Gromnir

unsolicited advice: if you use mail for your ballot this november, ignore the pre-paid postage and instead affix a stamp. with our federal government purposeful diminishing the capacity o' the usps during a freaking pandemic, there will be delays in service. in most states, if a ballot arrives a few days late, as long as it is postmarked appropriate, the ballot will be counted towards the election results. the thing is, the pre-paid postage class o' ballots results in no date stamp being affixed to ballots returned in the provided envelopes. functional this means that your ballot, even if you mailed in a timely fashion, may not be counted. am predicting many thousands o' ballots, and perhaps millions, will not be counted 'cause o' postmark issues. such stoopid is not the kinda "fraud" trump describes, nevertheless, these predictable ballot fails is the result o' willful changes being made to postal service by the current administration. predictable does make the pitfalls avoidable. very few o' us pay for something we know we are not required to make payment. is no good reason you should need to affix a stamp to your pre-paid postage ballots. however, in these times when the democratic process is being attacked and undermined in new ways every time we check newspapers or watch wh briefings, it is going to be to your benefit to take a couple extra steps to protect your liberties. again, is Not your responsibility to place a stamp on a prepaid ballot, but you are now forewarned o' a seeming trivial and unobtrusive means by which potential millions o' votes will be suppressed this november. do not let anybody make it ez to steal your vote. HA! Good Fun!

you just don't get it. oh sure, it's a game and as a game it should follow some kinda logic, and yes, there is nothing particular compelling about a frustrating bit of design, but you clear do not understand the hardcore gamer response to every poorly balanced feature or ack jass built area/level/encounter. your complaints is proof o' verisimilitude. every mistake is actual gleaming moments o genius you are too dense to appreciate. *insert eye roll* HA! Good Fun!

am not certain why some kinda nebulous star trekness would be an essential quality for a best or favorite episode. chain of command, for example, were inspired not just a little by the movie closet land and had input o' amnesty international. watch closet land and tell us chain o' command were fundamental trek. just one example. we mentioned how we preferred family to best of both worlds--were a more complete and better executed bit o' storytelling than the more famous two-parter which preceded. no doubt amentep or some other hardcore film buff would be able to astound us with just how many tng episodes were remakes or heavily inspired by previous sci fi title from print or film. 'course again, am willing to admit we ain't the ideal audience as we prefer ds9 to tng and a large part o' the reason for our preference were the willingness o' ds9 to be different than trek and to play a bit loose with some o' what had previous been considered core values o' the trek franchise. HA! Good Fun! ps is noteworthy that the visitor episode, which has more than a couple parallels to inner light, would consistent make a Gromnir favorite ds9 list, though such a list would be a bit fluid and the order o' episodes would vary from year-to-year and perhaps even month-to-month. am a big fan o' ambrose bierce.

Trump's Senior Advisor Tried to Roast Kamala Harris with a Simpsons Burn. Marge Isn't Having It. ... will forgo our traditional exeunt in lieu o' something more appropriate.

dear lord. missing the forest. ny were left dealing with an international problem all on their lonesome. facing a crisis o' insufficient hospital beds, ny made a choice. you think situation woulda' been better w/o government input at all? if were left up to private nursing homes and private hospitals to decide who got limited resources, who do you think woulda' received limited resources? when the covid-19 outbreak first hit and there were literal less than 100 tests for all o' oklahoma for an entire week, the oklahoma basketball team managed to get tested, all of 'em. so, who gets beds and medical care. who woulda' received ppe which were in short supply? you suggest ny is some kinda cautionary tale and we marvel at your inability to consider what woulda' been the result w/o ny making choices as 'posed to state o' nature. yes, ny screwed the pooch, many times, and there is eventual gonna be an accounting for those mistakes. private business? they lose their contract and perhaps get sued... but you can only sue the corporation to the extent o' its assets, which has left many a plaintiff high and dry. btw, when ny shoulda' been receiving support and guidance from cdc and supplies from national stockpiles, they were instead scrambling to make sense o' unknowns with dramatic insufficient resources. precise at the time when they needed the benefits o' a national government, they were sent forth in gd's beloved state o' nature to compete against every other state and every other nation. btw, fact your story mentions nursing homes shoulda' given gd pause. private nursing homes w/o significant government oversight has been an enduring nightmare for many a family considering what to do 'bout an aged or unwell family member who cannot live alone. the for profit model tends to fail the old and infirm and the mental handicapped. conditions at many nursing homes is frightening bad in spite o' heavy-handed government interference, but we hate to imagine what would be the state o' a few such institutions if we just let market forces decide success and failure. the rest is just... weird. parks and libraries is economic losers is ok, but the post office and ppe stockpiles... so, if gd supports a program, then it deserves government support, but if gd doesn't... hubble telescope? literal no profit expected, though some imaging innovations ended up being applied to early breast cancer detection. go figure. every american at the time had to pony up approx $1.60 to make hubble a reality. leave up to gd to decide whether hubble is important enough? course not. so how does western societies tend to decide which programs deserve the collective resources o' a community or state of fed? they Vote. is the democratic freaking process which has gd and Gromnir and hurl and amentep and shady and countless other citizens coming to some kinda agreement 'bout which stuff is important enough. weird. HA! Good Fun!

public libraries is a waste 'cause is no profit in 'em. seriously gonna count on the good will o' the sooper rich to fill the void if government were to have abandoned such? need something more dramatic? child protective services? is not a profitable model. perhaps something which gd can appreciate personal. our national park system run as a for profit model? let disney and others compete for contracts and those parks which ain't deemed valuable enough by private enterprise may be sold as grazing land or perhaps tract housing development. literal thousands o' such services, and many government functions is happening everyday which go entire unnoticed. but god bless gd's america. god protect us from gd's america. the vast number o' government workers do their job competent. large businesses sure don't perform with less corruption than government entities, and much o' the complaints 'bout government inefficiency ignores how businesses doing same or similar jobs rare perform better, take prisons for example, 'cause privatization o' prisons were such a fabulous idea. wonder what level o' education kids in poor communities would find for their children if schools were complete run on a for profit model? but hey, its the fault o' poor parents if their kids is not better educated in gd's america. if this administration shoulda' taught gd one thing it is that rely on private enterprise in times o' crisis is hardly the surefire solution to any and all problems. whether is disaster relief in puerto rico or ppe production for covid-19, private industry and individual responsibility has proven to be anything but the solution. need another story 'bout jared kushner and his champions o' industry who were gonna solve 2020 ppe and testing crisis? at least with government running such there is increased accountability to voters... or at least there would be in any other administration. how gd can see pandemic situation and not recognize how naive (bordering on obtuse) it is to rely on individual responsibility for the making o' sensible long-term investments which will benefit society as a whole as 'posed to some kinda profit driven calculus is curious at best? is a whole host o' functions too large, too unprofitable or too temporal remote for private individuals busy paying monthly rent and businesses wedded to quarterly report to manage responsible. is government also failing to be proper forward thinking? sure is, but gd is instead advocating the trump model which has states and private entities fight 'mongst themselves for finite resources. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ gd looks at mistakes made by Congress with the post office or the fed with ppe stockpiles and his solution is to nuke it all and send us back to state of nature... and by now am certain you know what hobbes said 'bout the state of nature. there is a point where slavish devotion to just about any ideology will make a person appear foolish. look at current pandemic situation and how business and individuals has responded to a glaring needs and gd still manages to cling to his shtick. HA! Good Fun!

pre 2006, the post office were paying for veterans benefits of its employees. why? honest, we would need go back and look 'cause it were never o' particular interest to us. were an old rule which cost the post office billions. were a bunch o' post office issues such as the veterans benefits, as well as basic cost o' business practices, which made sense pre ww2, but were kinda poster child examples o' government inefficiency; had folks on both sides o' the aisle at a loss to explain why such stoopid were allowed to continue. is many complaints 'bout post office pension funding which is kinda being presented to the public distorted. pretty much every company needs cover pensions o' employees. 'course private companies can default, so it is a bit different. the biggest difference is actual how the post office covers employee medical post retirement and the need to fund the pensions in a ten-year period... a funding requirement which started right when the recession hit. many progressives don't like being critical o' socialized medicine and showing an example where the post office got kneecapped by needing to cover medical o' retirees does not play as well as blame bush or blame republicans. Congress fixed the post office in just the wrong way at just the wrong time and it ain't gonna be fixed regardless o' who trump appoints as postmaster or by executive order. Congress needs get off their arse and deal with the problems they created. HA! Good Fun!

Trump says he opposes funding USPS because of mail-in voting ... "nothing matters anymore." HA! Good Fun! ps @Maedhros there is a certain absurdity in expecting public endeavours be profitable, and our current pandemic situation should drive home such a recognition. ca and USA stockpiles o' ppe were allowed to become obsolete (jerry brown and newsome in ca, obama and trump for the US.) those stockpiles were never gonna generate revenue, but am betting all but the most hardcore libertarians agree such stockpiles shoulda' been maintained. sure, perhaps gd believes every hospital and citizen should maintain their own such reserves as 'posed to being forced by the government to pay for such, but such a solution is impractical and is actual less expensive for the government to procure and maintain as the governments may buy and store in bulk. count on individuals to be responsible leaves us where we are today. is what a libertarian victory looks like?

rich's number one wouldn't have made our top twenty (perhaps thirty,) but am admitting were kinda fun to be reminded o' a few good tng episodes we typical do not rewatch but maybe will. disaster? has been years since we watched, and compare to poseidon adventure would not have been a selling point. nevertheless, it were a solid episode, and perhaps better than we recall... maybe. will definite rewatch. am kinda happy we overcame our contrarian reaction to internet lists... and speaking o' contrarian, am thinking we actual preferred the post best of both worlds episode, family, to the more obvious choice. and speaking o' contrarian, ds9 is still best star trek. so there. HA! Good Fun! ps absence o' inner light makes sense, in a way, but am thinking it showed the rlm guys were perhaps trying a bit too hard to not just copy/paste every other internet top tng list.

after you conceded, you wrote: My understanding - which may be wrong - was it was authored by Republican Tom Davis and that a portion of the Republican party (and Libertarians) have wanted to get rid of the post office, hence my phrasing. the 2006 libertarians at the time were non existent in Congress save as perhaps having some small influence on Democrat legislators. there appeared to be continuing confusion on the part o' amentep. HA! Good Fun!

when buying pyrex at garage sales, look for capitalization. borosilicate PYREX is not same as soda-lime pyrex. unfortunately, is some post 1950s corelle glassware with the PYREX name which nevertheless uses soda-lime, albeit less likely. there is a european company which is still making PYREX with borosilicate. if you are serious 'bout getting the good stuff and don't wanna do ghoulish and look for obituaries o' old folks in hopes o' making a score at an estate sale, you could look for the european product, but we ain't never bothered to see if they ship to US. HA! Good Fun!

now name the libertarians in the 2006 Congress who followed such. we will wait. libertarians in 2004 and 2006 were shifting votes for democrat candidates on the national level. so the folks in Congress who woulda' been swayed by the hardcore libertarian platform woulda' been democrat or republican? the one independent in 2006 Congress who were kinda/sorta claiming libertarian affiliation were jeffords; he left the republican in part 'cause o' the patriot act and began caucusing with the democrats. HA! Good Fun!

Could Kanye West Be Charged With Electoral Fraud? the kanye candidacy has been a trainwreck. 'course so too were trump's, but he managed to get elected anyways. from payoffs to porn stars and colluding with the russians (and yes, there were plenty o' evidence o' collusion, just not enough coordination for criminal conspiracy) it is shocking trump managed to get elected and not be impeached for all the transgressions simple related to his campaign. am wondering when somebody is gonna double-check kanye's oklahoma application and signatures, 'cause if is anything like what is described from illinois and nj, then kanye and oklahoma both have some 'splaining to do. HA! Good Fun!

were a question based on a misguided premise. again, while the author o' the law were republican, the law were having almost universal support. were not a bill/law aimed at getting rid o' the post office. if there were any genuine belief the law would destroy the post office, there would not have had so much support from both sides o' the aisle. weren't some kinda trickery by republicans to catch democrats unawares or some other nonsense. had been seventy five years, or something similar, since rules for post office had been addressed in a meaningful way. democrats and republicans agreed changes were needed and, looking at USA in 2006, Congress came up with a reasonable and bipartisan plan to fix problems. republicans, and fiscal responsible libertarians previous to trump, were tending to be concerned with national debt and budget deficits. would be fair to say there has been a desire 'mongst many republicans to make the post office more self sufficient. nothing particular nefarious. house vote: 410-20 senate vote: unanimous consent initial, the law were working as designed, but then iphones and recession complete changed the post office business model. Congress made a mistake which didn't look like a mistake until 2009-2010. unfortunate, our national legislative body is so divided it is near impossible to correct even obvious blunders once such stuff becomes a national recognizable issue. am suspecting many Congressional republicans would love a chance to fix, but with trump driving a curiously notrepublican agenda on many issues, is no way we see resolution until at least january of next year. HA! Good Fun!

if you ask 'bout mail-in voting, you will get a different answer, but again, the Congressional act which led to the current snafu were not a gop initiative per se. were bipartisan... overwhelming bipartisan. 2006 mail were complete different than today. were not that long ago, but the usps model has changed in a short period o' time. is complicated, but i-phones and the recession bolloxed the assumptions o' Congress when they passed the postal accountability act. first class mail were a big money maker for the post office in those salad days. regardless, this is one evil attributed to the gop which ain't fair. now mail-in voting is a different ball o' wax. curiously, mail-in has received big gop support in previous years, 'cause that is how old people vote. old people actual vote, unlike younger people who complain on the internet but are too busy to get off their arse in november. the gop has a big advantage with old people. the gop loves mail-in... unless there is a pandemic. 2020 is different and has gop inverting their previous position 'cause they are doing everything in their power to suppress voter turnout. with a pandemic widespread in the US more than almost any other western nation, and people reasonable reticent to stand in lines such as were the norm for the wisconsin primaries, the gop assumes many more people than is typical will attempt to vote by mail. is not difficult to see why gop, which benefits from low voter turnout, would sudden be against mail-in voting. HA! Good Fun!

the act passed 410-20 in the house and unanimous consent in senate. as attractive as it might be in these polarized times o' political strife to blame a party for mistakes in hindsight, this were a bipartisan blunder. HA! Good Fun!

timing and trump makes it difficult to ignore at least the possibility o' ulterior motives. for years trump railed against the post office and the sweetheart deal amazon were getting from the usps. has been explained to trump many times how the amazon deal, and similar such agreements with other merchants, benefits the post office, but bezos owns the washington post, so... now trump is railing 'bout mail-in voting at a time when his post master appears hell bent on crippling postal delivery service During a freaking pandemic? ... ordinarily, w/o serious evidence, we assume incompetence as 'posed to malice when tragedy strikes or misfortune occurs. where humans is part o' the equation, the perversity of the universe tends towards the maximum. however, trump is just so complete corrupt that after three years we has added an addendum to our previous presumptions-- if trump is involved, and a situation turns sour, we assume incompetence and malice. perhaps such ain't fair, but as we get deeper into the potus term, rejecting ill intent w/o compelling evidence is having the tendency appear a bit naive. HA! Good Fun!

the main reason we had issue with harris is 'cause she were adopting the same underhanded tactics as gabbard and trump. we were relieved when harris' efforts backfired. now she is biden's vp. HA! Good Fun! ps having spent considerable time in asia we had multiple opportunities to try rat meat, but we avoided for years. not sure why we were so reluctant as we have had squirrel stew many times and am suspecting "farm raised" rats is less unsavory than the long line o' dead squirrels we sent to the great beyond. eventually gave in and tried in thailand. tasted like pork, but it don't save well after cooking. am not sure what chemical reaction takes place with rat, but it becomes noticeable pungent after cooking, and not in a pleasant way.

also, 'cause am admitted enjoying another chance to beat up on the otherwise best forgotten tulsi gabbard thanks to a few folks knee-jerking predictable, when trump false recent and inaccurate accused harris o' calling biden a racist, he were not the first dingbat/wingnut to make such a claim. freaking peas in a pod. HA! Good Fun!

during the democrat candidate debates we expressed our dislike for harris, so won't repeat, but the tulsi bit ain't quite as damning as portrayed, particular given the folks who might give a damn. harris didn't hide evidence which would prevent a man from being on death row. anybody surprised that a skeevy, mendacious homophobe and religious bigot like tulsi gabbard would bend the truth? what harris did were debateable, but weren't as described. short description: a guy who were on death row before dna evidence came to light is still on death row after the evidence was tested. after conviction and sentencing o' a guy named cooper for a particular heinous quadruple-murder, dna evidence were "discovered." were not known if the dna would prove guilt or possible exonerate. after checking, the dna didn't exonerate. in 2016, the attorneys for the death row guy claimed their client would be exonerated if new items were tested. at the time, harris rejected an appeal for clemency based on lawyer's request for new dna testing. as the dna were untested when the appeal for clemency were made and there were no showing the new dna would be exculpatory, harris rejected the appeal until testing were complete. harris didn't hide evidence and she weren't forced by courts to go ahead with dna tests. this is all 'bout a 1985 case. the initial dna were discovered 2004. harris were ca ag from 2011-2017. what is wacky is even following governor gavin newsom stepping in at the 11th hour in 2019, the dna results still ain't public, but seeing as how mr. cooper is still in prison, am thinking this most recent hail mary didn't work out better than the previous deep throws for the endzone. btw, governor brown and schwarzenegger had also rejected clemency appeals by cooper. harris didn't block evidence which would free cooper. as the dna testing had not been completed when the clemency appeal came to harris, a grant o' clemency were deemed premature. there were accusation some o' the original evidence in the case were planted by cops, so perhaps harris shoulda' been more involved in making sure it didn't appear like the state were trying to cover up evidence. dunno. regardless, weren't hiding or blocking by harris. cooper keeps identifying new items which he believes will exonerate. every test thus far, including tests conducted in 2018, has failed to support his contention o' innocence. anybody watching fox where this bit o' misdirection might be getting replayed is gonna be unlikely to care 'bout a potential dangerous prosecutor... unless they is already diehard trump voters who are looking for another reason to hate democrats. after all, the narrative o' overzealous law enforcement is playing a bit different on fox. recall, christopher david is the villain at fox. we keep telling people to check sources. tulsi gabbard is not a strong source. HA! Good Fun! ps so is clear, we don't actual approve o' harris. if we had to choose a more moderate democrat ticket such as is biden/harris, we woulda' gone for booker/klobuchar instead. am genuine a bit uncomfortable defending harris, but the accusations regarding the blocking o' evidence is unfair regardless o' our dislike.

is no chance we take gd cynicism claims serious anytime soon particular in light o' his willingness to promote wacky conspiracies supported only by alt radio bluster and/or dubious internet articles. no selective cynicism recognized. HA! Good Fun!

am such a nerd HA! Good Fun!

HA! Good Fun!

yeah actually. is a reason why florida is polling in favor o' biden at the moment. too many old people, including a few die hard trumpers, is angry with trump's response to the pandemic. with potential razor thin margins determining victory, trump needs solidify. the one thing we believe trump is correct 'bout is his rejection o' the calls for him to be more inclusive and empathetic. as a campaign strategy, that option is no longer viable. two years ago, or perhaps even in february o' this year, trump coulda' become a President for all americans instead o' trying to find a way to win an election with only his base. no longer. trump may need a miracle, but he knows the miracle ain't gonna come with kumbayas and group hugs. HA! Good Fun!

am not believing trump will win. however, this speech ain't designed to win him the election. no single act is likely to produce a trump victory. a campaign speech at gettysburg, on hallowed ground where fifty thousand american soldiers died, is an affront to the sacrifices o' men far better than trump. southerners may lament the result o' gettysburg but they know well the valor and courage o' too many who died so far away from home. gettysburg were an american tragedy even if it were a victory for the union and while southerners should question the raison d'être o' the confederacy, they don't need feel shame for what happened on the battlefield tween july 1 and 3 in 1863. hallowed ground. miller and bannon know that w/o some kinda monumental scandal or hail mary medical advance, trump victory looks unlikely. doesn't mean they is conceding defeat. no matter how much more frustration and anger it creates, trump and his enablers will continue to work to divide americans. trump is using gettysburg as if it were the compiègne wagon. shouldn't let him get away with such even if we don't see as making a major difference in november. somebody not paying attention. have always been cynical 'bout human nature. is gd who blames government and we keep telling him that The People is the government. First Amendment we champion so frequent is a bar on the tyranny o' the masses. we complain 'bout US polarization in recent years and blame trump as a symptom as opposed to the cause. when gd says we should count on individuals to do the right thing as 'posed to passing laws which mandate sober driving or seat belts or masks, is Gromnir who sneers at the naivety o' trusting our fellow citizens to do the right thing 'cause is the right thing to do. insofar as cynicism, am looking at gd in our rearview mirror... appears extreme far away even if gd cynicism is curious misplaced and selective. such is our disagreement. HA! Good Fun!