October's Best

Now that I've mostly gotten over my depression of the Dodgers' absolute collapse in September, I'll give my fearless picks for October.

Divisional Series
Rockies over Phillies
Diamondbacks over Cubs
Yankees over Indians
Red Sox over Angels

League Championship Series
Rockies over Diamondbacks
Red Sox over Yankees

World Series
Red Sox over Rockies

Position Available #2

Badly Wanted: A head coach with guts and a success-driven attitude for a badly under-performing football team in St. Louis. This football team has some of the most talented players in the NFL. They feature one of the most cool-headed, accurate and toughest quarterbacks, a young, emerging running back who is also an excellent receiver and blocker. An array of wide-receivers and tight ends with speed and great hands would be at your disposal.

Unfortunately, this team is so poorly coached that they appear utterly inept. This position is available immediately. Hurry and apply before it's too late. Bill Cowher and Marty Shottenheimer would make primary choices but anyone who is fiery, and can plan solid game strategies and not be prone to making sorry-ass excuses would be considered.

Position Available #1

The Los Angeles Dodgers, a major league baseball team serving the Los Angeles community has an urgent need for a manager. They need a highly motivated, success-driven leader. Applicants must be willing to tirelessly train and drive personnel to perform at a high level. Applicants must be able to incorporate a work ethic stressing fundamentals, conditioning and toughness. Applicants will need to have a heavy hand when needed to motivate a team that comprises many young players. Applicants must inspire attitude in team that anything short of making the postseason will be regarded as a complete failure to fulfill objectives.

The Los Angeles Dodgers organization is a proud major league baseball franchise with a rich tradition of success. The position offered here has major benefits including working with some of the finest young talent in the league.

"Player's managers" need not apply. Send your resumes to Sick_and_tired_of_feeble_management@dodgers.com.

Now That's God

I've been away helping my Mom move from Las Vegas to La Verne. I received the following link from my Uncle and Aunt. It's a really special tale.

Now That's God

Somehow, I Should Have Known

I just read the somewhat amusing speech by Osama bin Laden. He gives much praise to Allah, of course. He praises his soldiers of Islam for their hard work in the battle against the Imperial United States.

In between all this, he takes the time to condemn a few other things:

• He blasts the United States involvement in an "unjust" war in Iraq.
• He says the United States is in the war based on "blatant lies" by the federal government.
• He essentially says that democracy doesn't work because it breeds greedy corporations.
• He says the United States is destroying the planet by not ratifying the Kyoto accord.
• He blames America's evil on capitalism.

If it wasn't for the continual references to Allah and Islam, I can't help but think that this speech could easily have been made by Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or John Edwards.

I wonder what political party bin Laden supports? Next month, I suppose he will lay out his platform for national health care.

Okay, Here We Go

My absolutely fearless predictions for the 2007-2008 NFL season. You can take this to the bank.

...No, really.

...I'm serious, these predictions are dead on.

...Okay, so I wasn't so great last year, but this year will be different.

...I got a really good feeling this time.

...Fine, so don't believe me, you'll be sorry.

AFC East

This is my biggest surprise. After years of domination, the Patriot bubble will burst. They are due for a disappointing season and this will be it. They won't be bad but they won't be good enough to make the postseason. This division will be a fight between the Bills and Jets with the Bills winning the division and the Jets in the wild card. Just remember, you read it here first.

AFC North

The Bengals will run away with this with a solid season. The Ravens will be competitive but will fall short. This will be a disappointing season for the Steelers and the Browns will be, well... the Browns.

AFC South

My pick for this division will be ....(drumroll please)... The Colts! Okay, no surprise there. Some of the problems they had last year will turn up again but no one else in this division is going to compete with them.

AFC West

This is going to be a close one between the Chargers and Broncos. The Chargers will prevail. The Raiders will improve to respectibility and the Chiefs are in for a sorry season.

NFC East

Like their AFC counterparts, two teams will slug it out until the end. Eagles get the division, Cowboys get the wild-card. The Redskins and Giants will not be in the race in the second half. For once, this division will not be the 3 or 4 team race it usually is.

NFC North

The Bears! Was that so hard? No, they're the only good team in this otherwise, sorry division.

NFC South

The Saints will pick up where they left off last year and dominate this division. Carolina will stick near them for a while but will have to settle for a wild card. The Falcons and Buccaneers are going no where.

NFC West

This is now the NFL's most competitive division. The Seahawks are a little older but still a good team. The other three all improved. This division will be a mess. All four teams will look good at different times of the season. The division lead will change frequently throughout the season. The team that will end up on top when the dust has settled will be the Rams.

Postseason

AFC Division Winners = Bills, Bengals, Colts, Chargers
AFC Wild Card = Jets, Broncos
AFC Champion = Chargers

NFC Division Winners = Eagles, Bears, Saints, Rams
NFC Wild Card = Cowboys, Panthers
NFC Champion = Rams

NFL Champion = Chargers

Now you know. Do we need to actually go through the formality of playing the games?

HELL YES!

Property

There's been an interesting discussion on the last two Larry Elder radio shows. It concerns what should happen to Michael Vick, who now has pleaded guilty in charges of gambling and being involved in illegal dog-fighting.

Mr. Elder asserts that although he finds Vick's actions "disgusting" and "reprehensible", he doesn't feel that what he did should be considered illegal. He points out that if one were to take an axe and chop up one's own television set, it would be a stupid act but wouldn't be illegal as the TV was the property of that individual.

This riled up a few of his listeners. Last Friday, one guy called and said that his dogs are not property, but members of his family. Larry asked him if somebody came in to his house and killed his dog, would he treat that the same way as if it were his wife or his child? The man responded "yes", which I could tell just floored Larry. Yesterday, Larry reported that he had been inundated with emails from listeners who felt the same way as the Friday caller did. Larry tried to explain that we eat cows and chickens so what makes dogs and cats so special? Larry mentioned that he owns a cat but does not see the cat as an equal to other members of his family.

I can only add that I was as close to my dog as I had ever been to any other human being so I can relate to these callers. I know that not everybody feels this way (certainly not Michael Vick) and some people truly view their pets as "property".

Worse than Hillary?

First we get Hillary Clinton attempting to pander to a predominantly black audience with her "I don't feel no ways tired" quotation. Never mind that it appeared more of an insult than anything else.

"Everybody here has looked after me for years, If it wasn't for these folks, I wouldn't be nowhere. ... This is my crew." - Presidential Candidate Barack Obama at Bud Billiken Parade Aug 11, 2007

This gem was said to a primarily black audience that included children. This from the same man who had stressed the importance of education. His own website states "Because education begins at home, parents must set high standards and inspirational examples for their children. "

Is this what he means by high standards?

Utterly Ridiculous

Stop the Hatin', Hank

Dr. Todd Boyd, a professor at the University of Southern California calls Henry Aaron a "hater". Henry "Hank" Aaron has been a class act at least since he started playing Major League Baseball in 1954. In 1974, when he was being lambasted for breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record, he never said a word about the hate that was bestowed upon him.

Comparing Ruth and Aaron indicates two different players. Ruth compiled his 714 total home runs in bunches. For a 15 year period, he was a holy terror as he hit 666 home runs over that time. Aaron wasn't quite as dangerous per year or at bat as he took 18 years to hit 673 home runs during his prime. Considering he played 8 more games per year, it took Aaron considerably more at bats to accomplish what Ruth did. What gets lost in that it also means Aaron helped his team with his power over a longer period of time.

Dr. Boyd is clueless. He gets into racism. HELLO! Aaron and Bonds are the same race so why would anyone not want Bonds to break Aaron's record due to race? With the language this professor uses (Ebonics?) in the article, he is just pandering. Why ESPN used this article is beyond me.

What floored me even more was what I heard on KABC radio today. Some idiot called in and said that white people still think that Babe Ruth has the home run record. No one I know, of any skin color thinks that. That includes my wife who knows next to nothing about baseball records.

No, I think most people like myself who hate the fact that Bonds is breaking Aaron's record hate it because Bonds is a steroid-using asshole. I hope Alex Rodriguez breaks Bonds record soon.

The Value of Patience

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline approaching, I am hoping that my team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, don't - if you'll excuse the pun, bet the farm on some overpaid player another team wants to dump. As far as I'm concerned, Chad Billingsly, Joe Beimel, Jonathan Broxton, James Loney, Matt Kemp, Tony Abreu, Russell Martin, and Andre Ethier should be untouchable. Chances are one or two of these guys is going to be big stars, some are going to be solid players, and one or two may fizzle out into busts. The thing is that no one really knows who's going to end up being what.

This year is probably not our year. Let's give these guys more games to work together and hopefully make the playoffs. Then look out next year.

Politics vs Science (A Convenient Lie Part 6 - FINAL)

Science

It takes very little in overall temperature change to melt glaciers and show the environmental impact that global warming alarmists love to show. An overall increase in solar radiation over the past 2 centuries certainly accounts for the 1 degree rise in temperature we've experienced. 250 years ago, we had a cold period known as the "Little Ice Age". 1,000 years ago, we had the "Medieval Warm Period", a very warm period where there is evidence that the northern polar ice caps were melted. Why do you think Greenland is called "Greenland"? The Vikings named it that a millennium ago because it was an expanse of green, grassy prairie in their time.

We spew all sorts of gunk into the air. The hazardous effects of pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) are well documented. Air pollutants cause health problems such as asthma and lung cancer. Air pollution leads to acid rain which means these pollutants are getting into the ground and causing even more problems. We are poisoning fish (and ultimately, ourselves) by dumping lead and mercury into the rivers and oceans. These problems are man-made and they are real.

I'm mentioning all of this because there are definite problems we must address for our own future's sake. The problem for anti-industrial politicians (primarily Democrats) is that these are old problems that most people know about. The alarms of air pollution, water and food contamination, acid rain, and the like have been loudly sounding off since the 1960's. To most people today, it's just white noise. Also, these problems have been going on during Presidencies of both Republicans and Democrats so it's hard to blame one party.

We should be addressing real issues, not chasing shadows. Also, note that people talking about global warming as real are politicians, not scientists - political organizations, not scientific ones. The Sierra Club sure believes in it. Check out Scientific American. The most respected public scientific journal/magazine is very neutral about the whole thing.

Politics

Democrats are doing their best to pin global warming on Republicans. Even though this pseudo-junk-science phenomenon, which, even by their own admission has been going on for decades, they are trying like crazy to blame it all on one George W. Bush. Their argument for this? - Because George W. Bush refused to ratify the Kyoto Treaty.

The Treaty of Anti-American Industry - aka Kyoto Treaty was essentially designed to benefit every nation on Earth except the United States. European nations, on the whole, don't have much heavy industry. Their small roads, high fuel prices have by economics, forced Europeans to get by with small, highly fuel efficient cars. They get much of their steel and other processed materials from South America, Africa, and parts of Asia that are not part of the Kyoto accord. So to them, the treaty was a slam dunk. They got to look good to their citizenry and wouldn't be very affected economically. American industry, on the other hand, would have been slapped with tons of new regulations and restrictions. Enough where what remaining industrial jobs would go to China.

China Overtakes U.S. as World's Biggest CO2 Emitter

Do you think China, perhaps, has an interest in the U.S. shutting down more industries?

Another Angle
The theory of man-made (anthropogenic) global warming is highly suspect. The whole global warming theory - man-made or not is not even universally accepted as the southern hemisphere of the Earth has actually been cooling. (The alarmists conveniently don't mention this.)

But, even if it was true! Even if the alarmists are right, they are still not telling us everything. Increased CO2 in the air has benefits. In case you didn't know, plants breathe Carbon Dioxide. Increased levels of CO2 means flora, on the whole, thrive. Plankton, the lowest link in the food chain, multiply. This is good news. Global cooling would be a much bigger problem. Witness the little ice age 250 years ago when much of Europe was starving due to low crop yields and a scarcity of fish.

Either way, human beings adapt. Let's get back to real problems like terrorism and real (non CO2) pollution.

The Truth (A Convenient Lie Part 5)

If I had just crawled out of a cave and I was told that temperatures were rising, I'm pretty sure the first thing I would think of is the Sun. Call me crazy, call me hopelessly naive, but I tend to look for straightforward, even obvious answers to problems. Neither the IPCC nor Al Gore seem to want to do this, however. Instead, they came up with a contrived, complicated reason. Now of course, Climate Science is complicated, Gore used this to put on his smoke and mirrors act. To do this, he hardly mentions the Sun at all. The only time he really does is when he talks about how greenhouse gases trap it. The IPCC and Gore treat sunlight as some sort of universal constant.

The Sun has Weather too

Sunshine is not a constant. It varies year to year. One of the ways we track it is by sunspot activity. Essentially, the more sunspots, the more magnetically active the Sun is. The more magnetically active the Sun, the more energy it spews. We've been tracking sunspots since the 1600's - Galileo was the first to discover them in 1610. NASA has been collecting data on them.
I think the chart above speaks for itself.

Still don't believe?


Mars has shrinking ice caps. We've known about them since 1671 (Huygens). Between then and now, there has never been a time where they are so small. In fact, at the rate they are shrinking, they might be completely gone in a few decades - much the same way the northern ice cap on Earth may disappear soon.

Are the Martians burning fossil fuels?

Why It's Wrong (A Convenient Lie Part 4)

At the risk of being repetitive, let me summarize the entire global warming argument.

• -There has been an increase in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere over the past 150 years.


• -Global temperatures have risen over the same period of time.


• -From the two facts listed above, we can conclude that global warming is caused by human beings spewing CO2 since the Industrial Revolution has occurred over approximately the same period of time.

That's it. Everything else you see, hear, and read about (glaciers melting, polar bears dying, etc) is used to support the above assertions.

The Carbon Dioxide - Temperature Correlation

Let's look at the CO2 graph. This graph is based on the IPCC argument that CO2 levels are rising and are at record levels.


Notice anything unusual about this graph? One is the gap from 1900 to 1986. Why is there no data for these years?

Also, the data up until 1950 came from ice core samples taken in the Arctic. From 1986 on, the data comes from direct readings from the 13,000 ft Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. That in itself is pretty interesting isn't it? To anyone who's not so eager to just swallow this graph up and accept it as "truth", it leads to the question; Why did they use two different types of data for two different time periods?

Let's look at another graph.



This is a graph showing CO2 levels up until 1960. The difference between this and the previous one is that this data comes from direct sampling from the Pacific. Notice how the CO2 levels are actually much higher in the 1800's. Also notice how some samples are at around 500 parts per million (ppm). In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore specifically states that CO2 levels have never reached above 300 ppm until now.

For a full explanation of these graphs, look at this article.

Climate Change: Incorrect information on pre-industrial CO2

Now let's take a look at the whole Carbon Dioxide - Global Temperature correlation. Here is a frame taken directly from An Inconvenient Truth:


This is from the part of the film where Gore is comparing global levels of CO2 (red) to global temperatures (white). Gore expects you to see this and immediately see the correlation that in general, when CO2 levels are high, so is the temperature. Now keep in mind that this shot is taken right from the movie. I'm going to show you something I'm sure Gore did not intend for you to see.

I drew in some vertical lines. You may have to click on the image to see my point here. Notice how as the lines show, temperatures change first, CO2 levels change later. In line #1, the white line is bottomed out. Notice the CO2 level has not bottomed out at this point. It's following the same general pattern as the temperature but seems to lag behind it. Line #2 is an example where the temperature has peaked, yet the CO2 is still rising. What does this graph show? It shows that temperature increases and decreases affect CO2 levels, not the other way around. In other words, raise the temperature and eventually, the CO2 level will rise. Al Gore and the IPCC want you to believe that changing the CO2 levels change the temperature. Gore's own graph contradicts this claim. I'll concede that not every single peak and valley indicate this, but look at the chart, most of them do.


Above is more of the same. This time, we're at the end of the chart (where Gore goes up in a crane to demonstrate the "off the chart" CO2 levels we're going to reach in 50 years or less). Even here, where the temperature and CO2 levels are rising as Gore strongly emphasizes, my point shows again. Look at line 6 where we have the current temperature/CO2 rise, the temperature began rising before the CO2 levels.

Al Gore is lying.

Finally, a Weekend

Yeah, I know it's been way too long. I've just not had the energy. I've had a huge project at work which is still going on, but it's no longer putting me in the frantic pace I've been at for the past few weeks. Couple that with helping my Mom in preparing to move back to California and I've just not had the will to blog.

I want to wrap up my Convenient Lie series (I've got 3 more chapters coming) and move on to some other stuff.

I Guess I'm Not Weird Al

How White and Nerdy Are You?

The Case for Global Warming (A Convenient Lie Part 3)

Let's take a look at the heart of the matter. I'll leave Gore alone for now and look at what the overall message is. Global warming alarmists make three basic assertions:

1. The Earth is getting warmer and warmer
   


2. This warming is primarily caused by human activity
   


3. The results of global warming are potentially disastrous if we don't change the way we do things now.
   

Notice how this is slightly different than the politically motivated 4 points that Gore makes (See A Convenient Lie Part 1). Politics aside, these are the arguments that the scientists who believe in global warming are making.

Of course, arguments 2 and 3 are meaningless unless you can demonstrate merit in argument number 1.

Above is the now famous "hockey stick" graph that indicates the correlation between carbon dioxide levels and temperature levels. The basic idea is: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas (a gas that traps heat). Human-caused pollutants since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution have been adding to the CO2 levels of the atmosphere. As a result of more of this heat-trapping gas, the Earth's climate has been getting warmer.

Evidence

Most major cities have been keeping daily temperature since the 1880's, some have records as far back as the 1860's. It is generally agreed that the United States and Europe have seen an increase in average temperature over this time by about 1 degree Fahrenheit. This can be significant enough to melt ice in northern regions or at high elevations up to a month early. Indeed, it is now believed that the glaciers in the lower 48 states (Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and California all have glaciers) will be completely gone before the end of the 21'st century, possibly by 2050.

In addition, the increase in large hurricanes has been attributed to the global warming effect. As ice melts into the oceans, the salinity goes down and cools the water. This cooler, less salty, ocean water will evaporate quicker and cause larger storms.

Disaster

The aforementioned increase in large storms is one of many potential disasters increased global warming will cause. Additionally, we will have to concern ourselves with:

• More disease as bacteria and insects that bear dangerous contagions tend to thrive in warmer weather.
• Increased ocean levels that can potentially flood coastal cities.
• Droughts will occur in certain areas, flooding in others as storms will tend to be fewer, but larger.
• More wildfires due to dry lightning and drought.
• Children and the elderly will have problems dealing with the hotter weather.

I want to note that I have read many articles on this subject. Some from other bloggers, others from scientific organizations. Here are some.

http://www.globalwarmingisreal.com/blog

http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00007F57-9CE1-1213-9BEF83414B7F0000&pageNumber=1&catID=2

http://www.realclimate.org

"The Debate is Over" (A Convenient Lie Part 2)

"the debate in the scientific community is over." -Al Gore in An Inconvenient Truth

The above statement is convenient, isn't it. Gore has plenty of people believing that most, if not all of the scientists in the world are all in agreement on global warming. I say convenient because that way, anybody who argues his points can easily get labelled as misinformed or being anti-science. That the debate is over is one of the most ridiculous things Gore says.

1n 1997, Frederick Seitz, a former president of the National Academy of Sciences convinced thousands of fellow scientists to sign the Oregon Petition, an act to urge the United States to not join the Kyoto accord. It's been alleged that some of the 19,700 signatures were fudged and duplicated. Point is that not all of them were.

More recently, many verified climatologists, who had at one time believed in global warming, have reconsidered their positions. They really took issue with a recent UN report that wasn't very scientifically-based. Look at the article Once Believers, Now Skeptics.

A November 2006 survey of environmental scientists indicated more evidence that the debate is not over. The poll resulted in the following:

• 34 percent of environmental scientists and practitioners disagree that global warming is a serious problem facing the planet.

• 41 percent disagree that the planet's recent warmth "can be, in large part, attributed to human activity."

• 71 percent disagree that recent hurricane activity is significantly attributable to human activity.

• 33 percent disagree that the U.S. government is not doing enough to address global warming.

• 47 percent disagree that international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol provide a solid framework for combating global climate change.

Whether you are looking for arguments agreeing or disagreeing with global warming, one can find a multitude of articles on the Internet. Most of them are from non-scientists like me (although I bet I know more about this than most bloggers). Just keep that in mind. That is why I am reluctant to give my own opinions. I will wait until I feel I've read more.

One thing is sure though, this issue is far from the scientific consensus that Gore mentions - making his statement a convenient lie.

I am a Droid

Your Score: Artoo
You scored 62% airiness, 26% squishiness, and 36% edginess!

According to our patented Jawamatic^TM technology, you are most like Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) in personality.

Artoo, being an astromech droid, favours technical challenges. He's quick-witted and, when called upon, can come up with creative solutions to difficult, complex problems. Artoo is logical, flexible, and ideas-driven.

Artoo is, in a word, eccentric.

(The polar opposite of Artoo-Detoo is See-Threepio.)

The eight profiles are as follows:

• Han Solo
  
• Yoda
  
• Chewbacca
  
• Threepio
  
• Artoo
  
• Darth Vader
  
• Luke Skywalker
  
• Princess Leia
  

A Convenient Lie

Al Gore lost the 2000 election. It was a blow to his ego, a blow to the mentality that as a vice president to a popular president, he was a natural fit to be the next president. I'm stating all this to remind us that this man has been basically, a career politician for his adult life.

Al Gore seems angry. After the election, he needed a way to avenge the people who kept him out of office, if only for his own personal vindication. He did what he felt was the surest way. He took a very speculative and debatable scientific theory, stated it as fact, and blamed it on the Bush administration.

Global warming has turned into a very effective campaign as it undermines Bush and the Republican party in several ways:

• While Bush and Republicans talk about Al Queda, Iraq, North Korea, and Iran as being the primary threats to the United States, global warming dilutes and downplays the significance of the "war on terror" in favor of what is basically, a war against American industry.
• It perpetuates the concept that the Republican party is all about oil and industry, at the expense of public welfare.
• It perpetuates the concept that Republicans are anti-science.

I do not remember Gore ever speaking of global warming in his campaign speeches. Most, if not all of this concern seems to have come after the 2000 election. In the film An Inconvenient Truth, Gore tells us that this has been a long time concern of his. I guess he was too busy inventing the Internet to tell us all about the global warming crisis in the days before he was vice president.

I've watched the film An Inconvenient Truth - twice, in fact. Gore throws a lot of evidence about global warming at us. Evidence is one thing but as any real scientist will tell you, it takes more than evidence to draw conclusions. Funny how Gore claims so much scientific knowhow, yet doesn't grasp this principle. For example, look at the "big bang theory" of the creation of the universe. There is tons of evidence that support it, very little that disputes it, and it is generally accepted by most astronomers and astrophysicists. Yet it is still considered "theory" as it has not been proven. In his film, Gore draws conclusions. This makes the whole movie false. Gore concludes that:

• There is no debate amongst the top climate scientists in the world. Global warming is happening.
• Global warming is happening due to the industrial world spewing loads of carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere.
• The effects of global warming will be totally catastrophic.
• Global warming catastrophes can be averted if we start taking measures now.

My next posts are going to look into these "conclusions". The first one is the easiest one to debunk. No way are scientists all in agreement on the reality of global warming. My next post later this week will be about an increasing number of the world's climate scientists that do not agree with Gore's conclusions.

A New #1

For the first time in 76 years, General Motors (GM) did not lead the world in auto and truck sales for a quarter. The honor went to Toyota. This is significant. There has never been a company in the world like GM. Even as recently as 10 years ago, this seemed almost inconceivable. GM was that big. GM had that much clout.

There's a myriad of reasons for this. As in anything in life, staying at the top is about the hardest thing there is to do. This behemoth company had decaying factories, couldn't keep up with the fast pace of technology, was too slow to adjust to current trends, used typical American short-term planning, had no global strategy, and couldn't keep up with quality standards of it's foreign competition. It's amazing that GM was perched where they were for as long as they were.

It was also recently revealed that due to being tied to the UAW, GM is paying pensions to hundreds of thousands of ex-employees. Approximately $3000 of every GM car sold goes just into paying these pensions. Chrysler and Ford are in similar boats but the rest of the auto world is not. Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, and BMW are building cars and trucks in the Southern United States to avoid the unions. The big three aren't able to do this.

Don't shed tears for GM, though. They should have seen this coming years ago. Instead, they maintained a state of corporate denial until a few years ago. Believe it or not, GM seems to be coming back. Many of their latest offerings have been top or near the top rated by the auto magazines. Cadillac, suddenly has become one of the most desirable brands around. It's hip and trendy to own a Cadillac again after years of being perceived as stodgy boats for people over 70. The Corvette is now considered to be a world-class performance car, as good, if not better than many Porsches. Saturn is grabbing attention with its very good Aura. GM may be on the way to being a top brand again. It's hard to be that optimistic about Ford and Chrysler. Ford has had a decent showing this year sales-wise, but they have a long way to go to be profitable again. Chrysler, with no help from it's parent company Daimler, is only worth around $5 billion. 10 years ago, it was worth $39 billion.

As for Toyota, it's not as rosy as it would seem. Quality problems, particularly in the transmissions, have been reported lately. Most of these problems have been in the latest version of the Camry sedan, which is their bread and butter.