GM retiree launches anti-Shelby Web site

[Truth Teller]

Source: Detroit Free Press

A retired engineer from General Motors Corp. has launched a new Web site, www.BoycottAlabamaNow.com, aimed at Republican Sen. Richard Shelby and the state he represents in Congress, Alabama.

Shelby has been an outspoken critic of Detroit's automakers, who have been seeking as much as $34 billion in bridge loans to stay solvent until the economy recovers.


Joe Babiasz, who launched the site, said he wanted to show Shelby what it's like "to turn your back on hardworking Americans."


...

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20081210/BUSINESS01/81210014/?imw=Y

[Kingofalldems]

1. I like it

I wonder how much Alabama gets in Federal funds every year.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Alabama gets $9265 per capita from the federal government. The return on their tax

dollars is 1.63. Someone in Michigan only gets a return of .94, paying more per capita in taxes than receiving in benefits from the Fed.

http://www.nemw.org/taxburd.htm

If I read it right, Alabama is ranked 5th. among the states getting more than they contribute.

[Blue_Tires]

11. not to mention his state also has that high-tech Mercedes plant...

[Kolesar]

21. I wonder if the big $$$ go to the Army Base in Huntsburg where they do missile development.

There is funding that could be cut.
(You're really quick with the data today! :thumbsup:)

[sarah FAILIN]

24. Yeah, cut the Space and Rocket Center out.

We don't need any rockets and space is just a waste of time.

J/K ;)

[ashling]

48. After all Space is just empty space

like the area between Shelby's ears ... Sessions too

:rofl:

[ashling]

49. After all Space is just empty space

like the area between Shelby's ears ... Sessions too

:rofl:

[Strawman]

42. Isn't Levin the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee

I want that base shuttered if this a-hole Shelby filibusters the auto bailout.

[Kolesar]

70. Good catch

see http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3639349&mesg_id=3639933

[Strawman]

41. I'd like to find federal funds out what Republican counties in AL receive

And have Levin and Stebenow filibuster it.

[madmom]

2. works for me!

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sarah FAILIN]

25. Exactly, but...

We don't have any gators to speak of unless you're right down at the beach. Boycott the rednecks though for sure, they are a thorn in my side. I just can't think of anything we make you guys could boycott, being such a backwards state and all ;)

[ooglymoogly]

45. and speed traps nt

[Bozita]

4. Bumper stickers with the website's web address would be big sellers around here.

www.BoycottAlabamaNow.com

[bill]

5. F AL

If Shelby successfully filibusters aid to the auto industry, I say let AL drown during the next hurricane. Let the other gulf welfare states help out but teh NE. MW and left coast should ignore them like Shelby is ignoring teh thousands of families depending on the big 3.

[liberal texan]

37. something oreillyesque in that statement

like that statement about San Fransisco being attacted

[Bozita]

7. Is the time ripe for Shelby Township, Michigan, to change its name?

Local media would love it!

[Nightflurry]

9. What a good idea!

You're right, that would get some attention for sure.

[Festivito]

15. My first thought was GM against the Ford Shelby.

They won't need to change that name I guess, except to say how very very fast it could chase his big ass out of his office.

[TomInTib]

38. Same here.

But I was thinking of Carroll.

[Bozita]

19. Change it to Reuther Township ...

... in honor of some truly legendary brothers.

[Octafish]

56. Excellent idea.

The Alabama guy must be getting support from out of state types, like the Quandt family of South Carolina and Bavaria.

The Silence of the Quandts: The history of a wealthy German family

[Strawman]

43. Good idea, but that's a pretty Republican city. I doubt they'd go for it.

That's where Dave Jaye came from. Remember him?

[Bozita]

46. If the GOP gets its way, there will be no Republicon cities in Michigan.

[Strawman]

52. Yeah. They are really looking more and more like a regional party

Nobody left in that party but old Dixiecrats like Shelby.

[llmart]

63. Dave Jaye lived in Washington Township.....

Whatever happened to that asshat?

[llmart]

64. Shelby Township......

is GOP territory. Ugh.

[Alcibiades]

8. Long overdue

There was a time when southerners supported the US auto industry. Now, only real southerners do--the Republicans have shown that, not only would they prefer not to drive American, they would prefer it if no one did.

Senator Shelby has launched a dirty sneak attack on American industry. Move to Japan, Shelby. You're not a real American!

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

[dysfunctional press]

10. i realize they'd rather see people getting corvettes- but that's just a little extreme, isn't it..?

2009 shelby gt

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Romulox]

13. Anti-Labor "progressives" want to turn the entire USA into Alabama.

Alabama wages pay for Alabama education, which only supports an Alabama standard of living.

[booksenkatz]

17. ^Best post of the day, Romulox^

You summed it up precisely.

/weary member of the GM family, outside of Ann Arbor

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Man, I get confused.

People keep talking about Shelby and cars and I keep thinking of Carroll Shelby.

[LiberalFighter]

16. I just sent an email to my UAW GM local with the info.

[sarah FAILIN]

18. So how does it work to boycott Alabama? Quit listening to Alabama songs?

I just don't know what you could do, lol!
We have more than just 1 Mercedes plant, we have other auto plants and also the supporting industries making parts and supplies for them. I guess the companies like doing business in an environment that doesn't require such high salaries that have to be passed on to the consumers. I think part of the problem with all these companies going under might be at least in part due to the yearly increasing salaries of both upper management and line workers. You have to hit a ceiling at some point in salary if you want to keep the salary in line with the value of the job performed but some haven't realized that yet.
I happen to not agree with all these bailouts. If you bail out everyone, maybe you just make the problems worse and then were will it end when every company no matter how bad expects a bailout?

[amandabeech]

31. I suggest that you do some reading on what has actually happened with

wages and benefits at the Big 3 in the 2005 and 2007 contracts, and what the union is likely to offer in reopening the contract.

Your information is simply out-dated.

As for bailouts, I was dismayed that there were no conditions in the finance bailouts, but I believe that the Auto Czar may be too much.

What I think is absolutely stupid is guaranteeing the loss of 3 billion jobs at the beginning of what may be a depression.

Didn't you study the Great Depression in schools? I thought that Alabama schools were supposed to be good.

By the way, Mercedes has a much, much worse repair record than Detroit. I simply do not understand why people buy those things.

[420inTN]

59. 3 Billion Jobs???

I didn't realize that the Big 3 employed 45% of the planet. ;-)

I was against the financial bailout, and I'm against the auto bailout. It's my understanding that the Big 3 can go into bankruptcy protection and keep building cars. Not all 3 million jobs will be lost, although many would be. Even with the bailout many will still probably be lost.

I'm against gov't owning businesses. It's bad government, and bad business. Business decisions should be made for business reasons, not political reasons.

Gov't runs Amtrak and the post office. Both businesses lose money every year, with no hope of breaking even.

The executives of the Big 3 have made some bad decisions, but do you think politicians or the Car Tsar can do better? For 99% of elected officials, imho, if they could successfully run a business, they'd be doing that instead of sitting in office.

[amandabeech]

65. I'm so upset about this that I can't type.

I am of the firm belief that there is an excellent chance that no one will buy from the Big 3 even if only one of them files for Chapter 11, prepackaged or not. That is what the opinion surveys done on the subject say.

Forcing one into Chapter 11 will surely mean that one will go straight to Chapter 7 liquidation, and the others may very well follow.

I do not believe that a Czar, unless it is Lee Iacocca or the guy who turned around Harley Davidson, will do a better job than the guys in there now. Congress is completely unable to do such a job.

If you had some looser oversight, I'd say that the aforesaid Iococca or Harley guy might head an oversight committee.

I thought that we needed some sort of bill to keep the banks lending, but with oversight. Too many Wall Street types are crooks and snake oil salesmen to trust them. As you know, the banks may be just starting to lend to AAA clients, maybe, and we've thrown I don't know how much money at them between the TARP and the Fed actions.

As to the Post Office, it has improved its service to rural areas neglected by the private sector. I personally benefit from it frequently.

As to Amtrak, it can be improved, but the benefit of fewer people on the roads and in the air in the northeast and in heavily traveled lines in the midwest, such as Chicago to Detroit, are worth the subsidy. If we were able to run those services without subsidy, we'd be the only country in the world to do so, and I don't think that we're that special.

I do not worship the god of private enterprise as much as you do. I think that there are crappy companies and crappy government agencies. There are also some services and manufacures with which I don't think a nation can do without. The auto companies and banks are two of them.

I see a lot of posts here like yours, and, frankly, I really wonder what draws you and the others to the Democratic Party as opposed to the Republicans where your economic views are more common.

[420inTN]

68. Wow. I'm not sure where to begin

I am of the firm belief that there is an excellent chance that no one will buy from the Big 3 even if only one of them files for Chapter 11, prepackaged or not. That is what the opinion surveys done on the subject say.

I couldn't care less about opinion surveys. If you you base your opinion upon surveys, imho, you need to do more independent thinking. Imho, people will buy the best deal they kind find. That's why Walmart has seen increased business during this recession. If I'm going to buy a new car, I don't care if it's an American brand or not, so long as it's the best deal I can get.

As others have pointed out in several threads, Chapter 11 is not the end-all of business. I've flown on USAir while it was in bankruptcy (both times it's been in bankruptcy). K-Mart came out of bankruptcy and bought Sears.
Now, I'm not ignoring that there will be significant economic and personal ramnifications if the Big 3 go into bankruptcy (although only two GM and Chrysler are facing immediate bankruptcy, Ford is still a bit healthier and can go another year before possibly needing to go into bankruptcy). I just don't see how gov't can run these businesses better than they have been run in the past.

Congress is completely unable to do such a job.

I agree.

As to the Post Office, it has improved its service to rural areas neglected by the private sector.

It's not that the private sector neglected rural areas so much as the Post Office had a legal monopoly on postal delivery. That's only changed in the past two decades.

As to Amtrak, it can be improved

I agree. It would definitely help Amtrak to have in charge someone who understood business. Of course, it would also help Amtrak to have those who control the congressional purse strings who understood business. :-)

I see a lot of posts here like yours, and, frankly, I really wonder what draws you and the others to the Democratic Party

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that there was a cookie-cutter definition or mold for Democrats. Personally, I'm a social liberal/moderate and fiscal conservative. My personal political belief is that I don't care how you live your life, it is your life, just don't ask me to pay for your screw-ups. I'm a strong believer in personal, and corporate, responsibility. If you run your life, or company, into the ground, it's your responsibility.

Now, that sucks for those honest workers who do their jobs well, only to be screwed by half-assed executives, but the only guarantees in life are death and taxes.

[ornotna]

67. Sounds like you're a believer

of the $70 an hour story. That story is bullshit.

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=1026e955-541c-4aa6-bcf2-56dfc3323682

[Kolesar]

20. "Boycott all travel to Alabama"

So I will never find out if Alabama is like the French Riviera.

[sarah FAILIN]

23. I promise you, it's not, lol!

I don't know why they call the little bit of beach we have the Redneck Riviera, it's horrible. I boycott it too.
Really, the water is so murky and nasty, I never have wanted to swim in that mess when Panama City Beach Fl is so much nicer and the same drive time.

[MelissaB]

26. I'm calling bullshit. I don't believe you have been to Gulf Shores.

It's one of the most beautiful beaches in the USA.

[sarah FAILIN]

54. I LIVE in Alabama, I've vacationed there many many times.

Before I fell in love with PC that is. I think there is some sort of mill that discharges waste into the ocean near the beach that mucks up the water. We stayed at the State Park a couple of times before they tore it down and the BEACH part of the state park is beautiful especially after they added sand several years back but you couldn't pay me to get in that water especially after seeing a huge shark less than 10 ft off that beach. It's just too murky and it smells horrible. Other places we stayed were the Lighthouse before they tore it down and re-built it because it had 3 pools and The Royal Palms because it's right beside the state park beach area. The only thing I liked about going was going shopping in Foley and that just wasn't worth the hassle.
Go call bullshit on someone that doesn't live here.

[MelissaB]

55. I'm from Alabama, too, and have been to Gulf Shores many times.

I guess we stayed at completly different places. I've visited Gulf Shores and Panama City since I was a child, and Gulf Shores has always had the prettiest, cleanest beaches.

BTW, I never stayed in the State Park. We always stayed in condos or hotels.

[sarah FAILIN]

58. Maybe we go at the wrong time of the year or

right after they dump mill waste into the bay... I haven't seen that, but an older guy that knows that kind of stuff told me that's what the smell was. I've just never been able to stand the smell or the color of the water. There was a place we used to eat at I kind of miss and it was a dive most likely but I think it was Captain Neptune's. I forget which hurricane it was that dumped there last, but I saw that restaurant in the news with water and debris up the side and that place is before you get to the bridges. We haven't been back since.

When we stayed at the state park, it was for work. They had a nice conference center there and that's where we had our state conferences.

We're going to be snowbirds when our kids get out of school. We have a place we love to visit at PC that's 800/month including utilities for a 2 bedroom on the beach and it's just beautiful there. The waters like crystal in the fall and winter. I'll sit out there on the beach all day with all the Canadians playing cards :) I tell my husband, that's go to be cheaper than paying heating bills alone up north and much more fun.

[ooglymoogly]

47. Down Alabama way they figure the freedom riviera is not even a contest. nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. Well, Shelby had it coming to him.

[apnu]

27. Good for Babiasz... on another note...

All the Republicans from the deep south falling all over themselves to attack the Midwestern industrial base tells me that they've totally ceded the Midwest to the Democrats. And, apparently, any hopes of a majority for the foreseeable future.

Why? because they think they're picking on big blue Michigan, but by picking on the Big 3, they're picking on companies that employee a ton of voters across many Midwestern states (Ohio for example) that work for these companies in one way or another. All the line workers, parts suppliers and towns that depend on US auto making... wow, their short sightedness is breathtaking.

[Kolesar]

29. If Shelby & Sessions want to go all "tribal" on us, what side do you think the Hoosiers will choose?

The state with GM-Kokomo, the RV industry, and a lot of auto parts companies.

[Bozita]

30. Which way is Senator Dick Lugar going on this?

[Kolesar]

35. Let's call him. I won't tell the receptionist I am from out of state unless they ask

Contact Sen. Richard Lugar at [e-mail]

Website: lugar.senate.gov

Washington, D.C. Office:

306 Hart Senate Office Building,
District of Columbia 20510-1401
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Indianapolis Office: (more district offices)

1180 Market Tower, 10 West Market Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[liberal N proud]

28. Boycott Alabama - Well I just might have to do that

There was a football game in Florence this weekend that I guess I will just stay home and watch on TV.


That is a hotel room, football tickets, 3 or 4 meals and god only knows how much beer that will not get consumed from Alabama's economy.

[MelissaB]

34. The liberals in Alabama hate Shelby. I know. I was one of them and from Florence, AL to boot.

I've been in MI for 1 1/2 years.

:hi:

[Kolesar]

32. I was going to say "boycott Shelby's contributors", but they are banks, not consumer brands

Shelby even took money from Cerberus, who owns most of Chrysler :wtf:

Citigroup Inc $91,200
PricewaterhouseCoopers $68,250
JPMorgan Chase & Co $66,500
Southern Co $62,250
Collazo Enterprises $61,000
First American Corp $56,000
Sparta Inc $52,200
Beasley, Allen et al $49,700
Morris, Haynes & Hornsby $47,700
Vulcan Materials $47,500
Drummond Co $46,000
MBNA Corp $42,000
Balch & Bingham $40,600
Radiance Technologies $40,500
Ernst & Young $38,700
CAS Inc $38,500
Capital One Financial $38,000
King, Harrison & Bryan $38,000
Cerberus Capital Management $37,500
Intergraph Corp $36,610

[liberal N proud]

36. That figures

Bank bailout good, manufacture bail out bad. :grr:

[OhioChick]

33. Good for him. n/t

[HereSince1628]

39. I grew up prevented from eating seedless green-grapes because of my family's support of farmworkers

I guess I can live without peanut butter but I am going to really miss cotton underwear.

[Joanne98]

40. YAY

[ooglymoogly]

44. This definitely deserves a boot up the hill....KR nt

[spiritual_gunfighter]

50. Richard Shelby sucks

Everyone knows why he is opposing the bailout and fuck Nick Saban too.

[Jack from Charlotte]

53. Picture of Nick Saban here............

[Bozita]

57. Idea for the NEW economy: Selling urinal decals with Senator Richard Shelby's likeness

They'd go over big in the bars around here.

I can see the signs now.

"Piss Shelby off. Win a free beer!"


Saban sucks.

[meow2u3]

61. Idea for the barroom: Sell dartbords with Sen. Richard "Traitor Dick" Shelby's likeness

The eyes would score 20 points; the nose, 50 points; the mouth; 100 points; the rest of the face would be 10 points.

"Three shots in the kisser--One Free Beer"

[juajen]

51. Don't forget, federal money flowing into Alabama to Maxwell Air Force Base,

in Montgomery, the Port of Mobile, University Medical Research Hospitals and Centers in B'ham, Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, etc. There are huge amounts of money going into the State of Alabama, and if you think it is just hicksville, you people who are making fun of what can be found in Alabama are not well traveled. It is a beautiful and very diversified state.

Birmingham was practically built by USSteel. My father was a union rep for USSteel in the 40's and 50's and 60's. Those were the days.

I say boycott. The state probably gave huge perks to get Mercedes to locate in Alabama. It makes is very difficult for union based car manufacturers and supportive industries to compete when the foreign companies and American companies, like Saturn, get so much free down south.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, "without a healthy middle class, this country sinks." Support unions all the way. I do think that unions can be held accountable for outrageous perks, like the almost full pay when you get laid off. Really, everyone must want to be laid off in those companies. I also believe that we are getting skunked by the foreign companies that do not provide health insurance. Even more reason for health insurance reform. Hell, all insurance should be reformed. We are getting robbed in Louisiana by homeowner's insurance.

I now have a 7800 dollar deductible for named storms. Who can afford that in this economy?

[IndianaGreen]

60. Shelby and Sessions should be registered as agents of foreign automakers

If the Big 3 go belly up, how long before the vaunted quality of imports goes down the tubes? Where will we get our military vehicles if there is no domestic producer?

[classysassy]

62. Unions

cause the good ole boys heart burns.

[The Traveler]

66. Let's get past the politically correct crap, shall we.

These guys like Shelby are shilling for a position that uses American tax payer dollars to undermine American industry and they are doing so to further the efforts of foreign governments, corporations, and investors. How can one like Shelby claim patriotism? How is this not treason of a sort?

Heh. Just wait to see the improvements in quality Toyota will make after GM, Ford and Chrysler fall down. Yeah. Right.

This is about union busting. Period.

Trav

[trof]

69. Boycott is wasted effort. We're already screwed.

The state is broke, the counties are broke, the cities and towns are broke.
Real estate flushes even farther down the toilet while foreclosures mount.
Plants are laying off or just closing.
Small businesses are closing their doors.
I doubt there's much you can do to make it much worse than it already is.
And to top it all off, the state Democratic party can't even talk anyone into running against Shelby or Sessions.
:-(