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From The Washington Post: Obama or an Obama-Impersonator? Ros-Lehtinen Flubs the Call

Twice on Wednesday, President-elect Barack Obama tried to reach across the partisan divide with a phone call to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida.

And twice, according to her office, she hung up on him.

She “thought it was a hoax,” an aide to the congresswoman said.
…
A third party then sought to intervene. Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and someone Ros-Lehtinen knows well, called and told her he “needed to speak with her urgently.” She got on the line — but demanded that Berman recount a story “only both of them would know,” which the congressman did.

He then told her what had just happened — “that she had, indeed, hung up on the president-elect,” according to her office statement.

An amusing story.

SI.com: Sportsman of the Year: Michael Phelps

Those seeking sustenance flocked to Phelps’s favorite greasy spoon, Pete’s Grille, where his traditional pretraining breakfast was offered during the Olympics as a $19.95 special: a three-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast with powdered sugar, three chocolate-chip pancakes and three fried-egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions and mayo. “Usually it was a group of people who’d order it,” says Dave Stahl, the owner of Pete’s Grille. “The one guy who tried it by himself complained of pretty serious stomach pain.”

Michael Phelps is a superstar but still manages to seem like a pretty normal person.

From NYTimes.com: Ford Says It Can Get By if Rivals Survive

If the company does access the loans, it said Mr. Mulally’s salary, which amounted to $21 million last year, would be reduced to $1 a year. Last month, when he and the chief executives from G.M. and Chrysler were asked whether they would be willing to eliminate their own pay, Mr. Mulally had been the most resistant.

The three men also had been criticized for flying corporate jets to Washington to ask for financial assistance. This week, Mr. Mulally plans to drive a Ford Escape hybrid sport-utility vehicle to Washington to testify a second time before Congress, and Ford said in its submission that it now plans to sell all five of its corporate jets.

This totally misses the point of what the criticism was about.  If the CEO’s are coming to Washington to beg for public money, they should show that they understand that it’s not business as usual and show some frugality in their spending ways.  Driving to Washington is a total publicity stunt.

I guess if all three CEO’s were carpooling in the same Ford Escape hybrid that might be a little better.

From the Wall Street Journal: America’s Other Auto Industry

These are the 12 “foreign,” or so-called transplant, producers making cars across America’s South and Midwest. Toyota, BMW, Kia and others now make 54% of the cars Americans buy. The internationals also employ some 113,000 Americans, compared with 239,000 at U.S.-owned carmakers, and several times that number indirectly.

The international car makers aren’t cheering for Detroit’s collapse. Their own production would be hit if such large suppliers as the automotive interior maker Lear were to go down with a GM or Chrysler. They fear, as well, a protectionist backlash. But by the same token, a government lifeline for Detroit punishes these other companies and their American employees for making better business decisions.

The root of this other industry’s success is no secret. In fact, Detroit has already adopted some of its efficiency and employment strategies, though not yet enough. To put it concisely, the transplants operate under conditions imposed by the free market. Detroit lives on Fantasy Island.

This what makes bailouts such a problematic issue.  Is it fair for the government to step in to help companies that have made bad decisions or have a poor business model? 

Saw this commercial while watching football this weekend.  It’s a section of a road in California where you hear the Lone Ranger Theme Song from grooves that Honda cut into the road.  It was designed for the length of the Honda Civic, but it evidently worked for other cars.  It’s since been paved over because of complaints of people who lived nearby.

From Wired: Hi Ho Honda! Civic Musical Road Plays Lone Ranger Theme Song

Cool commercial.

Marshmallow Peeps have now invaded Christmas in the misshapen forms of a snowman and a Christmas tree.  I think Peeps are like Candy Corn.  They need to be in the right season for me to eat them.  While I might tolerate a Chick Peep or two at Easter, they do nothing for me during the holiday season.

Oh, and if you click the Peeps link, turn down the volume of your computer to avoid the peppy Peep music on their website.

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I think Michael Phelps needs to look to dolphins or Aquaman for a challenge in the pool.

From Wikipedia.com: Rickrolling

From NYTimes.com: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death

A Wal-Mart employee in suburban New York died after he was trampled by a crush of shoppers who tore down the front doors and thronged into the store early Friday morning, turning the annual rite of post-Thanksgiving bargain hunting into a Hobbesian frenzy.

This is sad.  The $99 Blu-ray player is not worth trampling someone to death.  What is wrong with people?