Second, I’m in the group that believes that no bailout money should be given to any industry. I realize my naivete in suggesting that a mismanaged company (or industry) should be *allowed* to fail, but I like to keep things simple. Given that, in my feeble mind, if you run your organization well, you should prosper in good times and at worst, survive the bad times. If you don’t survive the bad times, well… that’s on you. Would that put countless Americans (i.e. voters) out of work? Yes, it could. Would it suck if I were one of those workers? Well, yes… it would. But I’d rather my government found a way to extend employment benefits for the newly jobless (if that’s necessary), rather than prop up what seem to me to be failed business models. In the auto industry, all of the Big Three aren’t asking for money - indeed Ford’s making it through on their own, while GM is bleeding more… and more… and more… but we’re to believe that there’s a light at the end of that long, dark black hole of a tunnel. Horse puckey. If GM (and Chrysler, potentially) were allowed to fail, it seems like a void would be created where other car companies (Ford among them) could step in and take advantage. This country needs cars - and as such, I believe many of those would need to be manufactured in this country (depending on the onerous nature of the existing governmental policies, I suppose). Whether it’s GM or Toyota or whoever, I believe they’ll need… or at least want, experienced American workers to put into those plants. If these “other” companies don’t have job banks and other perks that the UAW squeezed out of The Big Three, which may have unwittingly have helped to put them under, well… that’s the free market system. Back to the banks… if careless lending practices put tellers and other bank associates out of work, I expect other (read: solvent, well-run banks) will step in to fill the void - and will need to hire locally to fill *their* needs.

I personally don’t think America is going to fold. I happen to believe the economy will recover. It may because of the government, or in spite of it - but the American economy will recover. How soon, and how well, will again depend on the success/failure of governmental policy in attempting to “help”. The sooner we clean out the dead wood (i.e. poorly run organizations), the better. Will (or would) some “well-run” organizations fail? I suppose that’s possible - but then I’d argue the definition of “well run”… if the organization cannot withstand a downturn in the economy. In other words, Senator, I don’t give a crap whether you’re the champion of the American people by making sure some banks aren’t spending money to go see Otis Day & The Knights while enjoying Carlings just so the American people can pick up the tab. The American people shouldn’t be giving *any* money to any of these industries, sir.

That said, and third, Tank’s absolutely right. This is the American government, necessarily involving American politicians. What they say today has no bearing on what they’ll say and do tomorrow. C’mon… this is week one stuff! After all, the question here is not whether politicians have broken a few rules, or taken a few liberties with some of their female party guests… they did. But you can’t hold an entire Senate to blame for the actions of a few sick, perverted individuals. For if you do… then isn’t the entire *Congress* to blame! And if the entire Congress is to blame, then isn’t this an indictment of our governmental institutions in general! Yeah! I put it to you, Tank! Isn’t this an indictment… of our entire American society?!?! Well they can do what they want to the banks… but we’re not going to sit here… and listen to them bad-*mouth*… the United States of America! Gentlemen!!!

I’m not sure if that was even a remotely coherent post, but… okay, I’m done now.