Goodbye GM and Chrysler, I knew thee well

Another month has passed and the government has denied General Motors additional bailout money. Of course you already know this is tax-payer dollars going to work. By now you know a great percentage of this money will never get paid back. But have you really thought about what's at stake here? Freedom. Dreams. Yes, Ford Motor Company and General Motors began building cars for the working man and woman way back when. They are responsible for making Americans dream of tomorrow while living in today.
The blue collar worker has gotten the short-end of the stick, again. They have no AIG year-end bonuses waiting for them. They don't receive all paid expense vacations to Colorado with their familes 3 times a year. The Unions have agreed upon lower wages to keep the factories open. These workers smell of sweat and muscle. Their perfume is oil and grease. Their soundtrack is rivets and bolts. They stand 8 hours a day twisting and turning, bending and stooping. There are no desks from which to hide behind. Their shirts are so thinned you can see their souls. Their eyes gleam with fearful hopefulness waiting for our president to approve further packages.
The answer today was no. Our president said no to thousands of men and women across the nation. Don't blame him. Surely, the blame rests with Toyota and Honda for building more reliable cars that our home grown manufacturers couldn't compete with.
I will miss those fast corvettes and affordable camaros. The thrust of that vortec pushing 4000 rpms until you had to stop 1 block later. The smell of that hot exhaust on a cool summer night. Yes those were good times and fond memories. At the end of the day that's all they will be, a beautiful memory.

Dow 6000

With all the market turmoil it's easy to lose sight of your long-term investing goals. I've seen the Dow Jones see-saw up and down for the last 14 months now. I've heard of the great plunge that was supposed to happen in October and every month after that. Don't fret, at least for now. The Federal government has stepped in with wave after wave of rate cuts. This has lowered the mortgage rates for many, helping them refinance their homes at rates not seen in years. Secondly, the Federal government has granted not one but two stimulus packages to energize this stalling economy. Thirdly, this same government is backing our financial institutions. The message is clear. Life as we know it will go on. Yes, this economy has stalled. That's all. Dow 6000 is the invisible line we will not cross. I'm slowly investing money once again in the stock market. Will you be ready when it rebounds?