Okay, I guess this comes under the rubric of Thanksgiving-related events. I’m sure by now you’ve heard about how the ’Pubs’ darling, La Palin, was fulfilling her gubernatorial duties by pardoning a turkey for the holiday.
Only as she gushed on with the cameras running, a turkey-farm worker was slaughtering birds right behind her. (You can view that gruesome video here.)
Because she’s not proved a genius at coming up with rationales for her shortcomings, Dave Letterman has helpfully stepped in to help out.
As a friend of mine from the old country says, you just can't make this stuff up.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thanksgiving thoughts
Things are winding down in the halls of high-tech Seattle in preparation for Thanksgiving. Yesterday there was a flurry of “what grandiose menu are you preparing for the hordes on Thursday?” emails on a couple of the distribution groups I subscribe to. Let me just say that, while I’m no slouch in the kitchen, I just felt very small in the face of some of these displays.
This year it’ll just be the Stealth Cat & myself, so a roasted chicken, a bottle of Roederer & some other stuff. But I got to thinking about some recent Thanksgivings, & even though I haven’t yet opened the bubbly I’m still going to write up a couple.
One was in Britain—the American Church in London puts on a Thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s. I went my third year there. These days you have to pass through security, which just seems wrong, but it’s worth the tsuris to join other ex-pats to attend a service dedicated to the quintessentially American holiday, to hear those hymns echoing through the marble sanctuary.
It did seem appropriate that such a service be held in that cathedral. Following World War II the Brits dedicated the rebuilt east side to the US forces who joined the fight against Nazism. Don’t know how many others thought about it, but it wasn’t lost on me that, but for American blood & treasure, services there might have been held auf Deutsch.
The chaplain (Navy) from the U.S. Embassy gave the sermon—if you can call it that—the year I went. I say that because I don’t recall a lot of thankfulness stuff; he was guiding new ex-pats through the upcoming Christmas season in Britain. The part that stands out was him warning them that they should expect to be offered several dozen mince pies (really little tarts—maybe three inches in diameter) through the end of December, “none of them accompanied by a fork.”
& he was right. The Brits have a different idea of “pie” than we do. Theirs are small & hand-held. (Wonder what they make of “pie charts”?)
With that in mind, a couple of years ago an English friend of mine came over in early November. I decided, instead of the usual get-together I throw for her visits, that this time I’d introduce her to Thanksgiving. I invited a few other friends, so there would be the requisite critical mass of humans, noise & confusion, & planned out the Traditional Thanksgiving Menu.
There was roasted turkey (brined), with my great-grandmother’s marjoram stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, squash, cranberry relish (not that nasty jellied abomination; homemade in my little Cuisinart), rolls & red & white wine—after the Roederer to start. (I’m guessing you’re seeing a pattern here.)
I don’t eat or make gravy, so one of the guests took that on. I did make both pumpkin & pecan pies even though I don’t eat those either (pecan pie sends me into insulin shock & don’t even get me started on pumpkin pie). I know that for the true Amurrican experience I should have had Cool-Whip with the pies, & should have included the infamous green bean casserole with the mains. However, I never had that casserole until I had Christmas with a gentleman caller’s family about 15 years ago (his mother was a Russified Armenian who grew up in Teheran, but she really bought into the Better Homes & Gardens ideals of middle class cookery when she got here), so my story is that if it’s not part of MY heritage, I don’t have to make it.
Dunno why that casserole isn’t part of my upbringing; my mother was a huge proponent of that whole post-war convenience phenomenon that went up through about the 70s. When people reminisce about wonderful meals & Mom’s cookery, I just have nothing at all to say. I realized about a year ago that throughout my childhood I’d never seen at our table a vegetable on the hoof that hadn’t come from either a can or a frozen food package. There was actually an incident in a grocery store with my grandmother where she was about to get some dark green, well, greens, & I demanded to know what that stuff was. She informed me it was spinach. & I swear this is what I said, in my ten-year-old certitude about the world, “No that’s not! I know what spinach is like—it’s frozen, in blocks!”
So I’m not getting why that casserole didn’t come into play, as it’s nothing but canned beans, condensed cream of mushroom soup (both of which abounded in our pantry) & canned fried onion rings. But I only ever had it that one time in Tinton Falls, NJ, & I assure you I never have to have it again.
Well—back to the Thanksgiving in question. It was great. Meal came out terrific. Sink stopped up, so there was the traditional holiday plumbing emergency & I had to stack dishes up on the counter for a couple of days until I could get professional help.
But it was the epitome of this holiday: gathering with those you care about, sharing food & stories, listening to the 30th Anniversary Bob Dylan concert, forming a nucleus of affection that sustains you when you have to go back out into the world. (In this case—all that shopping.) It was, in fact, one of the best I can remember.
So tomorrow—if you’re in London, do try to make it to St. Paul’s. Service is at 1100; best be there by 1000. You're in for a truly memorable experience.
If not—I hope you have as happy a Thanksgiving as my friends & I did, no matter what your tradition.
This year it’ll just be the Stealth Cat & myself, so a roasted chicken, a bottle of Roederer & some other stuff. But I got to thinking about some recent Thanksgivings, & even though I haven’t yet opened the bubbly I’m still going to write up a couple.
One was in Britain—the American Church in London puts on a Thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s. I went my third year there. These days you have to pass through security, which just seems wrong, but it’s worth the tsuris to join other ex-pats to attend a service dedicated to the quintessentially American holiday, to hear those hymns echoing through the marble sanctuary.
It did seem appropriate that such a service be held in that cathedral. Following World War II the Brits dedicated the rebuilt east side to the US forces who joined the fight against Nazism. Don’t know how many others thought about it, but it wasn’t lost on me that, but for American blood & treasure, services there might have been held auf Deutsch.
The chaplain (Navy) from the U.S. Embassy gave the sermon—if you can call it that—the year I went. I say that because I don’t recall a lot of thankfulness stuff; he was guiding new ex-pats through the upcoming Christmas season in Britain. The part that stands out was him warning them that they should expect to be offered several dozen mince pies (really little tarts—maybe three inches in diameter) through the end of December, “none of them accompanied by a fork.”
& he was right. The Brits have a different idea of “pie” than we do. Theirs are small & hand-held. (Wonder what they make of “pie charts”?)
With that in mind, a couple of years ago an English friend of mine came over in early November. I decided, instead of the usual get-together I throw for her visits, that this time I’d introduce her to Thanksgiving. I invited a few other friends, so there would be the requisite critical mass of humans, noise & confusion, & planned out the Traditional Thanksgiving Menu.
There was roasted turkey (brined), with my great-grandmother’s marjoram stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, squash, cranberry relish (not that nasty jellied abomination; homemade in my little Cuisinart), rolls & red & white wine—after the Roederer to start. (I’m guessing you’re seeing a pattern here.)
I don’t eat or make gravy, so one of the guests took that on. I did make both pumpkin & pecan pies even though I don’t eat those either (pecan pie sends me into insulin shock & don’t even get me started on pumpkin pie). I know that for the true Amurrican experience I should have had Cool-Whip with the pies, & should have included the infamous green bean casserole with the mains. However, I never had that casserole until I had Christmas with a gentleman caller’s family about 15 years ago (his mother was a Russified Armenian who grew up in Teheran, but she really bought into the Better Homes & Gardens ideals of middle class cookery when she got here), so my story is that if it’s not part of MY heritage, I don’t have to make it.
Dunno why that casserole isn’t part of my upbringing; my mother was a huge proponent of that whole post-war convenience phenomenon that went up through about the 70s. When people reminisce about wonderful meals & Mom’s cookery, I just have nothing at all to say. I realized about a year ago that throughout my childhood I’d never seen at our table a vegetable on the hoof that hadn’t come from either a can or a frozen food package. There was actually an incident in a grocery store with my grandmother where she was about to get some dark green, well, greens, & I demanded to know what that stuff was. She informed me it was spinach. & I swear this is what I said, in my ten-year-old certitude about the world, “No that’s not! I know what spinach is like—it’s frozen, in blocks!”
So I’m not getting why that casserole didn’t come into play, as it’s nothing but canned beans, condensed cream of mushroom soup (both of which abounded in our pantry) & canned fried onion rings. But I only ever had it that one time in Tinton Falls, NJ, & I assure you I never have to have it again.
Well—back to the Thanksgiving in question. It was great. Meal came out terrific. Sink stopped up, so there was the traditional holiday plumbing emergency & I had to stack dishes up on the counter for a couple of days until I could get professional help.
But it was the epitome of this holiday: gathering with those you care about, sharing food & stories, listening to the 30th Anniversary Bob Dylan concert, forming a nucleus of affection that sustains you when you have to go back out into the world. (In this case—all that shopping.) It was, in fact, one of the best I can remember.
So tomorrow—if you’re in London, do try to make it to St. Paul’s. Service is at 1100; best be there by 1000. You're in for a truly memorable experience.
If not—I hope you have as happy a Thanksgiving as my friends & I did, no matter what your tradition.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A modern major general
For those who are interested, there’s a new account of the action in 1918 that laid the foundation of the Douglas MacArthur’s reputation as a heroic combat leader. The WSJ published a review yesterday.
If I can find it in the King County Library System, I might venture a read, but I won’t be ordering it from Amazon. (For one thing, since moving to metro Seattle, I now have to pay the extortionate 9% sales tax on my Amazon purchases; I’ve thought a whole lot more before hitting that Submit Order button since coming here.) This sort of thing just boils my blood, so I don’t need to have the account in my permanent collection.
(Similarly, I own no biographies of George B. McClellan or Bernard Montgomery, generals whose greatest skills involved self-promotion and whining about how it was the fault of everyone else but themselves that their campaigns failed. Over and over.)
Frankly, it should come as no surprise that MacArthur’s glory-hounding and hot-dogging began by taking credit for the true heroics of subordinates at the Côte de Châtillon a month before the end of the Great War. This was a guy who had personal aggrandizement at the forefront of all his command decisions, as was obvious throughout the Second World War.
What’s interesting is that it took 90 years for someone to look at the anomalies in the accounts of the action and point out that the imperial commander really had no clothes. MacArthur’s self-promotion was so polished and so consistent, everyone apparently just swallowed it. (It continues today in the form of the MacArthur Memorial Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, founded by MacArthur’s second wife. It’s a kind of low-rent militaristic hagiography.)
It took a pragmatic, hardnosed, unpolished public servant from Missouri to finally put an end to this man’s career. MacArthur continued his public posturing, but at least he wasn’t paying for it with the blood and bodies of a conscripted army.
Anyway—I put this out here for you. You might find the book interesting. And kudos to Ferrell for finally discovering and publishing the truth.
If I can find it in the King County Library System, I might venture a read, but I won’t be ordering it from Amazon. (For one thing, since moving to metro Seattle, I now have to pay the extortionate 9% sales tax on my Amazon purchases; I’ve thought a whole lot more before hitting that Submit Order button since coming here.) This sort of thing just boils my blood, so I don’t need to have the account in my permanent collection.
(Similarly, I own no biographies of George B. McClellan or Bernard Montgomery, generals whose greatest skills involved self-promotion and whining about how it was the fault of everyone else but themselves that their campaigns failed. Over and over.)
Frankly, it should come as no surprise that MacArthur’s glory-hounding and hot-dogging began by taking credit for the true heroics of subordinates at the Côte de Châtillon a month before the end of the Great War. This was a guy who had personal aggrandizement at the forefront of all his command decisions, as was obvious throughout the Second World War.
What’s interesting is that it took 90 years for someone to look at the anomalies in the accounts of the action and point out that the imperial commander really had no clothes. MacArthur’s self-promotion was so polished and so consistent, everyone apparently just swallowed it. (It continues today in the form of the MacArthur Memorial Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, founded by MacArthur’s second wife. It’s a kind of low-rent militaristic hagiography.)
It took a pragmatic, hardnosed, unpolished public servant from Missouri to finally put an end to this man’s career. MacArthur continued his public posturing, but at least he wasn’t paying for it with the blood and bodies of a conscripted army.
Anyway—I put this out here for you. You might find the book interesting. And kudos to Ferrell for finally discovering and publishing the truth.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thanks for bubblies
Continuing even further with my theme of Thanksgiving and its culinary manifestation, I share with you this from the Journal’s wine reporters to guide you in your choices of libation to accompany the feast.
As many of you know, champagne is my substance of choice. At our department’s holiday party Saturday (yes, 22 November, Christmas trees and all) at a swank downtown Seattle hotel, they were passing trays of Mumm Cuvée Napa, augmenting several bars around the floor supplying still wines and beers. I stalked the servers and doubled down on the half-glasses they were allocating partygoers.
(About ten years ago I was at a fundraising party at the French Embassy in DC, where the open bar was pouring really primo liquors—Stoli, Jack, single malts—and at table were first class wines. But once I realized they were serving Cordon Rouge—the brand on which I cut my champagne-drinking teeth—not only did I focus completely on that during the pre-dinner mixing, I kept trotting back to the bar for more from the table. I’ve gotta say, that was one fab party, for several reasons.)
Well, but enough about my past. Take a look at what Gaiter and Brecher recommend, and if you feel flush enough to pop for a $90-$200 bottle of bubbly, well, I say—go to.
I’d just steer clear of the Pol Roger. Notwithstanding the fact that it was Winnie’s favorite and that the champagne house shipped cases to him throughout WWII, the times I’ve had it it just tasted skunky. (My theory is that Churchill couldn’t taste anything after chomping all those cigars; but the wine’s had this cachet ever since.)
Regardless of your choice—or whether you have anything alcoholic to drink on the day—may your meal truly be a feast shared with those you love.
As many of you know, champagne is my substance of choice. At our department’s holiday party Saturday (yes, 22 November, Christmas trees and all) at a swank downtown Seattle hotel, they were passing trays of Mumm Cuvée Napa, augmenting several bars around the floor supplying still wines and beers. I stalked the servers and doubled down on the half-glasses they were allocating partygoers.
(About ten years ago I was at a fundraising party at the French Embassy in DC, where the open bar was pouring really primo liquors—Stoli, Jack, single malts—and at table were first class wines. But once I realized they were serving Cordon Rouge—the brand on which I cut my champagne-drinking teeth—not only did I focus completely on that during the pre-dinner mixing, I kept trotting back to the bar for more from the table. I’ve gotta say, that was one fab party, for several reasons.)
Well, but enough about my past. Take a look at what Gaiter and Brecher recommend, and if you feel flush enough to pop for a $90-$200 bottle of bubbly, well, I say—go to.
I’d just steer clear of the Pol Roger. Notwithstanding the fact that it was Winnie’s favorite and that the champagne house shipped cases to him throughout WWII, the times I’ve had it it just tasted skunky. (My theory is that Churchill couldn’t taste anything after chomping all those cigars; but the wine’s had this cachet ever since.)
Regardless of your choice—or whether you have anything alcoholic to drink on the day—may your meal truly be a feast shared with those you love.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
A toast to the roast
Following on the Thanksgiving theme, I give you Eric Felten’s cocktail offering for Thursday.
Not having tasted any of the ingredients, I have no clue what the Bella Ruffina tastes like. I do know I’m not going to find any of them (except possibly the orange bitters) in the great state of Washington, so I’m unlikely to be making it in a few days.
Frankly, I wonder how Felten reaches his recommendation decision—there are only about eleventy-six thousand cocktails he could have chosen; why something sweet, fizzy & Italian?
Well, regardless, if you can find the components, knock yourself out.
Me? Possibly a couple of fingers of Oban & Roederer thereafter. Now that’s something to be thankful for.
Not having tasted any of the ingredients, I have no clue what the Bella Ruffina tastes like. I do know I’m not going to find any of them (except possibly the orange bitters) in the great state of Washington, so I’m unlikely to be making it in a few days.
Frankly, I wonder how Felten reaches his recommendation decision—there are only about eleventy-six thousand cocktails he could have chosen; why something sweet, fizzy & Italian?
Well, regardless, if you can find the components, knock yourself out.
Me? Possibly a couple of fingers of Oban & Roederer thereafter. Now that’s something to be thankful for.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Gobble, gobble
Okay, for a change, I won’t post a rant about corporate America.
Instead, to help ease you into the holidays, I offer you a Thanksgiving quiz.
Now, I don’t want to be a spoiler here—Lord knows the holidays have a way of accomplishing that all on their own—but I thought I was being had on that whole highest consumption thing. & when I went Googling for “turkeys in Israel” all I got was a bunch of geopolitical nonsense.
However, I guess it’s true, because here’s what l’Office Canadien de Commercialisation du Dindon tells us:
Instead, to help ease you into the holidays, I offer you a Thanksgiving quiz.
Now, I don’t want to be a spoiler here—Lord knows the holidays have a way of accomplishing that all on their own—but I thought I was being had on that whole highest consumption thing. & when I went Googling for “turkeys in Israel” all I got was a bunch of geopolitical nonsense.
However, I guess it’s true, because here’s what l’Office Canadien de Commercialisation du Dindon tells us:
I at least hope they don't consume those nasty yams-&-marshmallows or green bean casserole...
Friday, November 21, 2008
Up & away
Oh, mymymy…
Just when you thought things couldn’t get more drenched in irony in the auto industry, come to find out that the CEOs of GM, Ford & Chrysler actually had the unmitigated gall to fly out to DC on their begging trip…in corporate jets.
& when I say jets-plural, I mean each fat cat in his own jet. They couldn’t even jet-pool, for God’s sake.
Yes, children, they actually were whining to Congress about how their companies won’t survive unless we-the-people fork over another $25B in the next couple of weeks, while their pilots were keeping the G4s ready for them to get out of town.
The generally-accepted cost of running one of these jets on a trip such as Detroit-DC-Detroit is $20K. As opposed to $576 for coach & $1674 first class round trip.
What gets me is the degree of arrogance these jerks-in-bespoke-suits display in doing this. Did they think no one would notice their mode of transportation? Or that no one would think it out of bounds?
I said earlier that these guys have no shame. Well, at this point they’ve gone three exits down the pike beyond the no shame exit.
Did they not have any advisors to say, “Um, Rick—you know, for this particular trip, with this particular purpose, what say you fly Northwest first class? Just this once?”
Evidently not.
But all the more reason to contact your representatives & tell them in simplistic terms that Detroit should just get itself out of its self-induced mess. & they can start with the money-for-old-rope comp packages these CEOs have been getting: Mulally of Ford, $21.6M in 2007; Waggoner of GM, $15.7M; Nardelli of Chrysler has an undisclosed package, but piously said he’d be willing to follow Lee Iacocca’s lead in taking $1/year salary—the LAST time Chrysler needed bailing out . (He’s also the one who got $210 in severance from Home Depot after driving that company into the ground.)
BTW, all of these guys have seen their compensation increased in the double-digits in the past year despite the obvious failures their management has engendered in their respective corporations.
None of the three said he’d be willing to step down as condition of their companies receiving the bailout they say they desperately need. They had the nerve to say their leadership is needed, & Mulally compounded this by adding that if any stipulation were made on restricting executive compensation, it might cause the company to “lose executives & be unable to attract top talent.”
Well, losing THESE execs wouldn’t be the downside of this crisis. & there are plenty of senior-level managers swirling around following the mass slaughter in the financial industry; they might not be quite so prissy about compensation for the next couple of years.
& while we’re on the subject of capitalism, how about this for private enterprise managing without government intervention: Let the damned oil companies bail out the Gang of Three. They’ve been in cahoots for decades—let Exxon-Mobil use some of their obscene windfall profits from the past nine months to invest in Detroit.
& a plague o’ both their fleets of private jets.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get more drenched in irony in the auto industry, come to find out that the CEOs of GM, Ford & Chrysler actually had the unmitigated gall to fly out to DC on their begging trip…in corporate jets.
& when I say jets-plural, I mean each fat cat in his own jet. They couldn’t even jet-pool, for God’s sake.
Yes, children, they actually were whining to Congress about how their companies won’t survive unless we-the-people fork over another $25B in the next couple of weeks, while their pilots were keeping the G4s ready for them to get out of town.
The generally-accepted cost of running one of these jets on a trip such as Detroit-DC-Detroit is $20K. As opposed to $576 for coach & $1674 first class round trip.
What gets me is the degree of arrogance these jerks-in-bespoke-suits display in doing this. Did they think no one would notice their mode of transportation? Or that no one would think it out of bounds?
I said earlier that these guys have no shame. Well, at this point they’ve gone three exits down the pike beyond the no shame exit.
Did they not have any advisors to say, “Um, Rick—you know, for this particular trip, with this particular purpose, what say you fly Northwest first class? Just this once?”
Evidently not.
But all the more reason to contact your representatives & tell them in simplistic terms that Detroit should just get itself out of its self-induced mess. & they can start with the money-for-old-rope comp packages these CEOs have been getting: Mulally of Ford, $21.6M in 2007; Waggoner of GM, $15.7M; Nardelli of Chrysler has an undisclosed package, but piously said he’d be willing to follow Lee Iacocca’s lead in taking $1/year salary—the LAST time Chrysler needed bailing out . (He’s also the one who got $210 in severance from Home Depot after driving that company into the ground.)
BTW, all of these guys have seen their compensation increased in the double-digits in the past year despite the obvious failures their management has engendered in their respective corporations.
None of the three said he’d be willing to step down as condition of their companies receiving the bailout they say they desperately need. They had the nerve to say their leadership is needed, & Mulally compounded this by adding that if any stipulation were made on restricting executive compensation, it might cause the company to “lose executives & be unable to attract top talent.”
Well, losing THESE execs wouldn’t be the downside of this crisis. & there are plenty of senior-level managers swirling around following the mass slaughter in the financial industry; they might not be quite so prissy about compensation for the next couple of years.
& while we’re on the subject of capitalism, how about this for private enterprise managing without government intervention: Let the damned oil companies bail out the Gang of Three. They’ve been in cahoots for decades—let Exxon-Mobil use some of their obscene windfall profits from the past nine months to invest in Detroit.
& a plague o’ both their fleets of private jets.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
General Motors & his army
A colleague of mine, who used to own a car with a GM brand, received this from the corporation. Obviously their brains are so constricted from fear of not getting billions & billions from the American taxpayer that they're sending out SOS emails intended for their suppliers to everyone who's ever given them a working address.
That's why we need your help now. Simply put, we need you to join us to let Congress know that a bridge loan to help U.S. automakers also helps strengthen the U.S. economy and preserve millions of American jobs.
Despite what you may be hearing, we are not asking Congress for a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid.
The consequences of the domestic auto industry collapsing would far exceed the $25 billion loan needed to bridge the current crisis. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research:
• One in 10 American jobs depends on U.S. automakers
Discussions are now underway in Washington, D.C., concerning loans to support U.S. carmakers. I am asking you to support this vital effort by contacting your representatives.
Please take a few minutes to call your representatives by dialing 1-866-471-5332. Just state your name and address, and your message will reach your legislators. You can review a script that will help you state your support at gmfactsandfiction.com. Under the "Mobilize Now" section, click on "I'm a Supplier." If you would rather e-mail your representatives, use the link "I'm a Concerned American."
Please share this information with friends and family using the link on the site.
Thank you for helping keep our economy viable.
Sincerely,
You received this email advertisement from GM because you are a registered user of gmsupplierdiscount.com. To unsubscribe from GM Supplier Discount emails, click here. If you prefer not to receive any unsolicited marketing emails regarding GM products and services, click here. To view the GM privacy statement, click here.
The marks of General Motors, its divisions, slogans, emblems, vehicle model names, vehicle body designs and other marks appearing in this email are the trademarks and/or service marks of General Motors Corporation, its subsidiaries, affiliates or licensors. ©2008 GM Corp. Buckle up, America!
General Motors Corporation
FYI: GM have been urging similar "Congressional communications" on their US employees.
It pretty much speaks for itself; but I'll add some commentary anyhow.
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 1:40:22 AM
Subject: An urgent message to GM suppliers
Because our futures are linked, I want you to know that General Motors is doing everything possible to deal with the impact the financial crisis is having on the domestic auto industry. Yet despite our successful efforts to restructure, reduce costs and enhance liquidity, we are facing an uphill battle with the current administration and Congress in securing a bridge loan.
They're still claiming that it's only the "financial crisis" that's put them in this pickle. If that were the case, why wouldn't every company that's been affected by the meltdown be lined up at the Capitol ready for the corporate dole?
I'd purely like to know how they're defining "successful efforts"--because you'll recall the Big Three have already tapped us for $25B to retool so they can build products the public might want to buy. & GM has been asking for $$ so they can buy Chrysler.
That's why we need your help now. Simply put, we need you to join us to let Congress know that a bridge loan to help U.S. automakers also helps strengthen the U.S. economy and preserve millions of American jobs.
Second reference to this "bridge loan". Apparently what they're after is a really huge payday loan...
Despite what you may be hearing, we are not asking Congress for a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid.
Oh, comment dit-on en anglais? Merde. (& BTW--the bolding is GM's.)
The consequences of the domestic auto industry collapsing would far exceed the $25 billion loan needed to bridge the current crisis. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research:
Right: the Center for Automotive Research. Located in Ann Arbor, MI; funding source(s) studiously not disclosed. So we can really assume that their findings won't be biased in favor of the industry, can't we?
• One in 10 American jobs depends on U.S. automakers
• Nearly 3 million jobs are at immediate risk
• U.S. personal income could be reduced by $150 billion
• The tax revenue lost over 3 years would be more than $156 billion
One really wants to know the definitions that underpin these catastrophic declarations. For example, what does "depends" mean in the context of "one in 10 jobs depends on US automakers"?
Discussions are now underway in Washington, D.C., concerning loans to support U.S. carmakers. I am asking you to support this vital effort by contacting your representatives.
"Discussions" = "we're giving new meaning to the term 'groveling'".
Please take a few minutes to call your representatives by dialing 1-866-471-5332. Just state your name and address, and your message will reach your legislators. You can review a script that will help you state your support at gmfactsandfiction.com. Under the "Mobilize Now" section, click on "I'm a Supplier." If you would rather e-mail your representatives, use the link "I'm a Concerned American."
& here's the deal: YOU can use these numbers, links & email addresses to contact your Congress-slime & inform them in words of one syllable that you emphatically do NOT want them to fork over so much as a nickel to these corporate panhandlers. You want them to take the consequences of their crap policies & decisions. Just like the rest of us.
Please share this information with friends and family using the link on the site.
Thank you for helping keep our economy viable.
& GM's execs' jobs secure, which is the real point.
Sincerely,
Troy Clarke
You received this email advertisement from GM because you are a registered user of gmsupplierdiscount.com. To unsubscribe from GM Supplier Discount emails, click here. If you prefer not to receive any unsolicited marketing emails regarding GM products and services, click here. To view the GM privacy statement, click here.
The marks of General Motors, its divisions, slogans, emblems, vehicle model names, vehicle body designs and other marks appearing in this email are the trademarks and/or service marks of General Motors Corporation, its subsidiaries, affiliates or licensors. ©2008 GM Corp. Buckle up, America!
General Motors Corporation
100 Renaissance Center
482-A00-MAR
Detroit, MI 48265
FYI: GM have been urging similar "Congressional communications" on their US employees.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Running on empty
You know, I’m not unsympathetic to the thousands of employees of the US automakers, or to the employees of suppliers & vendors to the industry. I have friends who work for those companies, & I don’t want to see them hurt by this fiasco.
But you just have to draw the line somewhere, & when one of these companies can issue this recent memo to staff, & think that anyone either inside or outside the company will really believe this codswallop, well—you’ve given up all pretense of being a company run by sentient beings.
Here’s the memo, with some redactions, translations & comments:
The set of messages below might be helpful in your communication efforts.
- The current economic and financial crisis is global and across all industries, [we are] not the only company under intense pressure in this very turbulent environment.
= We're being unfairly picked on. We're only one of hundreds, maybe thousands or millions, of Fortune 1000 companies that made & continue to make boneheaded, greed-based "business" decisions. & the media's focusing on us instead of banks, insurance companies, mortgage lending, the government, etc. You never hear about THEM, do you? It’s not our fault!
- Speculation is increasing and to such an extent that it is becoming difficult to separate facts from myths
= Unfortunately, our complete idiocy is becoming common knowledge & we’re having a hard time figuring out even for ourselves what we did or only thought about doing; much less what we told the outside world.
- The media is focusing heavily on [us] and the automotive industry, for example, regarding program delays, mergers, and a number of other issues that can easily distract us from focusing on our daily work. All of us want to know more. The 'not knowing' adds a lot of stress for all of us.
= Why can’t they just keep the spotlight on the mortgage crisis or the financial institute meltdown? It’s not fair!
- There is not a lot we can say, but please rest assured that [we are] proactively addressing the situation. Our best people are exploring every possible action to stabilize our business. Many of the opportunities that our senior leadership is looking at, are still in the exploratory phase, and it would really not be appropriate to discuss these openly. Also, some of the actions involve material information, and therefore legal and financial guidelines prohibit the company from commenting, both in- and externally.
= We don’t really have any solutions or plans, but we’re working on producing the appearance of thinking about coming up with one or two.
= & don’t say anything to anyone about anything.
- As soon as actions are finalized, we will share the information directly with you
= If it’s absolutely unavoidable.
- Meanwhile, it is of the utmost importance that we remain focussed [sic] on our job and place maximum attention in conserving cash and eliminating waste.
= We certainly don’t want you to stop working like Trojans as though what you do really advances our business non-planning. & we want you to cut back on the company coffee so we can continue to fly our senior management around the world in style.
- We own [sic] [the company] our very best efforts to help the company through this crisis
= We want you to be confident in our abilities, because after all—we’re rich & you’re not, so we MUST be smarter than you.
- [We] will emerge [sic—evidently they haven’t even planned far enough ahead to know how/where/when/what they’ll emerge
= If we can persuade Congress to fork over more money to keep the company going until our retirement packages kick in.
- Your hard work and dedication is very much appreciated.
= We’re hoping that after a while, you & everyone else will forget that we said we were going to come up with solutions; & then we’ll retire, so it won’t matter.
I mean, honestly—they must really think the world is populated with nothing but rutabagas.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Driving me mad
Well, execs from the Big Three have private-jetted & limoed up to the Capitol & are holding out their gold-plated begging bowls to Congress, in search of another $25B in bail-out money (in addition to the $25B they got a few months ago to revamp their production line to build autos the public actually might want to, you know, buy) from we-the-people.
As you might imagine, this absolutely eats my lunch.
It is a mark of their arrogance that these [insert plural expletive here] have the unmitigated nerve to explain with straight faces that they deserve the next several billions because if they go belly up (which is the entirely predictable result of their business decisions & strategies for 20 years & more), thousands—maybe millions—will lose their jobs. & we can’t let that happen, can we?
Naturally, they assure us, they’re only in this pickle because of the general state of the economy, which wasn’t their fault. They’re the victims in this, just like all the other regular guys they down beers with at the local tavern.
It’s especially rich that they use the loss of tens of thousands of jobs as the major rationale for the bail-out, when they’ve been doing everything in their power over the past 30 years to screw the workers whose jobs they haven’t yet managed to off-shore.
(They were actually joined today by Ron Gittelfinger, president of the UAW, who is also acting like he's on Queen for a Day. He prates about how the current state of affairs isn't the automakers' or unions' fault for living in the cloud cuckooland of the past, but just that darn economy. You just have to wonder if any of these buffoons are stupid enough to believe what they're saying, or just hope that we are.)
Pelosi has been making noises like giving them what they want, although at today’s hearings senators on both sides of the aisle at least discomfited the heterotrophs in the $6K suits.
I really hope Congress draws the line at handing out our cash like Monopoly money to every Fortune 1000 company that shows up at their door with a sad story & crocodile tears. & in this case if they can’t refrain from acting like Crazy Uncle Louie, at least make sure there’s a whole yarn-factory-load of strings attached. No, not strings—I want enough bleedin’ steel cable wrapped around these companies to cover Africa with a T-1 network.
What strings you ask? Like specifying a REALISTIC business plan for cost-cutting & retooling to make cars people want to buy & drive. (= cut out the gas guzzlers; shut down Hummer; stop fighting the dreaded mileage requirements) & then FOLLOWING the plan.
A basic requirement is that top management is out (without huge severance deals—the CEO of Chrysler got a severance package of $210MM when he left Home Depot a few years ago—what the hell does he know about belt-tightening, or even restraint?) & be replaced with people who aren't tied to the current way of doing things.
Management salaries go down (as part of that cost-cutting thing) & bonuses are strictly tied to actual, you know, performance. Their propensity for international travel booked & rebooked at the last minute goes, because they’d be introduced to the joys of video conferencing. These guys don’t seem to have joined the late 20th Century—their tech mentality is as outdated as the cars they produce
Oh—& their assets are on the line as collateral. If they don't perform, we the people get to take over the assets & start selling them off. There's no WAY we should give any of them money without securing the loan; they haven't shown themselves capable of managing their money (or, more accurately, their stakeholders’)—why would we think they'll do better with ours?
I'm acutely aware that there are indeed millions directly & indirectly affected by the Big Three’s problems. It's not just their employees, but their suppliers, & the suppliers of raw materials; it's dealers; it's people who clean the dealerships & supply them with coffee & pencils...
But why should it be that if you're HUGE & act like complete idiots over a period of YEARS we'll bail you out, but if you're a small business & you blow it, you're on your own? If one auto company gets so much as a nickel, not one bloody person with a V or a C in their title gets a raise or a bonus for the next 18 months, & after that, only if there's progress. They have absolutely no incentive whatsoever to change what they're doing.
Flushing my tax dollars down after what they've already lost is only going to delay the inevitable. If they're going to keep on screwing up, it's better to get it over with—a clean kill instead of the painful, wasting illness they’ve been carrying for decades.
As you might imagine, this absolutely eats my lunch.
It is a mark of their arrogance that these [insert plural expletive here] have the unmitigated nerve to explain with straight faces that they deserve the next several billions because if they go belly up (which is the entirely predictable result of their business decisions & strategies for 20 years & more), thousands—maybe millions—will lose their jobs. & we can’t let that happen, can we?
Naturally, they assure us, they’re only in this pickle because of the general state of the economy, which wasn’t their fault. They’re the victims in this, just like all the other regular guys they down beers with at the local tavern.
It’s especially rich that they use the loss of tens of thousands of jobs as the major rationale for the bail-out, when they’ve been doing everything in their power over the past 30 years to screw the workers whose jobs they haven’t yet managed to off-shore.
(They were actually joined today by Ron Gittelfinger, president of the UAW, who is also acting like he's on Queen for a Day. He prates about how the current state of affairs isn't the automakers' or unions' fault for living in the cloud cuckooland of the past, but just that darn economy. You just have to wonder if any of these buffoons are stupid enough to believe what they're saying, or just hope that we are.)
Pelosi has been making noises like giving them what they want, although at today’s hearings senators on both sides of the aisle at least discomfited the heterotrophs in the $6K suits.
I really hope Congress draws the line at handing out our cash like Monopoly money to every Fortune 1000 company that shows up at their door with a sad story & crocodile tears. & in this case if they can’t refrain from acting like Crazy Uncle Louie, at least make sure there’s a whole yarn-factory-load of strings attached. No, not strings—I want enough bleedin’ steel cable wrapped around these companies to cover Africa with a T-1 network.
What strings you ask? Like specifying a REALISTIC business plan for cost-cutting & retooling to make cars people want to buy & drive. (= cut out the gas guzzlers; shut down Hummer; stop fighting the dreaded mileage requirements) & then FOLLOWING the plan.
A basic requirement is that top management is out (without huge severance deals—the CEO of Chrysler got a severance package of $210MM when he left Home Depot a few years ago—what the hell does he know about belt-tightening, or even restraint?) & be replaced with people who aren't tied to the current way of doing things.
Management salaries go down (as part of that cost-cutting thing) & bonuses are strictly tied to actual, you know, performance. Their propensity for international travel booked & rebooked at the last minute goes, because they’d be introduced to the joys of video conferencing. These guys don’t seem to have joined the late 20th Century—their tech mentality is as outdated as the cars they produce
Oh—& their assets are on the line as collateral. If they don't perform, we the people get to take over the assets & start selling them off. There's no WAY we should give any of them money without securing the loan; they haven't shown themselves capable of managing their money (or, more accurately, their stakeholders’)—why would we think they'll do better with ours?
I'm acutely aware that there are indeed millions directly & indirectly affected by the Big Three’s problems. It's not just their employees, but their suppliers, & the suppliers of raw materials; it's dealers; it's people who clean the dealerships & supply them with coffee & pencils...
But why should it be that if you're HUGE & act like complete idiots over a period of YEARS we'll bail you out, but if you're a small business & you blow it, you're on your own? If one auto company gets so much as a nickel, not one bloody person with a V or a C in their title gets a raise or a bonus for the next 18 months, & after that, only if there's progress. They have absolutely no incentive whatsoever to change what they're doing.
Flushing my tax dollars down after what they've already lost is only going to delay the inevitable. If they're going to keep on screwing up, it's better to get it over with—a clean kill instead of the painful, wasting illness they’ve been carrying for decades.
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