aFlickringLight

The Auto Industry – Served

Facing increasing pressure from Congress and the American people, the auto industry is having to start cleaning up its act. It has been given a December deadline to regroup and approach Congress with a detailed plan, one that outlines drastic restructuring and operating measures and one that offers some definitive answers to lawmakers how money from a potential bailout package will be spent. Below is a poll from OrangeCountyGasPrices.com on consumer reaction locally to the possible government b...

Relief at the Pumps

Some months ago, two reporters for MarketWatch reported on the way in which oil and gasoline was traded on the open market. Upon investigation, four energy analysts reported back in June of this year to the House Energy and Commerce Committee that the price of retail gasoline could fall by half, to around $2 a gallon, within 30 days of the passage of a law that would limit speculation in energy-futures markets. Fadel Gheit of Oppenheimer & Co. testified that - “Record oil prices are infl...

The Cabinet in a Nutshell

News continues to trickle out of the Obama Transition Team’s office in Illinois regarding officially and unofficially announced Cabinet positions for the Obama administration. Let’s take a look at a breakdown - It is widely expected that President-Elect Barack Obama will formally ask Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to accept the role of Secretary of State. Clinton, Obama’s chief rival during the Democratic Primaries for Democratic presidential nomination, brings a lot to the table for the...

GM Stock Now a Joke

Will there be a Sequel for General Motors Corporation (GM)? Its stock dipped to dangerously low levels today, trading under $3 for a short period before closing at $3.06 for the day. Investors are concerned over the looming possibility of bankruptcy as GM’s cash balance nears below the needed amount to operate month-to-month. Updated 11/26/08 - with stock chart YTD: General Motors Corporation’s (GM) stock has seen dropped significantly Year-To-Date (YTD), trading as of press time between $4 an...

The Future of the GOP

Much talk has been generated after the results of the 2008 Presidential election as to the fate of the GOP after it suffered a fatal blow. Losing the White House by a wide margin, the Republicans are also in danger of a fillibuster-free Senate as Democrats inch closer to a majority presence. This election proved many things. This country was tired of the current administration and the past eight years of missteps and wrongdoings. This country, and for that matter, the world, is becoming increas...

Prop 8 Will See It’s Day In Court

Making the news rounds today is a brief coming out of San Francisco, California, where the Supreme Court of California announced they will hear the case of those against Proposition 8 and its prohibition of same-sex marriages. The court did state that, in accordance with the passage of the proposition, until any decision is made in the opposition of Prop 8, the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses will be suspended. This echoes the Governors words for opponents of the proposition to fight on....

Lieberman, Back in Action

Democrat-turned-Independent Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) mended some of the tides of separation with Democratic leaders today. By a vote of 42-13, Lieberman was allowed to keep his chairmen position on the Senate Homeland Security Committee by the Senate Democratic caucus. It was not all that long ago that Lieberman enraged Democrats by speaking at the Republican National Convention, offering his public support for Senator John McCain (R-AZ). But in the new Obama-era of politics, the President-...

The Pentagon Wants More Money

In the midst of financial bailouts and failing economies, the Pentagon has revised its request for funding from the United States government. It is now asking for $524 billion in funding, a $9 billion increase in its baseline request for next fiscal year. This does not include added expenses for keeping troops overseas fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is likely to add a few more billion to the budget. What does this mean for the nation? President Bush entered the Oval office back...

At What Cost?

As the “Big Three” teeter with collapse, three million workers around the nation face the looming possibility of job loss. They have not seen economic success in several years, and are treading dangerously close with having no financial capital with which to operate their respective companies. Why? They have resisted change. Body designs, amenities, and features in automobiles certainly have changed in recent years. But the business practices have remained largely the same. Japanese and other f...

Vocal Outrage Against Obama

Al-Qaida’s Number 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri posted a message directed at President-Elect Barack Obama on Wednesday. Zawahri spent the majority of his 11 and a half minute audio clip speech demeaning the President-Elect, referring to Obama by racial epithets and degrading terms. The video, which in part is embedded below, is being viewed as mere “despicable comments from a terrorist” by members of the State Department, that quotation from State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. "America h...