July 16, 2020

Post office under attack

The post office is the highest rated government agency in the US in terms of efficiency and customer service. It has been for more than a decade. Customers have received timely delivery in line with established, timed standards like clockwork for the most part driving the higher ratings.

That’s changed in a little more than a month. Since June 2020 Trump appointee (or should I say saboteur) Louis DeJoy has overseen the agency which — by the way uses zero tax dollars — and the complaints are beginning to roll in as DeJoy instructs employees NOT to deliver the mail.

It’s only July. Imagine what it’ll be like by November.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/14/postal-service-trump-dejoy-delay-mail/

“Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told employees to leave mail behind at distribution centers if it delayed letter carriers from their routes, according to internal USPS documents obtained by The Washington Post and verified by the American Postal Workers Union and three people with knowledge of their contents, but who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution.”

July 14, 2020

Shithead Desantis blames agricultural workers traveling on "crowded buses" for Covid spread in FL

CBS News this evening.



I. Hate. Republicans.

July 10, 2020

West Point no stranger to racism

Black US Army cadets say they were called the N-word and 'shunned' for reporting discrimination at West Point

By David Choi 7-6-2020

Several Black cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point detailed their experience with racially charged incidents during their tenure at the renowned institution.

"I was called a 'n----' during my freshman year at West Point," one person wrote. "I was told that I was going to rob someone because I was Black. A student made a noose and put it on his Black roommate's desk as a joke. I was called 'white' because I speak intelligently, which is built on the assumption that white people speak better than Black people."

snip

"But one day I sat with a group of white males in my company during dinner. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was coming up. One of them mentioned how his teacher made him feel 'guilty' about being white because of the oppression their ancestors put upon minority Americans for hundreds of years. The Cadet explained how he should not feel guilty because he was not the one that caused the pain.
"However, I mentioned how it is important to recognize the privilege young, white, straight, Christian males reap due to the power dynamic white men have created in American society. Once I said those words, I was suddenly being shouted at by every white male at that table. I was being told that I was 'crazy and racist,' that 'African Americans should do the same because of affirmative action,' and 'You're only saying that because you're Black.' I have learned that the 'respect for other races' at West Point is simply a coverup for the underlying racism that this institution tolerates.


snip

"As someone who made sure to integrate himself into the group by hanging out with them during free time and sharing personal stories, I found it hard to believe that I was not integrated well enough. When I asked for examples, he cited my lack of interest in country music or my failure to try dipping tobacco during summer training."

https://www.businessinsider.com/black-us-army-soldiers-n-word-at-west-point-2020-7

July 5, 2020

60 Minutes: 80% of Flint MI children impaired by leaded water

Now New Jersey’s in the same boat.

Physician from the piece: (paraphrase) “If we cannot provide water for our citizens, who are we?”


My prediction:
Those affected are primarily inner city blacks who most certainly face future discrimination by being labeled “dumb” and/or needy. Systemic racism at its “best."

July 1, 2020

OH (Cincinnati) Democratic councilwoman pleads guilty to fraud

Shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, in a hearing that lasted about 30 minutes, Dennard pleaded guilty to accepting $15,000 as part of a scheme to exchange her votes for money.

Dennard, 41, had already signed a plea agreement ... to honest services wire fraud, meaning she schemed to defraud citizens and the city council of their right to honest services. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/06/28/tamaya-dennard-expected-enter-guilty-plea-today-federal-court/3262929001/

July 1, 2020

NJ democratic councilmen-elect Michael Jackson, Alex Mendez charged

Two winners in Patterson’s recent ward council elections were charged with voter fraud—specifically the way mail-in ballots are supposed to be collected and filled out.

The six ward elections in Patterson were conducted solely through vote-by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.

https://patersontimes.com/2020/06/25/paterson-council-members-michael-jackson-alex-mendez-two-others-charged-with-voter-fraud/


This is the second in several seemingly targeted arrests of democratic representatives in the past week.

July 1, 2020

OH (Toledo) Council ravaged by democrat arrests

Council members Larry Sykes, Tyronne Riley, Gary Johnson and Yvonne Harper were all arrested Tuesday morning. FBI officials say bribes affected at least three City Council votes over the last two years, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per bribe from local business owners...
The federal complaint shows that one businessman allegedly bribed Riley at least $2,000 to support a special use permit.
Other bribes listed involved internet cafes on Holland-Sylvania Road, Central Avenue, Reynolds Road and Manhattan Boulevard, not being named by the FBI at this time, where at least $26,000 were given to all four council members and $2,000 to local attorney Keith Mitchell who solicited the payments.
"These council members are charged with federal violations, but they're also charged with violating the public trust and they did that for their own personal financial gain," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said.
Harper is facing an additional charge for threatening to revoke one tenant's liquor license and bringing negative attention and protests to the location after a dispute unless the tenant compensated her with $25,000.
"The residents of Toledo deserve a city government where every elected official is deeply committed to serving the public rather than themselves."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nbc24.com/amp/news/local/fbi-charges-4-toledo-city-council-members-1-attorney-with-bribery

"The political ramifications of this should not be understated. It's an election year, not in city council. Those members are elected in odd years. It's an even year but it's a presidential election so I think not just Lucas County democrats but democratic officials around the state are concerned about such a high profile scandal of not just one but four democratic elected officials in Lucas County," Miller said.

https://www.13abc.com/content/news/Where-does-Toledo-city-council-go-from-here-571575611.html

THERE WERE MORE ARRESTS a second and third post follow. Links:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213683119#post2

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213683182