Chrysler, Ford idle factories, GM delays new plant

DETROIT – Chrysler announced Wednesday it is closing all its North American manufacturing plants for at least a month, the starkest move taken by U.S. automakers as they anxiously await word about government loans.
All three companies have been taking dramatic steps as they struggle to survive the recession and U.S. sales have dipped to their slowest rate in 26 years. Chrysler and General Motors fear they might not have enough money to pay their bills in a matter of weeks.
Attempting to cut costs, GM was halting construction of a plant tied to one of its most important projects, the Volt. Ford also said it will shut down 10 plants for an extra week in January because of sluggish sales.

Prophetic: General Motors scales back in order to avoid possible bankruptcy in 2009. Chrysler considering off shore sale. Three becomes one after [X]. Ford shares of stock fall to a record low.

Obama looking at $850 billion jolt to the economy

WASHINGTON – Anxious to jolt the economy back to life, President-elect Obama appears to be zeroing in on a stimulus package of about $850 billion, dwarfing last spring's tax rebates and rivaling drastic government actions to fight the Great Depression.
Obama has not settled on a grand total, but after consulting with outside economists of all political stripes, his advisers have begun telling Congress the stimulus should be bigger than the $600 billion initially envisioned, congressional officials said Wednesday.
Obama is promoting a recovery plan that would feature spending on roads and other infrastructure projects, energy-efficient government buildings, new and renovated schools and environmentally friendly technologies.
There would also be some form of tax relief, according to the Obama team, which is well aware of the political difficulty of pushing such a large package through Congress, even in a time of recession. Any tax cuts would be aimed at middle- and lower-income taxpayers, and aides have said there would be no tax increases for wealthy Americans.

Prophetic: War will beget tyranny, an ending of all hope, and widespread despair. This must be avoided. All but one plan fails as depression nears the West. Sickness in April-June.

Bush says he didn't compromise soul to be popular

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush knows he's unpopular. But here's what matters, he says: 'I didn't compromise my soul to be a popular guy.' In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News Channel, Bush also praised the national security team assembled by President-elect Obama, offered hope to U.S. automakers seeking government assistance and said the people of Illinois will have to sort out allegations that Gov. Rod Blagojevich sought kickbacks in choosing a successor for Obama's Senate seat.
Bush said presidents fail when they make decisions based on opinion polls.
'Look, everybody likes to be popular,' said Bush.
'What do you expect? We've got a major economic problem and I'm the president during the major economic problem. I mean, do people approve of the economy? No. I don't approve of the economy. ... I've been a wartime president. I've dealt with two economic recessions now. I've had, hell, a lot of serious challenges. What matters to me is I didn't compromise my soul to be a popular guy.'

Comment: I am reminded of Nero before a burning Rome in which he could not take responsibility nor care about the consequences of his actions. Either this man [Bush] is a true mass murdering psychopath or he is unbearably stupid. Beguiled by a now sated nation of sociopaths, I suspect he is both and worse…

And the soul of President Bush?

As with Nero, Hitler, and the rest, this man admittedly sleeps well at night thus has not a soul.