democrattotheend
democrattotheend's JournalWhy are the roll call votes out of whack with the primary results?
For example, I don't think Biden was even viable in Iowa, but he got more votes tonight. Is that due to superdelegates (I thought they can't vote on the first ballot), did Bernie release his delegates and give them the choice the way Hillary did in 2008, or were the delegates for the other candidates all allocated to Biden?
Note: this is just a question, not sour grapes. I was for Warren in the primaries and she wasn't even nominated tonight. I'm just a junkie for this stuff.
The irony of Republican efforts to privatize the Postal Service
I posted something about this yesterday that came across the wrong way, because one of the downsides of the Internet is that sarcasm isn't always apparent. For the record, I don't think we should privatize the Postal Service, but I do find it rather ironic that if Republicans ever got their way on that, and USPS was either fully privatized or allowed to operate more like a business, Republican voters would be hurt the most. Why? Because if USPS were privatized or operated like a private business, it would likely opt not to service more remote areas that are less profitable without a surcharge due to the increased time and gas to get to each location, or it would charge more in less dense areas to account for the increased cost of service, as the private carriers already do.
Consider the two maps below. The first is a map of where UPS charges a remote or extended area surcharge. The red dots are the areas where the surcharge does not apply.
The second is a precinct-level map of the 2016 election results:
At some point, I will try to figure out a way to do an actual overlay map, but hopefully this is enough to illustrate my point. If USPS were operated more like a private business, as Republicans have been saying it should for decades, their constituents would be hit the hardest by the change. Indeed, the maps above don't even tell the whole story of how much rural America might be hurt by privatization, since UPS and FedEx currently keep rates in rural areas lower than they otherwise would be by using the USPS for "last mile" delivery in many rural areas. If USPS were not required to deliver to every address, or were allowed to vary the price of service based on the cost of servicing a given area, it's likely that USPS and the private carriers would charge even more for rural service.
The Postal Service isn't "unprofitable" because it's poorly run, or because of union contracts or benefits. It's "unprofitable" because it's required to service remote areas that are expensive to service with no ability to price the service to reflect the increased cost. I believe the Postal Service should be a public service and don't care if it's profitable, but the next time you hear a Republican complain about "bailing out" the Postal Service, remind them that one of the main things that makes it "unprofitable" is the mandate that it deliver to spread out houses in mostly Republican areas for the same price as delivering to an urban resident in a high-rise, despite the fact that the former costs 10 times as much in terms of labor time and gas.
I don't want to see the Postal Service privatized, but I find it ironic that the way it currently functions, it's one of many ways in which Blue America subsidizes Red America, the same Red America that claims to be against government handouts. So maybe Republican politicians ought to remember that the next time they start complaining about "blue state bailouts". And maybe they ought to remember that if they ever actually got their way and the Postal Service was allowed to operate like a private business, their constituents would suffer the most (and maybe they'd stop voting for Republicans!).
Trump to Pardon Susan B. Anthony
Apparently this was the big pardon he was teasing. Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting when only men were allowed. On the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, Trump will posthumously pardon Anthony for illegally voting. Kind of ironic, but otherwise harmless. Glad the pardon is a symbolic pander instead of a Trump crony who doesn't deserve it.
https://politicalwire.com/2020/08/18/trump-to-pardon-susan-b-anthony/
A plea to less at-risk Democrats: please avoid vote by mail
I know this runs contrary to what many people on our side have been saying, but for those who are younger, healthier, and not in a high-risk population with respect to coronavirus, the best thing you can do is vote in person (or use a drop-off option if your state allows it). In light of reports that the postal service won't be able to handle the expected surge in mail ballots (and the strong chance that some state elections offices also have insufficient capacity to send out and process ballots on time), I strongly encourage those who are not high risk or live in areas where the virus is mostly under control to go to the polls and leave the vote by mail option for those who are the most vulnerable if they get the coronavirus, like the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions. Just like many people stopped using Instacart and other grocery delivery services so there would be slots for those most at risk if they left their homes, we may have to do the same with mail ballots unless we are confident the lack of capacity/deliberate attempts at sabotage have been fixed.
Am I a suburban housewife, even though I have a career?
I'm married, live in the suburbs, and we own our home. But I have a career as a lawyer, so I don't know if I count as a "suburban housewife." I'm considering making myself a shirt or button that says "Suburban Housewife for Biden/Harris" but I don't know if that term actually applies to me.
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Member since: Wed Jan 30, 2008, 03:33 PMNumber of posts: 11,605
