Breaking USPS

My current* congressman sent out a fundraising email and referenced a threat to vote-by-mail. Via NPR: 

The U.S. Postal Service could "derail" the midterm election if it continues rushing out "untested" technology as part of President Trump's push to restrict mail-in voting, a newly released whistleblower report warns.

With voting by mail for the midterms set to officially start this week, key parts of the USPS plan for carrying out Trump's directives, including requirements for states to comply, remain blocked for now by a court order in the legal fight over the president's executive order.

Still, the mailing agency has been preparing for months to launch an online portal that would allow state election officials to submit absentee voters' names and ballot envelope barcodes required by the now-blocked rule.

This is worrying in California as they mail us all mail-in ballots. I have really enjoyed this convenience. Because of course they want to break all the good things that we have. 

People are fighting back, and hopefully these new rules won't be implemented this year. It's all about making new rules to break the system. They claim it's to prevent voter fraud, but voter fraud is such a minor problem. It's just an excuse. 

So, pay attention if you're doing vote-by-mail. They want to disenfranchise you. Don't let them. 

*After this election he'll be my former congressman as the redistricting puts me in a different district. 

In the Hands of ICE

I got another fundraising email from my current congressional representative. (I'm a little irked, though, as I learned in the primary election that come January I will no longer be in his district.) And it contained information I had not heard. So, I looked it up, and, via AP News: 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a $16.7 million contract to purchase 6,000 pairs of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks, saying officers would use them to control detainees and protesters who resist.

ICE moved forward with the purchase despite opposition from civil rights advocates and Democratic members of Congress, who said ICE officers cannot be trusted to use them appropriately.

Now, that's chilling. (You can find the full article here.) 

And those things can kill people. (Although, ICE has been killing people just fine without them.) I mean, tasers aren't as safe as we think they are... 

My congressperson had a petition to sign. You might want to call your reps and let them know of your displeasure over this.

Ignorant

What's going on in the world? No, seriously, I'm asking. Last week I got buried with back to school, and I have no idea what the idiots got up to. 

This got me thinking, though. This must be what it's like to be a low-information voter. One of the blissfully ignorant multitudes who have been going through life not watching everything we ever believed about our country crumbling around us. 

And I wondered how we reach those people. How do we wake them up to what's happening? 

We can't be overt about it. If they wanted to pay attention, they would. But can we be sneaky? Can we just slip things into conversation in such a way that they're not aware we're trying to wake them up? Can we mention things in passing that would shock them? And when they disbelieve, we can let them know that they just have not been paying attention. 

I don't know. Is it even worth the effort? 

But it is kind of nice to not be aware of all the shenanigans, just for a little while. It'll be there once I'm out from under the back to school crush. 

Unsurprising Turn of Events

Just a little post today to link to an article: Opinion | Executive Order on Vaccines Bypasses Evidence-Based Process That Has Kept Kids Safe.

If I had more time, I'd spend it writing a longer post bemoaning the anti-vaxxers. I might even have pondered the anti-science people and how the regime is pandering to them (although, I think many of them believe some of this stuff). There are studies that show right-wingers are more likely to react to things from a position of fear, and the whole anti-vaccination push feeds into those fears. 

I have such high hopes for myself when it comes to writing Tuesday blog posts, and then when it's time to write the post, I chicken out. Maybe next week? 

I might be a bit scarce this week as school started, and, well, I have a feeling this week is going to be kind of busy for me. Explanations should be forthcoming next week.

Women Losing Jobs

Why were July's jobs numbers so terrible? Because women are losing jobs. Women lost 32,000 jobs in July while men gained 9,000. 

I guess making America great again means relegating women back to housework. 

Remind me why feminists are the problem. 

Withholding Help

It's three times harder to get disaster relief funding under the current regime if you're living in a blue state as opposed to a red state. It's not supposed to work like that. It doesn't matter who your reps are or who your governor is, you should get help if a disaster befalls you. I would not wish such a thing on my worst enemy, and yet, here we are, dealing with the fallout of a manbaby throwing a tantrum about helping fellow Americans in need. 

FEMA said yes, but the manbaby said no, so it became no. And now, with the wildfires in Oregon, the senators are demanding why FEMA won't help them out. Why are we paying into a system that denies helping us when we need it? 

(Although, the same could be said of our healthcare system...)

Since we can't rely on the government, it's time to look into mutual aid organizations. Donate if you can. When you hear about disasters in blue states, make sure to amplify any group that's helping, as that might be the only help that's coming. 

And make your displeasure known to your representatives. They know this is wrong. Remind them that they work for us, not the other way around. It's their job to stand up against the executive branch. They're supposed to be a check, not a rubber stamp. 

Only Marmots

Did you know it's illegal to wager on an election you're casting a vote in (in Wisconsin)? 

(I would hope that this wasn't isolated to Wisconsin. Time to call your state reps to get this law on the books. *looks up phone number for my California state rep*)

It turns out that those prediction market betting apps don't like this law, so they're pushing back. (Because those prediction market betting apps are horrible. If you want to gamble--please gamble responsibly--use a bookie like an adult.) 

It turns out the road to fascism is paved by idiots pursuing riches. Deep sigh. 

Speaking of scams, let's talk about all the research funding that was cut to provide tax cuts for billionaires. Or rather, let's talk about Daniel Blumstein, whose funding for studying marmots had been cut, so in an effort to raise money (and awareness), he started an OnlyFans for marmots called OnlyMarms. 

It's a great idea. It's too bad that science funding has had to resort to this sort of thing. 

Immigration Enforcement Database

While I was out of town, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents killed some more people. Because that's what they do now. Kill people. 

Via my Member of Congress: "Fear does not secure our border. Violence does not secure our border. Terrorizing our communities does not secure our border."

There's a list of all the terrible things they've done here. There's also a place to report instances of misconduct if you've witnessed any. (I believe I've linked to this resource before, but it bears repeating.) 

We need to keep pushing. Keep witnessing. Keep protesting. 

Someday we'll (as a nation) regain our sanity, and those responsible must be held accountable. Right now all we can do is keep the records. The records will be needed later. 

(I have to believe that the records will be needed later.) 

Let people know about the Immigration Enforcement Database. The more people who know about it, the more useful it'll be. 

The Pros of Bad Leadership

I haven't really been following the news lately. So much bad news. But, there is some good. 

This clip from Rachel Maddow's show last week talks about all the things that are good about having a bad president. Mainly, his incompetence is making it harder for his policies to be implemented. 

I mean... not great. But it's something. Keep pushing back. It's us pushing back that's helping. 

America250

I only found this out recently, so some of you may also be unaware. 

This July 4th is our semiquincentennial (that's 250th). And now that I've been seeing things about it, I wondered about who was organizing this thing. Turns out that ten years ago a bipartisan congressional committee was formed to organize the celebrations. 

Here's the official website. 

Very forward thinking of them. Very organized. They're ready to go. 

But, a certain someone who has to be the center of everything signed an executive order to create his own little party. (Here's an article explaining this.) It's called Freedom 250. And we get to ignore it.

Because the official celebration stuff is America250. 

(That concert that was announced? And then all the acts backed out? Yeah, that was the fake celebration.) 

I hope this clears things up.

Make the Big Things Fail

Did you hear? They're taking his name off the Kennedy Center.

I couldn't find video of it completed (on Sunday), but if you go on YouTube you can find an eleven hour video of the workmen setting up the equipment to get the job done. (I considered putting that video here, but meh. It doesn't get done in the video, so why bother?)

And then one more video:

I hope we hear more about the little acts of resistance that made the big things fail. I'm sure they're out there. 

I wish you a week of little acts of resistance to help make the big things fail. 

The Tantrum

He's a toddler, and we're placating a toddler. How did we get here? 

You probably already saw the infamous Meet the Press interview where he stormed out. In case you haven't: 

Or, if you're like me and can't listen to his voice, you can find a quick overview here. 

Election Day

It's primary election day here in California. This is your reminder that all elections are important, not just the presidential ones. 

It's the local municipalities that have done the resisting. The national offices have basically rolled over and let this regime do what it wants. But the various state and local governments, depending on affiliation, have done much in the way of pushing back. They've sued. They've resisted. They've sent people to check the concentration camps. 

Local races matter. Make sure to vote in November, even if the only national race is for Congress. (All the representatives are up for reelection this year.) Who your governor is matters. Who your mayor is matters. Who your state reps are matters. 

Let Washington know we're pissed. Effectively end the regime by making sure those checks are in place. 

More Worried About the Boom

Remind me... It is a good thing or a bad thing when randos keep coming at you with guns? I think it might be a bad thing...? 

While the national news media has been fixated by that latest debacle, locally my corner of California is a bit more concerned by a potential environmental catastrophe. By the time you read this, hopefully the tank has finally blown up or cracked open. 

A tank at an aerospace company is leaking methyl methacrylate, a volatile and flammable liquid used to make acrylic plastics. This links to the story in the picture. The good news is I'm not in the evacuation zone. The bad news is if this thing does explode, I'll definitely feel the after effects. 

As for the rest of the country, our primary election is June 2nd (which I need to sit down and get my ballot filled out. We get mail in ballots, and I've had mine for almost a month now). 

When the Speaker of the House admits on right-wing TV that losing the midterms would end Trump's presidency... that's not a warning. That's a TO-DO LIST. Challenge accepted. 

"If we lost the midterms--heaven forbid--it would be the end of the Trump presidency in real effect." --Mike Johnson

Follow the Money

It's all about the grift. 

Headline: Suing His Own IRS? Creating a $1.8 Billion Slush Fund? What the Hell Is Trump Trying to Pull?

Answer: It was always about the money. 

That's what they're after, after all. Enriching themselves. 

Carefully Crafted Insults

Last week I came across this article: "Is Trump a Racist? Let’s Look at the Stats." I have some thoughts...

First, uh, yeah. Duh. There's a whole lot of rather racist things happening, emboldened by this regime. If you find someone defending any of that as not racist, they're probably racist too. They just don't want to admit it. 

So, then I read the article. And they tried to quantify his racism via the percentages of people he calls, "Low I.Q." Okay, whatever. I don't know if you can "prove" racism via data like that, but it's something to write. 

My second thought, on reading the article, was about projection. How people will take things they don't want to look at about themselves, and they'll attribute those qualities to others. I wonder when he was tested and how that test was explained to him. Because he uses this low IQ thing a lot.

When I was in school, I wanted to take an IQ test. They weren't administering them anymore. When I took psychology in high school, I did a research paper on the IQ tests. And the thing is, they're not really great tests of intelligence. They have their biases. That's not something you can measure, anyway. There's a reason they've been sidelined for decades. 

Then the third thing I thought was about how he's been going on and on about those cognitive tests. How clearly he's had a few of them. Why else would he be constantly touting them (as if they were something to brag about)? 

Yes, I've drawn some conclusions. They're not the ones the article set out to prove. 

What do you think? What thoughts does the article bring forth in you?

Stoppable

"So far, despite their best efforts, it's not working out for them." 

One of the things that I've been so afraid/angry about is the attempt to build more concentration camps. Rachel Maddow had something to say about these last week, and it's very good news. It seems I'm not the only one who absolutely is against these things. 

In case the video doesn't work for you, here's a direct link. 

"We have got to stop suing people for hurting our feelings." 

This one's just for fun. In case you're in the mood for a giggle: 

And if you can't see that one either, here's that link. 

That's enough for today. The comments are open for those who wish to vent (or giggle). 

X It Out

May 1st is Friday. And there's a May Day event:

You can find information about it here. And in anticipation of May Day, there's a cancel party (hence today's post title) for May Day Eve:

The idea behind this one is that by using the services that give the billionaires the profits that make them billionaires, we're supporting them in oppressing us. Of course, it's really easy to say, but a lot of these services are things that we use and like, so it's harder to do.

Information about the cancel party can be found here. 

It's a virtual event. In case you're interested. 

As I do every Tuesday, the comments are open for venting. (I may not respond, but I am reading all of your comments.) 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Rage Over Reckless Destruction

A new book came out last week. It's called Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID. 

I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to write about today that had something to do with the letter R, and I came up blank. But then I remembered the game. For A to Z, my game is to write what I would normally write for the day and then try to figure out a title with the letter of the day. This week is proving to be troublesome. Although my Tuesday theme is on point (see graphic above). 

And this week it's that book. Because the damage those idiots did to the world at large is massive. They've been making the rounds publicizing the book: 

• Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did 'just abortions,' asked for 'Barney-style' slides before gutting agency, per new book
• “Into the Wood Chipper”: Whistleblower’s Inside Story of DOGE Shredding USAID, 14 Million May Die

Check out the book if you're so inclined. And remember, the regime killed people just to "fix the deficit", and they didn't fix anything. 

Link for Amazon. Link for Bookshop.org (in case you don't do Amazon). 

No questions today. Just an open forum to rant if you are so inclined.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Letters from Children

So many terrible things happening all the time now. So, what can I find to talk about for this L day? How about: 

Protesters Fill Minnesota Capitol, Read Letters from Children Held in Immigration Custody

I'm still a little salty from the conversation I had where they said, "It's not really that bad". 

It's really that bad. 

The concentration camps are "unbelievably inhumane". A family held at Texas' Dilley ICE detention center wrote letters describing neglectful medical care, inedible food and a disregard for their religious accommodations. 

And this sort of thing will traumatize these kids for the rest of their lives. Even if the kids aren't taken. 

Tuesdays are my day to rail against the current regime in power in the U.S. Even in April. Feel free to vent in the comments. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...