Breaking news: Detroit wins Super Bowl XLVI
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Breaking news: Detroit wins Super Bowl XLVI
Since we surely don't want to acknowledge the Giants or the Patriots here on a Philadelphia blog, I think it should be noted that the real winner of last night's Super Bowl was clearly Detroit. From the loved-it-hated-it halftime show by the Motor City's own Madonna Louise Ciccone to this racist political ad that aired in Michigan, it felt at times like it was Motown's world and we were just living in it.
And then there was the Clint Eastwood ad, "Halftime in America," which was ostensibly for Chrysler. In a year when an incredibly mediocre crop of "funny" commercials dealt a body blow to the proud notion of American ingenuiity, the only ad that anyone is really talking about was about as serious as a heart attack.
Liberals are orgasmic and conservatives are apoplectic about the two-minute tribute to the rescue and revivial of Chrysler from the eve of destruction in 2008-09. I think the existence of the ad is a more powerful message than the actual commerical, which seems a little overhyped and I didn't like as much as the Eminem ad in 2010 (which had, you know, that music). Conspiracy theorists will ask -- and well they should -- why the ad was entitled "Halftime in America" (yes, OK, it did air at halftime) when in an amazing coincidence President Obama is also running for a second term. It's also worth asking why Eastwood agreed to do the ad since he criticized the auto bailout a couple of years ago.
That said, I do think there's a big takeaway for the presidential race. All the Republican candidates who oppose the auto bailout need to do a better job explaining their alternative vision. Because in the reality-based world, I don't think there was one. Letting GM and Chrysler fail would have not just destroyed two iconic American companies and the lives of its workers but also would have wiped out hundreds of smaller businesses in the supply chain that populate the American Heartland. Instead. many of those jobs were saved and most of the money loaned to Chrysler was paid back.
And that is terrible...why?
Comments (36)
I can hardly await the answers from your Greek chorus of right-wing trolls, Will!— Mr_Cool- HOW DID THE "INVESTMENTS" GO WITH THE GREEN COMPANIES?
I will wait for a logical answer.— Keep The Change - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/president-obamas-phony-accounting-on-the-auto-industry-bailout/2011/06/06/AG3nefKH_blog.html
The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler takes a look at some of the claims President Obama made about the bailouts of the automobile industry. His takeaway? "What we found is one of the most misleading collections of assertions we have seen in a short presidential speech. Virtually every claim by the president regarding the auto industry needs an asterisk, just like the fine print in that too-good-to-be-true car loan."
— Keep The Change - Because maybe if the auto industry was allowed to fail, someone would have figured out how to make a usable electric car.— bobbyd24
- "When President Obama made the Chevy Volt the centerpiece of his green jobs agenda, he probably didn't realize he was setting himself up for failure on such a grand scale:
General Motors extended-range electric Chevrolet Volt had its worst sales month since August, as negative publicity over fire risks hurt vehicles sales in January.
GM sold just 603 Volts - above its sales in January 2011, but far below GM's best-ever sales month in December, when GM sold 1,529 Volts."
Source: Detroit News
FAIL— Keep The Change - Logical answer from Forbes Magazine, hardly a bastion of liberalism: "Critics have seized on the news of Solyndra’s bankruptcy to condemn the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program, which provided a $535 million loan guarantee in 2009. The National Review’s Greg Pollowitz writes that Solyndra’s failure shows 'why the government should not play venture capitalist.' Yet the fact is that, when judged by its entire diverse portfolio of investments, the LGP has performed remarkably well. Indeed, with a capitalization of just $4 billion, DOE has committed or closed $37.8 billion in loan guarantees for 36 innovative clean energy projects. The Solyndra case represents less than 2% of total loan commitments made by DOE, and will be easily covered by a capitalization of eight to ten times larger than any ultimate losses expected following the bankruptcy proceedings."— Mr_Cool
- Liberals meet facts......we know facts are not "feelings" but we try.......
"The Treasury Department yesterday revised its loss estimate for the Government Motors bailout from $14.33 billion to $23.6 billion, thanks to the company’s sinking stock price. GM’s Sept. 30 closing price, on which the new estimate is based, was $20.18, about $13 less than its December IPO price and $35 less than what is needed for taxpayers to break even.
The $23.6 billion represents a 25 percent loss on the feds $60 billion direct “investment” in GM. But that’s not all that taxpayers are on the hook for. As I explained previously, Uncle Sam’s special GM bankruptcy package allowed the company to write off $45 billion in previous losses going forward. This could work out to as much as $15 billion in tax savings that GM wouldn’t have had had it gone through a normal bankruptcy. Why? Because after bankruptcy, the tax liabilities of companies increase since they have no more losses to write off.
This means that the total hit to taxpayers, who still own about a quarter of the company, could add up to $38.6 billion."
— Keep The Change - Watching Hoekstra spinning that commercial is hilarious.— Talking point sleuth
- This is Will trying to pay back Obama for letting him trade in his '89 Volvo in the 'cash for clunker' deal. I'm guessing Will bought a Subaru Outback. Detroit would be so disappointed in their comrade.— RufusG
- Listening to Eastwood claim that this is only the halftime of America was a bit ominous. So we've existed for 250 years and we only have another 250 years left. Clint is losing his mind as well as his perspective. We bailed out Chrysler once before and look what happened. Are we to expect that every few years this will be part of the political process?— RufusG
- Keep the Change.
Cost of the Iraq war. 800 billion. '
How you want to pay for that.— Bush Destroyed America - Come on Will. Why don't you post an article on the Indiana Secretary of State being convicted of voter fraud.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57372176-503544/indiana-sec-of-state-convicted-of-voter-fraud/
Hot off the presses. He's now accusing the Republican governor of Indiana. Mitch Daniels who gave the response to the State of the Union.
You guessed it. Of voter fraud. He's claiming Mitch Daniels has committed voter fraud the last 10 elections.
On Fox News.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1435353531001/election-official-guilty-of-voter-fraud— Bush Destroyed America 
Comment removed.- --snip--
The costs of the War on Terror are often contested, as academics and critics of the component wars (including the Iraq War) have unearthed many hidden costs not represented in official estimates. The most recent major report on these costs come from Brown University in the form of the Costs of War project, which said the total for wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan is at least $3.2-4 trillion.[1] The report disavowed previous estimates of the Iraq War's cost as being under $1 trillion, saying the Department of Defense's direct spending on Iraq totaled at least $757.8 billion, but also highlighting the complementary costs at home, such as interest paid on the funds borrowed to finance the wars and a potential nearly $1 trillion in extra spending to care for veterans returning from combat through 2050.
--snip--
No wonder Republicans, voters who absolutely demand, demand I say, financial responsibility, voted for Dick "deficits don't matter" Cheney's administration. Twice. After all:
--snip--
At the outset of the Iraq war, the Bush administration predicted that it would cost $50 billion to $60 billion to oust Saddam Hussein, restore order and install a new government.
--snip--
If only Obama held "financial responsibility" in high esteem as those Republicans do.
Oh. My freakin' sides..— Talking point sleuth - "Treasury is unlikely to fully recover the difference of $1.3 billion. Treasury has the right to recover proceeds from the disposition of the liquidation trust associated with the bankruptcy of Old Chrysler, but does not expect a material recovery from those assets".
"President Barack Obama visited a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, on June 3 to discuss the recent announcement that the Chrysler Group LLC repaid $5.1 billion in outstanding loans. That brought the total repayment, as of May 24, to $10.6 billion — about $1.9 billion less than the $12.5 billion the company borrowed under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP"- FACT CHECK 6/11/11
This puff-piece is the biggest "Bunch of B.S." EVER...In a reality-based world the alternative vision people are looking at is the Ford Motor Company (not even mentioned in this "Bunch of B.S." LOL!!!) who never took a dime of taxpayer money and recovered very well ON THEIR OWN after being in just as much trouble, if not more!!! What better example does anyone need to prove the point that taxpayer money is not needed for a business to recover, they can actually do it all by themselves and we,taxpayers, would have $1.3 billion + to help the 99% LOL!!!
The Libby denial of the truth and facts while trying to push failed policies and make them seem successful is part of the treasonous acts committed by the Lib media on a daily basis.— sarah89
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