AutoSafety.org - The Center for Auto Safety
OCC.gov - File a complaint against a bank
ClarkHoward.com - Clark's list of peer-to-peer lenders

Many Americans are tired of waiting for automakers to develop mass-market solutions to our oil-dependent cars. They're converting cars to run on electricity on their own, according to a Smart Money article Clark read.

The conversion kits cost a few thousand dollars, but the benefit is that you can use zero imported oil to run your car. Now, if people in their own garages can make any car run on electricity, just think what the collective wisdom of our nation could do toward creating independence from foreign oil. Our national security depends on it.

Or we could just continue to fund oil-rich nations like Russia. Putin is taking zillions of our petrol dollars and creating mischief in Soviet Georgia. Western democracies have been long-time supporters of Soviet Georgia. But Russia isn't going to allow them to go democratic. If you're in doubt, just look at Putin's eyes -- which Clark's wife calls "shark eyes" with their cold, lifeless look. Boy, did Bush have it wrong early in his administration when he thought he found a soulmate in Putin.

Big Oil, meanwhile, thinks we'll need petrol forever. But we're getting so close to energy independence, especially with solar and wind. What we need is a coherent national energy policy to make it happen.

Right now, a focus on the overriding national interest is what's missing in the oil/alternative energy debate. Government is stuck. It's individuals who are instead making it happen. And for that, Clark salutes you.

Google has launched an interesting service that could be a real boon to house hunters and celebrity star gazers. Their "street view" function (be sure to click the street view tab) allows you to type in a street address and see high-quality pictures of houses and whole neighborhoods. You can even "walk" or "drive" up a street by using the mouse to scroll around!

Talk about a testimony to Google's immense wealth. They're sending photographers all over the country to take digital photos of every house, and then they're marrying it to the existing Google maps technology.

Not every street is mapped as of yet. Once you type in an address, you know it is mapped if a thumbnail image of the property pops up.

Think about the value of this service in the real estate world: You can get the inside scoop on a house and see real pictures -- not the staged ones you may see at an agent's site.

Remember when people would buy a map of the stars' homes in Los Angeles and spend the day driving around looking at their residences? Now you don't have to go to L.A. to gawk at the homes of the famous and near-famous. You can do it from the comfort of your living room using ZabaSearch.com to determine street addresses and this new Google Maps function to actually see them!

Doctors are being squeezed between what they're paid from insurers and what they're paid from Medicare/Medicaid. The reality is that doctors often make no money or even lose money when they see you. So they're shifting their practices to reflect the free market.

For example, take the field of dermatology. If you have a suspicious mole, you may wait months for an appointment if you're an insurance customer. But if you're willing to pay cash for cosmetic dermatology, you can usually be seen in 24-48 hours.

The New York Times reports that dermatologists and laser-eye surgeons are even building separate waiting rooms for cash customers. They're rolling out the red carpet with fancy furniture, free lattes and more. Contrast that with the ratty furniture and long-expired magazines that fill traditional waiting rooms for insured customers.

The doctors are not bad guys; they're simply business people. You can't blame them for wanting to put food on the table. It's the current health insurance system that deserves your ire.

Not all states are created equal when it comes to employment. While Michigan, Ohio and Indiana are seeing jobs leave, other states can't find enough workers. Wyoming and Texas are both examples of the latter situation.

Americans have always been a migratory people in search of better opportunities elsewhere. Now the newest wrinkle is that many entrepreneurs are going mobile by coming to customers -- instead of waiting for customers to come to them. For example, mobile dentists in RVs are going to patients or specific businesses. Dog-grooming services and legit massage therapists are also doing the same thing.

While it may cost entrepreneurs more in fuel to go to customers, they also enjoy lower overhead if they don't have a storefront. The Boston Globe reports one mobile spa company has 700 technicians in 50 states and revenue is up 300%.

So if you're an entrepreneur, what creative thing can you do to generate more customer traffic? Is there a cost-effective way for you to go to the customer?

On the other hand, if you're a worker and you find that opportunity is lacking where you are, you may have to go mobile too!