Thursday, October 08, 2009

Larwyn's Linx: Baucus plan clears CBO by... (wait for it)... raising taxes

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

Baucus plan clears CBO by raising taxes: Wizbang
ObamaCare's secret weapon: GOP Jellyfish Caucus: RSM
Ruh Roh: Deeds avoids Obama; embraces Warner: Times

DHS goes after Sheriff for securing homeland: STACLU
Waters on Rangel: Don't worry, many of us are crooks!: GWP
Bachmann: It's Bigger Than Just ACORN: AT

Pelosi won't allow public to see health care bill: STACLU
ACORN's Pension Shell Games: Vadum
US aims for better benefits, medical care for illegals: USR

Economy

Unemployed? Welcome to Biden's Dream: Examiner
A New Mommy Tax in ObamaCare: Morrissey
Thousands line up in Detroit for "free" money: BlogProf

THERE IS NO BAUCUS BILL: LegalIns
Fed says CRE loan losses to be 45% in 2010: DailyCap
For whom do the 47% who pay no taxes vote?: BlogProf

Whack: Pelosi and the upcoming healthcare VAT: Fausta
The Unionized States of America: AT (Lasky)
We don't need no stinkin' do-ers: LegalIns

If you were a merry prankster type...: InstaPundit
Today's Proof of the Recovery: Surber

Media

Obama Justice Department’s Secret Blogging Team… Is it Illegal?: STACLU
Boulevard of broken dreams: Hollywood profits dry up: PJM (Belmont)
Desperate Obama Signs Up Hollywood Pinheads to Promote Socialized Medicine: JWF

Health Care Poll Cooking with the AP; and the Fiscal Realities: BizzyBlog
Time Magazine admits Book Ghostwritten: AT

Climate & Energy

McLame, Goober try to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory: Chron
Scientist: Carbon Dioxide Doesn't Cause Global Warming: USN&WR

World

An Intelligence Coup And Bunker Busters? Oh My!: Riehl
State Dept. Pulls Funding From Iran Human Rights Watchdog Despite Tehran’s Vulnerability: BizzyBlog
Banning the Burqa in Egypt, France, Italy: PJM (Chesler)

It's Official! Iran Publicly Says it Fooled U.S. and Europeans in Geneva, Offered Nothing: Rubin
Code Pink Rethinks Its Calls for Afghan Pullout: S&L
Scared of Real Men?: Obi's Sister

Sci-Tech

Concealed Carry X-Ray: Pupista

Cornucopia

The Day ObamaCare Died: HerBunk
Earn Big $$$ the NEA Way!: IowaHawk
Art and Soul: Michelle's Mirror

In September, President Obama claimed that 30 million Americans "cannot" get health insurance.

Yesterday's CBO analysis of the $829 billion Baucus Plan revealed that it will still leave 25 million Americans without health insurance.

So for $829 billion, we can insure five million more people.

That comes to $165,800 per uninsured person.

Brilliant.

      -- Me. Just now.


Wednesday, October 07, 2009

The Puppet Masters


What did the unions get for the $400 million they spent electing Barack Obama?

Stimulus Bill :: AFL-CIO: President Obama pitched the largest single spending program in American history: the $789 billion stimulus bill, which was passed on Feb. 14, 2009. It was 1,100 pages and available online 13 hours before debate. Its stated goal was to combat unemployment and cap it at 8%. It’s now around 10%, which means it was an utter failure. And the economy is still in the crapper. Upon taking office, Obama signed Executive Orders which reversed prior labor policies and allowed only unionized construction companies to use stimulus funds.


Trade War :: United Steelworkers: President Obama broke an eight-decade, Democrat-Republican partnership that promoted free trade. While proclaiming his allegiance to global trade policies, he slapped a 35% tariff on tires made in China, an act which threatens to touch off a catastrophic global trade war and has potentially devastating consequences for the poor. Obama gift-wrapped the tariff as a reward to the unions and the hard left, protectionist wing of the Democrat Party. And even Bill Clinton thinks the decision is ridiculous.


Killing School Choice :: Teachers Unions (NEA and AFT): President Obama, at the behest of the monopolistic teachers' unions, killed the successful Washington DC Voucher program. The program offered $7,500 vouchers to 1,700 low-income families, 99% of whom were black or Hispanic. Even though there were more than four applicants for each slot and despite uniformly spectacular results (kids were "reading nearly a half-grade ahead of their peers who did not receive vouchers"), Obama and the Union Democrats destroyed the program.


Nationalizing GM and Chrysler :: UAW: Bankruptcy laws were designed to handle the kinds of situations that GM and Chrysler were in earlier this year. Instead, President Obama decided to abrogate bankruptcy law, nationalize the auto companies and payoff the auto unions with at least $81 billion in taxpayer funds. Even The Washington Post pilloried his actions ("Government Motors: GM's new owner (the Obama administration) should stop bullying the company's bondholders."). And, based upon their most recent business results, both companies appear destined for the scrap heap and the taxpayers likely out of luck at the tune of $810 for every household in America.


Cap-and-Trade :: National Farmers Unions: President Obama and his far left supporters in Congress passed Carbon Cap-and-Trade (the ill-named "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009"). Aside from raising hundreds of billions in new tax revenue for the federal government, the bill helps promote "climate exchanges". The various farmers unions uniformly support "a national, mandatory carbon emission cap and trade system to reduce non-farm greenhouse gas emissions." Unions hope to profit from climate exchanges, which would aggregate farm-related carbon credits, described in Bloomberg News' "Farmers Want Obama to Make Carbon a Cash Crop Under Climate Law". The 1,200-page bill passed on June 26, 2009 and was available online only 15 hours before the vote.


Health Care Reform :: SEIU: The "Big Cahuna" for the unions is the socialized medicine program that Obama and the left are attempting to cram down the taxpayers' throats, bill unseen. The SEIU itself contributed $85 million to Obama's campaign and among their rewards would be millions of medical civil servants (and millions of new, dues-pahttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6034478ying members). The WSJ's September 10, 2009 op-ed ("Read the Union Health-Care Label -- Get ready for Detroit-style labor relations in our hospitals"), describes the bill opening "the door to implement forced unionization schemes" by reclassifying in-home health-care (and child-care) contractors as union members.


Employee Free Choice Act :: SEIU: Little more than a month ago, in a speech to the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh, President Obama stated he was "standing behind" the Employee Free Choice Act (the EFCA, also known as "Card Check"). The bill would make it much easier for labor unions to coerce and even intimidate workers into joining unions. Put simply, the EFCA is a transparent mechanism for forced unionization. Study after study confirm that the bill would cost millions of jobs. A March 2009 analysis puts the figure at 5.2 million lost jobs if Card Check restrictions were placed on businesses.


Name an Obama policy position and I'm betting you'll find a union or ACORN (but I repeat myself) standing right behind it. Find a union and you'll find an Obama policy position. During his presidential oath, Obama swore to uphold the Constitution. I fear that he really meant the SEIU's constitution.


Reference: Obama puts union strings on federal jobs (Times) and Obama, labor's lackey (LA Times)

Music Video: The Day ObamaCare Died


Papa B sent this one in:

Instant Classic!



You'll be humming this all evening.


Diplomatic Breakthrough: Taliban In Synch With Obama


Dan from New York:

 

 

It's good to see people of different cultures working so well together.


Dr. Stephen Schneider, holed up in the Branch Carbonian compound, embargoes his embarrassing Warmal Colding interview


Carey writes:

Globaloney: Professor Flip-Flops On Climate Change


Phenomenal. Stanford Professor Stephen Schneider was interviewed about why he was a "coming ice age" prophet back in the 1970s and a "global warming" alarmist now. After the interview, he threatened legal action against the filmmakers if they showed it.

They ended up using a paid actor to read his words. Apparently that is legal.

Schneider, of course, is a member of the UN's IPCC panel. These are the same consultants, businessmen and ripoff artists who dreamed up the global warming bunko scam and are laughing all the way to the bank.

This motley crew would probably tell you that, without a 10% lunar tax, the Moon will explode in five years -- if they thought they could somehow get a personal payday out of it.


Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives


DB sent this one in:

Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives

If a Conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a Liberal doesn't like guns, they believe no one should have one.

If a Conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat. If a Liberal is, they want to ban all meat products for everyone.

If a Conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy. A Liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a Conservative is homosexual, he quietly enjoys life. If a Liberal is homosexual, they loudly demand legislated respect.

If a Conservative is a minority , he sees himself as independently successful. Their Liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a Conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A Liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a Conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a Conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A Liberal wants all churches to be silenced.

If a Conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A Liberal demands that his neighbors pay for his.

If a Conservative disagrees with a Liberal president, he is called a racist. When a Liberal disagrees with a Conservative president, it's patriotic dissent.

If a Conservative expresses his political view, he is called an idiot. A Liberal expressing his political views is expressing his right to Freedom of Speech.

“I never use the words Democrats and Republicans. It’s Liberals and Americans.
- James Watt, Ronald Reagan’s Interior Secretary

 

SMS Phishing Scam: Coming Soon to a Cell Phone Near You


M writes:

Some of my family members and I received text messages today on our cell phones that suggested that our Bank of America account / credit card had some “unsolicited activity”. The message further asked me to call an 800-number immediately.

Out of curiosity, I called the number which answered with an IVR system that instructed me to enter my credit card number, the expiration date and my PIN number. For the record, I don’t have a Bank of America sponsored credit card -- obviously a scam.

Just wanted to give you a heads-up on yet another scam that is circulating.

Larwyn's Linx: Friendly Reminder from ACORN -- You're All Racists

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

ACORN Threw Out GOP Voter Registrations: Atlas
Friendly Reminder from ACORN: You're Racists: Hot Air
Behold: our first Omni-President: Examiner

Memo to Kevin Jennings, 'Safe Schools Czar': Zombie
Lawmaker to Obama: Fire Jennings Now: BigGov
The Trauma of Obama: AT

Pollsters pushing Americans to accept ObamaCare: AT
Perez Confirmed -- What Next?: Commentary
Frankenstein's Monster: ObamaCare's Individual Mandate: PJM

If You Like Long Lines You'll Love Obamacare: GWP
Firefighters lose large grant to ACORN: Times
Zombieland at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.: Aces

Economy

Lied to enough already?: AT (Arenas)
Obama ties Union strings to construction: Times
Voters Offered Tips to Profit from ‘House Flipping’: BMW

Tax-free Tyranny: LegalIns
Pelosi believes ObamaCare will destroy private insurance: Ace
The WSJ Guide to ObamaCare: WSJ

Is SEIU's Purple Brand Fading to Pink?: BigGov
House Speaker Rosa Klebb Doubles Down On Bat S*** Crazy With VAT: Soylent
Issa responds to ACORN's Bertha Lewis: BigGov

Jocelyn Benson (D-ACORN, SEIU) announces run for MI A.G.: BlogProf

Media

FTC has no business in the media business: Examiner
Bill Ayers admits writing 'Dreams' for Obama: Examiner
CBS tries to discredit conservative blogs, fails miserably: JWF

How the VRWC really works: AT (Cashill)
Bachmann laughs at Olbermann's buffoonery: GWP
Begala to Obama: Listen to me, dummy: Hewitt

Another prestigious error from the Atlantic: Kaus
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Demonizing Private Insurance Companies: STACLU
The evidence is in: no Republicans watch Keith 'Strap-on' Olbermann: JWF

Climate & Energy

Guess who's willing to spend $750B of your money to reduce CO2?: PJM
Antarctic Ice Melt at Lowest Levels in Satellite Era: WCR
Global Warming: Your Government at Work: BigGov

WaPo Trumpets a new AGW report: STACLU

World

Holder Personally Orders US Not to Seek Death Penalty for Embassy Bomber: Ace
The Anti-Obama: We Must Win In Afghanistan: GWP

This time, the Ghetto has Nukes: PJM (Chesler)
Organizing for America website depicts Israelis as the new Nazis: Atlas

Sci-Tech

Impossible CAPTCHA: It Doesn't Really Matter if You are Human or Not: SEO Smarty

Cornucopia

Hitler "called Chamberlain an a***hole": Telegraph
The New Posters Are Here! Hope Floats: DBKP

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Arrogance, Ego and Insecurity


I'll leave the psychoanalysis to the pros, but I'm shocked by the level of insecurity demonstrated by the Obama administration and its handlers.

Has an official White House press release ever pilloried a television network for criticizing a President's policies?


Chris Wallace was understating things.

...the fact that [Obama] would go and self- consciously do CBS and ABC and NBC and CNN and Univision, I mean, you know, I'm not in any way denigrating Univision, but it is not on the regular roster of Sunday talk shows, frankly I think elevates us. It is -- when I covered - real quickly, when I covered Ronald Reagan for NBC in the `80s, you know, some days you do a good piece, a positive piece about it. Sometimes do you a tough piece. And you'd come in the next day. And they always treated you professionally. And I think it came from the top down, from the old man. Reagan who felt, you know, I'm going to get a good review today and bad review tomorrow...

...These guys [the Obama administration], everything is personal... They are the biggest bunch of crybabies I have dealt with in my 30 years in Washington.

Disagree on policy and you're labeled a racist or worse.

Instead of "Change", "Hope" and "Post-Partisanship", we get "Ego", "Insecurity" and "Arrogance".

I never thought I'd say this about a president, but the Carter administration's looking pretty good right now.


Update: "George Will on Obama's 'gaseous rhetoric' and Olympian ego".

Not Even The Onion Could Dream This Up...


Dan from New York:

Obama Still Deliberating Whether We Need to Defeat Taliban


Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) just wrapped up a conference call with reporters following a meeting he attended with other members of Congress, the president and his advisers at the White House this afternoon. Cantor said that during the meeting President Obama made "very clear" his goal is to "dismantle al Qaeda and its extremist allies." As recently as a week ago, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that defeating al Qaeda's extremist allies means defeating the Taliban, but there have been reports that some White House advisers think the goal should be defeating just al Qaeda, not the Taliban.

Cantor recalled the president said during the meeting that "that discussion is ongoing about whether you can actually separate the two--al Qaeda and the Taliban."

Cantor said he told the president that he's "committed to trying to put politics aside" in order to give "our generals in the field what they need in terms of their recommendations."

He added that some Democratic members were "very very cautious about going against the recommendations of our commander." He said some members of the Armed Services Committee in particular were "very outspoken" about the need to fully resource McChyrstal's request.

Forget Hawaii or Kenya. I wonder if he was born in France.


And these are the guys who want to nationalize 17% of the economy?


Gee, they got the whole stimulus thing wrong.


And screwed up the auto companies. And the banks. And the budget. And "Cash-for-Clunkers". And the dollar.

But I'm sure Biden, Pelosi, Reid and President Training Wheels will be able to successfully revamp the entire health care system using a central-planning approach reminiscent of East Germany in 1963.


Update: More good news: "Halloween came early to the White House."

"The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever"


One more from Henry Blodget:

It's now official: The country has lost more jobs as a percentage of peak employment than any time since the Great Depression.

This includes the recessions of the early 1980s, even when they are combined.

(Click to zoom)

...regardless of what the jobs recovery eventually looks like, it hasn't started yet... here's [Calculated Risk]'s explanation:

The dashed line is an estimate of the impact of the large benchmark revision (824 thousand more jobs lost).

The graph compares the job losses from the start of the employment recession in percentage terms (as opposed to the number of jobs lost).

Instead of 7.2 million net jobs lost since December 2007, the preliminary benchmark estimate suggests the U.S. has lost over 8.0 million net jobs during that period.

Thankfully, the President of Chicago has a vast amount of experience in revitalizing businesses, so it shouldn't be much of a problem for him to repair the badly wounded economy.

How close is CBS to bankruptcy?


Not to belabor the CBS meme, but Business Insider's Henry Blodget offers some cautionary notes regarding the network's tenuous financial condition ("Is CBS Really Going Bankrupt?"). The phrase "stick a fork in 'em" comes to mind.

Two weeks ago, we noted that CBS had been pinpointed by Audit Integrity as one of 10 big companies at risk of bankruptcy... This prompted an outraged denial by CBS... Here's the bottom line:

...CBS has ...blown billions in recent years stupidly buying back its own stock at much higher prices--shareholder value destruction at its finest.  So the company's weak financial position is very much of its own making.

THE SITUATION

Here's a snapshot of CBS's current financial position:

Cash: $341 million
Debt: $7 billion
That's called leverage!

Meanwhile, CBS's cash flows have been precipitously declining:

2006 Free Cash Flow: $1.5 billion
2007 Free Cash Flow: $1.7 billion
2008 Free Cash Flow: $1.7 billion
2008 Free Cash Flow (through June): $1.4 billion
2009 Free Cash Flow (through June): $250 million

In other words, cash flow for the first six months (operations less capex) dropped from $1.4 billion to $250 million in a single year.  CBS had better hope those trends don't continue.

Blodget believes that a near-term bankruptcy probably isn't the cards for CBS -- unless the economy continues to worsen.

But, he concludes, it "is in a weak and deteriorating financial position, however. And this condition is in large part due to its own stupidity."

Meanwhile, the sole center-right television news outlet -- Fox News -- is absolutely pulverizing its competition (September ratings from Mediaite [PDF]).

And, rather than pushing its news operation's viewpoint closer to the center, CBS instead continuously attempts to discredit the conservative media.

Fortunately, those efforts are about as effective as President Obama's policies. Which is to say: they're Rather-iffic!


Exclusive: CBS Human Resources Employee Handbook!


You'll never guess what Cub Reporter Biff Spackle coaxed someone at CBS into faxing him:


Looks like Letterman was following the rules after all.

Larwyn's Linx: The AMA Endorses Largest Denier of Health Claims

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

State AG: Rathke Embezzled $5 Million From ACORN: BigGov
Harry "This War Is Lost" Reid Questions GOP Patriotism: Power Line
Jones' Worrisome Ties: AT (Lasky)

AMA Endorses Largest Denier of Health Claims: BigGov
Nobel Awards and the Best Health Care in the World: Surber
Obama and the Doctors: Adrienne

Coulter Destroys the Infant Mortality Canard: TigerHawk
US Radicals 1 Margarida Jorge : New Zeal
Brzezinski: A voice better off ignored: Gormogons

President Obama Plans to Revive Public Option: Verum
'Our voter registration system is a disaster': Times (Blackwell)
Philly politics is Einsteinian insanity: It's time for 2-party rule: Philly

Treating poor blacks as victims to be "organized": AT (Jackson)

Economy

Perfect: Democrats plan expansion of CRA: Fausta
Scary: Dinocrat
Use Halloween as a Teachable Moment: BMW

A Poisonous Cocktail: Forbes
How taxes pervert our energy choices: AT (Somsel)
Tea Party Protest erupts as Bawney Fwank visits Michigan: BlogProf

Media

Consumer Reports' Specious Stand On Health Care Reform: LegalIns
How Dominant is Fox News? This Dominant: JWF
HuffPo fantasyland: Murdoch to fire Beck: JWF

Crikeys: CNN Feels Obliged to "Fact Check" SNL's Obama Skit: Ace
Another day, another left-wing, media-sponsored smear job: Ace
Just Act: a Response to Will Ferrell: BigGov

Climate & Energy

Graph of the Day: AT (Hoven)
Climate bill backers quit Chamber of Commerce: Times
The Climate Treaty That Rewards African Despots: AT (Gee)

World

After Bringing Victory to Iraq -- Obama Pushes Petraeus Aside in Afghanistan: GWP
Lose Afghanistan, Lose Pakistan, Lose Iran, Lose It All: AT (Lewis)
Figures: Team Obama Champions UN Resolution That Protects Radical Islam, Restricts Freedom of Speech: GWP

Chaos-istan: Crittenden
I think quoting Obama is unfair!: JOM
Israel and the Arab World, in U.N. statistics: AT

Israel and the Defense of Civilization: OneCosmos
For the first time since '91, a President snubs the Dalai Lama to curry favor with the Chinese: GWP
Obama's Pal Zelaya: Racist Nutjob: GWP

Sci-Tech

Rooms with Views: Portrait of the International Space Station: AmerDig
Americans Least Happy in Their 50s and Late 80s: Gallup

Cornucopia

Why God Made Moms: Krites
Mensa's got a new chapter president: Ace
More on the differences between conservatives and liberals: Tackett

Inside the War Room: Atlas

Monday, October 05, 2009

Daddy, how was I born?


Papa B sent this one in.

A little boy goes to his father and asks 'Daddy, how was I born?'

The father answers, 'Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out, so...

Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo.

Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe.

We sneaked into a secluded room, and googled each other.

There your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall.

And since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said...



You've got male!'

Papa B seems to have a lot of time on his hands these days.


Saudi Arabia: 'Religious Police' To Set Up Human-Rights Unit


The invaluable Stratfor Research:

Saudi Arabia: 'Religious Police' To Set Up Human-Rights Unit


Saudi Arabia’s so-called “religious police,” the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, plans to go through a restructuring and will set up a human-rights division, Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported Oct. 5. A spokesman for the commission said the new division will deal with human rights “in accord with just Islamic principles and international rights treaties.”

Magnanimous.

Rumor has it that women, blacks, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews are free to apply for treatment as humans.


"The Best-Looking BMW in Years"


Motor Authority has the key photos of the 2011 BMW 6-series.

BMW’s next-generation 6-Series isn’t due to be unveiled until the 2011 Geneva Auto Show but prototypes for the new car are already testing in Europe and have been captured by spy photographers on a number of occasions. Like the recently launched 2010 Z4, the new 6-Series is expected to feature a folding metal hard-top, making it both a coupe and a convertible.

As for the car’s styling, not much is known although the original BMW CS Concept from 2007 is expected to play an influential role. Speaking with reporters at last month’s 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, BMW’s U.S. chief Jim O’Donnell has boasted that “the next 6-series is the best-looking car that BMW has done in years. It’s really stunning.”

O’Donnell went on to reveal that the car will be “super sleek”, while also admitting that the current model’s Bangle butt has polarized many.

I think a soft-top on a $70,000 vehicle also polarized a few folks.


Hat tip: AutoSpies.

"Chrysler is going out of business. The company just hasn’t made it official."


Earlier today, Mopar Muscle Magazine reported that industry insiders believe Chrysler is doomed.

Rumors, credible rumors, are beginning to circulate in the car industry and the automotive press, that Chrysler may not make it another year primarily due to its falling sales and growing financial losses at partner Fiat.

Chrysler sold a 62,197 cars in September, down 42% from the same month last year. The figure was down from 93,222 in August when traffic to dealers was pushed up by the ”cash for clunkers” program.

Chrysler’s problems may only be beginning and, if so, Fiat, the ”managing partner” among Chrysler’s owners may not be able to keep the American company intact.

Analysts assert that the smallest member of the big three no longer has enough market share to cover its cost base. Furthermore, Ford -- the only non-nationalized auto company -- is picking up market share at the expense of both Chrysler and GM.

Taxpayers are likely to lose most of the $81 billion that Congress and the administration sunk into the two companies, according to the Congressional Oversight Panel. Chrysler is expected to lose all $14.3 billion of the taxpayers' money.

The daily management of Chrysler is controlled by Fiat which owns 20% of the U.S. company with options which could take that amount to 35%. Fiat has not put any money into Chrysler, so if the American firm becomes a significant operational or management burden there are very few reason for the Italian company, which has sales troubles of its own in Europe, to stay long term. Fiat lost $254 million in the second quarter, so its board may eventually believe that Chrysler is a distraction and one without a future.

What Chrysler needs most from Fiat is money. If Fiat's own bleed continues, there will remain only one choice for management.

In the mean time, the traditional competitors like Toyota, Honda and Nissan aren't Chrysler's only concerns in the U.S. Hyundai posted a sales gain of 27% in September. Its increase in sales alone was half of Chrysler's total units sold.

Furthermore, Chrysler's lineup is dominated by SUVs, minivans, big sedans and pickups -- all the wrong vehicles in an economy geared towards efficient, economical compacts. In this environment, Chrysler's market share has hemorrhaged badly: from 11.1% a year ago to around 7.5% today.

Chrysler sales are now running at the rate of 750,000 a year. It probably does not have the capital to wait through another year of low US car sales with a market share that is almost certainly to stay below 8%. It does not have models tailored to the current market tastes. Chrysler is going out of business. The company just hasn’t made it official.

President Obama's rash decision to abrogate bankruptcy law to prop up the UAW bosses is now certain to result in another catastrophic financial loss for the American taxpayer.

But don't worry. He's historic.


Linked by: Ace o' Spades, AutoSpies and Don Surber. Thanks!

Fail Blog: Central Planning Edition


Consider the track record of the Central-Planner-In-Chief:

• The results of the ill-fated $787 "Stimulus" package?


Cash-for-Clunkers?


• The First-time Home Buyers' Tax Credit?


• Nationalizing GM and Chrysler, while abrogating bankruptcy laws to reward major campaign contributors like the union bosses?


• Allowing the Treasury Department (a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs) and the Federal Reserve to artificially and illegally prop up the country's "too-big-to-fail" banks?


• Attempting a takeover of 17% of the economy through creation of a government-run health care system?


You'd have thought the fall of the Soviet Union would have taught the would-be central planners the futility of Politburo-style orchestration of the economy.


But, then, you'd be thinking rationally, unlike the Obama-Pelosi-Reid Democrats who are -- intentionally or not -- destroying the American economy.

Remember their outrageous failures. And vote accordingly in 2010.