Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You cannot shame the shameless.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Republicans in disarray!

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

The revolution will be supervised.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Bark louder, little dog.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Root for Injuries

Open Thread: Root for Injuries

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Still and forever a mucker. Rep. Pete “the Mean One” King, fresh from his stint as an unlicensed medical expert, explains his ongoing “primary campaign” to USA Today:

Nobody thinks Rep. Peter King is likely to be the GOP nominee in 2016, possibly not even Peter King. But the odds are better for Sen. Rand Paul, and that’s why Peter King is in New Hampshire, again and again and again.

“I don’t want the field to be dominated by people like Rand Paul,” King says. “Rand Paul is an isolationist. …This is an extremely dangerous world. We do not have the luxury of hiding. We cannot retreat within our borders. And I terribly resent his implication that the U.S. is somehow the cause of aggression around the world.”

And then there’s Sen. Ted Cruz, another potential 2016-er. “Ted Cruz is a nihilist,” King says. “The whole concept of shutting the government down and also this dogmatic opposition to any type of compromise,” he says. “I can bargain, I can negotiate, I can move the ball down the field.”

So yeah, King, 70, a New York Republican, is thinking about running for president…

… [W]hy spend two years eating chili dinners in New Hampshire? Why not? There is little downside for an elected official to give talks to an appreciative audience of fellow party members. It makes proto-candidates feel good to be considered presidential timber and New Hampshire voters get to fulfill their jealously guarded mission of looking over every person who has ever aspired to be commander in chief.

Though Republicans have vowed to avoid the 23-debate marathon of the 2012 primaries, King could well get into a New Hampshire debate, push for the interventionist foreign policy he believes in, and have an effect….

So instead of 23 debates with 8 or 9 candidates at the first few, maybe we’ll get 8 or 9 debates with 23 candidates. Sounds like a winning strategy! — for us Democrats.

***********

Apart from cheering on the Klown Kar Kavalcade, what’s on the agenda as we try to wipe this lousy, shit-laden week off our shoes?

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  1. 1.

    Mike E

    Work work work…got a slew of hours and mebbe, just mebbe, a shot at a whole bunch more in the new year [fangers cross’t].

    I got a propofol report for Violet: WIN

  2. 2.

    KG

    The GOP establishment will fight to limit the number of debates, but my guess is it won’t work. If some county party group wants to put one on, and gets a network on board, you’re not going to stop those publicity hounds from getting in front of a camera.

  3. 3.

    jl

    Maybe a Balloon-Juice pool on how many GOPers are up on the stage for the first debate?

    If it happens, put me down for 50.

  4. 4.

    dmsilev

    I’d love to see him go to Iowa, just so he could have an assholier-than-thou competition with Steve King.

  7. 7.

    GregB

    A quick OT, but speaking of NH. There was an epic smackdown of the former far right wing Speaker Bill O’Brien this week. He’s the raving tea-bagger caught on tape saying that voting should be made difficult for young people and college students because they have no life experience and therefore are stupid and liberal.

    The Republicans won back the NH House by several dozen seats and O’Brien was expected to be a shoo in. However the Democrats were one step ahead and worked with a more sensible Republican and ended up getting some more Republican defections after O’Brien called for a public ballot so that he could identify his betrayers for retribution, which was his stock-in-trade when he ruled in 2010-2012. That was enough to get a few more R’s to vote for the moderate along with every Democrat.

    So NH has been saved from the wrecking ball of this bitter shitheel and the state Republican Party is in turmoil calling for war against one another. Hopefully it will turn into the Donner Party before it is all done.

    Link.

  11. 11.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @KG: Yep. Some Tea Baggers’ People’s Front outfit will want one, then People’s Front of Tea Baggers will demand extra time, which will make the Zygote worshippers threaten to give Rick Santorum a stage will Xnumber of empty podiums… Knowing that Reince Priebus is in for some acid reflux is a small comfort in these dark times.

  15. 15.

    Mandalay

    I’m not understanding why this story about a cop killing an unarmed black man isn’t getting more prominence:

    A white ex-police chief of a small town appeared in court Thursday to face a murder charge in the 2011 shooting death of an unarmed black man.

    Combs is the third officer in South Carolina to be charged this year for an on-duty shooting. A white police officer in North Augusta was charged with misconduct in office in August in the shooting death of a 68-year-old unarmed black man at his home after a chase. A state trooper was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in September when he shot an unarmed black man he had pulled over as the man reached in his car to get his wallet. That shooting was captured on the trooper’s dashboard camera and shown around the world. Both officers are awaiting trials.

  16. 16.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Mandalay:

    I’m not understanding why this story about a cop killing an unarmed black man isn’t getting more prominence:

    Because stories about the system working the way it should never get the publicity that stories about the system breaking down get.

  18. 18.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    It’s probably “Elf” time this weekend. Maybe some other holiday-related time together. I keep promising people that I’m going to knit things for them for Christmas, so I’d better get my ass in gear.

  20. 20.

    lamh36

    Good evening.

    So I’m cleaned out my car in preparation for trading it in for a new car and I am genuinely embarrassed at the amount of fast food french fries and funyuns droppings I found! Also too found this old cheap ass bottle of lotion and it can’t be for nobody but my little sister Jessica who has exzema and uses “grease” to alleviate her dryness.

    I just cleaned out trash and papers. I still haven’t cleaned surfaces or vacuumed. I’m thinking all I’m gonna do is vacuum and clean as much of surfaces as I can. I might clean the carpet but the stains are pretty old and bakes in so? I’m not paying beaucoup money just to clean the carpet. I’ma clean the seats clean the mats and attempt to clean the carpets if I can.

    Oh yeah and I fixed the seat belt maddie over extended. I remember that u can adjust the headrest in the backseat and they can be removed. Wah la (lol) … seat belt unlocked!

    Aside from the carpets once I clean her up a bit. The only things on it that might decrease the value…I never fixed the trunk door so it doesn’t open, the maintenance aside from oils changes are definitely due, and I never replaced the engine shield thing that broke 2 weeks ago (in fact, that’s why I finally decided to get a new car)

    Other than that, all the electronics work. all lights and interior stuff works. Tires just 1 year old. Transmission should only be half the age of the car and I’ve had no accidents in this car. Coupla nicks and scratches from being a 10 year old car, but NOT many

  24. 24.

    lamh36

    Also too, Also too, tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be going to two dealerships and test drive a total of 4 cars (maybe 5?). I’m looking at the Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe Sport. I kinda also wanted to check out the Hyundai Genesis, but it may be out of my price range. I’m also looking at the Mazda 6 and CX5.

    So here’s where I am. I have pre-financing with a company I trust and for which I have used before. I’d prefer not to have my credit run again, with my credit, the pre-financed APR is actually in the lowest portion of the range I expected and that I’ve been quoted in the past. I don’t expect the dealership to be able to match it or go any lower and I need no more dings on my credit score.

    Anyway, I read that you should test drive on the first day, go home and sleep on it and then go back and buy the car, and that is my plan.

    Since I’m only test driving the car, I figured maybe I could wait to finish cleaning my car before the trade in, but I was wondering do they inspect the trade in only when you are ready to buy?

    So any advice or things I should be looking for and aware of when I get to the dealerships?

  25. 25.

    Keith G

    @Omnes Omnibus: Exactly.

    We do have bucket loads of problems with the multiple “justice” systems throughout this country – harsh, seemingly intractable problems, yet every day in tens of thousands of interactions, things move along amazingly well considering how poorly they are designed.

    The recent loss of life is so sad and so despicable, but for this up-close observer and participant, among the worst characteristics is the way so many non-violent infractions result in cuffing, stuffing and pre-trial jail time in a system that essentially forces a financially challenged defendant to plead quilty and take time served with an additional few days or so they can get out ASAP and try to salvage their employment.

    It’s not that I do not care about the many dozens of uncalled for death by cop each year, but the social and financial toll being racked up by the process I have just described will end up with costs that might exceed calculation.

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    Tonight is going to be spent getting set for tomorrow, aka “day of several hundred visitors at work”. Our annual Open House, and Im in charge of volunteer-wrangling. I’ve spent the last week twisting arms and trying to talk roughly a hundred grad students and so forth to show up at 9 AM on a Saturday.

    Food. We supply lots of food. And coffee.

    Tonight, I relax, for tomorrow is going to be busy.

  29. 29.

    lamh36

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m leaning towards the Mazda 6 cause I like the look, but I’ll see if I like the feel.

    Hyundai has one of the best warranties out there, 60,000/100,000, 5 years, etc. The Sonata is actually the #1 midsize sedan in it’s class, followed by Accord and Camry. Mazda 6 is in top 10, but it wins on style.

    I really want space, and sped on pick up (I hate a slow roller and I tend to like a quick pick up when merging or pulling out into traffic). Price matters because of my pre-approval amounts. The less the car, the less I pay obviously, but if I can talk down a nice car to be ithing my range I’d take the hit on my monthly car note. I have a good job that pays well, and I can afford to take that hit.

    I’m gonna be trading in my SUV, so if after testing the cars out, the amount of the trade in will be a big deciding factor in whether or not I decide what car.

    In theory though, if I can get the car I want at a price I want without the trade in, I’d like to keep my SUV as a backup car, cause you never know.

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    @lamh36:

    Before I traded my car in, I cleaned out the junk and got a really good car wash — not detailing or anything, but a nice hand wash that was maybe $20. I got top dollar for my trade-in, so I guess it worked.

  32. 32.

    MomSense

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    Oh my I am so in the weeds on my Christmas knitting. I am going to have to spend every waking moment and a lot of should be sleeping moments to try and get it all done

  34. 34.

    lamh36

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): That’s my plan.

    I went to Family Dollar/Dollar General (they might just as well be the same) and bought some cheap cleaning products.

    I can either go the the local car wash place that provides vaccumms and water for some quarters or just do it in front of my apartment, with a bucket and some warm water.

    What I haven’t decided is if I want to do it before going to dealearship. How does a trade in work exactly? Do they do a thorough exam, or jut look up the vehicle and decide based on model year?

  36. 36.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @lamh36: Have you considered the Mazda3? You’d get a lot of what the 6 would give you but cheaper.

    As far as shopping advice goes, don’t tell them you have prearranged financing. Negotiate the best deal you can with them think you’ll finance through them and then, once you have a price locked down, tell them that you don’t need them to arrange a loan.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    @lamh36:

    They did do a physical exam of my car, but I think they were more worried about bodywork or mechanical problems than cosmetic issues. If you have time and think there’s any chance you might decide on the spot, I’d go ahead and wash/vacuum it before you go.

  40. 40.

    cckids

    @dmsilev:

    just so he could have an assholier-than-thou competition with Steve King.

    I believe I’ll be stealing this :) The R’s give us unending pairs it would work on, don’t they?

  41. 41.

    lamh36

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yeah that was in my plans too.

    I remember you telling me about the Mazda 3 too. I scheduled a test drive for the Mazda 6 and the CX5 though. But I did schedule the Mazda dealer after the Hyundai dealership, mainly because as I said, I really like the look of the Mazda 6 (I’m liking the look of the red car) so I’m leaning towards it.

    But when I shop, I like to look at what I really want last. It’s like when I watch the show Say Yes To The Dress, I hate when the brides try on a dress that’s WAY out of their budget range, and then when they try on a dress from their actually price range, they are just disappointed and pining for the more expensive dres.

    So I’ll be going to Hyundai and hopefully about 2 hours later, I’ll be at the Mazda dealership.

  42. 42.

    Anne Laurie

    @Corner Stone:

    It’s Romney, Jeb, and then Rand at the outside rail.

    I still say Rick Sanctorum will, at least, make it harder for the other competitors.

    He’s the ugly, vicious, willfully ignorant, misogynist id of the GOP, and his fellow Talibangelicals won’t let the primaries run out without one of their own getting some serious attention. Also, IT’S HIS TURN and one cannot underestimate the traditionalist bent of our “conservative” (reactionary/revanchist) party.

  45. 45.

    lamh36

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): My car is a 2005 Tuscon. I tried to check to see if any of that model year is still being sold, and I don’t really see too many.

    So I’m not expecting much. Still I did check KB and when putting in the condition of the car (I’d say “good”, but just in case I checked “fair”) the range was good enough to be able to use as a down payment even at the lowest range.

  48. 48.

    lamh36

    @Omnes Omnibus: My sister told me the same thing.

    I absolutely hate car shopping. I vaguely remember how it went when I got my Tuscon.

    I find nothing fun about it…lol.

    In fact, I wish I was rich, so that I could just send have cars brought to me and I drive them and never have to set foot in a dealership at all.

  51. 51.

    Mike E

    @Mike J: It’s really weird with the Rollerball style numerals on college football jerseys these days, they expect conference attrition or something.

  53. 53.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @MomSense: Iim embarrassed to admit that I read

    Oh my I am so in the weeds on my Christmas killing. I am going to have to spend every waking moment and a lot of should be sleeping moments to try and get it all done

    Worse, I thought, “that’s a Christmas concept I can get behind.” Of course I also wondered earlier today why there was a Onion splashdown. Perhaps an eye exam is in order.

  55. 55.

    NotMax

    @lamh36

    Link fail, darn it. Fixed.

    They won’t so much as glance at your current car until you say “I’m looking to trade in.”

    Will again recommend (and second Omnes, your payments will be much, much better) checking out a 3, one with some of the bells and whistles (there are so many possible configurations that it comes down to what floats yer boat). Check out the iTouring model(s), not iSport model.

    Traveled to NY in Sept. to aid Mom in buying a new car, and steered her to a Mazda 3 iTouring sedan (the trunk is HUGE). Heated seats and a bunch of other goodies (but not the media/rear camera package – one can always have any or all of that put in aftermarket for a better price). She’s about to turn 87, and now swears it is far and away the best car she has ever owned, plus much, much easier to get into and out of for herself and her contemporaries. And she no longer needs to sit on a cushion, as the seat rises high enough and the steering column adjustable enough for her to have clear sight lines by just sitting on the seat. Also she’s happy that the dash displays, while electronic, are in analog form, which she prefers to having constantly changing numerals on a digital display. Yeah, it’s 4-cylinder, but a peppy four (not an empty claim of it getting approximately 41 highway mpg). One more nice thing is that the Mazdas are just appointed better than other cars in the same price range – leather or good material rather than plastic, etc.

    And sleeping on it is always a Good Thing when any major purchase is involved. Any dealership that tries jerking the customer’s chain with the “We can’t guarantee this price tomorrow” crap is one I would then and there decide to never buy anything from at all.)

  58. 58.

    Steeplejack

    @lamh36:

    I’m looking at a flier I got from a local car wash that offers an “express interior super clean” for $70. I’m sure you’ve got similar in your area. Might be worth the money to let the pros clean up the car.

    I’ll let others weigh in on whether precleaning the car increases trade-in value or whether dealers are like “We’ve seen it all, and we clean ’em ourselves anyway.” My only thought is maybe the dealer’s appraiser uprates a clean car because it suggests the mechanical/maintenance side has been maintained as well.

  61. 61.

    beltane

    You are all coming close to convincing me to check out the Mazda 3. We’re selling the minivan ourselves and then buying another car in the spring. I have my mother’s Subaru to get me through the winter and I’m not in a rush to buy anything at the moment. I just didn’t feel like buying a whole new set of studded snow tires for the Sienna when I don’t feel like keeping it.

  62. 62.

    Helen

    Peter King? I know people who knew Peter King during the Troubles.

    And they are willing to talk. The ones who are alive, anyway.

    OOPs is that Homeland Security at my door? Maybe it’s the NSA.

  64. 64.

    ThresherK

    @lamh36: My dad has the Santa Fe, now the Sport variant I think, and his experience with an 05 was sufficient to make him buy the ’12 as a year old, off someone else’s lease. No regrets with it going on 2 yrs in March.

  65. 65.

    Breezeblock

    Peter King = Broken Clock.

    But also, fuck him, by him I mean Pete King = That Guy. So fuck That Guy.

    Did I say Fuck Peter King? Cuz that’s what I meant to say. In a fucking roundabout way.

    So yeah. Fuck Peter King. He’s an asshole, and he’s incredibly stupid.

  73. 73.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JoyfulA: reading through some of the greatest hits of the Perez era, and the Sullivan sub-era, makes the resigners– even thought they include some of my favorite political writers (MacGillis, Lizza, Ioffe, Cohn and Chait)– seem a tad less noble and principled and a bit more, as I think Pierce put it, “we’re in the fucking club and you’re not”.

  74. 74.

    Helen

    @Omnes Omnibus: And Peter King is the rep for the congressional district I grew up in on LI. All those blue collar assholes. So grateful I am gone.

    Plus all the IRA shit.

  76. 76.

    RaflW

    “I terribly resent his implication that the U.S. is somehow the cause of aggression around the world.”

    You mean the US of A, the country that kills unarmed black men on a frequent basis? The country that dronz vast swathes of the Middle East? Had two wildcatting misadventures in Iraq by two different men named Bush?

    That country?

    Yeah, they’ve never done nuttin’ to increase global aggression.

  77. 77.

    Mnemosyne

    @MomSense:

    There are actually only two people who are expecting to get knitted gifts from me, so at least if I don’t make the deadline, I can pretend the plan never happened. But, if possible, I would like to finish these handwarmers for my mom even though she’ll probably never wear them.

  78. 78.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @RaflW: FWIW the first Gulf War was a UN sanctioned thing – not wildcatting at all. It may or may not have been a good idea, but it was done with the sanction and widespread participation of the international community.

  79. 79.

    RaflW

    @GregB:

    the state Republican Party is in turmoil calling for war against one another.

    That’s quite something! Saw a different WMUR report that quotes their polical reporter as saying Republicans are very upset with Shawn Jasper, and they’re wanting him to fail right now.” I’m sure the citizens of NH will be pleased to hear that. Apparently the GOP has decided after the roaring success of the make Obama fail effort, that if they make one of their own fail, they’ll have a 1,000 year mandate.

  80. 80.

    Mike E

    @Omnes Omnibus: As much as I hated the reinstalling of those princes back on their thrones, it really was a clear case invasion…”This must not stand!” I still hear Dana Carey’s voice, heh.

  81. 81.

    RaflW

    @beltane: I’m glad to know the Strand is still open. I worked there in the summer of 1984. I was 18, and it was a great – and occasionally awful – summer job.

    Oh, and the sooner Cuomo’s book is in a remainder bin (along with his career, one can hope), the better!

  82. 82.

    MomSense

    @Mnemosyne:

    Those are very pretty. I like the way the ribbing flows into the cable. Simple and elegant.

    I’ve made 9 hats, two pairs of gloves and a scarf so far and I have a lot more to do. I just cast on a hat now and hope to finish tomorrow morning.

  83. 83.

    JoyfulA

    @Mandalay: I read about it and tweeted. SC state cop cars now all have dash cams, and supposedly they’ve nearly eliminated bad cop behavior after a few cases presented footage to a jury.

    Also the SC state supreme court gave a tongue-lashing to county prosecutors about making sure defense got all, especially exonerating, evidence before trails, and the prosecutors are said to be furious, close to open revolt.

  85. 85.

    RaflW

    @Mike E:
    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Fair enough.

    I probably should have gone with, ohhh, arming half the despots in Central America. Or Nixon + Kissinger’s various military excursions outside Viet Nam. Or….

  89. 89.

    danielx

    @Anne Laurie:

    He’s the ugly, vicious, willfully ignorant, misogynist id of the GOP…

    Well, he’s at least a component; there are a lot of contenders for that position. In fact now that I think about it, just about every potential Republican contender I can think of exhibits at least two of those traits if not three.

  92. 92.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Anne Laurie: @Omnes Omnibus: I wonder if Cruz doesn’t steal a bit of his thunder, but I think he scares the hell out of the GOP Establishmesnt, a ‘pro-lifer’ who actually means it.

    Is it just me, or did Romney (and McCain) hardly talk about abortion?

  95. 95.

    Baud

    I think the last election hurt Rand’s chances. The GOP base feels really confident now. Why would they feel the need to go with the guy with the “I can talk to brown people” shtick?

  96. 96.

    beltane

    The Villagers are starting to push Marco Rubio again. It will likely come to nothing. I could see Rand Paul winning NH and Ted Cruz winning Iowa. Beyond that I have no idea.

  99. 99.

    gelfling545

    Pleased to say that my daughters were at the local demonstration against the grand jury verdict in the Garner case, along with their daughters. Raising up the young’uns in participatory democracy. From the pictures they sent back it looked like a decent turnout.

  101. 101.

    mainmati

    @lamh36: In my experience, there is no point for dealers to inspect your trade-in unless you’re serious about a buy. What is more important than detailing for dealers is structural, engine/transmission, that kind of things.

  102. 102.

    Anne Laurie

    @Breezeblock:

    Fuck Peter King. He’s an asshole, and he’s incredibly stupid.

    Not even using your dick, thankyouverymuch. And, yes, he’s an asshole, but he’s not actually stupid (unlike fellow Congresscritter Steve King). Pete’s just got a very narrow set of interests, and he doesn’t bother learning/knowing anything outside that narrow set — if there’s one politician in America who deserves the label “tribal”, it’s our Peter. It’s why I keep an eye on him; like all muckers, he’s so sensitive to the faintest currents of his chosen little pond, watching what he does gives those of us outside that pond a pretty good cue towards where the rest of the minor predators will be schooling next.

    It’s also why I’m happy he turned on Cruz (after the last shutdown) and now RandPaul; that means the white urban working-class poujadists, the one-van contractors and third-generation civil service union guys, don’t trust Cruz (or RP) and will gleefully mug them & their supporters during the upcoming GOP primaries. I don’t believe that the enemy of my enemy is my friend… but I’m perfectly happy if my enemies are willing to kill each other while I cheer from the sidelines!

  103. 103.

    Anne Laurie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I’ve been touting Rih as the next man in line for a couple of years now.

    You and me, dude. When Sanctorum “breaks out” in 2015, I’ll buy you a virtual drink.

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