I generally agree with your comment on pineapple cooked in a dish, but fresh pineapple chunks marinated in balsamic vinegar make a tasty accompaniment baked with salmon filets on a sheet pan.
We agree on Ukraine. Your analysis is spot on. I support USA forming economic ties with Ukraine (scarce minerals or other resources) because it might make Putin think twice about attacking our economic interests. No one lasts forever. I wonder if Putin's successor will be more like Stalin or more like Gorbachev.
Trump should certainly obey the law regarding the USPS. He will get schooled on that if he goes too far astray. I do feel something has to be done about the USPS. You probably do too if you are affected by the Palmetto mail facility. Mail disappears for weeks at a time or forever. I can usually do without it by paying my bills using online banking, but I have incurred late charges when the checks are mailed to local vendors. The Town of Braselton will not forgive late charges for water and sewer bills even if I never receive a bill. And they do not offer online billing and bank drafts.
The question of course is "What ails the USPS?" From 2006 until 2022, it was the mandate to prefund 75 years of pensions. That policy led to years of losses, which likely contributed to lack of investment in other areas like machine maintenance and upgrades.
But this also gets back to who gets put into positions of power and how they view the purpose of government (including the USPS). As Steve (and I and many others have said) government isn't here to make money - it's to serve the people. And that primary point may be in conflict with the views of those placed into power.
Serving the people should not mean ignoring sound financial controls. How does the USPS justify wasteful EV programs instead of moving the mail. Here's what they are doing at Palmetto instead of mail handling.
EVs are only wasteful you do not value the long-term savings involved in having a fleet of vehicles that require less maintenance ('cause there are fewer parts in general), less cost to run (gas vs electricity costs), and fewer negative effects of using the vehicles (amount of pollution produced).
Mail handling/sorting and mail delivery are technically two different issues, and the issues plaguing mail handling/sorting are unrelated to delivery or delivery vehicles outside of the delays to getting the mail to those delivery vehicles.
The difference for private industry and government are numerous, but suffice to state that private industry's focus is on making a profit - whether by serving people or at least customers. Government's focus is on serving the people, not making a profit.
When it gets down to it, sound financial controls for government involve having good processes for employment/bidding/etc... and audits to minimize waste (while acknowledging that entirely eliminating "waste" runs into the law of diminishing returns). The audits of course require someone to actually take action, and Congress typically does not act upon audits as is needed - but that's likely more to do with the politics rather than any fiscal sanity measures, and perhaps also the lack of elected representatives to manage the government effectively.
The other thing of course is to ensure revenue levels are set to match our spending preferences.
Some of what you say might prove to be true, but I remain skeptical of the long-term maintenance costs and total cost and total pollution effects of EVs. In the meantime, gas and diesel vehicles can move mail while the current sorting system can't get mail into the right bin or to the right ZIP code. As you say, delivery and sorting are different, but I would spend the money on the one that is broken.
Many USPS delivery vehicles are old and needing to be replaced, too. We can chew gum and walk at the same time, at least if people assigned are actually interested in making things work best for the particular need.
I think both Steve and I can contribute our experiences with EVs regarding cost of maintenance/energy compared to ICE vehicles. There's just a lot fewer parts overall, and fewer moving parts than a comparable gas/diesel vehicle; there's no need to replace motor oil or filters; there's no transmission fluid to maintain (and really no transmission to speak of for the most part).
The biggest determinators of how much pollution are generated are the source of energy (e.g. solar/wind/hydro/nuclear being better than natural gas/coal) and how one drives the vehicle (tire degradation creating polluting particles). For the type of driving done by delivery drivers (lots of stop and go at lower speeds), it will mean less pollution. There will also be battery chemical changes coming (sodium-ion and solid-state batteries come to mind) that may reduce the impact of EVs more broadly as well.
I've seen a good number of Amazon EV delivery trucks (made by Rivian), and recently seen some FedEx EVs too. It's just economically good sense for these purposes: deliver during the day, charge at night, and reduce the maintenance costs. Good fiscal sense!
I think the point about the size of Russia plays more into their defense rather than their ability to sustain an attack. Afghanistan lasted a decade for them and ended up contributing to the USSR's fall.
This also plays into whether Ukraine can take their territory back. Can they - with assistance - outlast Russia's ability to maintain war or not? That's not one I think we can definitively state one way or the other.
Regarding Trump's moves, this gets back into the "Just because you can doesn't mean you should, and just because you shouldn't doesn't mean you can't". The bigger concern in my mind is the firing of JAG personnel that "might get in the way" to quote Hegseth. Get in the way of what, exactly? Considering we're talking about legal personnel, one can assume it involves something not entirely legal - will that be abroad or at home?
You’re missing the “how did we get here “ part. Zelinsky government started the war by attacking the Ukrainian people in 2015, killing 14,000 Ukrainian Russian speakers. NATO expansion promised to in 2005.
All war is wrong. Propagandist Russophobia is wrong.
I generally agree with your comment on pineapple cooked in a dish, but fresh pineapple chunks marinated in balsamic vinegar make a tasty accompaniment baked with salmon filets on a sheet pan.
We agree on Ukraine. Your analysis is spot on. I support USA forming economic ties with Ukraine (scarce minerals or other resources) because it might make Putin think twice about attacking our economic interests. No one lasts forever. I wonder if Putin's successor will be more like Stalin or more like Gorbachev.
Trump should certainly obey the law regarding the USPS. He will get schooled on that if he goes too far astray. I do feel something has to be done about the USPS. You probably do too if you are affected by the Palmetto mail facility. Mail disappears for weeks at a time or forever. I can usually do without it by paying my bills using online banking, but I have incurred late charges when the checks are mailed to local vendors. The Town of Braselton will not forgive late charges for water and sewer bills even if I never receive a bill. And they do not offer online billing and bank drafts.
Palmetto has been a mess. It’s good that DeJoy resigned. He has been roundly criticized for mishandling the consolidation.
The question of course is "What ails the USPS?" From 2006 until 2022, it was the mandate to prefund 75 years of pensions. That policy led to years of losses, which likely contributed to lack of investment in other areas like machine maintenance and upgrades.
But this also gets back to who gets put into positions of power and how they view the purpose of government (including the USPS). As Steve (and I and many others have said) government isn't here to make money - it's to serve the people. And that primary point may be in conflict with the views of those placed into power.
Serving the people should not mean ignoring sound financial controls. How does the USPS justify wasteful EV programs instead of moving the mail. Here's what they are doing at Palmetto instead of mail handling.
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2024/0122-usps-unveils-first-postal-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-and-electric-delivery-vehicles.htm
And I have never had a job in private industry that didn't involve serving the people.
EVs are only wasteful you do not value the long-term savings involved in having a fleet of vehicles that require less maintenance ('cause there are fewer parts in general), less cost to run (gas vs electricity costs), and fewer negative effects of using the vehicles (amount of pollution produced).
Mail handling/sorting and mail delivery are technically two different issues, and the issues plaguing mail handling/sorting are unrelated to delivery or delivery vehicles outside of the delays to getting the mail to those delivery vehicles.
The difference for private industry and government are numerous, but suffice to state that private industry's focus is on making a profit - whether by serving people or at least customers. Government's focus is on serving the people, not making a profit.
When it gets down to it, sound financial controls for government involve having good processes for employment/bidding/etc... and audits to minimize waste (while acknowledging that entirely eliminating "waste" runs into the law of diminishing returns). The audits of course require someone to actually take action, and Congress typically does not act upon audits as is needed - but that's likely more to do with the politics rather than any fiscal sanity measures, and perhaps also the lack of elected representatives to manage the government effectively.
The other thing of course is to ensure revenue levels are set to match our spending preferences.
Some of what you say might prove to be true, but I remain skeptical of the long-term maintenance costs and total cost and total pollution effects of EVs. In the meantime, gas and diesel vehicles can move mail while the current sorting system can't get mail into the right bin or to the right ZIP code. As you say, delivery and sorting are different, but I would spend the money on the one that is broken.
Many USPS delivery vehicles are old and needing to be replaced, too. We can chew gum and walk at the same time, at least if people assigned are actually interested in making things work best for the particular need.
I think both Steve and I can contribute our experiences with EVs regarding cost of maintenance/energy compared to ICE vehicles. There's just a lot fewer parts overall, and fewer moving parts than a comparable gas/diesel vehicle; there's no need to replace motor oil or filters; there's no transmission fluid to maintain (and really no transmission to speak of for the most part).
The biggest determinators of how much pollution are generated are the source of energy (e.g. solar/wind/hydro/nuclear being better than natural gas/coal) and how one drives the vehicle (tire degradation creating polluting particles). For the type of driving done by delivery drivers (lots of stop and go at lower speeds), it will mean less pollution. There will also be battery chemical changes coming (sodium-ion and solid-state batteries come to mind) that may reduce the impact of EVs more broadly as well.
I've seen a good number of Amazon EV delivery trucks (made by Rivian), and recently seen some FedEx EVs too. It's just economically good sense for these purposes: deliver during the day, charge at night, and reduce the maintenance costs. Good fiscal sense!
We can walk and chew millions of times if we treat tax revenue as a bottomless pit.
Have you ever studied industrial processes chemistry enough to know what goes into extracting and refining and combining materials to make batteries?
I think the point about the size of Russia plays more into their defense rather than their ability to sustain an attack. Afghanistan lasted a decade for them and ended up contributing to the USSR's fall.
This also plays into whether Ukraine can take their territory back. Can they - with assistance - outlast Russia's ability to maintain war or not? That's not one I think we can definitively state one way or the other.
Regarding Trump's moves, this gets back into the "Just because you can doesn't mean you should, and just because you shouldn't doesn't mean you can't". The bigger concern in my mind is the firing of JAG personnel that "might get in the way" to quote Hegseth. Get in the way of what, exactly? Considering we're talking about legal personnel, one can assume it involves something not entirely legal - will that be abroad or at home?
Please, block me permanently.
How about this: behave. —the syssadmin
Sure. Sounds good.
You’re supporting lies, the facts are all available, the lies are wearing very thin. Do a bit more research.
Enjoy being muted.
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/02/23/yes-ukraine-started-the-war/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=82f6d672-89d3-49b1-9d6d-a3f1a503b311
You’re missing the “how did we get here “ part. Zelinsky government started the war by attacking the Ukrainian people in 2015, killing 14,000 Ukrainian Russian speakers. NATO expansion promised to in 2005.
All war is wrong. Propagandist Russophobia is wrong.
That’s your best argument? “You’re a bot”?
You're not engaging in facts: start doing so and maybe you'll stick around.
WTH are you talking about?
Zelensky wasn't in government in 2015. Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014.
Russia started this war, and if you really want it to end you'd push for Russia to leave Ukraine.
Instead you're a bot.