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Here’s your daily recap of the best feedback we got from YOU on the blog, Facebook, Twitter, Email. Continue the conversation below. And remember, keep it brief, and keep it clean. Thanks!
American Morning viewers were fired up about the GM, including the CEO dismissal, calling for GM and other automakers to get their bailouts from big oil:
- “So, the auto companies want money...Then why don't they just go to the oil industries and tap their huge bank rolls? After all, it appears they collude to keep the miles per gallon vehicles get to a minimum to keep those tax funds rolling in!”
Some defended the GM CEO and blamed unions for GM’s financial woes, saying the head of the union should have been fired. Others noted the obvious disconnect the autoworkers have with the current retail market:
- “Watching the autoworkers' comments on American Morning (‘we didn't cause the economic problem’) it's obvious they do not understand their situation. No they didn't ‘cause’ the problem, but they are not responding properly to a bad retail environment. I seriously do not understand why these companies are not forcefully or voluntarily broken up into their many brand names – it's no wonder they are failing when they compete against themselves!”
- “Why would Obama fire the GM CEO? The person who should be fired is the head of the union!”
- “I am sorry to hear about Mr. Wagoner stepping down, as a GM worker who is laid off I don't like to see anyone lose employment. However I feel that making him a scapegoat is not the answer. More than just Mr. Wagoner has made the decisions for the company. Gm has been transitioning for as long as I can remember. Yes it could have been faster and more efficient but we have always had two many chiefs. I remember the day our floor supervisors came up from the floor and knew every aspect of what we were doing; now we have floor managers who come out of an engineering school that have absolutely no clue except trying to fire employees and make a name for themselves. We need to go back to the basics. I am an Obama supporter but I feel also that the bank CEOs should have met the same fate. That’s when my consumer confidence will be restored. Clue folks the banks still are not lending, stake out a dealership and see how many can't get approval. Or maybe that’s just for the American car companies also.”
So, do you believe GM is to blame for its financial crisis, or is it the retail environment…or something else? Should GM’s CEO a scapegoat for the difficult economy? Tell us your thoughts.
Save the Children? The Madonna Question
Happy Monday!
Madonna is in Malawi today trying to adopt a second child from the African nation. Amid some controversy, she adopted a 13-month-old boy named David Banda back in 2006.
And things are no different this time around, with many opinions on whether or not this is the right thing for little 4-year-old Mercy James. According to our reporting, Mercy's mother died in childbirth and her father is also dead. She does have other relatives but lives in an orphanage.
Today I interviewed Dominic Nutt, the spokesman for Save the Children UK, who strongly feels the little girl would be better off staying in Malawi than living with the newly divorced Madonna and her three other children. Here's his take.
It should be noted that the 50-year-old pop icon is a big supporter of Malawi. She made a documentary, "I Am Because We Are," about the country's struggle with poverty, AIDS and disease.
Her nonprofit group, Raising Malawi, also donates money and time to help the country's children. And they need that help. According to UNICEF, for every 1,000 births, 120 children will die, the life expectancy in Malawi is only 44-years-old and most children over the age of 10 don't attend school.
Today when I posted the question "what do you think about Madonna wanting to adopt another child from Malawi?" to those following me on twitter.com/kiranchetrycnn, we got a lot of great responses and many different opinions!
On a personal note, I can understand the tough choice that goes with deciding whether or not to send your child away in hopes of a better life somewhere else.
I was born in Kathmandu, Nepal to a native Nepali and an American Peace Corps volunteer. My father and his 4 siblings took very different paths in life. My dad and his youngest brother came to the U.S. to study and eventually live. His other brothers and sister didn't come here themselves, but scraped together every cent they could to make sure all of their children came to the United States for their educations. Nepal is quite a poor nation and my cousins' prospects for a better life were definitely improved by having an American education and access to healthcare. Now, it's not the same as giving up parental rights by any means, but my aunts and uncles sacrificed a lot in their decision to send their children away. They had to trust that they were cared for from afar and could only communicate with letters and the occasional phone call. That is why I understand why some of the relatives of children like David and Mercy decide to give their children away when faced with bleak circumstances at home.
In the case of Madonna and Malawi, the question of how to best help the other children left behind is an even harder one.
Kiran
A walk down musical memory lane
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/30/virgin.getty.art.jpg caption=" Amid news of the closing of Virgin Megastores, AM staffers reminisce over their first cassette tapes."]
The closing of Virgin Megastore got me thinking about the first cassette tape I ever purchased. I had diligently saved up my allowance money for nearly a month (forgoing popsicles and Now-n-Laters from my neighborhood’s ever-present ice cream truck) to purchase New Edition’s sophomore effort. I played that tape out. Every afternoon after school, singing “Mr. Telephone” man at the top of my lungs, rewinding and rewinding until I mastered the rap in “Cool it Now,” dreaming about my inevitable marriage to lead singer Ralph Tresvant.
I asked my colleagues about the first cassette/albums/CDs they ever purchased. The walks down memory lane are as sweet as they are comical.
Last chance for GM and Chrysler?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/16/minding_your_busi_art.jpg caption="CNN Business Correspondent Christine Romans is Minding Your Business everyday here on amFIX"]
This may be the LAST last chance for GM and Chrysler.
You remember the huge outcry last year over taxpayer millions going in low-interest loans to two of the Big Three. (Ford is also struggling with a crushing decline in consumer car demand, but has not taken any taxpayer loans.) They were given until this month to prove "viability." The President's auto task force says they failed that test.
GM's CEO is out. GM gets 60 days of financing to figure out how to speed up its transformation from the old GM into a lean, mean, competitive machine.
Madonna under fire
Madonna was in court this morning, trying to adopt another child from Malawi.
A judge ruled that she'll have to wait until Friday to find out if she'll be given the green light.
At least one children's group is saying she shouldn't adopt and that the child would be better off in his or her own country.
We spoke with Dominic Nutt, spokesman for Save the Children, about the controversy surrounding the possible adoption.
What do you think? Should Madonna be able to adopt?
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