Earlier tonight as I prepared to write a long overdue update, I received a phone call from my Colonel informing me I need to report to Lexington, Missouri tonight. In the morning we will head out to Louisiana; pray I have internet and the levees don’t break! I will update you when I can!

I watched this story last night on NBC Nightly News. I was amazed at how much stupidity could be combined in a single story. It begins by saying the auto lease was the key to millions of Americans purchasing more car than they could afford, and if you watch the follow up story, it ends with auto dealers talking about how it is their most profitable way to conduct business.

The end to many lease programs is prompted by the dramatic drop in value of SUVs and trucks. The premise of a lease is the lease company will have a vehicle return at the end of the lease period that is worth a given value. With skyrocketing gas prices, vehicles that are not fuel efficient are dropping just as fast as gas is going up making it impossible to accurately predict the end of lease value.

Going back to my days of selling cars, I remember how we always pushed the lease. When selling the lease, we steered the entire conversation to monthly payments. Once we found a payment that the customer was happy with, all the terms were set up to ensure we sold the car to the lease company at full MSRP thus getting the extra large commission that almost never happened on a typical purchase.  The finance department would also set everything up ensuring they made the maximum profit. Leasing a vehicle is the most expensive way to drive a car and I am glad to see it going away!

As bad as this is, I love the Daily Show and Colbert Report. While I don’t watch now that I am home (I won’t watch it in front of the kids); I rarely missed an episode on AFN while in Afghanistan.

For those of you who don’t follow the shows, Jon Stewart is an anti-war guy who portrays a reasonable argument against the war in Iraq…in the form of comedy. Last year he ran several segments called “You’re Not Helping,” portraying some stupid things those on the far left are doing that actually hurt the cause of ending the Iraq War. Code Pink, MoveOn and many similar are frequent features.

When I first heard the motive for the shooting in Tennessee, that phrase immediately came to mind. He is frustrated with the liberals so he walks into a church he perceives to be liberal and massacres a bunch of people. Yeah…you’re not helping!