Manufacturing: Remember that?

►  In American Prospect -- Made in the U.S.A.: Reviving American Manufacturing (before it's too late) -- The latest must-read edition of American Prospect includes a series of reports exploring the decline of American manufacturing, the dangers this trend pose for our nation, and what we should -- and must -- do to restore manufacturing. Among this special edition's articles are:

• The Plight of American Manufacturing (by Richard McCormack) -- Since 2001, the U.S. has lost 42,400 factories -- and its technical edge.

• Playing Ourselves for Fools (by Robert Kuttner) -- The trading system America sold the world is killing U.S. industry. Here's a better way.

• The Politics of Industrial Renaissance (by Harold Meyerson) -- Business and government may waver, but the American people want more manufacturing.

• The Great Industrial Wall of China (by Carolyn Bartholomew) -- Beijing's mercantilism challenges America's market ideology and industrial future.

• Industrial Policy: The Road Not Taken (by Jeff Faux) -- In the 1970s, Wall Street and its economists defeated manufacturing.

• Losing Our Future (by Joan Fitzgerald) -- If we don't develop a national industrial policy for clean-energy production, the strategies of other nations will displace American companies and jobs.

• FDR Had It Right (by Leo Hindery, R. Thomas Buffenbarger, Donald W. Riegle, Edward G. Rendell and Leo W. Gerard) -- If the economy is going to come back, we need to buy -- and make -- American.

►  In today's NY Times -- Obama sets ambitious export goal -- Since he has not clearly articulated a trade policy, the president's pledge to double exports by 2015 was greeted with incredulity.

What, me worry?

►  At Huffington Post -- Health care stalemate -- President Barack Obama's health care appeal failed to break the congressional gridlock Thursday, dimming hopes for millions of uninsured Americans. Democrats stared down a political nightmare -- getting clobbered for voting last year for ambitious, politically risky bills, yet having nothing to show for it in November.

►  In today's NY Times -- While confident health care will pass this year, Democrats still search for plan -- Legislative leaders concede that they don't have an immediate strategy for advancing the measure and described their time frame as open-ended.

►  In today's NY Times -- Health bill stalled, Obama juggles an altered agenda -- With the health care overhaul stalled, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says Democrats will try to act first on job creation, reducing the deficit and imposing tighter regulation on banks before returning to the health bill, the president’s top priority from last year.

►  From AP -- Obama retools tax credit idea for creating jobs -- A key House Republican leader said the GOP expects President Obama to do more listening than talking when he huddles privately with lawmakers Friday at a retreat in Baltimore. Obama wants to offer tax credits to companies that hire new workers, a plan that drew a cool reception from Congress last month.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Senate Republicans seem to have one answer for Democrats: No -- In his address Wednesday night, President Obama asked lawmakers to "work through our differences, to overcome the numbing weight of our politics." But alas, the state of the union is... unchanged. Republicans continue to vote "no" in unison. They knew voting down the debt increase or rejecting Bernanke would send markets into chaos. But they also recognized that these were free votes for the minority, because majority Democrats would "own" any failure.

Legislative news:

►  From AP -- House approves wage freeze for some workers -- The House has approved a wage freeze for nonunion state workers, part of the effort to quickly cut expenses amid a budget deficit. It would affect many nonunion workers at state agencies, colleges and universities. Exceptions may be granted when employers have difficulty retaining qualified people.

Boeing news:

►  In the Wichita Eagle -- Spirit, Machinists work toward smoother negotiations -- Though the Machinists' contract with Spirit AeroSystems doesn't expire until late June, both sides have been visiting with each other and say -- for now -- that they will approach negotiations in a more cooperative, less adversarial way. In a letter to local members, IAM President Tom Buffenbarger wrote: "It is time to move beyond the old ways of bargaining that have been used since the 1930s.... We must find ways to move forward where both the company and the workers benefit together, neither one profiting at the expense of the other in adversarial roles."

►  At Politico -- Push for dual tanker resurfaces -- With the nation’s economy still sagging, grass-roots advocates for the new Air Force aerial refueling tankers are bucking the Pentagon with a renewed pitch: Buy from two bidders and create thousands more jobs.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Boeing reshuffle creates new teams for 737, 777 upgrades -- Jim Albaugh has designated veteran executives to plot the modernization of two key airplane programs, the 737 and 777, as part of a wide-ranging reshuffling of management. The changes left in place the people now heading the 787 and 747-8 airplanes, programs with a clear path forward. (A path, like, up in the air?)

National news:

►  In today's NY Times -- Economy grew at fastest pace in 6 years last quarter -- The gross domestic product grew at a 5.7% rate in the fourth quarter, well above expectations. But a sluggish job market is still souring economists on the sustainability of the recovery. (Yay!) 

►  In today's NY Times -- Obama plan privatizes astronaut launchings -- The president will end NASA’s return mission to the moon and turn to private companies to launch astronauts into space when he unveils his budget request to Congress next week. But the changes have angered some (Republican) members of Congress, particularly from Texas and Florida, the locations of NASA's biggest space centers. (That's right, folks. Our Democratic president is fighting for privatization and Republicans are fighting the plan. Discuss.)

►  In The Onion -- Bunch of phonies mourn J.D. Salinger -- In this big dramatic production that didn't do anyone any good (and was pretty embarrassing, really, if you think about it), thousands upon thousands of phonies across the country mourned the death of author J.D. Salinger, who was 91 years old for crying out loud.