The main takeaway for me was that it's possible but that it takes a lot more open communication and emotional availability than a monogamous relationship. It really takes very mature people to make it work.
Gnome Chomsky wants to know your location and he has lube.
That's how it's supposed to work but rarely actually does.
True, making them rely on vehicles that are failing will reduce the ability for the USPS to effectively do its job and give them another reason to say we need to privatize it.
They literally spent the last 10 fucking years getting these replacements ready to replace the aging fleet.
Also, it's not just a $1.5 billion dollar hit, there was and is a $6 billion dollar contract with Oshkosh Defense to build 165,000 of these, after going through a 6-year iteration process of bids and prototypes. This is throwing the baby out with the bathwater for no discernible reason and at an extremely high cost just to force USPS mail carrier to be locked into an ancient, aging fleet of vehicles. And I don't think a defense giant like Oshkosh isn't just going to sue the shit out of the government for damages for cancelling a contract if it hasn't been fulfilled already.
It sounds like just one more way to try to kill the USPS because if all their vehicles keep breaking down, they won't be able to do their jobs.
Fiscal conservatives, my ass. Most wasteful sonsabitches alive.
The USPS literally just got these, and they're replacing the way-past-end-of-life former fleet of USPS vehicles. These things are so recent that I have a post about them in my post history and I've only been here since October 2023, not even two full years.
Getting rid of them is literally forcing USPS to use old, broken, difficult to maintain due to age vehicles. These replacements have been in the works for ten fucking years and there's a $6 billion contract with Oshkosh Defense to build 165,000 of them.
Further, the old vehicles are missing a huge boon to mail carriers: air conditioning.
Like so many things, it seems like the cruelty is the point. It's not just that they hate EVs, they hate mail carriers having modernized vehicles that are in working condition and climate controlled so they're not sweating their asses off in the summer and freezing their asses off in the winter.
Content is contentment
Thanks for reminding me I've always wanted to have bees. I'd never considered just calling up beekeepers.
You think his cult members won't eat this up and just follow their Daddy because he told them so, Associated Press? That's rich, they're already out there justifying it. Once they get their marching orders from FOX, it will be "war is a good thing and when we said wars in the middle east were bad we just meant only when they're started by Democrats" conveniently ignoring how few of them have been started by Democrats instead of being spearheaded by Republicans like the faked intelligence leading to the Iraq War. Democrats didn't push it, they just went along with it because public sentiment said the people wanted war. Democrats, being the wishy washy fucks they are, bent over and said "I'll do whatever I need to keep idiots happy and voting me back in."
A whole ass article and even mentions that the poorest with the fewest hours worked spend the least amount of time socializing and they seem to not even mention that there isn't anywhere you can EXIST without paying for something except maybe a public park or a library. Standing on the sidewalk? Loitering. Coffee shop? Must buy a coffee.
They even note that people have less personal time than ever and people are working more hours. Hmm I wonder if that translates into people not being able to afford going out to do anything? I wonder if there's any evidence to support that?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cost-of-living-income-quality-of-life/
The findings? For the bottom 60% of U.S. households, a "minimal quality of life" is out of reach, according to the group, a research organization focused on improving lower earners' economic well-being.
Also note that the "bottom" is the majority.
I'm not saying this article doesn't have valid points, but it misses a lot.
On top of people not being able to afford anything, there is also stuff like this:
https://www.newsweek.com/psychology-dark-triad-psychopathy-narcissism-personality-conditions-2085956
People living in societies with more corruption, inequality, poverty and violence are more likely to exhibit "dark" personality traits—like narcissism, psychopathy and spitefulness.
"Aversive personality traits are associated with behaviors such as aggression, cheating, and exploitation—and thus with high social costs. Therefore, even small variations can lead to large differences in how societies function," Zettler explained.
"Our findings substantiate that personality is not just something we are born with, but also shaped by the society we grew up and live in," he said. This means that reforms that reduce corruption and inequality not only create better living conditions just now, they may also contribute to mitigating aversive personality levels among the citizens in the future."
How are you supposed to function in a society full of narcissistic psychopaths, who are driven to such behavior because of the environment they're living in? How am I supposed to make friends when everyone around me is a selfish, abusive asshat who isn't concerned with the well-being of others? How am I suppose to find emotional and social support in such an environment?
I think these are two major factors affecting US social dysfunction that this article didn't address, however, I think there are a lot more, too. Including political polarization, the breakdown of education, and cult-like mentalities among the populace.
I just want to know if reports are failing for anyone else and if we need to be making some kind of plea to the admins/moderation teams/developers to try to fix it.
Because not being able to report this obvious spam is a problem.
-Muddy Mudskipper