The legislature of the state of California is debating a measure to make the neutering of dogs mandatory.  AB 1634 requires that all dogs be spayed or neutered. There are no exemptions. Not for young puppies, sick dogs, breeding stock, police dogs, service dogs, dogs visiting from out of state, no exceptions at all. Under this bill every dog (and cat) in the state must be spayed or neutered or the owner can be cited for any complaint regardless of the truth of the complaint.

Recently the bill was amended, as expected. The only change was to gut section five, the section that withheld funds from shelters that did not report their statistics as already required by state law. This was the only section of the bill we supported. The Senate could vote on the bill as soon as tomorrow.

What can you do to help?  Contact your state senator immediately. If you do not then there is a good chance this insane bill will pass. You must visit, fax a letter, telephone, or email, but do it now. Your dogs are depending on you to do this for them.

Equally important, tell your friends, co-workers, fellow club members, breed ethusiasts, and family members to contact their Senators, too. Send them to www.saveourdogs.net. The only thing that will stop this bill is your voice and that of thousands more like you telling the Legislature, "Keep your laws off my dog."

Follow this link: www.saveourdogs.net

August 3, 2008: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel Prize winning author, has died at the age of 89.

Solzhenitsyn gained international prominence in 1962 with this book "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich."  The novel chronicled his experience in a Soviet gulag.  A long-time critic of the Soviet government, Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974 and sent to West Germany.  He lived in Switzerland for two years before emigrating to the United States.  In 1976, he made his home in Cavendish, VT, a small city of under 1,500 people.

Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia in 1994, where he became a critic of unbridled capitalism.  He appeared to be more sympathetic to the presidency of Putin with whom he established a personal friendship.  Solzhenitsyn is survived by his son.

August 1, 2008: The first scheduled flight of the Airbus A380 landed at JFK on Friday, August 1 at 4:29 p.m ET.  The aircraft was greated by two airport fire trucks that gave it a water salute; police cars escorted the plane to the gate where staff rapidly prepared the plane for its trip back to Dubai.  The plane is configured for 489 passengers.  The plane will serve the Dubai/JFK route on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Pfizer [NYSE:PFE] is looking good right now--it looked even better a few weeks ago when the stock was cheaper; however, I don't believe that the company has time to bolster its pipeline through acquisition in time for the loss of Lipitor.  Lipitor (Atorvastatin) represents about $11 billion to Pfizer; it's an important drug.  Pfizer will face generic competition with other brands of Atorvastatin in 2012.

Will GM file for bankruptcy?  Almost certainly yes.  GM is facing legions of problems, problems that are, for the short term, out of the company's control.  Problems that will continue to trigger losses in the auto giant; GM is slowly moving towards the inevitable: reorganization under bankruptcy laws.

GM has problems with revenues.  The automaker has, for many years, focused on high-end, large, gas-guzzling vehicles that have been extremely profitable for the company.  As the price of oil rises, consumers have focused on hybrid and smaller vehicles.  Sales in trucks, SUVs and larger vehicles has declined by over 30% year over year.  GM's most profitable vehicles aren't selling and, unlike many Japanese competitors, the company doesn't yet offer smaller, profitable vehicles to fill the void.  Even if the price of oil were to drop dramatically, it's unlikely that consumers would change their new buying habits and change back to the old habit of buying larger vehicles.  In any event, even if this behavior did change, GM has started closing down production plants that make these larger vehicles.

Revenue problems trigger cash flow issues.  GM is burning through its hoard of $30 billion cash.  With its problems in selling vehicles, GM is running at a loss and is burning through cash at over $1 billion each month.  GM has, or will soon have, liquidity problems.

The economy is slowing and prices are rising, so the margins at GM (and at its competitors for that matter) are being squeezed, further compounding the problems for the company.  In the tightening economy, the company will face challenges in passing along price increases along to consumers.  GM will continue to bleed cash for at least the next eighteen months to two years.

GM's problems are serious and increasing.  The company doesn't have a mix of vehicles that consumers want and its efforts to change to smaller cars will take time.  The company is burning cash while it has reported reserves of $30 billion, it's unlikely that GM can become profitable before its cash is exhausted.  In the next twelve to eighteen months, its unlikely that GM can avoid filing for bankruptcy protection.