2010

Toyota Recall: I Don’t Want You To Die

February 3, 2010 by Queen of Spain 17 Comments

crossposted at BlogHer.com

My husband removed the floor mat from his 2005 Toyota Prius today, because he’d rather not die. Correction: I informed my husband to immediately remove the floor mat from him 2005 Toyota Prius so it wouldn’t KILL HIM.

Toyota is recalling millions of vehicles, and despite being an owner of one of said recalled vehicles, I found out via the news. Yes I tend to panic a bit, but when you hear stories about accelerators getting stuck and families dying, I think I am allowed to panic.

From MNN.com:

Lastrella: Our accelerator is stuck. We’re on 125.

911dDispatcher: Northbound 125. What are you passing?

Lastrella: We’re going 120. Mission Gorge. We’re in trouble. We can’t … there is no brakes. End freeway half mile.

911 dispatcher: You can’t do anything like turn off your engine?

Lastrella: We’re approaching the intersection. We’re approaching the intersection. We’re approaching the intersection.

With voices inside the car shouting “hold on” and “pray,” the Lexus slammed into the rear of a Ford Explorer, hopped a curb, and burst through a fence before rolling down an embankment, becoming airborne and rolling several times before bursting into flames in the San Diego River Basin. All four people on board were killed.

So go ahead and tell me I’m just fueling panic and being over dramatic, but the fact of the matter is this recall is for real, people have died, and my husband’s car is on the list. Not only is it on the list but we have yet to be sent a letter by Toyota or the dealership telling us what we should do.

So I called Toyota Santa Monica and asked.

Why? Because this morning I woke up and heard Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood telling a House committee that Toyota owners should “stop driving” their recalled cars. LaHood attempted to clarify his remarks later by saying Toyota owners concerned about their cars should take them in to the dealership. But the damage was done. Even stocks slipped on the news.

So that’s what I did. I called the dealership. And the conversation wasn’t very comforting. The very nice service department woman on the other end of the phone informed me that yes, my husband’s car was part of the recall and as a “quick fix” he could remove his floor mat. She also then informed me that it didn’t really matter though, because they don’t have the parts to fix the problem…so she couldn’t schedule an appointment or help me beyond telling me to remove the floor mat. And oh, by the way, once they DID get the parts in, she couldn’t fix our car until we got an “official” recall letter in the mail.

Encoremind got a similar but even more disturbing response from his dealership “Don’t have a letter either. Dealer says just put shift in neutral if you feel you are going to your certain death. %$&#@?!%”

I’m not the only one uncomfortable with all of this. Feather14 on Twitter tells me her 73-year old mother just bought her first car ever, a Toyota, and now she’s too scared to drive it.

She started not going on the highway, then last week she felt something with the peddle and decided not to drive it anymore.

Jacki Mieler says, “Honestly, I wasn’t too worried until the Transportation Sec’s declaration today. Now I’m freaked. I need the truck in snow tho…”

However there are those with recalled vehicles that are less than concerned. Denise at BlogHer has the same floor mat problem in her Prius. When I told her to go immediately remove her floor mat (because I’d rather she didn’t die either) she told me to “#suckit no I like my floormat.”

Toyota is attempting to reassure car owners like myself who may not be as confident as Denise. The automaker issued this statement shortly after LaHood’s remarks:

…Our message to Toyota owners is this – if you experience any issues with your accelerator pedal, please contact your dealer without delay. If you are not experiencing any issues with your pedal, we are confident that your vehicle is safe to drive.

Nothing is more important to Toyota than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive. Our entire organization of 172,000 North American employees and dealership personnel is working around the clock to fix the accelerator pedals for our customers.

So while we await word via official letter on how to handle this recall, I’ll tell you what I told my husband: Next time, listen to your Detroit-born wife, granddaughter of a Chrysler worker, supporter of all things Detroit auto industry related…and buy Detroit*.

*I’m ignoring any recall, problem, issue, lack of innovation, or otherwise that may or may not have ever happened in the history of Detroit automaking. Today, and just for today, I’m gloating.

Contributing Editor Erin Kotecki Vest drives a Chrysler Town & Country and also blogs at Queen of Spain blog.

Filed Under: #suckit

#keepyourpantson

February 3, 2010 by Queen of Spain Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Holding Court

Trying to discuss boys, take 1 (and a half)

February 1, 2010 by Queen of Spain 18 Comments

This conversation started here.

Filed Under: kill me now, Princess Peanut, Stepford Crazies

One Of These Things Is Not Like the Other…

January 29, 2010 by Queen of Spain 17 Comments

I must admit even I raised an eyebrow when I saw Queen of Spain blog was nominated for the 2010 Bloggie Award in Politics.

I giggled a bit, grinned, and then puffed up my chest…just a tad.

I’ve spent many years attempting to convince many people that politics = personal. I have nothing but respect for my fellow nominees. The Huffington Post is a powerhouse in aggregating political news and commentary. Wonkette makes me HOWL with their satire and DC smackdowns. Crooks and Liars is where I go when I want the dirt from the Hill and beyond, and Glenn Greenwald of Salon consistently churns out post after post on everything from the Supreme Court to the implications of US policy overseas.

…and then, there’s me. Sure I talked about the White House response to the Christmas Day attempted terror attack…just with a much different spin. I talk about my Weapons Grade hate for Sarah Palin, my feeling on the war in Afghanistan, my anger over Prop 8, my first person battle with our health care system. My undying love for my hometown of Detroit and support of the Automaker bailouts. I defend the First Lady. My very personal decisions and run-ins with the public school system. My personal moment at the political conventions.

But what makes me a bit different is that these politically charged stories are interlaced with my life. They are part of my life, my work, and my passion. Between the punditry you’ll find stories of my struggle with balancing motherhood and career. Posts about my family’s moral compass, teaching sex to my kids, and even just my thoughts as my children grow.

At first glance, this may all seem very out of place in a sea of wonk. But as you read and look around, I remind you that we’re all citizens, voters, and part of this great nation. We fight our fights, we express our views. And most of us do it just like this…over kitchen tables. Over drinks with friends. Over chit-chat at the ballgame. We’re not all experts or policy nerds. We’re Americans. And there are many, many, many more of us blogging our lives, our stories, and our take on what’s happening at our city council meetings and in our state legislatures. We know how it affects our schools, our bills, our homes.

Yes, one of these blogs is not like the others…and I’m ok with that. Because the personal is political.

Filed Under: Feeling YaYa, Stepford Crazies

Follow My Commentary Live: State of the Union

January 27, 2010 by Queen of Spain 2 Comments

I’ll be over here. Join us while my kids run amuck and I let them eat candy so I can hear what the President is saying!

How to follow along with BlogHer Chatter and Twitter feeds:

Jill Miller Zimon and on Twitter @Jillmz
American Princess and on Twitter @EMZanotti
Erin Kotecki Vest and on Twitter @QueenofSpain

Hope to see you there.

Filed Under: BlogHer

I Do NOT Want To See John Edwards Have Sex

January 25, 2010 by Queen of Spain 2 Comments

crossposted at BlogHer.com

I’ll admit that I like a good train wreck. Most Americans do. We watch reality TV shows as families squabble and crumble, we see friends fight, lovers break up. We watch and either laugh or sigh. The paparazzi circle and the photos and video spread from computer to computer.

However there’s an added element of voyeurism when a politician is involved. These “leaders” of our cities, states, and country parade themselves from podium to podium discussing important things, such as the economy and health care. They champion causes like fair wages and worker’s rights. They make promises. They debate. They ask to be held accountable.

Then, like John Edwards, they admit to having an affair (ouch), fathering a child with the mistress (double ouch), and find themselves the subject of rumors of a sex tape.

Yes. A John Edwards sex tape.

I think that needs to sink in for a minute. I mean, sure we had The Blue Dress and the lap sitter ala Gary Hart. The foot tapping in airport stalls. But is this the first time we just *might* really see a politician do the nasty?

My mind reels.

A few things immediately hit me when I first heard an Edwards sex tape may exist:

1) I really don’t want to see this man naked.

2) I really want to know if his hair moves during sex.

3) Could this politician sink any lower?

4) Will he ever run for office again?

5) I really do not want to see this man naked.

Never fear though, Emily Miller at Politics Daily says it’s likely I will never see the former senator get it on:

Let’s face it, Young has lied before: He previously claimed paternity of Edwards’ daughter with Hunter, and if we believe him now, was willing to drive his own life over a cliff to cover up for his boss. But he now insists that he became disillusioned when he discovered the sex tape in 2007 … in his friend Hunter’s home. (Gee, was it hidden on the coffee table, along with an open box of chocolates?) Doubtless the motivation of a book contract had nothing to do with Young’s disillusionment … but he’s threatening to reveal more gory details of Edwards and Hunter’s affair in his new book, The Politician, which will be released February 2. Oh, and those who do not want to hear another word about the contents of the (purported?) sex tape should NOT tune in for his interview Friday on ABC’s 20/20.

Yes, our leaders fall from grace and yes we’ve seen public figure after public figure admit to transgression after transgression. John Edwards isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last. However this is the first politician I may ever see have sex. If I watch. Oh who am I kidding, I’m watching.

Lori Ziganto is shielding her eyes though:

On the plus side, perhaps it is just him admiring himself in front of a mirror? Sigh. No, we won’t get off that easily, I suspect. I wonder if he says things like “Oh, yeah, brush my hair just like that” or “Who’s your illegitimate baby daddy?” or “Oh, baby, how do you like my stimulus package?”

Please disappear, John Edwards. Kindly take your icky tape and go to that second America you were always rambling on about.

As someone who talks to staffers up on the Hill daily and occasionally sits down with Congress members, I’m really rather disturbed by this recent trend of naked politicians. Newly-elected Senator Scott Brown’s chest in the middle of Cosmo, the possibility of Edwards on my computer screen moaning and sweating … it’s really more than one political director can take. I mean, let’s be professional for God’s sake! Isn’t this some sort of sexual harassment on the job?

What ever happened to the good old days, way before the Internet, when you paid your mistress some hush money and kept her far, far away? Maybe in another country where the local reporters would never suspect? You even had your staffers tell people you were out “hiking the Appalachian Trail” and no one was the wiser? What happened to “kept” women and wives who quietly said nothing so their husbands could climb that political ladder?

At least then, while the indiscretions were just as pervasive, we didn’t have to WITNESS the acts. Such is life in the age of transparency, easy uploads, and immovable hair.

Contributing Editor, Producer of Special Projects, and BlogHer Political Director Erin Kotecki Vest also blogs at Queen of Spain Blog

Politics & News Contributing Editor Erin Kotecki Vest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Cowboys of the Progressive Persuasion

January 24, 2010 by Queen of Spain 10 Comments

It’s hard to keep my mouth shut.

But I have. For good reason.

Anything I say is going to be taken as a “Yes -(wo)Man” argument.

You see there’s this.

And also this.

There’s this.

And also this.

Which leads us, to this.

You don’t have to like it all. You don’t have to die on the sword. But NOTHING will get done if you continue your grandstanding.

Remember compromise? Remember how change takes hard work? Remember how we’re working with each other and everyone else?

Yes, I said everyone else.

I didn’t vote for President Obama so he would act like President Bush. I never expected him to take his SuperMajority (which should come with a cape) and shove things through – other side, rest of the country, be damned.

That’s not the man we elected. If you somehow missed that message perhaps you were too busy looking at your own agenda while the rest of us were paying attention.

But…I digress.

I heard ‘you’re either with us or against us’ once before. It sounded arrogant then and it sounds just as arrogant coming from the ‘cowboy’ left now.

You can’t change the game unless you’re playing it, and you…my brothers and sisters…are pushing us all to sit on the bench. There’s plenty of blame to go around, sure. We all, White House included, shoulder some. However let’s learn to point those fingers elsewhere.

I’m not asking you to shut up, I’m just asking you to be smart. Take your liberal, elitist, Prius driving, college educated, latte’ sipping mouth and use it to critique while standing strong with your party.

Unless, of course, you really think that 3rd party thing is viable. Then by all means…don’t let the door hit you in the ass.

Filed Under: Feeling YaYa

No Email. No Twitter. No Internet. …and then she died.

January 21, 2010 by Queen of Spain 26 Comments

Over the holidays, BlogHer CEO Lisa Stone completely disconnected herself from work, and thus from the web. No email. None. No twitter. Zero.

I was in awe.

The CEO of the company I work for was walking away to take a real vacation, not those “working” vacations many of us tend to take. I couldn’t even begin to fathom how this was even possible.

And now I can’t get it out of my head.

What did she do for all those weeks? Baked pies and cleaned toilets, apparently. But what did she REALLY do?

I keep thinking about how I structure my day and my life. I’m never without two phones or my laptop. I’m never turned off. I mean, what if the White House calls? What if news breaks? What if I need to get a post live on the site and everyone else is eating dinner? Where else would I talk to my friends? How else would I know WHAT IS GOING ON????!!! Seriously. The White House called Monday, on my day off. You don’t NOT answer when they call. Ok granted my 4-year old informed them via loud voice in the background that she had to poop…but you STILL PICK UP THE PHONE.

The anxiety rises in me just thinking about it.

But then I get past the anxiety and think a bit further down the road.

What if I played legos without the phone next to me? Would that really be so bad? What if I didn’t twitter that really funny thing my husband said or grab for the flip cam to capture the impromptu dance party in my kitchen?

Would the world end? Would it be any less of a “moment?”

Or maybe it comes down to feeling needed. Do these people who care what I have for lunch REALLY need me to tell them exactly what the President just said?

Call it a crisis of faith, if you will. But I may go the way of Lisa Stone and take the plunge.

If I can get past the anxiety first.

Filed Under: BlogHer