Monday, General Motors file for bankruptcy. The largest industrial bankruptcy in American history. I never thought in my lifetime I would see such a thing. GM closed on the DOW Friday at .75c to the dollar. The lowest in it's history. Who is at fault for this? The already diminsihing manufacturing capability of this country has taken a big hit. But, out of this hopefully the company can restructure itself and rise again like the phoenix. If not then another icon will be thrown on the ash heap of history.
Karma where do you get those pics? I wasn't too fond of the last one but I have to admit this one is intriguing.
IMO, Michigan bears the greatest burden in light of recent events concerning the automotive industry companies. Unemployment was already a major problem here and now it is worse, especially throughout urban america. Now that the federal government, via taxpayer money, are majority stakeholders in General Motors, I feel that the engineering and mass-production/assembly resources at GM (and if possible, Chrysler) can and should be used to help design and implement comprehensive mass-transit systems like high speed rail, light rail, and alternative-fuel buses for use both regionally and nationwide. Weren’t the auto factories refitted during World War II to build tanks and such? The American auto industry’s backyard of Michigan would be great to start pilot projects connecting cities with 21st century transit systems. Public Transit systems help to lessen the overall fuel emissions made by the vehicles we drive. It also helps those who currently can't afford their own vehicle meet family, work and school obligations. It would be a means of bolstering America’s workforce and go a long way toward strengthening the economy. In the midst of public debate on what GM’s restructuring means, I feel that there is a missed opportunity not being explored. The auto companies historically had not supported mass transit if only because it theoretically detracts from their revenue. A governmental “hands off” mantra is not the proper approach to this unique and virtually unprecedented situation. In the interest of uplifting this issue, here is some contact information for elected officials and others-- Elected Officials contact info: Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States (& Mr. Joe Biden, Vice President) 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 ***********cc2b6a]www.whitehouse.gov[/COLOR] Mr. Ray LaHood, US Secretary of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington, DC 20590 Mr. Matt Welbes Federal Transit Administration East Building 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington, DC 20590 Dept. of Transportation website- ***********cc2b6a]www.dot.gov[/COLOR] US Senators- ***********cc2b6a]www.senate.gov[/COLOR] US House of Represenatives- ***********cc2b6a]www.house.gov[/COLOR] News Programs/Pundits/Activists contact info (websites & snail mail) NBC News ***********cc2b6a]www.nbc.com[/COLOR], ***********cc2b6a]www.msnbc.com[/COLOR] 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, N.Y. 10112 NBC/MSNBC: Rachel Maddow; Brian Williams; Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Ann Curry, matt lauer, Meredith viera CBS News ***********cc2b6a]www.cbsnews.com[/COLOR] 524 West 57th St. New York, NY 10019 Katie Couric; Bob Schieffer Rainbow Push coalition- 930 E. 50th Street Chicago, IL 60615 ***********cc2b6a]www.rainbowpush.org[/COLOR] National Action Network- 106 W. 145th Street Harlem, New York 10039 ***********cc2b6a]www.nationalactionnetwork.com[/COLOR] ABC News ***********cc2b6a]www.abcnews.com[/COLOR] 7 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023 Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo PBS ***********cc2b6a]www.pbs.org[/COLOR] Public Affairs Television 450 West 33rd Street 6th Floor New York, NY 10001 ***********cc2b6a]http://www.pbs.org/newshour/letters.html[/COLOR] Ralph Nader ***********cc2b6a]www.nader.org[/COLOR] P.O. Box 19312 Washington, DC 20036 CNN- ***********cc2b6a]www.cnn.com[/COLOR] One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303 Soledad OBrien, Larry King, Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Tony Harris, TJ Holmes
