Monday's Rantings and Ravings

It's time then, my son, to sail full on into the wind. Raise the Black Flag and let them know who they're dealing with.

. . . . . Today's musical selection? 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, a song by Richard Thompson done by Reckless Kelly on their Reckless Kelly Was Here CD. In honor of today's guest contributor, Mr. Jim Howell, whose essay on "change" and the mandate delivered by the people is below, at the bottom of the post, where all essays go.

. . . . ."I never knew Detroit was a dirty word" - Detroit Free Press headline on Sunday, November 16th
. . . . . Those who know me, know that I worked for Ford Motor for 20 years. The line-in-the-sand for bailouts appears to run through Detroit and corporate headquarters of Ford, General Motors & Chrysler. The conservative reaction, across the board, to the bailout of the Big 3 - Let 'em die - So, tell me then, why does Bear,Stearns or AIG deserve the bailout money but the automotive companies don't. I will also tell you that I worked both UAW and management, and would bite my tongue when my co-workers would rave about Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and the Republican party, well, just a sampler below, but click the links and read what that same bunch has to say:
To Save Detroit, Let It Go Bankrupt
Detroit: Same Old, Same Old
Bankruptcy Is The Best Option for GM
Detroit Automakers A Relic of the Past
Detroit Bailout To Nowhere
No Free Lunch For Detroit
Blame the UAW For Detroit's Problems
Listening to the Sunday talk shows on Sunday, I heard it all. One intellectual professed that Toyota was successful "because they didn't make trucks" (ever hear of a Tundra dumbass?); one brain donor insisted the the Chevy Volt was made by Ford. My point? It's not just that they don't give a damn about you, they want to see you gone, the companies gone and the State of Michigan shut down.

. . . . .Do the car companies and the UAW share their share of the blame? Yup, I was working there, so I saw a lot of it. But, remember a couple of things. We made what you all wanted to buy and we could make profitably. That happened to be trucks and SUV's that you all wanted for a long time, previous to that, it was Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles, Barracudas, Roadrunners, 57 Chevys, Woodys and the list goes on. An auto company isn't a utility, it's a for profit corporation. Any corporation, by 1963 Supreme Court ruling, exists to make profit for it's stockholders. Another point to remember is very simple; the automotive industry is basically the backbone and spine of the "hard" American economy, put those 3 out of business and the total ripple effect through the steel, plastic, rubber, electronic and other supplier industries will put 3 to 5 million people out of work. The total cost for their state unemployment benefits alone will be 10 times what any bailout money would be, and it will most definitely not be a recession, it will become a long, hard Depression.
. . . . The last point to remember is simple. Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile, but in inventing high-speed standardized assembly line manufacturing, and controlling his entire industry from front to back and paying a decent wage (the first person to employ African-Americans at the same rate as whites) and, finally, putting out an afforable product, the Model's A & T; he basically "invented" the middle class in this country and provided the base for the steel, rubber, chemical (plastics) and later on, electronics industry. When America and the world needed it, Detroit turned around overnight and started making tanks and planes for WWII, and employed women in manufacturing jobs to do so. The Detroit automotive industry, in many ways, made this nation what it was and is. It's time yes, for flexibility out of the UAW, inventive and creative solutions out of Detroit engineering, but it's not time for this nation to turn it's back on Detroit.

. . . . . "She's going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She's not going to be the de facto leader." Newt Gingrich (architect and leader of the conservative "Class of 94") yesterday on CBS's Face the Nation yesterday with the next-to-last word on Sarah Palin.

. . . . . And just because she's a good ol' girl just like all of y'all, from Wasilla, Alaska who likes to shop in consignment shops, how about the detailed bill (thank you FOIA) for Sarah Palin's (ya know, conservative, down-to-earth "hockey mom") VP campaign wardrobe, courtesy of public campaign financing and donors, all $150,000 worth, and Todd's $40,000 bill. (Hint: start with a couple of Ralph Lauren jackets worth over $4,000 apiece, the skirt she wore at the RNC worth over $4K, and one suitcase that cost 6 grand. I betcha all got closets full of stuff jist like it!)

. . . . . I've rambled on some at length about how out-of-touch the Repub Neoconservative Theocracy is with the rest of the country, Frank Schaeffer, a conservative Republican talks about how out of touch his own party is with the rest of America and why he, and so many others of his party, switched their vote:

"The Republican Party is only a step away from becoming the fringe of the fringe, identified more with cross-burning weirdoes wearing hoods, folks like the Alaska secessionist party, all those gun owners stocking up on assault weapons before the "Socialist/United Nations/Obama/Muslim" conspiracy comes to fruition, than with anything remotely like a serious national political force.

The Republican Party--and I speak as a former lifelong Republican who, up through the 2000 primary campaign supported John McCain and even worked for him by arguing his case on various conservative and religious radio stations--is now the toy of the Rush Limbaugh windbags. These folks include outright crazies (such as Sarah Palin's Assemblies of God pals who are waiting for Spaceship Jesus to rescue them and/or rooting out "witches" from their midst), white racists and a few not-very-bright attention seekers, including Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity etc."

. . . . . I put some numbers behind it in yesterday's post, but here is Cenk Uygur with more numerical proof that America is not a "center-right" nation -

"By the way, one more thing -- this has never been a center-right country. Of course, there are pendulum swings in the political spectrum and the country is more conservative at times and more progressive at other times. But overall, we built the United Nations, we started the idea of human rights, we expanded voting rights and civil rights for everybody, we spread the idea of individual rights throughout the world, and we even rebuilt our enemies after World War II. It is no exaggeration to say that America is one of the most progressive countries in the history of the world"

. . . . . Today's contributor on the subject of "change" and how he sees the mandate for change reflected both personally and on a national body-politic basis, our good friend Mr. Jim Howell, creaky ex-logger (from Idaho in past life) currently residing in the Great Lakes state:

"Change is one of the constants in our universe. Its kind of like gravity in that we're stuck with it whether we are enjoying its current manifestation or no! It seems to me that America came out of the depths of the 1930's and 40's with a well deserved attitude of 'we can do anything we put our minds to'. We were fairly successful in changing the direction of an industrial war machine to point its nose towards consumer goods. That change seemed like a good thing as folks got refrigerators and washing machines and telephones and TVʼs and...
I think that this lead up to a subtle change in national attitude more of a 'we can have
anything we put our minds to'. This change was, I think hardly noticeable in the beginning, say the early 50's, but we baby boomers certainly embraced it and our parents acknowledged it and us and it came into the national psyche -- ever growing, ever changing. We came to define personal success to be our ability to collect more and bigger stuff without really paying any attention to how it was being made or where the resources were coming from. The 60's came and brought some more change. A few folks came to realization that unrestrained consumerism might not be such a good thing in the long run and fighting wars for no real reason might not be such a good thing in the short (or any) run. And then the sixties went-- boy did they go! Some time passes and more change happens. A peanut farmer gets elected
to be leader of the land and he finds out that the status quo of the land might not be ready for 'honesty is the best policy'. Some other folks get together and decide that maybe we're better off with an actor in the big house. Around that time a writer/director puts another actor on the silver screen and the actor utters (more like shouts) the words, "Greed is good!" What might have been intended as a bit of a farcical parody becomes a mantra and boy, oh boy, we're a changing again. We, and I'm using the larger 'we' here, the societal we, bought into this hook, chopped up line and marching powder sinker. Oh yeah, disco was in there some place, too. Hmm, is there a theme starting to pop up here? Well, things are still changing, still moving and still seemingly inching towards me instead of we.
Fast-forward another twenty or thirty years and who are we thinking of? It appears to still be: 'ME'. Kids get shot for the sneakers on their feet. We're spending more per capita on our students of anyplace on the planet, yet we rank 18th of 24 nations in a study by UNICEF. We're involved in a long, unpopular and most likely unnecessary war, the world's economy is headed to a much warmer place while sliding quickly along in the proverbial handbasket and... wait, the pollsters are saying that 'we' do not like the direction the country is headed in! And to paraphrase a tree in what's left of the Amazon rainforest, "Its about goddamn time!" At this point in my brief history of change, WE come to a point where WE can make a positive difference. WE can effect change for a more rational use of natural resources. WE can insist that policy decisions are made for the good of the many rather than the few. WE can
do this with love in our hearts, but...WE MUST DO IT! Itʼs past time to talk. Itʼs past time to think that someone else can deal with it while I watch the game. Itʼs past time to worry about right and left -- it is time to worry about right and wrong. It is time to touch base with our inner spirit, pay close attention and then do the right things, even if they may be a little inconvenient in the short term. Change is always happening and now is a time when WE can, when WE must direct that change with all our hearts. All aboard!"

. . . .Thanks for that Jim. Keep those cards and letters coming folks. It's been absorbing and fascinating to see and read what you all have put together. Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do.

The Desolation Angel