Cars, Mike Mussina, These Pretzels are Making Me Thirsty

Via Matt Yglesias we see that GE is recording record-breaking profits.  While any company remotely connected with oil recording record profits isn't unusual, them giving their union workers $7,000 bonuses seems to be.  Over the past few years we've become so used to fat cats getting zillion of dollars while stripping workers of not only money but basic rights, so a bunch of workers getting $7k each for their contribution to record-setting profits for a massive company actually feels pretty good.  On a side not, I agree with Yglesias here:

To strike a bit of a discordant note about this, however, as an environmentalist and an urbanist I'm not super enthusiastic about the way that the bailouts have created a "what's good for General Motors is what's good for the United States of America" situation. The bailout issue is hardly the lone difference-maker here. Bailout-hating House Republicans are trying to pass a transportation funding bill that will starve mass transit of money and pour everything into highways, but I still think it's unfortunate that we've basically doubled-down on the auto-centric industrial policy that served the United States well enough in the 1950s and '60s but has long since passed its sell-by date.

I argued against the bailout HERE, for the simple fact that I saw the moment as an opportunity to completely change our philosophy when it comes to a century-old addiction to cars, which I stand by today (particularly when over half the country lives in urban areas and could use a rethink on mass transit other than "it would make us France!") To quote myself, natch:

Are you seriously telling me that 105 years after Kitty Hawk I'm still driving a car that's 1) dependent on oil and 2) "the backbone of American manufacturing"?

That said, if they're gonna go against my wishes, at least they have the brains to succeed wildly at it.  Much like Mike Mussina coming back in 2008 - while I stand by my decision based on the evidence at the time, if he has to come back I'm glad he won 20 games.