Postal Service – Politics Plus

Video Thread 10/17/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:18 pm Open Thread, Politics

Oct 172021

Glenn Kirschner – Prosecution of Bannon for Contempt of Congress WILL Impact How Meadows, Patel & Others Will Behave

The Lincoln Project – Peaceful Pledge

MSNBC – White House To Moderna: Make More Covid Vaccine!

Robert Reich – Fire Postmaster DeJoy. I’m not sure how it would help to name his nominees nw – but then, RR knows more about how government works than I do – so maybe some good would coe of it.

SphinxConnect 2017 – “The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” HANKY ALERT “Sphinx” is an organization which assists young musicians of color (including bron, “red”, and “yellow” as well as black) to enhance their musical talents and abilities through many programs. I have mixed feelines about all those white faces in the video. But if Sphinx posted it, I guess I can. The CC is the lyrics by section and doesn’t contain all the repeats, but it gets the point across.

And to restore a little hope after that – Woman Turns Backyard Shed Into An Apartment For Stray Cats

Beau – Let’s talk about Chicago cops….

Open Thread for October 8, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 082021

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 –

Open Thread for August 8, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 082021

Yesterday Iit was a little warmer, but not too bad. I just kind of took things slow and easy as much as I could.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

The Hill – Supreme Court decision could set off gerrymandering ‘arms race’
Quote – To be sure, the courts will continue to have a role to play in the looming redistricting fight. At the federal level, for instance, it remains illegal to carry out gerrymanders based on race. According to Parsons, however, state lawmakers will be particularly careful to frame their map drawing as motivated by party interest, as a way to side-step federal litigation. “In the wake of Rucho I expect many states will pack districts quite aggressively and explicitly argue that they are doing so based on partisan affiliation and not race,” he said.
Click through for deets and implications. This is not good. And saying, “Hopefully, Congress accepts that invitation before it’s too late” is not helpful. The House has written and passed the For The People Act which would address this. The Senate will not allow it to move forward – barring a miracle. So let’s not blame “Congress.” More than half of the states have some legislative or costitutional protection which could challenge attempts to gerrymander (or preclude them before they start) – but it only needs a few heavily gerrymandered states to poison the entire House and/or Senate. Ballotpedia and the National Council of State Legislatures have state-by-state information if anyone wants to check their own state.

The Week – The USPS awarded a $120 million contract to a company with financial ties to the postmaster general
Quote – “There’s no question he’s continuing to profit from a Postal Service contractor,” said Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Even if DeJoy complies with legal requirements, Canter added “it does create an appearance issue about whether it’s in his financial interest to continue to make policy that would benefit contractors like XPO.”
Click through for story.

CBS News – Florida breaks record for new daily Covid cases for third time this week
Quote – “This is real. And it didn’t have to be this bad,” Nikki Fried, Florida’s commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, tweeted Saturday. “We need everyone to do their part — #GetVaccinatedNow & #MaskUp. If not for yourself, for your friends, family, and neighbors. For our kids. For our doctors & nurses. For Florida.”
Click through for more info. You will be happy to know (even though it means he’ll be missig here) that our Mitch is outta there for a bit under a week (and having fun.)

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 4/23/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 4:47 pm Open Thread, Politics

Apr 232021

The Lincoln Project – Well, this is interesting. I believe it’s called “stiring the s***.”

Meidas Touch – “Impressed?

Really American – Mo Brooks

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-fire-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy
Glenn Kirschner – I’m glad he’s taking this up … and has information on a petition (which I’ll spare you tracking down through Twitter)

Earth Day – “Trash TV” – Every time this video is watched, it will fund the removal of one piece of plastic from the ocean. I don’t know for sure if that is true for embeds, but you can always click through just in case.

LPLP – “Welcome home, Rattler! Michael “Rattler” Markus, “who served during the NoDAPL protests as an Akicita (defender), positioned between police and water protectors to keep everybody safe, was arrested in February of 2017. He subsequently accepted a plea to a civil disorder charge stemming from his presence on Oct. 27, 2016 — when law enforcement assaulted unarmed water protectors with sound cannons, tasers, bean bags, rubber bullets, and pepper spray.” Sprry about the spring plains wind, which can be heard throughiut.

5 Things Cats Do Better Than Humans!

BIG Mouth Awards

Every 1,000th Comment
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23 – Maria – 9/7/2011
24 – Phyllis – 9/29/2011
25 – Tom – 10/22/2011
26 – Lynn Squance – 11/25/2011
27 – Deborah – 12/29/2011
28 – Patty – 1/19/2012
29 – Lynn Squance – 2/8/2012
30 – Jolly Roger – 3/8/2012
31 – Patty – 5/4/2012
32 – Marva Dasef – 6/8/2012
33 – Patty – 7/8//2012
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35 – Patty – 9/17/2012
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37 – Lynn Squance – 11/6/2012
38 – SoINeedAName – 11/29/2012
39 – Lynn Squance – 1/11/2013
40 – Lynn Squance – 2/17/2013
41 – Patty – 3/23/2013
42 – Edith Belcher – 5/29/2013
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44 – Patty – 7/27/2013
45- Lynn Squance – 8/21/2013
46 – Rixar13 – 9/12/2013
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48- Lynn Squance – 10/25/2013
49 – Patty – 11/27/2013
50 – Lynn Squance – 1/13/2014
51 – Patty – 3/7/2014
52 – Yvonne White – 4/16/2014
53 – Edie – 5/20/2014
54 – Jerry Critter – 6/23/2014
55 – Lynn Squance – 7/29/2014
56 – Joanne D – 9/5/2014
57 – Patty – 10/19/2014
58 – Arielle – 11/16/2014
59 – Pat A – 12/26/2014
60 – SoINeedAName – 1/24/2015
61 – Lynn Squance – 2/18/2015
62 – Joanne D – 3/21/2015
63 – Vivian B – 4/23/2015
64 – Joanne D – 5/23/2015
65 – Yvonne White – 6/22/2015
66 – SoINeedAName – 7/16/2015
67 – Lona Goudswaard – 8/6/2015
68 – Mamabear – 8/25/2015
72 – Judi Angell – 11/27/2015
74 – Judi Angell – 1/18/2016
75 – Jerry Critter – 1/2/2016
76 – Lona Goudswaard – 3/11/2016
77 – Lona Goudswaard – 4/4/2016
78 – Pat B – 5/5/2016
79 – Mitch D – 6/5/2016
80 – Joanne D – 7/3/2016
81 – Lona Goudswaard – 7/30/2016
82 – Mitch D – 9/2/2016
83 – Joanne D – 10/6/2016
84 – Pat A – 11/10/2016
85 – Pat B – 12/11/2016
86 – Pat A – 1/14/2017
87 – Lynn Squance – 2/18/2017
88 – Vivian Birdwell – 4/5/2017
89 – Vivian Birdwell – 5/16/2017
90 – Lona Goudswaard – 6/23/2017
91 – SoINeedAName – 7/30/2017
92 – Joanne D – 9/4/2017
93 – Pat B – 10/12/2017
94 – SoINeedAName – 11/20/2017
95 – Jerry Critter – 12/31/2017
96 – Joanne D – 2/12/2018
97 – Pat B – 3/27/2018
98 – Richard A – 5/5/2018
99 – Lynn Squance – 6/12/2018
100 – Mitch D – 7/20/2018
101 – Pat B – 8/30/2018
102 – Pat B – 10/5/2018
103 – Joanne D – 11/9/2018
104 – Animae – 12/18/2018
105 – Animae – 1/25/2019
106 – Colleen – 3/2/2019
107 – Joanne D – 4/11/2019
108 – Animae – 6/1/2019
109 – Pat B – 8/9/2019
110- Angelflowers – 09/20/2019
111 – Colleen – 11/5/2019
112 – Pat B – 12/25/2019
113 – None – My Bad
114 – Pat B – 3/24/2020
115 – Freya – 5/24/2020
116 – JL – 7/4/2020
117 – Colleen – 8/13/2020