Welcome to the unthinkable: General Motors, which used to be the metric of what was good for America, is now a liability on the taxpayers' books. As long predicted, the flailing auto giant filed for bankruptcy yesterday, amid the sort of regimented pundit hand-wringing about the sinister Meaning of It All that you could set your odometer to. READ MORE

Republicans are all in a tizzy that Comandante Obama and his gang of socialist wealth redistributors are using the Chrysler bankruptcy to shut down car dealers whose donations favored Republicans over Democrats. But is it true? Well, Your Geeky Boyfriend Nate Silver is on the case, and he's skeptical. READ MORE

GM and Chrysler will sever ties with up to 3600 dealerships nationwide. "The closings," notes the LA Times, "will dump thousands of large, oddly configured parcels into an already reeling commercial real estate market. Many are likely to remain empty for a long time, monuments to the decline of the U.S. auto industry and the intensity of this recession." Maybe we can convert them into new housing for the wave of recently unemployed autoworkers.

All the angry hedgefunders who are crying about the socialism of the mean president who forced them to accept a deal in the Chrysler bankruptcy so that he could repay his union buddies for their support should cheer up just a little: the union is getting hosed too!

Your president will come down and tell bankrupt maker of terrible cars Chrysler what is up at noon today. Sadly, the men who actually build the cars have already given up hope, as their union agreed to new healthcare concessions that mean Viagra is no longer covered. (Yes!) There are 6.3 million people now collecting unemployment in the U.S., a record high for the 13th week in a row. READ MORE