I get my new car today! I can’t wait! Only seven and a half more hours to go…

I did some more car shopping this weekend, and have some more advice as follows:

• These guys (Herb Chambers, Boston) are not the people from whom you want to buy your car. Trust me, not them.
• In stark contrast, these folks (Honda Cars of Boston) have been nothing but nice, honest and upfront in their dealings so far.
• The Better Business Bureau will tell you for free if a particular dealer has any unresolved complaints. Not surprisingly, the bad guys above were not reviewed favorably by the BBB.
• New cars are expensive.
• Insurance is expensive.

In the end, I got quality information and a decent price from Honda Cars of Boston, and ended up buying my Civic Hybrid from them. I pick it up on Thursday!

I made an appointment with an insurance agent to start a new policy for the new car, and we had the following exchange on the phone:

Me: So I’ll just come by your office tomorrow morning.
Insurance Agent: Yep, and be sure to bring… well, what should you be sure to bring?
IA: [Thinks to herself for a minute]
IA: Ah yes, your checkbook. That’s it.

Subtle, aren’t they?

Perhaps I’m preaching to the choir, but this war stuff gets me so riled up…

How is it possible for politicians to sleep at night when they pull crap like this (especially after taking money from certain parties involved)? It’s truly pitiful that this man can only think about what kind of cell phone service Iraqi’s will get after this war when there are thousands of people without food, water or electricity.

To back up some of my earlier comments, take a look here. Briefly quoting:

High on the Bush administration’s list of justifications for war against Iraq are President Saddam Hussein’s use of chemical weapons, nuclear and biological programs, and his contacts with international terrorists. What U.S. officials rarely acknowledge is that these offenses date back to a period when Hussein was seen in Washington as a valued ally.

The article goes on to point out that we actually condoned the use of (and helped Iraq acquire) chemical weapons. Rumsfeld himself was involved, travelling there in the early 80’s to establish a relationship between our countries. What a mess!

It’s an ugly, ugly situation. There’s no way that the US would stand idly by and let other countries wage such a war anywhere in the world, let alone in an oil-rich area. But we’re the big bully on the block, unwilling to hold ourselves to the stardards we use for others and incognizant of our foolishness.