Ashton Gets it Right?

Just watched the season finale of Real Time with Bill Maher which was really, really good. Good because he came up with the real question Americans answer with "Yes We CAN!" (Do you think we could fry that?) Good because in conclusion he says America is a lot like Jessica Simpson, yes she is often embarrassing, but just look (sic) at that rack!

Also, apparently his staff looked up something I've been wondering about for a little while and confirmed for me that the US is the first democracy in history to peacefully elect a minority candidate. In his words "Take that Canada!" (Upon further consideration I believe that men have always been a minority, so perhaps the first democracy to peacefully elect a member of a racial minority would be more accurate if somewhat less of a sound bite.)

But the true as the ringing of a bell moment came from one Ashton Kutcher - regrettably, since I would like to ridicule him, he seems to have his head screwed on properly. In a discussion of whether or not we should bail out the big three automakers Ashton positted that perhaps that bailout should not come from the public sector but rather from provately held money. The idea was that we shouldn't bail out the big three, but rather that the big three ought to turn their tin cup in the direction of big oil.

What a scary vertical integration that would be, but man if it doesn't make sense. Nobody needs GM, Ford, and Chrysler as much as Standard, Exxon, and Chevron. Gauranteeing continued production of automobiles is simply good business for them. Also, taking a custodial role in the domestic automotive industry might put them in a position to drag out any development of more efficient engines, something on the order of "federal CAFE standards and nothing more - and don't hurry."

If anyone has the discretionary money to take on the project on their own it's big oil. Gee golly I am glad Ashton Kutcher doesn't speak for them.