion and scrutiny that an equitable 'fix' will be found. The last thing needed here is: Another 2 or 3 million souls suddenly (or agonizingly slowly) having to scrounge for work in an already ridiculously tight labor market.

You can be made an honorary Brother, 'BIZ. Glad to have you aboard. Like the 6th Beatle you'll be. The hours (mostly) are long, and we never sneak breaks when Dad isn't looking. I'm the de-facto 'enforcer' of the clan. Send your resume' to...

The public doesn't seem to notice except in the case where their own ox is being gored. I know several people, that are not relatives, that have seen their job disappear very recently. I'm laid-off from Wilmington assembly. I did work one week. two weeks ago attending a 'workshop' in the plant that dealt with panel fit for the Solstice hard-top. About 16 hours out of 48 with 'hands-on', the rest was theory and classroom-styled focus groups pertaining to panel-stamping variations. Conference calls with vendors and so forth rounded out the week. I have 4 brothers, all younger'n me, all still employed. One brother, the precision grinder, is tooling pieces for windmills being used up and down the East Coast. Very busy even now. He wants a Solstice H/T in red. I guess to reciprocate, I'll have to buy a windmill. I'm planning to work for his outfit when I retire shortly. Another brother is a foreman for 2 crews of masons. They're taking on anything that they can to keep his employer's crews busy. Pickings are getting slim, and going into the Winter, he states, likely one crew will be laid-off from hand-picking the lowest fellows on the totem pole from out of the two crews. Brother #3 is fabricating motorized bracketry for solar-panels destined for the American Southwest. He's a welder. He states business is booked through next Summer and he's been working every other Saturday plus O.T. during the week. He seems confident. He just bought a new Silverado Z71 in September and we used that Monday and Tuesday in surf-fishing in Ship Bottom, NJ. Very nice truck. Uses it for work 'n play. We logged 22 mpg going point-to-point from home to the shore, 72 miles one way (his home) with one stop to get coffee and donuts at a Wawa on the NJ route 70/72 circle leading to Manahawkin, NJ. He's bullish on the future. Good for him. My youngest bro', runs his own custom-tile and flooring business. He states that consumers are pulling way back. He got into this sideline, originally trained as a mason/bricklayer by our Father. Dad, as I'd mentioned once previously worked 35 years at/for U.S. Steel. An accomplished man is my Dad. In my opinion, a genius for planning and execution. He is the owner of the Masonry outfit that my brother more or less operates with oversight from him. Dad is still very active in the field. Kept the 5 of us in line until the concept of self-reliance became second-nature to us all, his Sons and charges. So there is the thumbnail outline of my family. We all worked with our hands for the better part of our lives. We were all recently together on the aforementioned fishing trip to NJ. We shot the breeze between catching Stripers, Bluefish, Croaker and even a couple of Ling. Most of the conversation revolved around how esoteric that the American economy has become. Comments like: "These f*ckers only know how to make money (or lose money) with money"-alluding to traders working on Wall Street Another comment: " It's all another motherf*cking Ponzi-scheme, like that c*cks*cking, motherf*cking, sh*t-sucking ENRON"-I'm paraphrasing, but things like this were actually discussed... Mostly we were in agreement as to America having lost it's way in terms of self-reliance. The idea of American labor having to compete with anonymous/faceless Chinese men and women seems the height of absurdity as unemployment climbs here. We all agree that gainful employment needs to be found for the great mass of the Middle-Class as not every one of us can become Doctors, Lawyers and CEOs. The notion that we as working Americans can affect the shape of the world by doing with our hands runs deep in our family. At the end of the day, and many years hence, we can point to a house, a chimney, a fireplace a windmill, an array of solar-panels, a beautifully constructed tile floor and say: "I made that". It gives Dad a reason to smile.

No doubt De Lorenzo's article cuts more to the heart of the matter. The consensus among those I consider 'enlightened' is generally the same. For those that would condemn the entire Industry and it's dependents downstream, I find their petty vulgarity on par with the 'proud ignorant' crowd.

AP Failure of auto industry could set off catastrophe Wednesday November 12, 6:30 pm ET By Tom Krisher and Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writers Advocates: Collapse of US auto industry could set off catastrophic chain reaction... http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081112/meltdown_autos.html?.v=2 No kidding.

Hollywood would definitely prod us further in thinking that. Consider that Will Smith has rarely been paired with an 'actress of color' in his recent films. He's as high-profile as they come in filmdom and beloved by many millions of movie-goers. I can't fathom his appeal since he's part of the Scientology cabal. That's the main turn-off as it concerns me.

That's nothing when compared to Huffington Post where people complain ad nauseum re: Posts sitting in moderator limbo indefinitely. For our little sorority here, it hardly merits notice. Yet I defer to FOGGIE's peeved state.

900 horse in a package that looks like it can still take a corner without the blower flipping it-the-f*ck over. It's on.

Dusting off my 'Guido-Gold' set and praying for the son-of-IROC. SLP is thanking Heaven, wonder what they're cooking-up.

Wonder if there's greater scrutiny now? I wouldn't assume anything despite all of the hair-on-fire hysteria in the media. Better that those properties have some sort of ownership or those neighborhoods gradually become as armed camps that police won't enter.

Classify as: Not saved by "Zero". Collectively, society was kiting everything it could. Wall Street would nearly asphyxiate itself if earnings didn't rise 3%-5% per quarter. The House of the Falling Cards. I hope that we have the grit, as did our elders, to put it back in working order.