GM Goes Bankrupt, Uncle Sam Now Owns 60%

General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. The 101-year-old automaker said it has $172.81 in debt and $82.29 billion in assets. The U.S. government has invested close to $20 billion in GM and will invest another $30 billion, bringing the total aid to $50 billion. I remember when a billion dollars was a lot of money. The purpose of this bankruptcy is to restructure the company into a smaller, less debt-ridden, viable company, according to the Obama Administration. The proposed bankruptcy restructuring will leave U.S. taxpayers with a 60% share of the company. The Canadian government will own 12%, the United Auto Workers 17.5%, and current bondholders 10%. Canada? The UAW? What's going on here? The U.S. and Canadian governments add up to 72%, and the term "Government Motors" is being used to describe the new company. GM is following a similar course taken by smaller rival Chrysler in April. After taking billions in government money, Chrysler sold most of its assets to Italian automaker Fiat. This was largely seen as a successful move on the part of Chrysler, which will be out of bankruptcy soon, with Fiat running the show. One question remains: With GM and Chrysler being bailed out, what happens to Ford Motor Company? Even though Ford has reported years of losses as well, it had more cash on hand than GM or Chrysler going into this economic mess. But now Ford is at a competitive disadvantage. After all, the U.S. taxpayer owns 60% of GM, and that's a strong incentive to favor the company over its rivals. And now that Chrysler has its independence thanks to Fiat, Ford is on its own. Ford executives have shown they are smart enough to keep the company out of bankruptcy by restructuring on their own. They are hoping to exploit their status as the only one of the Big Three to keep from taking government handouts. But can they stay competitive without resorting to bankruptcy? Maybe - Maybe not. I'm buying a GM car. I'm told I can get a really good deal on a Buick. After all, I'm a part owner.

Supreme Court Nominee Called Racist By GOP

Sunday, May 31, 2009: I woke up around 10 a.m., jumped on the exercise bike, and watched CNN as I peddled. Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court nominee, is being labeled a racist by right-wing Republicans Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich. The Hispanic nominee stands by a speech she made in 2001, although she probably would like to take back one sentence. She said that a "wise Latina woman" would make better decisions than a white male. Many Republicans are dodging the "racist" label by saying "no comment" when asked about Sotomayor's "Latina woman" comment. President Obama came to her defense in an interview with NBC news: "I'm sure she would have restated it," Obama said of the offending words. "But if you look at the entire speech, what's clear is that she was simply saying that her life experiences will give her information about the struggles and hardships that people are going through. That will make her a good judge." Even with the hysterical rhetoric by the Republicans, Sotomayor is expected to sail through the confirmation hearings. In other news, Susan Boyle came in second to a young dance troupe on "Britain's Got Talent." I got off my exercise bike, turned off the TV, and prepared my usual breakfast of coffee, oatmeal and a banana. I read Time magazine as I ate. But I ate quickly. It's Sunday, and I've got places to go, things to do. I'm headed to Trader Joe's to get some bananas. I've got to vacuum the living room. There's weeds in the plants in the back yard. My cell phone needs a battery. Then it's off to the museum. Oh no! I forgot to wash the car.

My Recurring Dream, Featuring Manny Ramirez

I was playing left field for the Dodgers; number 99. Chad Billingsley was on the mound. Carlos Delgado walked off the on-deck circle and approached the plate. He took a few practice swings, then stepped into the batter's box. Billingsley turned toward the outfield, wiped his forehead, then scratched his crotch. Then he faced the batter, and looked for the sign from catcher Russell Martin. He shook off the first sign. He then gave a quick nod and delivered a 96mph fastball right down the middle of the plate. Delgado swung and hit a fly ball to left center. I sprinted toward the ball, not worrying about the hamstring I pulled in the first homestand of the season. At full speed I ran. Then, all of a sudden I was running in slow motion, as if in a dream. I ran and ran and ran. The ball hung in the air, and I felt myself gaining ground on it. I was now running at full speed. I was heading toward the wall in left-center. The wall was getting closer, but I knew the ball was within reach. I didn't make the major leagues by giving up. Suddenly the ball flew out of my reach, into the stands, and I crashed violently into the wall. Then I woke up. It was all a dream. It's a recurring dream - one that I've had since Manny Ramirez got kicked out of baseball for 50 games for using a banned substance, a woman's fertility drug. Ramirez, number 99, is still waiting to get back in the game - but there I am again, in my dream, with his number. If my dream seems familiar to you, it is. I gave a description of the above dream on Saturday, May 9th. I also mentioned that I was taking the weekends off; "Paul Solomon Takes Weekends Off," I announced. There are errands to run and family matters to attend to. That's why there is nothing new here, except for my recurring dream. Which brings us back to Manny Ramirez. The drug in question is reportedly human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), according to an ESPN report. It's a woman's fertility drug and it is typically used by steroid users after they come off a steroid cycle, to restart their body's natural testosterone production. A woman's fertility drug? That's one drug I'm sure most men would prefer to stay away from; it doesn't sound too healthy to me. Of course, most baseball fans are so used to hearing about drug use by their favorite players, they really don't seem to care anymore. Ramirez is currently 4th in the voting for outfielders for the All-Star game. He's still featured on billboards around Los Angeles. Ramirez and the Dodgers haven't made any statement or public service announcement denouncing performance-enhancing drugs. The game goes on, and Ramirez will be back. And so will my dream.

Baby Boomers Flee Facebook

The most popular social networking site, Facebook, recently passed the 200 million mark. However, over 650,000 baby boomers, those in the 55-to-65 year-old age group, have quit Facebook in the last couple of months, according to news reports coming out this week. While their parents are fleeing the site, though, 18-to-25-year-olds are more than making up for the unexplained flight of the older folks. In the same period, over 2 million of the 18-to-25-year-olds have signed up, and they're spending more time on Facebook. There is speculation that as young people, faced with the current economic downturn, find themselves out of school and unemployed, they are trying to find ways to waste time and distract themselves. Meanwhile, their parents are finding other, more productive ways to live their lives. One reason might be that the over-55 crowd hasn't figured out how to use all the nifty new updates that have recently been added to the site. Young people are more adaptable when it comes to maneuvering around difficult Internet applications. Also, in light of the economic crisis, baby boomers are laying off the extra-curricular Internet use during office hours, just hoping to keep their jobs. It seems that the news of massive layoffs has made the workforce more productive. And as older people put retirement on hold, it's the younger people who have time on their hands. The time-consuming social-networking site lures people in with chain-letter tactics such as the "25 things about me" letter that went around last month. And Facebook remains the gamer's destination of choice, with distractions such as "Texas HoldEm" and "Who Has the Biggest Brain." Games like "Mafia Wars," which started out on Internet sites such as MySpace, have gained massive popularity on Facebook, especially with younger users, who are jumping ship from MySpace to Facebook - and it's not just recent college grads with no job and time on their hands. MySpace has catered to teenagers, and adults never caught on. As teenagers grow up, they are turning to Facebook in record numbers. Their parents, though, are putting more energy into productive things like keeping their jobs, baby-sitting the grand kids, renting movies, visiting friends, and taking walks. And they're actually talking to people in person and using the land-line telephone (remember, they grew up without cell phones). Maybe they're on to something.

Twitter Suspended My Account

My Twitter account has been suspended. It seems I violated the Terms of Service and Rules policy, specifically, "You may not use our service for any unlawful purposes or for promotion of illegal activity." In my defense, I was referring to a news story that was reported on most Internet news services, including time.com. Red Bull Cola was pulled from store shelves in Germany because trace amounts of cocaine were found in the drink. Yesterday, in my blog, I estimated that it would take at least 400 cans of the popular energy drink to get high on the cocaine. In my Twitter comment, I wrote: "Red Bull Cola is pulled from the stores in Germany; 0.13 micrograms of cocaine found in drink. I just bought 400 cans." Then I sent out another message with a link to my web page: "I'm getting high on Red Bull." Within a half hour I was informed on my Twitter page that my account had been suspended due to "strange activity." If you would have read my blog yesterday, you would have learned that although the amount of cocaine found in the drinks was insignificant, because of the high sugar and caffeine content, anything close to 25 cans would have caused cardiac arrest. Now, because of an innocent and obviously satirical comment, I'm being investigated by the FBI, NSA, IRS, INS, CBI, and the ASPCA. On the bright side, however, I've hired a publicist and I'm selling my life story to the highest bidder. So far, ABC has contacted me about doing a reality show based on my triumph over adversity; how I overcame my criminal past. I don't want to seem like I'm capitalizing on my criminal exploits, so I plan on doing only one interview - "The Rachel Maddow Show." All I need is a little publicity so that I can start up a criminal defense fund. And the best way to get the word out is, you guessed it; Twitter.

Cocaine Found In Red Bull Cola

Stores in Germany are pulling Red Bull Cola drinks off the shelf after tests found trace amounts of cocaine in the product. However, Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said Monday that the level, 0.13 micrograms per liter, was too low to pose a health risk. A Red Bull spokesman said that the drink is sold in the U.S. and Europe and is both "harmless and marketable." Coca leaf extracts are used in the product worldwide, and the levels are so low that you would have to drink at least 400 cans of the drink to get a a cocaine high. Even if it were possible to drink that much Red Bull Cola, it would be much cheaper just to buy cocaine. And the sugar and caffeine content of the drink would probably send you into cardiac arrest before you reach 25 cans. Fritz Soergel, the head of the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research in Neuremberg, Bavaria, told Time magazine: "If you start examining lots of other drinks and food so carefully, you'd find a lot of surprising things." Jelly, for instance, is allowed to have insect parts, as long as they don't exceed arbitrary amounts set by the Food and Drug Administration. And bottled water has been found to have high levels of arsenic and other contaminants such as lead and aluminum, but nobody's pulling it off store shelves. Experts tell us the levels of contaminants in bottled water are too low to cause a problem. Cocaine, sugar and caffeine vs. arsenic, lead and aluminum. I'm switching to Red Bull Cola.

Michael Steele's Faint Voice

Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich: Depending on who you talk to, one of them is the leader of the Republican Party. With Sarah Palin safely hidden just south of the Russian border, the discussions about who leads the GOP revolves around these three men. Where does that leave Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, who continues to be losing the battle for media exposure to the big three? Last week, Steele excitedly trumpeted the GOP's prospects. "The two-party system is making a comeback," he said. "The Republican Party is again going to emerge as the party of new ideas." Although Steele says he's excited about the GOP's prospects, one thing has become clear: those ideas he refers to are in very short supply. And Steele and the Republicans face a far bigger problem. Whatever their message, nobody seems to be listening. The last voice of reason for the Republican Party, Colin Powell, has been openly mocked by Cheney and Limbaugh for endorsing Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain in last year's presidential race. Limbaugh called Powell "just another liberal" and said he should become a Democrat. Limbaugh claims that Powell endorsed Obama because he's black. Powell shot back last week: "I may be out of their version of the Republican Party, but there's another version of the Republican Party waiting to emerge once again." As the Republican party seems to be shrinking, Gingrich, the former House speaker who's seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2012, agrees about the need to broaden the base, offering this advice: "I think Republicans are going to be very foolish if they run around deciding they're going to see how much they can purge us down to the smallest possible base." He's right about that, but the Republicans are still running around in circles. If you listen closely, you can hear Michael Steele's faint voice rallying for a comeback. His is the party of new ideas, after all. It's just that nobody can come up with any off the top of their heads.