“Free-market” capitalists seem to be an endangered species in this bruising era of economic accountability. As the Big Three automakers loiter in the lobbies of the U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament, begging for handouts, everyone seems to be avoiding the question of why the taxpayer should have to prop up these losers.

The Canadian government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is reported to be on the verge of giving $200 million from a "green initiatives fund" to Ford and General Motors - to help those failing companies continue to build really big (and increasingly unpopular) cars and trucks.

Ford, which lost $8.7 billion in the second-quarter of this year as its truck-dominated fleet crashed into oily reality, is advertising its latest Ontario production facility as "green" because it features a "more fuel-efficient V8 engine." And Stephen Harper, in a pre-election vote-buying frenzy, is using taxpayers money to prop up this stupidity.

The Norwegian makers of the Think electric car have announced their intention to go into production next year with a $25,000, 95% recyclable, fully electric car. (Nice!)

It's interesting to note that the faltering Ford Motor Company, North America's leading maker of "light" trucks, sold Think to private investors in 2004. (Clever!?)

A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by the State of California against auto manufacturers. The suit claimed damages against automakers for the environmental damage being caused by excessive greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. 

Or in other words, the automakers named in the lawsuit (General Motors, Toyota, Ford Motor, Honda Motor, Daimler Chrysler and Nissan) can continue to pump greenhouse gas into our atmosphere and taxpayers will continue to foot the bill to study, plan, monitor and respond to the impacts of global warming.

A ruling in Vermont today will force automakers to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent over the next 10 years.

Automakers, including Ford "it's easy to be green" Motors, the "Environmentologists" at  Honda and "look at our great hybrid" Toyota have been fighting mandatory state-level carbon emission standards for close to ten years, saying the effect on industry would be devastating.

The judge disagreed stating…

"There are 11 million alternative fuel autos on the road today," exclaims The Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) website.

The AAM has a long history of fighting emission standards, so it's no wonder why a headline like "11 million alternative fuel autos on the road today" would jump out at anyone familiar with the Alliance and their not-so-environmentally friendly activities.