Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, man.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

This really is a full service blog.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

White supremacy is terrorism.

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

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

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  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    Why The Left Has Failed With Black Voters
    Marcus Johnson
    December 3, 2019

    On Tuesday, California Senator Kamala Harris suspended her campaign for president. With Harris out of the race, all six of the candidates who have qualified for this month’s debate are white. It’s just the latest example of how in moving to the left, the Democratic Party has failed — and failed to attract — black voters.

    ……………………

    The problem is that the Democratic electorate isn’t nearly as close to Sanders and Warren ideologically as some pundits would have you believe. Although Sanders essentially tied with Hillary Clinton with white voters, he lost black voters nationally by 50 points, which went a long way towards her winning the nomination. The candidate favored by black voters has won the Democratic primary in each contest going back to 1992. Black voters have an outsized influence on the primary process because of their concentration in the south, and because of their propensity to vote as a bloc. The south is a delegate rich region where white voters have abandoned the Democratic Party — meaning the primary electorate of many of these states is plurality or majority black.

    ……………………..
    To understand the current problems of the left, you have to know a bit of political history. Moderate and conservative whites have gradually left the Democratic Party since the mid-1960s in a party sorting process that is still ongoing. This phenomenon has its roots in the successes of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, when Democrats officially became the party of minority rights. This sorting process was especially intense early on in the southern states, but it has since spread throughout the country. The result has been that the whites who have remained in the Democratic Party are generally further to the left of the political spectrum.

    …………………..

    White voters in the Democratic Party are more likely to favor open immigration policies and take leftward stances on gender and sexuality. They are also more likely to have an ideological commitment to free college or free healthcare. Almost 80% of black Americans are Christian, and nearly half say they attend religious services once a week. This is a major divide from white liberals, of whom Frank Newport estimates only 4% are both ideologically liberal and highly religious.

    Moreover, black voters tend to choose candidates that have worked hard to build a relationship with their community over time. Because of the unique history of black Americans, earning the trust of this community is not an overnight affair. Going back 30 years, nominees such as Barack Obama and the Clintons had deep ties to the black community before even deciding to run for president.
    This is in stark contrast to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, candidates favored by the white left that have struggled mightily to pick up black support. Neither Sanders nor Warren spent much time building relationships with black voters prior to deciding to run for President. And they are not alone on the left in this regard. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was largely unable to move black voters in her direction during her primary; her strength was mostly with college educated whites. Trying to attract black voters after the fact is extremely difficult.
    ………………………………………

    One of the left’s biggest problems with black voters is their rhetorical focus on class. The left’s primary objective is to take on the billionaires and corporate elite. The class-first narrative posits that members of the working class have a common enemy — the wealthy.

    This argument doesn’t fit with the lived experience of many black Americans, who have endured racism at the hands of poor and wealthy whites alike. For instance, there is a long history of racism in unions. This isn’t the wealthy using schemes to divide the poor along racial lines either; a sizable percentage of whites regardless of class have come to hold these views on their own.

    Social scientists have found that black Americans are the most likely of any demographic to believe in the concept of “linked fate,” the idea that “what happens to people from their racial group will affect them personally.” In other words, the black community is more likely to be drawn to rhetoric about the betterment of all black Americans instead of rhetoric about class divisions.

    The left takes the opposite stance. After all, a wealthy black person should be the class enemy of a working class black person, while a working class white person, even one who holds racist views, should be their class ally. This message from the left just isn’t one that resonates with the black community.

    Another one of the left’s most critical messages is their rhetoric around what they see as political revolution, that expresses itself in rhetoric about tearing down the Democratic Party. Sanders and his surrogates are the biggest offenders here, but other elements of the left have echoed the same messages. The idea that the Democratic Party is corrupt, infiltrated by corporate interests, and needs to be torn down may win cheers with the white left, but it doesn’t attract black voters. That is because the Democratic Party as an institution both codified and defended Civil and Voting Rights for minorities for decades. Black voters view the Democratic Party as an institution that has fought for them and protected them from Republican offensives. It is not one that should be blown up.

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    Of course, the GOP so-called Christians will have no problem cutting food benefits during the Holiday Season.

    The evil never stops with these muthaphuckas.

  3. 3.

    rikyrah

    I didn’t know that they were doing this 

    ‘Tis the season! We’re going to be giving you a holiday recommendation to watch every single day because we want you to enjoy nice things. So grab your eggnog and settle in.
    Day 1: It’s a Wonderful Life. One of the most iconic holiday movies of all time. Don’t forget tissues. pic.twitter.com/YkxemRk4Fd

    — Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) December 1, 2019

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    The House has passed a package of bills aimed at restoring protections of the Voting Rights Act.
    It passed 228-187, with GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick joining all Dems in favor of the measure.

    Rep. John Lewis sat in the chair to gavel in the final vote. https://t.co/g2rbA6oQVt

    — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 6, 2019

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    LIVING.THEIR.BEST.LIFE.

    YESSSSSSSSS

    Barack & Michelle Obama Just Bought a $11.75M, 7-Bedroom Martha’s Vineyard Estate: Reports

    The Obamas just turned one of their favorite vacation spots into their new home.

    Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama this week purchased a 6,892-square-foot home on Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, according to the Vineyard Gazette and TMZ.

    PEOPLE confirms the seven-bedroom island mansion was sold Wednesday for $11.75 million to a trust.

    The deed also names as trustee James F. Reynolds, a Chicago investment banker who has been friends with President Obama, 58, since he was a state senator in Illinois. Reynolds was a member of Obama’s national finance committee during the 2008 presidential election.

    https://people.com/home/barack-michelle-obama-buy-marthas-vineyard-mansion/

  6. 6.

    Jeffro

    What if you have a car that’s worth a boatload, but you don’t use it to commute to work?

     

    Like, you just keep it parked next to all the t-bones in your freezer, which is next to all your stacks of welfare checks?

     

    Asking for a friend…

  7. 7.

    rikyrah

    Posting this again, just in case you didn’t see it.

     

     

    This job was a lifesaver for me back in 2010.

    Answer the phone, apply early. If they call you back and leave a message, call back ASAP.
    If you are a veteran, you get extra points on the test.

    The U.S. Census Bureau is now recruiting for thousands of 2020 Census Takers. Apply online for a temporary job.
    — U.S. Census Bureau (@uscensusbureau) November 13, 2019

  9. 9.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    That was the horrible conundrum of life in the US, you need a job, but in order to get a job you have to have a car because there is no public transportation between where you live and your job. Many people were getting Taxis to get to work which basically cancelled out their wages. But they had to be working to get SNAP, which now they are going to cut off. It is eil.

  10. 10.

    Jeffro

    Also, it looks like we’re past the 5pm deadline for trumpov to decide to participate in the House Judiciary hearings, erGO, his Orangeness has declined to offer a defense of his actions.

     

    Just like any innocent guy would do, amirite?

  12. 12.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Tell me about it. Cars are so expensive nowadays that younger people are getting priced out. The smaller, cheaper, fuel-efficient cars are beginning to be phased out by automakers in favor of more profitable but more expensive crossovers, SUVs, and trucks

     

    Ford has planned on halting production of all sedan models aside from the Mustang in 2020 and will only sell trucks and SUVs.

     

    I have to wonder if the auto industry is fucking itself over by doing this and there will come a point when very few people will be able to even afford to lease or finance a new car.

     

    Where I live, public transit is limited to buses. No taxis either really unless you count Uber and those are few and far between. Pedestrians/cyclists were an afterthought. Everything’s so spread out you need a car to get anywhere.

     

    @Jeffro:

    Hey, that’s not fair! Plenty of guilty people put up defenses

  13. 13.

    Mnemosyne

    @rikyrah: 

    A lot of white people on the left learned the wrong lesson in 2016. A LOT.

    I think a lot of my people were more affected by Trump pushing their white supremacist buttons than they’re comfortable admitting.

  16. 16.

    Ruckus

    @Jeffro:

    The man that owned the apartment building I lived in last had six cars parked in the garage, that I never saw uncovered or driven. He parked them there because his house was full. I have no idea if he parked any in the other buildings he owned on this one block in Pasadena. People with too much money not only spend it on frivolous crap, they spend it because they can. Not willing to have it taxed so that others might not starve, they need it all to impress people who don’t give a shit about them.

    They don’t think they are part of the country, they think they are above it.

  17. 17.

    trollhattan

    @rikyrah:

    If Dersh starts acting nice to the Obamas will his “rights” to party at the Vineyard be restored?

    I don’t know how this all works.

  18. 18.

    donnah

    @rikyrah: So true! My son had dropped out of college and needed work, so he applied with the Census, got a job collecting data and that put him in the public civil service pool. He finished up with the Census, got a referral for a job with Americorps, served two years, then through his connections there, got a job with Habitat for Humanity. Now he’s working as an apprentice electrician with an eye toward certification. Well worth the effort.

  19. 19.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    There reason for this is obvious, Trump is looking for money to build the wall or just embezzle.

  20. 20.

    Jeffro

    @Ruckus: Total agreement here…rich people’s spending is just about the most unproductive kind there is short of spending money on wars.

  21. 21.

    Jeffro

    @clay: That’s a pretty sophisticated defense, I think.  I’ll try that next time I get pulled over for speeding.

     

    “Officer, stop writing that ticket”.

  24. 24.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    Interesting.  This is going to have a bigger impact on the rural and suburban poor who live in GOP districts than the inner city urban poor, who have access to and use public transit.

  25. 25.

    trollhattan

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    The US makers seem to be transitioning into truck companies at the expense of “passenger cars” and must be counting on CAFE standards to be basically wiped clear; either that or get on full-electric full-size trucks and SUVs damn quick.

    They hate making small cars because of slim profit margins. Why are other makers able to do so? That question has been asked continuously since 1975 and I’m guessing they’ll settle on “unions” because, reasons.

  26. 26.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @rikyrah:

     

    Personally, I wouldn’t want to work for the Census under this administration if I didn’t have to. I get the citizenship question was struck out, but who knows what other shit they’re trying to shove under the radar.

  27. 27.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jeffro: One would think the President would have other means to explain his actions to the public. Then again it’s was his own big mouth that got him were he is now so not showing up it likely a smart move on Trump’s part.

  28. 28.

    zhena gogolia

    I guess my comment got banned because I tried to embed a tweet from Aaron Rupar about Trump complaining today he has to flush the toilet 15 times.

  30. 30.

    trollhattan

    @Ruckus:

    For awhile I was hooked on the car auction shows and the willingness of dudebros and lumpy older dudes to get into bidding wars over ’60s muscle cars was a sight to behold.

    Dudes be crazy and as you note, have way too much money to burn.

  35. 35.

    Ruckus

    Mistermix

    Also 10 grand? Used cars around here are 10 grand if they have less than 200,000 miles. I see every day, lots of new 4 wheel drive trucks that cost 30K or more, with another 10-20K in suspension work, occupied by one person, where gas is just under $4/gal. I lived in old town Pasadena for 4 yrs, saw a lot of cars that cost 40-60K and a quite a few that cost far more. Some of them even tried to hit me as I was walking in a crosswalk and got pissed when I even looked at them about that.

    Our society is corrupt. I’m not sure it never was but it has gotten worse what with their grab all you can as fast as you can so that someone else has less, which makes you better, concept of life. In this together? Not on your fucking life.

  41. 41.

    Elizabelle

    Duncan Hunter to resign “after the holidays.”  (Presumably Christmas!)

    That’s more than 10% of the House GOP not returning, no?

  42. 42.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @trollhattan:

    either that or get on full-electric full-size trucks and SUVs damn quick.

    That’s probably what’s going to inevitably happen anyway. Eventually, EVs from Tesla or others will become so cheap and the travel range will rival gas powered cars, that automakers will switch. The internal combustion engine will go the way of the dodo in a half century

  43. 43.

    Kent

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Tell me about it. Cars are so expensive nowadays that younger people are getting priced out. The smaller, cheaper, fuel-efficient cars are beginning to be phased out by automakers in favor of more profitable but more expensive crossovers, SUVs, and trucks

     

    Ford has planned on halting production of all sedan models aside from the Mustang in 2020 and will only sell trucks and SUVs.

     

    I have to wonder if the auto industry is fucking itself over by doing this and there will come a point when very few people will be able to even afford to lease or finance a new car.

     

    Luckily the rest of the world mostly has higher gas prices and/or narrower roads and more crowded cities.  So the rest of the world outside the US, Canada (and to some extent Mexico) has gone all-in on small cars.  So there will always be plenty of good options out there as long as the Asian car companies decide to import them.   No matter how much Ford goes all-in on the F150 and SUV market.

  44. 44.

    Kay

    Didn’t we already find out 50 times that these schemes cost more to administer than they save in units of hungry poor people?

    So it’s just pure, mean-spirited lashing out again? These creeps need a scalp to dangle in front of the mob?

  46. 46.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I read a about a seaplane-based airline in the Pacific Northwest, that’s switching their planes over to electric, with a new electric motor with massive power-to-weight.  So basically it all comes down to the energy-density of the batteries.  If that shit works at all, it’ll completely revolutionize cars, I think, b/c the energy densities needed for economical flight are much higher than for ground travel.

  47. 47.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Ok, but is that likely to happen anytime soon given the “Mexico City policy” style of governance that will become the norm in the next few decades?

  49. 49.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:

    With todays manufacturing methods the labor cost of a small car or a full size truck are not a whole lot different. So the profit to the mfg is higher. Ford seems to be stopping building IC engine small cars, and seems to be coming out with more electrics. Remember they build car parts in many parts of the world. My smallish car has an engine built in the UK, and parts from all around the globe, it is assembled here. Chevy was not long ago, unprofitable in all but trucks. I worked once with a fellow who had been the division sales vice president for Chevy Silverado pickups. They were the only profitable segment. And it wasn’t him that made it that way.

  50. 50.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Kent:

    Maybe. I read an article that basically said the rest of the world was beginning to acquire America’s car buying habits of trucks and SUVs

  51. 51.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Jeffro: I saw but have not read an article on that yet. He basically said “I’m ordering to stop the impeachment process now”, didn’t he?

  52. 52.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Profit is precisely why Ford is discontinuing sedan production and Dodge did away with the Dart.

    Apparently, they weren’t money-makers and didn’t sell well. Now, why won’t foreign brands do the same, at least for the North American market?

  55. 55.

    West of the Cascades

    @Litlebritdifrnt: 

    let me see if I have this straight in the new rule: if you have a car that’s reliable enough to go to work, you go hungry. But if you sell your car, you lose your job, which is a prerequisite for SNAP, you go hungry. So basically you have to have (1) no car and (2) no job to qualify for three months of SNAP, possibly enough time to get a new job and a new car, which immediately disqualify you from SNAP, so you go hungry.

    I’m seeing a consistent pattern of “go hungry” as the Trump-ordered outcome in all scenarios here. Fuck these people.

  56. 56.

    Ruckus

    @Chetan Murthy:

    No. Less than. If they have more than 200K miles they are in the $3500-5000 range. Around 150K miles or less and they go for $10k. In CA a car with 150k probably will be 5-7 yrs old and a car with 200k miles will be around 10 yrs old. And most of them aren’t worth the money. But if that’s all you got……

  60. 60.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Now, why won’t foreign brands

    Key word highlighted.  Toyota, Mercedez, Nissan (I’m sure others) make cars in the US.  They make small cars in the US.  And make profits on them.  The problem is that Detroit still can’t figure out how to compete with Toyota.

  65. 65.

    randy khan

    @clay:

     

    The letter is really something.  It calls what the House is doing “the most unjust, highly partisan, and unconstitutional attempt at impeachment in our Nation’s history.”

    Although I guess the last part is right if you consider that it’s tied with all of the other attempts at impeachment, none of which unconstitutional either.

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Elizabelle:

    Duncan Hunter to resign “after the holidays.”  (Presumably Christmas!)

    he’s declared war on Christmas!

    Just hanging on for the bonus?

  68. 68.

    Elizabelle

    And given that Cipollone/Trump demanded the House act quickly, I think Nancy Smash should slow. those. jets. down.

     

    From the FTF NY Times:

     

    “You should end this inquiry now and not waste even more time with additional hearings,” the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, wrote in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York.
     
    “Adopting articles of impeachment would be a reckless abuse of power by House Democrats and would constitute the most unjust, highly partisan and unconstitutional attempt at impeachment in our nation’s history,” he added.

     

    Bill Clinton would like a word about the second paragraph.  It is always projection with these lying weasels.

  70. 70.

    chopper

    they want to make it like disability, you jump through hoops to prove that you should get it and then you get a pittance.

  79. 79.

    trollhattan

    Sportsball programming note (is Amir up?) NCAA Women’s College Soccer cup semifinals coming up: Washington State, the tournament’s surprise team v. N Carolina (4:00 PST) and then the burner, P12 rivals Stanford and UCLA (6:30), arguably the only team with a shot at stopping the ridiculously good Cardinal.

  80. 80.

    Elizabelle

    WRT Hunter’s resignation date:  sounds like the (slightly) later it is, the more the chance that the seat will just remain open until the 2020 election.  With Darryl Issa salivating over a return to Congress, that might not be a bad thing.

     

    LA Times:

     

    With Hunter’s announcement, eyes now turn toward California Gov. Gavin Newsom to decide what to do about Hunter’s soon to be vacant congressional seat.

    Since Hunter’s resignation will come after Friday, Newsom may have the option of leaving the seat vacant until after the November 2020 general election.

     

    He may also have the option of calling for a special election or consolidating a special election with the March primary, if he feels there is sufficient time.

  83. 83.

    chopper

    an amazing thing about rules like this is that they really fuck over white people. i mean, if you’re a brown who lives in queens or something, you might not have a car, you take the bus to the subway cause it’s easier and cheaper. but fuck if you’re a white guy in ‘the heartland’ you need your car to get to work and fuck you if it’s worth more than 2 grand, you’re fucked.

    imagine all these soldier types overseas whose families are on food stamps cause the troops get paid dick, and their wife is back in the states and now their food stamps are gonna be taken away cause they drive a (checks notes) 6 year old civic.

  85. 85.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud:   Yup.  Fuck ’em.

     

    Here’s the full text of the letter.  Starts off with a lie in the opening sentence.

     

    As you know, your impeachment inquiry is completely baseless and has violated basic principles of due process and fundamental fairness. Nevertheless, the Speaker of theHouse yesterday ordered House Democrats to proceed with articles of impeachment before your Committee has heard a single shred of evidence.

     

    House Democrats have wasted enough of America’s time with this charade. You should end this inquiry now and not waste even more time with additional hearings. Adopting articles of impeachment would be a reckless abuse of power by House Democrats, and would constitute the most unjust, highly partisan, and unconstitutional attempt at impeachment in our Nation’s history. Whatever course you choose, as the President has recently stated: “if you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business.”

    Fuckers think they can dictate the terms and timing.

  88. 88.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I own a Forte and I’ve had terrible luck with my tires. I owned it for a year or so and had to replace two tires after both kept leaking. Both had tire wall bulges in them.

     

    A few months later, I had to replace the valve stems. And now the front right, one of the tires replaced this year, seems to have a slow leak again, as I just refilled them a few weeks ago. To be fair, the tires were installed by Sam’s Club and not the dealership, but the original tires came with the vehicle.

  89. 89.

    Martin

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Tell me about it. Cars are so expensive nowadays that younger people are getting priced out. The smaller, cheaper, fuel-efficient cars are beginning to be phased out by automakers in favor of more profitable but more expensive crossovers, SUVs, and trucks

    Generally young people think cars are a shitty value. It’s not that they’re expensive, it’s that the return on that cost is so bad. You spend $x on the car, $y on insurance, $z on maintenance, then gas, parking, etc. only to get stuck in traffic, have trouble finding  parking spaces, etc. And it’ll depreciate value almost as fast as just lighting your money on fire. Other than it gets you to a job, there’s no upside to owning one because on top of everything else, it’s noisy and pollutes. It’s not how you connect with people, it’s not how you get out into the world any longer. It’s just a garbage hole for money. And the housing that they can’t afford could probably be addressed if we weren’t reserving 25% of the zoned land for parking lots.

    EVs are more appealing because you at least get rid of the noisy/polluting aspect. But more appealing are e-bikes, scooters, electric skateboards – anything in that general category of micro-mobility. And mass transit – particularly trains and dedicated bus (bus with a raised ticket platform so embarking isn’t tied up with payment, a flat approach to help passengers, dedicated bus lanes with traffic signals giving the bus priority.)

    In short, cars are fucking everything up and they’re not going along with it. There’s nothing really that Ford and company can really do other than dramatically rethink the role of cars in US society. Going upmarket to appeal to older car buyers is their best option, IMO.

  92. 92.

    PJ

    @Major Major Major Major: WTF?  Biden doesn’t drink, and African Americans are the primary consumers of malt liquor.  What is the author trying to say about Biden and the African American community, that he’s somehow inauthentic?

  93. 93.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    Going upmarket to appeal to older car buyers is their best option, IMO.

    And what happens when all of those older people with money die off?

  94. 94.

    trollhattan

    @Martin:

    Kid was pining for her own car so I sat her down and laid out the expenses of owning and actually driving one. She was unaware (as one would expect) that there was anything beyond fuel to spend money on.

    Just insuring her (and thank bog I’m not writing “him”) is a consequential sum.

  97. 97.

    Marcopolo

    Late to the thread—seems to be a thing w/ me but a shout out for the Bottlerockets, a hometown band from StL.  Hell, I knew Brian when he still did grave digging on the side to earn a few bucks.  Great guy.  Great band.  And F$ck the Trump administration.

     

    He is not going to be re-elected!

  98. 98.

    Martin

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Celebrate?

    I don’t see a great out for any of them. They’re basically nothing but a supply chain and assembly expert with brand value. They outsourced much of their engineering and they’ve long, long given up anything resembling acknowledgement of long term market trends. I give Tesla a little credit for trying harder, but they’re mostly a conventional player now.

    Automakers are too beholden to that $33K price point to accept selling consumers a $3K electric commuter platform, and they fucking burned to the ground all of the technological head start that they could have had by pushing against EV and emissions standards. That they even considered pushing against CAs emissions laws is astounding. Of course they would be punished for that. How could they think otherwise?

    I think they blew it. They missed their window, and now they’re going to be run down by alternatives. We’re buying electric buses from China because nobody in the US has yet figured out how to make a decent fucking electric bus.

  99. 99.

    zhena gogolia

    I usually try to avoid Trump videos, but everyone really needs to watch this one. As one reply says, if the Dem nominee doesn’t use this in every ad, it would be political malpractice.

    Here's Trump saying that he's heard from many people complaining about "flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times." pic.twitter.com/75HXYcH4xq— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 6, 2019

  100. 100.

    Roger Moore

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    And what happens when all of those older people with money die off?

    Then the car companies go out of business.  If your industry is in trouble, it may be better for your shareholders to try to squeeze out as much profit as possible in the short term rather than spending that money on an uncertain possibility of switching to a different business strategy.  That’s capitalism.

  101. 101.

    Roger Moore

    @Martin:

    We’re buying electric buses from China because nobody in the US has yet figured out how to make a decent fucking electric bus.

    This is flat untrue.  My local bus system (Foothill Transit) has one of the largest electric fleets in the country, and they’re all made here in the USA.  So we certainly can make very nice electric buses here, and AFAIK they’re price competitive, too.

     

    ETA: Admittedly, those electric buses are made by Proterra rather than any of the established auto manufacturers, so it’s not as if the big three are showing their chops, here.

  103. 103.

    Ruckus

    @Martin:

    It isn’t that we couldn’t do the work, it’s that no one wants to put up the capital to build the plant. It’s not engineering that’s the issue, it’s spending money. We give 3 billion in tax relief for a ball club to build a new stadium and stay in it for what 5 yrs and cut the tax rate for the people that make the big bucks, so there is no rational to invest in trains or busses. Because those rich fucks like Bloomberg are never going to even think of a train or a bus. It’s a superfluous expenditure for them, it won’t make the kind of money they can make but don’t need and their taxes have to go up to do it. For them it’s an easy lose – lose situation. And that would be if they did invest in manufacturing in the first place, which few of them do – too much capital investment.

  106. 106.

    Ruckus

    @Roger Moore:

    Those are made here? I ride Foothill Transit all the time and I never noticed. Maybe it’s that they don’t use all electric busses on the route I take. All natural gas diesel is what I ride on. I’ve seen them from the outside though. I do know that all the metro trains are foreign made, I think the metrolink trains are made here. The new amtrack locomotives I’m not sure of. They are nice and quiet – for a locomotive.

  109. 109.

    My Side of Town

    Good old cars. I have to credit my late wife with being the best at selecting them. In 2005 she insisted on buying a 1995 Lincoln Town Car for $6000 with 67,000 miles. I thought she was paying too much. Almost 20 years later I drive it daily, but now at 161,000 miles. My insurance is $272 per year. It still gets 22 mpg and is the best ride in a vehicle I’ve ever owned.

    Sure, It’s had its issues, like alternator, air shocks, tires, EGA valve sensor, window switches, and shopping carts banging into the side due to the wind. But it’s still a solid car and you can buy them these days for $2000. I love my car and wish my wife were still around to love it too.

  111. 111.

    Jager

    @Chetan Murthy:

     

    One of my friends is a car dealer, he says the problem is what the industry calls PGCs, pretty good cars. A bunch of the cars the American manufacturers are dumping are “pretty good” and can’t break Toyota and Honda’s grip on the small car market.

  117. 117.

    Ruckus

    @Jager:

    Honda and Toyota started making better cars before the US manufactures did, because making them better would have cost a lot of investment, both in design and in production. The US mfg had been doing things a certain way for a long time and Honda/Toyota hadn’t invested all that much over the years. It has cost the US mfg to catch up, but they have. Their reputations didn’t really do that, so a lot of people stick with Honda/Toyota. I’ve owned both and had problems with both, but I feel like the exception, knowing others who didn’t.

    IOW it was a lack of investment and a lack of understanding that people had a choice. And made that choice.

  118. 118.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Duane: No I didn’t. :)

     

    He hasn’t been a sucker of the Kremlin’s ass for his entire life.  It could be argued he’s been a mobster for life by birth.  (Looking at you, Fred.) And what baby has the upper brain function to be a conman?

     

    As for being a lifelong shitpile, completely possible.

  120. 120.

    My Side of Town

    @My Side of Town: Funny story.  I was driving north on South Florida Ave when an identical Lincoln pulled up next to me at a stop light. We both rolled down our windows and he said, “how many miles?” I told him and he said “I got 250,000 on mine, do you want to sell yours?” I did a quick calculation and said “Hell no” thinking 90,000 miles is fifteen more years with this incredible machine. So I’m 72 and my wish is this is my last car. Maybe it will come true.

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