Politics The Postal Service, Voting, and Covid

[TorturedBlazerFan]

It's the ability to decipher the lies from the truth and in the case of covid we have the trump administration lying about it and you have the doctors and scientists telling the truth and giving the best advice. It really isn't that hard to see where the issue is. One only cares about the economy to boost his reelection chances and the others are saying what's actually best for the people.

Only the doctors and scientists we like though. We like Fauci when he says things that we like, when he says things we don't it's cause Trump made him do it. When a doctor or scientist says things we don't we immediately jump into ad hominem attacks against them, and claim we love science.
I'm not gonna get into this COVID stuff though, it is literally a waste of you and I's time. If you think doctors and scientists are always telling you what's best for the people, well I'd just disagree. I'm not saying all doctors or scientists are evil, or bad but people are generally selfish and looking for their own best interests.

It's an interesting somewhat ironic argument. People really pissed off that Trump wants to be a Dictator and has too much power and has abused it. Also let's give the Federal Government and the executive branch more power and responsibility, what could go wrong with that? Most people hate big forms of statism, including socialists when the state doesn't do what they want and imposes itself on them, but loves statism when the state does what they want and imposes itself on their political/ideological rivals.

 

[CupWizier]

Only the doctors and scientists we like though. We like Fauci when he says things that we like, when he says things we don't it's cause Trump made him do it. When a doctor or scientist says things we don't we immediately jump into ad hominem attacks against them, and claim we love science.
I'm not gonna get into this COVID stuff though, it is literally a waste of you and I's time. If you think doctors and scientists are always telling you what's best for the people, well I'd just disagree. I'm not saying all doctors or scientists are evil, or bad but people are generally selfish and looking for their own best interests.

It's an interesting somewhat ironic argument. People really pissed off that Trump wants to be a Dictator and has too much power and has abused it. Also let's give the Federal Government and the executive branch more power and responsibility, what could go wrong with that? most people hate big forms of statism, including socialists when the state doesn't do what they want and imposes itself on them, but loves statism when the state does what they want and imposes itself on their political rivals.

So your answer is not to believe anyone? Ok, let me know how that works out for you.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

So your answer is not to believe anyone? Ok, let me know how that works out for you.

My answer is to take all of it with a grain of salt and keep living my life to the best of my ability, with the knowledge I have while working every day to observe, hypothesize, question and test what I learn instead of take anyone at face value and sure there are some I trust more than others but that has worked well for me. I don't really want to talk about COVID though, that's why I haven't been involved in any of the COVID conversations in months.

So I think mail-in voting is appropriate, whatever gives more citizens access to voting the better IMO and I think what the postmaster/president is doing is crazy and whether one agrees or disagrees about major changes to the USPS the timing makes it an obvious attempt to try to get re-elected.

 

[crandc]

Sorting machines being removed in swing states, that makes sense for Trump, he doesn't want voter turnout in Pennsylvania, Michigan et al. But California and New York? No way he wins those states so why sabotage the mail service?

According to reports he is still steamed over losing popular vote by 3 million in 2016. New York and California accounted for 2 million of those votes. If he can suppress voter turnout in those two states, he'll still lose the states but has a better chance of popular vote win.

If he keeps the "wrong" people from voting.

Used to be absentee ballots were not partisan, but for Trump everything is always about him. Like wearing masks. Or absentee ballots. Result, about 81% of Democrats plan to vote by mail but only around 25% of Republicans. Trump can never win a free election, he has to at all costs stop people from voting.

 

[THE HCP]

So why exactly are they taking mailboxes away from my neighborhood? I still don’t get it.

 

[julius]

So why exactly are they taking mailboxes away from my neighborhood? I still don’t get it.

They're sabotaging things, so it appears that the USPS can't handle the election (which is absolute horse shit), and thus their stance on it is justified.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

USPS announces temporary price increase

The United States Postal Service is planning for a temporary price increase that will go into effect from Oct. 18 to Dec. 27.

The price increase is due to the high demand for online items.

Package shipments will see a rate increase anywhere from 24 cents to as much as $1.50.

USPS filed the notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission.

The price increase is expected to still keep the postal service rates competitive while providing the agency with much needed revenue.

https://www.kbtx.com/2020/08/15/usps-announces-temporary-price-increase/

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

So why exactly are they taking mailboxes away from my neighborhood? I still don’t get it.

At worst voter suppression, trying to eliminate the USPS or reform it to enhance private shipping companies, so that elites can profit more. At best and this is really where the whole thing seems so blatantly wrong, voter fraud ‘might’ be an issue, and the USPS needs reform because it loses quite a bit of money... Those two things even if they were a big deal, are not worth making it unsafe (especially to the more at risk groups for COVID and other diseases) and say those things are really big problems, there are better ways to fix it short term than tearing it all up.

 

[crandc]

Trump had been demanding increase in package rates after Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post. He's too stupid to realize it wouldn't hurt Amazon or Bezos, just customers.

 

[julius]

USPS announces temporary price increase

The United States Postal Service is planning for a temporary price increase that will go into effect from Oct. 18 to Dec. 27.

The price increase is due to the high demand for online items.

Package shipments will see a rate increase anywhere from 24 cents to as much as $1.50.

USPS filed the notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission.

The price increase is expected to still keep the postal service rates competitive while providing the agency with much needed revenue.

https://www.kbtx.com/2020/08/15/usps-announces-temporary-price-increase/

you have to admit, they are going about this much like you'd expect a villain in a really bad Marvel Comics/DC Comics movie would.

 

[THE HCP]

Bro, how is this shit going on? This is like some fucking movie.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Bro, how is this shit going on? This is like some fucking movie.

Cause we've got two political parties vying for power, who will do anything and everything to get that power. It's absolutely 100% confirmation bias and I realize that but absolutely nothing that's happened this year is surprising to me. Riots, Protests, Pandemics, misinformation, propaganda, etc. A house divided against itself cannot stand, and that's what the United States is. The divide and conquer politics has made for hyper-polarized people who think if they lose the election they'll be rounded up and sent to re-education centers or that neo-nazi's will start another genocide. So people turn a blind eye to the crap their side does because they have to win or else were in trouble. They have played the game of fear, and fear is a great motivator. It's why when a 5-year-old kid gets shot at point-blank riding his bike you can find people on Twitter literally saying he deserved it because he was white, and it's justifiable revenge. Or when a Black man gets killed you see people immediately go try to dig up dirt on why that Black man was actually a bad person so it's fine... It's because we're being programmed to hate each other. So when you see a president try to dismantle a service, and do it mostly for re-election purposes it's just more of that, and that's why this country is hurling quickly towards its end.

 

[Lanny]

Sure there are complexities and issues with all forms of government. Never claimed otherwise, but big government and federal authority has its own issues.

I like basically 100% disagree with just about everything covid related posted on s2 to the point thats a rather worthless discussion, not because I think its a conspiracy or whatever right wing crap is out there just because I think it went political in an instant and there is way more lies out there then facts. My answer sure as heck isnt let the federal government and politicians have more control of health and science though.

Knowledge and ignorance is now a political thing. Too bad it had to get that way. But you have to realistically look at which party is rejecting scientists and other experts and which party is pleading their case. There is a difference, you know.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Knowledge and ignorance is now a political thing. Too bad it had to get that way. But you have to realistically look at which party is rejecting scientists and other experts and which party is pleading their case. There is a difference, you know.

They both reject scientists and experts when they say crap they don't like. Heck Fauci himself is like the Democrats best friend unless he says something they don't like then they say, well he only said that cause Trump told him too. The difference is what experts and such they chose to listen to.

 

[BigGameDamian]

 

[Lanny]

They both reject scientists and experts when they say crap they don't like. Heck Fauci himself is like the Democrats best friend unless he says something they don't like then they say, well he only said that cause Trump told him too. The difference is what experts and such they chose to listen to.

I'm gonna disagree with you, here.

 

[Minstrel]

Heck Fauci himself is like the Democrats best friend unless he says something they don't like then they say, well he only said that cause Trump told him too.

Can you give an example of that? Because I have literally never seen that, Democrats dismissing Fauchi as "just saying what Trump told him to," here or anywhere else.

 

[julius]

Can you give an example of that? Because I have literally never seen that, Democrats dismissing Fauchi as "just saying what Trump told him to," here or anywhere else.

The only people that dismiss Fauchi, or claim Democrats have, are conservatives and republicans.

Now, there are some people who democrats/liberals dismiss, and it coincides with them working for or with Trump (Scaramucci comes to mind), but I think he's similar to the porn star lawyer in that he became a boogieman for GOPers to use to try to pass the buck.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Can you give an example of that? Because I have literally never seen that, Democrats dismissing Fauchi as "just saying what Trump told him to," here or anywhere else.

Fauchi just told me to dismiss your post.

 

[Minstrel]

Fauchi just told me to dismiss your post.

That's just what Trump told you to say.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

That's just what Trump told you to say.

Yes but I'm now ambassador to Fiji!

#SlyPokerDogCanBeEasilyBoughtOff.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Can you give an example of that? Because I have literally never seen that, Democrats dismissing Fauchi as "just saying what Trump told him to," here or anywhere else.

Just on this site alone, you can search Trump and Fauci and find pages of both saying Fauci is great, but also Fauci says is pressured to say things by Trump, which seems like a good out when he says things we don't like...
I didn't say they "dismissed" Fauci though, I said when he says something that's not popular it's because of Trump telling him to say it, and yeah there are times when he says things about say, "kids going back to school", that it's like oh he must have said that due to Trump.

There's like millions of articles it seems talking about Trump vs Fauci, and most of them both from the right and the left seem to ask about "pressure" from the white-house to say certain things, which he always denies, but if they're all asking it...

 

[julius]

I'm not sure i'd be using this website as a barometer for anything logical, practical or smart.

For fucks sake, we have someone who says the Blazers missing Swanigan is a big deal, and one of the owners of this website is someone who claims they're a dog.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I'm not sure i'd be using this website as a barometer for anything logical, practical or smart.

For fucks sake, we have someone who says the Blazers missing Swanigan is a big deal, and one of the owners of this website is someone who claims they're a dog.

I mean the thing is. From the start of the COVID stuff, there has been a constant stream of trying to pit Trump vs Fauci (some of it from Trumps own team which is stupid lol), but the underlying theme has always felt like, well if he doesn't say it's "this" then Trump has muzzled him. If he says it's "this" then that must mean he's pressured by Trump to say it. It's not a dismissal of Fauci, but it is a great place to start when wanting to dismiss a portion of what he's saying.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I'm gonna disagree with you, here.

Seriously though, it's fine to disagree.

 

[Minstrel]

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Just on this site alone, you can search Trump and Fauci and find pages of both saying Fauci is great, but also Fauci says is pressured to say things by Trump, which seems like a good out when he says things we don't like...
I didn't say they "dismissed" Fauci though, I said when he says something that's not popular it's because of Trump telling him to say it, and yeah there are times when he says things about say, "kids going back to school", that it's like oh he must have said that due to Trump.

There's like millions of articles it seems talking about Trump vs Fauci, and most of them both from the right and the left seem to ask about "pressure" from the white-house to say certain things, which he always denies, but if they're all asking it...

That's fair, I definitely missed seeing those.

 

[Minstrel]

Yes but I'm now ambassador to Fiji!

#SlyPokerDogCanBeEasilyBoughtOff.

Dogs can't be ambassadors. I'm sure it's in the rule book here somewhere, Air Bud.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

That's fair, I definitely missed seeing those.

Only real point is that generally I see the ‘left’ Im very much over generalizing, say the we believe in science mantra. Which I’ll grant that they might be more inclined to do that, but I dont really think they’re as pure with that notion as they like to say. From my biased POV, when a scientist or expert says something not popular or what they want to hear they are often times just as quick to jump on to ad hominem or other fallacies to avoid the aspects of science, or ‘experts’ that dont go with what they’d like to hear. I personally think we all do that to some extent, which I understand. Our brain almost has to work that way. From the moment it starts forming thoughts its trying to create its perception of reality, whether through ‘science’ or whatever other means. When ‘evidence’ is put in front of us that does not mesh with our perception it is quite frankly one of the hardest challenges our brains go through, it can range from dismissal, life altering because it breaks our perceptions its just hard and Id venture to guess almost every one has those moments where your mind is really struggling to figure out what to do with information that it was t ready to accept.

 

[Minstrel]

Only real point is that generally I see the ‘left’ Im very much over generalizing, say the we believe in science mantra. Which I’ll grant that they might be more inclined to do that, but I dont really think they’re as pure with that notion as they like to say.

No one is entirely pure with anything, certainly. I do think that Democrats tend to have a higher respect for the experts in fields than Republicans, especially when it comes to the sciences. I think where Democrats are much more likely to dismiss or handwave legitimate experts is in economics--economics is an interesting field in that while there is some rigor to parts of it, there are legitimate schools of thought with their own worldviews and people who believe in one school tend to think those of other schools to be badly misguided.

One example of this is that "technocrat" tends to be an insult as used by Republicans. It was one of the attacks levied by the party against Obama. Whereas technocrat isn't a bad word to Democrats.

 

[Lanny]

Fauchi just told me to dismiss your post.

I served with Fauci, Fauci was a friend of mine, sir, you're no Fauci.

Okay, deep down, you know I'm full of shit. Can't help it. That's my character. Don't blame me, blame that little devil that sits on my shoulder.