Recently I brought my car in for service,and the Toyota people gave me a hybrid as a loaner.I was not impressed,and felt that it totally lacked power.As someone who has liked the feel of the get-up and go of the Hyuandai,my current Toyota Avalon and my previous Infinitis and Lexus, this was a turn-off.
I would never consider such an auto ,especially with gas at 1-2 dollars.
The holiday season always brings to the fore the problems of religious scenes on public property.This year it is complicated by the controversy over an athiest sign in a State Capitol in Washington. I have always been a strict believer in the seperation of church-state.I do not nelieve creches or the lighting of menorahs should be allowed on government owned property.There are ample opportunities in churchyards and synagogue aras,as well as privately owned property for this to take place.The athiest signs are inflammatory,and a danger to the public peace.
Stretching the seperation of church-state, is a slippery slope that ultimately harms Jews.
The Eruv controversy in the Hamptons is an example of self-hating Jewish anti-semitism.The eruv wire allows no person to practice his or her religion.It is basically an invisible item, that merely creates a sense of community. The terms of the opposition reflect a hatred of Orthodoxy.However, this country has long past the point where a person with a turban,a Catholic with an ash spot during lent or a Jew with a skull cap need feel that they are a second class citizen.No one forces anyone to sell their homes to an orthodox Jew,nor forces them to patronize a vendor who closes on shabbat. If their arguments about not wanting "those people" into the community were about blacks and not orthodox Jews,there would be mass picketing.
I warn the people of the Town,that at the end of the day, if they fight this through the courts, not only will they lose, but wind up with a large legal bill that will impact on their taxes-a-la Tenafly.
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The talk of an Auto bailout has no mention of a change in Union leadership.These poeople bear a share of the blame along with the auto companies.They have driven up the cost of labor to $70 an hour compared to $40 in the South.Until we have real Union takebacks along with a change of leadership at GM,as well as realizing Americans are not interested in the cars they are being forced to build, all the money we put into a bailout is wasted.
