VBD2 is closed. Please go to https://vbd3.co.uk instead.

I doubt that 50% of the population believes him. They just see him as the lesser evil.
Looking at the opposition, they have a point.

Diecastmolester wrote:I doubt that 50% of the population believes him. They just see him as the lesser evil.
Looking at the opposition, they have a point.

Absolutely right, the opposition is pure evil.

Elect a clown, expect a circus.

Diecastmolester wrote:I doubt that 50% of the population believes him. They just see him as the lesser evil.
Looking at the opposition, they have a point.

I find it difficult to believe anything/body is a greater evil than Trump. In what way would a Democratic President be more evil than the man who tells people to inject bleach and conducts the Presidency by Twitter?

Be careful what you wish for.

Looking either way I notice that my fear of clowns isn't that irrational after all.

There's a big difference in requesting an absentee ballot by mail, where you must prove your identity, which I have done for years, and the mass mailings of unrequested ballots to every address in voting districts. There is no way to prove that the voter the ballot was sent to actually voted that ballot! As for the USPS, they have been poorly managed for decades, as are most government funded agencies. President Trump tried to help bail them out with a 10 billion dollar package a couple of months ago - democrats voted it down. USPS is being forced to operate more like a business, which, after some growing pains, will end up being a better thing. Bottom line for most, it's all about the economy. The economy under Trump has been doing very well, even after the initial covid madness. I predict Trump will win easily in November. Is he an ass? Oh yes. But he darn sure knows how to negotiate better deals for us, he also has at least tried to do everything he promised to do. Which is more than I can say for any other politician of either party. Trump needs to stay in office for four more years to keep the economy rocking and rolling. Everything else follows. Good economy - everything else improves too. The democrats are just too far out in left field to win in November. Many democrat voters who aren't feeling very safe currently, are going to vote red because they want to see order in their cities. I think Trump is dumb like a fox, he controls what the media is focusing on every single day. He simply tweets, and they respond. It's actually quite funny. The man has no filter, you know exactly where he stands. I don't care for him personally, but I think he's a Patriot and truly cares about the US and her citizens. And that's it for my political ramblings! Back to model vehicles!

first of all, I'm pleased to note that all the contributions to this thread have been calm, friendly, and respectful. If we can continue keep things that way, I would be most grateful.

Second, as an outsider, I am not really in a position make detailed comments on US politics. However, what is clear to me is that Trump plays fast and loose with the law, and that is not a good things for any leader to do (writes the man whose PM has just decided to tear up an international treaty!).

To be fair, he also tears up national treaties with gay abandon, or just violates them without even bothering to tear them up first.
This is general political practice nowadays and Trump is no exception.

A postal service is part of a nation's infrastructure and as such should never be expected to turn a profit or be run as a business.
The task of a postal service is that everyone receives his mail, no matter how remote, regardless of the cost.
People in easier to reach areas are financially contributing to the cost of mail being delivered to remote areas, this is called solidary community.
If a postal service is not profitable, it needs to be supplemented with tax money, this is called solidarity.
Although solidarity and solidary community are well embedded in any capitalist society in one form or another, it appears that some believe these concepts are socialist, which they aren't.
They are tools for a society to function, like road networks, public transport, utilities and telephone. None of these need to generate profits and should be financed by the public as required.
The USPS is still owned by the American people and privatising it would therefore be theft, which was still illegal in the US last time I checked.

Diecastmolester wrote:To be fair, he also tears up national treaties with gay abandon, or just violates them without even bothering to tear them up first.
This is general political practice nowadays and Trump is no exception.

A postal service is part of a nation's infrastructure and as such should never be expected to turn a profit or be run as a business.
The task of a postal service is that everyone receives his mail, no matter how remote, regardless of the cost.
People in easier to reach areas are financially contributing to the cost of mail being delivered to remote areas, this is called solidary community.
If a postal service is not profitable, it needs to be supplemented with tax money, this is called solidarity.
Although solidarity and solidary community are well embedded in any capitalist society in one form or another, it appears that some believe these concepts are socialist, which they aren't.
They are tools for a society to function, like road networks, public transport, utilities and telephone. None of these need to generate profits and should be financed by the public as required.
The USPS is still owned by the American people and privatising it would therefore be theft, which was still illegal in the US last time I checked.

I somewhat agree. The USPS up until now, has run very inefficiently as far as operating costs. The mail for the most part, gets delivered in a timely fashion. No one is trying to turn them into a business - but, if they were to operate in a more businesslike fashion, they would be more financially efficient. Which is exactly what the republicans, including President Trump, are pushing them to do. Privatizing the USPS would just create another Fedex or UPS, we definitely don't need that! Tax money may be needed to operate the USPS, but what's wrong with trying to streamline the process? Sooner or later, the Federal Reserve is going to run out of ink to print more money! I'm all for squeezing these inefficient government entities to save some tax dollars. That is precisely what someone like Donald Trump knows how to do. Politely or not, it needs to be done. The career politicians hate him for it. He's reigning in their gravy train. Utilities and telephone are all private industries in the US, and generate immense profits for their shareholders. Some utilities - electric, water and sewer, are run by municipalities and generate modest profits. This is not done everywhere in the country. There are extremely large electric and telephone companies that serve( for lack of a better term) huge swaths of the country. I don't want to see the USPS privatized as it would more than likely greatly increase the cost of shipping. But then again, costs seem to go up every year anyway! A good business plan might pull it off!

There is something realy wrong with the USPS if you sent an item won in the USA 1st to Japan, then back to the USA while it it meant to go to Europa.

I still don't have it.

Processed Through Regional Facility
SAN FRANCISCO CA INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
10 Sep 2020
1:04am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
SAN FRANCISCO CA INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
10 Sep 2020
1:04am
Arrived at Regional Facility
SAN FRANCISCO CA INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
9 Sep 2020
12:00am
In Transit to Next Facility
7 Sep 2020
5:22pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SAN FRANCISCO CA INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
2 Sep 2020
3:01pm
Departed
TOKYO
1 Sep 2020
11:41am
Departed
NEWARK
1 Sep 2020
1:00am
Arrived
NEWARK
31 Aug 2020
9:38am
Processed Through Regional Facility
JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
30 Aug 2020
7:34am
Processed Through Regional Facility
JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
29 Aug 2020
11:57pm
Departed USPS Regional Facility
JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
29 Aug 2020
11:57pm
Arrived at Regional Facility
JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
29 Aug 2020
9:53am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
29 Aug 2020
9:00am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
BROOKLYN NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER
29 Aug 2020
3:33am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
BOSTON MA DISTRIBUTION CENTER
28 Aug 2020
2:19am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
BOSTON MA DISTRIBUTION CENTER
27 Aug 2020
12:02pm
USPS picked up item
SHREWSBURY, MA 01545
26 Aug 2020
9:03am
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
SHREWSBURY, MA 01545
26 Aug 2020
2:03pm
Tracking number provided

marcel