(and the rest of my comment -- I'm long winded but rarely hit the 3000 character limit)
I don't think there was anything unfair about this article and if you're more positive about our prospects than the author you probably did not work at GM and probably aren't clocking out your SUB right now. The fact is that working at GM was an easy way to the middle class for a lot of folks. Highly-paid unskilled labor, though, just isn't in the picture for this century, not measured in the thousands of jobs it once was.
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I think this city is up to the challenge. Still, the vagaries of economic fashion mean that a lot of what happens just isn't up to us -- like the SUV gravy train and its prompt braking to a complete stop. That's a big rattle and that's what this article is about, not what we might possibly manage to do once we shake ourselves off.

jvillerdr, he does mention Bessie in a photo caption on page 2.
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There is obviously some editorial selectivity in the photos. The gas station on 14 has been closed for years and is more of a remediation issue awaiting suburban development, but who could resist the "PRAY" on the sign? Sure seems to express what a lot of us are feeling regardless. I don't know where the red building with the CITGO pumps is -- it's not any active CITGO station in Janesville and may even be one of the outlying hamlets. And certainly the Monterey was no longer a hotel even in my day and its closure was related to the end of passenger rail, not auto manufacturing.
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If anything the desire of commenters and Knox alike to hold onto the upside of the Janesville story is encouraging. We are not Flint, which once employed more people at GM plants than the entire population of Rock County. There are still other employers here and new employers arriving, quite good news considering the economic climate.
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Even the US story is more encouraging than some commenters see it. The United States is actually near the peak of percentage of its GDP devoted to exports.
http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-w...
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What has happened is productivity. The US is among the most productive countries per worker in the world. This means fewer workers per GDP unit, unfortunately. The era of the GM model is likely gone forever. But that's true globally. Germany exports more than we do, but primarily to the rest of Europe. China exports almost as much as Japan, but largely things of lower quality and higher commodification. Even things we buy from Mexico are good for us because they help lower immigration (legal or not) to the US. China and India are growing economically but still have populations of peasants greater than the entire population of the US. The US is still the world's largest economy and is likely to remain so for decades to come.
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What we are seeing in GM's loss is the decline of a pre-World-War-II production model that is no longer economically competitive. Maybe Janesville was one of the best at making it work, but those days are gone. You can't even blame the Japanese -- even NUMMI closed because of the recession. This isn't a decline based on foreign competition. Janesville made an SUV that suddenly became too expensive for anyone to buy. Even if we in Janesville or someone in the bowels of GM's forecasting department could have seen that coming, it wouldn't have made much difference.
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Janesville had a thriving manufacturing base centered in agricultural materials before GM came to town. We still have some great companies. What we've lost is what sustained us in the 20th century. But we're still figuring out what's going to sustain us in the 21st.

I've lived in Janesville for over 40 years and for this guy to find these pictures is pretty impressive. Half of them I couldn't pick out where they were taken, so obviously he had to some real looking to find them. Some of the pictures are of depressed areas, just like every city in America. And what did he think to find at some of these places? Geez, we just lost a major employer, but I haven't heard very much "Poor me" or "What am I going to do now?". I'm sure there is a lot of that going on, but that's not the norm.

Why didn't he go out and get pictures of Prent, or Blain's Supply, or Lab Safety Supply, or Mercy Hospital? Or go to Beloit and show ABC supply, or Kerry Ingredients, or Frito Lay. It was too easy for him to show the depressed, rather than the companies that are working hard to not just survive, but flourish and grow in this economy. Where were the pictures of the new additions to the high schools, or the Gateway Project in Beloit?

No where does he mention the good things that are happening in Janvesville and Beloit. Like it or not, we are in this thing together, but if both of the cities collaborate on what we can bring to employers, we will come out of this with a future that gives employers a good reason to settle in Beloit/Janesville.

It's funny with such a depressed and downtrodden city, that the strip joint was empty. Why? Because that type of place isn't a place many people in Janesville care to patronize. And the empty gas station? It's been empty for nearly 20 years, not because GM left. Burt's Barbershop has been a mainstay in downtown JVL for years. Had he gone for truth in pictures, rather than the shock value, he would have covered the city in a more fair and balanced way. Too bad he doesn't do a followup story, but then again, he'd have to put a picture of him eating crow, and that picture would probably reflect negatively on Janvesville.

And Bessie -- he forgot to mention her. What kind of attempted portrait of Janesville omits any mention of Bessie, even if only in passing or for irony? They can't ship her to China -- not without a fight!

Hey Kinsohn, the mortgage to the Chinese kicked into high gear under W's administration. It seems you have deliberately sheltered some politicians from your criticism -- for example, the ones that started this down-hill snowball of debt.

As for janesvillecomments, haven't seen you around these blogs before. Not that I disagree with your post, but it has an air of defensiveness. Your first name wouldn't happen to be Charlie, would it?

Regardless, Charlie should have mentioned in his article one of the things about Janesville that is unique and awesome: the way the Gazette site is organized to make all of these reader debates so easy. Other newspapers' sites are rarely as user friendly. This is the real American town hall meeting, there are plenty of opinions richocheting around this town, and this rocks, here in Rock County.

After reading the article, Steve is right. This is an agenda article. I like Mother Jones and have subscribed to it. This article is poorly done, although making some good points about GM.
I grew up near the plant in the Old Fourth Ward. I know what good and poor sites it has. The pictures illustrate the manipulated ideas behind this writing. The majority of Janesville does not look like that. I find any community a little gloomier on a rainy day, and more beautiful on a sunny one.

My comments on the photos-
It seems they are trying to put a negative spin on this.
Lunch at Cozy In- what time? 11 am?
Empty gas station- yes like FOREVER it has been empty!
Garage sale- yes I think we ALL have those.
Strip club - not busy- OH WELL/ again what time of day!

Hear, hear garyprimer!

Mr. LeDuff came across as a writer with an agenda to portray Janesville as this big sob story town. Yes, it was a blow to have GM leave us, but we HAVE NOT gone belly up.

I think it's a shame Mr. LeDuff didn't try to create a more accurate picture of Janesville by talking to the active, caring people of this community who are working to make our city better. If he had, I don't believe he would have portrayed us as a place that hope has abandoned. All he had to do was talk to anhybody at Forward Janesville or Rock County 5.0 to see we have fantastic potential for bright future ahead of us, if we, as a community, come together to make it happen.

Everyone has different experiences and situations. There are many people in this town that have had no relationship with GM that are still trying to make Janesville a nice place to live. It seems that some people will not be happy until this town completely falls apart just so that it can be proven they are right. Maybe they are trying to scare away people who currently have jobs and homes so they can try and take them when they leave.

I'm sorry Steve but I think YOU need to actually see whats happening in Janesville! It's only going to get worse, we haven't really felt the blow of losing GM yet. Yes we have 2 beautiful High schools, but with familys leaving the halls will not be filled! Don't even get me started on JPAC...look around Knox.

Have faith! Barack Obama and the Democrats have mortgaged over $1 trillion of our children's futures to the Chinese in order to get places like Janesville back on its feet. Won't be long now!

There is more to life here than GM. Yes, it was the cornerstone for decades. I feel that we are a strong community and we will work together to re-build our lives. Certainly, there will always be critics (like Charlie and some residents who have nothing better to do but complain) who think this city is more than done. I prefer to stay positive and look forward to a grand future for our Janesville. Charlie, thank you for making us take a good look at Janesville and find the beautiful things you missed. After a great tour of Rotary Gardens, please stop by JPAC and see a show. You can then travel to one of our wonderful restaurants and enjoy a good hearty homemade meal---I suggest Park City Family Restaurant or Italian House.
Come back again when you can stay longer.

As long as American stockholders continue to have their companies ship manufacturing out of the country to reduce costs or use illegal aliens in America to save labor costs, this country will continue to decline. American citizens are burning through generations of accumulated wealth to maintain their current standard of living, but when that is gone, the market for cars and major appliances will be gone as well.

All the $3/day workers in China, the Philippines, Mexico, India, and all the illegal aliens in the United States won't be able buy enough hard goods to make up for the loss of the American market. At some point the country won't be able to make even the interest payments on the trillions of borrowed dollars and will default on the loans. At that point the US dollar will be worthless on the international market, and it is anyone's guess as to what concessions or sell-outs American politicians will give to the debt-holders.

The larger question is: "How close to the end of the line is the entire country?"

A lot of the people have their heads in the sand, pretending Janesville is perfect and do nothing. And a lot of people think GM closing is the "end-of-the-line" and have a fatalistic view so they do nothing. There has to be a happy medium, such as acknowledging the problems and doing what you can to help, and be so negative that you scare people away from Janesville.

The Mother Jones article is uncomfortable to read, but I think it sheds light on the reality of our current situation. I think a lot of us still have our heads in the sand when it comes to the impact the plant's closure has had on this area. Open your eyes Mr. Knox. The "End of the Line" seems to be a pretty accurate description of our city at this time.

They certainly picked some eyesores to photograph.

btw, Guardian: Ask those former GM folks where their shirts were made. Apparently "Buy American" is selective.

Here's the thing: We have yet to see the darkest days of the result of the plant closing. Most former GM workers still receive a good chunk of their pay through various vehicles, but that will run out (see Gazette about this -- there was a full story about a month ago). Some who have moved to other cities -- KC, for instance -- are now looking at the possibility of their line being shut down. Local food pantries scratch their heads about why the increases haven't been as bad as predicted.

It will be.

Drove through? The writer and photographer spent days here. The MoJo view might not be crystal-clear, but it's not far off.

Call me doom-and-gloom if you want. I'm worried about people in this community.

I'll be back after I read this guy's article.

Guardians - I wish it were that simple. At one time my family's two cars were a Chevy that was built in Japan, and a Honda that was built in Ohio. So which one was promoting jobs in America?

I did read the article by Mr. LeDuff, and he is certainly entitled to his opinion. I do not agree with his perceptions of our community, but just like any piece of art, music, or literature, beauty, (or decay) is in the eye of the beholder.

The loss of General Motors and manufacturing as a whole in the United States can be attributed to greed, power, poor leadership. In my opinion their behavior borders on treason. The Korean made Daewoo Chevy Aveo with the Chevy bow tie on the hood for example.

Our government and corporate CEO's should be doing what is best for our people and our country. I don't know what has happened to common sense, and patriotism, but it does not take an economics major to reason out that the number of consumers buying their products in the U.S. is DIRECTLY proportional to the number of people employed in the U.S..

I look carefully at the products on the shelves when I go shopping, and see where our manufacturing, money, and jobs are going. It's going to China, Pakistan, Thailand, Korea. Pretty much everywhere except the U.S..

Take a close look around you when your in traffic, (K)orea (I)nvades (A)merica, and other foreign vehicles are becoming prevalent, not the exception.

The people buying these vehicles defend their decision with issues like price and quality. I disagree, if you take the long view, no one can afford to buy overseas and expect to have a job here. As for quality, I have (3) American vehicles in my family, two over (10) years old that have only required basic maintenance.

It is a conscious act to support America, whether it's Red Wing shoes, Cooper tires, or Whirlpool refrigerators, it's up to us to promote jobs in America.

You vote for jobs somewhere every time you open your wallet.

Look at the label before you vote with your wallet, who's mortgage are you supporting? Will the future of American manufacturing be sunny and promising, or will it be gray, bleak, and the picture of atrophy as Mr. LeDuff paints?

I read the article when it came out. I thought it was pretty accurate.

I just read it, too, janesvillean. To be honest, I thought it was a good piece of writing.

Well, I have been to Detroit, and such a place of despair may have no equal in these United States. I don't think LeDuff -- from Detroit, with twenty years or more of decline to look back on -- was writing down to Janesville, as you seem to. He was writing a eulogy for lost jobs and livelihoods, not an epitaph for a city. He writes with compassion about lost livelihoods and lost dreams. I should think you were intelligent enough to see that. Like you, I have faith in the long-term survival of Janesville, but we have lost a massive payroll with GM and that is going to have a serious effect on this city, as the Gazette has been documenting in detail.
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Thank you for bringing this article to the attention of your readers, but no thanks for your smarmy, defensive boosterism. This article is as sympathetic as you were cavalier.

Words, just words. Some truth, some lies. Not the right mix for a journalist, but what can you expect from a guy who just drives through town on a rainy day with an agenda for a doom and gloom story and no scruples? The sun still rises every day and people go about their lives. Is Janesville the worse for the loss of the plant? Absolutely, but everything was not as rosy as the writer implies before the shutdown. There have always been problems and there always will be problems, but we have dealt with them in the past and we will continue to deal with them. These are tough times for communities all across the country, tough times for the entire nation. Charlie LeDuff knows very little about Janesville and cares even less. So drive through town and write your trashy story and if the door hits you on the way out, I don't care.