CARS Suspended

Leave it up to the government to cause such a mess. An AP article said nearly 23,000 vehicles were purchased through the program through late Wednesday and nearly $96 million had been spent. A survey of 2,000 dealerships found 25,000 deals waiting to be approved. That's an average of 13 per dealer. By my figures, the program allows an average of 10 sales per dealership. Because of the backlog, the Transportation Department made the decision to suspend the program at midnight Friday. In other words, the government may have found a way to burn through $1 billion in one week.

Maybe I should say, "yet another way..." Obama really needs to reign in spending to get this country back in line. First, it was $750 billion for the banks. Then, it was billions more for the auto industry. Now, he's wants to provide national health care. This is all in addition to the cost of the military and social security. No wonder the national debt has exceeds $11.6 trillion. It has increased more than $900 billion since the beginning of 2009 and nearly $2.1 trillion in 12 months. Wow!

And That's the Way It Is

Walter Cronkite died today at the age of 92. And that's the way it is.

Although the news legend ended his anchor career on CBS prior to my birth, there is no reason I should not know who he is/was. Sixteen million tuned in to the nightly national news to hear the facts told by the "most trusted man in America." With the competition among broadcast, cable, and online news sources these days, Katie Couric pulls in audiences one-third the size.

Cronkite's death comes three days before the 40th anniversary of NASA's moon landing. According to one news report, Cronkite was uncharacteristically speechless when Apollo 11 touched down on the moon on July 20, 1969, with less than 30 seconds of fuel reserve. "Man on the moon," he declared, then stammered for the next two minutes as he listened to the cross-chat between Houston and the Sea of Tranquility. "Oh, jeez. Oh, boy. ... Whew. Boy. Oh, boy."

While America reacted en masse to the death of Michael Jackson on June 25, the loss of Cronkite deserves as much or more recognition.