The fine folks at Ford, GM and Chrysler have released statements defending their CEO’s use of Private Jets to go on their begging trip to DC.
“Making a big to-do about this when issues vital to the jobs of millions of Americans are being discussed in Washington is diverting attention away from a critical debate that will determine the future health of the auto industry and the American economy,” GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said in a statement.
Chrysler spokeswoman Lori McTavish said in a statement, “while always being mindful of company costs, all business travel requires the highest standard of safety for all employees.”
Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker pointed to the company’s travel policy and did not provide a statement elaborating.
The sheer gall of these people amazes me. At least the Ford spokesman had the common sense to not even try to make an excuse. All three automakers are claiming using private jets for travel is a security issue. Come on now, it is not like these people were going to Nicaragua or something, they were going to freaking Washington for Christs sake.
It just goes to prove that these three are only interested in protecting their cushy jobs and don’t give a damn about their stockholders, their customers, or the American Taxpayer.
…and to you Tom Wilkenson of GM…This is exactly where the attention of the government and the nation belongs. It was YOUR executives that screwed up the company. You see Tom, we are not REQUIRED to by your crappy cars, we get to choose what we want to buy. The handwriting was on the wall a year ago and your execu”tards” decided to keep doing business as usual.
Maybe, and remember, I don’t have a college degree so don’t take this too seriously, IF YOU MADE A PRODUCT PEOPLE WANTED, YOU WOULDN’T BE IN THIS MESS.
I want to thank the CEO’s of Americas “Big 3″ auto makers for making up my mind for me on whether or not to support a government Bail Out for their beleaguered industry.
As always, I have been able to see both sides of the issue, and, both sides made some very good arguments.
On the “Pro” side is the fact that the ripple effect of one or more of The Big 3 going bankrupt to our already staggering economy could be devastating. Some sources are already pointing out that the 3 million jobs lost number that is being bandied about is based on old data, but even the loss 1.5 to 2 million jobs is a pretty big hit for the economy to take.
On the “Con” side, well, Detroit put itself into this mess, why the hell should the taxpayer be put in the position of having to come to their rescue? Where does it stop? What guarantees do we have that they wont squander the 25 million dollars they are asking for?
Well, breaking news is giving the answer. And it is simply this…
NO FUCKING WAY IN HELL !!!!!!!!
It turns out that when the CEO’s of Ford, Chrysler and GM made their way to Washington on Tuesday to plead their case before Congress, they each arrived in their own private jets. Now, the ride cost EACH of them around $20,000. By comparison, a round trip coach class ticket would have cost them around $300 a piece.
Whats the matter guys, are you all too busy to at least “jetpool”?
Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, has good reason to use a company provided Biz Jet. You see, he doesn’t live in Detroit, he commutes from his home in SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. You will pleased to know that he ONLY uses the jet to travel back and forth on the weekends.
“Mulally made his case Tuesday before the committee saying he’s cut expenses, laid-off workers and closed 17 plants.
“We have also reduced our work force by 51,000 employees in the past three years,” Mulally said.”
Well good for you Alan. I can’t help but wonder how many employees jobs would have been saved or how much additional funding for R&D your company would have had if you had grounded your fleet of 8 jets. Just on Tuesday, you had one jet flying you to Washington, another flying a group of executives to Nebraska and another flying yet more of your spawn to Los Angeles.
Did you really think this is the best way to convince the American Taxpayer that we need to come to your rescue?
You Putz.
Listen, unless a tenant of any bailout package is that the CEO’s and Boards of these companies get the axe with nothing to show for it but the shirts on their backs, I am dead set against it.
You can contact your elected officials by clicking here and let him or her know exactly how you feel.
Here is the letter I sent;
Dear Senator Wyden,
It is my most sincere hope that you will vote against any bail out package for the auto industry.
While I understand the impact such a vote would have on our overall economic well being, I think all three CEO’s showed what can only be described as supreme arrogance when all three elected to arrive in Washington by Private Jet.
All three are running what are essentially dying companies that are unable to compete in the global marketplace and they can’t seem to see that they are wasting hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, on what amounts to an executive perk.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally actually has the stones to use a corporate jet to commute to his home in Seattle on weekends, rather then just move to Detroit.
I trust Senator, that you will do the right thing and vote against any bail out package that does not include language calling for the immediate resignation of the companies CEO and Board and forfeiture of any termination package they are to receive.
I thank you for your attention to this matter.
The procedure went off without a hitch and my one big fear was alleviated, there was no damage to my rotator cuff. Dr Doogie only had to put a single stitch into it and once all was said and done, everything looked pristine.
The initial recovery was not as bad as i thought it would be. Thanks in a huge part to Littlone, The Happy Atheist, Contractor Dave (now Cable Guy Dave) and BBQ Brandon, I had more then enough help and support. The worst part was sleeping in the recliner and only being able to stay asleep for an hour at a time, but, seeing as how I was asleep for an hour at a time all day due to the heavy meds, it all worked out.
If any of you out there are faced with orthopedic surgery and your doctor recommends a Game Ready Unit, GET ONE!!! Even if your insurance company won’t pay for it, like those cheap bastards at my insurance company, dig into your pocket and get one. Mine cost 60 dollars for the sleeve that went around my shoulder and then 15 dollars a day to rent the machine. I am convinced that it was the machine that made all the difference in my recovery. I completely freaked out when mine died two days after the surgery but the fine folks at Synergy Medical Services had someone out to fix it in 3 hours from the time I called them.
I was off the heavy drugs after 6 days and turned in Game Ready the day after that.
I had my first check up on Monday and Dr Doogie was very impressed with my progress. The stitches are out from the three holes they made in my shoulder for the procedure and I am out of the sling for as long as I can tolerate it. I start rehab on Thursday and go back to work on Monday, driving a desk. Best case scenario is that I am back to full duty in 4 more weeks.
I can’t thank enough Dr Doogie and his staff and all of my friends who gave of their time to help me get through this, I owe you all a big one.
This is an official bio pic of Dr. Doogie…AKA Dr Jason Brian Kurian MD, Orthopedic Surgeon. Now you tell me, does this guy look old enough to be a surgeon or am I just getting old?
A woman goes jewelry shopping at a high end department store (must be nice to have money in this economy) and selects a pair of diamond earrings and a matching 8 carrot diamond brooch.
Price tag for the set…. $28,000
Woman pays by credit card and takes her purchase home.
The next day, the department store discovers that they have made a mistake. The items were not in fact a set, the price tag on the brooch had fallen off.
Price tag for the brooch alone…. $48,000
The department store makes several attempts to contact the woman and to explain the mistake. The store offers her a discounted price on the brooch or demands it return.
The woman refuses…The store files a law suit to recover the price of the brooch plus legal fees.
This is an actual case before the Oregon courts right now.
Never let it be said that Consumer In Chief George W does not know how to throw a bash.
The dinner he hosted for world leaders in town to work out the collapse of the world economy on Friday featured a menu of fruitwood-smoked quail with quince gastrique; quinoa risotto; thyme-roasted rack of lamb; tomato, fennel and eggplant fondue; a salad course of endive, baked brie and walnuts; and a pear torte to cap the meal.
To wash all that stuff down,. leaders had a choice of bottles of Shafer Cabernet “Hillside Select” 2003 — about $300 per bottle — for the main course and the much cheaper Landmark Chardonnay “Damaris Reserve” 2006 for about $40 per bottle with the appetizer course. The Chandon DEtoile RosDe sparkling wine that accompanied dessert runs around $30 a bottle.
Now, I can understand George W wanting to make a good impression on the other world leaders. I mean, after January, when is he going to have a chance to hang out with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper; Chinese President Hu Jintao; French President Nicolas Sarkozy; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown?
I wouldn’t have anything to say if he had picked up the tab for the dinner, US Presidents are required to pay for their own groceries in The White House, but it was the American taxpayer that got stuck with the check.
Now if that is the case, I would have preferred a more “American” meal be served.
Here, Mr President, is what I would prefer to see served at your next “state” dinner.
Appetizer: Off brand “lil smokies” wrapped in crescent roll dough and served with a variety of dipping sauces from various fast food outlets.
Salad Course: Iceberg lettuce and tomato salad, Mexican grown of course, with a drizzle of vinegar and oil.
Main Course: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese made with margarine and Chinese “Mela”milk; chicken franks in white bread buns with a garnish of ketchup (doubles as the vegetable course).
Desert: Each attendee would bring a variety of sweets swiped from their kids trick or treat bag.
Beverages: “2 buck chuck” wines, vintage last week; Watered down Kool Aide; Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
If all of this is too much work for the White House kitchen staff, might I suggest contacting some DC fast food outlets and present a buffet style dinner catered from their dollar menu’s.
Today’s the day I go under the knife. I want to thank everyone for all their good wishes and support. Its going to be a long recovery from this, 2 months, with a full month before I can even get out of the sling.
I once again send out the invitation to send in your rants to help keep the site going while I recuperate. You can email them to me and I will see you get your five minutes of fame.
For you real sickos, here is a short video of the procedure I will be having done. Its called an Subachromial decompression.
With more and more facts about Sarah Palin’s alleged shortcomings becoming public, it is interesting to see how the Media is spinning it. I present to you two very different views.
I have never hidden my love of swine flesh. I know…bad Jew. What can I say, if God did not want me to eat pork, then why did he make it so damn tasty. Maybe my love of swine is some kind of forbidden fruit thing, but hell, my family never kept kosher when I was growing up, so I guess the whole idea of it never took hold. Lets face it, from burgers to burrito’s, everything tastes better with bacon.
In my travels through cyberspace I have come across many things, dancing hamsters, two girls one cup and the collected speeches of George W Bush, but never have I come across a more original concept then the blog I stumbled across this morning.
Now that the hangovers have abated and throats have been soothed, you can hear what election reporting did to Portland’s own Rick Emerson HERE, it is time to get down to the business of governing for President elect Obama. It appears that Joe Bieden’s “Miss Cleo” like prediction of a foreign policy test for our new president early in his term may just come true.
Yesterday, President elect Obama announced his choice of Chief Of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, a former Clinton adviser. However, with recent events in Russia, he may need a Secretary of State in a big way.
Russian President and hand puppet to Putin, Dmitry Medvedev is a little honked off at us right now over our whiz bang missile defense system. You see, last August, the Bush administration got Poland to agree to host a US interceptor base as part of our European missile shield. The Russians, surprisingly, don’t seem to care for the idea very much.
So, the Russian President has announced HIS intention to place short range tactical nukes on Poland’s border pointed right at our installation should Obama decide to continue on with Bush’s plan.
Now, Obama has stated that he is in favor of the missile defense shield, so this could be a a key test of Obamas ability to be a player on the world stage. If he backs down, he could be seen as weak, if he stands his ground we could be looking at Cold War; The Sequal.
What will he do?
I’m inclined to think that Obama does not dare blink.
We can ill afford to be perceived as weak on the world stage. Our pulling out of Iraq will be nothing compared to the loss of “street cred” we would suffer if we back down in the face of Russian demands.
It will be interesting to see how Obama reacts to this challenge.
