An open letter to Charles Barkley:
Charles, what's the number? You have repeatedly said that 4 out of 118 black coaches is wrong. I agree, but what's the number? How many black coaches should there be? You say that White America has to reach out of the box and hire somebody that doesn't look like them. Racism isn't just a white people problem, Chuck. Unless you want to always be able to play the race card. It's disingenuous to go on tv and radio and suggest that white people only hire people that look like them. That seems to be a human being problem, not just a white people problem.
I applaud your effort to address racism in America. I rebuff your effort to make this about white people.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Is the fate of automotive industry THAT important?
"...Greatest deliberative body" as in "Greatest Show on Earth?"
It doesn't seem the Congress persons on the Senate Banking and House Finance Committees think so. It was embarrassingly comedic when it was Major League Baseball (see previous post) but since it continues, it is appalling. Government by the people means we are governed mostly by idiots. Then again, maybe we mostly ARE idiots. I guess these people get elected somehow. Serious people should be outraged at this type of behavior. As in oh, I don't know, it's important to correctly pronounce the name because it shows you're engaged, that you take this matter seriously. That you are not above something as inconsequential as pronunciation. That an issue this important requires you to actually work. Work at proper pronunciation. Work at understanding the basic economic principles involved. Work at understanding the Constitution. Work at leaving your personal biases at home and concentrating on governing. Yipes, that's a lot of work.
And to make it worse, the two Senators arguably responsible for the mortgage/credit meltdown are now going to handle this? I'm surprised they aren't telling us that the automotive industry is "fundamentally sound." As if your personal desires and opinions on automotive design should have any bearing on this decision? Is that what the people of Massachusetts think when pulling the voting lever for Mr. Frank? "I'm not sure if this guy is capable of the duties of Congressman or takes the job seriously, but man does he have great taste in cars!"
Maybe we mean "greatest" as in largest?
Autos in Wonderland [Henry Payne]
Two days of auto hearings before the Senate Banking and House Finance Committees makes a powerful commercial for limited government. Some choice moments of foot-in-mouth, tongue-in-cheek, and stupefying arrogance from America’s greatest deliberative body. . .
- Rep. Maxine Waters, (D., Calif.), didn’t even bother to do her homework on how to pronounce the name of Chrysler’s parent company, Cerberus (a Wall Street investment firm). Waters repeatedly pronounced it "Cerebus."
- "It’s just not something I’d ever want to drive," blurted out House Finance Committee Chair Barney Frank, when Rep. Shelley Moore Capito revealed that her father once owned a Chrysler wagon he nicknamed the "Chick Magnet."
- "It doesn't matter how much they say they need. What matters is: Are they going to help Florida and America by building cleaner and, thus, more fuel-efficient cars?" said green zealot Sen. Bill Nelson, (D., Fla.) who insisted that, in return for government loans, the Detroit Three stop fighting efforts by his state and 12 others (led by California) to impose their own auto emissions standards. Such a patchwork of standards are inherently unworkable and opposed by nearly EVERY manufacturer, not just the domestics, because it would necessitate selling cars under potentially 13 different state emissions standards.
- Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut called for the resignation of General Motors’ CEO Rick Wagoner saying he should “move on." Meanwhile, Dodd — the largest recipient of Freddie Mac money in the Congress, beneficiary of plum deals from subprime mortgage villain Countrywide, and a key player in watering down mortgage standards that led to the current credit crisis without which the Detroit Three wouldn’t be in the pickle they are — clings to his post as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
- "But what I think we have to put an end to is the head-in-the-sand approach to the auto industry that has been prevalent for decades now," said President-Elect Barack Obama who last year opposed a new, transformational union contract negotiated by the Detroit Three estimated to save $3.8 billion annually for GM, $2.4 billion for Ford and $2.0 billion for Chrysler.
- Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.): You drove up here. Did you drive or did you have a driver? Did you drive a little and ride a little? And secondly, I guess, are you going to drive back?
Chrysler CEO Nardelli: Yes, sir. And I did have a colleague drive, and we rotated.
Shelby: What about you?
Ford CEO Mulally: We carpooled. I drove, and I'm driving back.
Shelby: You didn't carpool with him (Nardelli), did you?
Mulally: No. Carpooled with our Ford team.
Shelby: O.K. What about you?
GM CEO Wagoner: I drove with a colleague. We split it up about 50/50. We drove down yesterday and I'm going to drive back myself Friday or Saturday.
It doesn't seem the Congress persons on the Senate Banking and House Finance Committees think so. It was embarrassingly comedic when it was Major League Baseball (see previous post) but since it continues, it is appalling. Government by the people means we are governed mostly by idiots. Then again, maybe we mostly ARE idiots. I guess these people get elected somehow. Serious people should be outraged at this type of behavior. As in oh, I don't know, it's important to correctly pronounce the name because it shows you're engaged, that you take this matter seriously. That you are not above something as inconsequential as pronunciation. That an issue this important requires you to actually work. Work at proper pronunciation. Work at understanding the basic economic principles involved. Work at understanding the Constitution. Work at leaving your personal biases at home and concentrating on governing. Yipes, that's a lot of work.
And to make it worse, the two Senators arguably responsible for the mortgage/credit meltdown are now going to handle this? I'm surprised they aren't telling us that the automotive industry is "fundamentally sound." As if your personal desires and opinions on automotive design should have any bearing on this decision? Is that what the people of Massachusetts think when pulling the voting lever for Mr. Frank? "I'm not sure if this guy is capable of the duties of Congressman or takes the job seriously, but man does he have great taste in cars!"
Maybe we mean "greatest" as in largest?
Autos in Wonderland [Henry Payne]
Two days of auto hearings before the Senate Banking and House Finance Committees makes a powerful commercial for limited government. Some choice moments of foot-in-mouth, tongue-in-cheek, and stupefying arrogance from America’s greatest deliberative body. . .
- Rep. Maxine Waters, (D., Calif.), didn’t even bother to do her homework on how to pronounce the name of Chrysler’s parent company, Cerberus (a Wall Street investment firm). Waters repeatedly pronounced it "Cerebus."
- "It’s just not something I’d ever want to drive," blurted out House Finance Committee Chair Barney Frank, when Rep. Shelley Moore Capito revealed that her father once owned a Chrysler wagon he nicknamed the "Chick Magnet."
- "It doesn't matter how much they say they need. What matters is: Are they going to help Florida and America by building cleaner and, thus, more fuel-efficient cars?" said green zealot Sen. Bill Nelson, (D., Fla.) who insisted that, in return for government loans, the Detroit Three stop fighting efforts by his state and 12 others (led by California) to impose their own auto emissions standards. Such a patchwork of standards are inherently unworkable and opposed by nearly EVERY manufacturer, not just the domestics, because it would necessitate selling cars under potentially 13 different state emissions standards.
- Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut called for the resignation of General Motors’ CEO Rick Wagoner saying he should “move on." Meanwhile, Dodd — the largest recipient of Freddie Mac money in the Congress, beneficiary of plum deals from subprime mortgage villain Countrywide, and a key player in watering down mortgage standards that led to the current credit crisis without which the Detroit Three wouldn’t be in the pickle they are — clings to his post as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
- "But what I think we have to put an end to is the head-in-the-sand approach to the auto industry that has been prevalent for decades now," said President-Elect Barack Obama who last year opposed a new, transformational union contract negotiated by the Detroit Three estimated to save $3.8 billion annually for GM, $2.4 billion for Ford and $2.0 billion for Chrysler.
- Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.): You drove up here. Did you drive or did you have a driver? Did you drive a little and ride a little? And secondly, I guess, are you going to drive back?
Chrysler CEO Nardelli: Yes, sir. And I did have a colleague drive, and we rotated.
Shelby: What about you?
Ford CEO Mulally: We carpooled. I drove, and I'm driving back.
Shelby: You didn't carpool with him (Nardelli), did you?
Mulally: No. Carpooled with our Ford team.
Shelby: O.K. What about you?
GM CEO Wagoner: I drove with a colleague. We split it up about 50/50. We drove down yesterday and I'm going to drive back myself Friday or Saturday.
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