Bush Administration's Plan to Assist Automakers
Follow up to previous postings on auto industry, the December 19 White House press release: "...the only way to avoid a collapse of the U.S. auto industry is for the executive branch to step in. The American people want the auto companies to succeed, and so do I. So today, I'm announcing that the federal government will grant loans to auto companies under conditions similar to those Congress considered last week...These loans will provide help in two ways. First, they will give automakers three months to put in place plans to restructure into viable companies--which we believe they are capable of doing. Second, if restructuring cannot be accomplished outside of bankruptcy, the loans will provide time for companies to make the legal and financial preparations necessary for an orderly Chapter 11 process that offers a better prospect of long-term success--and gives consumers confidence that they can continue to buy American cars."
Treasury Releases Term Sheet for Automotive Plan: Washington - The U.S. Treasury Department has released the term sheet and appendices for the Administration's plan for stabilizing the automotive industry.
Chrysler Term Sheet and Appendix
General Motors Term Sheet and Appendix
New York Times: Bush Approves $17.4 Billion Auto Bailout

Bankruptcies Rose 30 Percent In Year Ending September 30
U.S. Courts: "Bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts totaled 1,042,993 for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2008, up more than 30 percent when compared to the 801,269 filings in Fiscal Year 2007, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The September 2008 filings are the highest of any 12-month period since the 2006 implementation of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, when there were 1,112,542 filings in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2006."

Deterioration of the Nation’s Clean Water Act Enforcement Program
"Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar wrote to President-elect Obama regarding their investigation into the drastic deterioration of the Clean Water Act enforcement program. New internal documents obtained by the Committees show that hundreds of Clean Water Act violations have not been pursued with enforcement actions. Dozens of existing enforcement cases have become informal responses, have had civil penalties reduced, and have experienced significant delays. Many violations are not even being detected because of the substantial reduction in investigations. Violations involving oil spills make up nearly half of the Clean Water Act violations that have been detected but are not being addressed."
Letter to President-elect Obama
Memo: Decline of Clean Water Act Enforcement Program
Supporting Documents

In the summer of 1905, Mark Twain wrote a short essay titled "The Privilege of the Grave," and it has been printed for the first time in The New Yorker, December 22 & 29, 2008 at page 50. http://grammar.about.com/b/2008/12/15/twains-latest-essay-the-privilege-of-the-grave.htm

There are at least four versions of Merry Little Christmas
Judy Garland sang the second version in Meet Me in St. Louis because she found the first too gloomy. In 1943, Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane were an already successful songwriting team hired to pen the songs for the movie musical, which would pair Judy Garland with her future husband, director Vincente Minnelli. Though Martin and Blane shared credit for the tune, Martin was actually the sole writer of ''Merry Little Christmas.” http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1569872,00.html
In 1957, Frank Sinatra asked Martin to revise the line "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow". He told Martin, "The name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?" Martin's new line, "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough," has since become more widely recognized and sung than the original. Martin made several other alterations, changing the song's focus to a celebration of present happiness, rather than anticipation of a better future. Although the 1957 rewrite is the most familiar to listeners today, some artists, such as James Taylor, have issued more recent recordings with the original lyrics of the Judy Garland version.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_Yourself_a_Merry_Little_Christmas

A broken clock is right twice a day . . .
from comic strip Get Fuzzy, December 19, 2008

Words from India
Mumbai was formerly known by its anglicized spelling, Bombay. The name of the city is derived from Mumba (name of a goddess) + ai (mother in the Marathi language). Each place has a story, and here are places in India that have become words in the English language.
golconda (gol-KON-duh) noun
source of great wealth
After Golconda, a ruined city in southern India, once known for its diamond mines in the nearby hills
jodhpurs (JOD-puhrz) noun
riding breeches loose above the knees but close-fitting from the knees to the ankles
After Jodhpur, a city in northwestern India, earlier a princely state
calico (KAL-i-co) noun
1. A brightly printed coarse cotton cloth.
2. (Mainly British) A plain white cotton cloth.
3. An animal having a spotted coat, especially with red and black patches.
adjective
1. Made from such a cloth.
2. Having a spotted pattern.
From Calicut, former name of Kozhikode, a city in southern India from where this cloth was exported. Other words for clothes with Indian origins are bandana, cashmere, chintz, dungarees, khakis, madras, pajamas, and seersucker A.Word.A.Day