Well, that sucks mightily.

As for a vehicle, I have friends who swear by Subarus, either the Forester or the Outback, which might be in your financial wheelhouse.

There are cases where federal courts have gotten involved in these kinds of ugly election disputes (think Roe v. Alabama, Bush v. Gore).

Thanks, Gratuitious. Subarus are definitely on my radar, but new they are a stretch, and used… well around here no one sells them until they are worn out beaters. That said if the New Subaru WRX fairy drops the keys in my hand, I would be very happy.

My first car was a 1992 Subaru I inherited from my Mom, and it lasted until 2006 when I crashed it in a parking space (don’t ask). She’d probably still be running if I took better care of her, but I didn’t know then.

Honda CR-V is the ticket – awd, and decent mpg compared to Subaru. Low finance charges and good resale value, comfy, too. We have a 2004 – and a 2013.

I was going to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my Yank buddies but there just isn’t that much for you to be thankful about right now, is there?
Helmut, sorry about your di***ce; they are always painful even when necessary. Hugs to you and I hope you find a cheap, good car.
To the rest of youse, well, at least we have each other-be thankful, OK?

Happy Thankstaking day! May you all enjoy the brief respite from the day to day, and enjoy the people with whom you choose to congregate.

Sending positivity in Helmut’s direction, love you buddy…

Peace!
.

Happy T-day, all. First, I talk to our resident montoreme (who STILL won’t say whether he’s a platypus or an echidna) about his difficulty, then food porn.

Search inexpensive four wheel drive vehicles. Go to the kbb.com (Kelly Blue Book) link for “10 best … under $25k. I semi-randomly picked a MN zip code in St. Cloud. First up,

2016 Honda HR-V
The Fair Market Range for this car in your area is $19,472 – $20,111.

9.4 consumer rating. Hard to wrong with a Honda. I went only so far as to see that the Hyundai Tuscon and Mazda CX-5 were the next vehicles.

My very untraditional, traditional, T-day feast.

The heritage breed, free range, turkey has been dry brining overnight. It will be disassembled and “reassembled” a la Julia Child. The removed legs get their thigh bones removed. Then “stuffed” with a splot of butter, salt and pepper, some sage chiffonade, then trussed.

The back bone, wings, and all the rest goes into the oven to roast until dark brown. The last 20 minutes or so of roasting adds a quartered onion and coarsely chopped carrot. The roasted stuff is the base for a lovely brown turkey stock which is in turn the base for the bestest damn turkey gravy evah!

Cubed, somewhat dense, white sandwich bread (I just bought a Pep Farm loaf, it’s fine for the purpose) gets dried in the oven. Sauteed onion, celery, garlic (in brown butter of course), sliced/chopped mushrooms (button work perfectly well – save the expensive ones for the green bean casserole), minced sage, chix stock, coarsely chopped chestnuts, and the usual eggs s&p and so on, makes the “stuffing.” I make a LOT of “stuffing.”

Soak dried shrooms – I have porcinis on hand so that’s what I’ll use, saving the dried morels I have for another use – in hot water. Saute some shallots and leek (white part only), garlic, in BUTTER, until soft, add sliced shiitake shrooms, and cook a bit more. Add the carefully decanted shroom soaking liquor and the porcinis after chopping them medium fine. A glug of dry sherry. Reduce greatly then add cream and season. Mix blanched green beans with the shroom sauce, top with homemade crispy fried shallots, bake.

Teh Ho made the cranberry / orange / apple relish last evening.

Mashed potatoes with an Imperial fucktonne of BUTTER and two heads of roasted garlic.

Sweet potatoes with pecan streusel. Fuck that marshmallow shit – there’s such a thing as too damn sweet.

And just to throw a wrench into the works, coconut lemon cheesecake with macadamia crust.

Aaaaaand …

Teh Ho just got a call from his sister. The nursing home expects his dad to die today. He has advanced Alzheimer’s, incapable of caring for himself at all. Teh Ho’s mother hasn’t been coping well at all since the onset some years ago, less well the worse he got, and barely at all in the last few months of his rapid decline. So we will hopefully have something to be thankful for today, and so should the rest of the family though they may be less inclined to see it that way.

On a personal note, I’m thankful for this little community of ours. (I’ll be more thankful if fake Gary shuts the fuck up and if the troll(s) fail to return)

Oops – I was thinking you were in MN. Oh well.

Jeebus jumping Christ, Pups, that food porn was the most erotic since whenever. The saliva is running in my mouth like a waterfall. I WANT THAT FOOD. Bad.
DHL deliver to SAfrica, Did you know that?

Happy Thanksgiving, all. I had lunch with Major Kong at the venerable Wo Hop in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Unfortunately, I had to get to work at 3PM, so it was a quick visit, but we had a nice conversation as always.

Think Richard Nixon: they’ll be deep inside a bunker mentality.

Come to Oregon and get a Subaru Impreza. They have some recent (2015) years for about $22K. I expect you’d have to pay sales tax in your state, plus licensing, but it might be worth it to you.

http://www.carrsubaru.com/certified/Subaru/2015-Subaru-Impreza-for-sale-near-Portland-OR-690cf0520a0e0a175837ce584c04abf4.htm?searchDepth=4:5

Helmut, sorry to hear that. I know way too much about Subarus. Let me know if you have specific questions (I think you have my email address). Known (and unfortunately all-too-common) problem areas on used ones are head gaskets and wheel bearings. Unless you’re willing and able to do the work yourself, both of those are stupid expensive. They’re easy cars to work on, but parts are comparatively expensive. There’s a huge aftermarket now though.

The automatic transmission and manual transmission use very different AWD systems, so you may have a preference one way or another. The manual trans ones (other than the STi, which is magical) have viscous couplings in the “center diff” that distribute power evenly 50/50 front-rear until wheel slip occurs, then it locks the diff. The automatics/CVT are computerized and are essentially 90/10 front-rear power split in normal driving, and control traction differently when it gets slick.

The WRX and STi are amazing, but the regular base Impreza is pretty fun, and will get you anywhere you want to go when it gets slippery. MSRP on the base-model Impreza is $18,395. The Legacy and Outback are nicer, but you’ll pay for it.

Main thing to keep in mind about used ones is:

1) Damn near every used WRX has been beat to shit.
2) Demand service records.
3) ???
4) Profit! Wait, I mean good luck.

Vanagon synchro.

This means the end of Christianity in Indianapolis.

Isn’t that real scary, boys and girls?

Yes, Frank, it is embarrassing that you’d post that link without realizing anyone could (in order) mouse over it, see that it points to Breitbart, and decide to get a second opinion.

Austin is not talking to ghosts, he was just responding to some trolls that I have decided were cluttering up the thread.

Also, now I am leaning towards a Jeep Wrangler, because I can get a base model for 10k less than a new WRX at the trim level that I really want. Jeeps hold their value really well, so I can sell it in a few years and then get a new WRX.

OBS- thanks for the feedback on Subarus. I have decided that the ones I can afford will mostly remind me of the WRX that I can’t. If they still made a WRX wagon, I would just swallow those doubts and get a second job because, there’s too much concentrated awesome there for me to resist. You have confirmed what I suspected about used WRX’s. They are rarer than a *thing which is stereotypically rare* and the ones I do see show signs of hard use.

Buy a used Honda Accord and get your thrills in other places. Great in the snow and cheap on repair bills.

Top Ten Cars for Smart People

Ah, I had a 900 SS a ’91 for many years. Full fairing. A wonderful bike.

One of mine is the 2007 version of that bike, the Sport 1000s Biposto. I only have the half fairing on mine, but despite the retro styling, the concept is the same: air cooled sport bike. Of course the retro styling holds it back with the heavy as heck spoked wheels, ghastly (well, not good anyway) tires and inner tubes.

The only satisfying thing about the 2016 election— the astonished look on the rubes’ faces as the ol’ chickens begin coming home to roost…

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/29/1605167/-Morons-who-voted-for-Republicans-now-worry-they-will-take-away-their-health-care-as-promised?detail=email1&link_id=1&can_id=6aed7bf6a14daddc468108720a109a0b&source=email-morons-who-voted-for-republicans-now-worry-they-will-take-away-their-health-careas-promised&email_referrer=morons-who-voted-for-republicans-now-worry-they-will-take-away-their-health-careas-promised&email_subject=morons-who-voted-for-republicans-now-worry-they-will-take-away-their-health-care-as-promised

Having totalled our LS430 Lexus (which was RWD and quite squirrelly in the winter) we recently found an E46 BMW 325xi for $2,500. It was stickered at 5K but the brakes were shot and I knew nobody had completed a test drive. I installed a set of brakes on the front and back for less than $400, and it’s been running great ever since. It’s AWD and had M+S tires installed already, so we are ready for winter. They are readily available, easy to work on, and the reason why there are so many with 140K + miles is that they have very good drivetrains, etc. Good luck, and please write more. I do not share your political beliefs, but enjoy your writing and views.

Have you ever used a front wheel drive car with four snow tires? The results might surprise you. This frees you up for the Accord as mentioned above.

You can’t find a 3 y/o Subaru somewhere in your state using the intertoobs? Have you asked CarMax? Coworker of mine has told me many nice things about dealing with CarMax.

(That’s my very generic advice. Otherwise, I can’t give you any of my own first hand advice, because I’m a freak who drives decades-old cars.)

Have you considered a bicycle?

https://gearjunkie.com/4-wheel-bike-antarctica-van-weelden

Back when I worked at the bigass bike company, I would occasionally bike 25 miles each way to work; in the summer, on days when no rain was forecast. However, there was a combination of bike paths and obvious, rural routes with minimal traffic to take me the whole way. Now, my commute is closer to 28 miles and there are no good routes that aren’t highways or interstates. And oh yes, it’s winter in Wisconsin with accompanying cold and nasty biking weather. Plus, once a week or so I have to pick up and deliver 30-40 lbs of computer equipment, to our remote factory, and we see that biking is really only a good choice for the fitness obsessed. With my luck, I’d suffer heroically for months, and just when the commute turned from heroic ordeal into no big deal, I’d get flattened by a county snowplow truck.

As for a two wheel drive vehicle, I have driven a Jetta for the last three years, and I know for a fact it can’t ascend the driveway of the villa of reduced circumstances in the winter, having attempted and failed on several dozen attempts, that have left me trudging up the driveway in the snow.

So I have decided on a Subaru after hearing one too many horror stories about the legendary* reliability of Jeep Wranglers.

*not legendary as in ‘good’, legendary as in bigfoot or alien abductions.

Subaru’s are great in the snow. Worth every penny.

“[D]espite the lab coats and the official-sounding name, the docs of the AAPS are hardly part of mainstream medical society. Think Glenn Beck with an MD.”

I’ve decided to retire my Fake Gary Ruppert act.

If anyone else wants to carry the torch, you are welcome to.

“Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a night.

Set a man on fire and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.”

I have driven a Jetta for the last three years, and I know for a fact it can’t ascend the driveway of the villa of reduced circumstances in the winter, having attempted and failed on several dozen attempts,

People don’t appreciate the difference really really good tires make. Most “snow tires” are crap. Blizzaks are somewhat better but still wanting. I had Nokian Hakkepeliittas on my (front wheel drive) Passat and they were fucking amazing. I never once, not even in the ridge and valley country of central PA, get stuck. I was amazed at some of the climbs I made in snow, ice, snow + ice.

As far as which monotreme, Since I adoped this username, I have always imagined platypus, but I hate to dispel the mystery of maybe being an echidna instead, because some days I just feel more spiny anteater than duck-billed venomous beaver.

Thanks for the info on the best snow tires, since late unpleasantness has left me Jetta-less, if I find myself needing extra traction I will surely get a set of Nokians for my brand new 2017 Subaru WRX! I got a good deal, and while it was more expensive than the Impreza it was just about even with the Jeep Wrangler, and is probably going to be tons more reliable than a Wrangler would have been.

Whereas President Bush offered America the illusion of morality clarity, President-elect Trump offers an ever-shifting phantasmagoria of sense impressions and unreliable information, barely held together by a fog of anxiety and bewilderment. Think Kafka more than Lord of the Rings.

And they’re about to get their reward — the same reward that, throughout Mr. Trump’s career, has come to everyone who trusted his good intentions. Think Trump University.

Woohoo You got the WRX! Sweet ride. you won’t need to buy those expensive tires. And yeah, it will certainly be more reliable than the Jeep AND better at holding resale value.

I’ve had a WRX for four years now and absolutely love it. Great in the snow.

sigh. I don’t think we will ever reach Peak Wingnut.

Just like the horizon, it will recede from us forever…

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/corey-lewandowski-media-took-what-donald

Wingnuts have politicized (& institutionalized) assholery, & as our sad species has always had assholes, bullies, loons, yada, it may never get much better.

Imagine how angry & hate-filled they’ll be after a couple yrs. of swampTreasury-draining, vouchers, a probably inevitable economic turndown, not enough regression made on social issues, & most undocumented workers still here stealing jobs.

I can’t wait, myself.

I think it was Jon Stuart Mill who said that although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.

Take THAT Wisconsin!

As far as which monotreme, Since I adoped this username, I have always imagined platypus, but I hate to dispel the mystery of maybe being an echidna instead, because some days I just feel more spiny anteater than duck-billed venomous beaver.

Must… resist… urge… to… link… to… alarming… echidna… PENIS!!!

Congrats on the WRX, Helmut. Welcome to the Impreza club (and now go signup for the “virtual” Impreza Club online at http://forums.nasioc.com/ — anything you ever need to know about them is there).

I second the vote for the Nokian Hakkepeliittas. Although not absolutely necessary on the WRX, I put them on both my AWD cars when I moved up into the hills, just for extra insurance. They’re amazing.

Here’s a FACT for ya, Scottie Nell Hughes— Donald J. Trump is a lyin’ liar who tells a whole lotta whoppers.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/scottie-nell-hughes-there-are-no-more-facts

In other news…………………….

Birgitta Jónsdóttir just got an invitation to form Iceland’s next government with her handy-dandy Pirate Party.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Ahoy, motherfuckers.

Garage graffiti, it was indeed John Stuart Mill (Liberal, City and Westminster), in an 1866 debate with John Pakington (Conservative, Droitwich), who clarified a point he’d made in his Considerations on Representative Government:

I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons are generally Conservative. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly think any hon. Gentleman will question it.

Thanks Austin. 🙂

Great quote, Austin, but needs a bit of tweaking to match the 21st century…

I did not mean that conservatives are generally heavily armed lunatics; I meant that heavily armed lunatics are generally conservative. I believe that to be so obvious and deniable a fact that I hardly think any sane person will question it.

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38156985

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38156985

I always thought that quote was backwards (as applied to today, that is). There are a ton of ways to be stupid that don’t involve being conservative. What makes the modern conservative movement remarkable isn’t that it contains stupid people, it’s the extent to which it contains nothing but stupid people. (With caveats for people who either aren’t stupid but are ignorant enough that they think stupid sounds smart, and people who pretend to be stupid for opportunistic purposes).

TL/DR, “I did not mean that stupid people are generally conservative; I meant that conservative people are generally stupid. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly believe any gentleman will question it.”

Fucking Electoral College is a national disgrace…

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hillary-clinton-27-million-lead-popular-vote-donald-trump-cook-report-a7459631.html

It’s not just stupidity. Though gullibility often does go hand in hand with low intelligence, they are distinct traits.

I’m humbled at the discussion here responding to my post of the John Stuart Mill quote.

Thanks everyone.

Conservative: someone who thinks that scientists are a bunch of liars, but that Fox News always tells the truth.

HAHAHAHAHAHA little Franky thinks we’re hurt by that. Yo, frankshit, many of us never wanted Hillary to be president in the first place. The rest of us wanted her due to cpmpetence, not because they idolize her as you do your deplorable bumbling tyrants.

Run along now, surely you have homework to do, or maybe study for your first driving license. Or are you still too young for that?

Frankie Fiveskins is our old, moldy friend Dimmest.

Thanks a lot, Russia.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/9/1609342/-Secret-CIA-assessment-says-Russia-intervened-not-just-to-meddle-but-specifically-to-elect-Trump

doling out power to like-minded friends and associates, loyalists, and — think John F. Kennedy, for instance — possibly family.

Don’t bother arguing with RWNJ’s, because they have their own ‘facts’…

https://egbertowillies.com/2016/12/09/rachel-maddow-poll-trump-voter-reality/

President-elect Trump offers an ever-shifting phantasmagoria of sense impressions and unreliable information, barely held together by a fog of anxiety and bewilderment. Think Kafka more than Lord of the Rings.

the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?

PENIS

President-elect Trump offers an ever-shifting phantasmagoria of sense impressions and unreliable information… barely held together by an aura of fratboy superiority, racism, vulgarity, rage and self-pity.

Think Biff Tannen, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Relly, and George W. Bush

The kind of guy that went to a real expensive Ivy League school and is real proud not to have learned anything from them bigmouth perfessers who think they’re SO SMART…

You know, the kind of rich Republican who exists in a state of extended adolescence for his whole life because Daddy set him up with a job at the family rube-bilking bidness.

Did I forget to mention Rob Ford?

Think Biff Tannen

One of the remarkable things that I noticed about this election cycle is that the Biff Tannen of alternate!1985 was, in fact, modeled on Donald Trump, which is to say that even thirty years ago people already knew basically everything there was to know about what a terrible person Trump was.

The idea of Trump being president was probable as cartoonishly ridiculous in 1985 as… as… well, as Ronald Reagan being president was to Doc Brown in 1955.

After all, one country doesn’t sell arms to or maintain quasi-diplomatic relations with a subdivision (think California) of another nation state.

Indeed, the writers of “Back to the Future” have said so explicitly…

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/21/how-back-to-the-future-predicted-trump.html

So from now on, why don’t we just call him “Biff Tannen”?

This will annoy the shit out of the RWNJ’s.

Daily Reminder:

Not even my mother loved me.

“Donald Trump was interviewing Mitt Romney for secretary of State in order to torture him. To toy with him. And given the history, that’s completely understandable. Mitt Romney crossed a line. He didn’t just oppose Trump, which is his democratic right, he called him a phony and a fraud. And a con man. And that’s not the kind of man you want as Secretary of State.”

Helmut, please get snow tires for that WRX pronto. I’m no longer aware of all automotive traditions, but I’m assuming a performance car like this is less likely to come with all season tires.

Bland AWD Subaru with compromise all season tires: decent in the snow.

Performance tires + awd = better than rwd. I’d rather have fwd with good snow tires. AWD (and ABS) are only about managing the friction you _have._ Tires make the grip.

And winter’s comi… already here!

AWD + 4 snow tires = awesome… and equals you wondering what the hell is wrong with everybody in front of you, why, this 6″ of slush is fine! Get outta mah way, idjits!

I’ve not tried Nokian tires but a friend of mine in CO raves about them.

Am finding this website and the comments endlessly fascinating.

Thank you to Helmut and everyone here who contributes.

Mrs. JP and I are in a very bad way this Christmas season. I’ve made an appeal at Welcome Back to Pottersville for assistance and I’ve also included a special book gift offer for those who chip in beyond a certain amount.

I’d love to help out but in a bit if a jam myself. All the best to you and the Mrs.

Best of luck to you and the Mrs., JP.

So from now on, why don’t we just call him “Biff Tannen”?

Because I think “Eric Cartman” is a slightly, very slightly, better description.

I’d love to see Trump somehow end up face-first in horse manure, though.

Interesting article on Dems and the white working class…

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/12/19/1612755/-We-Need-to-Realize-This-is-a-Zero-Sum-Culture-War