I think you're right sir, I have been trying to participate but I am constantly distracted

 

Been on break for two whole days myself!!!

Sure is nice to have breathing room!!

 

Snow report = Up here on Ridgetop in Silverdale and it is starting to snow.

 

I drove from Jerome to Pocatello on ice, and back in the snow. Fun.

 

i got about a foot of snow out here in eastern washington yesterday! but now for the next week the high is supposed to be 14 and the lows around -7 with windchills to about -21

man the snow came down so hard yesterday all day, it was insane!

and right now it is 12 degrees outside and supposed to get to -7 tonight

at least im going to California after christmas nice warm weather for two weeks

 

Sounds like you can save money!...Unplug the freezers and put everything outside.

 

Has anyone noticed that Ford is the only one of the Big Three automakers that can survive without a bailout from the government?...I say let GM and Chrysler sink!

 

What team do you like Mike!? Nice Av!!

 

Normally, I'd agree with you on this, but after I sat and thought about the propects of any of the big three going down, I begain to understand why Obama said we cannot let them fail.

Should any of these companies falter and fail, it not only affects the CEO's (which I think could be taken out of the equation most of the time anyway), nor the employees at the main office, the production plant, nor even the assembly line. The repercussions of a big 3 failure would stretch well beyond motor city. It could affect the trucking industry, not only for car delivery, but also all of the raw materials that are moved due to the auto industry. It would affect makers of plastic, and plastic by-products, producers of integrated circuitry, rubber, wire, leather, fabric and other textiles, and the list goes on and on. This all translates into a major shock to the economy that in this particular time, noone wants to face.

While I hate the idea of bailouts (as they'd never do it for a 'mom and pop' operation, and I believe it is fundamentally unfair, and favors the rich), I'd have to say that some sort of economic bandaid should be applied. I also think it should be applied with a major league set of conditions. I think the managing staff of these companies, should they receive aid, be placed on the equivalent of "double secret probation" (for those Animal House fans out there), and have a team of financial analysts and labor analysts dig deep into their business practices to find where improvements can be made.

I watched a show on TV some time ago about automotive production, and to be honest, I believe some of these folks are being WAY overpaid for what they do. One example was the guy that installs the doors on cars...he basically lets the robotic arm do all the heavy work, and he guides it to a pilot hole which automatically aligns the door so all he has to do is install the 8 hinge bolts with a pneumatic wrench...honestly, I didn't see over 80 dollars an hour worth of technical prowess there, nor that value in labor. While my analysis may be ad hoc, I think it should pose enough of a question that further investigation would be warranted.

Anyway...while my guts say "Let GM and Chrysler burn", my mind says that if we let them do so, we'd be bringing more strain upon an already fragile infrastructure that is already dealing with an unemployment rate that just rose 26% from less than a year ago.

 

Where is that towrig dude?

 

Haven't seen him in a while..

 

and mr. Tom is supposed to post pictures of his truck I have been waiting for quite awhile!

p.s. Spokane is getting POUNDED by snow right now

 

Marty is working and I did post some picks. More will come soon.

 

This system is not picture friendly

 

You sir are very correct lol