So I responded, "Need another jump - Get Rush Limbaugh to do it"

[Vinnie From Indy]

I was out and about today trying to consume as little as possible in the way of Chinese made crap and gasoline when I was approached in my local market parking lot by a man in his fifties. He asked me if I had jumper cables because his car would not start. I replied that I did and then I looked at his car across the parking aisle and noticed it was covered with right-wing bumper stickers. One I made out immediately was "Rush is Right". I kind of chuckled to myself and began putting my groceries in the back of my truck. After finishing that task, I got my cables out and pulled my truck up to give him a jump. I hooked up his battery to mine and we got his car started. I could not resist asking him why he liked Rush. He began to tell me that Rush was honest and that Liberals were destroying America etc. I offered that Rush was simply lying to him. I also asked the man if he routinely got his political information from a junkie and thrice divorced, draft dodger. That was the spark that lit this man's flame. He went a bit nuts and began screaming at me as I got back in my truck that I was an asshole etc. Needless to say, I was a bit regretful about giving this guy a jumpstart. I began laughing at him and he stormed off and got in his car. There must be a God because as soon as this guy took it out of park and hit the accelerator it died. I got into my truck and slowly rolled by and said, "need another jump - get Rush Limbaugh to do it, you can call him at 1 800 DUMBASS." Then I drove away with a smile on my face.

Cheers!

[Terra Alta]

1. was probably a teabagger

I wouldn't have given him a jump to begin with -- people like that are selfish and not willing to help out others so why should I help them out?

[Contrary1]

2. Ok, I just gotta ask...

Which store was it, and will you be there again next Saturday? I would love to see a rerun on what you just described.

[Johnyawl]

3. I was leaving Vegas last Tuesday...

...and as I got into the cab at the hotel, there was Rush on the radio, spouting his bullshit. I asked the driver, "Would you please change the channel, I don't want to listen to that lying sack of shit all the way to the airport", he gave a very exasperated sigh, and changed the channel. Needless to say, he did not get a tip.

What I just don't understand, the driver was a brown, middle eastern (by the name on his license), and almost certainly an immigrant. What the fuck was he doing listening to Rush? Doesn't he understand how Rush and his followers feel about his type?

[Bunny]

10. Why no tip?

You asked him to change the channel, he did. So you stiffed him anyway? :shrug:

[Luminous Animal]

15. Yes. The guy did what he asked and he stiffed him anyway. Bad form. And assholish to boot.

[rhett o rick]

21. Giving you the benefit of the doubt I am assuming that is a rhetorical question.

The question would apply to all the gullibles. Dont they know their leaders are "taking the for a ride"? In a word, "fuckno".

I suggest you read "The Authoritarians" by Bob Altemeyer. It's free on the internetz.

[bahrbearian]

4. Good Karma

[Trajan]

5. Oh fuck ....

That is the funniest thing I have heard in weeks ....

GREAT line -> "need another jump - get Rush Limbaugh to do it, you can call him at 1 800 DUMBASS."

Oh fuck I am freekin rollin .... I wish I had said that ! ....

You made my day, Vinnie ....

[KittyWampus]

6. OR- you could have stopped to jump him again and said "this is what liberals do, help other people".

[Scuba]

17. Bingo.

[Zax2me]

7. I've given jumps to people like that before

Hard not to where I live. My friends dad drove a piece of junk, right wing as they come. I helped jump his truck off several times through the years.
I was never a 'zing a guy' then drive off smiling type of person.
Doesn't do it for me. I always looked at it as something a jerk right winger would do. And they do, trust me. They hate my bumper stickers and have let me know it on several occassions. But the stickers are worth the smiles and thumbs up I get. Look foward to those honks and smiles to and from work.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

8. If I had been in your place, as soon as I saw his bumper stickers I have

told him to pull himself up by his own damn bootstraps and stop sucking off the tit of the generosity of others.

I've fucking had it with these ignorant sociopaths.

The other day, I was having my oil changed. I was sitting in the waiting room and out of the blue, the guy behind the counter said he wanted to see Obama's birth certificate. I looked straight at him and said I want to see Sarah Palins kid's birth certificate. After the asshole picked his jaw up off the floor he shut the fuck up. I simply will not suffer these fools any longer.

Guess who will never change my oil again? I don't understand why these teabaggers simply assume that everyone else agrees with them but I am starting to get militant about it. If a business has ANY indication that it is run by teabaggers, I will not do business with them.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. I agree whole heartedly.

They can bite my ass from now on.

[proud patriot]

14. lol fucking A

:thumbsup:

[Last_Stand]

16. " I've fucking had it with these ignorant sociopaths." < THIS

Generally I try to help strangers as much as I can, but the ugliness and ignorance coming from some people these days is starting to wear on me.

[MadMaddie]

29. It's not only that the Teabaggers think everyone agrees with

them, they think we are going to continue to let them spout their bullshit without challanging them.

Same here, I don't give my businesses to anyone who is obviously a Teabagger. Let's put their "Free Market" principles to work and show them how it really works.

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Too bad you couldn't have crossed the cables and roasted his electrical system

People like that need a dope slap of sorts now and then.

I hope he had to push his car up hill all the way home.

[nonperson]

23. There is a very good chance you'll fry your own electrical system

Giving anyone a jump with your car's battery connected is a recipe for frying your own electrical system.

The only safe way to jump another vehicle is to disconnect your battery cables before connecting the jumper cables to another vehicle's battery.

This is why I never give anyone a jump. Join AAA or, as the OP said, if you're some right wing a-hole call Rush.

[bongbong]

26. Uh, no

I don't know where you get your car information from, but you're wrong. I should add that in very rare pathological cases, your precaution is warranted, but it would be rare indeed.

The best way to give a jump is with both batteries connected to each car just like normal, in both cars. First, connect the positive terminal of the battery in the running car to the positive terminal of the dead car's battery. Then connect the negative of the cable to the neg terminal of the dead car's battery with the 2nd lead of the jumper cable. Finally, momentarily touch the negative of the jumper cable to the frame of your car to check if it. If there is a large spark, you need to figure out what is wrong with the connections or the dead battery or whatever. Also, if the running car slows down significantly, like more than 200 RPM, you'll have to investigate. If the spark is small or non existent and the revs don't slow down too much, you're in business - firmly connect the negative of the cable to the frame of your car, accelerate your engine to about 2K RPM, and tell the other driver to try starting the dead car.

"Frame" means any stout metal part visible in the engine compartment, like a suspension strut or equivalent.

[Blacksheep214]

28. Since the circuit is not made until

both cables are hooked up, the only reason to do the ground last is because there is metal everywhere and not just the battery. By hooking the ground to metal away from the battery post, any spark would have no chance of lighting any hydrogen from the battery acid.

Otherwise it doesn't matter which gets hooked up first.

[bongbong]

34. yes

You posted one of the reasons that you make the negative connection away from the battery. But the main one is that the current has to be delivered from the alternator, not the battery. Otherwise there is a small chance you can harm cables or overload the good battery.

The hydrogen gas thing is rare. Unless you are in a closed space, the absolute worst case would be a small flame for a fraction of a second. And an improbability you'd have to add to that is an even smaller chance of it somehow igniting gasoline vapors. Vapors that are very rare with a closed combustion system like fuel injection. If the car is ancient or beat up it might have a leaky carburetor and/or leaky fuel line and/or old oil on the engine (which is usually almost impossible to set on fire anyway).

But you have to give instructions on anything more technical than "To Turn On The TV, Press The On Button" in a very detailed fashion these days.

[nonperson]

36. I've seen a battery explode when cables were crossed firsthand

It went off like a bomb. It blew one whole side off the battery creating shards of plastic shrapnel.

[bongbong]

38. Yep

Making a mistake when jumping batteries is a whole 'nother story. A battery has a huge amount of energy stored in it, and thus if it is connected in the "right" way it makes a very dangerous object. The lack of common sense among most Americans is why they make cigar lighter to cigar lighter jumper cables - which BTW are horrible for transferring the large amount of current necessary for a good jump.

[nonperson]

37. If you want to risk frying your electrical system go right ahead

I'll keep all my car's delicate computer chips and electronic components safe by telling people who ask for a jump to call AAA.

Or you can buy one of those power inverters and keep it charged in your car. Jumping other vehicles is bound to cause damage to your electrical system at some point and all those people you helped with a jump won't be around.

[bongbong]

39. OK

I won't be risking a thing. I've designed, built, and repaired most of the items you've mentioned in your post, as well as being an ex R&D engineer for GM. If you feel safer doing it your way, go right ahead.

As in most endeavors, if you know what you're doing, then you can do it faster & cheaper than the average joe. After jumping dozens of cars, I've yet to have anything worse happen than a slightly strained thumb from a too-stiff jumper cable clamp.

BTW, the "power inverter" you mentioned contains a small battery, plus a few other electronic gizmos. Usually the battery it contains is the size of a motorcycle battery. It's OK to jump small displacement engines and/or not-heavily-depleted batteries. Beyond that it won't start a thing.

[nonperson]

40. Last time I was kind enough to respond to a request for a jump start

It wound up costing me an alternator. I replaced it myself. The person whose car I jumped was nowhere in sight when I paid for my new alternator.

Coincidence?

I don't know because I'll never take that chance again.

Call AAA or start walking.

[bongbong]

41. Alternator

Almost all alternator problems consist of a simple blown diode. Easy to diagnose, cheap & easy to repair. Sorry I wasn't around to help you out :-(

A current or voltage surge probably killed the diode, as a lot of them aren't rated as high as they should be (so the manufacturer saves a few pennies). The battery on the other car might have been very old and/or very discharged. In the former case, you can have a single cell shorted out by sulphidation. Puts a huge load on the car giving the jump.

[nonperson]

42. I figured it was a power surge

You are obviously far more capable of diagnosing automotive electrical problems than I am. I'm just going by the layperson's most reliable gauge: personal experience.

[bongbong]

43. You can still give jumps

You can still give jumps safely in an extreme case if you're worried about your car. Turn off your engine, disconnect the positive cable from your battery terminal, and hook the jumper cables from your battery to his battery. If the car being jumped has a small engine and a lightly-depleted battery, this trick should work. Any damage to your car will be limited to your battery and be immediately obvious.

In the case of the jump that damaged your alternator, was the car you gave a jump to old, or was the battery ancient-looking? (if you remember)

[marked50]

12. Should of just said----

"If you want a jumpstart for free, just say "Rush is an idiot" otherwise it'll be 10 bucks for you free market folks"

[Lefta Dissenter]

18. HA,

thumbs up for that reply! :thumbsup:

[proud patriot]

13. both my husband and I are LOL

:thumbsup:

[Obamanaut]

19. I sometimes wonder what, or when, is the correct way to use the epithet

'draft dodger.'

Limbaugh had a butt problem, so he didn't serve in the military, and we don't like him.

John McCain did serve in the military, joined voluntarily, but we don't like him anyway.

Bill Clinton did all sorts of maneuvering (all legal, but maneuvering anyway) to avoid military service, but we do like him.

[Taverner]

20. What an ungrateful asshole

I have a similar story - the car in question I helped had all kinds of Christian and Right Wing bumper stickers. While jumping his car I asked how he could reconcile Bush (Bush Cheney Sticker) and Christianity. He gave me the usual spiel, but this was 2005, and buyers remorse was hinted at in the tone of his voice.

We actually talked for quite a while. One thing I did pick up from the conversation seemed in direct opposition to his "It's not a choice it's a child" sticker. He said that he really would be worried if Abortion was completely taken off the table, as he has known folks who had to have abortions to save the mother's life. Reading between the lines, those folks were probably his family, his wife or daughter. I pointed out that Operation Rescue and most of the Anti-Choice folks did not even approve of it to save a mother's life. He sighed and the subject was changed.

Part of me feels like we Progressives, Socialists and Liberals need to show that we aren't closet Stalins and Maos waiting to take away their guns and kill their children. We know we aren't that, and their media tells them we are.

[lame54]

22. Isn't jumping somebody else's car a bit socialistic?

[CatWoman]

24. you're so cool, Vinnie

:rofl:

:hi:

[thereismore]

25. Love it! Good karma for you. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

27. Good for you. Give him charity and he'll never be motivated to fix his truck.

Tell him that "Ayn Rand commands me to not help you."

[Faygo Kid]

30. One look at those stickers, and I would have told a-hole to shove it.

I was threatened a couple of times because of my Obama sticker (just one), and I'm almost 60.

As far as I am concerned, anyone who is a fan of cystboy can go fuck themselves before I lift a finger to help them.

[MasonJar]

31. You've made my day!

[jerseyjack]

32. Teabaggers start off with the same conclusion as you and I.

The system is fucked up. Besides, that this is Democratic Underground, most of the Dems in Congress put more effort into serving the corporate owners than they do in working for our benefit. Yes, there is Franken, Kucinich, Sanders and a few others but when the rubber hits the road, they ain't on our side. SO ...

....back to our friend who needed a jump. He knows he is getting screwed and we know we are getting screwed. Can we use that as a starting point for dialog?

My friend, Jim....known him for 32 years. Loves Fox Snooze. Told me how the media is controlled by the left.

O.k. Jim. Sundays are the bobbleheads. Go to Crooks and Liars when they have the A.M. listing of the guests on the shows. Count the Republicans and count the Dems. There will be more Reps. than Dems. (Now, i paraphrased Tom Hartmann.) When the Republicans were in control of Congress, the excuse for the imbalance was that the Repubs. were more important as they were making the decisions. Then in '07 the excuse was that the Repubs needed to have their points made since they didn't have the floor of Congress.

So Jim. Who owns the media? General Electric? Disney? And they are all millionaires. Do you think the millionaires want anyone on who is going to talk about taxing the rich?

I stopped there and let that sink in.

Its not that i wanted to win an argument. I want to put opposing thoughts in his head. It is a beginning.

Mr. Jumpstart Guy just walked away feeling more angry at liberals and maybe tomorrow he will try to call Rushbo to tell him about the arrogant lib. in the parking lot.

[a2liberal]

33. Charge him $29.95

Helping for free would be socialist and anti-American. You have to let the free markets set the price of the service. Why do you hate America?

/sarcasm

[krispos42]

35. I would have said..

"Certainly. Just as soon as you can explain to me how you asking a stranger for a free service that you critically need doesn't violate your principles as a conservative."