She may be a dunce, but at least's Sarah is OUR dunce!

Well, Jack, as long as you have stopped attacking the US Military, I'm satisfied.

You may continue laughing at anything else you please.

But the fact remains that you made a grotesque generalization, and have now had to retreat from it.

The government does some things very well (hello US Marines -- Semper Fi!) and other things not so well (formerly, the Post Office). It really helps rational debate when you play fair.

And for people on the far-right like yourself to accuse Pres Obama of being a socialist is akin to people on the far-left accusing Pres Bush of being a fascist and ordering the collapse of the Twin Towers. It just doesn't wash. In fact, it's nuts.

But you already knew that. Say hi to Orly! You'll find her begging quarters on her website.

To reiterate, the government's recent bailout of GM is near-identical to that in 1979 of Chrysler.

In both cases they traded stock for cash.

In 1979 Chrysler was bailed out by the feds. They loaned $1.5 billion, charged almost 10% interest, and obtained 14.4 million shares in warrants. The government pressed for new leadership, and Chrysler brought in Lee Iacocca. He did a brilliant job.

Chrysler repaid the loans and bought out the shares SEVEN YEARS early. Our third largest auto manufacturer was saved.

Clearly they obtained -- then as now -- the stocks as collateral. The loans were re-paid, and the stock was re-acquired. Government quit the Chrysler business, as they are soon to quit the GM business. That's how it should be for a Banker of Last Resort.

BTW, they forced the resignation of the former Chrysler head, and brought in Lee Iacocca. That one worked out quite well, most would agree.

They also forced the resignation of Rick Wagoner, the former GM head, and brought in Ed Whitacre. The jury's still out on that one.

For those of us who believe in MADE IN AMERICA, this is a pretty good deal. Anything else capitulates to the Chinese.

For which you may thank NAFTA! It was supported by Republicans, against the majority of Democrats, and Ross Perot.

Hey Greg:

If you prefer that GM and Chrysler fail, you are serving the interests of the Chinese. Not very patriotic of you.

Most of us prefer MADE IN AMERICA.

You have to laugh because you are incapable of reply.

According to you, "ANYTHING the government touches..." Well, that is patently false. We have the greatest military machine in the world. It is wholly government owned and operated. It works quite well. ANYTHING?? Don't be ridiculous.

You made an absurd generalization, one which even you cannot support when challenged. Such is always the case with fanatics.

The more sensible argument is surely this: "Government is not well-equipped to operate..." and then name those instances which in your view are inappropriate. Your generalizations cause even you to laugh, and this is quite understandable.

You may even argue that the government should have let GM fail. Fair enough -- although catastrophic for our manufacturing sector. You would be serving Chinese interests, and not American, but that may be your view. I prefer 'Made In America' myself.

You will admit that the Chrysler bailout of 1979 saw the government sell off its 14 million shares, and receive the return of its loan, SEVEN YEARS earlier than planned.

GM is now intent on doing much the same, and has so announced. It is clear that the federal government wants out of the car business, and GM wants to resume ownership of its car business.

What really happened here is that the government became Banker of Last Resort. This began under Mr Bush, and will conclude under Mr Obama -- evidently ahead of schedule. Soon enough, GM will be owned by individual shareholders again, as it should.

GM has not been 'nationalized'. It traded stock for a loan. It is now buying back that stock, and repaying that loan. I realize you prefer hyperbole, Jack, but it's really as simple as that.

Chrysler, 1979.

GM, 2010.

The problem is not 'nationalization', which never occurred. The problem is mismanagement, which continues to recur.

Blame Washington if you like, but that would make as much sense as blaming Atlantis.

In further regard to your spelling, you originally wrote, "Don't belive me?"

I expect you meant "Don't believe me?"

Not that one would call you stupid, or anything quite so flattering.

You really have to learn to read more closely, Scaggy. Why, immediately above your little squib of a retort was this... ready? Here goes.

=======

**You are absolutely correct in regard to Mr Wagoner.**

I took Mr Scagsdale here to mean the present and now-departing CEO, Mr Ed Whitacre. It would appear Mr Whitacre's departure was entirely of his own accord. Mr Wagoner was bounced for cause, at least in the view of those who saw GM continuing to run downhill.

You will have seen that the history of GM's Volt long-precedes Mr Obama taking office, as does the original bailout of Chrysler in 1979.

Thanks for the clarification.
=======

REPEAT: MR WAGONER WAS BOUNCED FOR CAUSE. This is no secret.

Now, as to your own most recent posting, please learn how to spell.

You wrote, "As for the rest of it, get of your Marxist ass and find it yourself."

Correctly, you should have written "get off your" and so on. BTW, I am as much a 'Marxist' as you are a beauty queen. Sorry to disappoint.

You wrote, "Because anything the government touches turns to sh*t... "

Think rationally now. Does this also include our military? Our national highway system? Our federally financed medical research system -- the greatest in the world? Your mother's social security? Our weather satellites? Our tanks and missiles? Our stealth technologies? The cure for polio? These are all federal government projects, paid for by tax dollars and administered by Washington.

The Smithsonian? The Lincoln Memorial? Yosemite Park? Grand Canyon Park?

Do you really think our Navy, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Air Force are sh*t?

Think rationally now.

You may well be correct. I am still holding on to my shares in Studebaker-Packard. I sold my Tucker shares long ago.