Jeebus

You're right we're in that recession, but only because the banks did what the Government asked them to do, against their better wishes - which was to give out sub-prime loans. The Government has no choice to clean up their mess by giving that money to the banks. The Government owes the auto industry nothing.

Wait a minute. I need this one explained to me. Nike, Reebok, and Adidas are selling shoes and Nike goes out of business. How does that HURT Reebok and Adidas??

Screenshot man! Screenshot!

I agree in this particular case, but I'm not going to complain because in this town is seems us beggars can't be choosers.

There's a reason we make fun of Canada.

Everything except stylish design.

From the article: Funny, when I warn of this happening from an abrupt end to the war in Iraq, as thousands would be laid off from lack of demand for war supplies, I was practically called an idiot and boo'd out of the forum. But now that it could happen state-side, suddenly people are listening and taking it more serious. I say let the ship sink. All three of my lifeboats are domestically made Japanese. They are more buoyant, economical, stylish, and will retain their value twice as long as that rusty old barge called GM.

We do NOTHING. We let the companies that are failing fail. They file bankruptcy, they get sold off in chunks, the people who were laid off re-apply under the new ownership and we MOVE ON. Just saying no IS good enough. Musicman said it best, why prop up a business who's product is not in demand? How long must we give them loans before they would be able to make a profit and even start to pay them back? What will likely happen is that after the bailout, they will ask for an extension and get it. This could happen two or three times before they finally cave and file bankruptcy. Some fools will attempt to buy portions of the split up former companies, but the inherited debt from the bailout will be too much and they will fail. Eventually, there will be nothing but me, the taxpayer, holding the bill. I understand the worry that when if the domestics did close, that the imports would not re-open them, but rather just import the excess demand. Thats when congress SHOULD get involved by passed higher import taxes on all vehicles. That would help persuade the imports to re-open some of those closed plants here instead of shipping in the excess. The fact that no one in favor of the bail out seems to grasp - even though you mentioned it Red - is that demand is down 37%. ANYTIME you are down 37% on sales, no matter what the product, you're going to lay some people off! I for once would rather see my tax dollars go to the unemployment checks of the laid off workers, rather than prop up a business to make a product that there is 37% less demand for.

I'll just be forced to buy that 67 Camaro I've been stalling on.

WOW. The attention to detail in that first house, to wrap the trees all the way up to the end of their branches. Very impressive. Thanks Boris! ps. Is the first house on Briar Forest?

Oh, lol.. the other way. Either way, Bellaire is not too shabby at any point really. Its pretty suburban-ugly once you get to Kirkwood, but for the most part its a solid thoroughfare. Its the streets that run parallel to Bellaire and the streets that intersect and join the two that cause the problems.

I agree 100%. Bailing them out will only reward the behavior by both the UAW and the CEOs, and only delay the inevitable.

Heading west? I agree. The redevelopment of the Fondren/Bellaire intersection was well done, and from there out you roll into new Chinatown, which I love spending time on.

Maybe just immediately north you have a pocket of sub-prime apartment and commercial, but just north of that you have Spring Shadows and Royal Oaks, along with all of Memorial and the reservoir to the west, and Spring Valley to the east. Its surrounded with more middle/upper-middle class single family homes than sub-prime apartment rentals. That's the key that Sharpstown is missing as the ratio is exactly the opposite.

or the apartments on Fon-Villa, Bimini Condos on Larkwood, That mega complex at Beechnut & Bissonnet (Beechnut Gardens?), or St Charles & St James on Fondren at Wanda, etc etc etc... My point was that people don't consider just the SFHs in the area as "Sharpstown Proper". All they know is Sharpstown, which includes all the bad elements that bring down the statistically low-crime residential area of Sharpstown-Proper. If anything, Sharpstown-Proper would BEST be benefited from a simple name change to reflect just the single family home residential portion of area. That way there would be a distinct separation between the two, and give the residential area a better chance of autonomy much like Braeburn Valley and Maplewood West/South enjoy.

But you just said that you wanted to know why the GOP parrots contingent isn't. So which is it? They do want to get involved or they don't? The key word here is "yet", as in: "Had the bottom of the economy not droppped out, then GM wouldn't be in need of government loans yet." How convenient that just as a soon as a bailout line forms, the big 3 domestic automakers were second in line with their platinum plated cups & spoons using fear-mongers tactics like "if you don't bail us out, we will implode, thousands will go hungry and society will collapse." This is such a moot point. Imported cars have nothing to do with this argument. Thats comparing apples to oranges. Apples to apples are the big 3 versus the "transplant" imports in the south. If anything, the big 3 could always CONTINUE to move out of the country to cover those healthcare costs. I'm sure Mexico offers great benefits to their well paid Big 3 plant workers. You are right that they are to look out for the interests of ALL Americans, but when the fight is in THEIR backyard, THEIR constituents should come first. Otherwise, why in the hell would you elect someone if they didn't look out for your interests first??? And again, this is why people can band together and file class-action lawsuits, or just quit.

Please post your results - both good and bad.

Apparently!

Good for the UAW, but passing on one piece of pie after stuffing your face for 50 years is not going to eliminate your morbid obesity. Last time I check they are non-government owned companies. So why would any politicians get involved with trying to unseat and replace employees of said non-government owned company? We don't want to give them money, so why should we want to get involved? So you're saying that had the economy not tanked then none of this would have ever happened? Give me a break. This has been brewing for years. The dam of the UAW's demands just finally broke. Lets see, I run a company and my job is to hire people that WANT to work there for the wage we offer, and not for the wage we could be BULLIED into. Yes, how about a little more bleeding as we expand affirmative action to cover union preference. I've read this statement at least a dozen times and it still doesn't make any sense. Yes, they are doing exactly what they were elected to do - look out for the best interest of THEIR constituents! The people in Michigan have the EXACT SAME NUMBER OF SENATORS.For the record, I am 100% in favor of OSHA and similar minded organizations whose goal is safety at the work place. Couple that with the federally set minimum wage and there should be no need for unions. That's what we have civil court and an excess of ambulance chasing lawyers for. What negotiations? It should be between the worker and his supervisor to determine wages, added benefits, etc etc. If the worker doesn't like it he/she should quit. If enough workers quit, the business will fail, so I would imagine the business would be keen pay the worker what he is worth - you know, kinda like what the "transplant" manufacturers in the south seem to be doing? The only time we have seen this theory fail is when the government allows businesses to hire and employ illegal immigrants (by not enforcing the laws on the books).

OH MY GOD MAKE IT STOP!

You mean the over reaching profits DEMANDED by the shareholders who are led blindly by the talking heads on the cable news networks?Eliminate shareholders, then you can blame management. That was the point of my statement. I shouldn't have to ask them. Of the thousands of workers at non-union automotive plants in the south not a single person is blowing the whistle on "transplant" automakers unfair labor practices? Did Toyota hire the teamsters to intimidate the non-union masses to keep their mouths shut? You're right, because in the areas surrounding the non-union automotive plants in the south are only Walmarts & McDonald's - with most of the McDonald's being inside the Walmart! When not at work at one of the three following employers, they probably sit at home clinging to their guns & religion! Either way, you sound like a pro-union person that seems to believe that without the UAW, our society will collapse into some primordial realm reminiscent of the Jules Verne's Time Machine. The "transplant" automotive factories in the south, with their labor practices and happy employees seem to disprove your paranoia.

Why? The "transplant" factories in the south have no UAW presence and you hear no complaints from their workers. Are they ALL being threatened to not talk about deplorable conditions, low pay, excessive work hours, etc, etc? You misread the article. It says: It sounds more like the threat OF the threat of Unionization is what has motivated "transplant" factories in south the just pay the workers what they're worth, instead of risking their employees finding reasons to unionize. In other words, the brain trust at Toyota is leading the way, and the big 3 in Detroit should pray for bankruptcy and a chance to rebuild in their image.

Maybe they did, but that was years ago. That doesn't give them carte blanche to dictate what every company should have to do ABOVE and BEYOND the minimum in todays failing market. That should be up to the employer to offer those incentives so that employees will be happy with they job, and thus more productive. This article eludes to that, and take note that its a company thats built here: Seems all the poor people in the south are happy enough with their "transplant" employer that they won't even go down to the new Union recruitment center and sign up. They probably see the benefit in saving the monthly union dues, media attention, and contract heartache that they avoid now. Really? Nation wide polls show that the American public would rather see the UAW fail. How much better could they make the lives of the "transplant" employees in the south?

Because they know to just wait and the companies that the labor unions are trying to milk too much will most likely die. Speaking of Milk, maybe we should tax the price of milk to ten dollars a gallon. That way dairy farms will be forced to find a way to genetically make cows that produce less bovine gas - another element to global warming. That, or they will just go out of business, and we'll stop drinking milk. It's that anti-UAW influence that will hopefully allow these auto companies to file bankruptcy, re-structure, and re-open union free like the Japanese plants that ARE successful.

All your stats most likely point to the single family residential dwelling component of Sharpstown. Sharpstown is more than just the actual deed restricted neighborhoods. It also includes all those apartment complexes & strip center store-fronts.