#and then hot rod and (redacted) follow up

[redyarns]

Have you ever gotten to a point in your outline where you're like "Whoops, my hand slipped and now I'm in sparkbreaking territory." ?

Because that just happened to me with my own outline lol

ahaha... well actually, out of all of the main characters in undertow, bee has surprisingly the most tragic story. that wasnt originally the case (that title belonged to sentinel for a while), but i kept getting bigger and bigger ideas.

anyway, it resulted in me having to figure out a rough system of something equivalent to a cybertronian sign language. poor bee. lol

[kur0kvmi]

The Menacing Mind of Felix Lombardi-Act 2

I peek through the door glass one more time, to make sure I’m not hallucinating. Yep. Ami Fujinami in the mother, fucking flesh. 

“Felix? I know you’re in there, open up” Ami said, in between repeatedly knocking

“Yea I’ll open it up in a minute” I said as I frantically searched for a clean pair of sweatpants to wear.

Ami and I have known each other for the entirety of the 2 years I’ve been living at this apartment. She and her Grandma have taken pretty good care of me seeing as I’m not exactly the best at it. 

“Hi Ami, what brings you here?” I asked, trying to push out the conversation with my brother from my mind

“Well, a strange man in a dark blue suit was here yesterday and he gave me 2 tickets to Mysticon” 

And then it call comes rushing back

“Wow that’s weird, well have fun” I said as I tried to close the door on her, only for her to stop the door from shutting.

“He said he was your brother, and that I should ask you to go with me” Ami said, slowly edging towards me like she was trying to get a good look at the reflection in my eyeballs.

“Well, I have no idea who you’re talking about. I don’t have a brothe-”

“Hello? Mr. Lombardi? He said exactly what you said he’d say. Mhmm That he doesn't have a brother. Should I hand him the phone? Ok. Ok. I’ll tell him.” 

Oh fuck.

“He says if you don’t go to Mysticon with me, I should tell Obaa-san to lock you out of the wifi for a month” Ami said, in the most perfunctory tone imaginable.

“First of all, you can’t do tha-”

“Yes. Yes I can. And to be honest, I don’t care if Mr. Lombardi is your real brother or not, I want to go to Mysticon, and I don’t care who with. So you’re going with me Felix.” Despite the fact that Ami was more or less extorting a date out of me, she did so with the gusto and demeanor of a middle schooler who just won a spelling bee. 

“Why couldn’t you just go by yourself?”

“The deal is, I take you, and I get a free ticket. Mr. Lombardi was very clear about this” 

“So I have no choice”

“None at all”

“Alright. Come knock on my door on saturday”

“It is Saturday, you bum”

“Why aren’t we using your car?” Ami moaned as we exited the building. 

“The train is faster” I said, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of my jacket.

“Mysticon is in Hells Kitchen right?” Ami asked, whilst reaching into her backpack

“Yup, and it’s...3pm, traffic will be annoying, and I don’t wanna worry about driving back if I buy weed.” I said, pulling out my lighter

“What have I told you about smoking when you’re next to me.” Ami said, pulling out a batton, then flicking it to extend it’s length. 

I put the cig back in the pack, whilst prompting her to sheathe her weapon. Throughout the journey my mind is racing. Ami and I hanging out again? It’s not that I like her or anything, it’s just that I kind of missed her. Hey I’m allowed to have feelings aren’t I? I’m sure you’re wondering “but Felix, if you missed hanging out with her, why did you stop talking to her?” Why yes fair reader, that’s a very adequate question, however the nature of our relationship isn’t that simple. Ami is kind of an all around nerd aficionado, she cosplays, she writes fanfics, she draws, she sings anime openings on youtube, it’s kind of scary how much she does all over the place. Recently she’s started to get really famous online, she’s started to devote a lot more time to it, and She started ghosting. Being distant... And you know me, I ain’t exactly a butterfly myself, so we just drifted apart. She should be making money on youtube, couldn’t she just get her own tickets?

“Obaa San wouldn’t let me” Ami said as we reached the station. “She’s against anime conventions on principle”. 

“Is this about a ‘Japan is more than anime’ thing?” I asked, shifting over to the right as I stepped on the escalator so I could walk down past the standers.

“No that’s more my parents. Baa san is a reeeeaaally old school Otaku.”

“Then what’s her beef with anime conventions?”

“She thinks they’re ‘commodified caricatures of otaku culture’ or something along those lines” Ami said as we hopped on the train.

Granny Fujinami isn’t wrong in the slightest.

“So she won’t be mad at you for going?” 

“She’s only letting me go because I’m going with you. It’s aaalways about you with her.”

“Not my fault i’m the grandson she never had” I said while making a mocking face at Ami.

“She only loves you cuz you’re a broken mess she can nurture. You’re like my dad. Ugh, you’re like all men really.”

Ouch.

“Ouch.” 

“Suck it up loser.” Ami said, shifting her direction away from me. 

“You’re so cute when you go all Tsun” I said, pulling out my phone.

“That would imply me having any ‘dere’ for you.” Ami snapped back.

So hot.

[At the Convention]

What’s going on what’s going on going on. Everyone’s looking at us. Well I guess I am walking next to Amura. Yes that’s Ami’s social media name, you try coming up with something better at 12. Mine’s [REDACTED]. This is not what I signed up for. Louis Othello Lombardi you fucking bastard. You knew this would happen. You did your homework on Ami and figured out she’d be a lightning rod for attention. Keep me around her, and I’m bound to be assaulted by nothing. But. Fucking. People.

“OH MY GOD IT’S AMURA!” Two young girls screamed. “But I heard you weren't coming? You said so on twitter :(.“ I swear to almighty Haruhi Suzumiya, if there was such a thing as a frowny face emoji in real life, whatever that girl did was damn close. 

“Well change of plans ^_^” Oh my god, Ami can speak emoji too!

“So what panels are you going to? I heard Gail has a panel about anime piracy” Said one of the fangirls, angling towards it on the con directory. 

“Gail from Crunchyroll?” 

“Sounds fun! Felix, ikimasu!” Whoever this version of Ami was, I wanted NO PARTS. 

“Sounds lame. I’m going to the arcade.” I was putting my foot down

“Ok cool. Hand me your pass then. You can pay on your own.” 

“You can’t do tha-”

“Yes. Yes I can. You want this pass?.” Ami pulled out the 3 day convention pass out of her purse and dangled it in front of me. Obviously I tried snatching at it, only for Ami to move it out of the way. Damn japanese reflexes.

“Gotta be quicker than that. We’re going to the panel. Follow me.” Ami said, tossing me the pass.

“If you sneak off, I’m calling Obaa chan.” she said, in that her perfunctory yet declaratory way.  

“...So what you end up having is an environment where it’s harder and harder for us to justify hosting servers for anime distribution, because they don’t wanna pa- *ahem* because piracy.” Or something to that effect I’m not really listening to this Gail lady.

Anime piracy is a dumb thing to have a panel about anyway, it’s not like anybody in this room even knows how to torrent off wonwons, let alone\ how find the right codec for shows with bad compression. These are a bunch of crunchycores. The kinds of anime fans so hopped up on seasonal hype that the mere thought of an anime older than 12 months makes their tongues run dry, and their eyes wire shut.

“Are there any questions?”

“You got anything to ask?” chuckled Ami. 

“Why are we here. We both know Kissanime is in your bookmarks” I jeered.

“Networking dummy. I talk to Gail after the panel, and smooth out something over at Crunchyroll” For some reason Ami’s eyes did the dollars signs when she said “crunchyroll”

“In San Francisco? You’d hate it there.”

“I’d make it there. That��s the important part. I’d really make it. I’d be in.” 

“In what?” I said with a look of befuddlement. 

“You wouldn’t understand. You’re basically guaranteed a job after graduation” 

“Hey, don’t make it like tha-”

“Don’t make it like what Felix?” Ami snapped, but less with anger, and more a tired expression.

The Panel was beginning to wind down, and folks were getting up to leave. Ami bounced out of her seat and darted towards the stage. 

“Gaaaaaiiiil! Hiii, I follow you on twitter!” Ami screamed, like a schoolgirl seeing a classmate

“Amura! I follow you too! I love your singing” Gail responded in a surprisingly similar manner.

“Thanks so much, ugh. That means alot l love you and Sailor Bee’s podcast ^_^” This whole display was just. The worst. 

I backed off from the discussion, but I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to make it far without incurring that good old Fujinami wrath. Jeez they’re taking forever. Is this a meet and greet? Or a job interview. 

“Felix? Oh shit, how you been bruh?” This voice, I recognized it. 

I turned around, and yup, it was Tyler. 

“Who let riff raff like  you in here?” I said as we shook hands

“Is that any way to treat your one black friend:” He responded dryly. 

“I have plenty of black friends. Unlike you, most of my friends are girls.” I shot back. 

“Yea right, if you ever left your yuppie ass play pad I’d believe you.”

“You’d be surprised how many of em recognize me from Ami’s streams.”

“The streams she stopped inviting you to?” 

“Low blow T.” 

Tyler is a friend from Highschool who runs in the same online circles that I do. We keep in touch through discord and trade merchandise on message boards. He’s been trying to break into the FGC since middle school and recently struck a deal with a team based out of Brooklyn, The Mash Masters. He’s pretty good, quick reflexes, consistent muscle memory, but he lacks patience, and his neutral game needs work. 

“Where you headed to after this? Tryna hit up the arcade?” Asked Tyler as he picked up his backpack getting ready to leave. 

“I’m here with Ami, I gotta check and see where she’s headed to” 

“Whooptish” Tyler said, while making a whipping motion. 

“You know it’s not like that bro.” I shot back

“For her it isn’t, for you it is.” he retorted. 

I told him to wait up for a sec as I went over to Ami & Gail. They were still chopping it up like they’d known each other since band camp. 

“Shoot me a DM on twitter whenever you get the chance, I’d love to get you acquainted with the rest of my team. Maybe even talk bringing you to some other cons around the east coast ;)” Naruhodo, it seems this Gail is also of the emoji Clan. 

“Sure thing! Don’t forget to tweet out the channel link with the picture, and tell Vicky I said hi!” Ami said gleefully. 

“I definitely will, but uhh, she hates being called Vicky. Victoria or Sailorbee are just fine.” Gail responded, with a tinge of trepidation.

“Yea, I made that mistake on twitter once, it wasn’t pretty” I said with a chuckle.

“Oh hello, and who might you be?” Asked Gail.

“This is my friend Felix I was telling you about.” Ami said. Wait, telling her about what?

“Ah yes, the animator. Ami showed me your fan animation of Diebuster. Very interesting to see a Gainax show done with heavy Yutapon vibes” This lady knows her stuff.

“This lady knows her stuff” I said to Ami. 

“Of course I do silly, I work in the anime industry” The smile Gail shot me as she said this wouldn’t be out of place in a Shaft anime.  

“You definitely have some real skills. We’re looking for someone to do a sakuga heavy promo for our new youtube ad. If you’re interested, Ami has my contact info. It was so very nice meeting the both of you, don’t forget to keep in touch.” Gail said in a warm, professional tone as she got up to leave. 

“Well she seems nice” I said to Ami. 

“You’re welcome Felix.” Said Ami, in her usual biting tone. 

“I didn’t ask you for that. If I wanted a job at Crunchyroll I’d have one already.”

“‘Thanks Ami, I really appreciate you showing my work to someone really influential who can open doors in my chosen profession, would you like headpats?’” Ami said, in a mocking imitation of my sultry ciciillian speech pattern. 

“First of all, fine, thank you, that was a very nice thing to do, and I was pleasantly surprised. Secondly, do you seriously want headpats?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, you weirdo” And there’s the Tsun again. 

“I ran into Tyler, he says he’s going to the Arcade, and I was looking to go with. You in?”

“Tyler’s here? Yea sure, let’s go” 

Ami & I leave the stage and head over to where Tyler is sitting when I get a text on my phone. 

[11:58. Text from Lou]: Having fun?

[11:58. You]: Yea

He’s just like mom. 

“Oh my god it’s Amura! Could you sign my Fightstick?” Tyler sniggered, his fightstick outstretched. He’s such an asshole I love it. 

“Knock it off, I’d actually sign it if I didn’t know you’d just flip it on Ebay” Ami sneered, arms folded and head angrily tossed to the side. 

“Aww don’t be like that, I really did want your autograph. You’d be surprised how many Blazblue players would pay good cash for one” Tyler said, packing his fightstick back in his backpack. 

“If anyone’s gonna make money off the Amura brand it’s gonna be ME!” Ami retorted viciously.

“Now that’s just anti-black business” I said, chuckling as Tyler dapped me up. 

Ami rolled her eyes as heavy as she could roll them and stomped out of the conference room, and we sheepishly trailed after her.

By this point in the day I’d grown used to Ami being a lightning rod for attention. My camera skills must have leveled up big time from all those pics I had to take, of her with fans. Just getting to the Arcade area of the convention was a whole 20 minutes of photo after photo with weeb after arrested developed weeb, and to be honest I was practicing some big time restraint to not just walk out of the center and catch an Uber home. But surely enough, through fire by force, we found ourselves at the-

Boy was this the kind of place I wanted to be. The whole area was what you’d expect from a high profile convention in a big city. What seemed to be at least 30 TVs all hooked up with consoles spanning an entire auditorium. This wasn’t an arcade, it felt more like a Bazaar crossed with a colosseum. You have your old reliables for the boomers like Street Fighter, MK, ok that’s neat, there’s Melee, 64, Ultimate, Smash 4, oh even Brawl, full house, that’s impressive. As we moved through, you could imagine that there were furrowed brows due to the smell, but in all honesty it wasn’t as bad as most invitationals I’ve been to. We couldn’t find the game we were here for though; Blazblue. Tyler directed us to the kiosk so we could get directions. 

“Nigga where the Blazblue at?” Tyler said to one of the convention attendees, 

All the way at the back, by the Under Night” The Attendee responded.

I was just about ready to dart over there when Tyler said: 

“Nah hol’ up real quick bro, I got a question I gotta ask you” uh oh, I hear the Brooklyn leaking out. 

“Yea? Is there something wrong?” the attendee said, with a befuddled expression.

“Y’all always hide the anime fighters, what's up with that?” Tyler said blankly, almost with no life at all. 

“It’s not my decision where the games are set up-”

“That’s not what I asked bro. I’ve done conventions fam, I sat where you sat. NYCC 2017, bigger con than this, and from what I know about my time there, y’all have a meeting to coordinate where the games are set up. Correct?” Oh my god, Tyler what are you doing. 

“Yes correct” The attendee responded. 

“So you were in the room when the decision was made, correct?” This is so wacky

“Yea, but like, I didn’t have a choi-”

“Nobody’s asking about a choice, I’m asking you, what was the reasoning behind the decision?” Should I stop this? Or?...

“They didn’t want the anime stuff turning folks away” Oh no, here we go

“There it is” Tyler said triumphantly as he began to walk off. 

“Hey, I think it’s bullshit too ma-” t

“Yet you said nothing. You and all your boys said nothing. Aight, I see you fam. Haruhi’s watching you” Tyler said, his back already turned and walking away.  “Let’s go guys”

“Did you have to make such a big hoopla you maniac?” Ami said laughing her ass off. 

“Because I have Principles Fujinami, you should try em some time” Tyler snapped back. 

“That was the FUNNIEST shit I’ve seen all day, I’m so happy I knew to record that” Ami said, still cackling. 

“Wait you recorded that?” Tyler said, shocked

“I uploaded it. Enjoy being a meme” Ami said blankly.

“Not again…” Tyler sighed.

We finally make it to the Blazblue section, and it’s about as serviceable as you’d expect. Two TVs both hooked up to PS4s playing Central Fiction. There wasn’t much of a crowd, about 5 or 6 people, all looked to be around college age, couple on the boomer side though. All guys. 

“This game is so hyperactive…” Ami said, in a tone betwixt judgement and bewilderment. 

“Not every game gotta be Street Fighter” Said Tyler. “Ey yo, who got next?” Tyler asked a portly asian fellow playing Taokaka. 

“Uhh, I dunno, anybody got next?” the Taokaka player asked. The crowd shook their heads. “I guess it’s on you bro after this.” 

Nobody else noticed, But Tyler’s killing intent began to spike. I get you’re excited kiddo, but you haven’t even chewed the scenery yet. 

The game was pretty hype. There it was Taokaka vs Valkenhayn. Both characters with adequate rushdown capabilities and heavy damage. The Valkenhayn was an even match, but the Tao was just catching clutch reversals at every corner. It felt like seeing a tiger beat a lion by leaving a bigger gash every time they left the scuffle. Tyler, ever the professional, was quiet as a mouse. A mouthy prick like him? Quiet? I know right? But he gets like this when it’s Blazblue. The data collection phase. See if Street Fighter is Chess, then Blazblue is Mahjong. The same level of depth, but a wider variety of dealing with situational disadvantages and advantages. Tyler sees what I’m seeing and he’s analyzing, putting his pieces together, he’s not here for fun. This is off the job training. 

“FINISH” 6 red letters on the television screen. Read em & Weep. 

“My turn now right?” Tyler asked the Taokaka player. 

“Yup. What’s your name?” said the Tao player

“Tyro, and you?” oh yea I forgot that was his FGC name, everywhere else he’s Tyrilla. He sucks at names yes I know.

“I’m Yiao, nice to meet you.” Yiao said, pushing his glasses up.

The character selection screen pops up and… Wait don’t tell me he…Oh boy, Tyler’s picking his middle school main. Hazama. Yiao on the other hand started mousing over Tao then over to Litchi. Come on pick a character already. After more mousing, his cursor finally landed on Mai... From rushdown to range spam. Just all around bloodthirst.

Both of them sat in silence as the loading screen started up, until Yiao broke that silence.

“I’ve heard of you, Mash Master Tyro. To be honest I was hoping we’d meet. I have this Mai prepared just for you.” said Yiao. Yawn. This happens all the time. Tyler’s probably got him scoped already too.

“Yiao, third runner up at Anifight Staten Island. Three. Years. Running.” Yup, knew it. Tyler lives for this shit.

“You wanna know why HowRite was able to beat you 3 to nothing last year?” Tyler said, deadpan staring at the screen.

“THE WHEEL OF FATE IS TURNING” oh shit the round is starting.

“Cuz he knew if he lost, he’d never get to face my mentor in the finals”

“But wait. Ulysses isn’t on your team?” Yiao said confused, the backstory here is really weird, I’d be confused as well to be honest. 

“REBEL 1” 

“Ulysses is my stepdad.” 

“ACTION”

Told you. 

End of Act 2. 

[currentusapoliticsblog-blog]

I Spy With My Little Eye

Written by: Macie Gardner

Since Donald Trump became president his entire administration has made allegations that law enforcement had spied on his 2016 national campaign. Most recently his new lawyer, William Barr spoke out to the Senate Committee saying “’spying did occur”’(voanews). Following the statement, Donald Trump released his own statement a day later at the White House claiming, ‘"There absolutely was spying into my campaign"’. Many are unsure as to what Donald Trump was referring to with his statement because the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts authorized surveillance of Donald Trump on more than one occasion during Trump’s foreign affairs aid Carter Page. In the words of Donald Trump this is ‘”illegal spying”’ and that the people who were investigating him were “attempting a "coup" and committing "treason" to keep him from winning”(voanews). Many of his claims come from Fox News and other conservatives while Democrats are on the defense about the spying. Democratic speaker Charles Schumer of New York and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi have both spoken out about the allegations that trump and his lawyer have made. Schumer states that Barr, ‘"destroyed the scintilla of credibility he had left"’ with his accusations and speaker Pelosi said Barr was "going off the rails"’. Schumer also made that accusation that Donald Trump was using claims from conspiracy theorist on purpose. Despite the claims made by democrats, Donald Trump stands by Barrs saying how hard it is to believe something like this could happen, but Barrs claims are “very accurate”. However, all the skepticism has persuaded Donald Trump to go on a manhunt, to find out whether or not there was illegal surveillance done by the government in his 2016 campaign.

Taking a deeper dive into whether or not his campaign was spied on, Donald Trump appointed William Barr as the country’s top law enforcement official in hopes that he will find out whether or not there was illegal spying done on his 2016 campaign. After being appointed Barr made a statement that he just wanted to “make sure government power was not abused” he also added that he believes “the origins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into Trump campaign contacts with Russia may have been mishandled, but that he was not sure whether there had been improper surveillance”. This caused a number of new questions to be asked about Donald Trumps involvement in the Mueller investigation.

Quick to defend his client, these new questions prompted Barr to release a statement that he will release a “redacted version of the nearly 400-page report compiled by special counsel Robert Mueller after his 22-month investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump, as president, obstructed justice by trying to thwart the probe” in just a few days. This comes after a four-page summary on the Mueller report was released a month ago, stating that Donald Trump had not colluded with Russians during the 2016 campaign, but that a decision hadn’t been made on whether or not Donald Trump had obstructed justice. Because Mueller had not come to a conclusion on the issue Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided that obstruction charges against Donald Trump were not warranted. Donald Trump followed up this decision by calling it a ‘”total exoneration”’.

The accusation of whether or not the government was doing illegal spying in Donald Trumps campaign is not a new one but it has become a lot more of a hot topic, especially with the Mueller case coming to and end and Donald Trump being “exonerated”. With the exoneration from the Mueller report, a lot of speculation about Donald Trump has died down. It seems as though this was the perfecting timing for Barr to accuse the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts of having committed illegal surveillance. With Donald Trump looking a little more innocent than he is used to, Barr appointed to be chief in the investigation, and the entire Trump Administration pushing for an investigation on whether or not there was illegal surveillance on his 2016 campaign, we might once and for all get to the bottom of whether or not there was spying done. Whatever the outcome to this is, it can’t please everyone and either Donald Trump will victor, and the government will be questioned on it’s illegal actions, or Donald Trump will find no evidence of illegal surveillance and the false accusations against the government will cease. It is likely that in the following weeks we will begin to see a big investigation being done on the government and quite possible some indictments.

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-us-law-enforcement-spied-on-my-2016-campaign/4872077.html

[smoothshift]

Bought a modified car from dealer, same car then blew up the engine AT the dealership via /r/cars

Bought a modified car from dealer, same car then blew up the engine AT the dealership

Trying to get some insight from people that may have dealt with something similar. Trying to see if I truly lost my shit or if I'm definitely in the right. I've started a website regarding this and the dealership. However, for the time being, I'm going to redact the dealer name from the e-mail that I sent to the CEO and Executive Suite. The e-mail explains everything that happened:

​

To whom it may concern,

On Oct. 29th, 2018, I walked into <REDACTED> to purchase a very specific vehicle that was presented on the lot. A 2015 Dodge Challenger Shaker (VIN: <REDACTED>) with a Procharger and fully forged 5.7 Hemi engine with roughly 40k miles. This vehicle was certified as having passed the 125-point inspection.

I test drove the vehicle, but given the power and performance, I didn’t truly “open her up”. I wanted to be very cautious and learn the car first, as well as to be aware of any quirks. After setting up financing, and filing all paperwork, I left with my new baby. I knew the previous owner of the vehicle, so I immediately contacted him to obtain all receipts and records regarding all of the modifications done to the vehicle (This car was his baby, and he meticulously kept all paperwork of the $18k+ that was spent in Engine work). I noticed some mild issues on my drive back home but didn’t think too terribly much of it.

The next day, while driving, it ended up dying at a stop light. I had to start it multiple times while slightly revving it to finally stay on. A little while later, while cruising at 40, the front end dipped as the engine lost all power and almost shut off. I contacted the shop that did all of the work (<REDACTED>’s Hyperperformance) and was told that somehow the tuning had been slightly compromised, causing much of the issues I was experiencing. An easy fix.

I contacted <REDACTED> (The Sales Manager of the deal) and explained the situation to him and asked for this to be covered under the limited 90 day/ 4k mile warranty. It was $700 to retune. I had the car a total of 2 days, and roughly 100 miles or so. He bounced me over to a young woman named <REDACTED> (No known last name) who handles all of these such issues. The work was approved (after explaining that such a tune could not be provided by an in-house Dodge Technician).

I drove my vehicle in and dropped it off. Key note here: I DROVE MY VEHICLE IN. They placed me in a rental and asked about the open cruise control recall. I stated that I was unsure if they could reflash the PCM, so I would ask the tuner before allowing this to be done. I did NOT sign any authorization to allow this. My tuner did not get back to me right away, and the next day, I was informed that the recall was done (Without my permission).

Due to this being done, the car would no longer properly start, and rather than being driven to <REDACTED>’s, as was the original plan according to <REDACTED>, it now had to be towed. Upon arriving to <REDACTED>’s, they flashed a base tune on it, so they could move it over to the dyno to begin proper tuning. They noticed something was not running correctly, so they removed a spark plug. The plug was WET with fuel and had been horribly fouled (Similar to if you were to have attempted to start it after the recall had been done, but before the base tune had been flashed.) The tow truck driver stated that the dealership had attempted to start it to get it on the truck, but after being unable to get it to run, it was pushed on to the truck. Later in this ordeal, I was informed that apparently nobody at <REDACTED> ever attempted to start the car after the recall. When I called BS, they were adamant. So I asked them if they truly thought that I believed the Mechanic drove the car into his bay, flashed it, and then never tried to start it.. instead opting to put it into neutral and push it out. There was silence and they were unable to provide me with an answer.

Anyhow, the plugs were then changed, and the tuning process was continued. After a successful tune, the shop then took the car for a street test drive to ensure that all problems had been fully fixed. They were data logging during this whole drive. On their way back to the shop, while cruising at roughly 60-70mph, the knock sensor began detecting immense knock, and suddenly the engine seized. Upon inspection, the shop is certain that damage had been done by starting the vehicle without a tune. This vehicle has upgraded 1000cc fuel injectors. Stock are 575cc. So, when started, it began to wash the cylinder walls with fuel, which mixed in with oil. This caused damage. <REDACTED>’s has said that a new engine is now required in this vehicle.

All of this occurred on Nov. 8th, 2018. <REDACTED> and <REDACTED> were immediately called. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a massive game of phone tag, because 4-5 calls took place through out the day, and no one could be reached. Meanwhile, they say they also attempted to call <REDACTED>’s during that day, and could not reach them. When I attempted to reach someone, it took 5 calls, transferred through <REDACTED> Kia/Hyundai next door to FINALLY get someone to pick up.

I went in Thursday night to discuss the events with <REDACTED>, <REDACTED>, and now a Mrs. <REDACTED> (An upper Manager). I wish I could say that the conversation was informative, but it ended up just being a massive ball of finger pointing and blame game, where I felt as if I was being spoken down to, and that no one gave a damn that an engine just blew up. <REDACTED> acted more like a spoiled teenager when I pointed out that on one phone call, she admitted that the car did not drive correctly on one of her test drives before me buying it. She tried to change the story and then say “Well, I meant it just drove different because of the super charger” and kept trying to change her story of what happened. <REDACTED> became personally offended when he tried to change something that was said while he was on the phone with <REDACTED>’s, and I corrected him, whilst also informing him that <REDACTED>’s has recorded phone calls and they would be happy to provide the audio tape.

And Mrs. <REDACTED> kept just trying to change the blame. Stating that she had not yet had a chance to speak with the GM regarding this issue, because he was a very busy man. I told her I understand, but please keep me informed as the customer. She alluded that if this becomes too much of a hassle, they just want to give me my old car back. I made it EXTREMELY clear.. I sold <REDACTED> my vehicle, and I do NOT want it back. I want the vehicle I purchased, or something very similar in power, for the same price. I told her to please call me at the end of the night if she had news or not, simply to keep me informed.

As I walked out, I saw her and <REDACTED> in the GM’s office. I did NOT receive a phone call that night, much to my dismay.

Around 5PM the next day, I decided to contact her, since I still had not heard anything back. She stated that she still could not get her GM to sit down and discuss this issue. He is a very busy man. To me, it seems, if your GM is that busy that he can not take care of a very big problem such as a blown engine in a car that was just purchased, either your dealership has some hugely insane problems, he is over worked, or no attempt was made to contact him. She stated that she will for sure get him to sit down Monday (Nov. 12th).

On Saturday, I got the wild idea that if this vehicle could not be fixed, maybe <REDACTED> would do an in-and-out trade with another dealer to provide me a similar car around the similar price. I went to Texas Hot Rides and priced two vehicles with buy sheets. I then went over to <REDACTED> and asked to speak with Mrs. <REDACTED>. After seeing the pain in her face of having to once again speak to me, I jokingly quipped “Don’t worry, I won’t take much of your time, I’m simply here to offer another possible resolution”. To which she replied “Good, because I really do not have time to mess with this today.”

I’m sorry… I did not know that handling a very big customer issue like this was not a priority and therefore you do not have time for it. If I EVER caught one of my employees saying that to one of MY clients, they would have been FIRED on the spot.

Anyhow, after providing her with the sheets, she said that <REDACTED> does not buy cars. When I objected, she stated she meant from other dealers. I told her I understand, but given the issue, it would be one way to properly resolve the issue.

This brings us to today. I am “supposed” to have some sort of answer or resolution today. I have offered the following three resolutions:

1: Contract <REDACTED>’s to properly rebuild the engine with all components that it had when sold to me. A STOCK REPLACMENT WILL NOT WORK. The procharger is pushing 12lbs of boost and would bend stock rods very easily. I dropped off a car that was working to you. There is no reason I should not receive it back in working condition. I have all receipts showing what was done to that engine. This will be roughly a $10k - $12k repair according to <REDACTED>’s.

2: If you refuse to replace the engine, then put me in a vehicle that has similar performance. This vehicle put down 515hp to the wheels (So roughly 600hp to the crank). So if you do not have another properly built pro-charged Challenger, then take a used 2015/2016 Hellcat Challenger, and sell it to me for the price I paid for this Challenger. Estimated Loss to you: $10k-$15k.

3: If you do not want to repair my engine back to what it was when I purchased the vehicle, and you do not want to place me into a Hellcat or similar. The purchase one of the two vehicles from Texas Hot Rides that I provided the buy sheets to, and sell it to me at a price that can be properly financed (One vehicle was $29.9k, and the other was $34.8k) at the same price or LOWER than the Challenger I purchased. Estimated Loss to you: $4k-10k.

As stated, I do NOT want the keys to my old trade-in back. You purchased that vehicle from me, and I do NOT have to accept it back. I don’t want it back. I want a performance vehicle like what I purchased and was promised as being certified. I am not trying to be un-reasonable. I’ve offered THREE unique solutions to resolve this issue.

If we do not make progress towards the resolution of this problem soon, then I will be forced to act. I know that your company is not worried about lawyers. That does not bother a big corporation like yours. But bad PR is detrimental and could very well end up costing you more than it would to simply fix this issue as a customer service issue. I have already spoken to my lawyer (I own an IT company, and some of my best clients are lawyers, so it’s nice to have quick access to advice), and anything I post is the truth, and no derivative, it is not considered slander or libel. So, I can simply say “Purchased car from <REDACTED>. Dropped it off two days later for work. Blew up while under their care or a third party’s care. Refuse to resolve the problem to satisfactory standards” and be well within the law. I have two radio stations that will begin playing advertisements regarding this issue and will also re-direct to www.<REDACTED>OwesMeAnEngine.com. I have one radio host that wishes to do an interview regarding this situation. He also happens to know the gentleman from CNBC’s 5 on your side. This story and website will also be submitted to all major car enthusiast websites (Such as Car and Driver, Jalopnik, etc.) And finally, I’m part of a 20k+ car group in Texas. The last time an event occurred like this where a dealership refused to make things right, that dealer’s ratings dropped from 4.2 stars to 1.3 stars virtually overnight.

Now, I’m actually a very reasonable individual. The above is a lot of work, and neither of us really want it to happen. Hence why I’m making sure to contact yourself, or someone in corporate, to try and get this issue resolved before it needs to go any further. Hell, if done satisfactorily, I’d be tempted to even still leave a 5-star review, or sign a document stating that I never speak of this again. Your choice. I just want a car that I was promised, or something very similar. I’m not asking for a Brand new Bentley when you sold me a Challenger. I’m simply asking for the dealership to own up to it’s mistakes and make it right via one of the three solutions I’ve provided.

Thank you,

<REDACTED>

​

[uniteordie-usa]

FBI Texts Reveal "Insurance Policy" To Prevent Trump Presidency

http://uniteordie-usa.com/fbi-texts-reveal-insurance-policy-to-prevent-trump-presidency/ http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2017/12/13/strozk%20page_0.jpg FBI Texts Reveal "Insurance Policy" To Prevent Trump Presidency The lead FBI official at the heart of the rapidly unraveling Trump-Russia probe sent a text message to his FBI mistress last year which discusses some sort of ‘insurance policy’ against Donald Trump becoming president. Peter Strzok and Lisa Page “I want to believe the path...

The lead FBI official at the heart of the rapidly unraveling Trump-Russia probe sent a text message to his FBI mistress last year which discusses some sort of ‘insurance policy’ against Donald Trump becoming president.

Peter Strzok and Lisa Page

“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office – that there’s no way he [Trump] gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk.” writes FBI counterintelligence officer Peter Strzok to FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was having an extramarital affair while spearheading both the Clinton email inquiry and the early Trump-Russia probe, adding “It’s like a life insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”

Bret Baier

Text-from Peter Strzok to Lisa Page (Andy is Andrew McCabe): “I want to believe the path u threw out 4 consideration in Andy’s office-that there’s no way he gets elected-but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk.It’s like an insurance policy in unlikely event u die be4 you’re 40”

Clearly Lisa Page thought there was no way Trump would win during a conversation in then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe’s office, yet Strzok clearly states to Page that he “can’t take that risk” in the “unlikely event” Trump was elected, and that an insurance policy of some type existed to presumably undermine Trump. If this is the case, it would constitute an active measure taken by the FBI against one candidate for US President, while aiding the other. 

The text message which references an “insurance policy” is all the more controversial when you consider another exchange in which Peter Strzok says “I am riled up. Trump is a f*cking idiot, is unable to provide a coherrent answer,” and “I CAN’T PULL AWAY, WHAY THE F*CK HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY (redacted)??!?!”

Page responds “I don’t know, But we’ll get it back. …”

Shannon Bream

Strzok/Page texts 10/20/16

PS – I am riled up. Trump is a f*cking idiot, is unable to provide a coherent answer.

PS – I CAN’T PULL AWAY, WHAT THE F*CK HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY (redacted)??!?!

LP – I don’t know. But we’ll get it back. …

Page then messages Strzok, saying “And maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace. (links to NYT article), to which Strzok replied “I can protect our country at many levels.”

Shannon Bream

Strzok/Page texts

LP – And maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace. (links to NYT article)

PS – … I can protect our country at many levels, not sure if that helps

What, exactly, does Peter Strzok mean by “protect our country at many levels” in his text to Page? Is this a reference to the insurance policy?

The “insurance” text message was one of 375 released Tuesday night before a House Judiciary Committee hearing with Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, and one of 10,000 text messages exchanged between the two top FBI investigators. Strzok was fired from Robert Mueller’s special counsel in August, however the reason for his dismissal was not revealed until last month, prompting several congressional panels to turn up the heat on the FBI and the DOJ.

The text messages make abundantly clear that Strzok – the man who downgraded the FBI’s assessment of Hillary’s email mishandling from “grossly negligent” to “extremely careless,” and reportedly used a largely unfounded Trump-Russia dossier to launch a counterintelligence operation – holds a deep disdain for Donald Trump.

As we reported earlier, in one exchange obtained by Fox News sent on March 4th, 2016 – right around the time Trump emerged as a serious threat in the GOP primary race, Page texted Strzok “God, Trump is a loathsome human,” to which Strzok responded “Yet he many[win]” Strzok responded, adding “Good for Hillary.”

Other text messages call trump an idiot, who’s awful.

Fox reporter Shannon Brem tweeted that Fox News producer Jake Gibson has obtained 10k texts between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, one of which says “Trump should go f himself,” and “F TRUMP.”

Shannon Bream

Our @FoxNews producer @JakeBGibson has obtained 10K texts between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page

Shannon Bream

Strzok/Page texts obtained by Fox’s @JakeBGibson

“LP – Jesus. You should read this. And Trump should go f himself. Moment in Convention Glare Shakes Up Khans American Life http://nyti.ms/2aHulE0 

PS – God that’s a great article. Thanks for sharing. And F TRUMP.”

9:27 PM – Dec 12, 2017

Breaking News, World News & Multimedia

The New York Times: Find breaking news, multimedia, reviews & opinion on Washington, business, sports, movies, travel, books, jobs, education, real estate, cars & more at nytimes.com.

Along with the text messages, Strzok’s conduct in the Clinton investigation and several prior cases are now under review for political bias by the Justice Department. Furthermore, the fact that the reason behind Strzok’s firing was kept a secret for months is of keen interest to House investigators. According to Fox Newstwo weeks ago: 

 “While Strzok’s removal from the Mueller team had been publicly reported in August, the Justice Department never disclosed the anti-Trump texts to the House investigators.”

“Responding to the revelations about Strzok’s texts on Saturday, Nunes said he has now directed his staff to draft contempt-of-Congress citations against Rosenstein and the new FBI director, Christopher Wray.” -Fox News

As we also reported, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) suggested in a hearing with FBI Director Chris Wray last week that the Peter Strzok rabbit hole might be far deeper than anyone imagined. To summarize, Jordan’s theory is that Strzok received the controversial “Trump Dossier” from the Clinton campaign then went to the FISA courts where he passed it off as a legitimate piece of intelligence in an effort to obtain the warrants necessary to effectively spy on the Trump campaign.

“Here’s what I think Director Wray.  I think Peter Strzok, head of counter intelligence at the FBI, Peter Strzok the guy who ran the Clinton investigation and did all the interviews, Peter Strzok, the guy who was running the Russia investigation at the FBI, Peter Strzok, Mr. ‘Super Agent’ at the FBI, I think he’s the guy who took the application to the FISA court…and if that happened…if you have the FBI working with the Democrats’ campaign, taking opposition research, dressing it all up and turning it into an intelligence document and taking it to the FISA court so they can spy on the other campaign…if that happened…that’s as wrong as it gets.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – who launched the Mueller probe – was on the hot seat today in front of the House Judiciary Committee to face questions over Strzok, Mueller, and the Trump investigation. When asked if he was aware how biased Peter Strzok was, Rosenstein answered: no, adding that he has seen “no reason to fire Mueller.”

Charlie Savage

Rod Rosenstein says if ordered to fire Mueller, “I would follow the reg. If there were good cause, I would act. If there were no good cause, I would not.” As of today, he says, he still has seen no good cause to fire Mueller.

NBC News

Q: Have you seen good cause to fire Special Counsel Mueller?

Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein: “No.”

So, despite having rooted out two rabidly anti-Trump lead investigators from the Mueller probe, and the fact that the Special Counsel is stacked with Democrats who have apparently sent more anti-Trump messages to each other – which, according to reports will come out in the next 4-6 weeks, Rosenstein sees no cause to fire Mueller and close down this sham of an investigation.

Read More: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-13/we-cant-take-risk-fbi-texts-reveal-insurance-policy-prevent-trump-presidency