After the use, by me, of colorful, yet constructive four letter words, the U.S. Postal Service (UPS) finally listened.
Two weeks ago after one of those ZOOM online meetings with USPS officials (I was not asked to participate) Wife Patti and Daughter-in-Law Christy got the point across that a week after mailing the newspaper it was baaaad that Wayne County Times subscribers were not receiving the paper.
Yes, folks, Wife Patti and myself received 200+ phone calls from local Times customers concerning the lack of delivery by USPS.
Ironically, subscribers outside of Wayne County often receive the paper before local residents. We even had a report of one subscriber who received four back issues - all in one day.
The USPS people bemoaned the coronavirus and holidays for backlogs, but I reminded them that the Rochester USPS distribution center, way before the pandemic and holidays, once sent the entire Times mailing to the distribution center in Pittsburg, PA. Also that even before the pandemic and holidays, it was a usual occurrence for one, or more bags in towns in Wayne County, or parts of the bag, to be waylaid.
For two weeks the USPS changed something - somewhere - and deliveries were on time! Then, it started all over again. Some papers made it to towns on time, some did not.
Alas, now the USPS officials have informed us that after decades of approval and use, we MUST change the location of the address label on the front page. It seems the blank box at the bottom right hand of the page where subscriber names and addresses are printed MUST be moved to the left of the page. Yeah, that will make things better...whatever.
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Many of today’s readers are either too young, or have forgotten how it used to be during Wayne County meetings. Municipalities held secret, closed “public” meetings, often unannounced, making decisions without the public’s knowledge.
Decades ago I often appeared at these meetings, protesting and refusing to budge until the open meetings law was enforced. Yes folks, back then I was the thorn in the side of the old guard and often continue to do so.
Now, with the pandemic afoot, some municipalities believe holding online meetings without public participation and input should be forgiven. Some such recorded meetings have mysteriously disappeared due to technical difficulties. Yeah, we don’t like, or buy that either.
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Wife Patti and Son/Partner Devin have suggested I tone it down on the ‘Tell it like it is’ theme in this column. They also suggested I find different terms and monikers replacing ‘idiot’ and ‘morons’ with softer, kinder feelings. That will be difficult, but I will give it a try.
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Meanwhile House Minority Leader, California Congressman Kevin McCarthy had a tumultuous time two weeks ago, including bending over backwards for former President Trump and backtracking on previous comment when he had some semblance of gonads.
The public Republicans refused to denounce the Georgia Congresswoman over her past conspiracy, anti-Jewish, 911 never happened, QAnon ideology, the 2018 school shootings were faked...posts and bursts. They refused to take her off such congressional committees as Education.
The Guardian reported that, as pressure built on Republicans to discipline Greene, Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, called her “looney lies” a “cancer” to the party and the nation. McCarthy, also condemned Greene’s statements, but ultimately declined to take any punitive action, arguing that she should not be punished for remarks made before she was elected.
She also trafficked in a slew of conspiracy theories, many of which are rooted in antisemitism, Islamophobia and white nationalism. Most notably, she embraced QAnon, a conspiracy group that claims Trump is trying to save the world from a shadowy cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. In posts unearthed recently, Greene wrote in 2018 that a devastating California wildfire was caused by a Jewish-controlled “laser” beamed from space.
Running on a “pro-Life, pro-Gun, pro-Trump” platform, the political novice cast herself as a deeply Christian mother of three who was the first in her family to graduate from college. She touted her success as a businesswoman, running a commercial construction company founded by her father, and later, a CrossFit gym...
Since her arrival in Congress, she has continued to build on her brand as a far-right provocateur. Sporting masks that said “Stop the Steal”. Greene was a vocal proponent of the baseless claim that Trump won the presidential election, and was among a handful of conservatives who met with him at the White House to discuss overturning the election results.
Greene referred to 6 January, the day Congress was set to formalize the election results, as Republicans’ “1776 moment” before a rally to defend the president turned into a deadly riot on Capitol Hill. Even after the assault, she continued to claim Trump would remain in office and decried his impeachment. Days later, she announced that she would file articles of impeachment against Joe Biden – before he was even sworn into office.”
Greene is the tip of the iceberg of a far right radical movement. She is joined by the likes of Lauren Boebert, a freshman Republican from Colorado who has also expressed support for QAnon conspiracy theories. After being tossed off her committee appointments, Greene tweeted: “I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving someone like me free time,” Greene wrote on Twitter. “Oh, this is going to be fun!” Greene also proclaimed the Republican Party as the Trump Party.
In private, the majority of Republicans in congress think Greene is a total nut job, but fear of the Trump legacy still prevents them from taking a stand.
Me, I thing Greene, McCarthy and his cowering crowd are all idio...No, Ron, be softer, gentler...misunderstood, human beings that will ultimately rip the Republican Party (Gang) apart.
The Impeachment trial has revealed a few tidbits of information and unseen videos that should be disturbing to all. This has lead to speculation that if Republicans whiff off the trial, which will happen, more daring Republicans are favoring a split within the party and forming a new movement.
Conservative talk radio and TV blather is on the decline, along with many of the former mouths such as Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh. It will be refreshing from both the right and left talkies/opinion shows to get back to real...news.
