More information about Tesla and electric cars.

I received the link below from Kevin Phillips. It's great to see that we may be on the brink of actually having electric cars populating our roads and highways.
Even if the Tesla Model S is in the "luxury" price catagory, it's forcing competitors to ramp up their minds and strategies so they'll be able to compete. And...hopefully consumers will be the beneficiaries.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/mar2009/db20090326_679423.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

Tesla is leading the way with its extraordinary electric car

Ryan Johnson promised to keep me informed about any electric car news he ran across after the semester ended and...true to that pledge - he did!

In his words - "Telsa Motors recently came out with a new four door electric vehicle. They named it "Model S." It starts at $49,900, goes 130mph, and has a range of about 300 miles per charge. And to top it all off, it looks like an Aston Martin! I would definitely drive that around town. Check it out on their web site."

http://www.teslamotors.com/models/index.php

I have to admit, it's incredible looking and, as Ryan says - "A lot more affordable than the $100,000 two-seater they have out and you can pack in the whole family. It says it seats 7."

Finally! A car company that's starting to get it right. The mph (not that I'd advise any of you to go that fast) the range (well...that blows out all the 'nay-sayers' who said electric cars wouldn't be practical for long drives) and price (still a bit high, but getting there).

Tesla's Chairman is PayPal Co-Founder Elon Musk. Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Co-Founders of Google) and Jeff Skoll (former E-Bay President) have invested in the company as well.

Hmm...PayPal, EBay, Google. Sounds like a pretty innovative combination to me!

A practical electric car that you can search for on Google, find on EBay, and pay for with PayPal...how can you beat it! Oh yeah - and it's made in San Carlos California. All they need is a lower price model and before you know it we'll be driving on roads where the only sounds you'll hear will be the chirping of birds!!

Thanks Ryan!

Where's the brief?

I think I've seen something so rare that I might have the image frozen in my brain forever.

John Boehner (R-Ohio) pulled a boner when he presented the Republican's alternative budget today. It was missing one important ingredient - NUMBERS!
Hmm...wouldn't that cause any student to flunk an accounting test? Wait..."Show me your budget numbers on how to fix the economy," the Professor asks. The student's reply: "It's a narrative - the devil's in the narrative!" Oh yeah..."So's your grade: F!"

I just can't believe the stuff that goes on in Washington. Is it me or am I missing something? For the last eight years the leaders of Boehner's party lead us into a mess that Boehner himself rubber stamped and now he's telling us about fiscal responsibility?! Huh?!! It really is a bit hypocritical.

The Republican budget was 19 pages of narrative and not a single specific mention of how and where to spend this amount of money or that amount of money.
What's goin' on? Even the reporters who were in attendance were miffed. You could tell that by their questions.

And then Eric Cantor (House Minority Whip from Virginia) gets behind the podium and also talks about fiscal responsibility. Where were these guys' brains when they were voting us into this mess? Ok...I give up.

Mr. Lincoln, I call on you yet again to do something to bring some sanity into your old party. And, even though you're dead I think you could do a better job than the folks that are running your GOP today! PLEASE HELP!

Really, it's very sad.

Tata leads the way

While American car makers spend lots of time talking about the need for innovation and finding alternatives to the stagnant, or worse, car market...India's premier car manufacturer Tata is actually doing something about it. The Nano is ready to hit the market.

Focused on the segment of India's population that hasn't been able to previously afford automobiles, the Nano fills a niche. It's priced around $2,000.00...yep, that's right...$2,000.00. Ok, before you start getting all bent outta shape about, "What kinda car can you build for that amount of money?" Think a bit deeper. Tata has actually been creative enough to put together a product that fits a group that couldn't afford a car at all before this one.

Now, take a second and think about the last time any U.S. car manufacturer came up with anything as innovative, in ANY WAY. And maybe now you'll see why they asked us to pitch in and send 'em some of our tax dollars.

Forget the Nano. Would it sell here? Probably not now (in any quantity), but remember...Tata recently bought Jaguar and Land Rover and has joint-ventured with MDI on the air car (a favorite of mine).

So, while our automakers look to us for help, the Indians look inside their brains and come up with new streams of income and new groups to appeal to.
Hmm...I thought it was supposed to be the Americans that are the industrial trend setters. Geez, how times have changed.

Let's have a cheer for the Tatas of the world!

Come on America...start thinking differently!

Copy and paste the link below to read more about the Nano and Tata.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE52M2PA20090323?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Best,
Dan

Fareed Zakaria discusses Wall Street with Eliot Spitzer

Fareed Zakaria is one of my favorite people on TV. He asks probing questions and usually doesn't let the person he's interviewing get away with dodging questions. His show GPS (Global Public Square) on CNN (Sundays at 1:00 and 5:00 EDT) is thought provoking, intellectual, and poignant.

Today former New York Governor and State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was a guest on his show. Before he had trouble keeping his pants on at inappropriate times (or maybe they BECAME inappropriate times) he was pretty much hated by the Wall Street hotshots because he had the penchant for investigating them and THEIR inappropriate behavior.

One of the prosecutions he lead was against AIG...yeah that AIG. For a man who got diverted by a woman (not the one he was married to), he sure knew how to focus on the bad stuff that the investment types were doing. Hmm...as I'm writing this I'm starting to wonder whether or not those same Wall Streeters could have set him up by having that young lady of the night enter his life...NAH, what sense would that make?! Ahem.

Anyway, the Ex-Gov seemed to have had the whole gang pegged. No wonder he was the most hated man on "The Street."

He actually made for a very good interview (copy and paste the link below):
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/03/22/fz.gps.spitzer.speaks.out.cnn?iref=videosearch
Of course the question remains...how come the last administration didn't take his lead and follow-up with the whole investment gang and start some federal prosecutions and/or at least put in some regulations that would stop some of the things that Spitzer uncovered.

Geez...that woulda been too easy. And I guess, rattle too many political contributors.

Bonuses are Leading to a Backlash

Well...congress is in an uproar about AIG giving out $165 Million in bonuses while receiving bailout money, and they should be!
The link below has the story:
http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/congress-threatens-to-tax-aig-executives/384322?cid=5

But I'd like to add a bit more to the idea of a 100% tax on bonuses for people who retained their jobs only because taxpayer funds kept their businesses going. Let's do something to get back some of our money from war profiteers. Those outrageous contracts that Blackwater, KBR/Halliburton, and other organizations got from the government over the last seven years. Why isn't there the same vigor in our government to find out where the money went and ship it back to D.C. so they can use it for schools, healthcare, infrastructure, and other projects.

It's crazy that this stuff doesn't get looked into with a microscope. And, the defense contractors who seem to always have "cost overruns" should be required to "put everything on the table"...what's the deal with that!!

Start with AIG and go through the whole rotten mess. I'm sure we'd be able to get hundreds of billions (if not more) of our money back if congress would get into the details. Of course many of them were there to hand out the cash in the first place, so that should help in finding which drawers the stuff is in.

And...why not bring back George W. and Dick and grill 'em (as the expression goes) for some REAL answers.

I could go on about this forever...but I'll stop here.

A Leader of a Different Kind

It's baseball season...MY sport. I spend my leisure time watching it (including the World Baseball Classic and MLB Network), reading about it and listening to it.

Being a Philadelphian, last season was the ultimate as the Phillies won the World Championship.

One of the players I really enjoyed watching was Pat Burrell. He showed class year in and year out. Worked hard to prove his worth and had a great relationship with the fans, his manager and his teammates. He never made excuses for his poor performances and never put himself on a pedestal when he played well. His leaving the Phillies was sad.

Last Friday I read a short blurb on ESPN's website. Pat had taken out ads in both The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News to thank Phillies Fans for their support over his nine year stay with the team.

Even though he's no longer playing in Philly he realized how much he meant to the fans and they meant to him.

His leadership both on and off the field is to be admired.

Geez...I wish politicians cared as much for their constituants as Pat does for his fans.

Verizon Needs Leadership!

If you read my other blog, http://eyeonthings.blogspot.com - you know that I've had trouble getting help for my voice mail system.
Well, today I realized how a lack of leadership has impacted the steward of that system...Verizon.

I decided to call the 1-800-870-0000 voice mail help line a few days ago and learned that you can't access a real person, which means that if your request isn't one of their prompts you're out of luck. So...I scoured my Verizon bill and found the phrase: "Visit verizon.com 24 hours a day or call 1-800-VERIZON (1-800-837-4966)" at the top of page 2. Like a good trooper I did just that only to get a BUSY SIGNAL!! I called the number a few more times and voila! THE SAME BUSY SIGNAL. Keep in mind...this is the PHONE COMPANY I'm talkin' about - THE PHONE COMPANY!!

Fortunately I know that Verizon Wireless is a lot more customer service friendly.
My ethics are in a quandry. Do I call Verizon Wireless for a land line problem or continue to be frustrated and try to get a hold of a real person on the land line side on my own?

I call Wireless. Debbie answers. I explain my frustration. All I want to do is re-record my initial greeting so that I can drop a person and add a new one. That's it! HELP!! She understands and stays on the line while she transfers me to Landlineville.
Three transfers later Debbie and I are recognizing how absurd the entire process is.
Each transfer requires that I enter the phone number I'm calling about - mine.

Eventually a real woman gets on the line. I, once again, explain my problem and she tells me to hold while she gets my "access number." She then informs me to call it and hit prompt "9." At least she "thinks it's 9." Hmm...my confidence is not soaring off the charts here. After her prompt instructions, she then tries to sell me Vios! Verizon's TV/Internet package. I, of course, tell her that having just gone through "customer service hell," I doubt that I'd be moving anything away from Comcast (even though I think their prices are a bit outrageous...at least their customer service is good). I hang up with Ms. Saleslittleservice after she has no viable response.

Debbie is still with me. She's in disbelief. We proceed to discuss what just happened and she assures me that the Wireless side has nothing to do with its older sibling. After a few more minutes...she leaves me to call the "access number" while wishing me luck.

Well, the "access number" only accesses the mail boxes (which I can also access through the regular number). Ms. Saleslittleservice has morphed into Ms. Salesabsolutelynoservicewhatsoever.

I call repair (knowing full well that I don't need repair at all).
I speak with a male who, while understanding my situation completely, has to write up a work order. Wait, "Can't I just be transfered to a person who can tell me how to make the changes I'm trying to accomplish?" I ask him. "No" he answers...there's really no phone number to transfer you to, or for you to call. They should call you by 3:00 today. Hold on now...this is the PHONE COMPANY and they have no PHONE NUMBER that they can transfer me to so that I can speak to someone who can help me resolve what, to me, seems like a relatively minor situation?

What kind of company am I dealing with? Where's the individual and corporate leadership? Who takes charge? Nobody.

I'll know by 3:00 if Mr. Workorder was sincere. Besides that...hopefully by 2010 "Don" should be prompt number 3. If not...Don, you'll just have to change your name to "Rod!"

And - Thank You Debbie. You are the one Verizon customer service bright spot!!

The phone JUST rang (as I was hitting the second exclamation point key in the previous sentence). It's Lisa from Verizon. She tells me that all I have to do is call my "access number" and get into my mailbox to make the change. I tell her that that only gets me into my personal sub-mailbox and that I have a multiple system. She tells me that I don't!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get transfered to Mrs. Childress in customer service who tells me the same thing. I now know that I'm in another universe (not a parallel universe - 'cause in that one I'd have multiple mailboxes too, just a completely different universe). After my insistence that I have multiple mailboxes, I tell her to call me on another phone and that I won't pick up. She puts me on hold and does it. Upon her return she confirms my lunatic belief, except she says that I have three sub-mailboxes (I have 8...I let it go - I don't have enough Excedrin).

I have now entered Zargon - a land of alien beings from Einstein's Space/Time Continuum. Timothy Leary has nothin' on me at this point. I've found the magic to a completely new reality and am privy to the fact that Verizon is not a company at all, but the name of a Solar System in that other universe I mentioned above.

There's hope. Mrs. Childress is actually helpful, apologetic and nice. She promises to get to the bottom of everything and call me back by 6:00.

Just in case...Don, get that name change application ready.

This whole event gives new meaning to that intergalactic greeting, "Take to me to you your leader!"

Where's the Leadership

Well...I gotta tell all of you that I had a good laugh yesterday when I read about Rush Limbaugh saying that President Obama was "Spreading fear." Huh?! Was my initial thought, then a bit of a feeling that Rush (or is it NoRush...as in, I certainly don't get one when I hear about him) will do anything to get his name out there.

If I recall, the last administration (the one NoRush adamantly supported) spent the better part of the last eight years trying to scare the daylights out of us. Their mission seemed to be to spread fear every chance they got while giving the McCarthy era a run for its money. For those of us who like to analyze that kinda stuff, we knew that a lot of it's based on selfish motives to perpetuate an agenda. Lie the big lie, say it enough, and the people will believe you, to paraphrase Adolf Hitler. Except...the American public got wise and stopped believing!

NoRush is singing an old song. One that his fringe may believe but the rest of us find absurd, tired, and a grasping for straws/confused stratgy.

It's interesting that Republicans don't come out against NoRush, because if you look at the Party's history...one that is lead by Lincoln (interestingly enough Obama's model), and has Eisenhower in its fold (he of the "Beware of the Military/Industrial Complex" quote) you would think that someone would say, "Stop! We're better than that!"

I think it's time for the Republican Party to find its true voice, one that revels in its real history and leadership and leaves the NoRush crap behind.