The private jets were the last straw. I speak of the chosen mode of transportation for the “Big Three” automaker CEOs last week. When the heads of GM, Ford and Chrysler made their trek to Washington, they did so in the style of fat cats. They should have flown coach.

I’m serious.

Flying coach would have been little more than a gesture, sure. But it would have said something at least. It would have shown that these knuckleheads aren’t completely tone-deaf. But they are tone deaf. They’re crap at the little things.

And in the end, it’s really all about the little things. When you add up all the little things, you get a big impact.

Take Honda, for example. Did you know Honda is in the soybean business? As Forbes tells it, “Honda couldn’t brook the sight of the shipping containers

Do government bailouts in times of banking crises work? Crises like this are manageable. They're expensive and painful to resolve, but even more expensive and painful when left to fester.

With the Democratic National Convention in full swing, expect much attention focused on alternative energy, Cleantech and environmental issues. After all, House Speaker Pelosi has mentioned that her goal is to save the planet and Al Gore will show up and do his usual speech on how global warming will destroy the planet if we don’t do anything ASAP. I don’t want my cynicism to show through but have the DNC and Obama’s organizers taken any measures to ensure that this convention is environmentally friendly? How much energy is being used to run the event? Just asking.

Anyway, a great article out in the Jpost today about how Israel is on the way to being a world leader in Cleantech. While Shai Agassi’s electric car initiative has gained many headlines around the world, Israel is also very quietly making strong inroads, in solar and water technologies. The article

Posted at: Wall Street Journal

By GERALD P. O’DRISCOLL JR. August 22, 2008; Page A15

Will the U.S. Treasury repudiate its obligations to its creditors, be they citizens or investors around the world? Most observers would answer “no” without hesitation. But Congress, with the complicity of the White House and the Fed, has arguably embarked on a stealth repudiation.

In his famous treatise, “The Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith noted there had never been a “single instance” of sovereign debts having been repaid once “accumulated to a certain degree.” We may have reached Smith’s threshold.

The bond markets are certainly not protecting creditors from the risk of what Smith called “pretended payment” through inflation. Nor did they do so until far into the great inflation