Three Up; Three Down

THREE UP

Senate Republicans found the spine they frequently lack and lined up against the auto bailout plan, which had been backed by the White House and Congressional Democrats. The bill would have kicked in $14 billion to Detroit’s Big Three, a reward for driving themselves into a brick wall, and appointed a car czar, which would have sent us slouching another step toward a socialized economy. Bravo, Senate GOP.
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The Chicago factory workers who protested after they were laid off without severance or back vacation pay scored big when Bank of America agreed to provide a line of credit to Republic Windows and Doors. Bank of America, which received federal bailout money, had refused to provide the credit, which rightfully stirred the ire of 250 workers who lost their jobs.
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Every time we think he will melt into history’s backdrop, our pal Al Gore roars back to life. Now the word is President-elect Barack Obama will pick environmental staffers from a cast of Al’s cronies, including his former legislative director, Carol Browner. Al, like global temps warmed by carbons, is still hot.

THREE DOWN

Maybe somewhere in that mountain of hair, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich can find a moral compass. Or maybe he can steal somebody else’s. Wait! That’s the kind of thinking that has the guy in so much trouble in the first place. So he sought to sell a Senate seat? How about his criminal stupidity? If that were a capital offense, the public hanging already would have taken place.
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None of us outside Invista walls knows all of the factors that drove the plant’s recent rounds of layoffs, but all of us know the timing. The sting of layoffs just a couple of weeks before Christmas won’t go away soon. Sadly, with the economy in full swoon, job cuts here and across America are bound to continue. Our hearts are with workers and are hopes are for a rebound that at the moment looks like it will be long in coming.
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Add to the list of a recession’s victims binge Christmas consumerism. The Associated Press reports that a growing number of American families are preparing their children to take a hit on gifts this year. Santa, they might tell them, has downsized on elves and shut down several toy production lines. Plus, have you seen the price of reindeer feed? Maybe if he bought a smaller sleigh that used less fuel ...