Forging an Alliance with Starscream

I've decided to forge an alliance with Starscream. He wants to lead the Decepticons, and he can get the job done. What have they accomplished under Megatron's leadership? They still haven't defeated their smaller and weaker competitors, the Autobots, and in this economy, business as usual will not work.


Starscream can transform into a fighter jet. You can't get more American than that. He's swift, cunning, and decisive. Megatron, however, can only flip into a gun that someone else has to fire: the ultimate metaphor for ineffective management. Someone has to fire him. He's not a leader, he's a tool. Megatron's strategy? To slowly build up forces until they're unquestionably bigger than everyone else. Yet, that's not going to work in a bear market, and they can't just sit and wait for the recession to go away. The problem is that no one is willing to admit that Megatron, the leader and CEO of the Decepticons, has failed. Megatron has run his company into the ground, and he's still giving out orders.

No one is going to step forward and support Starscream, because they're all scared. They're scared of change, and of getting blasted by Megatron, and by having all their jobs stolen by companies in other countries. First the robots take jobs away from humans, and then they join the UAW because they don't want their jobs moved to Mexico. And that's exactly where the Autobots are now - building second-rate cars in the middle of the Mexican desert. Optimus Prime used to be partially owned by Daimler, but then his Freightliner subsidiary sold off his whole line, and now if he needs a new part he'll have to develop it from scratch. The Japanese market is doing relatively well and the European market is mostly untouched, but the American auto industries are begging for Federal loans and facing bankruptcy.

Consider General Motors: Saab, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Saturn and even Hummer are great lines for their markets, but put them all together, along with Pontiac, Buick, Daewoo, Holden, etc, and you have one gigantic robot that just stands there, retarded. The same with Chrysler: consider Plymouth, AMC, Valiant, and others, while now only the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep marques remain. Ford, however, has sold Jaguar and Land Rover, and is selling Volvo, so it has some operational cash. Still, it's downsizing, and focusing on Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands in a smaller, greener market. Bigger isn't better, and advancing in quick, tactical strikes is the way to score consistent victories.

And that's why Starscream will lead us into the future.

Oh yeah - ran 5.5 miles this morning. My quads actually became sore after a couple miles, so I must have had a really had a good race on Sunday.