David Roberts at the online Grist site has a toilet that will solve Rand Paul’s problem, as Paul let slip at a Senate hearing earlier this week. A couple of interesting videos accompanied Roberts’ article:
And this one, which makes me happy we didn’t have this toilet when our kids were toddlers, and at war with each other, or just happy to study hydraulics with frequent flushes, frequently with stuff that shouldn’t be flushed:
Bill Scher, also at Grist, did the shopping earlier that Rand Paul appears unable to do — there are several toilets available to solve Paul’s problem, many of them made in America.
Almost three years ago we replaced the three toilets in our home with two Toto models and one Kohler, all low-flow, water miser editions. They work fine. (We also shopped our local area, and found prices considerably below those listed, at several different outlets.) Kohler, in fact, enlists the help of a fetching plumber named Jo. She steps into a well-appointed bathroom and invites you to test Kohler’s toilets — you pick something in the bathroom, and she flushes it. Bye bye, rubber duckie. So long, handtowel. Four bottles of shampoo at once.
Click image to test Kohler toilets [Update, August 2012: Alas, Kohler seems to have deactivated the interactive site.] [BUT, see update below.]
Kohler, clearly, had someone with Sen. Paul’s, er, um, problem, in mind!
So, Rand Paul no longer has a reason to be full of s—. It’s time he vote to endorse saving energy, as appliance and lightbulb manufacturers have done. Why is Paul so opposed to American business anyway?
Update: The Trophy Wife™ suggested somebody stage a showdown, or flush off between Jo the Plumber and Sen. Rand Paul. Jo the Plumber could see how well the Republican budget whacks flush away . . . “H.R. 1: Flushes cleanly! 382 pages gone! Appropriately disposed of! What do you want to flush next?”
Perhaps someone adept at editing flash videos could make that happen . . .
Update, May 2020: Fortunately, Kohler did a video of their interactive ad, and that still exists. I admit I enjoyed pointing to odd objects in the game, which Jo the Plumber then dutifully flushed. Video gives you an idea of what the toilet can handle, enough to handle Rand Paul and Donald Trump together, probably.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
bidet toilet combo…
Relief for Rand Paul’s toilet problem « Millard Fillmore's Bathtub…
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We have two Toto toilets that are really primo. Our Crane is great, too. Each of them was under $300. No high pressure. Much better performance than our 4 and 6 gallon flushers we replaced them with.
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Flushmate. I first saw one of these at a car dealership, and it was so high-powered, I was compelled to “look under the hood”. It’s a sealed tank unit that uses the source water pressure to compress air in the top of the sealed insert tank that helps force the water during the flush. Being more competent than Rand Paul, I’ve been able to keep my existing toilets in good repair, so I haven’t yet replaced them with Flushmate toilets, but those would be my choice when the time comes.
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[…] Paul revealed why he’s full of . . . that certain fecality, shall we say. He did that in a hearing about light bulbs, and appliances. Energy conservation […]
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[…] [Update: Paul could learn about efficient, U.S.-built toilets, here.] […]
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Ed, think Mark would agree to live a couple years on $9 an hour just to prove himself right?
After all..that is what 1 in 4 Americans makes…..
Yes there is class warfare going on. By the rich against everyone else.
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[…] Rand Paul complains that his toilet doesn’t work, that he has to flush it 10 times. Rand, baby, what do you eat? Try one of these toilets. […]
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Pseudo, I have a question for you.
Rand Paul wants the entire country to go “Right to Work” which would be more honestly called “Right for the owners to bend over the workers and **** them up the ***.”
Study after study shows that workers in so called “Right to Work” states get paid less, have less benefits, have little to no pensions.
Now…if you want to defend Rand Paul…then why on God’s green worth would any worker agree to his little idea?
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Stupid reactionary, knee-jerk (i.e., conservative) responses: Mark at Pseudo Polymath critiques my criticism of Rand Paul:
I dashed off this response, there:
Probably should have said “Rand Paul can be an oafish, bullying idiot” rather than “is.”
But then, I’ve never seen the man in a graceful moment. I might be right with the “is.” I wish Paul would provide contrary evidence. After all, his office posted his oafish behavior on YouTube.
That’s part of the problem, of course. Tea Partiers and other usually-non-thinking conservatives generally mistake insult for clever response, ill-informed rant for counter-argument. It’s difficult for a thinking person to look wholly pure pointing out such reeking stupidity, too.
What’s your experience?
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P. Z. Myers is a wise man. He often sets a good example.
But does the good Dr. Myers have low-flow toilets that flush? That’s a question.
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You know, Ed, that PZ Myers fellow says that he has a Trophy Wife too.
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I have a 1.3 gal. Kohler that works perfectly every time and I also have a house original 3.5 gal that often takes two flushes. Same two people use both! I will replace the old 3.5 as soon as I can afford to. Rand Paul is just–well you know and I don’t really want to use those words in a public forum.
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