Month: August 2020

The delusional raging narcissist-in-chief’s desperate grasp on power

benfell

Horse race

Eric Lach points to historical precedent[1] for the previously described scenario in which a disputed election is settled by who various politicians allow to vote at the electoral college.[2] I still think a revolution, and not the nice kind, is a better idea.[3]

Eric Lach, “What Happens if Donald Trump Fights the Election Results?” New Yorker, August 21, 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/news/campaign-chronicles/what-happens-if-donald-trump-fights-the-election-results

Walbridge Fire

FireShot Capture 283 - County of Sonoma Fire Incident Map - sonomacounty.maps.arcgis.com.png
Fig. 1. Screenshot of Sonoma County Fire Incident Map as of August 21, 2020, at 9:32 pm EDT (6:32 pm PDT), taken by author.

Evacuation warning zones, with mandatory evacuation zones close on their heels, now extend into Healdsburg, to the edge of Windsor, and to the northern edge of Graton (a small town between Forestville and Sebastopol). East of Guerneville, mandatory evacuation zones include areas across the Russian River from the actual fire, which has spread into rugged terrain nearing the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve and to Mount Jackson.

Another round of isolated thunderstorms, “with little to no rainfall,” is in the forecast for parts of the greater Bay Area and the [Central Valley], beginning around Sunday evening and expected to last through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

“Lightning with these dry thunderstorms will have the potential to start new fires,” reads an urgent fire weather watch message the NWS issued just before 10:30 a.m. Friday. The fire watch is formally in place 11 a.m. Sunday to 11 a.m. Tuesday.[4]

And I seriously need to update the links in my satellite photo collection. Some haven’t worked since March.

  1. [1]Eric Lach, “What Happens if Donald Trump Fights the Election Results?” New Yorker, August 21, 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/news/campaign-chronicles/what-happens-if-donald-trump-fights-the-election-results↩
  2. [2]Max Boot, “What if Trump loses but insists he won?” Washington Post, July 6, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/06/what-if-trump-loses-insists-he-won/; Timothy E. Wirth and Tom Rogers, “How Trump Could Lose the Election—And Still Remain President,” Newsweek, July 3, 2020, https://www.newsweek.com/how-trump-could-lose-election-still-remain-president-opinion-1513975↩
  3. [3]David Benfell, “Time for somebody and something new,” Not Housebroken, July 27, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/07/27/time-for-somebody-and-something-new/; David Benfell, “We need to do everything different,” Not Housebroken, July 30, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/07/30/we-need-to-do-everything-different/; David Benfell, “The mysterious expectation that elites give a damn,” Not Housebroken, August 1, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/08/01/the-mysterious-expectation-that-elites-give-a-damn/; David Benfell, “Off with their heads,” Not Housebroken, August 19, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/08/17/off-with-their-heads/↩
  4. [4]Michael McGough, “More weekend thunder, lightning in Northern California forecasts stoke wildfire concerns,” Sacramento Bee, August 21, 2020, https://www.sacbee.com/news/weather-news/article245139635.html↩

‘Suspend’ does not mean ‘reverse’ at the U.S. Postal Service

benfell

Updates

  1. Originally published, August 21, 2020, 10:05 am.
  2. August 21, 12:07 pm:
    • In a series of tweets (see below), the Pennsylvania attorney general announced his coalition had filed suit to reverse changes at the U.S. Postal Service. This is one of two earlier reported suits.[1]
    • I have just received notice of an expansion of the mandatory evacuation zones in west Sonoma County to include Pocket Canyon. Evacuation warnings have been expanded along Green Valley Road, to both sides of the Russian River west of Laguna Road. And I have a map showing the grids (figure 4, see Walbridge Fire).

Recession

Shame, shame. This speculation lacks support:

The overall number of laid-off American workers collecting unemployment benefits declined last week from 15.5 million to 14.8 million. Many of them probably found jobs. But some may have used up all their benefits, which in most states run out after about six months.[2]

We don’t know how many found jobs and we don’t know how many simply used up their benefits. The claim that “many of them probably found jobs” is unsupported and frames information optimistically without justification for that optimism.

Christopher Rugaber, “Rise in jobless claims reflects still-struggling US economy,” Associated Press, August 20, 2020, copy in possession of author

Postal Service

As at least 21 state attorneys general sued,[3] Postmaster General Louis DeJoy suspended the changes that might interfere with election mail.[4] It is now apparent that “suspend” does not mean “reverse,” as an email has come to light forbidding the reconstruction or reconnection of sorting machines that had already been removed from service.[5]

Kristen Holmes and Paul P. Murphy, “USPS email tells managers not to reconnect sorting machines,” CNN, August 20, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/politics/usps-reconnect-sorting-machines/index.html

Tropical storms

car.gif
Fig. 1. Caribbean satellite imagery, compiled by author, as of August 21, 2020, 8:02 am.

For the first time since the Great Depression, it’s possible that two tropical systems could make landfall in the mainland United States at virtually the same time.[6]

This (figure 2) is what they’re showing:
2-cones-tropical-depression-13-tropical-depression-14-same-time-08212020
Fig. 2. Storm track projections from the Weather Channel for Tropical Storm Laura and Tropical Depression Fourteen, August 20, 2020, fair use.[7]
According to the Weather Channel, Laura seems projected to skim a bunch of islands, including Cuba.[8] From what I’ve seen, that won’t affect its strength much. Tropical Depression 13 passes over the Yucatan Peninsula;[9] that might weaken it some, but first, it looks to me like it is actually skirting that peninsula, possibly passing over western Cuba instead (figure 1); and second, it could regain strength or intensify once it hits the Gulf of Mexico.

Also, I’m not sure I buy their timing on Laura. Laura has a much longer distance to traverse than Tropical Depression 13 along their projected tracks and it doesn’t look to me like it’s moving that much faster. I can also see it turning north and east of the U.S. entirely (figure 1).

Either way, and assuming these storms make landfall along the Gulf of Mexico coast, some or all of this seems to me like it could head towards Pittsburgh as it gets caught up in a flow from Louisiana (figure 3):
eusgm.gif
Fig. 3. Eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico satellite imagery, compiled by author, as of August 21, 2020, 8:01 am.

If so, a relatively quiet, hot, and rainless summer might be in for a break.

Sean Breslin, “Tropical Storm Laura and Tropical Depression Fourteen: Track the Storms,” Weather Channel, August 20, 2020, https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-08-20-tropical-depression-thirteen-fourteen-laura-marco-tracker

Walbridge Fire

user68366-1598024396-media2
Fig. 4. Map from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department showing grids, received August 21, 2020, fair use.
The Sonoma County Fire Incident Map seems to be working again. I have a screenshot (figure 5):
FireShot Capture 280 - County of Sonoma Fire Incident Map - sonomacounty.maps.arcgis.com.png
Fig. 5. Screenshot of the Sonoma County Fire Incident Map, taken on August 21, 2020, at 12:01 pm EDT (9:01 am PDT) by author.

The warning zones are getting close to the Laguna de Santa Rosa. The mandatory evacuation zone now reaches nearly to Forestville.

Mom, stay where you are.

  1. [1]Amy Gardner and Erin Cox, “At least 21 states plan to sue the Postal Service over service delays, threat to election,” Washington Post, August 18, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-least-20-states-plan-to-sue-the-us-postal-service-over-service-delays-threat-to-election/2020/08/18/c6ca2dc6-e166-11ea-b69b-64f7b0477ed4_story.html↩
  2. [2]Christopher Rugaber, “Rise in jobless claims reflects still-struggling US economy,” Associated Press, August 20, 2020, copy in possession of author↩
  3. [3]Amy Gardner and Erin Cox, “At least 21 states plan to sue the Postal Service over service delays, threat to election,” Washington Post, August 18, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-least-20-states-plan-to-sue-the-us-postal-service-over-service-delays-threat-to-election/2020/08/18/c6ca2dc6-e166-11ea-b69b-64f7b0477ed4_story.html↩
  4. [4]Louis DeJoy, quoted in Paul Ziobro, Natalie Andrews, and Alexa Corse, “Postmaster to Suspend USPS Changes Until After Election,” Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/postmaster-general-dejoy-to-testify-before-senate-panel-friday-11597758378; Paul Ziobro, Natalie Andrews, and Alexa Corse, “Postmaster to Suspend USPS Changes Until After Election,” Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/postmaster-general-dejoy-to-testify-before-senate-panel-friday-11597758378↩
  5. [5]Kristen Holmes and Paul P. Murphy, “USPS email tells managers not to reconnect sorting machines,” CNN, August 20, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/politics/usps-reconnect-sorting-machines/index.html↩
  6. [6]Sean Breslin, “Tropical Storm Laura and Tropical Depression Fourteen: Track the Storms,” Weather Channel, August 20, 2020, https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-08-20-tropical-depression-thirteen-fourteen-laura-marco-tracker↩
  7. [7]Sean Breslin, “Tropical Storm Laura and Tropical Depression Fourteen: Track the Storms,” Weather Channel, August 20, 2020, https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-08-20-tropical-depression-thirteen-fourteen-laura-marco-tracker↩
  8. [8]Sean Breslin, “Tropical Storm Laura and Tropical Depression Fourteen: Track the Storms,” Weather Channel, August 20, 2020, https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-08-20-tropical-depression-thirteen-fourteen-laura-marco-tracker↩
  9. [9]Sean Breslin, “Tropical Storm Laura and Tropical Depression Fourteen: Track the Storms,” Weather Channel, August 20, 2020, https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-08-20-tropical-depression-thirteen-fourteen-laura-marco-tracker↩

No news is, um, no news on the Walbridge Fire

benfell

Walbridge Fire

So the Sonoma County Fire Incident Map seems to be down once again. I have received no notifications in over a day—I expect I should be receiving them as there are any changes to evacuation zone status, whether new ones are imposed or existing ones lifted or reduced in status. The silence is just all kind of weird and my inability, yet again, to get a map is, well, unsettling.

I do have a bit more of a gif for the western U.S. (figure 1):
wus
Fig. 1. Western U.S. satellite imagery, compiled by author, as of August 21, 2020, 4:02 am EDT (1:02 am PDT).

There’s really not that much happening weather-wise (figure 1), which I would expect should be helping firefighters to get a handle on the situation. But, damn it, I can’t get a map. Well here’s one from another page (figure 2):
FireShot Capture 271 - County of Sonoma Fire Incident Application - experience.arcgis.com
Fig. 2. Screenshot from Sonoma County’s Fire Incident Application page, taken by author, August 21, 2020, 4:50 am EDT (1:50 am PDT).

It (figure 2) looks pretty much the same as before, although I have no indication of fire spread here.

Google Maps is similarly unhelpful, showing nothing at all for Sonoma County, though it does show the LNU Complex in neighboring counties to the east.

I suppose I should offer a shout out to Healdsburg, which was also menaced by the Kincade Fire last year; Windsor actually had that fire encroaching. This all has to be simultaneously terrifying and wearying for all concerned.

It’s been four straight years of apocalypse in Sonoma County now: This includes the Camp Fire of 2018, which although 100-150 miles away, still blanketed much of the San Francisco Bay Area in smoke so thick you could barely see down a couple blocks.

I’m wondering when my mother can return home; I think the answer has to be, not fucking yet.

Driver misclassification may continue until the cows come home. If they ever do.

benfell

Ridesharing

An appeals court has ruled that Uber and Lyft may continue to misclassify drivers for the time being. But the companies must have a plan to comply within 30 days if their appeal fails and California’s sham Proposition 22 fails to pass.[1] So the bawling, hissy-fit throwing, temper tantrum throwing crybabies got their way. And we know how that turns out.

Lauren Feiner, “Appeals court grants Uber and Lyft a temporary reprieve following threats to shut down in California,” CNBC, August 20, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/20/appeals-court-grants-uber-and-lyft-a-temporary-reprieve-in-case-over-driver-classification.html

  1. [1]Lauren Feiner, “Appeals court grants Uber and Lyft a temporary reprieve following threats to shut down in California,” CNBC, August 20, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/20/appeals-court-grants-uber-and-lyft-a-temporary-reprieve-in-case-over-driver-classification.html↩

California is on fire, again, and this time, we can’t blame Pacific Gas and Electric

benfell

Walbridge Fire (Fire 13-4)

FireShot Capture 268 - County of Sonoma Fire Incident Map - sonomacounty.maps.arcgis.com
Fig. 1. Screenshot of Sonoma County Fire Incident Map, taken by author on August 20, 2020, at 6:18 am EDT (3:18 am PDT).

The Walbridge Fire, formerly known as Fire 13-4, has visibly spread and a fire that had been reported along the coast between Jenner and Fort Ross now appears where it hadn’t before (figure 1). Evacuation warning areas now reach Occidental, which is a lovely little town in a lovely forested valley, and Forestville. I don’t yet have the full 72 hours of satellite photos that normally go into these gifs (figure 2) because the link had changed and I didn’t discover it until I went to check for this fire.
wus
Fig. 2. Western U.S. satellite imagery animation, as of 6:03 am EDT (3:03 am PDT).
You can see a wind flow around a high pressure area that was formerly a little farther west that looks like it should have been driving the fire in an opposite direction. The approaching cold front in the Pacific Northwest should also have drawn winds from south to north. This is belied both by the expansion of the fire itself and by the ash fall my mother reported. Also, to the extent the front had any impact at all, it will reverse as it passes.

The good news is that I haven’t received any further notifications for this fire since 4:23 pm EDT (1:23 pm PDT) yesterday, suggesting that the expansion of evacuation zones has stopped.

The bad news is that these fires are not being blamed on Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) but rather lightning, which is why there are so many of them, from 11,000 lightning strikes, around the state.[1]

In the short term, the sheer number of fires means firefighting resources are stretched thin, notably in part because prison labor is not available to help because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] In the longer term, it shows that California’s fire woes cannot solely be blamed on PG&E, which has been culpable in many fires, forced into bankruptcy as a result, and even criminally convicted in one fire,[3] although investigators cleared it in the 2017 Tubbs Fire which also afflicted Sonoma County.[4] California has suffered more drought than not my entire adult life, presumably due to the climate crisis; a single-minded focus on PG&E as culprit glosses over that the vegetation is tinder dry. The state needs rain, it isn’t getting it, and it can no longer be expected to get it.

Dale Kasler, Ryan Sabalow, and Sophia Bollag, “Can California handle this many wildfires at once? Crews and equipment already ‘depleted,’” Sacramento Bee, August 19, 2020, https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article245083025.html

  1. [1]Dale Kasler, Ryan Sabalow, and Sophia Bollag, “Can California handle this many wildfires at once? Crews and equipment already ‘depleted,’” Sacramento Bee, August 19, 2020, https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article245083025.html↩
  2. [2]Dale Kasler, Ryan Sabalow, and Sophia Bollag, “Can California handle this many wildfires at once? Crews and equipment already ‘depleted,’” Sacramento Bee, August 19, 2020, https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article245083025.html↩
  3. [3]Howard Blume, “PG&E reaches $13.5-billion settlement with victims of devastating California wildfires,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2019, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-12-06/pge-settlement-fire-northern-california; Katherine Blunt, “PG&E to Plead Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter Charges in Deadly California Wildfire,” Wall Street Journal, March 23, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-to-plead-guilty-to-involuntary-manslaughter-charges-in-deadly-california-wildfire-11584962649; Katherine Blunt, “PG&E’s Settlement With California Fire Victims Is Fraying,” Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-es-settlement-with-california-fire-victims-is-fraying-11586189889; Katherine Blunt and Russell Gold, “PG&E Knew for Years Its Lines Could Spark Wildfires, and Didn’t Fix Them,” Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-knew-for-years-its-lines-could-spark-wildfires-and-didnt-fix-them-11562768885; Katherine Blunt and Alejandro Lazo, “California Governor Threatens State Takeover of PG&E,” Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/california-governor-threatens-state-takeover-of-pg-e-11572641749; Peg Brickley, “PG&E Loses Challenge to Law Holding It Liable for Fire Damage,” Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-loses-challenge-to-law-holding-it-liable-for-fire-damage-11574910091; Russell Gold and Katherine Blunt, “PG&E Had Systemic Problems With Power Line Maintenance, California Probe Finds,” Wall Street Journal, December 2, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-had-systemic-problems-with-power-line-maintenance-california-probe-finds-11575338873; Richard Gonzales, “Federal Judge Imposes New Probation Terms On PG&E To Reduce Wildfire Risk,” National Public Radio, April 2, 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/04/02/709248544/federal-judge-imposes-new-probation-terms-on-pg-e-to-reduce-wildfire-risk; Dale Kasler, “PG&E says its equipment may have caused a fourth California fire in the past week,” Sacramento Bee, October 30, 2019, https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article236841498.html; Dale Kasler, “PG&E makes deal to pay California wildfire victims. What it means for utility’s future,” Sacramento Bee, December 6, 2019, https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article238138009.html; Dale Kasler, “PG&E pleads guilty to manslaughter charges for Camp Fire, deadliest in California history,” Sacramento Bee, June 16, 2020, https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article243571597.html; Dale Kasler, “California investigators blame PG&E for massive 2019 Kincade Fire in wine country,” Sacramento Bee, July 16, 2020, https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article244283752.html; KPIX, “Federal Judge Calls PG&E ‘Recalcitrant Criminal,’ Delays New Probation Ruling,” May 28, 2020, https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/05/28/regulators-approve-pge-bankruptcy-plan-despite-safety-fears/; J.D. Morris, “PG&E bankruptcy judge won’t approve attempt to halt fire victim votes,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 2020, https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-bankruptcy-judge-won-t-approve-attempt-to-15185776.php; Ivan Penn and Peter Eavis, “Report Detailing PG&E’s Failures Raises New Hurdles for Utility,” New York Times, December 3, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/business/energy-environment/pge-camp-fire-report.html; Randi Rossman and Will Schmitt, “Broken PG&E tower discovered near origin of Kincade fire on The Geysers geothermal power property,” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, October 25, 2019, https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/10216601-181/kincade-fire-starts-inside-the; Joe Ryan and Mark Chediak, “PG&E stock craters after ruling Tubbs fire suit can proceed,” Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, August 19, 2019, https://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/9924652-181/pge-stock-craters-after-ruling; Joseph Serna and Taryn Luna, “PG&E power lines caused California’s deadliest fire, investigators conclude,” Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2019, https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-paradise-camp-fire-cal-fire-20190515-story.html; Kanishka Singh, “PG&E failed to inspect transmission lines that caused deadly 2018 wilfdfire [sic]: state probe,” Reuters, December 3, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-wildfire-pg-e-us-idUSKBN1Y70N8; Reis Thebault, Kim Bellware, and Andrew Freedman, “High-voltage power line broke near origin of massive California fire that forced thousands of evacuations,” Washington Post, October 25, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/24/fast-moving-wildfire-ignites-northern-california-wine-country-prompting-evacuations/↩
  4. [4]Ivan Penn and Peter Eavis, “PG&E Is Cleared in Deadly Tubbs Fire of 2017,” New York Times, January 24, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/business/energy-environment/pge-tubbs-fire.html↩

Fire 13-4 is now the Walbridge Fire

benfell

Walbridge Fire

“Fire 13-4” now has a name: The Walbridge Fire. Don’t ask me. I have no idea how they come up with these designations. The evacuation areas (whether mandatory or warning) seem to have expanded, but Sonoma County’s incident map seems to be down and the notifications I get refer to map grids on a map I don’t know where or how to find.

Pittsburgh

Bill Peduto condemned the plainclothes arrest of a protester mentioned in my most recent blog post[1] and ordered that such tactics not be used in future misdemeanor arrests,[2] but protesters continued to target him, demonstrating outside his home. It would seem the mayor does not appreciate demonstrations that disturb the neighbors in the wee hours. Poor baby. He could have met with them as they demanded, but instead accused one of a felony.[3]

Megan Guza And Abby Mackey, “Police disperse overnight protesters at Peduto’s house, mayor decries neighborhood harassment,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 19, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/police-disperse-overnight-protesters-at-pedutos-house-mayor-decries-neighborhood-harassment/

  1. [1]David Benfell, “Off with their heads,” Not Housebroken, August 17, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/08/17/off-with-their-heads/↩
  2. [2]Lindsay Ward, “Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto Speaks Out After Putting An End To Tactics Used In Controversial Arrest At Oakland Protest,” KDKA, August 18, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/08/18/pittsburgh-mayor-bill-peduto-arrest-oakland-tactics/↩
  3. [3]Megan Guza And Abby Mackey, “Police disperse overnight protesters at Peduto’s house, mayor decries neighborhood harassment,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 19, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/police-disperse-overnight-protesters-at-pedutos-house-mayor-decries-neighborhood-harassment/↩

Election bullshit, intensified

benfell

Academia

Notre Dame University, “Notre Dame enacts two weeks of remote instruction,” August 18, 2020, https://news.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-enacts-two-weeks-of-remote-instruction/

Horse race

I’m no historian, but I think you’d have to go a ways back to find an election in the U.S. that is so much bullshit.

And you can’t even argue that Joe Biden is a “functioning adult,” as so many yard signs claim to seek, because he plainly suffers dementia.

Fire 13-4

benfell

Fire 13-4

Though I’ve been gone for over a year, I monitor Sonoma County (California) emergencies because my mother is still there:
FireShot Capture 262 - County of Sonoma Fire Incident Application - experience.arcgis.com
Fig. 1. Screenshot of Sonoma County evacuation map, taken by author, August 19, 2020, 2:09 am EDT (August 18, 11:09 pm PDT).

Unlike the Kincade Fire last year, Fire 13-4 (figure 1), as they’re calling it, is west of Highway 101, but in remote, rugged terrain of northern Sonoma County. This is pretty much as remote as it gets in the county. It got my attention especially because the evacuation zones are starting to get closer to my mother’s house.

It’s on the other side of the Russian River from her, but the river isn’t particularly wide here; it is wooded on both sides. And if the fire were to spread south towards Forestville, and indeed to jump the river, it would be in the very patch of forest I worried about last year.

It’s got a ways to go before that happens. But the only areas here that aren’t bone dry are the river itself and vineyards. The latter line Westside Road, which is currently part of the southern boundary of mandatory evacuation zones.

Facing major lawsuits, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy caves

benfell

Postal Service

Amy Gardner and Erin Cox, “At least 20 states plan to sue the U.S. Postal Service over service delays, threat to election,” Washington Post, August 18, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-least-20-states-plan-to-sue-the-us-postal-service-over-service-delays-threat-to-election/2020/08/18/c6ca2dc6-e166-11ea-b69b-64f7b0477ed4_story.html

Paul Ziobro, Natalie Andrews, and Alexa Corse, “Postmaster to Suspend USPS Changes Until After Election,” Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/postmaster-general-dejoy-to-testify-before-senate-panel-friday-11597758378

A campaign for the disillusioned and the delusional

benfell

Horse race

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it here or not, but when I moved here, and until a short time after Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign for the neoliberal party nomination, there was a house on Baptist Road in Bethel Park that had been festooned with a truly excessive display of support for Sanders. Lots of yard signs, posters, an effigy—it was really completely and totally over the top.

So Sanders effectively concedes and eventually all that comes down and the house now looks pretty much like any other on that street. You can still identify it: Bernie Sanders bumper stickers remain affixed to the mailbox.

But there is no support for Joe Biden here. Rather, a yard sign for a giant meteor strike in 2020 now appears.

I’m seeing a lot of disillusionment with the U.S. political system now on my Twitter feed where there was little or none before. People really imagined progressivism had a chance.

Some are still fighting. Some even still demand that Biden relinquish the nomination in favor of Sanders. A lot of folks will be voting for the Green Party. But there’s also a lot of talk of a general strike and even of revolution that appears in my feed now.

Frankly, I don’t give a damn whether Donald Trump is re-elected or Biden ousts him. Neither of them are acceptable.

And as I said in 2016, if you want me to change my mind, you’d better have a real job for me right fucking now, not the promise of a job, certainly not the mere hope of a job, but an actual job now.

Because if you think I’m voting for four more years of abject humiliation, of poverty, and of being treated like shit on the job market, even with a Ph.D., just so I can have more war, more social inequality, and more environmental catastrophe, you’re simply delusional: There is absolutely nothing for me to vote for here.

Pittsburgh

Lindsay Ward, “Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto Speaks Out After Putting An End To Tactics Used In Controversial Arrest At Oakland Protest,” KDKA, August 18, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/08/18/pittsburgh-mayor-bill-peduto-arrest-oakland-tactics/