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A few days away
It will be light posting on the blog for a couple days as I head north to Seattle to do the family thing for a couple days.
What a show we had today. I still can’t believe the outrage sweeping through the community over Annie the dog. The phone calls did not stop today and you could feel the anger, hear the frustration. I am hopeful that Sup. Adam Hill will deliver good news by the time I return. It’s a sad story.
And folks were equally vocal when we discussed the impending return of gay marriage in California. Thanks again to Rev. Carolyn Hall for dropping by. I think her analysis is spot-on:The religious right will punt in California rather than lose the whole thing at the Supreme Court on a 5-4.
Have a good weekend. Talk soon.
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The Dave Congalton Show 
Lucky you, Dave. You get to see Seattle again. Sometimes I really miss that city–the biggest little town you’ll ever know.
Impressed by the rational Rev. Carolyn Hall and her calmness in the face of a few senseless anti-marriage equality callers. To hear some of them talk about the “wasted vote” of 7 million Californians, you’d think we already live in a state controlled by the biggest bullies on the block! All of your rights would be up for a vote!
Hope Annie the dog gets her owner back. Cheers. –G
Dave there isn’t one legitimate expert that doesn’t think the Supreme Court will support the 7 million voters in California. Please keep it real. We are all barraged with enough spin everyday. If you want to be useful explain why Barry hasn’t rescinded DADT while he still owns the house and the senate.
What’s your point, sloconservative? Why do you seem to want to push Big Government further into the private lives of Americans, promoting laws that restrict personal freedom and religious choice?
That’s one of the worst problems with self-styled “conservatives.” They are continually trying to place limits on personal freedom and give government power to control the private lives of Americans, even in the privacy of their own home.
Furthermore, it’s interesting to note how “conservatives” and “Republicans” are continually expecting that government solve all of your nation’s problems, blaming government whenever possible and shirking personal responsibility to make changes in one’s own life. I’m sorry “sloconservative”, but President Obama can’t be expected to personally solve every single problem you wish to whine about. If you want change, change, and quit scapegoating. Continually blaming others isn’t getting you anywhere and just makes for a lot of noise and distracts the people who are doing something worthwhile.
We didn’t choose the battlefield, but we will finish the war. The cultural war being waged on America by a twisted and tiny minority who’s agenda fits perfectly with the Statist’s dreams of ruining America and rebuilding it in the ways of communism.
If one gay activist liberal judge can negate 7 million voters then that is where we will take the battle.
As a federalist conservative I do NOT want government to solve every or even any problem. I want government to be less than 15% the size it is right now. I believe wholeheartedly in the 10th amendment, as did the founding fathers (read the Federalist papers for further info).
The Constitution spells out 3 and only 3 areas of specific responsibility for the federal government. 1) National defense 2) Border security and 3) Delivering the mail. All 3 of those could not be any more screwed up. The states need to take back usurped powers stolen by the progressive statists over the past 70 years.
No need to respond as I know in your small world you agree with nothing I have said even though it is all 100% true. Thought I’d take a shot of liberating your mind from the drone like control the radical left has on 21% of our population. Have a great week.
10th amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. (pure unadulterated brilliance!)
Sloconservative is wrong again. The postal system works wonderfully, for one thing. Sloconservative owes a huge apology to all U.S. postal workers.
Sloconservative is typical of extremist “conservatives”. He is unhappy because of personal faults but scapegoats the government and expects that changes in government will make him happy. He sits behind his computer in a fantasy world, imagining he is so much wiser than others, yet has no real world solutions, just whining and complaining and repeating the same old worn out scripts.
“The postal system works wonderfully” OMG!!!!! I cannot believe you actually put that in writing!
List of postal killings: (US only)
United States
* August 19, 1983, Johnston, South Carolina: Perry Smith, a resigned USPS employee, charged into a postal office with a 12-gauge shotgun and began firing at workers in a hall, killing the postmaster and wounding two other employees.[2]
* December 2, 1983, Anniston, Alabama: James Brooks (age fifty-three) entered into the Anniston, Alabama, post office with a 38 caliber handgun and killed the local postmaster and shot and injured his immediate supervisor. Subsequent to killing the postmaster by gunshots to the head, James Brooks ran up the stairs of the building after his immediate supervisor and shot him twice, once in the stomach and once in the arm. (Musacco, 2009)
* March 6, 1985, Atlanta, Georgia: Steven Brownlee with twelve years of service, opened fire on the night shift in the Atlanta, Georgia, main post office with a 22 caliber pistol and killed a supervisor and a coworker, including wounding a third coworker in a mail sorting area. (Musacco, 2009)
* August 20, 1986, Edmond, Oklahoma: Patrick Sherrill, a part-time letter carrier, enters the Edmond Postal Office and fatally shoots 14 employees and wounds another six. He subsequently committed suicide.
* December 14, 1988, New Orleans, Louisiana: Warren Murphy, entered into the New Orleans, Louisiana, postal facility with a 12-gauge shotgun hidden under his pants and under his work apron. Later during his work shift, after an incident with a supervisor, he reportedly went to the men’s room and came out brandishing the shotgun. He then fatally shot his supervisor in the face. The fired shot reportedly wounded two other postal employees. After the shooting, he held his ex-girlfriend hostage. Later two FBI SWAT agents reportedly were wounded upon finding Warren Murphy in a supervisor’s office. He eventually surrendered to the agents. (Musacco, 2009)
* August 10, 1989, Escondido, California: John Merlin Taylor kills wife, then two colleagues and self at Orange Glen post office.
* October 10, 1991: Ex-postal worker Joseph M. Harris kills his ex-supervisor and her boyfriend at their home in Wayne, New Jersey, then kills two former colleagues as they arrive at the Ridgewood, New Jersey post office where they all previously worked together. According to “Today in Rotten History,” Harris was initially armed with an Uzi, grenades, and “samurai sword” and was later arrested after a 4 1/2 hour standoff with police, garbed in a ninja’s outfit and gas mask. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He died on death row in 1996. [1]
* November 14, 1991, Royal Oak, Michigan: fired postal worker Thomas McIlvane kills four, wounds five, kills self.
* June 3, 1992, Citrus Heights, California: Roy Barnes, a sixty-year-old current employee, went to the workroom floor at the Citrus Heights, California, post office, armed with a 22 caliber pistol, and then fatally shot himself in the heart in front of his coworkers. (Musacco, 2009)
* May 6, 1993, Dearborn, Michigan: Postal worker Larry Jasion kills one, wounds three, then kills himself at a post office garage.
* May 6, 1993, Orange County, California: Mark Richard Hilburn killed his mother, then shot two postal workers dead.
* July 10, 1995, City of Industry, California: Bruce Clark, current employee and a postal clerk with twenty-five years employment with the USPS, subsequent to an argument, punched his supervisor in the back of the head at the City of Industry, California, mail processing center and left the work area. About ten minutes later, he returned to the work area with a brown paper bag in his hand. Upon being asked by his supervisor what was in the bag, he reportedly pulled out a .38 revolver and at close range fatally shot the supervisor twice, once in the upper body and once in the face. Two employees reportedly took the gun away from Bruce Clark and held him down until the police came. Seventy-five postal employees reportedly witnessed the shooting. (Musacco, 2009)
* December 19, 1996, Las Vegas, Nevada: Charles Jenning, former employee, went to the parking lot at the Las Vegas, Nevada, postal facility and shot and killed a labor relations specialist. Mr. Jennings reportedly indicated in his statement to investigators that the labor relations specialist struggled to take the gun away from him and was shot in the process. (Musacco, 2009)
* September 2, 1997, Miami Beach, Florida: 21-year postal employee Jesus Antonio Tamayo shoots ex-wife and friend, whom he saw waiting in line, then killed himself.
* December 20, 1997, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Anthony Deculit kills coworker, wounds supervisor and another coworker with a 9mm handgun before killing himself.
* January 30, 2006, Goleta, California: former mail processor Jennifer San Marco, 44, kills six employees (five immediately, another died later). A possible seventh victim, a former neighbor, was found dead in her apartment and has yet to be confirmed to be of the same shooting. Marco committed suicide at the sorting facility.[3][4][5]
* April 4, 2006, Baker City, Oregon: Grant Gallaher, letter carrier of thirteen years, while on duty in Baker City, Oregon, reportedly went home and got his .357 Magnum revolver and drove to the city post office with the intention of killing his postmaster. Arriving at the parking lot, he reportedly ran over his supervisor several times. Subsequently he went into the post office looking for his postmaster. Not finding the postmaster, he went back out to the parking lot and shot his supervisor several times at close range, ostensibly to make sure she was dead. He reportedly then fired three bullets in the windshield of her car and three more in the hood.(Musacco, 2009)
* November 28, 2006, San Francisco, California: Kevin Tartt, age 39, with eighteen years of service, employed at the Napoleon Street Carrier Annex in San Francisco, went to his supervisor’s residence, armed with a revolver and shot her in the back of the head outside of her house. He then reportedly left the scene and fatally shot himself in the head with the same gun the next day. Early in the investigation, homicide investigators were reportedly looking at links between disputes between Julius Tartt and his supervisor, including what one police official referred to as a discipline issue. One of the homicide officials stated that there were indications that Julius Tartt was dissatisfied with work and with the supervisor. During the timeframe of the tragedy, he was absent from work and had called in sick the previous day.(Musacco, 2009)
I’m sorry. I forgot who I was supposed to apologize to…
Postmaster General John Potter announced several proposed changes Tuesday to try to close a “gaping budget hole. ”
Here’s some fast facts about the Postal Service’s budget problems.
• The Postal Service posted $3.8 billion in losses in fiscal 2009. Potter says that number could hit $7 billion in 2010>/b>.
• Mail volume has dropped dramatically in the last few years. The agency handled 213 billion pieces of mail in 2006, but only 177 billion pieces in 2009. The 2009 figure represented a 13 percent decline from the year before. Potter projected the number would drop to 166 billion for fiscal 2010.
• Operating revenue fell 9.1 percent to $68.1 billion in 2009.
• To close the gap, Potter proposes cutting Saturday delivery, using price increases in “moderation” as well as pursuing other options. He says exceptions will be made for those who need Saturday service and that the Postal Service will still operate on weekends. Cutting Saturday delivery alone is estimated to save $3.5 billion annually.
• Potter is looking at reducing the number of post offices as well as seeking a change in the law so that the Postal Service does not have to make multi-billion dollar retirement benefit payments in advance.
• Consultants considered privatization of the Postal Service, but concluded that that is an “unlikely” option.
I think it is high time we gave UPS or FED EX a shot at delivering mail. Experts say they could do it far more efficiently and at an whopping 47% reduction in expenses.
Next we privatize the failed public education debacle. Hang in there! It’s all coming in November and it will be finished in 2012.
It is widely acknowledged that the current business model of the Postal Service is not sustainable going into the 21st century.
Electronic diversion of mail volumes has caused a substantial and likely irreplaceable decline in first class mail. This trend is expected to continue. The Postal Service ended the latest fiscal year with large on and off-balance sheet liabilities.
These liabilities include:
$7.3 billion of debt owed to Treasury
$7.1 billion for unfunded workers’ compensation costs
$8.7 billion for operating leases
$5.8 billion for unfunded pension liabilities
$60 billion for unfunded post-retirement healthcare liabilities.
For a business that has a statutory mandate to be self-financing and to break-even, the Postal Service has accomplished neither.
The USPO is a horrendous failure…for those that are still alive.
Can you explain how you could consider yourself a Federalist while being in favor of severe limitations on federal power?
That was supposed to be for sloconservative.
Just what I thought – you have no idea what those terms mean. The term “Republican” has gone out of style and “Teabagger” sounds too gay. You’ve heard Rush and Hannity talk about the Federalist Papers, therefore, you figure you’ll call yourself a Federalist. Yet, you fancy yourself a small government fellow. Hmmmm.
I’m continually impressed by the U.S. postal service. For 44 cents I can get valuable documents delivered thousands of miles away in the matter of just a few days. It’s an awesome service that has done much to bolster the U.S. economy, communication and general well-being of American citizens.
My local post office workers have treated me wonderfully.
Sloconservative continues to whine and scapegoat and cut and paste and delude himself into believing that all his unhappiness and woes are due to everyone but himself. “Conservatives” like that need to start taking responsibility for their lives and quit blaming others. They live in their mind and ego and let their hearts and souls shrivel.
People like Sloconservative see everything as black and white and have no comprehension of the real world complications. They think everything will be rosey if only others would simply follow their selfish decrees. They are insane. The conservative movement has been a terrible failure and has harmed the United STates in so many ways. Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes–all “conservatives”, all who harmed our nation in immeasurable ways, fiscally, morally and aesthetically.
The Republican Party is rightly considered the party of death and destruction. “Conservatism” is a failure everywhere you look. As far as leaders, their flag bearer is Sarah Palin. What does THAT tell you?
The Republicans and other “conservatives” have a history of defunding the governmental programs to the point of failure and, then, pointing to the failures of these programs as proof government should no longer fund these programs.
If this is your understanding of Federal Powers, you are at a serious disadvantage in this conversation. What about coining money and what does the General Welfare Clause mean to you? Quick! Scramble and do a quick Google search of “General Welfare Clause”! Hurry! I’ll be anxiously awaiting a summary of your brilliant 15 minute cram session on the General Welfare Clause.
Yeah, it’s really cheap to send a letter via FedEx or UPS.
And I can’t wait until poor people can’t afford to educate their kids.
Greatest Generation!
Not according to a Consumer Reports article that found identical delivery times for a lower cost by USPS.
sloconservative,
You still haven’t explained what the General Welfare Clause means. Are you dodging? Or is that Google search just taking a little longer than usual?
For someone who finds no difficulty in glibly stating that the federal government should be reduced to %15 its current size and who easily boils the federal government’s powers down to three items, you’re sure having a difficult time explaining one of the most significant and most commonly used legislative tools provided for by the Constitution.
Slocon is slow to get his “con” argument in order. Perhaps he’s still cutting and pasting some Beck or Rush rant.
He might like this from Consumer Reports about that mail delivery test between the USPO, FedEx and UPS.
Every package reached its destination the next day. But overnight shipping prices to the same place differed by as much as 281 percent. The Postal Service was the least expensive by far for local and long-distance deliveries. For letter-size envelopes, such as the ones it gave us for sending the books, it charges a flat rate of $16.50. (Flat rates for slower delivery are lower.)
The other shippers base prices on weight and distance traveled. UPS charged $62.87 to send our book next-day to Oregon and $29.55 to Manhattan. FedEx charged $54.57 and $27.48, respectively…
…unlike the other carriers, the Postal Service doesn’t add a fuel surcharge, which is adjusted monthly by the other carriers…
If you need a letter or package delivered faster than next-day, FedEx and UPS have the edge. Both offer same-day service and delivery first thing next morning. All the Postal Service can do is promise delivery by sometime the following business day, depending on destination and shipping time.
Bottom line: All three delivered next-day mail as promised, but the good old U.S. Postal Service is often cheapest by far.
Atty78, what we don’t hear from the “sloconservatives” is how the vote of 5.3 million Californians “doesn’t matter” either.
Of course, I’m referring to Ballot Proposition 215, approved Nov. 5, 1996 by 56% of voters, 5,382,915 (55.6%). This was in November of 1996! Fourteen years ago!
The initiative removed state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess a “written or oral recommendation” from their physician that he or she “would benefit from medical marijuana.” Patients diagnosed with any debilitating illness where the medical use of marijuana has been “deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician” are afforded legal protection under this act.
Where’s Mr Federalism on this conflict of federal drug laws vs our state laws? (And yes, the President has ordered the US Justice Department to shift focus from marijuana cultivation to more serious stuff. About time!)
Sloconservative obviously knows very little about the U.S. Postal Service. I use the U.S. postal service heavily for business purposes and have been doing so for years. UPS and FedEx are nowhere near as cost effective for my needs.
I have mailed out literally tens of thousands of packages to customers via USPS and in all that I have only had five customers claim they did not receive a package I’ve sent, and even among those I think some weren’t telling the truth.
Perhaps I simply have “good postal karma”, or maybe its because I treat postal workers with respect, that I’ve continually had excellent service from the post office workers I’ve dealt with.
Conservative whiners can whine all they want about the U.S. post office or Social Security, but I guarantee that both will be around after everyone reading this has long since died.
Some of these self-styled ditto-head extremist “conservatives” have been thoroughly brainwashed by corporate forces of greed to want to turn over all kinds of public services and resources to private for profit companies, in order to squeeze more money from consumers. Vast sums of money is being spent by “conservatives” to spread anti-government propaganda aimed at taking boosting the profits of a small number of people at the expense of the vast majority.
Obviously, he’s not censoring you. Otherwise, your above quote would not have made it through.
You’re just lying. You have a deficient knowledge of the Constitution. You have no concept of civics. You use search engines to find little scraps and cut and paste them out of context (because you know of none) in order to justify your 11th grade positions ex post facto.
sloconservative, the truth is not always the shortest distance between two points. Often, the truth is counterintuitive. Often, the truth is complex.
Uninformed, falsely confident participants like you are like speed bumps on a highway; you’re easy enough to drive over, but you do slow things down.
You claim the federal government’s “responsibilities” (that’s not a term used in Constitutional Law) consist of three things, but you fail to mention the General Welfare Clause (because you don’t know what it is) and you leave out the exclusive federal power to coin money. You call yourself a federalist conservative, but you’re for increased state’s rights.
You’re just woefully ignorant on issues relating to Constitutional Law and have no knowledge base from which to assert any sort of opinion. You should be asking questions, not asserting opinions.
atty78, I couldn’t agree with you more. sloconservative, I find very little that I can agree with you about.
I don’t like slipping into the realm of what seems to be personal attacks, but sloconservative’s arguments and beliefs and what he proposes (and what he chooses to cut and paste) seem perverse to the point of requiring a public warning. But I also care for our “sloconservative” enough to hope that if enough people continually point out the perversity in sloconservative’s viewpoints that he might, someday, re-evaluate his world view and begin leading a more productive, positive, happy and healthful life, without al the destructive, selfish tendencies he wallows in.
Sloconservative also seems to epitomize so much of what is so horribly wrong-headed with the “ideas” that “conservatives” so often espouse. Sloconservative seems to have soaked it all up and loves reguritating it here, as if we can’t get enough propaganda from the hate-radio jocks like Limbaugh and Hannity.
I’m not sure what you feel you’ve accomplished by postings clippings from a political science professor’s testimony before a congressional subcommittee or by posting a clipping of a failed immigration bill.
Nothing you’ve posted contradicts what I’ve stated as being the current status of Constitutional Law as it relates to the 14th Amendment and birth-right citizenship. In fact, while he disagrees with the court’s ruling, your beloved POLITICAL SCIENCE professor, Edward Erler, only confirms was the court’s ruling in Kim Wong Ark – that birth within this country gives citizenship regardless of the child’s parents’ illegal immigration status.
Your time was surely well spent . . . . . bolstering my positions. Maybe, now you’ll listen to me more often. You’re welcome.
Although, given that you don’t even realize when you’re posting information that contradicts the precise point you’re trying to prove, I’m a little concerned that you’re beyond help.
The “anchor baby” controversy is another mountain-from-a-molehill issue that the conservative propagandists stir up to distract from the important problems facing the United States.
Would anyone care to tell us what problems “anchor babies” cause that babies born to U.S. citizens don’t cause also? What is the difference. Each has the opportunity to grow up and be productive citizens who help their community and fellow man. Each can be great leaders, teachers, inventors, humanitarians, developers, etc.