Home And Abroad

Well, GM is back in our pockets, wanting more money. Bill Hemmer interviewed Rep. Thadeus McCotter about the Stimulus Package, as well as what GM is going to do differently. One point he made was this: GM offered 10,000 - that is TEN THOUSAND - options on cars to the car buyer. Toyota Camry and Honda Civic, the two most popular cars in the country, offered 15. FIFTEEN. GM is going to cut down the options to 1,000 - that's ONE THOUSAND. I am sure you can figure out that the more options made available, the greater the cost for the vehicle. Here's the video:



No freakin' WONDER they are doing so poorly. When this Representative says they have done everything they need to do, well, that clearly not. If they HAD, they would not be in this shape. It is insane for them to offer so many options. That is just poor, poor management on the part of GM. And WE are paying for their poor management. Even now, they are locked into discussions with the UAW again. Once again, they want OUR money to pay for their employees.

Here's the thing. My retirement fund is CRAP now with the stock market the way it is. My partner's retirement fund is CRAP now because of the stock market. We are having to COMPLETELY rework our retirement plans as a result, including when my partner can retire, as a result. That is the real world consequence. Yet, the auto companies want to pass those real world consequences onto US. They want to make US pay for them, so their employees DON'T have to face the consequences of making products people don't want to buy, and offering an obscene number of "options" that increase the costs of making the cars. It is absurd!! But here they are, back at the trough, wanting more and more of OUR money. Of course, we all knew this was going to happen, despite assurances to the contrary. Big surprise - not.

As for going abroad, yesterday I saw Secretary of State Clinton arriving at the Imperial Palace in Japan to engage in a tea ceremony with Empress Michiko. When they met, you could see how much affection these two women have for each other:





And you can see part of the ceremony here, as well as a brief report of her visit to Japan.

Clinton is now in Indonesia:

The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said here Wednesday on the second leg of her Asian trip that the United States and Indonesia would form a comprehensive partnership.

She said at a joint press conference after meeting with the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda that the United States had recognized the importance of Indonesia, which shares not only common interests but also common values with it.

Specifically, she was referring to democratic values.

It gives me some hope to have Hillary Clinton speaking for us around the world. It should be HER policies she is espousing and not Obama's, but still - her presence, her abilities, her knowledge all make her uniquely qualified to engage with other nations. She makes me proud.