In October 2008 a judge in the Bayou case, Adlai Hardin Jr., ruled that investors who cashed out their interests within two years of the scheme’s exposure had to hand back their principal as well as their profits—even though they were innocent victims of the swindle—if there was evidence that they got out because they suspected, or had been warned, there was something amiss. (The court also ordered profits made within the last six years to be surrendered.)

Mitchell Banas, a lawyer who represents an endowment for Christian Brothers High School in Memphis—which got its money out of the Bayou fraud before it collapsed but now must return both profits and principal—says the outcome is “extremely unfair.”

So, if I’m reading this right if you invest in the stock market and you lose, then you can expect everyone who cashed out to pay you off.  Following this logic any stock holders of Enron who got out before the collapse should be paying their entire investment (read savings) out to the losers who were holding stock on the day Enron collapsed.  This explains why our government is bailing out GM and Chrysler.  Some idiots seem to believe that the winners will bail out the losers.  This means that our free market system is going down the toilet.  Las Vegas will also be wiped off the map due to this sort of thinking.  I also believe it is a racist policy.  Think of all the Indian reservations that will go out of business if the house has to share it’s winnings with people that lose money.

Surely the envy of any desk-bound office worker, Tommy Lynch has travelled over 27,000 miles this year, for his job testing holiday resort waterslides.

Mr Lynch, 29, works for holiday giant First Choice, checking the height, speed, water quantity and landing of the flumes, as well as all safety aspects.

He said: ‘I do have the best job in the world. No-one believes me when I tell them what I do.

This guy flies all over the world and slides down waterslides for a living! I think the only guy that tops that is the guy who gets to body paint naked supermodels.

“I wanted to see what happened here and use that as a guidepost to see what the court finds appropriate,”

That’s right ladies and gentlemen.  This asshole is going to toy around with this girls life because he wants to set some kind of legal precedent.   He actually has the balls to say that he’s not doing his job, but he is instead doing legal research.

The other thing here is that a cellphone is now a criminal tool.

The defendant entered a plea of admit to one count of possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony, for the employing a cell phone to transmit nude photos of herself to others in September.

That’s right a cellphone is a criminal tool.  This is a great win for the PATRIOT ACT fan club.  There are over 500 million felons in the US.  No, I’m not being too rough on the injustice system here.  This is just idiocy that this prosecutor would consider all cellphones a criminal tool and then make this poor girl plead guilty to possessing a god damn cellphone.  Watch out Steve Jobs!  Ken Oswalt is going to be coming after you next for making criminal tools.  The next innovation from Apple will be the iJail.

What a waste of taxpayer money and of a few kilobytes of space in the Bar Association’s database.  This guy needs his law license revoked and his records need to be deleted from the system.

We’re reposting Mr. Oswalt’s contact information again in case you feel that he didn’t understand what you said the first time when you informed him that he’s an ass hat.

Licking County Prosecutor’s Office
20 S. Second St, Newark, Ohio 43055
General Telephone number: (740) 670-5255
Fax 740-670-5241

Mumbai Terror Victims

This raises the stakes in the War on Terror.  Not only do we have to worry about being killed by the terrorists, but we now have to be worried about being sodomized as well.  The main problem here is that police officials still say that you’re better off not resisting than trying to fight back if you’re kidnapped or taken hostage.  That strategy really worked well on 9/11 didn’t it?  It will be interesting to see when law enforcement types get their heads out of their asses and realize that there is a greater than 50% chance of getting killed by any perp when certain crimes are committed.  I’m just waiting for some papers at Ready.Gov to be published detailing how we should be ready for a back door terrorist invasion.

I noticed that the Pope is silent on this issue specifically, but he does liken gayness to Global Warming.  So if there is a connection here, then why don’t we save the planet by bombing the gay terrorists out of existance?  It’s something both liberals and conservatives can agree on.

Submitted by Pascal V

Twisted Sister is still around, 20 years after asking the question “What do you wanna do with your life?”

I only hope I’m still having this much fun when I’m their age.

-Grim

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Austrian Death Machine with one of the world’s best loved Christmas carols.

For those of you blessed enough to live under a rock, “Kwanzaa” is a made up holiday which is celebrated by certain, misguided, members of the Black community in this country.  The only reason this, so-called, holiday gets to see the light of day from the rest of the country can be summed up in three words. “White Man’s Guilt”.

First, the facts.

Kwanzaa is the creation of one Ron Karenga, born Ronald Everett.  Mr. Karenga (He has legally changed his name, so I’m not going to employ the “Cassius Clay” technique here.) invented the holiday in 1966 while a member of a Black Nationalist group called “Organization US“.

We are going to ignore, for the most part, the fact that this organization was at odds with other Black Nationalist groups such as the Black Panthers and that the organization was responsible for killing two Black Panthers over the issue of who would take over a teaching position.

We won’t even focus on the fact that Karenga and a couple of his followers were sentenced to prison.

“In 1971, Karenga, Louis Smith, and Luz Maria Tamayo were convicted of felony assault and imprisoned for allegedly assaulting and torturing two women members of US, Deborah Jones and Gail Davis. A May 14, 1971, article in the Los Angeles Times described the testimony of one of the women: “Deborah Jones, who once was given the Swahili title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Miss Davis’ mouth and placed against Miss Davis’ face and that one of her own big toes was tightened in a vise. Karenga, head of US, also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths, she said. They also were hit on the heads with toasters.”

We’re not going to talk about the fact that Karenga is a scumbag because the case against “Kwanzaa” can be made much more easily without those facts getting in the way.

Let’s start with a simple test.

Who celebrates the virtues “Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith”?

1. Marxists
2. People who celebrate “Kwanzaa”
3. All of the above

If you took option number 3, congratulations!  Karenga doesn’t deny that he “cribbed” these principles directly from Marxism.  “Collective Work”?  “Cooperative Economics”?  Meh.

Then, of course, there is the name itself.  “Kwanzaa” is derived from the Swahili phrase for “First Fruits” (or “First Harvest”) matunda ya kwanza. Now call me crazy, but isn’t December an odd time of year to have a holiday celebrating “First Fruits”?  And Swahili?  Now, I admit that I am no college professor of history, but I do know a couple of things.

1. African slaves that were sent to North America came primarily from West Africa.
2. Swahili was spoken primarily in East Africa.

This would be roughly equivalent to creating a Spanish holiday based on Muscovite culture and Russian traditions on the grounds that “It’s all European, isn’t it?”  Now I realize that all white people look alike, but c’mon, will ya?

So we have a Convicted Felon and erstwhile 1960’s radical who is making up a holiday based on Marxist beliefs and a culture that he isn’t even a part of.  That’s a Charlie Brown special waiting to happen, isn’t it?

Far be it from me to piss all over a cultural holiday that isn’t my own.  I don’t write rants saying that Ramadan isn’t a real holiday because I’m not a Muslim.  I don’t claim that Hanukkah isn’t worth celebrating or acknowledging because I happen not to be Jewish.  Hell, my claim to Christianity is so thin that I could pick my teeth with it, but that doesn’t stop me from celebrating Christmas every year.

So why hate on “Kwanzaa”?

Because it is a lie, based on lies, and perpetuated by liars.  Because every time some idiot with an attitude tries to “correct” me by saying “Happy Kwanzaa” every time I wish them a Merry Christmas, I want to scoop out their entrails with a rusty spork.  The only thing worse than not knowing your history is to make it up and expect the rest of us to believe it out of an expectation of racial guilt.  The world didn’t buy it when it was called “Aryanism” and perpetuated by some “German” named Adolf Hitler, and it shouldn’t buy into it now.

Fuck that, and fuck “Kwanzaa”.

Merry Christmas!

-Grim

My wife has to work through most of the holidays as there is a show that opens the week of Christmas. So, I innocently suggested to my family relations that, since I live in Atlanta, my father and sister in Knoxville, and my mother and brother in Charlotte, that everyone could come to our house for Christmas dinner.

You’d have thought I’d invaded Poland.

Brother didn’t want to spend the money on travel, then my mom had some other engagement and could we do it on the weekend, then ok brother and mom are going to carpool, but his ex-wife is supposed to have the kids that weekend, he’ll have to swing something.

Then I get a phone call from my sister and she thinks that it will be awkward to have Mom and Dad in the same room, nevermind that they have been divorced for 15 years, and mom is calling her wondering if he’s coming, but Dad has inventory at work that weekend, and O no I’ve gone cross-eyed.

I swear I’m the only stable person in my whole family.

Santa's Inbox

Just thought I’d add a little levity to the holiday season.  I especially liked the email from Oprah about “patenting gift giving”.

Only 10 more shopping days, so get out there and be a good little producing/consuming wage slave!  (Yeah, like I’m not going to be up to my eyeballs in shopping just like everyone else…) ]]> http://www.grimnews.net/2008/12/a-little-holiday-humor/feed/ http://www.grimnews.net/2008/12/something-to-listen-to/ http://www.grimnews.net/2008/12/something-to-listen-to/#comments Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:15:43 +0000 Grim http://www.grimnews.net/?p=536 Yeah, I know I haven’t been writing in a while.  I’ll fix that as soon as I return from this weekend’s family Christmas activities.

Meanwhile, here is a little cheerful something to listen to until I return.

Plainsong by The Cure.  “Cheerful” is being deliberately obtuse, but this is one of the prettiest songs I’ve heard, and I’m not normally a fan of “pretty” music.  Trey and Matt were right when they said “Disintegration is the best album ever!“  Top to bottom, it is a record worth listening to.

Oh, and to give you an idea of what has been taking most of my time lately…

Submitted by Deb A

YTMND version of this fail.

The 2 biggest holidays in the church market is Christmas and Easter. Christians are big into birth and death. The in between parts, meh, not so much. Megachurches love to take advantage of these events and hold huge concerts or passion plays during these times.

Seems every year around this time, I get drafted into programming a lightshow for a Christmas concert or 2 (or 4!) This week it is a giant behemoth of a show, with 80 moving lights and a Vista T2 console, which I have never used before, and programs unlike anything I am used to. Not that that is a bad thing, as I am really impressed with the Wacom pen tablet GUI and the visual approach to programming, I just wish I had a better grasp of the interworkings of the programming commands. Of course, that is another blog post.

The trepidation comes from just knowing how these people operate normally and what they expect of you. Most of the time the stuff they expect you to do, they expect you to do it for free because they are a church and it’s the “christian thing to do”. I generally nip all that talk in the bud real quick and let them know that God works for free and I’m not God. However good this show is for my wallet, it is murder on my body, mind, and sleep schedule. Since Monday, I have put in 80+ hours with notes and the performance still to come on Sunday.

These people have a full 80 piece orchestra and 3 full choirs: children, youth and adult that number over 300 voices. They want all of them on stage, at the same time, and didn’t think to rehearse or stage any of that until 2 days before the show. /fail

Anyway, here are some iPhone pics I snapped real quick:

Shared by Data Vortex

Be there or be dead to me.

speaking of things that will really ought to get our and see, the plaza theatre will be hosting a showing of the documentary nerdcore rising friday night.

i’ll be honest with you, i knew absolutely nothing about nerdcore, which is apparently nerd rapping about world of warcraft, online bulletin boards and other such things, until i was perusing the plaza’s web site last weekend.

now i am hooked.

i will totally be at this event. you should too.

wondering about nerdcore, here’s a sample, optimus rhyme’s obey the moderator.

f’ing brilliant. it’s even better ’cause it isn’t a joke.

(details after the jump)

nerdcore rising
december 5, 7:30 pm
plaza theatre
1049 ponce de leon ave.
atlanta ga 30306.
404.873.1939
www.plazaatlanta.com

Shared by Atari

How to make an Old-Fashioned the old fashioned way.

December 5th marks the 75th anniversary of Repeal Day, when Prohibition ended and Americans depressed by the Depression could once again drown their sorrows legally — instead of having to get tanked in Tijuana, hammered in Havana, or literally paralyzed with the Jake Leg after quaffing poisonous home-brewed hooch.

To toast that auspicious occasion, here at the Deadbeat Bar we’ll be tossing back our favorite pre-Prohibition drink:  an Old Fashioned.  “And just what,” you ask, “is Tiki about that?”  Well, for one thing, the Old Fashioned was Trader Vic’s favorite nightcap (in his later years, he averaged two a day in his office after work).  Vic made his with rum, but we prefer ours with good ole ‘merican whiskey.

Recipe:  Place a half-dollar-sized piece of orange peel scraped clean of all pulp, a teaspoon of cane sugar, and three dashes of bitters (either Angostura or Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel) in a rocks glass.  Add a little water, then muddle everything vigorously.  Fill the glass with ice, add two ounces of 90-proof bourbon (we like Knob Creek or Buffalo Trace), and stir until well chilled.  Repeat until your depression about our own impending Depression lifts.  (Four times usually does the trick for us.)

Executive Summary: More maudlin shit about the holidays without my dad. I’ll “get over it” when I’m god damned good and ready.

Still with me? That’s nice, but this is for me, if you get something out of it, that’s great too.

So we had Thanksgiving dinner at my stepmother’s house. My step mom, her new significant other, some friends. and of course, my wife.

My stepmother broke out “The Good China”, which as any of you who understand why I capitalized those words knows means “It’s Officially the Holiday Season Now.” It felt like just about every other holiday meal with the obvious exception of the deceased patriarch and obligatory crying and swapping of stories among those who knew him.

The table is the traditional “Table which is way too damn long to fit in a normal sized dining room, but we’ll do it anyway”. Places are set, and after some drinks and socializing, which involved beer and the end of the LSU/Arkansas game, dinner was ready.

As everyone filed into the dining room to begin the hyper-ingestion of tryptophan laden goodness, I went to my usual space near the head of the table and started to sit down. I felt a gentle nudge from my stepmother and she said, very quietly, “Son, you’re at the head of the table now.”

You have no idea how those words can change your whole perspective.

For those of you who may be unacquainted with the niceties of formal dining, let me take a minute to explain.

You’ve surely seen large families eating a holiday meal, and you’ve probably noticed that the father always sits at the end of the table. That’s old-school etiquette/tradition, and it isn’t an accident. The head of the table, socially-speaking, is “master of the feast” and the de-facto host of the dinner. What my stepmother was saying to me was “You are the head of the family now”.

As I said, it was an “instant perspective change”. I was still thinking “But this is Dad’s chair!” when my stepmother asked me to say the blessing. Since I really didn’t feel like adding hypocrisy to my already formidable list of sins, I handle it the proper way and ask my stepmother’s significant other (who is more religiously inclined, and the oldest guest present) to lead us in giving thanks. After a short prayer, I thought to myself “Wow, I handled that pretty well.” and then got right back to “What the hell am I doing in dad’s chair?”

As the dinner conversation started, I felt like all eyes were on me. There is a big difference between looking across the table and seeing one person, and looking across the table and seeing everyone seated in front of you. I had noticed that the conversations, unconsciously I’m sure, always focused on me somehow. Someone would make a point, and look at me and say “Isn’t that right?” or “What do you think?” Each time I heard that, I heard a voice inside my head “This is dad’s chair.”

As the meal progressed, and plates were emptied for the 3rd or 4th time, I slowly started to accept the fact that it was “my chair” now. I did nothing to earn it, nor do I particularly want it, especially not the way I wound up getting it. I just happened to be the person it came to. I further realized that when my wife and I have children of our own, one of them is going to have the same experience I had. They’re going to sit in “my chair” and think to themselves “I shouldn’t be here, this is dad’s chair.” In a way, it’s a kind of royalty. The only reason I am in this chair is because I am the son of the previous occupant. Someday, I will leave this chair to make room for my child, and I might not be there to tell him (or her) that it’s his chair now. They’ll have to figure it out on their own and do the best they can to be the kind of parent they want to be. Just as I will.

Happy Holidays…

-Grim

Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick won’t be allowed to plead guilty to dogfighting charges by videoconference, a judge ruled Thursday.

Vick’s lawyers had requested that he be allowed to enter the plea from federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., where he is serving a two-year term since admitting he bankrolled a dogfighting operation and helped execute dogs.

But citing high public interest in the case, Surry County Circuit Judge Samuel Campbell said it would be better for Vick to appear in person.

It’s amazing that Vick’s defense team understand good business sense and they’re environmentally friendly. You now have to believe that they’re the smart ones in this case. We have to give props to them for respecting our wallets and the environment. Better than the other idiot in the case.

The Dishonorable Judge Campbell decides it is in the tax payer’s interest to have Vick flown from Kansas to Virginia just to plead guilty. Here’s a judge that must have been a GM worker at one point since he believes that the US taxpayers should be footing the bill to move Vick from federal prison to a local jail just to show up and say the word “guilty”. This does nothing for expediency and it holds up the process going forward. Business does not get done effectively by waiting to see someone in person when the telephone or Go To Meeting will do. We should also consider the carbon footprint that Campbell has left in his wake due to the fact that there is “interest”. The other thing mentioned on the radio today is that no reporters or video cameras will be allowed in the court room. Let me get this straight. There is a high public interest in me footing the bill to have Vick flown to Virginia, but I’m not allowed to see what is going on in the name of public interest. Where is the logic in that? Where is the common sense in that? How is this good for my wallet? How is it good for the environment? I think we need to name the next “C” hurricane after Campbell since the carbon released into the atmosphere in the public interest will contribute to warmer oceans and the next years hurricane season.

Hopefully the people of Virginia will terminate the Dishonorable Judge Campbell at the next election. In the mean time I have provided the contact information for the court if you want to write and express your outrage.

Surry Circuit Court     
6th Judicial Circuit of Virginia

Clerk

Gail P. Clayton
email: gclayton@courts.state.va.u

Judges

• W. Allan Sharrett
• Samuel E. Campbell

Phone: 757/294-3161
Fax: 757/294-0471

Address

P. O. Box 203
203 Church Street
Routes 10 And 31
Surry, VA 23883-0203

Shared by Data Vortex

Most people shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

…than an 5th Grader elected official?

US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

Take the test.

With the holidays coming up, I’ve been doing less writing and a little more “autoblogging” than normal because I’m doing more reading than writing these days.  It’s not like my schedule is going to improve, but when I have the chance, I’ll share whats on my mind other than the lines at Toys R’ Us. (Sam’s first Christmas, daddy is going all out, not that she’ll know what any of it is… It really is more fun to give than to receive.)

Speaking of family, one of my wife’s endearingly bad habits is watching what I like to call “train wreck TV”.  These “reality” shows (mostly on VH1 and MTV) range from the merely ridiculous (“Rock of Love“, with Bret Michaels… Wait a second, you mean to tell me that the lead singer of a hair metal band needs a reality show to meet women?) to the completely deranged (”Next“, where contestants earn money for each minute that they “survive” in the presence of the most vapid and shallow member of the opposite (or not) sex than MTV’s producers could find.)

But the all time champion in this arena is a show called “The PIckup Artist“  Take a dozen or so “losers”, given them a makeover, Hollywood style, and then watch them take advice from a self-styled “Pick up artist” named (get this) Mystery, along with a few random and forgettable sidekicks with equally ludicrous names. (Seriously, I’d like to see this guy in action… “Hi.  My name is Mystery.” followed by the inevitable snickering and giggling from his “target”.  Of course, in Hollyweird, such a line might actually work, and such a name might actually be genuine.)

What really kills me is that these coaches actually display a keen grasp of psychology.  They really do understand what the “mating dance” is all about, and they’ve refined such a “mysterious” (pun intended) art into textbook science.  I found myself learning something in spite of the repeated snickers and snorts from me and my wife.  What did I learn?

• Take care of yourself and your appearance.  If you don’t look like you can take care of yourself, how is any woman going to expect you to take care of her?

• Be relaxed, happy, and confident.  Sounds easier than it is sometimes, but nobody wants to be with a downer.

• Pay attention to hints, both verbal and non-verbal.  If she isn’t interested, stop wasting her, and your, time.

• Don’t be “too interested”.  Nobody wants a person who appears desperate.

Of course, there are finer points to each of these, and the show goes into these subjects in nauseating detail, but I have to give credit where it is due.  In the midst of reality-tv crap land, someone is actually taking time to espouse points that are applicable to normal, healthy adults.

One might think that these points are somewhat obvious.  If you are one of those people, take a second and give your significant other a squeeze and take comfort in the fact that you have already succeeded in the mating dance.   Remind yourself that you were once that “shy guy” or “shy girl”.

Anyhoo, that’s all for me on a Monday.  I’m going to go play with my kid before I go to work.

(Photo credits to Rick Green at the Hartford Courant).

After 4 years and 2 months, Julie Amero is now free.

You’ll recall that Julie Amero was convicted of 4 felony counts, each count carrying a maximum of 10 years, for exposing school children to pornography.

The reality is that Julie, a 40–year old, pregnant substitute teacher, found herself in a storm of popups and didn’t have any idea as to what was going on, or how to fix the situation.

Julie leaving the courthouse last June with her husband after the original conviction was overturned.

There were numerous technical errors made during the trial, and I led a team of forensic investigators into analyzing a copy of the hard drive. We ultimately published a report which was used in Julie’s original conviction being overturned, for a new trial last June (I am seeing if I can get the report published).

This afternoon, at an empty Norwich Superior Court, Julie pled to the misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, in a deal negotiated by her pro-bono attorney, William Dow.

Her fine was a $100 charge, and her Connecticut teaching credentials are revoked (Julie told me she really doesn’t care, that she has no plans ever to teach in that state again).

I wish the whole thing had been dropped by the prosecution. But that was just not something they were willing to do. And Julie needed her life back.

According to Julie, the courtroom was empty. It was just Julie; her husband, Wes; her attorney, Dow; the prosecutor, David Smith; and the judge, a Judge Young.

Smith continued to say that the State felt that they had enough of a case, but that due to Julie’s declining health, that he and William Dow had agreed to a lesser charge.

Dow told Smith that he’s more than willing to try the case, if the State is still willing.

Smith went on to describe all the terrible things that he believed Julie did. The judge interrupted him, telling him that he was only opening a wound, picking at a scab.

Now that it’s over, I hope this story gets told. Broadly. We can’t have another Julie.

Many thanks to many people for all of their help. There are so many — literally, in the thousands. Walter Hooper, who worked tirelessly with me when this whole thing first broke. Herb Horner, the original defense witness who became Julie’s strongest voice. The pro-bono forensic investigators – Glenn Dardick, Ph.D., Joel A. Folkerts, Alex Shipp, Eric Sites, Joe Stewart and Robin Stuart. Ari Schwartz at the CDT, who helped us immensely getting legal help. The pro-bono attorneys, William Dow, Clint Roberts and… some others that have chosen to remain behind-the-scenes. The many champions, including Rick Green, Randy Abrams, Steve Bass, Ryan Russell, Roger Thompson, Robin and Paul Laudanski, Ray Burns, Phil Malone, Chris Boyd, Eric Howes, Nancy Willard, Merja Lehtinen, Lindsay Beyerstein, Karoli Kuns, Joe Scalia, Frank Krasicki, Charles Neville, Brian Krebs, Bob Johnston, Ben Edelman, AJ Fontaine and so, so many others. I’m blogging fast, so if I missed you — forgive me. It’s not intentional. Just send me a note.

While I wish Julie would have been fully exonerated, this at least brings the subject to a close. The reality is, her health has been in a precipitous decline. I really don’t think she was prepared mentally and physically for the pain of another trial.

She acquiesced to the lesser misdemeanor charge, and while it may have been a bitter pill to swallow, she can at least can move on now without this sick cloud hanging over her head. It was less than two years ago that Julie was facing felony charges with a maximum of 40 years in prison.

Hopefully, we can help other “Julies” who may find themselves in a similar terrible situation.

(The ever-awesome Rick Green is following this closely, subscribe to his blog for the latest news. And my history of posts on the subject can be found here. )

Alex Eckelberry

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Shared by Jen

Written by Mitt Romney.

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

I love cars, American cars. I was born in Detroit, the son of an auto chief executive. In 1954, my dad, George Romney, was tapped to run American Motors when its president suddenly died. The company itself was on life support — banks were threatening to deal it a death blow. The stock collapsed. I watched Dad work to turn the company around — and years later at business school, they were still talking about it. From the lessons of that turnaround, and from my own experiences, I have several prescriptions for Detroit’s automakers.

First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That means new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers.

That extra burden is estimated to be more than $2,000 per car. Think what that means: Ford, for example, needs to cut $2,000 worth of features and quality out of its Taurus to compete with Toyota’s Avalon. Of course the Avalon feels like a better product — it has $2,000 more put into it. Considering this disadvantage, Detroit has done a remarkable job of designing and engineering its cars. But if this cost penalty persists, any bailout will only delay the inevitable.

Second, management as is must go. New faces should be recruited from unrelated industries — from companies widely respected for excellence in marketing, innovation, creativity and labor relations.

The new management must work with labor leaders to see that the enmity between labor and management comes to an end. This division is a holdover from the early years of the last century, when unions brought workers job security and better wages and benefits. But as Walter Reuther, the former head of the United Automobile Workers, said to my father, “Getting more and more pay for less and less work is a dead-end street.”

You don’t have to look far for industries with unions that went down that road. Companies in the 21st century cannot perpetuate the destructive labor relations of the 20th. This will mean a new direction for the U.A.W., profit sharing or stock grants to all employees and a change in Big Three management culture.

The need for collaboration will mean accepting sanity in salaries and perks. At American Motors, my dad cut his pay and that of his executive team, he bought stock in the company, and he went out to factories to talk to workers directly. Get rid of the planes, the executive dining rooms — all the symbols that breed resentment among the hundreds of thousands who will also be sacrificing to keep the companies afloat.

Investments must be made for the future. No more focus on quarterly earnings or the kind of short-term stock appreciation that means quick riches for executives with options. Manage with an eye on cash flow, balance sheets and long-term appreciation. Invest in truly competitive products and innovative technologies — especially fuel-saving designs — that may not arrive for years. Starving research and development is like eating the seed corn.

Just as important to the future of American carmakers is the sales force. When sales are down, you don’t want to lose the only people who can get them to grow. So don’t fire the best dealers, and don’t crush them with new financial or performance demands they can’t meet.

It is not wrong to ask for government help, but the automakers should come up with a win-win proposition. I believe the federal government should invest substantially more in basic research — on new energy sources, fuel-economy technology, materials science and the like — that will ultimately benefit the automotive industry, along with many others. I believe Washington should raise energy research spending to $20 billion a year, from the $4 billion that is spent today. The research could be done at universities, at research labs and even through public-private collaboration. The federal government should also rectify the imbedded tax penalties that favor foreign carmakers.

But don’t ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass — they bet on management and they lost.

The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.

In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.

Shared by ahking

maybe he has a cold

(From the diaries — kos)

It’s amazing - the entire world body of leaders REFUSES to shake George Bush’s hand.

The video, courtesy of Greatscat and Youtube:

11-19-08: CNN: George Bush snubbed at the G20 Summit. Everyone greeting each other and shaking hands, but Bush walks with his head down like the dejected most unpopular kid in high school.

Among the people President-elect Barack Obama has appointed to his FCC agency review transition team are Net Neutrality advocates Kevin Werbach, assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton, and Susan Crawford from the University of Michigan, who teaches communications and internet law. Werbach, as it turns out, is a World of Warcraft player, according to Wagner James Au at GigaOM.Werbach has written about MMOs on his blog (back in 2006), that games “provide an incentive for people to develop new software and ideas for collaborative production. Many of those ideas will…

Obama’s FCC transition team includes MMO gamer, virtual world resident originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I will keep providing original content, but I wanted to make sure that you have reason to check in on the site every day, and not just the 3 or 4 times/week when I have something new to write.

-Grim