.
Rant of the Day award goes to Timothy Egan in the NYTimes, discussing “Bill O’Reilly’s Gift for the Ages”:
It’s been nearly two weeks now since Bill O’Reilly’s interview with President Obama on Super Bowl Sunday, and in the No Spin Zone of the host’s pretend world he’s still spinning the chat as the greatest conversation since Winston Churchill dined alone.
His sit-down with the president, he said, “is going to go down in journalistic history as what should be done.” And in case historians are late to the same conclusion, O’Reilly is auctioning off the notes of his questions — “they are obviously one of a kind,” he says.
Let us now praise the Bombastic One’s gift to posterity. His interview, his notes, all the ephemera should be preserved and studied. The sickness that infects news and politics, and its commensurate cynicism, can be directly traced to the creation of Fox News — “a political operation that employs journalists,” in the words of Gabriel Sherman, author of the new book on Roger Ailes, “The Loudest Voice in the Room.” There is no bigger media story in the last 50 years than the creation of a news network run by political hacks, says Sherman. I’m inclined to agree.
But just as important, civility itself took a dive with the rise of Fox, and has never recovered. The shouters, the boasters, the haters who show up at town hall meetings or pollute the Web with dark fantasies get their behavioral cues from Fox. O’Reilly is famous for telling guests to “shut up,” for cutting off people he disagrees with, for smugly praising his own performances and bringing on sycophants to do the same. By comparison, Ron Burgundy is a model of humility…
***********
Apart from Amateur Night (I’ve been sleeping with the same person for thirty-five years and counting, so everything I know about romance is too idiosyncratic to be generally useful), what’s on the agenda as we wrap up another week?
Towzer
A Francis Cabrel cover. Awesome.
SFAW
I don’t know about my agenda yet, but this:
Tom Perkins’ big idea: The rich should get more votes
gave me a chuckle. But not in a good way. Even Mrs. SFAW, who is much less of a firebreather than I – she is sometimes baffled by my hatred of Rethuglicans – made a comment regarding the French Revolution.
I keep hoping Dumbfuckistan (a/k/a Nuevo Aztlan, a/k/a Texas) will secede, and takes fascists/plutocrats like Perkins with them, but I guess that’ll be another wish unfulfilled.
SFAW
One quibble with Sherman’s (or Egan’s) comment about civility taking a dive: I attribute it more to Newtie’s GOPAC memorandum (the one where he said Dems should be labeled “sick,” etc.) than I do to Fox. Maybe it was just an unfortunate coincidence? Or all the Evil Stars aligned? Either way, they both have helped destroy what used to be the (enlightened) American ideal. [“Enlightened,” because there have always been those who want this to be some version of Gilead – I don’t consider them Americans, just scumbags who happen to live here.]
Flame OFF!
Hal
Been watching some friend folks on facebook go back and forth about climate change/global warming after one person posted that the earth is actually getting cooler because he lives in the south and it’s snowing. A few others chimed in to say um, no, and here’s why, so now another person is ranting about agenda 21 and such.
What slays me is the two denialists are offering their own “scientific” theories about climate change including axial tilt, phases of the moon, and hey, a ship got stuck in ice at the north pole so no, there is no melting of the polar ice caps. Oh and of course, this is all fat Al Gore’s doing to make money. I went to reply a couple of times, but why bother? If you as a total non scientist think climate change is bs, then talk about how climate change is just an excuse for the gubmint to take your land a few sentences on facebook isn’t going to change anything. Damn these people scare me sometimes.
SFAW
@Hal:
Something from Ruben Bolling, semi-related to trying to argue with denialists, the innumerate, the religionists, the Teahadis, the soon-to-be Senator from Georgia, and so forth
Mustang Bobby
I’m having a steaming cup of schadenfreude as I watch the sniveling bigots at NOM and other such creators of the din of inequity carry on like white trash in a hurricane as court after court rules against bans on marriage equality.
I’m beginning to lose track of how many state bans have been overturned based on the Supreme Court’s ruling against DOMA. So far we have Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky (although the ban itself was not overturned, but it must recognize legal same-sex marriages), and not to mention the states where their bans are being challenged in court, including Texas and Florida. In every state, from every judge regardless of who appointed them, the ruling has been the same: banning same-sex marriage violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Thank you, Justice Scalia; your dissent in Windsor v. United States was right on.
Schlemizel
@Hal:
And that is why we are a dead species walking. Those whos fortunes are tied to the actions that are going to kill us are filling the empty heads with enough bullshit that they can delay any useful action for a long time yet. Thats all this extinction event needs, just a few more years of increased greenhouse. Once reality finally squeezes past the bullshit and panic sets in there will already be horrible consequences descending on humanity. Sure, we’ll try some heroic efforts – once the bullshit artists have stopped clinging to obstruction – but they will be hugely expensive, require to cooperation of nations then at each others throats and have unintended side effects.
But the earth will survive and other animals will evolve, in many ways it will be like earth pre-human in a few thousand years.
lamh36
Good morning everyone.
Questions… cheapest place for tires? Walmart, Sam’s, Tire Kingdom or someplace else. Also too if u need brake work as well should u get tires before brakes, or vice versa? Cheapest place for brake work?
Since I’m not familiar with the area, easier to stick with franchise store.
Davis X. Machina
@Mustang Bobby: Two steps forward, two steps back. Kansas’ new about-to-be law:
OzarkHillbilly
Romance? I think I’ve heard that word before…. What’s it mean?
Davis X. Machina
@lamh36: We kept a BJ’s Club membership for a long time specifically for tires. Brakework my local (six-outlet) under-the-car chain guys do.
RedDirtGirl
I’m taking my 12 year-old niece ice skating after school today, and hope to come away unscathed.
OzarkHillbilly
@Hal: Shhhhh….. don’t look now, but: Great Lakes nearing record for ice coverage
And don’t bother trying to explain the difference between weather and climate. They don’t want to know.
raven
@lamh36: Those are two things “cheap” may not be your best bet. That said it’s the tire brand that is important not the store. Michelin is always a good bet. I also have had decent luck with Pep Boys for tires and brakes.
kindness
I like that comparison to Ron Burgundy. Hope O’Reily hates it.
Schlemizel
@kindness:
I’m guessing with an ego that large he would see it as a compliment. Same as he sees Colbert, not as a sarcastic parody of him but as a tribute.
WereBear
I truly think the disaster of our species is how broad a range of intelligence we have. The top third reach for the stars, but they have to drag along the bottom 27% who are still eating mud and screaming that they like it.
Matt McIrvin
@Hal: It always amazes me when people spin theories about the earth’s axial tilt changing. You can check whether it’s shifted or not with your own eyes!!
Matt McIrvin
@Mustang Bobby: Somebody suggested a few days ago that anti-gay-rights forces were trying to spam us with state pro-discrimination laws. The thing is, it’s a pathetic counterreaction compared to the spamming of pro-equality court cases that’s already happening.
SFAW
@lamh36:
As with many things in life, “it depends.” Are the brakes shot? Or is it just getting harder to stop the car? Are the tires bald? Or they have some tread left, just not enough for snowy roads?
Also, echoing Davis X. above: I have sometimes had less-than-happy results from getting non-tire work at chain stores. Maybe things have changed – it happened to me a long time ago, but once was enough – but finding a good local mechanic for stuff like that is valuable.
What area are you in? (I know I should remember, but my CRS is acting up this morning.) Commenters here may have suggestions, if you’re local to them.
SFAW
@WereBear:
and who insist that you’re EVILEVILEVIL!!1!2 if you don’t like it, too.
lamh36
@raven: yeah. I was just hoping. But it did take me a minute but I finally got the money to get both things done. I’d like to NOT spend more than $1000 but estimates I’d done a while back when I didn’t have enough money was topping out at $1500. So I’m trying to shave off as much as I can where ever I can.
NotMax
@lamh36
As mentioned above, brakes and tires are 2 things you do not want to skimp on.
That said (and as always, YMMV), for tires I’ve always had good results and gotten good value from buying them and having them installed (along with an alignment) at Sears.
For brakes, it may depend on whether you need just new pads rather than the the whole shebang. Checking with friends or co-workers for recommendations of a reliable, dependable local mechanic or repair outlet couldn’t hurt.
tybee
ah, romance:
roses are red
violets are blue
i’ve got a knife
so get in the van
Mustang Bobby
@Davis X. Machina: Yeah, I noticed that. I spend a week in Kansas every year at the William Inge Theatre Festival, and I’ve made a number of friends there, some who in the past had elected positions in the state legislature. But that was before they went bonkers. I posted this on my Facebook page the other day:
So far the response from my friends has been shame and embarrassment at their state becoming the Hate State.
lamh36
@SFAW: def getting harder to brake and the tires barely have any traction. I’m thinking brakes first.
I’d prefer to do one atop shopping and this wknd I might be able to catch a president day sale but i already expect to pay a good chunk so I’m prepared.
Besides with the chains, seems much easier to go back and threaten them if they do something wrong.
OzarkHillbilly
@Davis X. Machina: It don’t mean a thing other than Kansans really like wasting taxpayer dollars to pay lawyers to defend blatantly unconstitutional laws. Which is OK with them. If they didn’t do that they might have to use that money to expand Medicaid or food stamps or heating assistance or inspections of oil pipelines or soil conservation or species preservation or inspections of industrial animal feed operations or…..
Baud
Virginia is for gay lovers (for now).
Botsplainer
The decision by Judge Heyburn here in Kentucky is going to be awesome for me (I was counsel for the lead defendant in his first criminal trial as a federal judge, a five week fiasco, and the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the case he just ruled on is a friend of mine). For the past six months, I’ve gotten at least three calls a month for people who want their same sex unions created in other states to be dissolved, but due to the imbalance of economics in their partnerships and the lack of marriage protections, they’ve unhappily decided to muddle through and stick it out. As a result of this, that can change, and they can now gain marital rights to equity, debt division, and more importantly, spousal maintenance.
As Joe Biden says, this is a big fuckin’ deal, as I’ve got a nicely aged website and blog, and blogged on dissolving same sex unions for a couple of years. My site may have a 1 rank on a google search on these issues, and analytics reflect constant hits from people searching this topic. My only negative is that as a straight guy, I’m probably going to lose some of this trade to gay guys because I’m not integrated into the local gay business community.
The consensus among local family lawyers is that Louisville area judges will eagerly start honoring this order unless directed by the Administrative Office of the Courts (the stomping boot of the Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice) to hold. Some rural circuits will balk while awaiting an appellate ruling.
It’ll be a little hard for the personal adjustment for people in these unions. The side with the economic power has long been accustomed to a great deal of control in their relationships without having to worry about what happens when things break down. Now, they have to worry, and there will be great weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth for about three years until the new reality of how much future economic autonomy is surrendered upon the pronouncement of the words “I do” sinks in within the gay community as a cultural whole. After those first shocks, it’ll sink in.
Villago Delenda Est
@Matt McIrvin:
The problem with they “with your own eyes” part is that these people use “their own eyes” to determine that the Earth is flat.
Betty Cracker
@Botsplainer:
About the most romantic Valentine’s Day message I’ve ever read. ;-)
OzarkHillbilly
A long border isn’t the only thing Missouri shares with Kansas: Unprecedented Attack On Evolution ‘Indoctrination’ Mounted In Missouri
A Missouri lawmaker has proposed what ranks among the most anti-evolution legislation in recent years, which would require schools to notify parents if “the theory of evolution by natural selection” was being taught at their child’s school and give them the opportunity to opt out of the class.
I’d write my state Rep a letter but it seems there is some doubt about his ability to read. Maybe if I just use really small words?
NotMax
@lamh36
Not one to recommend procrastinating about bad brakes, but if you haven’t done so, dig out the owner’s manual and look up how to check the brake fluid (and top it up if needed)* first.
*make sure to get the type of brake fluid recommended for your particular vehicle
Botsplainer
@Betty Cracker:
Dollars and cents, baby. My Woodford Reserve Double Oaked doesn’t come from happy couples staying together in romantical bliss.
Villago Delenda Est
@SFAW:
You do have a point there…Faux Noise was created in the wake of the “Gingrich Revolution” and thus drew inspiration, no doubt, from Gingrich’s lexicon of hatred.
As for O’Reilly, he’s a legend in his own mind. Obama very politely told him he was full of shit, and O’Reilly, being a fuckhead, didn’t even notice it.
OzarkHillbilly
@tybee: Oh yeah… Now I remember. ;-)
IowaOldLady
Bill O’Reilly has slid from the “annoying” category to the “silly” one, where he sits between Peggy Noonan and Sarah Palin.
JPL
@RedDirtGirl: Have fun and remember if you fall and get hurt, we will be here to offer sympathies. Of course, this is the site that will offer a few snickers, too.
raven
@JPL: It’s treacherous out there this morning.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Not that I support it, but is an opt out notice really unprecedented? Struck me as tame compared to some of the stuff they try to pull?
NotMax
@raven
All alone at the bakery?
“Let’s be careful out there.”
- Sgt. Phil Esterhaus
MrSnrub
I have my first job interview since being laid off last week. Another one on Tuesday, and one being scheduled for later next week. I know I’ll do fine, but I’m nervous as heck.
gene108
@lamh36:
As others have said, do not go cheap on brakes and tires (I throw windshield wipers into this group, as well).
You can look at some of the chains, who sometimes have deals on tires, like buy 3 and get the 4th free or something along those lines. You can call them to find out what deals they have.
I personally have not had a problem with chain stores doing brakes, but that’s just me. They may charge a bit more than the local mechanic though.
Baud
@MrSnrub:
Wow. Good luck. I hate interviewing.
IowaOldLady
@MrSnrub: Good luck! Fingers crossed.
Cassidy
@lamh36: I’ve price checked BJ’s, Wally World, etc. and the cheapest I found was Discount Tire. I paid less than $100 per tire and they’re decent tires. Don’t buy the hype. As for the rest, my advice is to ask the tire guys where they go to get their cars done. I see a local guy for all my car work. A friend broke down in front of him, she didn’t have the cash for repairs, and he took post dated checks. Since then I’ve been a loyal customer.
raven
@NotMax: There was another regular there. The Lil Stinker gave me a scare when I looked away for ONE second and she bolted! Luckily I got her little ass after a couple of breathless minutes. BAD LIL BIT!
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: I don’t know, I try not to pay too much attention to the stupid as otherwise I would go insane but if you go read the TPM article it would seem to be a new tactic in making our children stupid.
raven
@lamh36: Here are the Car Talk reviews of Red Stick auto shops.
NotMax
@raven
You just know she only did it in hope of seeing you fall on your kiester.
Betty Cracker
@MrSnrub: Wow, three interviews within a week of being laid off? That’s excellent. Knock ’em dead, Tiger.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Same here. Smart move.
WereBear
@MrSnrub: Who wouldn’t be! But it’s great you have so many lined up, gets all the worrying crowded into one week.
In the theatrical tradition, Break a leg!
BD of MN
@NotMax:
I’m going to have to disagree a bit here. If it’s really low (below the bottom line), by all means add to it, but just to the lower line. If you go get new brake pads, the new, thicker pads (and the installation process) will push the fluid back up into the reservoir from the calipers…
I’ve had good luck with Discount Tire, but that’s all they do, not even brakes…
MrSnrub
@Betty Cracker (and everyone else): Thanks. Apparently it’s a good time in the Philly software development market. I had my resume up on one website for a day before I had to take it down. It’s truly an embarrassment of riches.
Cassidy
@Cassidy: Also, the “cheap” brand at Discount Tire is Falken. All the reviews I read were positive.
Elizabelle
@lamh36:
To me, Costco is the best place for tires. Excellent tires at a good price, good service, they’ll balance them for you when you stop by. Lifetime warranty, and there are Costcos all over the country …
They pay their workers well.
Can’t even think of shopping at Wal-Mart/any Walton affiliated store. I don’t care if they’re giving away tires.
Schlemizel
Just heard there about the massive volcano in Indonesia. It was not near Kuala Lampur but I have not seen a post from our friend in KL, wonder if it disrupted communications.
Elizabelle
@NotMax:
Yeah, Sears is good. Used to shop there before had heard of Costco.
Poopyman
@MrSnrub: Holy crap! That’s damn quick I’ll have you know. Things have been heating up in the market, so you’re catching a rising tide.
Go into it like you don’t need the job, because you’ll likely have another opportunity already lined up by then. You’ll do fine.
NotMax
@BD of MN
Qualified agreement. Low or aged fluid could be the culprit, rather than worn out or failing parts.
Plus, any place that does brakes worth its salt should either bleed the system and replace the fluid or double-check the correct level as a part of the service.
However, as with so many other things, I may be living in the past when full and competent service was more the norm.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: It did give me an idea though. I think I will write a letter pretending to be the parent of a young child and ask that I be notified anytime any material with the number “6” (because “6” is the devils number as in “666”) or the letter “X” (because “X” is just a fallen “t” and “t” is a righteous letter as it represents the cross upon which Jesus our Lord and Savior sacrificed his life for us so “X” is the Devils letter and we must ban it from primary schools and not teach it AT ALL and….
I wonder what my response might be?
NotMax
@Schlemizel
Briefly commented about it (with a link to quite a picture) here.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
They’d look at you like you we’re stupid. They are incapable of appreciating they’re on hypocrisy.
Schlemizel
@NotMax:
AH! Good! Thanks for the update.
NotMax
@Ozark Hillbilly
And no computers or other devices connected to the internet.
After all, W is the 23rd letter of the alphabet.
2 × 3 = 6
www = 666
Joey Maloney
Plans? Going to dinner with a friend, like we have for the last three Valentines Days, where we will have a good meal, drink too much, and invent lurid and scurrilous breakup tales about the people at the other tables.
Baud
@NotMax:
Best analysis of the last president I’ve ever seen.
Schlemizel
@lamh36:
Depending on the car and brake type you can adjust some brakes by rolling backwards and pumping the brakes. I know it works on rear drum type but am not sure if it does on 4-wheel disk type. That can make a lot of difference in braking.
raven
@Schlemizel: You are talking about the self-adjusting function on drum brakes. No worky on discs.
Lot’s of cars still do have drums on the back and disc on the front.
OzarkHillbilly
@lamh36: A thought: I hate used tires because they always go flat at the most inconvenient times (and places) but if you are really pinched for money you could buy a couple of them for app $30 apiece and use the money for the brakes. Then later when the money is better get new tires.
As a buddy of mine once said, “If it goes, it goes, but once going it has to stop.”
Davis X. Machina
@NotMax: Don’t laugh. We’ve got school/state issued laptops or tablets in the hands of every middle schooler in the state — except for the 5-7% who turn them down on religious/cultural grounds: “No child of mine is going to touch one of those Satanic porn spigots!”.
So we’re marching towards a brave new future full of only mostly-flipped classrooms.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly:
It’s got a four barrel carb, and dual exhaust
With four, eleven gears you can really get lost.
It’s got safety tubes, but I ain’t scared
Breaks are good, tires fair
JPL
@raven: haha.. Cabin fever strikes again. I’m going out but not until my driveway is melted. Since there is a slight slope, I’d end up in my neighbor’s front yard.
OzarkHillbilly
@NotMax: Damn…. Your right. Now I gotta start over.
Betty Cracker
@Elizabelle: I hadn’t entered an Evil Walmart Empire outpost for YEARS until earlier this week, when I had to shop for a specific item there on instructions from an ailing parent. I felt like Samwise Gamgee slouching through Mordor.
Ash Can
Kudos to Timothy Egan for calling Fox out on its shit. More people throughout the news business need to do this.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Never been to the Ozarks, have you?
raven
@JPL: It was safer yesterday when everything was snowpacked.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
No. Hear it’s beautiful.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: FIshed Wappapello many years ago and taught at SWMS one summer.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: I could tell. You are a reasonably intelligent human being but have no real feel for how deep the stupid can go. Believe me, they would think I was totally serious, and humour me until I was out the door, and THEN laugh at the dumb hick with out looking in the mirror.
And yes, the Ozarks are incredibly beautiful. If you ever make it this way, take the time to float one of our spring fed rivers (“The water is BLUUUUE!” said an Indiana caver once) during the week. You won’t be sorry.
Tone In DC
@WereBear:
That there is some good mud! I mean rilly.
How are we gonna improve anything with the deeply st00pid fucking things up faster than we fix ’em?
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Ooops, I was talking about Missouri!
geg6
A bit early to send up the bat signal to Tbogg, isn’t it?
Speaking of which, has everyone seen the newest Shakira video with Rihanna? I mean, I’m straight, but damn.
http://music.yahoo.com/video/cant-remember-forget-shakira-022027428.html?soc_src=copy
OzarkHillbilly
@raven:
:-)
Come in the Spring or Fall. Summer is like Houston’s armpit and winter is…. interesting. If you don’t like the weather, stick around, it’ll change.
Scout211
@lamh36:
Costco for tires.
Belafon
@BD of MN: The Firestone in my area is pretty good. They do the entire care, tires, brakes, oil changes, etc. And while your car’s in there they do a complete inspection of the car for free. It’s kind of nice because for some things – replacing brake pads, replacing shocks – my dad will help me do them.
They’re open on sunday, and you can also schedule your appointment online.
WaterGirl
@MrSnrub: I have been so impressed with you. If I had been laid off, I would have spent awhile rocking in the corner, given myself a couple of weeks to adjust to the idea, and then start looking.
You, on the other hand, took one on the chin and immediately started looking and are obviously working very hard at getting things lined up. That leaves me with absolutely no doubt that you are going to be fine, soon to be gainfully employed again. Very soon.
For the nerves, I say this: It helps to remember that you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. When the power differential is gone, sometimes the nerves go with it.
Best of luck.
Amir Khalid
@Schlemizel:
Don’t worry about me just yet. I’m fine and KL is fine. Gunung Kelud is in eastern Java, well away from Malaysia.
Worry about Indonesia, which has the busiest volcanoes on the planet right now. There’s been a lot of volcanic activity there in the last few years: The Gunung Merapi eruptions in 2010 killed 350 people; on Sumatra, Gunung Sinabung’s been erupting since September, killing 14 people this month. (They and their neighbours had just returned from being evacuated in the wake of the January eruption.) Please FSM don’t let another Krakatoa happen.
La Caterina
@Scout211: second that on Costco. Got a new set in June. Had a flat in Dec. They replaced the punctured tire, rotated the others, etc, for about $15.
currants
@Betty Cracker: Hah! Yep, thought the same thing.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Ugly wrecks on the Pennsylvania Turnpike this morning.
rikyrah
Koch Brothers Ad Attacking Mary Landrieu Uses Paid Actors
By Jordyn Phelps@JordynPhelps
A new political attack ad from the Koch brothers-funded group Americans for Prosperity calls on Louisianans to tell Sen. Mary Landrieu that Obamacare is hurting their families.
The ad shows a number of people, who appear to be Louisianans, opening their mail to find a letter stating that their health care policy has been cancelled because of the Affordable Care Act.
“Due to the Affordable Care Act, your monthly premium has increased,” a voice-over says in the ad as a man in a rural neighborhood opens a cancellation letter and looks at his young daughter standing next to him. “No longer covered, due to the Affordable Care Act.”
But the people in the emotion-evoking ad are not Louisianans at all; they are paid actors.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/02/political-attack-ad-against-louisiana-sen-mary-landrieu-uses-paid-actors/
rikyrah
KAY, THIS IS FOR YOU.
From Tweety last night: they focus on Ohio.
New threats to voting rights
http://on.msnbc.com/1nxai3F
currants
@raven: THAT is a fabulous resource. Can’t believe I didn’t know about it b/c for years I tried to be in the car to make sure I could listen on Saturdays. (No radio at home then.) My local, 2-bay guy is listed, and gets 5 stars as I would have expected–I will definitely pass that list around. Thanks!
raven
I’m a little tied of the COSTCO deal. There are FIVE in the entire state of Georgia and they are all in Metro Atlanta. it’s obviously a great place to do business if you can get to one.
Steeplejack
Digging out from the snow here in NoVa this morning. We got 12–15″ here in Falls Church Wednesday night–Thursday morning, and it’s the heavy, wet stuff. The snow plows cleared a one-lane path down the street, graciously leaving all the parked cars behind big mounds of snow. Nobody went anywhere yesterday, but this morning I see people digging out their cars and trying to get going. The pavement is still very icy, so even after they knock down the snow they’re having trouble getting traction.
The housecat and I have been holed up for the duration. I did have to take bro’ man to Dulles Wednesday night to jet off to London—he has an eerie ability to be out of town whenever awful weather strikes—but I was able to get back home before the snow really got going. I’ll probably try to dislodge my car this afternoon. It’s sunny, and the temperature is supposed to go up into the 40s, so there should be a lot of melting.
But we’re supposed to get another inch of snow tonight. Frosting on the cake.
rikyrah
WSJ Attacks Cruz For Spoiling the Game
By Ed Kilgore
Those hailing what happened with the debt limit increase yesterday as some sort of Revolt of the Grownups that will put the Tea Party back in its place and herald in a new era of bipartisanship should take a look at the Wall Street Journal editorial blasting Ted Cruz as threatening the prospects for a GOP takeover of the Senate.
They aren’t mad at Cruz for opposing a debt limit increase. They’re mad at him for forcing a vote which revealed the double-dealing GOP effort to ensure the debt limit increased passed without Republican votes.
It’s all about deceptive GOP positioning, not any desire for bipartisanship or even fiscal sanity. This is why I’m convinced the debt limit saga is probably the death knell, not a green light, for immigration reform. Now an awful lot of Republicans won’t take the risk of coming anywhere near legislation supported by Democrats, even if they secretly support it. Ted Cruz might out them.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/wsj_attacks_cruz_for_spoiling049068.php
raven
@currants: It is, you have to be careful of when they were posted but I know the local scene and they are right on.
askew
Thanks for the Shakira video to start the day off on the right note.
As for the Falafel King, hopefully that interview made some Fox viewers embarrassed enough to stop watching him and the other shows on Fox. I doubt it though.
mai naem
@lamh36: Costco if you have a membership on whatever they have on sale that month but they are limited in what they carry. Discount Tire if you have one there. We’ve been going to Discount tire for decades. Every so often we shop around and end up going back. Best way to deal with Discount is to figure out what you want and call them on the phone and once they give you a price tell them that another co. told you x dollars less. If they haven’t given you their lowest price, they will at that point – well, that’s my experience anyway.
schrodinger's cat
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone and thanks for giving my little blog some love and tolerating my blog whoring.
Bonus :Kitteh +Goggie. I is trying to be inclusive.
WereBear
YES, for the humanity.
WEEEEELL for all the dust it would throw in the air and slow down global warming.
Frankensteinbeck
@Botsplainer:
Actually, thank you for this. The dark side perspective shows just how gay marriages are exactly like hetero marriages, and deserve the same rights for sadly human reasons as well as romantic. For good and bad, marriages are the same no matter your orientation.
Amir Khalid
@rikyrah:
I’m not the first to point this out: if you provide a link, you really don’t need to block-quote the whole thing. A key sentence or two will suffice.
Now then, about Ted Cruz. It’s all about ME ME ME with that guy. The party establishment has already reached the stage of telling him to sit down and shut up. Sooner rather than later it will find itself having to force him to do it.
The Republic of Stupidity
And Burgundy also knows he’s a fictional character and a deliberate joke…
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@raven: Yup. There is ONE within 20 miles of me, and it’s a posterior pain to get in and out of.
Not everyone can do Costco, folks.
mai naem
Tom Perkins can go DIAF but only after he’s in a lot of pain from some massive burns.
Tim Egan better be prepared for massive amounts of hate mail, people handing out his home address, threats to get him fired etc etc. from OReally’s fans.
Mike E
@lamh36: Late to the party but I wanted to chime in… Pep Boys has buy 3 get the 4th free deals on decent brands, my Hancook tires are great nearly 3 years later. I saved on brakes one time by picking up rotors at a chain parts store and handing them to the guys at meineke and said, “Let’s make a deal.” YMMV, of course.
Honus
@lamh36: find a small reputable independent shop and have your tires drop shipped from tire-rack. Do your brakes at the same time. If this is the first time you’ve had your brake pads replaced, you probably don’t need rotors.
ruemara
On a train, somewhere around Galt. Seen no tribes of wandering ubermenschen. But the 8 month old baby boy in the seat across from me has feed at momma’s breast and is lolling back on her knees, one foot dangling, one foot propped up on her left boob, casually staring out the window. Enjoy it now, son. That’s the last time some lady is gonna find it cute for you to use her dirty pillows as a footrest.
schrodinger's cat
I have never watched Bill O’Reilly except for his appearances on TDS. Why would anyone willingly watch that gasbag?
RSA
How can any normal person think that a decline of civility is as important as the rise of the most powerful rightwing media organization in the past 50 years? What a Village…
ericblair
@Honus:
I’ve done the tirerack.com thing multiple times without a problem. Big selection, lots of reviews so you can get some sort of idea about the performance instead of picking something at random off the wall, and will drop ship to local participating garages (or can get it shipped to your ‘umble abode). Pretty good prices and shipping is reasonable considering.
schrodinger's cat
@lamh36: I have had good experience with Sears.
fidelio
@OzarkHillbilly: People would take it up and spread it because “You have to admit he has a point there”.
I grew up in Phelps County, and when the discussions about fluoridating the water there got started in the 1960s you’d have though Joe Stalin was personally going around calibrating the amounts of chemicals for the project in order to guarantee maximum damage to the bodily integrity of Good Americans.
Elizabelle
@RSA:
Fox News taught corporations that you can make money off a clown show, and insert propaganda under the cover of “journalism”.
I don’t think we’d have the clown car politics we do now — and the pure appeals to outright selfishness and nihilism — if Fox had not paved the way (and monetized it).
The press used to be more accountable and more curious. Fox — and “the Village”, which won’t call Fox out as a propaganda outlet — have poisoned our civil discourse and political sphere.
Fox News has polarized America — it’s its business model — and projected blame upon its political opponents.
O’Reilly is merely a symptom of the disease which is Fox News.
Elizabelle
@ruemara:
Funny comment. I have driven through Galt, California myself. Hope it’s an interesting trip outside the windows too.
Elizabelle
@raven:
Yeah, that’s true. Costco and Trader Joe’s show up where there is a market already; they’re not the “colonizing” type of store. (Trader Joe’s builds out from its warehouses.)
Thank goodness for Sears, as long as it may last.
Jebediah, RBG
@lamh36:
Haven’t finished the thread yet, so maybe I am repeating somebody, but if the problem with the brakes is just that they need pads and to be bled, maybe you know somebody who’s mildly handy with a wrench (and has done brakes before) and can do it for you as a favor? Replacing brake pads and bleeding brakes is a simple enough job that even I can do it, and the pads themselves are pretty cheap. Rear pads can be a little trickier because the emergency brake mechanism can make retracting the pads more of a challenge than the front ones. Are you hearing any sounds from the brakes that sound like metal on metal?
NotMax
@raven – @Elizabelle
Have many good things to say about Costco (get like 98% of my groceries there), but the tire department isn’t one of them.
Strictly anecdotal, but have friends who have found the selection of sizes limited and their stock of those thin, being told that what they were after would take 2 months to arrive.
Sent those folks to Sears, and they got what they wanted right away ending up paying a whopping $10 more than the coupon price at Costco for a set of 4 tires, installed.
boatboy_srq
@lamh36: A lot depends on what you drive, and what kind of tire you want (all-season? snow? brand?). Comparison shopping once you sort out exactly what you’re looking for is a must.
Tire Rack is excellent: huge selection, good prices. Although you’ll need someplace to install and balance them.
Costco (if you have one) has excellent prices, too, and a shop to install them.
boatboy_srq
@MrSnrub: Break a leg. And CONGRATS on getting the interview so quickly: those can take months sometimes after a downsizing event.
boatboy_srq
@NotMax: Sears is good if you’re driving anything mundane: give them anything remotely exotic and the tire install can come with nasty surprises. They replaced my first set on my ’91 G20 (FWD and multilinked front suspension) and screwed up the front end so badly that Infiniti had to give me a whole new front suspension (under warranty Thank FSM), after four alignments and three sets of tires going from new to exposed belts in less than 10K.
NotMax
@boatboy_srq
Sorry to hear about what sounds like a harrowing experience, but please see my YMMV caveat in #23 above and the “anecdotal” qualifier in #122.
The one friend who was told he would have to wait 2 months drives a Toyota Yarus (which apparently only can use some less than common variety of tire). Sears had those in stock and (speaking strictly locally, of course) did the job with no complications.
Ruckus
@lamh36:
I use the Tire Rack. Online store, they recommend local stores they align with to ship to and install. I found a good local one man store that way. The installation is extra, paid to the local store but reasonable. My tire costs still much lower than the warehouse stores. Lots of choice(which for some makes it harder of course). I have used them for a number of years and have been satisfied and I mostly do my own work on vehicles.
WaterGirl
@Amir Khalid:
I’m gonna speak up here because I feel uncomfortable about the repeated comments that feel to me like folks are scolding rikyrah as if she were stupid, or as if she were a child.
Amir, you’re one of the most respectful people on BJ, and I clicked reply to your comment, but what I am writing here is directed at anyone who has raised this issue.
rikyrah is not an idiot. I’m sure she read what people wrote the last 5 times this was brought up. But tons of people here post stuff that is cut & pasted from elsewhere, with a link. Including one of the front pagers! So why is she being singled out?
I’m guessing that what bothers people is that doing so without providing commentary, and doing so multiple times in a thread, may feel a bit like spam. If that’s the case, then please show her the respect of coming out and saying so directly.
‘Cause I’ll bet the same people who are objecting now would still be cranky about it if rikyrah posted 7 comments that were just a paragraph or two each, without commentary, even if nicely formatted with the block quote feature, because it would likely still feel like spam!
As it stands now, the comments are easily recognizable because they follow a similar format, so they are easy enough to skip if you don’t like them.
I really appreciate hearing rikyrah’s point of view when she is sharing her thoughts or is responding to something someone has written.
/rant over
WaterGirl
@Ruckus: That’s what my regular car guy suggested last time I needed tires. He said he could do them, but he recommend that I go online and order from Tire Rack, and have the tires shipped to a particular local guy who specialized in tires. It saved me a ton of money.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
It’s pretty awesome having free Wi-Fi on the Amtrak. The BIL and I may decide to take it up to Ventura to do a little thrift shopping.
Plus G wants me to have A Talk with his brother: You know, E, you’re not getting any younger. Don’t you think it’s about time you found a nice boy and settled down? Your mother is getting worried that you’re going to die alone, and your sister has set the bar so low that the family will be happy with anyone who’s not currently incarcerated. You work in a pharmacy, don’t you ever talk to any doctors or nurses?
Thank you, Illinois state legislature, for letting me have this traditional talk with my brother-in-law.
Mnemosyne
@Mnemosyne:
D’oh! I’m moderated because I forgot the type of store my brother-in-law works in is a FORBIDDEN WORD. Please to release.
Julia
@WaterGirl:
I agree! I already have posted earlier on an old thread that I respect Rikyrah, and I enjoy her comments. Yes, she could just link, but I don’t mind her block quoting…saves me having to take another step. If folks don’t like it, don’t read it!
I’m a bit surprised that AK took after her, however kindly, as I view Amir as one of the most intelligent and friendly BJ commenters.
Matt McIrvin
I just got a couple of tires replaced at Sears (because one started leaking when I was driving past a mall that had one), and it went all right except that they seem to have messed up the tire pressure sensors that alerted me to the failure in the first place. Will probably take it back to the dealer for that.