Free Republic

Chapter 11 would better preserve the valuable parts of the company than an ad hoc bailout. General Motors is a once-great company caught in a web of relationships designed for another era. It should not be fed while still caught, because that will leave it trapped until we get tired of feeding it. Then it will die. The only possibility of saving it is to take the risk of cutting it free. In other words, GM should be allowed to go bankrupt. AP Consider the costs of tackling GM's problems with some kind of bailout plan. After 42 years...

The failure of one or more of Detroit’s Big Three automakers would put a huge initial dent in American manufacturing, but in time foreign car companies would pick up the slack by stepping up production in their plants here, many industry experts and economists say. Whether Washington should let that play out — risking hundreds of thousands of jobs — is a central question Congress will weigh this week as it hears testimony from Detroit leaders who are pushing for immediate federal intervention, before the next administration takes over in January. “Barack Obama has made it clear he understands the...

DETROIT -- The president of the United Auto Workers union said the dire financial troubles of the three U.S. auto makers is the result this year's spike in gasoline prices and the meltdown on Wall Street, not missteps by management or high labor costs. "This industry is in a crisis situation not of its own making," Ron Gettelfinger said in an interview Saturday afternoon with The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Gettelfinger also urged Congress to provide financial help to prevent General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. or Chrysler LLC from sliding into bankruptcy protection. Bankruptcy is "the worst possible route...

As a negotiator, Ron Gettelfinger, the United Automobile Workers president, is known more for the carrot than the stick. Just don't mistake him for easygoing. This year, he briefly banned marines stationed near Solidarity House, the union's headquarters, from parking in the union lot if they drove foreign cars or had Bush bumper stickers. And in 2001, shortly after being nominated for the union presidency, he summed up his style in one word: "abrasive." This summer, as he faces the fight of his union life in a showdown with General Motors, his penchant for compromising with the beleaguered domestic automakers...

ORDER OF WORSHIPFORUNPLANNED PRIESTLESS SUNDAYSCATHOLIC DIOCESE OF EVANSVILLEAfter waiting ten (10) minutes, the following announcement is made by the deacon or lector or presider:Our priest (or Father __________ ) is not able to be with us. Therefore, by diocesan policy our worship today will include some of the prayers and scriptures the Church has assigned for this Sunday. Even though this will not be a Mass, we are not obliged to take part in Mass somewhere else.The Lord is present to us today for we have gathered in his name. "Where two or three are gathered in my name there...