USPS Issues

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

[*Nately120*]

(08-18-2020, 01:56 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote:

Either veteran support of Trump has eroded, or this ad is just using veterans' voting as a means to get mail-in voting for enough non-Trump votes from non-veterans to turn the tide.

[Dill]

(08-18-2020, 10:50 AM)michaelsean Wrote: I'm saying I don't think that pushing to have mail in voting in astronomical numbers, when the person you consider to be the most vile person to have ever lived has some control over the agency that delivers those ballots, was the smartest thing in the world.  The people touting the integrity of mail in voting are now horrified about the potential lack of integrity of mail in voting.

I think people were "touting" that integrity because we are amidst a pandemic that poses health risks to voters, especially the elderly, not because it just seemed a nifty thing to do. 

Now that, with the pandemic as leverage, the most vile person to have ever lived is using his control over the PS to gum up the balloting--to rig the election he claims is going to be "rigged" in hopes of increasing his chances of re-election (and looks to get away with it)--people are indeed, and justifiably, horrified.

Yet even Democrats may still not really get it. We can't REALLY be amidst a growing constitutional crisis. Trump can't be just abusing power right and left while no one does or can do anything about it.  

Anyway, even if he IS doing what he is doing and getting away with it, there are still plenty of things he would never do, or get away with.  PLENTY. 

Everything will be OK. 

[*Nately120*]

(08-18-2020, 02:07 PM)Dill Wrote: I think people were "touting" that integrity because we are amidst a pandemic that poses health risks to voters, especially the elderly, not because it just seemed a nifty thing to do. 

Now that, with the pandemic as leverage, the most vile person to have ever lived is using his control over the PS to gum up the balloting--to rig the election he claims is going to be "rigged" in hopes of increasing his chances of re-election (and looks to get away with it)--people are indeed, and justifiably, horrified.

Yet even Democrats may still not really get it. We can't REALLY be amidst a growing constitutional crisis. Trump can't be just abusing power right and left while no one does or can do anything about it.  

Anyway, even if he IS doing what he is doing and getting away with it, there are still plenty of things he would never do, or get away with.  PLENTY. 

Everything will be OK. 

The reason Trump can do this and get away with it is because he's very good at playing politics for someone who was sold as "totally not a politician."  Yes, cheating is bad but it's not cheating when the good guy does it.  Think of Hulk Hogan hitting Andre the Giant with a chair...he only did that because Andre and Bobby Heenan were being totally not good!

Political parties, sports teams, and really any sort of group fandom require two sets of rules to really be effective...

#1 - Your group is totally awesome and the best, but at the same time you are also the downtrodden underdog that is put in a position of weakness, but you will succeed despite the other side being a bunch of filthy cheaters

#2 - The other side is weak and pathetic and a total joke, but they are also in a position of power and they are a legitimate threat and they should be feared, thus you need to do anything necessary to defeat them...or else!


This is how a country like the USA can simultaneously pat itself on the back for being so damn big, powerful, rich, and awesome while simultaneously seeing itself as the heroic underdog as seen in the rebels vs the empire or Jesus vs the Romans.  It's quite amazing, really.

[Dill]

CNN just announced that Trump's proposed changes to the USPS have been tabled until after the election.

Check.

[Belsnickel]

(08-18-2020, 03:03 PM)Dill Wrote: CNN just announced that Trump's proposed changes to the USPS have been tabled until after the election.

Check.

Well, what was announced was that they would halt the changes being done until after the election. However, there has already been a ton of damage done to the capabilities of the USPS. There are already delays and other problems in place, so stopping any further efforts still leaves the system hobbled.

[Dill]

(08-16-2020, 01:22 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: While people in power in this democracy do mull ways to keep said power, I highly doubt it's been mulled in ways that erode the separation of powers tending towards authoritarianism. Certainly not in the modern era. It simply cannot be stated that the difference is just a matter of stating it loudly. The fundamental lack of understanding and respect for the separation of powers raises a serious concern for constitutional law which is unprecedented. 

If lying was unconstitutional, then we can pretty much say US politics have been so since probably one of the first elections of the country, or at a minimum in the last 50 years or so. Regardless, there are some things which are debatably constitutional, where the Supreme court can decide. But the matter we're speaking of here is a trajectory which leads to a usurping of power where democracy may potentially not exist. I know things haven't devolved to that state yet, but if purposely impacting voting by deliberately affecting the USPS for that purpose goes through, that's but one step where authoritarianism can be plausibly imagined. Perhaps not this one act, but taken in conjunction with withholding funds to Ukraine for personal favors, musing about delaying elections, combined with what seems like a spineless party acceding to every abuse of power, and a government bureaucracy being filled with cronies at many levels, and a disconcerting DOJ seemingly inclined to partisan interpretation of the law to an unprecedented level, it's not impossible to envision the eroding of this democracy. Even if it doesn't happen in four more years of Trump (debatable), the playbook has been taking form, and the possibility that a much more intelligent and focused individual in the future could implement the steps is a harrowing thought. Certainly certain topics and thoughts once unimaginable and utterable, now becoming public discussions are very concerning. I hope it's a temporary blip on the democratic radar and not a signal of a seismic shift in patterns.

I think you make important points here. Violating the separation of powers strikes at the heart of liberal democracy--undoes it, actually. That's far different from lying about one's opponents or making exaggerated policy claims or "forgetting" to keep promises made on the campaign trail.

The good side of this is that presidential over reach often provokes Congressional reaction and regulation. (Think of the War Powers Act.) The bad side is that we really do want presidents to have a wide prerogative power, especially in foreign policy. One of Trump's legacies could a reduction of that, hampering a good president who need it.

(08-16-2020, 01:22 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: I believe Biden had turned the corner in the primaries way before any real covid impacts were recognizable in the US. While not being a particularly inspirational candidate, saying that he won by default or was phoned in, is completely incorrect. Considering the large number of candidates in dem primaries, Biden won without any significant interference from the party establishment. The argument you make is more plausible in 2016, but not now. As for covid, it has definitely helped Biden in two ways I can conceive of: Trumps atrocious handling of it leading to widespread disapproval and tendency to shift towards Joe, and Biden not needing to be constantly picked apart on the campaign trail. As for the stars aligning for someone like Trump in 2016, I would only say it remains to be seen. I have concerns that a Trump playbook is now available for a much more intelligent, less gaffe prone outsider with authoritarian aspirations to implement. Someone who is capable of waking the line where public statements are more easily disguised, all the while with the sharpness and focus to hire better more closely aligned philosophical cronies to the administration in order to slowly and seamlessly erode checks and balances, while artfully manipulating and placating  the base until it's too late to turn back the clock because the checks and balances have been replaced with loyalists. 

At the moment, it's not too late to reset the democracy to its fully undamaged state, and for that reason alone a Biden presidency is palatable. After the restoration, we can revisit a stage where once again any potential eroding of democracy is not a possibility and we can go back to partisan bickering as normal.

I believe that Biden had turned the corner already as well, though it was not so much Biden as people voting against Trump. Most are to a point that a mediocre president who doesn't break things will be preferable. 

Don't know if democracy can be "reset" to some undamaged state. Trump supporters will not agree that he broke the government. They will still put people in Congress and protest healthcare improvements and the like. And Trump has settled in a record number of judges who will continue to oppose the "deep state"

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(08-18-2020, 10:41 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Just let me say that pushing a form of voting that the most evil person ever has some control over was brilliant.

Straight out of the Roger Stone playbook.  Admit nothing.  Deny everything.  Make counter accusations.

At a minimum; Stone, Manafort, Flynn, Cohen, Jr., and Jared were all in regular contact with Russian intelligence coordinating Russian interference for Trump's benefit during the last election.  It's so well documented by various sources it really isn't up for debate.  The Senate Intel Committee just reaffirmed that today.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/us/politics/senate-intelligence-russian-interference-report.html


It's equally ironic the person complaining of mail in ballots is openly interfering with mail in ballots months before the election and admitted his reasons for doing so to the media.

[Benton]

(08-18-2020, 03:09 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Well, what was announced was that they would halt the changes being done until after the election. However, there has already been a ton of damage done to the capabilities of the USPS. There are already delays and other problems in place, so stopping any further efforts still leaves the system hobbled.

Yeah it's kind of like going nine rounds in a boxing match with Mike Tyson.... Then saying they'll get back to the last few after he gets done picking your teeth out of his gloves.

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/elections-2020/trump-campaign-sues-new-jersey-after-its-decision-to-mail-ballots-in-november-election/ar-BB1887S0?ocid=ientp

"Trump campaign sues New Jersey after its decision to mail ballots in November election"

State's rights! F*ck yeah!

[samhain]

(08-18-2020, 03:03 PM)Dill Wrote: CNN just announced that Trump's proposed changes to the USPS have been tabled until after the election.

Check.

This feel like what some people I work with do when management corrects them.  Say you're going to do what you're asked to avoid discipline/trouble, then keep doing things exactly the same way.

[Dill]

(08-19-2020, 02:58 PM)samhain Wrote: This feel like what some people I work with do when management corrects them.  Say you're going to do what you're asked to avoid discipline/trouble, then keep doing things exactly the same way.

I think they have stopped implementing Trump's plan, but a great deal of damage is already done, letters and packages piling up undelivered.
Vets not getting their meds.

Or maybe that's only in blue states.

[GMDino]

pic.twitter.com/SzR6ciYG4i

— U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) August 21, 2020

 


Note that I do not work for the USPS and did not have a hand in crafting this tweet.  Nor did I fact check it before sharing just in case that 75% number is off by any significant amount.  This is not an attempt to post bad/false information or to mislead or provoke anyone who believes in the dismantling of the USPS.

[GMDino]

DeJoy testified today that he knows absolutely nothing about the USPS and that he did not make the orders to remove machines, cut overtime or any of it and in fact IN CLAIMS TO NOT KNOW WHO DID.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?474917-1/postmaster-general-louis-dejoy-testifies-postal-service-operations-mail-voting

This is an amazing display of either baldfaced lying or complete incompetence.