Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

He really is that stupid.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

Consistently wrong since 2002

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Republicans don’t trust women.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Now That the Patient’s Arms and Legs are Gone, We’re Suspending Amputations

Now That the Patient’s Arms and Legs are Gone, We’re Suspending Amputations

by | 94 Comments

This post is in: 

Breaking load of horseshit:

The U.S. Postal Service will halt its controversial cost-cutting initiatives until after the election — canceling service reductions, reinstating overtime hours and ceasing the removal of mail-sorting machines and public collection boxes, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced in a statement Tuesday.

Translation:  we already removed enough mail sorting machines to screw everything up, but we’ll make sure everything is well and truly fucked after the elections.

If Biden wins the election and we get Congressional majorities, after making Puerto Rico and DC states, there needs to be a Presidential Unfuck Commission.  Andrew Cuomo could lead it.  The sole purpose would be to track down every way that Trump fucked up institutions like the EPA, Post Office, FDA, CDC, etc., and recommending how to clear the wreckage.

Reader Interactions

94Comments

  1. 1.

    Elizabelle

    Bringing this comment forward. This could have concentrated DeJoy’s mind, too.

    I hope they file suit to get every single sorting machine back. Do not let up the heat, one bit.

    WaPost: At least 20 states plan to sue the U.S. Postal Service over service delays, threat to election

    At least 20 states plan to file lawsuits this week against the U.S. Postal Service and its new postmaster, Louis DeJoy, seeking to reverse service changes that have prompted widespread reports of delays and accusations of an intentional effort to thwart voters from mailing their ballots this fall.

    The suits, expected to be filed in federal court imminently, will argue that the Postal Service broke the law by making operational changes without first seeking approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission. They will also argue that the changes will impede states’ ability to run free and fair elections, officials from several state attorney general offices told The Washington Post.

    “We’re trying to stop Trump’s attacks on the Postal Service, which we believe to be an attack on the integrity of election. It’s a straight-up attack on democracy,” Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) said in an interview. “This conduct is illegal. It’s unconstitutional. It’s harmful to the country. It’s harmful to individuals.”

    …. Maryland is signing onto a suit led by Washington state, which is expected to be filed at 2 p.m. Tuesday, and also includes Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to a draft obtained by The Post.

    Separately, Pennsylvania is filing another suit, joined by California, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts and North Carolina, among others.  All the states are represented by Democratic attorneys general.

    Frosh said the operational changes are also a violation of the Voting Rights Act, saying the sorting machine removal disproportionately impacts cities, which tend to be home to minorities. The lawsuit also contends violations of the Americans with Disability Act by making it more difficult for people with physical disabilities and health conditions to safely cast a ballot.

    “Because we’re in the middle of a pandemic, this is asking them to risk their lives,” he said.

    The Postal Service also recently warned 46 states that it could not guarantee the delivery of ballots under their current deadlines.

    Again: All the states [filing these lawsuits] are represented by Democratic attorneys general. Voting matters. Vote for the Democrats if you want to vote for the good guys, who believe in the public good and protecting services that benefit it.

    There is a fact you can mention in your GOTV work.

  2. 2.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Assuming this announcement is true, which I cannot trust with the Trump administration, it sounds like a major victory.  The overtime thing was by far the biggest way this guy has screwed over the post.  Has he removed enough sorting machines to make a big difference?  I’ve heard no numbers.  But the overtime thing was huge.  It used to be that postal workers worked however many hours it took to deliver that day’s mail.  DeJoy changed that to ‘if you don’t have enough hours, tough, they wait.’  I think protestors outside his home scared the shit out of him.

  3. 3.

    A Ghost to Most

    Anyone who thinks this the end of the fuckery is willfully ignorant. Same for anyone who thinks this ends on Election Day.

  4. 4.

    patroclus

    I’m definitely in favor of D.C. Statehood (with 2 Senators and voting rights in the full House) and have been so since I actually lived in D.C. several decades ago.  It is blatantly unfair that residents have no actual representation and is akin to the worst forms of apartheid in the RSA with their bantustans and no one-person one-vote systems.  And I also favor breaking the ridiculous filibuster rules to do it if/when the Republicans oppose it as expected.  Puerto Rico is different – I favor statehood if they want it, but they have traditionally favored continued commonwealth status and I don’t want to impose it on them unwanted.  A favorable referendum (at least) would be needed there and the statehood proponents have usually (but not invariably)  been aligned with the Republicans there.

    On the USPS, re-instating OT pay will largely keep the mail flowing faster and insure electoral security.  I hope this news is accurate and will actually be followed through with.

  5. 5.

    Benw

    @Elizabelle: “New York Attorney General Letitia James planned separate legal action, she said in a statement Tuesday.”

    I unseriously hope for criminal charges

  6. 6.

    James E Powell

    I’m thinking that this suspension is their effort to get ahead of whatever will be revealed in the house hearing. They are going to go into to the hearing attacking the inquiry, blaming Obama, and saying it’s all bullshit because they agreed to suspend until after the election.

    First, only a fool or member of the American press/media would believe that. Second, they have not agreed to restore anything to what it was before the sabotage began. Third, they aren’t going to bring back any of the people they got rid of. Fourth, they are not going to authorize overtime. Fifth, they lie about everything and DeJoy needs to resign.

  7. 7.

    trollhattan

    The sole purpose would be to track down every way that Trump fucked up institutions like the EPA, Post Office, FDA, CDC, etc., and recommending how to clear the wreckage.

    I sure as hell hope somebody’s been taking good notes, because they’re so far reaching and many they’re probably literally uncountable. Heard this morning Trump’s pushing like hell to hold drilling auctions for ANWR before year’s end. Should they sell permits, I do not know how you unfuck that.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    @Frankensteinbeck: The other policy that needs to be reversed is the “we will treat ballots like bulk mail, so delivery is not guaranteed, never mind delivery by a particular date”.

  11. 11.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    I’ve always supported the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after Trump’s totalitarian ass vacates the White House.

    P.S. Fuck that goddamn motherfucking putrid puke stain Jared.  There’s no earthly reason why any network should give this lying airhead scumbag son-in-law a platform to spread his lies and bullshit.

  12. 12.

    jl

    Problem is that for this job, maybe by chance, Trump found some people who knew that to get illegal stuff done and make it stick, it’s a good idea to get irreversible facts on the ground done quick, then say ‘Was that wrong? I did not know that?” If we can preserve democracy, probably not enough to save some people from jail, but now the question is can we preserve democratic government.

    The Democrats have a chance to establish facts on the ground, by voting in person or mail as early as possible. Michelle Obama touched on this, and I especially liked her advice to vote early and in person if possible. So, a sign that the Dem establish recognizes the problem and how to respond.

    Also, split in GOP suggests some disagreement there that in some areas Trump’s criminal moves may be counterproductive. Need to pay attention to where the most noise is coming from among state and national GOP pols.

  13. 13.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @patroclus:

    A favorable referendum (at least) would be needed there and the statehood proponents have usually (but not invariably)  been aligned with the Republicans there.

    That may have changed after the paper towel incident.

  14. 14.

    rp

    We shouldn’t assume everything is suddenly fine, but there’s also something to be said for embracing victories like this. People like winners, which is why the GOP has no qualms about declaring victory no matter what.

    This is a PR win; we should acknowledge that and keep pushing.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    @Wyatt Salamanca:

    I’ve always supported the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after Trump’s totalitarian ass vacates the White House.

    You’re kinder than I am; I’m holding out for a Truth and Retaliation Commission.

  17. 17.

    AnotherBruce

    Where are the Generals? We do have an army. Do these guys really want to make nice with Putin?

  18. 18.

    Dog Mom

    Employment for holiday workers usually starts around November 1. I believe  that workers from previous years get preference and only need updated security check.  Congress should demand people be brought in October 1 (or earlier) to give priority handling to applications and ballots.

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    I hope that DeJoy still shows for the Senate hearing Friday, and the House hearing Monday.  Lots of questions to ask him; lots of accountability due.

    Friday’s hearing is before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.  Ron Johnson (R- Wisconsin and Russia) is its chair.  Gary Peters of Michigan is the ranking member.

    CNN story from this morning; may be updated.

    (CNN)  Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will testify before the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday, the committee announced Tuesday.

    It will be the US Postal Service chief’s first opportunity to publicly answer questions amid accusations that the Trump administration is purposefully handicapping the USPS in an effort to hinder mail-in voting during the pandemic.

    Democrats on the House Oversight Committee announced earlier this week that DeJoy and USPS Board of Governors Chairman Robert Duncan would testify before their committee on Monday.

    ….   Democrats have claimed that DeJoy, who has been an ally of President Donald Trump and Republican donor, is intentionally undermining Postal Service operations to sabotage mail-in voting in the November election — a charge DeJoy denies.

    Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland committee, said in a statement Tuesday that he was “pleased to have secured an oversight hearing … in order to address urgent questions on Postal Service delays.”

    Peters, who’s up for reelection in Michigan this fall, announced earlier this month he was launching an investigation into the backlog at the USPS, and because Democrats are in the minority, pushed Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, for a hearing with DeJoy.

    In a statement to CNN, Johnson said DeJoy should have a chance to explain the Postal Service’s fiscal challenges ahead of appearing before a “hostile House committee determined to conduct a show trial.”

    “I look forward to Postmaster General DeJoy testifying at our virtual hearing this Friday. The Postal Service has had significant financial problems for years, and it is important for everyone to fully understand its current fiscal challenges,” Johnson said.

    The financial struggles of the USPS are not new, but the coronavirus pandemic has further strained the mail service.

    The House is set to return on Saturday to vote on legislation that would provide $25 billion in funding for the financially strapped agency.

    The Postal Service’s internal watchdog is also reviewing DeJoy’s recently imposed policy changes, and his compliance with federal ethics rules.

    CNN first reported that DeJoy still owns at least a $30 million equity stake in his former company — a USPS contractor — and that he recently bought stock options for Amazon, a USPS competitor. These holdings likely create a major conflict of interest, ethics experts told CNN, though DeJoy and USPS maintain that he has complied with all federal requirements.

    Ron Johnson is utterly despicable.  He’s up for re-election in 2022.

    I so hope our incoming Democratic administration (we must win!) breaks up Homeland Security.  Not every idea is a good one, nor deserves decades of existence.  They’ve already shown their potential to be stormtroopers.  Break. Them. Up.

     

  23. 23.

    patrick II

    The difference between the sabotage of most federal regulations and sabotage of the election is the latter is a criminal offense.  If you lose the election it would mean DeJoy would get jailtime — providing we don’t “look forward”.

  25. 25.

    Sebastian

    @Wyatt Salamanca:

    Any network that keeps propping up these fuckers loses their license. I am done with this “we didn’t know” bullshit.

    Prosecute those motherfuckers, all of them.

  26. 26.

    dmsilev

    @Elizabelle: I assume the Senate Republicans scheduled their hearing for Friday in an attempt to forestall the House’s (presumably more honest and in-depth) Monday event.

  27. 27.

    Dread

    I had the thought that we should codify a lot of the norms we took for granted as checks on the Presidency, but Trump has proven that there is no consequence for Presidents that break the law, so long as their Party controls at least one chamber of Congress, so I’m not sure how much good that will do.

  28. 28.

    Sebastian

    @Elizabelle:

    Hard to run for re-election when imprisoned. Anyone who acquitted Trump is an accessory after the fact to treason against the United States of America. Act accordingly.

  30. 30.

    ET

    The tRump lacky didn’t think anyone would notice or care because he was stupid and got caught. The bad PR was not a case of any press being good press. And maybe he realized that he was not the hot seat and because wasn’t likely to throw tRump under the bus that any and all shit was going to land on his lap and no one else’s – he was the sacrificial goat. Stopping whatever was going on was the easiest thing. Unlike his boss he decided to stop digging.  He had to worry about himself and he has a business to go back to when he is no longer Postmaster General.

  31. 31.

    The Moar You Know

    He’s straight up fucking lying.  USPS was removing mailboxes in my town an hour ago.

  32. 32.

    Adam Lang

    Fuck Andrew Cuomo. His principal job up until this year has been to do everything he could to screw Democrats while still trying to run for President as one.

  34. 34.

    Kent

    I spent the first half of my adult working life in a Federal regulatory agency (NOAA) mostly writing fisheries and environmental regulations as well as the associated supporting economic and environmental analyses.   You can still search the Federal Register and find dozens upon dozens of fisheries and environmental regulations popping up with my name as the primary author and contact point.

    There is a tendency in Democratic Administrations to go through endless process with endless stakeholder meetings and multiple drafts of analyses over years before finally implementing new regulations.  I spent my life doing it.  And clever lobbyists and interest groups know where all the normal veto points and pressure points are located.  The regulatory process is exactly the same thing as the legislative process in Congress, except far less public.  We get hints of it with things like the Boeing 737-Max fiasco.

    What the Trump Administration has shown us is that you can actually bull through the process and basically do what you want.  The USPS didn’t go through any sort of public process to completely fuck the mail. They just did it from top in secret.  The same thing has occurred across the Federal landscape from the EPA to DHS to basically every single damn agency.

    What Biden needs to do if he wins is find the most fucking ruthless bureaucratic knife-fighters in every agency (they exist on the Dem side too).  Your John Bolton types who know how to manipulate the system to get shit done.  On our side they are the Elizabeth Warren types actually.  And they need to go through and blanket-reverse as much of the Trump legacy as they can.  If an environmental regulation was repealed by Trump without proper analysis then just declare that it was improperly promulgated and put it right back.  Don’t spend four years of stakeholder meetings with polluting industries and settle on a negotiated approach that only dials back 50% of what Trump implemented by fiat.

    None of this has to do with Congress.  It is simply the effective wielding of executive power.   I fear a lot of the effort to reverse Trump actions will get bogged down and die due to paralysis of analysis and process.  Unless Biden puts experienced and ruthless bureaucratic hands back in charge who know how to get shit down and don’t care who screams.

  36. 36.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I am still super disappointed that DeJoy hasn’t been beaten to death with a baseball bat yet (wood, of course – I’m a purist).

  40. 40.

    Jeffro

    @James E Powell: absolutely they’re trying to get ahead of it.  “We, uh, sure we removed a shit-ton of sorting machines and eliminated overtime but you uh, know, uh, we were just trying to save money for taxpayers.  Now that we know it dramatically affects service, we’ll never do it again.”

    and then they’ll thank trumpov, not Congress, for being so supportive of the Post Office(!)

  41. 41.

    Ken

    accusations of an intentional effort to thwart voters from mailing their ballots this fall

    As always, it helps immensely that Trump confessed to this on national TV.  How many administration actions have been overturned, because the judge could say “he said this was being done for illegal reason X”?

  42. 42.

    Suzanne

    @Wyatt Salamanca:

    Fuck that goddamn motherfucking putrid puke stain Jared. 

    Come sit by me.
    I hate that entitled know-nothing Prince Joffrey with the hot fire of a thousand suns.

  46. 46.

    Soprano2

    I have a mail story. I ordered a scarf/face mask combo from Etsy on August 4th. It shipped from CA via USPS on August 6th, and arrived in KC MO on August 9th. It sat there until August 13th, at which time it started in transit to Springfield, MO. It still shows as in transit! It takes 3 to 4 hours, tops, to drive that route. We’ll see if I get it today, but it’s been “in transit” for 6 full days! It came from CA to KC faster than from KC to Springfield MO. I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen before.

  48. 48.

    piratedan

    @Dog Mom: they got purged before DeJoy went medieval on the agency.  Essentially laid off the entire hierarchy of the post office administration to remove any kind of chain of command, then the new dudes starting changing policy and yanking out infrastructure

  49. 49.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @WereBear:

    Goddamn, that’s cold. Beaten to death with a wiffle bat could take well over 24 hours.

    I’m worried about repetitive motion injuries to the wielders, though. I’m envisioning 5 shifts, with multiple breaks for water and stretching.

    Also need some proper ear protection for all the screaming.

  52. 52.

    Mike in NC

    If this Dejoy clown really does testify on Capitol Hill on Friday, we can 100% expect he’ll be fired before Monday.

  56. 56.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @WaterGirl: Republicans were out in the wilderness(didn’t control Congress(from 2007) nor the White House(beginning in 2009)), for at least 2 years and came back like cockroaches.  There was a lot of talk about permanent Democratic governance.  It didn’t happen then.

  60. 60.

    Dog Mom

    Who is going to make sure that Dejoy does/did not take any ‘Trade Secret’/Institutional knowledge back to his own companies and start using it against the P.O.?

  61. 61.

    Kay

    @rp:

    absolutely. This was a political disaster for them.

    they stupidly attacked a service that is much more popular than they are.

    I don’t know why we have to insist we lost even when we win.

  62. 62.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Dog Mom:Who is going to make sure that Dejoy does/did not take any ‘Trade Secret’/Institutional knowledge back to his own companies and start using it against the P.O.?

    Trump hires aren’t known for their attention to detail.

  63. 63.

    Sab

    Ten years ago our mail got sorted in a USPS building two blocks from our county’s Board of Election building. Now it gets driven 35 miles north to Cleveland and then 35 miles back for delivery. In one recent election Cleveland PO misplaced 700 ballots and sent them back for delivery to the BoE without cancellation stamps, so the ballots were not counted.

    That was before all of this.

  65. 65.

    Feathers

    @Kent: Yes! Professional stakeholders are a problem. “If you’re not a part of the solution, there’s good money to be made in prolonging the problem.” You can substitute being a leader in the attention economy as well.

    Raising awareness and getting things done are two different skillsets and more Dems need to realize that. I worked for a professor in a program with class participation grades. She took points away from anyone who repeated what someone else had said, and gave zero points to anyone who didn’t address the conversation as it currently stood, talking about a point that had been moved past without moving the conversation forward, or ignoring what previous speakers had said. We teach everyone that their voice deserves to be heard, but not how to actually talk in a way that is productive and creates effective change.

    My retired father is very active in local homeless and anti-poverty work. His view is that 90% of the people who start their own charities are just wasting everyone’s time (and a shitload of money). It is far more effective to find a larger group that does work in the area you are in and team up with them. I always admired that the Girl Scouts aren’t allowed to raise funds for anyone else, troops must do actual work for the organizations they want to support.

  67. 67.

    Ruckus

    How about while we are repairing, we fix at least some of the stupid crap that republicans have done, like that 75 years pre paying for USPS pensions.

  68. 68.

    James E Powell

    @patroclus:

    I favor statehood if they want it, but they have traditionally favored continued commonwealth status and I don’t want to impose it on them unwanted.

    People in Puerto Rico are Americans. It’s not they/them, it’s we/us.

    The people there have not really favored commonwealth status, but the ballots are set up to spread the options enough to prevent statehood from winning. This was done to benefit the people who are making coin off of the current colonial status.

    There have been three recent votes, but none of them provided a straightforward yes/no on statehood. This November there will be a yes/no vote, just like the ones done in Hawaii and Alaska prior to statehood. Though it is non-binding, the trend favors statehood.

    The horror show that went on after Hurricane Maria would not have happened if the people living there had two senators and four congresspersons.

  69. 69.

    Elizabelle

    @Immanentize: 

    We will use much higher windows. The Washington Monument is good by me. At minimum, the top of the US Capitol. We can be patriotic, here. Even Lady Liberty.

    PS: Love that the secretary was named “Fabricius.” Sounds like a fabulist.

  70. 70.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Kay:

    I don’t know why we have to insist we lost even when we win. 

    We aren’t out of the woods with these USPS-sabotaging fuckers yet.

  71. 71.

    mad citizen

    @Kent: As a long-time state worker, well said.  We had a rule or two ready to go in effect when our governor simply declared a moratorium on new rules, because you know, rules are bad.  The same guy that people ask to spearhead a 25th Amendment removal–not too likely…

  74. 74.

    Another Scott

    @Frankensteinbeck: The Detroit News has a long story about this.

    https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/18/michigan-union-chiefs-usps-delaying-mail-removing-machines-shifting-policies/3378203001/

    The removal of at least eight mail sorting machines in Detroit, Pontiac and Grand Rapids facilities are causing the loss of sorting more than 270,000 pieces of mail per hour, according to union officials from around the state. The planned removal of another three machines in West Michigan would reduce mail sorting capability by another 108,000 pieces of mail per hour, a union official there said.

    […]

    “We have a mandate to meet our delivery standards,” Woods said. “But by reducing the number of machines, you cripple that ability.”

    […]

    DeJoy, who is a donor to Trump’s campaign, has disputed reports that his agency is slowing down election mail or any other mail. Despite an expected surge in mail-in ballots in the fall, “we will deliver the nation’s election mail on time and within our well-established service standards,” he reiterated in a Tuesday statement.

    Woods said he was informed shortly after DeJoy took over of new rules, such as new sorting techniques that failed to account for surges in volume and trucks no longer being permitted to leave the facility late, even if all of the mail had not yet been loaded.

    “They’ve made a conscious decision to delay the mail under the guise of reducing overtime,” he said.

    After DeJoy took office, policies were implemented to reduce overtime and mandate carriers leave for their routes at certain times, causing delays in mail deliveries, said Michael Mize, president of the Michigan Postal Workers Union.

    “What we’re seeing right now is a direct attack on the Postal Service and what we do,” said Mize, who’s worked for the service for more than two decades.

    […]

    The beleaguered Postal Service lost $2.2 billion in the three months that ended in June after a $4.5 billion loss in the first quarter. It is piling up financial losses during the coronavirus pandemic that officials warn could top $20 billion over two years.

    The pandemic has resulted in a steep drop in letter volume, while the Postal Service’s package delivery volume has soared and led to price increases. Costs also have increased significantly to pay for personal protective equipment and replace workers who got sick or chose to stay home over fear of the virus, DeJoy has said.

    In his 30-year career, Local 480-481’s Woods said similar reductions in letter volume have resulted in equipment being temporarily mothballed, but not removed in such a manner.

    “We’ve seen staffing realignments. We’ve seen machines come. We’ve seen machines go,” he said. “But never I have seen management implement changes that I think everybody understood immediately we were going to fail and it was going to cause a back-up of the mail like we’ve never seen.”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  75. 75.

    Ruckus

    @Soprano2:

    My meds from the VA have to travel about 45 miles. Supposed to be delivered today. It’s been 7 days since being delivered to the post office, according to VA/post office tracking. I’m considering that not too terrible, all things considered. But I won’t know until end of the day.

  76. 76.

    James E Powell

    DeJoy is going in front of the senate committee on Friday so that the Republicans can stage manage his presentation, spend most of the time arguing with Democratic senators, and claiming the house hearings are unnecessary political games. I don’t think it will sway any voters, but it will likely get the press/media off their backs. After all, the typical press/media half-life of a Trump scandal is like three days.

  77. 77.

    trollhattan

    Guess who has opinions? A snippet.

    I’m convinced that the forces that brought Joe Biden the nomination are far more powerful than a few extremists in Portland and even the leftist illiberals on campus. I’m hopeful that if given power, Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will forge a new conservative radicalism.

    They have spent their lives within the liberal system, understand politics, understand radicalism’s advantages and dangers. They’re drawing support from an astonishingly wide swath of the ideological spectrum. I’m convinced that if Donald Trump is defeated, revolutionary zealotry will fade as debates over practical change and legislation dominate.

    If your views haven’t shifted over the past four tumultuous years, you’re probably not doing much fresh thinking. I find I have moved “left” on race, left on economics and a bit “right” on community, family and social issues.

    Mostly I find myself supporting the conservative radicals, leaders who are confident that we can push for big change while defeating the illiberalism of radicals on left and right.

    Boffsiderism cannot fail, it can only be failed.

  80. 80.

    Another Scott

    @Ruckus: The House voted to end the USPS pre-payment of pensions in February.

    https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2020/02/house-votes-end-controversial-usps-payments-future-retirees-health-care/162912/

    The USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) had more than 300 cosponsors, including more than five-dozen Republicans. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has introduced a companion bill (S. 2965) in the Senate with Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. The measure would eliminate the requirement going forward and forgive all payments on which USPS has defaulted.

    The Senate bill is sitting/dying in the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  82. 82.

    mrmoshpotato

    @trollhattan: *guesses David Fucking Brooks*

    *puts a paragraph into the Duckduckgo machine*

    *wins prize*

    Both sides are equally bad, bluegal. -driftglass

  83. 83.

    danielx

    @Elizabelle:

    They can reconcile after years in the wilderness…

    Preferably being dropped off naked without supplies or communications at some remote spot in the Bitterroot Range.

  85. 85.

    OR Soder

    I’ve been saying this for months. I hope Joe has someone assigned to start making a list of all the things Trump and his pals  broke so we can make sure they get fixed. I lose track of things until someone posts something to remind me. I’d like to be sure we don’t miss anything. They could start by looking at everything associated with Obama, just don’t stop there!

  86. 86.

    opiejeanne

    @Elizabelle: Washington’s AG, Bob Ferguson, is someone you don’t want to mess with. He was one of the first (I think he was first) when Trump tried to ban Muslims and others from entering the US in 2017, and there were volunteer lawyers sitting in SEATAC waiting to help anyone who needed it. We spoke with one when we were meeting a friend coming for a visit.

  88. 88.

    J R in WV

    @Elizabelle:

    We will use much higher windows. The Washington Monument is good by me. At minimum, the top of the US Capitol.

    The windows at the top of the Washington Monument are tiny, one person can peer through at the wonders of DC below, but you can’t squeeze a R FatCat through under any circumstances.

    From the top of the Capitol Dome, you can’t get enough horizontal distance for the guilty persons to actually land on the ground.

    I vote for all defenestrations to take place from the top of Trump Tower(s) closest to the birth place of the guilty person being tossed, or even NYC where Fifth Avenue would be the target landing zone.

    As far as Louis Dejoy goes, he has already impeded the delivery of items in the US Mail, which is a felony.

    I think he should be indicted on 257,357 counts, one for every piece of mail delayed by his actions, total number to be determined by close analysis of actual delivery times of actual pieces of mail. But one count of each allowable crime for each individual piece of mail. Not to run concurrently!

  89. 89.

    Ned F.

    I hope I am uninformed, but if the Dems take back the senate, I expect McConnell et al to put rules in place that reduce senate and presidential power like they did in Virginia and Wisconsin for incoming govs.  Monkeywrenching and sabotage is a specialty of those guys.

  91. 91.

    J R in WV

    @Ned F.:

    I hope I am uninformed, but if the Dems take back the senate, I expect McConnell et al to put rules in place that reduce senate and presidential power like they did in Virginia and Wisconsin for incoming govs.

    Once the Dems take back the Senate, McConnell’s rules are no longer operative, and the Democratic majority will vote on new rules. If we are really lucky, we Democrats will be able to take control, and leave the Republicans in closets in the Senate Office Building basements.

    Or so I hope, foolishly!

  92. 92.

    jayjaybear

    @J R in WV: Except that there’s still going to be almost 3 month of lame duckness in both WH and Senate (if we win in Nov), which is plenty of time for McConnell to steamroll new rules that reduce the power of the majority in the Senate.

Comments are closed.