According to  US Bankruptcy Court judge Robert Gerber, the sale of General Motors’ assets to a successor company may go forward. 

That successor company’s name?  The US government.

Under the terms of the sale, GM will change its name to General Motors Co., and it’s ownership will break down as follows:

The Treasury Department — 60.8 percent
UAW Retiree Medical Benefits trust — 17.5 percent
Canadian and Ontario governments — 11.7 percent
The old GM — 10 percent

The ruling includes a four-day window, during which aggrieved parties may file challenges.  Already, a group of lawyers representing individual accident lawsuits against GM have filed an appeal, but no details have been released.

-Robert Laurie

In the airline industry’s race to offer consumers the least pleasant trip possible, we have a new leader.  Ryanair, which operates out of Ireland, has asked Boeing to design a plane with standing room.

The plan will offer low cost fares to those who are willing to stay standing for their flights.  It’s currently making its way through the Irish Air Authority’s approval process.  “If they approve it,” a Ryanair spokesperson said,  ”we’ll be doing it.”

Other plans being worked on by the fine folks at Ryanair?  Well, they’re considering a fat tax for overweight passengers and, honest to god, coin operated bathrooms.

So next time you’re flying Ryanair, remember, wear comfortable shoes and for god’s sake, don’t run out of change.

A plane load of standing passengers and pay toilets?  Should be exciting during turbulence….

-Robert Laurie

When former Secretary Of State Colin Powell, shown here convincing the world that Iraq possessed nuclear weapons, endorsed Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy, it was seen as a turning point in the election.  Democrats immediately forgave his role in the Iraq war buildup and presented him as a genius who’d seen the light about the future of our country.  Now, it seems that light is dimming, as Powell is airing concerns over Obama’s big-government, big-spending agenda.

Powell is “concerned” about “the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them,” he said during an interview Friday.  ”One of the cautions that has to be given to the president — and I’ve talked to some of his people about this — is that you can’t have so many things on the table that you can’t absorb it all.  And we can’t pay for it all. ”

He went on to say that America now faces “budgets that are running into the multi-trillions of dollars” and “a huge, huge national debt that, if we don’t pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great-grandchildren will have to pay for it.  So, I think the president, as he moves forward with his initiatives, has to start really taking a very, very hard look at what the cost of all this is. And, how much additional bureaucracy be needed to make all of this happen.”

As usual, his comments are a day late and a dollar short.  During the election, Powell’s endorsement gave Obama an 11 point surge in the polls – over one weekend.   Barack’s big-government intentions, both socially and economically, were NEVER a secret.  Now that the president is actually implementing them, Powell is surprised?

If he couldn’t see this coming when half the country, including his own party, was screaming it from the rooftops, it’s no wonder we never found those pesky WMD’s.

At this point it would be nice if Powell would just go home.  His comments, like his endorsement, feel like nothing more than an attempt to repair his battered legacy by inserting himself into the spotlight at every opportunity.  His constant desire to present himself as being on the right side of history has led him to a weak, waffling stance that does nothing to help his cause.

-Robert Laurie