Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

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

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

All hail the time of the bunny!

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

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

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Reader Interactions

149Comments

  5. 5.

    germy

    @debbie:

    I fear so.

    Which is why the cat in my house is strictly a stay at home cat.  The only things she tosses are her toys and sometimes her dinner.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    So stoked.

    New vehicle ordered at the beginning of August. Manufacturer’s tracking site (once an actual date appeared there) first showed an estimated delivery of 2/26. Couple of weeks later that ETA changed to 5/26. A week later the ETA was 5/27.

    Peeked at the site today and it’s now showing vehicle built 2/12, new estimated delivery of 3/22.

  7. 7.

    Emma

    Would be interested to hear from people about the current implosion of women’s figure skating. Well, I say implosion, but it’s very likely the only people really hurt in the end will be the 15-year-old girls, and this year’s 13- and 14-year-olds will be next year’s Tutberidze headliners. I’m so angry. SO ANGRY, and I’m not at all optimistic that there’ll be a Karolyi-style reckoning within the sport.

  10. 10.

    RepubAnon

    @germy: Definitely a “I caught it, you cook it” message from that feline overlord.  A mouse got into my house – one of the cats ignored it – but the other cat is a feral-to-inside kitty, and she promptly dispatched it.  (They’re not my cats – I’m their primate.)

  12. 12.

    Ohio Mom

    It’s been an exhausting day here. Life isn’t living up to Ohio Son’s expectations and his personal resources for dealing with disappointment are scant. I think we have gotten him over his hump but it wore me out.

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Anyway:

    Took an Uber ride yesterday. The vehicle was a Tesla, first one I had ever seen, let alone ridden in. I must say, as a passenger, it was insanely comfortable. And the driver was lyrical in his praise. (Also, I laughed; he took me to a location that sports a dozen charging stations, and said that as soon as he dropped me he was coming back to juice up.)

  18. 18.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @NotMax: oh cool, I want one but I need 4 or All WD, and apparently that’s not available yet with a hybrid.

    As I recall Ford Inc was stunned there was so much demand for a hybrid pick u

    (ETA: The owner of that website FordAuthority etc does not allow hot linking)

  20. 20.

    frosty

    @raven: Somebody in the last thread opined that if CIncy wins it will reset the timeline that went awry when the Cubs won the Series in 2016. Good reason to root for them.

    OTOH I was a SoCal resident for a decade and the Bengals helped knock my Ravens out so go LA!!

  23. 23.

    Caphilldcne

    @germy: I can’t for the life of me figure out what GM means here. General Motors? Also I’d be screaming. Maybe not as bad as a horse head but eeew.

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Yup yup. Their initial expectations were for orders coming in at 60% standard gas engine/40% hybrid. When the dust settled it was more like 65% hybrid/35% standard gas.

    There is an AWD version but only for non-hybrid engine. All 2022 model year orders are closed, orders for ’23s scheduled to open up around mid-August. Whether or not there’s an AWD option on hybrids for ’23 model year remains to be seen.

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @NotMax:

    All 2022 model year orders are closed, orders for ’23s scheduled to open up around mid-August. Whether or not there’s an AWD option on hybrids for ’23 model year remains to be seen.

    Wow, and thanks. You saved me the research.

  28. 28.

    germy

    ME [to my 7 year old daughter]: who do you want to win the Superbowl honey

    DAUGHTER: What a piece of work is man, How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, In form and moving how express and admirable, In action how like an Angel, In apprehension how like a god,

    — Gas, Grass, or Story Mode (2021) no one rides f (@Hegelbon) February 13, 2022

  30. 30.

    Kelly

    @NotMax: A cousin has been driving an AWD one for a few months. Previous truck was an F150. Really likes how nimble his new little truck is.

  31. 31.

    NotMax

    @Anyway

    Not a plug-in EV, it’s a hybrid. EPA estimated 42 mpg in city, 37 highway. People with the hybrid reporting up to 600 miles before needing to visit the gas pump.

  32. 32.

    Emma

    @debbie: Honestly, I stopped being even a casual fan of figure skating back when Medvedeva was the 15-y-o phenom, so I don’t know any of the details leading up to the Olympics. What I do know is that the sport has been trending for some years now toward jumps and more jumps, such that half of every program turned into “music playing while building up enough speed for the next jump.”

    I’m horrified, but unsurprised, by the end result of powerful sports federations treating teenaged girls as disposable, breakable tools to win glory for their coaches and countries. Tutberidze’s quotes from over the years are incredibly disturbing. Completely open about how she abuses them and doesn’t expect any of them to perform well once they hit the later stages of puberty. And then she wins coach of the year from ISU. Gah.

  34. 34.

    germy

    Elon Musk is the perfect billionaire. He grew up rich, got richer by taking government money, and convinced people he’s a genius when he can’t even make a car that doesn’t kill people.

    — Read The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin (@JoshuaPotash) February 11, 2022

    kind of wild how he embodies the entire arc of capitalism from colonial resource-exploitation, through finance & parasitism on the state, and is well on his way to being a Shadowrun villain

    — BeetleBorg, the Scrivener (@i_slamson) February 11, 2022

  36. 36.

    Mike in NC

    Not a football fan, but I recall years ago when we lived in Falls Church, VA that my wife wanted cigarettes, so I drove to the nearest 7-11 on Superbowl Sunday. The roads were deserted and the only other car I spotted was a taxi driven by a man wearing a turban.

  37. 37.

    germy

    Remember the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” guy? Here he is:

    TWO TYPES of PEOPLE: “Sheeple” and “Human Beings.” “Sheeple” are “obedient.” They do as they are told. “Sheeple” are vaccinated, obey mandates & willingly surrender their freedoms. “Human beings” are the Canadian Truckers fighting fascist tyranny. What type of “people” are you?

    — therealkiyosaki (@theRealKiyosaki) February 11, 2022

  39. 39.

    brendancalling

    The Eagles aren’t playing, but I’m still going to go down to my local dive bar and yell at the TV as oversized human collide with each other. And I guess I’m rooting for the Bengals, because they’re the underdog.

    Meal prep for the next couple of days is essentially done. Steak salad and steak/veggie quesadillas. Listening to some John Prine. I really need to get back to running on the regular. It’s been a long time.

  40. 40.

    Steeplejack

    @debbie:

    She’s competing for the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), because Russia got banned due to state-sponsored doping that goes back to Sochi in 2014. Suffice it to say that the ROC is continuing the proud Russian tradition of openly flouting the rules. Story here.

  41. 41.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @germy: Mr Meat Loaf and that cop in WA who was so excited to be a FoxNews celebrity were unavailable for comment.

    Interesting, all the Fox News producers, executives and hosts who turned that cop into a celebrity are available, because….

  42. 42.

    frosty

     

    @Mike in NC: Same story here. While living in College Park I needed to pick something up at Hechinger’s * when Washington was in the Super Bowl. I don’t think I was the *only* customer, but close.

    * that will date the story!

  46. 46.

    Emma

    @Steeplejack: I hate the “ROC” designation so much, because I keep thinking that Taiwan suddenly got internationally competitive at figure skating, gymnastics, etc. XD

  47. 47.

    Steeplejack

    @Mike in NC:

    I made a quick run to the state liquor store (in Falls Church) this afternoon, and it was empty—very unusual. And car traffic in the ’hood seemed lighter than usual.​

  49. 49.

    Gin & Tonic

    Found out that there’s a Wordle clone in Ukrainian. At least the NYT will keep their mitts off this one.

  55. 55.

    Starfish

    @Emma: Is this about Eteri Tutberidze or something else? Explain these things to me slowly because I know nothing about the Olympics. I am just watching Courtney Milan on Twitter talking about how Tutberidzes tactic to creating ice skating champions is to starve them and delay puberty for as long as humanly possible. There is also some doping scandal right now too?

  59. 59.

    Faithful Lurker

    @NotMax: We ordered  a Maverick in early August, too. We can’t get any information from the dealer about possible delivery.

    How did you access the Manufacturer’s tracking info? We’d really like to have some idea when or if the truck will arrive.

    Thanks.

  62. 62.

    Emma

    @Starfish: yes, I too got started on this round of ISU/Eteri/ROC bashing due to Courtney Milan’s tweets lol. This is also a handy video that charts the progression of wunderkinds that Eteri has broken over the years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqtHSvkPWPk&ab_channel=Fran  Yulia Lipnitskaya, remember her? My god, she should still be skating competitively, rather than retiring due to injuries at what, 16

    Edit: the doping is tied into the abuse. Don’t know what drug cocktail Valieva and the others were given, but part of it is trimetadizine, which enables people to train for longer periods of time than normal. And Tutberidze is coaching literal children, like 6-year-olds. Who fucking knows how many others she’s drugged up.

  64. 64.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    Ah, a fresh open thread, and my joy in writing is now down to tight text.

    IDEA:

    I wish I hadn’t been writing other stuff, because I’ve got a bit I’m working on about how morally *AMAZING* Black people are, in America. Today, they still demand justice. Oh, they’ll talk hundreds of years of back pay, building wealth that never earned them more than the lash. But they aren’t ready to burn down buildings. No, not even those who think Black lives actually, you know, *matter*. Just the right to have their votes taken, and tallied, in a fair manner. One where they can represent their interests.

    Would whites be as good? We know the fricassee well what the answer to that question, and it can be summed up in one word: Apartheid. No, wait, don’t help me, don’t help me RECONSTRUCTION.

    They are just so *similar*, see? My disabilities can cause me to briefly confuse two words during a minor flare. And, yes, they were. Unless Apartheid was much, much worse than I imagined, or, obviously, maybe not quite *as* bad. Reconstruction was the construction of a brand new system of oppression, and the reconstruction of the attitudes that Black lives *did not* matter.

    NOW do you see why I get angry?

    (Not joking about the flares. I don’t think I’m Apartheid-aware enough yet, to have actually made the mistake. Please be generous in your reading and attempts to guess what I probably mean – until today, in always hurt to type, you see. Still not easy. conserving words. But I am just awake enough.

    Now, I’m awake-for-today, maybe, eyes open, mind clear. Oh yeah.

    And now, I am righteously angry. )

  65. 65.

    mali muso

    @Emma: After watching the 92 Albertville Olympics at age 9, I was obsessed with figure skating and followed it religiously for more than a decade.  After the judging scandal and the changes in the scoring, I never really “got” the new system.  Not that I disagree that changes were needed, but it seems to have stacked the deck in favor of jumping alone.

    What is happening in the women’s (girls) event looks like straight up abuse, imo.  ETA: Also tuned back into this by way of Courtney Milan’s twitter.

    Thread: Eteri Tutberidze and the team at Sambo 70 have a long and horrifying history of disregarding skater health, diminishing serious injuries, and forcing injured teenage athletes into premature retirement. All of this has been enabled by the ISU, judges, and commentators. 1/x
    — ???? ? (@mossyzinc) February 11, 2022

  66. 66.

    Starfish

    @germy: That guy has been sketchy for years. His how to get rich advice in the book was sketchy, and he was affiliated with Amway. In other words, his entire career has been scamming the rubes, so I am not sure that I would expect anything different here.

  68. 68.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Wait a minute, I thought The Bangles were playing at the Super Bowl — where’s Susanna Hoffs?

  70. 70.

    Benw

    @Ohio Mom: sending good thoughts your way. The beginning of Covid was very hard on our oldest, and it’s exhausting to be one teen’s support system

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    @Faithful Lurker

    Yeah, my dealer makes the Sphinx look chatty. Also I’m among the 40% with orders who receive no e-mails whatsoever from Ford.

    Call their customer service line: 1-800 334-4375. Wait times vary but in my experience not too long. Person on the other end should be able to check your order and, if you don’t already have them, provide your order number and a VIN if one has already been assigned.

    Once you have those two numbers in hand you can visit Ford’s tracking site and plug in the data there.

    Note: the tracking site apparently at random has its up and down times so if you do encounter glitchiness there follow the ol’ Magic 8-ball’s advice to Try Again Later.

  77. 77.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: So you run on gas and while you’re driving it charges up the electric side?  So the only way to charge it is to drive with  gas?

    Total novice about this stuff, obviously.

    edit: Very good-looking truck, and I love the color.  Question: is there a photo of that model next to a F-150 so someone like me can get a sense of the size of your new one?

  78. 78.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @frosty: The cubs win was 2017.  I only know that because the night they clinched, I was in an ER getting a piece of stuck chicken removed from my esophagus, and the game was on the tv’s in the hospital.

  79. 79.

    Steeplejack

    @Starfish:

    I can’t find the link now, but I’m recapitulating from a long, informed Twitter thread.

    Eteri Tutberidze figured out how to game the current scoring system, which offers bonus points for nailing hard leaps—which apparently are easier for lighter, less “developed” girl skaters to do. Side effects include more injuries and earlier burnout of the athletes. But, hey, success at all costs.

  81. 81.

    Mike E

    @brendancalling: I had to work one SB Sunday when I was an usher at a concert… our front of house mgr put the game on a couple of the lobby monitors, it was Eli’s 2nd win over Brady.

    At this point in SB LII they racked up well over 100 yards iirc, heh.

  82. 82.

    NotMax

    @Sure Lurkalot

    Same as in the pix at #29 above. Ford calls it Area 51, I prefer to call it Smoky Blue. Can vary in appearance, lighter or darker depending on the light outside.

  84. 84.

    Anyway

    @brendancalling:

    Go Iggles!

    I like the game-to-hype ratio of the divisional finals (not sure i have the name right) and conference finals and watch those two weekends. But I am over it all by the time SB rolls around and cannot stand the hype and usually pass on SB.

    The gambling/casino/crypto ads make me stabby and looks like they’ll be the bulk of the ads this year.

  86. 86.

    Faithful Lurker

    @NotMax: Thanks for the information. I think we have an order # stashed somewhere but I’ll call the customer service number tomorrow. We ordered the bright blue one. We live in far western Washington state and I couldn’t stand the idea of more grey or even dark dull blue. Which one did you order

    edit: I should have waited to see for your answer about the color. I wish Ford had made a green one. I had a dark green Ford 150 at one point in my life..I loved that truck.

  87. 87.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Felt like I was getting a sinus infection yesterday (something I’m very familiar with) and had a really shitty night’s sleep.  This morning I started coughing so, PCR test this morning, should get results tomorrow.  J&J + Moderna boost, so shouldn’t be a big deal, but I’ll still be pissed if I get Covid after 2 years of being super-careful.  Wife also has symptoms but hers are very mild.  Mine are about the level of a moderate-to-bad cold.  Stuffy/runny nose, tired and a bit of a cough (but nowhere near the level of bronchitis).

  90. 90.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Baud: Weird, I totally thought that wasn’t 2016 (only because 2016 we went to Vietnam, Yosemite and New England all in same year, plus The ELECTION so very memorable year).  Guess I’m getting old.

  93. 93.

    Steeplejack

    @mali muso:

    Thanks. That Vox article does cover it very well:

    Tutberidze’s stars took advantage of the scoring system, which favors risky jumps over safely executed, if less ambitious, tricks. In the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, gold medalist Alina Zagitova stacked all her jumps in the second half of her free skate to cash in on a 10 percent bonus, a rule that’s since been changed and limited to three jumping passes in the second half.

    Tutberidze’s current crop of students—Valieva, Alexandra Trusova, and Anna Shcherbakova—all are able to hit quads with positive grade of execution scores, which amount to bonus points given when skaters can perform their tricks. They’re among the only women in the world who can hit quads at all, and Valieva and Trusova have jumps that rival those of some of the best male skaters.

    Thanks to the scoring system, even when Tutberidze’s protégés don’t skate cleanly, they’re racking up points. When they do hit cleanly, it’s a blowout.

  94. 94.

    Mike E

    And we have our first pool winner! Owner of the OBJ raffle, come claim yer prize (& don’t forget to tip the party host!)

  95. 95.

    Emma

    @Starfish: right???!!! And yeah, I love Donovan Carrillo too :)

    @WaterGirl: Physical and mental abuse is a longstanding problem in women’s (basically girls’, now) figure skating, but long story short, with 15-y-o Kamila Valieva testing positive for drugs (I believe she’s still undergoing her hearing), everyone is finally taking a closer look at the ISU’s favorite coach, Eteri Tutberidze, and the way she openly abuses her charges, in addition to the shitty, injurious techniques she teaches them in order to do (very generously graded) quads. Another of her students, Anna Shcherbakova, was seen yesterday “attempting tens [!!!] of quads in practice and falling on a heavily taped ankle + equally taped neck.” https://twitter.com/Fran_klymydear/status/1492821416198217735?s=20&t=gGAGIOdEUWTEk9zvrfEwkw

  99. 99.

    Brachiator

    Good Super Bowl game. The commercial with Governor Arnie was corny, but fun.

    Didn’t the US just suspend avocado imports from Mexico? Oops.

  102. 102.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Since it’s an OT: Do you guys think the stock market is in a “superbubble” like Jeremy Grantham seems to think?

    Grantham on The Long View: Everything You Need to Know About the U.S. Stock Market ‘Super Bubble’

    He blames the Fed, here:

    Well, I would say, if anything looks alive and well about market inefficiency, it’s the macro level of the market. Because we are meant to have a 3-sigma bubble every 100 years in an efficient market that occasionally by sheer randomness wanders off to 3-sigma. And we had one in 2000, and we had a 3-sigma housing bubble in 2007, and we have a 3-sigma equity bubble again. Now, this is abnormally calm. And a 3-sigma event is a major, major event, but the stock markets are at least (indiscernible). And then, you go under trend in the right conditions. All the great bubbles used to go under trend until the Greenspan era. Greenspan made moral hazards such a pronounced feature of Fed management that he has somewhat changed the dynamics and his successors completely followed that policy. So, they believe that you should bail out any stock market decline, but a bubble should be ignored. And in fact, they, from time to time, all for them, have expressed doubt as to whether bubbles actually exist as a phenomenon.

    So, markets break, they come and help you; markets bubble, they ignore it, and you’re on your own. It’s a wonderful asymmetrical moral hazard, and it results in the formation, not an accident at all, of these three great 2-sigma events in 25 years. And the first one, the 2000 tech bubble burst with wretched effect. And then, we had a nasty recession, the housing and the stock market go in 2008, which was twice as bad and would have been a depression for not just the Fed, but for massive then unprecedented government stimulus. And here we are in the third one. These are dangerous things. I don’t know what the Fed thinks it’s doing. Well, I actually know what the Fed thinks it’s doing. The Fed does not worry its pretty little head about the downside of asset bubbles breaking or the risk involved in asset bubbles forming. It spends its time worrying about other things. And we pay a very high price for an unstable asset system and an occasionally destabilized economy.

    I’m not just concerned about potential investments for myself to be clear, but also what this could mean for the overall economy if there’s a crash in the near future and hence Democrats’ electoral fortunes for the midterms. We’re already facing an uphill battle as it is

  103. 103.

    WaterGirl

    @Emma: Ouch.  Yikes.  The Olympics seem to be filled with corruption at every level.  The antithesis of what they were when they began long, long ago.

    Maybe we can shoot the Olympic committee into the sun along with the worst Republican politicians.

  107. 107.

    NotMax

    @Faithful Lurker

    Had a similar in hue bright blue Chevy Astro van for many years. Wanted to continue with blue but also was primed for a change. And yeah, British racing green or a deep Hunter green would have been VERY tempting.

    ;)

  108. 108.

    tom

    @NotMax: Nice! I definitely have my eye on one of those. A pickup would come in very handy, but I don’t need one of those monstrosities that you a stepladder to get into and wingman to guide you into a parking space.

  110. 110.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Mike in NC: several years ago I took a defensive driving class for a traffic ticket I got. Unbeknownst to me when I scheduled the class it was Super Bowl Sunday. The instructor just wanted to hurry up and get over and done with the class. He had the class vote on whether they wanted to skip all breaks and get out early. I think the normal class is 4 hours or so. We were out of there in a little over an hour. He did zip through a bunch of stuff and didn’t do the time eating stuff they usually do in those classes(like making everybody introduce themselves and talk about their individual tickets) but I am pretty sure it wouldn’t have passed some state regs.

  111. 111.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    Maybe somebody should put up a dedicated Super Bowl thread that people can join or avoid as they wish? Game, ads, halftime show, etc.

  115. 115.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @frosty: All right by me as I’m silly stuck on silver cars.

    Were you the one who posted that your kid is ailing while you’re traveling? Hoping that all is well.

  118. 118.

    laura

    @Benw: The Roadie Brothers just can’t say enough what a great guy Myles Kennedy is, a work horse always ready willing and able.

    On a personal note, I have slept so much more soundly since Amir Khalid is back and bringing his Covid report. This place is chock a block with swell individuals, but it just wasn’t the same without him.

  119. 119.

    WaterGirl

    Okay, so Medium Cool just went up and Steep suggested a Superbowl thread, so you guys now have 3 posts to choose from:  Open Thread, Medium Cool, and Superbowl/Puppy Bowl/Million-Dollar-Ad Bowl.

    Knock yourselves out!  :-)

  121. 121.

    lowtechcyclist

    @frosty:

    While living in College Park I needed to pick something up at Hechinger’s * when Washington was in the Super Bowl. I don’t think I was the *only* customer, but close.

    * that will date the story!

    Boy howdy, does it ever!

    Dates you too, since you’re in it, presumably as an adult.  And me too, since I know what the hell you’re talking about!

  122. 122.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: i wonder if auto manufacturers assume that truck owners only want huge trucks with gas guzzling V8s. I am not even sure 4 cylinder trucks are made anymore but there aren’t even many v6s being made anymore. To me a Chevy Colorado looks like the old Silverado 1500s not the S10s which i thought it was replacing.

  125. 125.

    UncleEbeneezer

     

    @frosty: You’re right.  What’s crazy is that that Cubs night I spent in ER and 2016 Election were two of the most traumatic nights of my life, but for some reason I totally don’t remember them being only a few days apart.

  127. 127.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Steeplejack: somebody on one of the first threads from when he came back reminded all that there’s a thing such as privacy in medical issues so to not bother Amir with questions. I think  people have pretty much gone along with that.

  128. 128.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @frosty: I read about Martin’s son, I hope all is going well with him. Still I thought there was another similar situation.

  130. 130.

    Matt McIrvin

    @WaterGirl: Hybrids that aren’t plug-ins are, functionally, gasoline-powered cars. But the battery and electric motor can be used to make them run much more efficiently, in several ways.

    Typically, they can charge the battery in one of two ways. There’s a “hybrid starter/generator” that can charge the battery from the engine (much like a regular car’s 12V battery). But the most important way they do it is by using the main electric motor as a generator, to charge the battery from the car’s kinetic energy when you brake. In a conventional car, that energy is just lost heating up and wearing down the brake pads. In a hybrid or an electric, a lot of it is recovered and can be reused.

    The energy in the battery typically is used to propel the car at low speeds when you first start it up. And it can also assist with torque while the car is accelerating, and help spin the engine up and down. All this means the internal combustion engine can be smaller and runs more in the speed regime where it’s most efficient.

    If the car is running at constant speed on a level highway, it’s basically acting like a conventional car. But as soon as the speed or power demands start to vary, these additional efficiencies kick in relative to a conventional transmission.

    In most hybrids, the battery is a lot smaller in capacity than in an electric car, but far larger than a conventional car’s. The car can’t run entirely off of it for very far, but it can propel the car in these specialized ways to bring up the fuel efficiency.

  132. 132.

    Emma

    @debbie: yup! And I don’t know if the Karolyis ever publicly insulted their students, but there are just crazy “gems” from Eteri’s interviews like “Zhenya [Evgenia Medvedeva] began to deliberately not control her weight [i.e. not starve and dehydrate herself], started to under-rotate and from that she got a stress fracture. Under the circumstances, we did everything we could.” She also called Alina Zagitova “lazy” and other crap like that. As Watergirl says, a lot of people need to be shot into the sun.

  133. 133.

    Vickie Feminist

    Book’s concerns about the current economy  and the Fed overheating it is addressed by my nephew in his new book, The Lords of Easy Money.  While the Forbes review grumbled, others in the know say he’s raising good points.

  134. 134.

    Matt McIrvin

    @WaterGirl: I learned a lot of this stuff when I got my brand-new hybrid Sonata, which has now been smashed in by a Ford F150 and is in the shop endlessly waiting for busted global supply chains to squeeze out replacement parts.

    (No injuries, fortunately, but it was infuriating getting this cool new car and effectively losing it a few months later.)

  138. 138.

    Another Scott

    @Mai Naem mobile: Honda resisted putting V8s in their (US) cars and trucks, arguing that V6s were good enough. They made motorcycles and F1 cars that were amazing (like engines with eliptical pistons) so it wasn’t that they didn’t have the capability. :-)

    Honda really should have beaten Ford to the punch with a hybrid Ridgeline pickup. Kudos to Ford.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  141. 141.

    Miss Bianca

    @Matt McIrvin: Oooh, God, I feel your pain. My sympathies.

    I flipped my awesome little Honda Civic Hybrid on some black ice about ten years ago and the times being what they were, the insurance company totalled it. Now, they probably wouldn’t, but I’d be facing the “months in the shop” situation that you are.

    I loved that car. Adore hybrids. I’ll never be able to afford another, alas.

  144. 144.

    Starfish

    @debbie: I watched the long video that Emma shared and read the comments. The calorie restrictions put on these kids delays puberty, causing amenorrhea. The amenorrhea contributes to bone weakness (keeps them light, so they can do crazy jumps.) They end up breaking bones, the bone injuries and other bone weakness contribute to osteoporosis.

    The skills that they are getting the most points for are over-rotations (rotations greater than 180 before they fully leave the ground) that are not safe for the body, and a lot of these girls are having career ending back injuries at 15-17.

    Then they are being called uncommitted, fat and lazy for drinking water, going through puberty, etc.

    Some of them end up in eating disorder clinics.

  147. 147.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Another Scott: i forgot about the Ridgeline and you’re right the Ridgeline looks like they should be able to develoa hybrid version. Nissan is supposed to have one out later this year which was delayed.

  149. 149.

    Steeplejack

    @Miss Bianca:

    AP story:

    Avocado exports are the latest victim of the drug cartel turf battles and extortion of avocado growers in the western state of Michoacan, the only state in Mexico fully authorized to export to the U.S. market.

    The U.S. government suspended all imports of Mexican avocados “until further notice” after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threatening message, Mexico’s Agriculture Department said in a statement.

    “U.S. health authorities [. . .] made the decision after one of their officials, who was carrying out inspections in Uruapan, Michoacan, received a threatening message on his official cell phone,” the department wrote.

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