My family of 4 easily fits into our Pontiac Vibe. We wouldn't be able to carry a whole soccer team, but we don't need to.

You're forgetting that Americans are big and fat. Only an F150 can haul around that kind of load.

Schwinn was bought out by Pacific Bicycles in 2001. They are now owned by a Canadian company and all their bikes are built in China and Taiwan. So much for American icons.

They must have cleaned that up fast. I would have driven by there at 3:00 and there was no sign of an accident.

When I had to replace my pickup last summer, I thankfully replaced it with a hatchback that gets twice the gas mileage.

And as far as nuclear power - I think it would be a great energy source if we could figure out what to do with the waste. I just hate the idea of the waste sitting in a mountain for thousands of years waiting for it to become non-radioactive. Wind and solar power are unfortunately not feasible without gov't subsidies, but they are the only power source I can think of that once dismantled would leave no sign they were ever there - certainly can't say that about a mountain-top coal mine or nuclear waste site.

The estimated inflation rate for 2010 was the lowest its been in decades. What you should be more worried about is deflation. As the economy heads downward, the demand for products will decrease causing manufactures to lower prices, which lowers the money a company has to spend (wages, expansions, etc). Both inflation and deflation would bad news, so don't start celebrating if you see prices dropping or raising - steady prices mean a steady economy.

Whether the rail project is financially viable is certainly up for debate, but don't focus too much energy on any one area. Every mode of transportation is tax supported, every energy source is tax supported, every industry is tax supported. Did you know the state of Iowa is giving Acciona Windpower (a Spanish energy company) $400,000 for job creation in West Branch, even though the company has drastically cut back on its workforce in the past two years? Without the tax incentives, Acciona says they won't be able to recreate the jobs that were lost during the recession. Simply put, they want more money to hire back the people they let go last year.

As far as wasteful spending goes, there are a lot of places to cut funding, not just the projects you don't like.

So, essentially what the lawmakers are saying is that the only reason medical marijuana is illegal is because of time constraints in the legislative session. I'd say Gov Culver needs to extend the session and get on with it.

I'll bet you wouldn't be surprised to know that the Alcoholic Beverage Industry is one of the largest financial supporters of anti-marijuana initiatives.

Sounds like a case of a n a l glaucoma - just can't see your a s s coming into work tomorrow.