Andrei Codrescu opines on America and Detroit the bail-out request from the automakers. As only a novelist can. Listen here on NPR and give me your thoughts. Moi, fanboys & girls? I say do it. In the spirit of real change, not just putting frozen Clintonians in the microwave (ya here me, Barack?), I say give them $100 billion. In essence, nationalize them. Then fire every senior executive. Re-bid everything from law firms to materials vendors. Hire go-getters, innovators, big thinkers. Tell the unions salaries will shrink and there will be hiring of minority youth in mandatory training programs, but benefits will increase--including nice touchy feely European massage and quiet room stations on the line. Go green--for real, not marketing b.s. Build smaller cars, smart cars. Cut production F-150 type redeck pickups, mini vans and any SUVs over a certain weight. 50% non-gasoline fueled. Put the example out to the Third World--which from all accoutns just wants to repeat our mistakes by importing muscle cars and gas guzzlers. Tell US communities we need smart roads with mag-lev technology within 15 years, and go about designing this new generation of vehicles. Yes--Minority Report and I, Robot. Impossible? SciFi? Hell no. It just takes will. And that's all it really about. What do you think?
