Signs of the times.

Via Chipsticks...

Chart of the day.

Via the DNC blog...

Quote of the day.

Vice President Biden...

"Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive."

OK, it's not new, nor original to the Veep, but it's true.

Question?

No question. Not really. Steve Benen...

...there's no real question as to whether the country is better off now than in January 2009.

Then the nation was hemorrhaging jobs; now it's gaining jobs.

Then the economy was shrinking; now the economy is growing.

Then the American automotive industry was on the verge of collapse; now it's starting to thrive.

Then taxpayers were sending money to Wall Street; now taxpayers are being paid back.

Then Osama bin Laden was targeting Americans and our allies; now he's dead and al Qaeda's leadership has been decimated.

Then U.S. troops were headed into the Middle East in greater numbers; now they're headed home with their heads held high.

Yep. Individually, some of us may be treading water and some of us may be sinking, but as a nation, we're doing better.

No question.

Not really.

Chart of the day.

I signed up at Twitter because I knew @jesseclee44 would point me to good stuff. Like this...

From the "Me too" file.

Artistdogboy is curious...

I wonder what the more than 100.000 auto industry workers, who's jobs were saved or created by the bailout, feel about the Republican fears of Socialism and destruction of the "free market" now.

Me too.

I wonder how many of 'em voted for a Republican who would have sacrificed their jobs to the "free market," too.

(Almost typed "fee market." That's probably more accurate, actually)

Chart of the day.

Via Nick Beaudrot...


Looks like the capitalists have things well in hand for now.

Clearly…

Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard on "Toyota Republicans"…

Clearly the allegiance of the 31 Republicans who opposed the loan to save GM and Chrysler is not with the United States of America…

Crystal clearly.

The essential un-Americanism of movement conservatism has never been so plainly displayed. They would destoy the nation in order to bust a union.

Perhaps...

Pennsylvania auto dealer Jim Jackson (who offers facts to back his quality claim)...

Perhaps Sen. Shelby isn’t really that blind. Maybe he realizes the quality shift to American. Maybe it’s the fact that his state of Alabama has given so much land to factories from Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes Benz that he is more concerned about their continued growth than he is about the people of our country.

Probably, even.

Hat tip to Stuart O'Neill.

Yep.

Michael Lind...

The most shocking thing about the alliance between the Southern states and America's friendly but earnest economic rivals to destroy America's most important industry is the fact that so few people find it shocking.

…and Rosenberg's right, too.

I mean, look, these people are traitors.

And, I'd point out save for the redundancy, Republicans.

Fun facts.

RJ Eskow does the math, via Steve M....

Mitch McConnell's Kentucky took in $1.45 from the Feds for every dollar it paid in taxes. That's a 45 cent free ride. Bob Corker's Tennessee received at 30-cent Federal giveaway. And Richard Shelby's Alabama extracted a whopping 71-cent subsidy from Northern taxpayers.

What about Michigan? They lost 31 cents for every dollar they paid....

Makes you wonder how many Michigan dollars culled from UAW paychecks ended up in the bribes incentive packages used to lure those Japanes factories to Dixie...

Quote of the day.

"I don't know what Sen. Vitter has against GM or the United Auto Workers or the entire domestic auto industry; whatever it is, whatever he thinks we've done, it's time for him to forgive us, just like Sen. Vitter has asked the citizens of Louisiana to forgive him."

Morgan Johnson, president of UAW Local 2166, Shreveport, LA

I don't know either, except that Vitter shares the the general Republican contempt for American workers, sex workers excepted, apparently, in his case.

From the "Since you asked" file.

Josh Hammond ponders proposals for an auto industry bailout…

Shouldn’t there be strings, no make that chains, attached to a bailout? Shouldn’t Congress, and Obama, insist on none of the money going to SUVs and that all cars and trucks meet higher fuel standards in five years? Shouldn’t there be an incentive clause to increase fuel efficiency in less than five years? Shouldn’t the money be spent on retooling and not on marketing?

Since you asked, yes, at the very least.

This is an opportunity for an industry to reboot for the 21st century. If they're willing to do that, the nation should support their efforts. Nothing, though, for business as usual.