Yesterday, I went through all the ballot issues I wil be voting on and figured out all the Yesses and Noes. In Colorado, General Elections in odd-numbered years are never for people but only for issues, and are limited to issues involving money. So it’s a drag reading through all of them. I have 3 state issues, one county issue, and one special district issue to vote on. The special district issue was easy – our fire and EMT response times are dire, all due to insufficuent funds. The others were more difficult, and I had to go to Colorado Public Radio for actual English explanations to determine where the Republican shenanigans are hidden (and there certainly are some.) But I have it figured out now. Also yesterday, Mitch and I figured out a way that I can email him the Open Thread (not a link, the actual content) which is simple and easy. And of course he can reply with comments. So we can keep in touch to that extent anyway.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
USPS Testing Out Postal Banking. Thank The Postal Union!
Quote – The USPS got out of the banking business in 1966, but for decades, think tanks and policy geeks have said it would be a great thing to bring back, because there are millions of Americans who don’t use banks, yes in 2021. Instead, far too many Americans are unbanked — about five percent of us — and pay too much to cash their paychecks at payday lenders, (some) grocery stores, or Walmart. Starting last month, the USPS began testing out a new system where people can cash business checks up to $500 and receive the money in the form of a gift card that can be used pretty much anywhere. As David Dayen puts it at the American Prospect, this is a big effing deal: He calls it “the most far-reaching executive action that the Biden administration has taken since Inauguration Day.”
Click through for story. Elizabeth Warren is one who will certainly be happy. This is a pet project of hers (one of many.)
Rise in New Mexico earthquakes likely triggered by oil industry
Quote – There were 146 quakes through June so far this year. Those numbers are just in New Mexico — they are even higher over the border in the Texas portion of the basin. The overwhelming majority of the quakes are small and barely perceptible to people right in the area where they occur. But Dr. Mairi Litherland, the manager of the Seismological Observatory at New Mexico Tech, is paying close attention because, “we have seen that when you start to see more of these smaller events, it can lead to larger events.”
Click through for details (including bad kitty litter). Gee- ya think?
GOP Senate Candidate Seeks Gag Order On His Wife
Quote – And now, true to Trump form, he’s got problems with his treatment of women in his personal life, ahem. “Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Sean Parnell has asked a judge to seal records in his ongoing custody case and to ban his wife and her attorney from talking publicly about past protection-from-abuse orders against him — matters that have stirred political attacks and media scrutiny.”
Click through – This is just the primary. Lots could happen.
Food for Thought –
