Ray Mitcham Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 10 hours ago, Cliff Varnell said: Wheeler can only hope. Anything to distract from Trump’s Big Fascist Move. Yep. He never had the courage to reply to my question about his views on the Navy guy getting beaten up by Trumps Stormy troopers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ness Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 2 hours ago, Steve Thomas said: It was worth the wait. Steve Thomas Epic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 Ron points up a key point above with that Common Dreams article. Trump has accelerated into high gear the undermining of the USPS with this DeJoy guy and his stacking of the Board of Governors. The overall aim is to bankrupt USPS, an effort which was begun by Charles Koch many years ago by making them pay up for all health benefits for employees until 2056. That turned the USPS surplus into a deficit. But the immediate goal might be to undermine voting by mail. Which is going to be pretty important this fall. With this guy in charge, who knows what will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph McBride Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 (edited) This chicanery to damage the USPS reminds me of how GM, Firestone, and Standard Oil of California bought up and destroyed the once-well-functioning trolley systems in LA and 18 other American cities after World War II by changing schedules to frustrate customers and not replacing machinery that needed fixing, etc., in order to discourage ridership and cause deficits. Those were then used as excuses to terminate these invaluable systems so the companies could push cars and buses and trucks to make up for the war production of Jeeps and military trucks. This helped ruin LA and other cities. Robert Towne wanted to make this the third in his CHINATOWN trilogy, under the title SMOG, but couldn't, partly because THE TWO JAKES did not do well but also probably because of the theme, which would scare the studios. WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT deals with it but in a comedic vein. I saw an excellent Oscar-winning student documentary from c. 1975 that told the story well. I am old enough to remember the Milwaukee trolley system. I have a memory of my mother taking me to see my first movie (FANTASIA in 1949) on a trolley (I didn't like the movie and maybe should have stopped there). Edited July 25, 2020 by Joseph McBride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 I grew up in the 1940's living on North Gramercy Place just off Hollywood Blvd. four blocks from Hollywood Blvd. and Vine Streets. For years I accompanied my Aunt Nina in riding the streetcar that went down Hollywood Blvd. and turned south at Western Avenue to head downtown. After the war Firestone orchestrated the dismemberment of the street car lines in Los Angeles so that Firestone could sell the tires on the buses that replaced the streetcars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Andrews Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) 11 hours ago, Ron Ecker said: USPS Being Sabotaged from Within? “A formal complaint filed last week with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General by a Portland, Maine letter carrier alleges that city Postmaster James Thornton is unlawfully mandating the delay of first-class mail in order to prioritize the delivery of Amazon packages. “The complaint, first reported Tuesday by the Portland Press Herald, comes weeks after Louis DeJoy took over as U.S. Postmaster General and wasted little time implementing "major operational changes" and cost-cutting measures at the agency that critics warned would slow mail delivery and leave USPS unable to compete with private-sector competitors. Uh...I'm near the east coast, but I noticed that bill payments sent last Tuesday were only acknowledged by creditors today, ten days later.... That's at least four days above customary. Maybe we should be looking at this also in terms of compelling a digital economy. Breaking our backs straw by straw. Edited July 25, 2020 by David Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Varnell Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1963525 You don't have mail: New postmaster general is generating exactly the anger and distrust Trump wants Neither rain, nor snow, nor gloom of night may prevent Postal Service employees from visiting the box near you, but across the country there’s evidence that political pressure really can “stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” In New Jersey, residents say they’re going days without mail. In Chicago, citizens complain that their deliveries are running weeks behind. And California residents are fretting over mortgages and rents put in jeopardy by a mail service that seems frozen. There’s no doubt that some of the chatter about a sluggish mail service is of the watched-pot variety; with millions of Americans stuck at home, the visit from the mail person has become much more of a daily highlight than it has been since the days when the Sears catalog was still a thing. But boredom and hyperawareness can’t account for all the claims that have been spreading, particularly ones that suggest specific forms of mail are being privileged while others are left to gather dust. And with Donald Trump complaining about voting by mail, installing a new postmaster general, and constantly threatening the Postal Service’s entire existence, it’s all too easy to believe that service doesn’t have problems; it has sabotage at the highest levels. More than ever, the COVID-19 crisis is forcing people to not just be aware of the mail, but to be dependent on it. More and more of the day-to-day things that people need are being delivered as packages, which makes stories about undelivered packages and post offices with lines around the block doubly frustrating. Not only are people having to waste time trying to locate items that should have been delivered, their time waiting for service at the post office can expose them to the same health threats that caused them to order a delivery in the first place. That problem can be compounded even further if what’s in the missing box is necessary medicine. Other customers are finding that bills are late to arrive. That can mean running up additional costs on medical bills, or causing someone to lose a credit card at a time when that card could be a vital lifeline. Many, though far from all, evictions may have been put on hold during the pandemic, but there’s a growing backlog of Americans who could be on the street as soon as protections are lifted; and some of them could be there because they missed critical paperwork in the mail. Many Americans, especially those working at “essential” but somehow still low wage positions, still receive their paychecks through the mail. When that check is late, it has a cascade effect on everything. So what’s going on? The critical factor seems to be changes introduced by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. DeJoy was a predominate Republican Party fundraiser who Trump rewarded with the postmaster job in June, after months of complaints and threats by Trump. As The Washington Post reported two weeks ago, DeJoy immediately implemented a major change in the way the Postal Service operates. The intention seems to have been to reduce overtime and cut back on the number of daily deliveries. The effect is that mail that would have normally been moved along in one day is stuck in place for several days as workers face overwhelming demand and intentionally limited resources. In a memo to workers, DeJoy continually cited his intention to run the Postal Service more “like a business,” and pointed at U.S. companies that had failed in the past. DeJoy did not mention that those companies died from a lack of demand and being outcompeted by lower-price providers, factors that are the opposite of the issues plaguing the Postal Service. Postmaster generals generally have post office experience and generally stay in place for an extended period, but DeJoy slipped into office with almost no attention from Congress or the press. He’s the first person in half a century to lead the office without having started as a letter carrier. But if DeJoy doesn’t know how to carry letters, he certainly knows how to carry water for Trump. DeJoy seems to recognize that his entire role at the Postal Service is to breed contempt with the public. Months of late bills, missing checks, and lost packages are exactly what Trump wants to see, both to bolster his argument against vote-by-mail and to make him “right” about the need to privatize mail delivery. There’s also the little matter that DeJoy himself has between “$30.1 million and $75.3 million in assets in USPS competitors or contractors.” It’s such a major conflict of interest that DeJoy should never have been accepted into the role. Except that an ideological crony with every incentive to wreck the department he’d been handed was exactly what Trump was looking for. Chuck Schumer sent a letter to the postal board of governors and representatives from the Trump White House in June, demanding to see the information on how DeJoy was selected for the position. However … it appears his letter got lost. You can bet it will stay lost, right up until Election Day. 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David Andrews Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) On 7/23/2020 at 11:20 PM, Robert Wheeler said: The fake Alien Invasion is coming guys! Maybe they can deliver the mail better. Lately when I consider the Executive Office, I think of the scene in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo where the heroine puts the boot to her abusive probation officer. Edited July 25, 2020 by David Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 22 hours ago, Ron Bulman said: 56 years. JFK's death had an impact on 1967 imo. As it in turn does today. 53 years ago today. https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/1967-detroit-riots It was just getting started 53 years ago tonight. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=movie+detroit&docid=608001617729292219&mid=800D73EE9F19DA859DB0800D73EE9F19DA859DB0&view=detail&FORM=VIRE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Varnell Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Robert Wheeler said: You are not worth a reply. Most of the others that I disagree with here at least make an effort. Wheeler declares war then snowflakes when fired upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Gallaway Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) Wheeler about the Fascist police action in Portland: "Maybe he just likes to watch adults lay on the floor and pound their fists like a 3 year old screaming why? why? why? I know that's why I keep coming back here". Jim's response is to be greatly impressed with Wheeler. Jim's reaction :To re introduce Wheeler as "Bob" to Paul. Jim said:Paul I hope you understand that "Bob" likes Trump and he think his policies are fine. I mean he works on Wall Street right? I can understand that. Yeah Come on, Paul, Wheeler's obstinacy, and desire to annoy others , with an angry intention to try to shock, is really kind of refreshing, right,? Doesn't he invoke fond memories of Tommy G? except more overt. And loving those police actions against those Portland "power elites" is just "Bob" being "Bob", Because he's anti power elite, right Jim? besides he's from Wall Street!!, Bwa- ha- ha Edited July 25, 2020 by Kirk Gallaway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Mitcham Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 5 hours ago, Robert Wheeler said: You are not worth a reply. Most of the others that I disagree with here at least make an effort. Still haven't got the courage to say what you think about the Stormy Troopers beating up a Navy vet. Typical Trump supporter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Thomas Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Presidential eloquence https://twitter.com/i/status/1286392679232942080 Steve Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 America 'staring down the barrel of martial law', Oregon senator warns Ron Wyden says Portland tactics threaten democracy Senator Jeff Merkley deplores ‘military-style assault’ Former Ice head: Trump is using agents as his ‘goon squad’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/25/portland-martial-law-ron-wyden-jeff-merkley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 The Battle of Portland is still raging. Those people are not giving up. Last night there were 3,000 people in the streets, until 3 AM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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