WARNING: STATE OF DELAWARE RIP-OFFS

Attention all those who think that making some additional income by trying to sell something the legal way is the way to go. Not so if you fall for the trap that the State of Delaware tends you with the help of unscrupulous Internet companies, such as BizFilings.

Here are the details in a letter I decided to mail to Vice President Biden, for whom I have great admiration and faith:

March 30, 2009

Vice President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. Vice President:

First of all I want to express to you my warmest wishes in your new position and my support to both the President and yourself for a successful recovery of our country. I have faith you will do it.

This letter has another purpose and I hope you get to read it in your busy schedule. It should not be taken as a personal request for myself, but rather as a deterrent to other rip-off perpetrated by the State of Delaware towards American citizens, like me, who try to make some additional income and trust Internet companies who pretend to represent the “victim” but don’t tell you the whole story about incorporating as a Limited Liability Corporation.

By reading the two attached letters you will realize how this crooked and complicated law instituted by the State of Delaware gets additional money from innocent people like me. Bottom line, I ended up paying a total of $700 to cancel and close my corporation for 9 months of operating as DAGONAZ CREATIONS LLC, in which period my sales were ZERO, and I was charged $250 for each year of operation, 2 according to them, although I was in existence only 9 months.
That amounts to $500. The additional $200 (for a total of $700) were fees for CANCELLATION and REVIVAL. In other words I cancelled, but for some trickery
In the Delaware State books I needed to revive my company in order to cancel it!

I feel this is a complete rip-off and I am asking you to have someone look into it. Not just for me, but for the many other people which are also being ripped off and will be taken advantage by the unscrupulous and unethical procedures by the State of Delaware.

I am sure that when you were a Senator for that state this could not have happened.

Thank you for your interest

Sincerely,

David Gonzalez

PS: My only source of income is Social Security. My wife has Multiple Sclerosis and collects disability. It is so unfair that laws like that make our lives so much harder to meet our obligations on our daily lives!

SEALY POST "STUPIDIC"

I purposely changed the mattress name to make a point about this ripoff. Another of the thousands of lies about any product advertised by a big company.

Two months ago, tired of sleeping on a "Tempu-Pedic" queen size mattress purchased in 2001, which did not offer what it promised to do, that is, firmness and a good night rest, I went to City Furniture with my wife and we tried different Sealy, Serta and Simmons mattresses, king size this time. We decided for the Sealy "Firm 1". the hardest one on the store, after we tried it 3 times at least by laying down and moving and rolling for a while to verify its firmness. That mattress did not budge at all, even pushing it down with my two fists! That was the one we wanted, especially after the normal sales pitch by the salesman, who even convinced us to buy some type of additional guarantee, which covered at-home servicing in case of any defects for the first year of usage.

Well....exactly 1 month and 3 weeks after purchasing it we noticed that the "Firm 1" $1,200 Sealy Postupedic mattress had sunk about an inch on both sides, and that no matter where I would press down with my closed fists it would also give in quite a bit. So we called City Furniture and scheduled an appointment for someone to come and verify our claim. Their representative came in today, as scheduled. Very nice, polite Hispanic person, who explained to us he was not a decision maker but rather a person whose job was to measure the amount that the mattress had given in. He placed some type of device right across the mattress, in the middle, and with a laser beam he showed us that it was 1 inch on the right side and 1/2 inch on the left. That was how much it lost in firmness. Then he proceeded to make me sign a document whereby I confirmed that reading by the laser beam gadget. After that, always very polite and kind of understanding the reality of this issue, he told me he was calling his customer service superior to advice them of the outcome of his visit. He also told me that according to City Furniture, your mattress has to sink at least 2 inches on both sides in order to have a legitimate claim, otherwise you are out of luck ( he did not put it that way, but that is bottom line of the situation).
After he reported to his office he handed me the phone upon my request , to talk to that person he was reporting to. It was a woman, not that the gender has something to do with it, but in this case very appropriate for the adjective she deserves...a bitch. I couldn't use that description for a man, although in that case he would have been a son of a bitch. Makes no difference. These so called "Customer Service" people nowadays have nothing to do with customer service, they are, in reality, "Corporate Defenders". They do not care at all about customers. They are put there to protect the interest of their companies. This cold bitch, and I say that because I mentioned to her I was a City Furniture client for at least 10 years and did not even thanked me for that, and blamed Sealy Postupedic for the 2-inch requirement and washed her hands and those of her company, City Furniture, perhaps the largest furniture store in Florida, located in Tamarac on Hiatus Road. A very appropriate street name in this case, for if you check this word on the dictionary it will tell you that it means, among other things, "a defect in a manuscript,where some part is lost or deface". In my case a defect in the mattress, where some part has sunk or given in".
This "customer service" person told me I had another 6 months from this visit to call again if I thought the mattress had gone down a total of 2 inches, at which time, if that was the case I would probably be given some consideration. I can bet right now that Sealy Postupedic knows very well that the mattress, after thousands of tests they go through before it is merchandised, will never give in 2 inches. But here is my question: Who determines how much does a mattress has to sink when you have two cervical herniated discs and two lumbar even more herniated discs that require a total firm mattress which does not give in anything at all and which should be as firm as the way it was when you laid down on it at the store to try it? Why do they ask us to try these mattresses at the store when they very well know that "What you try is not what you own after a short period of time at home"? Who makes these rules? Well, I am sure these rules are an integral most important part of the rip-off strategy written by corporate lawyers working for these companies. We, as consumers, have no rights, although they pretend to tell us that we do, with these pro-corporation rules. Like everything else, the hypocrisy and abuse by Corporate America is condoned by law and the consumer is the idiot that feeds their bank accounts.

Of course, I do have other options, such as a letter I will send to the president of City Furniture telling him how I feel about their policy and their "rip-off" extended additional guarantee. I will copy Sealy Postupedic and my Congressman indicating to him that it is about time we regulate this industry by eliminating these "extended guarantees", as they are nothing but a way for City Furniture and the likes to collect additional money from the consumer. Also to include some laws that protect us from unilateral company policies, which are written exclusively for their benefit. Do I expect fair changes to happen as they should ? Not really. We live in a world of deceit and greed. Perhaps, the best way to fight "Corporate America" is to owe nothing and live the most simple way we can, no credit cards, no fancy mattresses, no big cars, not even a big house, the minimum amount of clothes, generic food, no-name items, and necessary shopping at Dollar Stores for basic products. Maybe like that, we could force these thieves protected by convenient laws to start thinking a little different about us, the consumer.

Thus, bottom line, beware of SEALY POSTUPEDIC "Firm" mattresses! They are not what they let you try at the store! They do give in at least 1 inch and most likely never up to 2 inches, and their additional guarantee for one year in-house service is a total waste and a way for City Furniture and other big companies alike to get extra money from you.

Ah, as far as the Better Business Bureau...who are they? Do they really help you? I tried them once many years ago for another rip-off situation and their ineffectiveness was pathetic. We, the consumer, are alone fighting everyone else. It reminds me of Gary Cooper in "High Noon", but we much less luck.

SORE LOSERS

I received an email which was forwarded to me by my son in total digust as everything generated by right wing TV station FIX NEWS (a.k.a Fox News) produces. Because it is another sore losers commentary/invention I decided not to waste my time and space in reproducing it. Here, however is my answer to them:
"What do you expect from the GOP? They are all a bunch of traitors anti-Americans, morons and delusional ass holes. It took almost 8 years for them to destroy this country and they still deny it, but it only takes 60 days for them to criticize and boycott the new President of the USA, because he is simply...a DEMOCRAT.

I have the best solution to fix the mess inherited by Obama from Bush/Cheney/Rove : AMERICANS, THE SOLUTION TO OUR PROBLEMS IS SO CLEAR! ELIMINATE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY! HELP DISSOLVE IT! THEY ARE ANTIQUATED, BRAINLESS AND HAZARDOUS TO OUR HEALTH! "

Ahhh, that feels sooooo goooood!

The Republican Fear

March 1, 2009

Letter to the Editor of
The Miami Herald
One Herald Plaza
Miami, FL 333132


RE: Rebuttal letter to Fernando J. Milanes opinion published in your edition of February 27, 2009

I am flabbergasted at your decision of publishing such a poorly conceived opinion, based on a clear partisan ideology by one of your readers. I do read, once in a while your publication, but I must confess I am not a fan of The Miami Herald because in my opinion it tends to follow one party, the republican one.

That out of the way, here is my answer to Mr. Milanes who, perhaps, considers himself a modern Nostradamus? His predictions have no base, except on that of a solid pitiful background created by fear. Because of fear, Cuba is the way it is today. Fleeing a country because we were afraid of his leader was not the answer. You stay and fight for your country’s freedom and for your rights. You don’t escape in massive numbers to another country to incorporate that fear in your everyday thinking in another country. Unfortunately, many of these “experts” see Fidel Castro in every situation that means change. To them change is bad, because the change that occurred in Cuba was ultimately awful and they did nothing to prevent it, or because they had no help from the outside, and when they did get an attempt of help (Bay of Pigs), it was a complete screw up by the C.I.A, although most republicans blame John F. Kennedy for that. The fact is that we already got a change, for the worse, because prior to Bush’s era, the USA was a real democracy. We, the people, lost for almost eight years that freedom that characterizes our country. The Patriot Act, most probably according to this guy, was necessary to avoid another 9/11. He surely approves of it although it is exactly the same thing he is afraid of…Socialism. We can’t apply freedom to our convenience. To Mr. Milanes freedom was escaping from Fidel. That was somehow understandable. Today freedom, according to Mr. Milanes, is anything conceived and supported by his republican party. Never mind spying on people’s phone lines and sending to Guantanamo possible suspects, without a trial and due process. Exactly like Fidel Castro’s dictatorial regime. The one he escaped from, if he was born there, and the one he is so afraid that we may end up with in the United States.

When he uses the word “utopic” for the future Obama wants to re-establish, he does not realize he is telling us that the way we lived in this country prior to George W. Bush was almost a utopic world. Where unemployment was 4%, where we had a surplus of billions of dollars, and where we lived without fear of someone listening to our conversations and where we had no wars. I am referring, of course to the Clinton era, the same Clinton that, according to the right wing republicans had nothing to do with that surplus, as the foundation was laid out much earlier by a second rated movie star who became president, Ronald Reagan. It is the way it is with right wing republicans. They never lose, and all good in this country is because of them. It is, nonetheless, their right to their opinion and to never admitting being wrong. What can we expect of them when their three big heroes, besides their blindness living in denial about George W. Bush, are comedian Rush Limbaugh, life frustrated viper tongue Ann Coulter, and hillbilly Sarah Palin.

Obviously, Mr. Milanes is upset because his candidate lost the elections. It is hard to accept defeat, but it is even harder when we are in total denial of the facts to the point of declaring that McCain/Palin was the experienced ticket!

As far as “being patient” I can see how patient he has been by giving Obama a chance to prove his plan is the right one. Exactly one month! One month to decide that Obama’s plan is the wrong one, while he still, after eight years of Bush’s presidency, thinks that the opposition hates Bush not because he was one of the worst presidents this country ever had, but because of “hysteria”!

How much money does Mr. Milanes make? Hopefully for him a lot, as he mocks the crisis we are in by writing that word in quotes. Is he afraid that all the loopholes he used to enjoy are going to be done with soon? And the changing of our way of life, as he erroneously points out, is exactly what we suffered during a republican president for the last seven years ( I gave Bush one full year to show what he was capable of accomplishing for this country, not one month as Obama is getting from this guy).

“Our future system will convert to a socialist democracy a la Europe”. What a deep thought! And how dangerous it is to have a system where the middle class runs the country! Similar to what Cuba enjoyed during Batista, where the middle class lived comfortably and happy during a time when that beautiful island was one of the most advanced countries in the world. I suppose Mr. Milanes either did not belong to the middle class then or, since I do not know his age, he was probably born in the USA, and speaks without proper knowledge of the facts.

The capitalistic “values” will never be terminated. First because he used the word “values” for capitalism. There is no value in greed and wanting everything at the expense of everyone else. And second, because capitalism can never die in the USA. It will just have to bear the same responsibilities that everyone else will during our recovery, instead of having a small percentage of people benefiting from all the tax breaks and loopholes given to them by an unfair republican government favoritism.

One of the problems with this gentleman is that he has no faith in the American people because he wrongly sees a reflection of what happened to him and/or other Cuban citizens. Americans are resilient, freedom fighters, fair and willing to sacrifice if need be. Obama, with the help of all of us, will produce in due time the turnaround needed to clean up the mess that the republicans created and dumped on us thanks to a government hands-off policy by George W. Bush and company.

I welcome the fact, as per Mr. Milanes, that workers will do better than entrepreneurs, followers better than leaders. It is about time that the middle class gets compensated with a fair salary and where Unions will fight for the employees once again, to avoid being oppressed and abused by the “ Enron’s” in our corporate world and by the present corrupted Bank system. As a small detail, we, for example, will have as consumers some customer service, which disappeared during the last years, as a way for big corporations to reduce costs by laying off personnel. Happy workers are more consumer oriented than those who are miserable in their jobs, as we have been experiencing for a long time. That includes doctors and their staff.
As a matter of fact when employees in a company do “better” than their leaders, the company profits from excellent production and quality, which in turn leads to more profits. I wrote the word better in quotes because employees will never make more money or have better benefits than their leaders. It has to do with corporate structure in the authority ladder, and that is normal.

And as far as small businesses being hampered by Obama measures, Mr. Milanes is again wrong, purposely of course, as he very well knows that Obama’s intentions are precisely to help the small businesses. This is a fact that he selectively ignores to allow his prophecies game follow the fear tactics of sinister Mr.Cheney. Isn’t that a way to control the people?

The price of gasoline will go up? So what happened during Bush? Did it go down? Where was Mr. Milanes when gas was over $4 a gallon? Maybe In Europe enjoying the good food, the monuments, and free medical and hospital assistance? Those are some of the benefits that those poor Europeans suffer in their “socialistic” ran countries, while they envy our crippled Health Care system, and our ignorance about world geography and world idiosyncrasy to better deal with other countries.

I am so afraid of government controlled education! Imagine… we’ll be able to compete for better jobs! And all our graduated high school students will be able to study a career due to government grants and other financial support! That is so dangerous!

“Defense spending will be reduced”. Reduced to what? To a normal level? Because right now we are spending more on defense that it is necessary. We could call our current defense spending a “Fear Budget”. The defense budget must be based on needs, not on fear. America never feared the enemy, but unfortunately, in the last eight years, that has been our modus operandi. The money for our defense needs to be readjusted and assigned according to where and how terrorism operates, not where we may think there are weapons of mass destructions, without any proof of it. The Iraq invasion/war was another republican catastrophic decision that has affected all Americans, including those who refuse to accept this fact. Of course it did help the Bushes oil interests in Saudi Arabia, and Cheney’s reconstruction companies.

“Our utilities will go up with Obama’s plan”? I guess Mr. Milanes has never lived in the east of the United States, where gas or electric heating is at an average of $300 a month now. Or perhaps he feels that a $300 monthly bill is fair to a single person in a 2 bedroom apartment.

I do also worry about those automobiles being out of reach to anyone’s pocket. Imagine a “socialistic” hybrid Honda Civic for $24,000, while you could get a “capitalistic” Hammer tank to drive through congested local streets for a mere $60,000?

Yeah, let’s not allow either to have the size of our homes reduced, when we all thrive for big mansions with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, a swimming pool with separate bath room in the yard, and a 3 car garage!

What about the size of our television sets? Would we be able to live with a 12 inch TV set? Or are we so stupid that we would not buy instead a 42 inch for the same price? Here I am totally stunned. Could it be that Mr. Milanes owns a 10- foot TV set in his 5 bedroom mansion?

And, Mr. Milanes, for your information, Wall Street is part of the problem, while Obama’s government is part of the solution. Please do not confuse Magnesium with Gymnasium. They are two totally different things.

Last, but not least, you finally talk clear and to the point when in your last paragraph you state “The big question is, have our population changed so much that most want this liberal agenda. Maybe so, I do hope not”. You hit it right on the nail…LIBERAL. That is what bothers you. Liberals won this election. Republicans lost it. You lost it. Your final statement sounds to me like one of a sore loser, and for the sake of your principles I hope I am wrong on this assumption. However, that is what your letter is all about….LIBERALS!

Contrary to your convenient confused opinion, I hope that president Obama succeeds for the best of America, which will also benefit you. We can’t win them all, Mr. Milanes, can we?

David Gonzalez

Dear Mr. Limbaugh

(Complete text of an actual email sent to Rush Limbaugh, through the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, on January 26, 2008).

Dear Mr. Limbaugh:

I know I am probably wasting my time expressing my thoughts about your unpatriotic and anti-American way, but who knows, there is a slight chance you might for a couple of minutes remember that you are living in a free country where we are also at liberty to say nice and productive things, and not just stupid radical sore losers statements, such as yours.

Wishing President Obama to fail is wishing our country to sink even further what your ex-president Bush and people like you took us in eight years. I guess, in your case, party first and country second. You would probably do very well in Fidel Castro's regime. Look where he brought Cuba in 50 years!

I know that you are also moved by money and you are always trying to find ways and comments to get the attention that otherwise you cannot get due to your human limitations, so I have a suggestion for you...How about a fight to death, verbal death I mean, with Ann Coulter, in a large cage. You both seat across each other and for about 30 minutes you both unleash against each other and against democrats, with insults, negative comments, bad wishes, lies, extreme slurs, and more of the sort until all the venom from your tongues has been released. This event could bring you lots and lots of money, plus you might satisfy to exhaustion your sore loser thirst. On this one I wish you to win.

There is also a possibility that the reason you make the comments you make is because you are not well. You may have some sort of chemical unbalance, perhaps produced by ingesting so many pain killers, most of them heavy drugs.

An the last possible cause could be attributed to ignorance. You may have a lot of followers who listen to your deplorable radio talk show and who enjoy it because they are people just like you, ignorant. Ignorance is unfortunately abundant in our country. Ignorance blinds many people who, like you, wish Obama to fail, not realizing that such a failure will cause a higher unemployment rate; 43 million people to continue without health care; illnesses such as Cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Diabetes and others with no hope for a future cure through Stem Cell research, etc. etc.

My best bet is that you are a plain radical extremist right wing republican, sore loser, with plenty of vile comments to spit out, with the added bonus of the dollar sign attached to them.

What you don't realize either is that every time you make an extremist comment, it makes you a bigger sore loser, because the opposite happens, and in this case I, like the majority of Americans, 68% of them, hope that Obama succeeds for the good of our country, and have faith that he will, in spite of radicals like you.

DON'T BLAME IT ON THE UNIONS ONLY

I guess republicans need to persevere on their quest to try to brainwash those who allow themselves to be influenced by Internet emails. They gave it a real big try during the primaries to no avail, with all kind of lies and made up stories about Obama. They failed miserably, but they do not give up on their quest to impose their thinking about anything and everything. To them, their ideals or rather radical thinking must be disseminated and inculcated on every American, so their party wins. It is winning and not country what moves these people. Definitely party over Nation; corporations over middle class; and control over self expression.

Now that the presidential election is over after being defeated by a better prepared Democratic party, with clear ideas and good intentions to change our precipitous course to the cliff where Bush/Cheney were taking us to, they are trying something else.... The "subtle" emails against the UAW. Don't get me wrong, I am not a union worker defender, but neither am I against them. I believe unions are good to protect the right of the employees who work hard and keep our economy afloat. They are not that good if their only intention is to bankrupt the company. And this is not the case of the UAW. Yes, they have a higher payroll than the foreign auto industry in the south, but it is justified for many reasons, which are mainly associated to the cost-production ratio.

I received today an email which was forwarded to me by someone who had it forwarded to him, who got it from another forward, etc. etc. You know how this cancer spreads.... This email blames the UAW solely for the financial crisis of General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford. It talks about the salaries the UAW receive versus the ones paid to the foreign car companies who build in the "Other United States", the South (with a couple of exceptions, thank God). It wants these Big Three to declare bankruptcy under chapter 11 and to get rid of the union contracts. In other words, whoever started the ball rolling wants the UAW to be busted, like president Reagan did with the Control Tower workers. And we all know where the airline industry is now after that "wonderful" personal achievement plus his other one of "Deregulation" that brought Panam down like other many historical airlines in this country.
Yes! Let's all wish for an American car industry to go bankrupt to add three more million people to the unemployment line. Because this "wished" bankruptcy not only includes 180,681 union workers, but also retired members (419,621) and surviving spouses (120,723), and about 2.3 million people related to the car industry (dealerships, parts manufacturing, raw material industries and other).

But these republicans don't care about creating a bigger hole in our economy. As a matter of fact, the more difficult we could make it for Obama, the better chances they might have four years from now. So they think. How naive!

A bankruptcy by these three car makers with the sole purpose to bust the UAW union only shows that for these extremists their only objective is to
strangle even more the middle class in America. It is a shame that their extreme ideals are above their pride for the prosperity of our country. Without a large and comfortable middle class no nation can advance and prosper. Just take a look at our 50s and 60s, even 70s. After that, with the exception of eight of the best economical years we ever had during Bill Clinton, the middle class has been gradually shrinking to what it is today.

How about blaming the big chiefs? The three CEOs combined made more than $110 millions in 2007, not counting stock options and other benefits.
At an average cost of a typical car, this represents a little bit more than 2 cars per 100 built to offset their obscene salaries every year. We are only mentioning the three top honchos. Don't forget the COOs, the Vice presidents and other top executives. And for your information, there were 18 million cars built by GM, Chrysler, and Ford together in 2007. That 2% mentioned before means that it took 360,000 cars to even the salaries paid to those CEOs, or what sounds even more astounding, they needed to build about 1000 cars per day to afford the payroll of these three CEOs !

On the other hand, the cost ratio between labor and average car sale price was in the same year 8.4% Not bad considering that labor in most other industries, manufacturing, services, wholesale and retail business is way higher than that.

Since we all have a message to convey through the Internet, here is mine:
Don't be impressed by emails than sound very patriotic. Most of the times they are not. They are subtle messages to brainwash us in order for these brain suckers to obtain their goal, which is "Party Fist, Country Second". Research the Internet, get all the input you need to understand what they are telling you and why. Get the facts. All of them, not just one side. Analyze and react appropriately, not "sheeply".

I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT

It's been a little bit over a month since I don't write. My impulse got broken right after Obama won the election. I had been practically exhausting myself day after day during the presidential campaign, and let's face it...I get inspired when I have to attack to defend the true and to side with the one who is right. I really had a great momentum going taking apart that stupid hick from Alaska and that washed out senator from Arizona who made the wrong choice when he picked Queen Crab as his running mate. Even though, and in spite of both looking like a vaudeville couple trying to make it in the 21st century, the country gave them over 45% of their votes. That is an incredible high percentage in their favor, which tells me we still have a long way to go to get us also in the 21st century. We still have a very strong division in this country. It looks like the South (most of it) still lives under the influence of Tara and does not accept maturing, and does not accept the facts of the times we live in.

I am back for the delight of my readers (maybe 3?) and why should I change my style when the only way I can express myself is by using sarcasm and sometimes strong personal opinions?

What brought me back? Something that is happening and I cannot understand. It's about the three major auto companies that, like all big companies in the USA were given total and complete freedom to be greedy, irresponsible, and arrogant, just as the eight years of the Bush administration. However, no matter how bad they ran their businesses,
their debacle and possible bankruptcy filing could lead to a worse situation to their workers, families, suppliers, and related industries. It could topple a vast sector of the USA industry with catastrophic consequences. What would our government do when this bleak picture would be the one to face, instead of finding a quick solution now for these three automakers? Maybe our politicians are so blurred by their own ego
and maybe their complicated minds do not allow them to think straight and see forward, but it is clear that they are playing a legal game of words and the solution right in front of their noses escape them.

Yes, we acted irresponsibly when we listened to Henry M. Paulson and Ben Bernanke to give out 700 billion dollars or more, to bail out the glorified pawn shops that went under, in spite of their greed, or perhaps because of it.
AIG, Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and maybe others which I can't think of right this moment, acted irresponsibly and millions of Americans suffered the consequences for their lack of scruples and total disregard for their clients and borrowers.

So what does our government does? They, without conditions and any kind of assurances of these financial institutions to correct themselves in their new existence, released the sum of 700 billion dollars to keep them afloat. No special finance panel to interrogate them, no questions asked. 700 billion dollars of new made money, or perhaps from the Federal Reserve, which probably has more money than China. I know, I may be exaggerating to make my point.

And this is what I don't understand...Why are we making it so difficult for these three auto companies to get only 5% of what the financial institutions thieves got with no strings attached?

No matter how many possible reasons I try to find to answer my own question, I can't find any logical one. Before I give you my own illogical explanation of our government attitude on this case, I would like to give a brief background of what these companies mean to America and our economy.

General Motors. Was founded in 1908, a hundred years ago! In 1942, during WWII, GM gave its entire production, 100% to the American troops and its allies. They provided over 12 billion dollars in materials, which included airplanes, tanks and other equipment, all for FREE!
That was in 1942, which translated into 2008 it could be the equivalent of 40 billions? Maybe more? Granted that GM screwed up big, and when I say BIG I mean, like building Hummers with 15 mpg consumption and any of the Savana series, good for a family of 12 but used for single moms taking their only child to kindergarten, devouring gas like a dinosaur feeding on other creatures or on gigantic prehistoric flora; or on Chevy Corvettes with an engine big enough to compete with a 747 on any airport runway, for highways that allow a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour only.
In 2007, GM ranked number 3 in the Fortune 500 list, but rankings mean nothing nowadays in the business world when you lose money. They lost in 2007 over 2 billion dollars. They are probably going to show a 2008 loss of 4 billions, and they are now asking for $18B, and not as a handout but as a loan. With 266,000 employees (maybe less by the time I finish this blog) and their families at the risk of joining the unemployment line to cause an even bigger problem to our government,
it would be a no-brainer to lend them those 18 billions...with conditions, of course, such as...no more Hummers, unless they want to open an assembly shop in the Sahara desert and its paid by the Saudis...no more Savana mastodonts; 50% reduction in the production of SUVs, and by the way imposing a luxury tax to be used by states education funding purposes, for owning these gas guzzlers; and above all with the imperative requirement to switch their operation to alternate energy cars, such as nitrogen, or fuel cell vehicles, or any other invention which will allow us not to be dependant on other countries' oil.
But if we were to disregard all of the above, should the government consider this bailout of $18 billions like a payback for 1942 GM $12 billions contribution to win a war? The answer is YES. It may not sound logical, stripped down of all the conditions that should be attached as mentioned before, but it is the only one and more decent I can think of, plus it keeps millions of people working. That in itself is more than conclusive.

Chrysler. Founded in 1925. has now 129,000 employees under the ownership of Cerberus Capital Management, thus no longer a public company, but private. If I had to choose among the three, I would say let Chrysler go under. Let them file for bankruptcy. Why should Cerberus be different than any other private company? However, my concern is that
we are looking again at the bigger problem, the unemployment one and the suffering of innocent families to no fault of their own. Chrysler is asking for $9B, a drop in the bucket compare to what we freely gave to the financial institutions thieves. Chrysler also asked for a loan in 1979 when Lee Iacocca, and they paid it back. It was however a public company, not a private one, and that is where the thin line comes to play.
I really, honestly don't have an answer. It could go either way, but the fact that it is a loan and it might save many workers jobs...you know where I may be leaning to. Now if they get the money they should be totally under legal scrutiny of the ones who will loan it to them, the US government. No big cars, new energy saving automobiles, salary caps for top executives and any bonuses for CEO and the like to be used to repay the loan faster. Once they have paid back then they are on their own with the knowledge that next time they screw up they are out for good.

Ford. This company should be to the USA like the TajMahal is for India, or the Segovia Roman Aqueduct in Spain. It is history. it was founded in 1903. it was the first car company in the USA and fifth oldest in the world after Peugeot in France (1882), Renault (France 1899), Fiat (Italy 1899).
and the now defunct Daimler of England, founded in 1896 and gone in 1960. Ford Motor Company is an American relic and we should not allow it to disappear like we did with Pan American World Airways, under another Bush in 1991. It seems to me that the Bushes don't care much about real history and traditions, no matter how religious they think they are.
Ford is only asking for $7 billions to save their asses (sorry, I was trying to be clean as a whistle on this blog, but it makes my point) and to protect their 129,000 employees and families. It is an insignificant amount considering that we already screwed up when Panam, the best and most recognizable American product in the world airline industry, or perhaps outside the industry too, was abandoned and allowed to die under the republicans regime, while Panam airplanes had helped "Bush41" conduct his war in the Gulf in 1990/1991 by providing airplanes, war material transportation, supplies at their own expense and sacrificing their business for the country. Apparently the Bushes don't care much about this type of patriotism and their retribution is to abandon their friends and collaborators, at the expense of the American people.
All this said, and taking into consideration that a loan must have strings attached, Ford should be given the same type of conditions than the other two culprits and the bailout is a must, without any hesitation.

I purposely wanted to leave for the end of this article something that bothers me and most Americans, which is the salary that these auto makers CEOs and Chairmen and other top executives make. It is obscene and if any loans are to be given to these greedy bastards (here I go again)
it should require that their salaries be capped to a more reasonable and comparable level with other top business leaders. These are new times, new economy (or lack of it for now), and new government. Please, democrats don't let the few extreme right wing republicans convince you that giving these loans will create a worse economical crisis. They have their own agenda for 2012 and nothing would make them happier than leaving Obama with the heavy burden of having sunk Ford and the car industry, which is also a pillar for the USA in other industries, and in generating millions of jobs. A real heavy recession might be impossible to recover in four years and they will blame the democrats and Obama for not being successful in delivering the promises of renovation and health care as a right, affordable education, stem cell research and development, and millions of jobs creations with new and existing infrastructure. I may be a little paranoid, but why are these republicans (the majority of them) against this rescue plan or bailout, or whatever we want to call it? I honestly do not understand it, unless my paranoid mind is unfortunately right.