From Hummers to Hybrids
Nothing symbolizes the change in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s image over the course of his governorship than his attitude toward cars. Let’s call that transition: From Hummers to Hybrids.
I watched the governor praise alternative fuel vehicles at the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show last Friday. Standing before 14 alternative fuel vehicles under banners that separated the vehicles into four categories: plug-in hybrid; hybrid electric; hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric, Schwarzenegger said that he loved cars and loved the environment. The array of cars behind him, he noted, proved car manufacturers could build fast, powerful, gorgeous cars and still protect the environment.
Remember this was the man who brought the military Humvee onto the streets as a commercial vehicle – the Hummer that environmentalists detested. Schwarzenegger’s relationship with the beginning of the Hummer is well told by fellow Fox and Hounds Daily blogger Joe Mathews in a Washington Post article from earlier this year.
I Cry for Don Perata
It is terrible what happened to Don Perata in the race for Oakland mayor.
Did you hear? The man who ruled the state senate lost his bid to be mayor of Oakland. And it’s just so unfair, as many of Perata’s supporters have made clear. Perata’s consultant John Whitehurst declared that the election outcome had been “an injustice, and Oakland will pay the price.”
The problem, you see, was this new system called Instant Runoff Voting now being used in Oakland, San Francisco, and other cities around the country. In this system, cities – crazily — give voters more choice and avoid expensive runoff elections by allowing voters to rank their choices on the ballot, instead of just choosing one candidate.
So Perata, a fabulous public servant, won the most first place of any of the nine candidates running for mayor. He got 35 percent of those first place votes. But he lost because 35 percent of votes wasn’t a majority. The woman who finished in second place among first-place votes, a city council member named Jean Quan, won when the ranked choices were used to conduct an instant runoff. She had many more second and third place choices than Perata, and won when those were added to the tally.
Selling Assets the Wrong Way
Suppose a grinning real estate agent knocks on your door with a proposal. He will buy your home (which you own free and clear) for a fair price if, in return, you promise to spend all the proceeds within one year and agree to rent back your property over the next 20 years for an amount that exceeds what you were paid. At the end of 20 years you will have to arrange a new rental agreement or become homeless.
At this point most property owners would recognize a scam and some might even summon the family pit bull to make sure that the slick salesman beats a hasty retreat.
However, what is an obvious scam to average taxpayers is called sound public policy by Sacramento politicians.