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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Tuesday Evening Open Thread: “DeJoy in Mudville”

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: “DeJoy in Mudville”

by Anne Laurie|  September 8, 20206:12 pm| 123 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Republican Venality

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House Oversight Committee will investigate Louis DeJoy following claims he pressured employees to make campaign donations https://t.co/3G2LtRV05k

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 8, 2020

Is that a crime? I did not know that was a crime…

Trump plays dumb about a report that Louis DeJoy broke campaign finance law pic.twitter.com/XdclKgAhLb

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 7, 2020

It’s called making straw-donor contributions, and it’s why Dinesh D’Souza went to jail. Trump damned well knew it was a crime, even if he didn’t know the specifics of DeJoy’s actions. Although there’s every reason to suspect knowing DeJoy would make illegal contributions to favored candidates had something to do with his elevation to Postmaster General (if you know what I mean & I think you do).

Dejoy, who is currently lodged under a Washington DC bus, could not be reached for comment https://t.co/v8SRUmQ2qy

— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) September 7, 2020



Dana Millbank, at the Washington Post, “Trump huffs and puffs, but his campaign is built of strawmen”:

… President Trump’s man at the post office, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, gives perverse new meaning to the old U.S. Postal Service slogan: We deliver for you.

Thanks to some brilliant reporting by The Post’s Aaron C. Davis, Amy Gardner and Jon Swaine, we now know that DeJoy appeared to use his former business, the felicitously named New Breed Logistics, as an exotic animal in the pay-to-play jungle of political influence peddling. He allegedly left employees feeling pressured to give donations to political candidates, reimbursed them with bonuses, then used the influence he gained to secure favors and appointments for his wife and himself. Now, DeJoy is abusing his new office to help Trump’s campaign.

It’s up to authorities to decide whether DeJoy did something illegal at his former company but, from appearances, DeJoy seems to have been running a classic straw-donor operation. As Davis et al. described the practice, “Known as a straw-donor scheme, the practice allows donors to evade individual contribution limits and obscures the true source of money used to influence elections.”

Perfect! Of course Trump installed a guy allegedly versed in straw donations as his postmaster general. Now, DeJoy is contributing strawmen to a Trump reelection campaign that has all the heft of a house of straw. For it to work, Trump is counting on the electorate displaying a level of brainlessness not seen since Dorothy happened upon the Scarecrow…

In debating, the straw man is a logical fallacy in which you attribute to your opponent something he hasn’t argued, then knock down the fake argument. In the current campaign, the straw man is Trump’s sole strategy — but he has deployed a barnyard full of them…

This is the response you make if you're getting really bad advice OR if you're really confident [not necessarily correctly] you're outside the statute of limitations.https://t.co/3KRZCMmR57

— SwearOnWhateverOrWhoeverHat (@Popehat) September 7, 2020

Of course, it doesn’t help that DeJoy — like so many Trump cronies — looks like a Dick Tracy cartoon villain…

DeJoy in Mudville pic.twitter.com/IpshovZxyT

— Schooley (@Rschooley) September 7, 2020

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Previous Post: « Tuesday Evening Open Thread
Next Post: Destroying the Justice Department One Step at a Time »

Reader Interactions

123Comments

  1. 1.

    jl

    September 8, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    Thanks for post. I can’t follow all the details, and IANAL, so my main takeaway is that one consistent pattern continues in DeJoy’s statements: he seems to be absolutely ignorant of anything going on in the USPS.

  2. 2.

    Brent

    September 8, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    It will come as shock to me if we find out one day that one of Trump’s appointees is somehow NOT a completely corrupt flim flam. I won’t hold my breath on that one.

  3. 3.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2020 at 6:17 pm

    Haven’t read the WaPost articles, but looked damning.

    Would they boot DeJoy and then act like they’re leaderless to replace any of the sorting machines and mailboxes?

  4. 4.

    dmsilev

    September 8, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    I’m smart. I can do my corruption in Trump’s administration and will get away with it. If nothing else, I’m friends with Trump and he’ll protect me.

    Signed, many deeply stupid and deeply corrupt people.

  5. 5.

    MomSense

    September 8, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    It’s the same crime Distort D’Newsa was convicted of. Felony campaign finance fraud.

  6. 6.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    September 8, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    VoteVets drop a laser guided bomb on Susan Collins (video)

  7. 7.

    debbie

    September 8, 2020 at 6:20 pm

    Years ago (~1995), I temped at Borden’s corporate HQ here and they “suggested” employees donate to the GOP candidate for governor. It wasn’t secret or suggested, it was very clearly stated in the employee communications. They also “suggested” donating to United Way, and if you donated, you could wear your OSU sweatshirt and jeans on Fridays.

  8. 8.

    cain

    September 8, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    @jl:

    Thanks for post. I can’t follow all the details, and IANAL, so my main takeaway is that one consistent pattern continues in DeJoy’s statements: he seems to be absolutely ignorant of anything going on in the USPS.

    He knows exactly what is going on – and he’s following the will of Republicans – take down th USPS union, and hubble the USPS – the bit about getting USPS not to deliver election mail is a big bonus.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    September 8, 2020 at 6:27 pm

    Gobs of dollars, zero sense.

  10. 10.

    piratedan

    September 8, 2020 at 6:28 pm

    maybe he can apply for being the inmate postmaster inside a minimum security prison…..

  11. 11.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 6:29 pm

    @debbie:

    not illegal, ( the GOP Governor one) as long as they didn’t backfill the Employee “Donations”.

    Unethical as crap, immoral, but not illegal.

  12. 12.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    September 8, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    From the Guardian:

    A packed crowd of supporters – many without masks – have gathered and are awaiting Donald Trump in North Carolina.

    The state’s mask mandate is still in place, but many among the crowd in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, don’t seem to be paying it any mind. Nearly 178,000 people in the state have tested positive Covid-19, and there were more than 1,000 cases reported today – though the number of cases and deaths are slowly trending downward.

    While supporters waited for Trump, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door played over the loudspeakers, which made for an inadvertently dark soundtrack for a scene of people overcrowded while viral respiratory illness raged on.

  13. 13.

    VeniceRiley

    September 8, 2020 at 6:32 pm

    Oh, and Oxford/AstraZeneca on hold because of a severe adverse event in one UK patient.

  14. 14.

    Redshift

    September 8, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    There was an exchange in the House hearing with DeJoy where he indignantly denies pressuring employees to donate and then reimbursing them. However, he was specifically asked about donations to the Trump campaign, and about “executives” making donations (I believe.) Since the expose is about his time running the company he sold in 2014, it’s possible he didn’t lie under oath. Makes me wish the question had been a little broader.

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    Trump plays dumb

    How can you tell?

  16. 16.

    laura

    September 8, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    So I tend to pay bills as soon as they come in. Both the city utilities and cell phone service arrived today with past due amounts. Those bills were paid on August 8th. My Vanity Fair issue finally arrived too. People are going to get dinged late fees and nsf’s through no fault of their own and may not even be aware of what is happening.

    This sabotage of the Postal Service is a crime and that particular fucker and every other Republican appointee needs to be investigated and if charges ensue, tried and if convicted imprisoned.

    It’s so smokey, the wind is ripping and the aqi is over 500 here in Sacramento and I have such a deep feeling of UnEase. Yesterday’s sun at 5PM was a red swirling ball like looking at a Hubble photo of deep space.

  17. 17.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:   Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door?

    That’s hilarious.

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    September 8, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    @WaterGirl

    (checks calendar to confirm) Yup, it’s a day with a “y” in it.

    :)

  19. 19.

    piratedan

    September 8, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    @Jay: supposedly they did, employees were supposedly recompensed with bonuses, which were then subsequently taxed at a higher rate (which then Dejoy could write off as well).  At least that’s what I read…

  20. 20.

    yellowdog

    September 8, 2020 at 6:41 pm

    @cain: There are 4 postal unions, not one. Letter carriers (NALC), postal workers  (the people in post offices- APWU), mail handlers -(sorting facilities ) union, and rural letter carriers.

  21. 21.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    September 8, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    The Dump Cartel

    ? Roger Stone –                     GUILTY

    ? Michael Flynn –                  GUILTY

    ? Michael Cohen –                GUILTY

    ? Paul Manafort –                 GUILTY

    ? Rick Gates –                        GUILTY

    ? Maria Butina –                    GUILTY

    ? George Papadopoulos –   GUILTY

    ? Alex van der Zwaan –        GUILTY

    ? Richard Pinedo –                GUILTY

    ? Sam Patten –                      GUILTY

    ? Paul Erickson –                   GUILTY

    ? George Nader –                 GUILTY

    ? Chris Collins –                    GUILTY

    ? Nickie Mali Lum Davis –   GUILTY

    ? Ghislaine Maxwell –          CAPTURED

    ? Lev Parnas –                       CAPTURED

    ? Igor Fruman –                    CAPTURED

    ? Steve Bannon –                  CAPTURED

    ? Konstantin Kilimnik –        AT LARGE

    ? Elliott Broidy –                    TARGET OF CORRUPTION PROBE

    ? Rudy Giuliani –                   UNDER INVESTIGATION

    ? Louis Dejoy –                      UNDER INVESTIGATION

    ? Trump Organization –      UNDER INVESTIGATION

    ? Jerry Falwell –                     RESIGNS/ILLEGAL PAYMENTS CUCKOLD SCANDAL

    ? Eric Trump –                       PLEADS FIFTH AMENDMENT

    ? Donald Trump –                UNINDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR/ IMPEACHED

  22. 22.

    joel hanes

    September 8, 2020 at 6:44 pm

    @debbie:

    These two things (pressure to donate to the GOP; pressure to donate to the United Way) are no no way morally or legally equivalent.

  23. 23.

    NotMax

    September 8, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    @Elizabelle

    Next up on the playlist.

    //

  24. 24.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    September 8, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    @Elizabelle: Innit tho? I’d love to hear Downbound Train next – followed by the inevitable lawsuit from Bruce’s people.

  25. 25.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 6:47 pm

    @piratedan:

    yeah, that was Dejoy, my point was it’s not “illegal” for a Corp/Company/CEO  to heavily “suggest” political and charitable contributions, aka Borden.

    It is illegal for them to backfill them by cooking the books, as Dejoy did.

    It’s also a White Collar Crime that is hard to prove with out Whistleblowers and a Paper Trail.

    It’s much easier for KKKops to choke a man to death when he refused to take their harassment over selling single cigs.

  26. 26.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2020 at 6:49 pm

    @NotMax: 

    What I wanna hear is The Police and “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.”

  27. 27.

    catclub

    September 8, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    Trump underbused him because those straw donations were to some guy other than Trump.

  28. 28.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    @Jay: The story I read earlier this week said they were later reimbursed.

  29. 29.

    piratedan

    September 8, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    @Jay: sorry, my bad, misunderstood who you were singling out…

  30. 30.

    p.a.

    September 8, 2020 at 6:52 pm

    A bump to the employment numbers just from hiring investigators, forensic accountants etc.  FBI recruitment needs require outside contractor assistance.  Hope they only look at tRump & family for reelection campaign embezzelment.  Let the other grifters bleed him white.  It’s his fave color anyway…

  31. 31.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 6:54 pm

    @laura:

    smoke from the Wash, Or, Cali fires have pushed north. Smoke from the Okanogan  fires have pushed west. I can barely see King Edward from here, Metrotown has disappeared, so have the North Shore Mountains.

     

    Air quality advisories all over the place from the West End to Chilliwack. Air in Point Roberts is unbreathable.

  32. 32.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    yeah, Dejoy reimbursed his employees,

    Borden didn’t.

    That’s the difference between doing something morally and ethically wrong, ( Borden),

    and Criming, (Dejoy).

  33. 33.

    NotMax

    September 8, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    Who didn’t see this coming? Anyone? Bueller?

    During Trump’s Republican National Convention (RNC) speech in the garden, the lack of drainage caused the ground to become too muddy to hold the 75 guests at the event without putting down artificial grass, CNN reported. Source

  34. 34.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 8, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    @laura: Hoo boy. Back in April, when my son was living in Kyiv and there were brush fires around Chornobyl, the AQI reached over 500 for a couple of days. He said it was unbelievable.

  35. 35.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    @NotMax:

    wasn’t he supposed to have drained the swamp by now,……..

    //.

  36. 36.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 7:05 pm

    Even kids are suffering with long-term covid complications as well.You may have heard about hundreds of cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MISC) affecting children and adolescents, often weeks after a covid infection.But the impact is bigger.https://t.co/1jKJsmYuij— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) September 8, 2020

  37. 37.

    TS (the original)

    September 8, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    @NotMax:

    Less than three weeks after it was debuted, First Lady Melania Trump’s Rose Garden renovation at the White House is reportedly falling apart.

    Who knew drainage was a part of garden building?

    One thing I didn’t think  President Biden would have to do – rebuild a White House garden.

  38. 38.

    J R in WV

    September 8, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Back in April, when my son was living in Kyiv and there were brush fires around Chornobyl, the AQI reached over 500 for a couple of days. He said it was unbelievable.

    Anyone measuring the radioactivity of that air pollution?

  39. 39.

    dmsilev

    September 8, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    @NotMax: Let me guess: the landscaper took one look at Trump’s history, realized that they were going to collect pennies on the dollar, and worked accordingly.

  40. 40.

    Ocotillo

    September 8, 2020 at 7:11 pm

    Open thread, here I go.

    I am traveling (work) and rather than flying, I am driving and am in Oklahoma this week.  Man, they are really proud of their stupid here.  I am in the western part of the state (I know your envious) and they have no friggin’ idea what a mask is.  At the hotel, no masks, at convenience stores, no masks, at fast food drive thru, I can see in the window and no masks.

    I brought along disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer and masks.  I must look like Roswell redux to these people.

  41. 41.

    tokyokie

    September 8, 2020 at 7:12 pm

    The titular bad guy from Dick Tracy vs. Cueball.

     

    We report, you decide.

  42. 42.

    Poe Larity

    September 8, 2020 at 7:14 pm

    Medford Oregon may be in very dire straits tonight, towns to south are burning.

    https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/7238

  43. 43.

    scav

    September 8, 2020 at 7:20 pm

    @TS (the original): So his boat parades are having issues with sinking and swamping when they don’t catch fire and need the application of water — and now his promised (look all-white,) rise garden is crumbling and swamplike . . . He’s really pissed off all the water and metaphor gods of all the universes hasn’t he.

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    September 8, 2020 at 7:23 pm

    Somehow missed this story from last week until today.

    Creep in the heart of Texas.

    Assistant Texas attorney general loses job after report surfaces racist tweets

    Moutos has worked for Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office since 2017 in the criminal prosecution division and recently ran and lost in a Republican primary for the District 35 U.S. House seat.…

    In the year he’s been on Twitter, Moutos has amassed over 20,000 tweets on his account, many of which are attacks — including threats of violence — against prominent Democrats.

  45. 45.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 7:24 pm

    @Ocotillo:

    did a trip through the conservative parts/rural parts of BC in May. Masking was at about the same rate as YVR, except in the fast food joints and gas stations, where masks and gloves were standard, along with shielded pin pads on sticks so you could tap to pay.

  46. 46.

    Kent

    September 8, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    @Brent:It will come as shock to me if we find out one day that one of Trump’s appointees is somehow NOT a completely corrupt flim flam. I won’t hold my breath on that one.

    I can only think of two.  Jerome Powell.  Who was a gratuitous pick after he unfairly fired Janet Yellen.   And Chris Oliver, who was appointed to head the National Marine Fisheries Service.  He is a pretty good guy and a former work colleague.

    After that I’m at a loss.

  47. 47.

    narya

    September 8, 2020 at 7:26 pm

    I realize this pales in comparison to the doom & despair populating this thread . . . but they came to put up my tile today. You’d think that would be great news! And it would be–IF THE GUY INSTALLED THE TILE THE WAY I LAID IT OUT ON THE FLOOR.

    Which he did not.

    The tile was special-ordered from the place licensed with Fiesta colors, and it’s an 8-week turnaround, if I wanted to replace it. And then there’s the question of what that would cost, because it would involve replacing drywall, AROUND the cabinets and counter, presumably, as well as the actual tile, which was not cheap.

    I think the best option is just to live with it, but it’s disappointing. And then I think, eh, really? You gonna get totally upset about THIS? And then I think: BUT I LAID IT OUT ON THE FLOOR. I am so tired of the kitchen not being done-done; it’s been three months, and this last bit has been a month all on its own; the thought of doing even a part of it all over again is tiring.

  48. 48.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 7:26 pm

    Yesterday I watched Defund SPD medics render care to a man w/visible neo-nazi tattoos. A few hours later I watched cops leave a womxn they had injured handcuffed & bleeding from her head laying on a cement bench. @ the hospital cops & the same neo-nazi yelled @ worried protestors— Nikkita Oliver (@NikkitaOliver) September 8, 2020

  49. 49.

    debbie

    September 8, 2020 at 7:29 pm

    @joel hanes:

    Never implied they were. Both are coercive, which is wrong. Not illegal, maybe, but still wrong.

  50. 50.

    J R in WV

    September 8, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    @TS (the original):

    Maybe Dr Jill B can take that on? Run a fund raising drive, hire an expert, restore it to previous glory, sans flowering crabs?

  51. 51.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 7:32 pm

    @narya:

    bought 36” precision cut travertine marble for the heated bathroom floor. 1/16” grout lines, ( matching). Spent two days with SWIMBO, laying it all out so that the natural graduations in colour and variations in grain would make it appear to be a single sheet of marble, not individual tiles.

    When I laid the tile, I transposed two tiles, which of course, stands out like a sore thumb to my two eyes.

    Derp,……….

  52. 52.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    September 8, 2020 at 7:32 pm

    The wheels on the bus go THUMP THUMP THUMP…

  53. 53.

    debbie

    September 8, 2020 at 7:32 pm

    @narya:

    You may come to love it. You haven’t lost those great Fiesta colors.

  54. 54.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    @narya: Were you not home when they were installing the tile?

    Sadly, I learned that you always have to be there because if not, well, let’s just say that some workers don’t have a lot of common sense.  Or they think little details don’t matter, when they are little to them but not to you.

    I know this must be a huge disappointment!

  55. 55.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 7:34 pm

    @debbie: I have to say that punishing you if you didn’t donate doesn’t seem like it would be legal.

    So may awful people.

  56. 56.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 7:36 pm

    @scav:

    didn’t you hear, it was the Antifa stealth submarines and the Antifa SEAL Team 7,……..

  57. 57.

    J R in WV

    September 8, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    @narya:

    Did you take a picture of it laid out on the floor?

    is it really bad, or must not as good as you hoped?

    So sorry, I know you were really excited… did you scream when you saw it? Just asking, I would have…

  58. 58.

    narya

    September 8, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    @WaterGirl: I actually WAS at home! I haven’t micromanaged these guys because they’ve done great work, and, really, it was laid out on the floor, so I didn’t think I needed to do anything else. And I laid out the whole counter length, not just a little bit of it. Feh.

    @debbie: Yeah, the colors ARE great. But the pattern, ugh. I mean, I went through a few iterations yesterday, found the one that looked best, and . . . might as well have provided no instruction at all.

    Oh well. I really can’t see a solution other than re-doing the whole thing. I sent the contractor a pic of what I’d laid out and what went up, and we’ll see what he has to say about it. (I’m just glad I took a pic of what I laid out.) It’s too bad, because otherwise I couldn’t be happier with the work they’ve done. The small tweaks are things I wouldn’t have known to mention and they did what they would normally do, so I have no complaint about that.

  59. 59.

    scav

    September 8, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    @Jay: Now apparently joined by Antifa teams Mole and Earthworm.

     

    ETA.  Just waiting for the leaks about his toilets backing up if all goes well. . . .

  60. 60.

    Roger Moore

    September 8, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch:

    You left out:

    ?Jeffrey Epstein- Apparent suicide in jail awaiting trial

  61. 61.

    narya

    September 8, 2020 at 7:42 pm

    @J R in WV: I didn’t scream, but I did show the tile guy the picture of what was laid out . . . I can’t bring myself to berate someone for something when it’s too late to fix it. I think he could tell (through a bit of a language barrier) that I was not happy, but . . . The thing is, he actually did lovely work in terms of spacing, cutting around the outlets, all of that.

  62. 62.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Punishing you for not donating, would be illegal, but hard to prove unless they are morons,

    Pressurized “suggestions” to donate are immoral and unethical.

    A  Company/Corp/CEO having sponsored causes, and asking employees to donate, volunteer, if they want to, is moral if it’s a good cause.

    once Covid is over, I am looking forward to spending some time with my CoWorkers, on our own time on Habitat and Door projects. I’ve already convinced a bunch of my younger co-Workers that it’s a good way to pick up skills, experience and knowledge that they can use at work.

  63. 63.

    Roger Moore

    September 8, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    @NotMax:

    It seems like such a perfect encapsulation of Trump: expensive, tasteless, and incompetent.

  64. 64.

    Bill Arnold

    September 8, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    @Kent:
    Not sure about
    Jovita Carranza, Small Business Administration
    She was tasked with a bunch of loans for COVID relief but that was destined to be a big mess no matter who ran it.

  65. 65.

    danielx

    September 8, 2020 at 7:45 pm

    All together now…1…2…3…

    only the best people!!!!

    Now if only the FNYT would turn that into a catchphrase like buttery males, but….access, it must not be lost.

  66. 66.

    gene108

    September 8, 2020 at 7:45 pm

    As far as campaign finance violations go, we still do not officially know who Individual 1 is in the Michael Cohen indictment.

    Seems like some folks in Trump’s orbit maybe bad or worse than DeJoy regarding campaign finance violations, depending on who Individual 1 really is…

  67. 67.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    September 8, 2020 at 7:48 pm

    @narya: Oh wow. I’m cringing here, and it’s not my kitchen. How maddening.

  68. 68.

    Martin

    September 8, 2020 at 7:50 pm

    @J R in WV: So, the problem is that the fires carry the radioactive particles and when you inhale them they deposit in your lungs – basically forever, constantly throwing off a little bit of radiation inside your body.

    So they aren’t highly radioactive, but the fires are a transport mechanism to bypass your normal defenses against it – mostly distance.

  69. 69.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 7:50 pm

    @narya:

    if the tile guy is basic skilled, he/she/they can replace individual tiles with the “right” tile, to reestablish the pattern,  and regrout/reseal, rather than ripping everything out.

    and if they/you did the 20% overage for “just in case”, you may already have all the tiles/colours, to reestablish the pattern.

    You took photo’s of the layout, right?

  70. 70.

    counterfactual

    September 8, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    @Brent: I can add a third to the list (maybe), Jim Bridenstine of NASA. He was a Republican apparatchik and a climate-change denier, but he’s been a good Trump whisperer and political knife fighter. He’s not only kept NASA funded, he’s gently pushed some of the sillier projects in motion to the side. NASA may be in better shape now than in 2017.

  71. 71.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    September 8, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    @narya:  If the tile was just installed today, it should come off easily and with little chance of breakage, unless they used rapid set mortar. Personally, I’d call the tile guy right this very minute, tell him it is wrong and will have to be relaid and get his opinion on scraping it off tonight. A tile installation should last until the owner is tired of it. Yours should not be a permanent reminder of the tile guy’s temporary memory lapse.

  72. 72.

    Kent

    September 8, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    @Bill Arnold: Yeah.  IDK.  But in agencies where the regulated industry actually wants competent regulation they push for actual competent people in leadership.  In the case of National Marine Fisheries Service, most of the issues are really conflicts between user groups.  Allocations fights between trawlers and longliners, for example.  Or allocation fights between commercial and sport fishermen which happens often in the Gulf.  Those require competent leadership to adjudicate.  And they don’t want their commercial fisheries to get shut down by lawsuits for failure to comply with environmental laws.  A clueless partisan yahoo would just fuck everything up for the fishing industry with no benefit for them.  No one wants that.

  73. 73.

    Ksmiami

    September 8, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    @Jay: if he didn’t gross up employee bonuses but used the expense as income reduction he committed tax fraud. Throw the book at him

  74. 74.

    James E Powell

    September 8, 2020 at 7:58 pm

    Every once in a while I have to just rant about the continuous stream of outrages that don’t seem to garner as much attention on cable news as a tan suit.

    Can you imagine what would have happened if Bill Clinton had ordered Janet Reno to intervene on his behalf in the Paula Jones lawsuit? As predicted, Trump disparaging fallen soldiers and insulting the military disappeared after 72 hours. DeJoy is sabotaging the postal service to screw up the election, congress called him in to testify about it, he basically lied and told them to pound salt and said he wasn’t going to do a damn thing and the press/media just let it go because the only story that matters to them is whatever Trump said today.

    I hate everything! That’s may rant. Thank you for your patience.

  75. 75.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    September 8, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    @Ocotillo:  Be careful out there! I have family in OK. Not only do they not mask, they don’t believe in getting tested or in quarantining themselves after learning they’ve been exposed to someone who has tested positive. Gawd knows I love my family, but they used to be smarter than this.

  76. 76.

    prostratedragon

    September 8, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    Of course, it doesn’t help that DeJoy — like so many Trump cronies — looks like a Dick Tracy cartoon villain…

    Or Emory “Look at those toes” Battis.

  77. 77.

    MisterForkbeard

    September 8, 2020 at 8:00 pm

    @Poe Larity: My ex-brother-in-law just evacuated out of Cherry Grove OR. He was basically given 10 minutes to escape. Hopefully the fire doesn’t actually get that far.

    He literally just moved there Saturday. Poor dude.

  78. 78.

    Narya

    September 8, 2020 at 8:01 pm

    @Jay: I was wondering about that. Part of the issue is that I did spacing of about a third of a tile but he did halves. Might still be salvageable; we’ll see what the contractor says. I did about 10% overage I think so I dunno. Gonna have a beer and sleep on it.

  79. 79.

    NotMax

    September 8, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    OT.

    Color me agog. Circumstances necessitated replacing the mouse pad. Found one I could live with and not lay out an exorbitant sum for on Amazon, ordered it Sunday. Arrived today. That’swith an intervening holiday. Based on previous experience expected it to take until Friday.

  80. 80.

    jl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:03 pm

    @cain:  I agree. There was an implied snark tag on my comment.

    I think there is a question of how much of DeJoy’s sabotage was following WH orders to fix the election, and how much of it was using that as an excuse to make as much business for his own companies as possible. Or what combination prompted what degree of sabotage where. I saw a map of where the sorters were removed, and it seemed to me that some of the places where many of the sorters were thrown out didn’t make a lot of sense from an election fixing point of view. Maybe they made more sense from a DeJoy conflict of interest point of view?

    We know from multiple recent and breaking news stories on covid-19 and Trump campaign finances, that Trump is very easily fleeced, and many Trumpster  high flunkies are more devoted to fleecing Trump than to  being loyal to Trump.

    If we can get real law and order restored, and there is a trial, I hope DeJoy’s plans will be revealed in detail.

  81. 81.

    dmsilev

    September 8, 2020 at 8:06 pm

    @counterfactual: Rick Perry was surprisingly not-terrible at Energy. He was in way over his head, but had enough self-honesty to recognize that and actually listened to the staff professionals.

  82. 82.

    jl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:08 pm

    @dmsilev: At least Perry was honest enough to admit that he thought DOE was basically some kind of industry marketing board, rather than a research and regulatory agency. It gobsmacked me that he didn’t know what it was before he took the job, and that he admitted it.

  83. 83.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2020 at 8:12 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian:   Agreed.

    Narya:  You are paying for a good job.  Not a mistake.  The tile guy needs to do it right.  And right away — you have waited long enough.

  84. 84.

    dmsilev

    September 8, 2020 at 8:13 pm

    Dana Milbank:

    Seems President Trump has run his reelection campaign into financial distress, a status that will not surprise those familiar with the Trump Taj Mahal, the Trump Castle, the Trump Plaza Atlantic City, the Trump Plaza New York, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, Trump Entertainment Resorts, the Trump Tower Tampa, the Trump Shuttle, Trump: The Game, Trump magazine, Trump Mortgage, Trump Steaks, Trump mattresses, Trump pillows, Trump perfume, Trump shirts, Trump underwear, Trump shoes, Trump eyeglasses, Trump University, Trump Vodka, the Trump Foundation and the U.S. Treasury.

    (I took out most of the links to avoid angering the WP Gods)

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:13 pm

    @Jay:  debbie said this:

    …and if you donated, you could wear your OSU sweatshirt and jeans on Fridays.

    To me, that means that if you did not donate, you did not get to do what everyone else did on Fridays.

    That seems pretty easy to prove, since it was their policy.

  86. 86.

    Delk

    September 8, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    DeJoy is not much bigger than a mail box.

  87. 87.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    @narya: I am apparently not as nice as you are, because I insist that contractors fix things when they have screwed up.

    That doesn’t happen very often now that I have learned to check in on the projects.

    edit: I did not mean that last part as “you should have known”. Intended more as I have been in your shoes. Once bitten, twice shy.

  88. 88.

    Dan B

    September 8, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    DeJoy can be prosecuted by NC.  The AG seems interested.  Trump can’t pardon.

  89. 89.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @Narya: I’m with the “take action right now” crowd.

    You don’t want him to say tomorrow “If you had told me yesterday, we could have fixed it.”

    Also, if your tile guy realized you weren’t happy, then he should have contacted his boss ASAP and someone should have contacted you.

    So I’d say they have double-screwed up here.

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    September 8, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @Roger Moore

    Also too, resigned amidst scandals/investigations:

    Head of EPA Scott Pruitt
    Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke
    Secretary of HHS Tom Price
    .
    Among many others.

  91. 91.

    Ken

    September 8, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @dmsilev: Trump: The Game

    The one thing I remember about that game is, if you landed on someone else’s property, you had to pay them rent. But you took the rent money from the bank, not your own money.

  92. 92.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @Dan B: What AG seems interested? I assume you mean a state attorney general?  I haven’t paid much attention to the name of the company or the state.

    edited because you said it was NC.  reading comprehension!!!

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: That sounds pretty awful.  So all their stuff must still be in boxes?  Either way, very upsetting.

  94. 94.

    Dan B

    September 8, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    @Narya:  As a contractor for several decades you want to get this settled fast for everyone.  The contractor knows they have an issue and they are waiting to find out what you want done.  This was nerve wracking for me when we’d messed up and were waiting for the client to decide if they wanted a fix, a half baked fix, or a new contractor / subcontractor.  Tell them what you want and negotiate if necessary.  Everyone will be happy and it sounds like they take pride in their work.

    Oops, replied to a WaterGirl post.

  95. 95.

    ballerat

    September 8, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @Ocotillo: Panhandle Oklahoma, western Kansas, most of eastern Colorado and a big chunk of Texas are one big white trash jamboree.

  96. 96.

    Dan B

    September 8, 2020 at 8:36 pm

    @WaterGirl: Sorry, need nap.  Taking typing shortcuts – too many weird dreams last night.

    North Carolina AG Democrat if I recall.  DeJoy’ company is in North Carolina.

  97. 97.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    depends. Did you have to prove a donation, or was it implied?

    we have Jeans Day here, (Children’s Hospital, United Way) where in theory, if you donated, you get to wear jeans to work on a Friday in workplaces where “Casual Friday” doesn’t exist or cover jeans, if the Corporation/Company allows it.

    everybody who wants to, wears jeans, no proof required.

    Dress Code at my work is collared shirts, aprons, pants, ( not jeans), steel toed shoes, no logos other than ours, sponsored political only. The only ones that are enforced is steel toed shoes, aprons, no logos and approved political. So we have guys wearing t-shirts and shorts, women wearing yoga pants and tank tops. One woman wears Marks lightweight long underwear, ($7.99 pr) because other than me, nobody noticed they wern’t yoga pants, ($35-$80pr).

    Because of my position, I wear Carhart pants and Corporate supplied t’s, polos and baseball caps. I see no need to buy “work shirts” if I can buy them for free.

    Suggestions, no matter how egregious or pushy, with out enforcement , aren’t illegal.

    With enforcement, they are illegal.

  98. 98.

    JustRuss

    September 8, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    @Poe Larity: Medford Oregon may be in very dire straits tonight, towns to south are burning.

    My cousin just moved there from California.  Whoops.  Here in the Willamette Valley, smokey as all heck.  Look like Armageddon.  Wind’s been blowing strong for 24 hours now.

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    @Dan B: Now it says @Narya, so if she comes back to check for replies, she will see yours.

    Yeah after I asked which state, i saw that you had said NC.

    I hope every one of these cockroaches in this administration has legal ramifications for all the illegal crap they did before they joined the administration, that they would have gotten away with if they had just stayed where they were.

  100. 100.

    Narya

    September 8, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    @WaterGirl: he just called ME and said he would take it off and make it right. Didn’t even have to ask!

  101. 101.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    @Narya:

    whoo hoo!!!!!!!!

  102. 102.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    @Narya: Yay yay yay!

    The Tile guy DID contact his boss.  That’s so great.  Now have a celebratory beer, not a drowning your sorrows beer.

  103. 103.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 8, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    @WaterGirl: You have to remember that Jay is an expert in all things.

  104. 104.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yeah, I finally decided to drop it.

    Are you back home after visiting your parents?

  105. 105.

    J R in WV

    September 8, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @Narya:

    he just called ME and said he would take it off and make it right. Didn’t even have to ask!

    Oh good. So much better when they honestly made a mistake, own up, want to make it right! So glad for you! Glad you have a photo of what you wanted and deserve!

  106. 106.

    Dan B

    September 8, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @Narya: Contractors who have pride in their work.  You are fortunate to work with them.  Now whenever you look at the floor it will bring happy feelings.

    When they are done a card or letter to them would make them proud.

  107. 107.

    Barbara

    September 8, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @narya: Take it out quick. Same thing happened to us. My husband painstakingly measured and drew a diagram and the guy did it the way he “thought” we wanted it, and then told us that our measurements were all wrong. Hubby got home and took it all off before it had a chance to set and made him redo it.

    ETA: Great news. Our contractor was pissed at us even though we had given him precise instructions. Same guy shot himself in the foot with a nail gun, but he was an incredibly talented woodworker. He just sometimes had difficulty paying attention.

  108. 108.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 8, 2020 at 9:10 pm

    @WaterGirl: Yep.

  109. 109.

    NotMax

    September 8, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    @Dan B

    Also an online positive review, assuming their make good policy is what it seems thus far and the end result is to her satisfaction. And let them know who posted it.

  110. 110.

    Dan B

    September 8, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    @JustRuss: The Santiam fire looks huge, if I’m reading the map correctly.  It looks like 25 miles by 17 miles.  And the wind across the pass may be intense.

    Now there’s a hazardous air alert for Clackamas county where Kelly evacuated to!

    We’ve got wind and smoke in Seattle but only awful last night.

  111. 111.

    Dan B

    September 8, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    @NotMax: Good suggestion!  The subcontractors I loved were ones who had no qualms about fixing things and were glad to do the extra work.  Sometimes the “perfect” subs took longer to do the project right the first time.

  112. 112.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 9:25 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Hope all is well on the parent front.

    Today I was still adding maps to yesterday’s thread, so if you happened to save your map, I could add it if you like.

    There was some talk of doing this again a week before the election, so you could lay down a marker now if so inclined.

  113. 113.

    laura

    September 8, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    @Elizabelle: I can show you where the little piece of grit is under the linoleum. It jumps out at me every day. Get your tile right if you can. Mistakes happen, were human, and that’s both okay and expected, and you should get what you laid out – hopefully soon.

  114. 114.

    J R in WV

    September 8, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    @Martin:

    Yes, I know that, which was why I asked the question. I collect minerals, some of which (which I don’t collect) are radioactive. Uranium minerals can be really beautiful, glossy green needles of death! See Cuprosklodowskite.

    I used a radiation detector in some collecting areas to know what I was going to take home. Is a Russian surplus gadget.

    Was pretty sure smoke from a brush fire in the area around the defunct nuclear plant would be way more hazardous than regular smoke. Thanks for verifying my assumption!

  115. 115.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 8, 2020 at 9:39 pm

    @WaterGirl: It was a nice visit.  We are doing some improvements to our family cabin, so it was a bit of a working weekend.  We are putting on a new addition to house a larger and more modern (non-1940s) bathroom.  As far as the map goes, I don’t really feel a need to put a marker down except to say that WI goes blue.

  116. 116.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 9:43 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I think Wisconsin will go blue, too.  I have a lot of faith in Ben Wikler.

  117. 117.

    Narya

    September 8, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    @Jay: yeah. He liked MY pattern better too. He was going to replace it all but I thought we could re-use any we can save because it’s a licensed color

  118. 118.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 9:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    lot’s of stuff, I don’t know. Quantum physics, numerology, astrophysics, Flat Earth Theory, Q details, etc.

    thanks to Reganomics, over my life, I have had a large and broad array of employment, businesses, (all but one underpaid) interests, causes and have learned to do the reading.

    For example, I know how to liquidate a Pension Fund through North Virginia, via a loaded Bankruptcy, because mine was. I should be retired on a $68,000 a year, with adjustments for inflation. Instead I got a one time payout of $15.10 USD.

  119. 119.

    WaterGirl

    September 8, 2020 at 9:47 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Years ago, I spent a lot of time at a lake house in Wisconsin.  All our weekends and vacations there were working weekends, in part.  But lots of play time, too.  Fond memories.

  120. 120.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 9:50 pm

    @Narya:

    if he moves fast enough, and careful enough, everything but the cut outs for the electrical, should be salvageable. Your 10% might cover the rest, and “blank spaces” can be left, if you need to special order more.

    It’s a pain, but doing it right, is doing it right.

    I was always of the mindset that other than appliances, hard surface rooms should be built tor the life of the house.

  121. 121.

    LivingInExile

    September 8, 2020 at 10:21 pm

    @Narya: Maybe the guy that laid the tile is color.blind.

  122. 122.

    narya

    September 8, 2020 at 10:35 pm

    @LivingInExile: It’s two colors, blue and yellow. The contractor was at a loss at what happened, too; he noted that they had just finished  a VERY complicated bathroom tile job, without issue (same guy), so I think it was just a brain cramp.

    @Jay: we were already gonna be close in terms of “enough” tile, so we’ll likely have to order more, but I told him I didn’t think we’d need to order a whole new batch. I’ll check with the tile makers to be sure.

    I’m just relieved that he called me and said, basically, I’ve been in business too long to want to do anything other than make it right. HUGH sigh of relief on my part.

  123. 123.

    Jay

    September 8, 2020 at 11:47 pm

    @narya:

    make it right is Holm’s motto  . Trade marked I think.

    I always wanted to build stuff that would last for decades, for my clients.

    rarely got to do that.

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