Stimulus Package?

Did you hear that they almost ran out of money for the CARS program (aka Cash for Clunkers)? Of course, now the government has added another 2 billion dollars to the program (a total of 3 billion for those keeping score), so the program can go on.

While I admit I do not know all the details of the program, I am not in favor of it. As I have read a couple of articles about the program, some questions have come to mind: how many people are buying new cars who cannot afford them? Who is going to make up the money when these people default on their loans? How exactly is this going to stimulate the economy? Where exactly is this money coming from? Why is it such a bad circumstance that car sales are lower than they were a few years ago when the economy was in better shape? What is wrong with experiencing a little failure? Doesn't experiencing failure teach us to do better in the future?

Summer Expectations

As I was finally eating my first bit of watermelon for the summer, I got to thinking about all the elements that I think must be in place for summer to be official. For me, summer needs to include eating watermelon, corn on the cob, and angel food cake. Scents need to include cut grass and sunscreen (I love the smell of sunscreen!). Swimming is a must because the sky should be sunny and the temperature should be above 95 every day, especially in July and August (while these past few years have been easy on the pocketbook, I've been disappointed that we have had so many rainy days -- strange, I know. I think we should move to Phoenix). Evenings should be filled with a dry south wind and the sounds of locust singing in the trees.

What are some of your favorite elements of summer?