Yet another busy day. However, it is lunchtime, and a do have a few articles collected, so …
- Cars. A few items related to automobiles. First, after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, there were problems getting fuel to the damaged areas. So what did Japan do? According the NY Times, they turned to the electric car, which did a remarkable job. Second, the SF Chronicle is reporting that the last domestic car dealership in the city of San Francisco has been closed. This is a commentary not only on what cars are selling in San Francisco but probably the cost of real estate in the city. Lastly, a story that makes me think of a Pushing Daisies plotline: Ford has discovered how to make plastics for cars from dandelions.
- Money. Two articles related to money. In the first, the NY Times analyzes how the decrease in the federally-backed mortgage limit may hurt housing in expensive markets. To me, this means it will be even longer before I can sell: we bought near the top of the market in 2005 at $799K… now not only do we need to wait for the market to recover but for people to be able to afford houses in mid-scale Los Angeles markets. In other money news, Visa has announced a digital wallet—my big concern is how that wallet will be secured.
- Politics. I’m growing more and more disappointed by the lack of common sense in politics. For example, a recent survey shows that almost half of Republicans polled still don’t believe Obama was born in the US. So, just suppose he wasn’t. What happens. Biden would become president, folks, not McCain. Obama’s actions would still likely stand, because it would be impractical to undo them at this point. So why they still hold the position is beyond me. I see a similar lack of common sense in the upcoming debt ceiling debate. Boehner is demanding trillions in cuts before he raises the ceiling. He’s not going to get what he wants (and he knows this), as the democrats control both the Senate and White House. So he’s just going to push to the brink again. Why be so hard line—why not go in trying to get what he can, and to find the common ground. He should remember that there are more than just tea-party folk in his district… and he is Speaker of the House not for the tea party, but for the entire country.
