Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

The USPS’ Own Watchdog Doesn’t Think It Can Handle All the Election Mail

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There are significant “concerns” about the U.S. Postal Service and state election agencies’ ability to “help ensure the timely delivery of Election and Political Mail” ahead of the November general election, according to a 31-page report issued by the agency’s inspector general earlier this week. 

Looking at mail processing facilities in seven locations during primary elections in May and June of this year, the inspector general found that about 8 percent of pieces of political mail—totaling about 1.6 million pieces—weren’t delivered on time, and that many of the facilities inspected did not use quality controls put in place by the agency to prevent delays. The locations inspected were in Santa Clarita, California, Portland, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Brooklyn, and Oklahoma City. 

While the USPS has “made progress” in its election preparations, the Inspector General said,  the audit found several red flags, some of which were also found in audits in the 2016 and 2018 cycles. Those include outdated voter registration information sending mail to the wrong address, postmark requirements on ballots varying substantially from state to state, and perhaps most importantly, the prospect that the Post Office will have insufficient time to deliver election mail such as ballots because it was sent too close to the election. 

These issues partially stem from the drastic increase in voters using the mail to cast their ballot this year, as well as a lack of communication and coordination between state election officials and the USPS.

The reported noted, however, that all but one of the facilities inspected used their own version of logs that help track election mail, and that some of those logs were missing information such as the class used to send the mail as well as the date and time it was cleared.

The OIG report comes at a tumultuous time for the Post Office. After his appointment in May, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy implemented a series of cutbacks that reduced service, such as deactivating mail sorting machines and forcing mail carriers to leave for their routes even if some mail wasn’t ready to go yet, reforms that were heavily criticized by rank-and-file postal workers and congressional Democrats.

President Donald Trump has only exacerbated scrutiny of the issue with frequent diatribes against voting by mail, which many states are moving to in order to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump appeared to admit that he was holding up federal relief for the Postal Service in order to stymie its ability to handle mail-in ballots during an interview with Fox Business last month, though he later denied doing so

DeJoy eventually said he would halt further changes until after the election, but at a contentious House committee hearing last week, he refused to undo the changes he had already made. During the same house hearing, DeJoy also denied the cutbacks were meant to help the President make his case against vote-by-mail. “I am not engaged in sabotaging the election,” DeJoy said.

The Inspector General’s audit didn’t inspect those changes made by DeJoy and the Postal Service this summer, but said it has an “ongoing project” to do so. 

The USPS is already responding to the report’s recommendation that there needs to be “higher level partnerships and cooperation between the Postal Service and various state officials.” DeJoy will meet with the National Association of Secretaries of State election committee later this month, the U.S.P.S. said in a Tuesday press release

“I look forward to continuing the close cooperation with our nation’s Secretaries of State,” DeJoy said in a statement. “I will reiterate to the American public that if you choose to use the mail to vote, be sure to request ballots early and mail them back early.”

Cover: A postal worker delivers the mail, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020 in Brooklyn, N.Y.. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Trump Visited Kenosha Business Owner’s Store Without Approval And Then Lied About Who Owned It

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On Tuesday, Donald Trump made good on his promise to further promote chaos and violence by visiting Kenosha, Wisconsin, against the wishes of pretty much everybody except the racists who love him. As part of his Fascism for Idiots tour, Trump visited a series of local businesses that were destroyed during the protests…

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Convalescent plasma not recommended to treat COVID-19, government panel says

Colombia: Plasma Donations from Recovered COVID-19 Patients

There is no solid evidence for or against recommending convalescent plasma to treat patients hospitalized with COVID-19, a government panel said Tuesday, less than 10 days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the treatment.

The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel, part of the National Institutes of Health, said it had reviewed all of the available research on convalescent plasma, including the FDA’s analysis that led to its emergency use authorization.

 

Source: Convalescent plasma not recommended to treat COVID-19, government panel says

Qatar to Kushner: Two states needed to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict – The Jerusalem Post

Sheik Tamim told Kushner Qatar remains committed to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, in which Arab nations offered Israel normalized ties in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Source: Qatar to Kushner: Two states needed to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict – The Jerusalem Post

Legal “Black Holes” Of Outer Space

In Saner Thought

Since the inception of the newest military branch in the US, the Space Force, I have been trying to get people to see the legal implications of so-called space exploration.

First to me this “Force” will be more about occupation than exploration.

I have written several times about the treaties and the legal aspects of this force in operation in space.

Space Law

Space Law–Part 2

For those that cannot read…..a couple of short videos…..

 
The US among other international players have signed this treaty…..
 
By adopting the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty (OST) as an analytical framework in relation to the rise of the so-called US ‘NewSpace’ actors, this essay argues that there are significant legal ambiguities regarding the status of private space companies in orbital space. Such loopholes allow the US government to circumvent its own obligations to the OST, whilst simultaneously undermining…

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