(via jodilynnz)
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“A person of good intelligence and sensitivity cannot exist in this society very long without having some anger about the inequality - and it’s not just a bleeding-heart, knee-jerk, liberal kind of a thing - it is just a normal human reaction to a nonsensical set of values where we have cinnamon flavored dental floss and there are people sleeping in the street.” — George Carlin (via quotemadness)
(Source: quotemadness.com, via quotemadness)
This is legit.
It’s actually not the same thing
Because with $1,000, that might be the money you need for rent - $65 could be the prescription you need til the end of the month. Despite being 6.5% of the amount, it could be the difference between you actually eating that week.
But a person with $1 billion has their every need and desire met. They don’t have to worry about rent or food or medicine. They could fund the research for the cure if they caught a never-before-seen disease. $65 million may be 6.5% of that, but it will make no difference in their ability to support themselves.
tl;dr It’s actually less morally defensible for the billionaire to keep the money
(via timid-tracks)
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DHS investigating after Tennessee trooper accused of ripping mask off civilian's face -
A video posted by Andrew Golden shows him filming a traffic stop by troopers at the Capitol Monday evening. On the video, Trooper Harvey Briggs warned Golden not to impede on the traffic stop.
The video shows Golden on the sidewalk distanced from the troopers. He estimates he was 10 to 15 feet away.
Briggs, who wasn’t involved in the traffic stop, crossed the parking lot to chastise Golden for using curse words.
“Don’t use that language again,” Briggs can be heard saying in the video. “You don’t talk to me like that. … I prefer better language than that out of you.”
When Briggs reached Golden, he threatened to arrest him if he “impeded” the troopers during their stop. Briggs had his hand on his gun during the altercation.
Briggs got inches away from Golden’s face while not wearing a mask, the video shows.
Things escalated when Golden said he turned away from Briggs to speak with the other troopers. While the camera wasn’t on Briggs, Golden said, Briggs ripped the mask from his face.
The video doesn’t capture Briggs removing Golden’s mask but shows Golden’s mask flying to the ground. In the video, Briggs denies ripping off the mask.
“At this point I’m not surprised when state troopers or law enforcement officers decide to escalate a situation,” Golden told The Tennessean.
He called Briggs “reckless” and said he was uncomfortable with the trooper’s behavior.
Golden filed a complaint against Briggs with the Tennessee Office of Professional Accountability on Tuesday.
A THP spokesman said the Department of Safety and Homeland Security received information about the incident and the agency is reviewing it.
(via shad0ww0rdpain)
Outside experts who spoke to CNN were shocked that ethics officials at the postal service approved this arrangement, which allows DeJoy to keep at least $30 million in XPO holdings.
DeJoy and USPS have said he fully complied with the regulations.
Raising further alarms, on the same day in June that DeJoy divested large amounts of Amazon shares, he purchased stock options giving him the right to buy new shares of Amazon at a price much lower than their current market price, according to the disclosures.
This could lead to a separate conflict, given President Donald Trump’s disdain for Amazon, and his reported effort in 2018 to pressure DeJoy’s predecessor to raise prices on Amazon and other firms, while complaining about its founder Jeff Bezos. The Treasury Department also recently struck a loan deal with USPS that gives the Trump administration more leverage to push for higher shipping prices – one of his pet projects.
DeJoy already faces bipartisan criticism for implementing disruptive changes after taking over the USPS on June 15, including eliminating overtime for many workers. Democrats also claim he is intentionally slowing down mail delivery to sabotage absentee voting in the November election – a charge he denies.
Before joining the administration, DeJoy, a Trump ally and fundraiser, was on the board of directors at XPO Logistics, a large transportation and logistics company that does business with the USPS and has contracts with other US government agencies, such as the Department of Defense. In 2014, XPO acquired DeJoy’s company, New Breed Logistics, for $615 million.
These questions about DeJoy come at a time of incredible strain at USPS. The agency is already strapped for cash and facing funding shortages. And two members of the board of governors quit earlier this year, at least in part to protest efforts by Trump aides to control USPS finances and operations. DeJoy’s supporters say he’s the right person for the job because he can streamline the struggling agency with his business expertise.
‘Doesn’t pass the smell test’
When announcing DeJoy’s appointment, the USPS board of governors noted that New Breed “was a contractor to the U.S. Postal Service for more than 25 years,” and received awards for high quality in the 1990s. The announcement didn’t mention XPO’s ongoing ties to the USPS.
(via shad0ww0rdpain)
Marion County deputies ordered not to wear masks -
As the city of Ocala wrestles with an ordinance requiring face coverings for people inside businesses, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods told his employees they will not wear masks at work and visitors to his office can’t wear masks either.
Woods, in an email dated Aug. 11, said “my order will stand as is when you are on-duty/working as my employee and representing my Office – masks will not be worn.”
Ocala City Council passed an emergency ordinance last week requiring people to wear masks inside businesses. Mayor Kent Guinn vetoed it Monday and the council will meet Wednesday to consider overriding the veto.
Marion County set a single-day record on Tuesday for the most deaths related to COVID-19, with 13 more deaths reported.
Ocala and other municipalities in Marion County also advise officers not to wear masks while on duty so their communication to people they encounter is clear. Nationally, there is no consistent approach. Officers have been disciplined for not following state directives to wear masks, but Florida does not have a state-wide order.
Woods has made some exceptions for officers to wear masks while working at the courthouse, the jail, in public schools, in hospitals and in dealing with people suspected of being infected with COVID-19 or at high risk of complications from the disease.
“For all of these exceptions, the moment that enforcement action is to be taken and it requires you to give an individual orders/commands to comply, the mask will be immediately removed,” Woods said.
Woods said deputies who work special details or special events won’t be allowed to wear masks unless it falls under the exceptions he provided.
“As for special details and/or any special events (paid or not), masks will not be worn. Effective immediately the entity that has requested and has hired a deputy for a special detail will be given clear instruction by Darian Tucker at the time of their written request that masks will not be worn (unless one of the exceptions above applies). In addition, if you are the special detail deputy you will again advise the contact person that a mask will not be worn by you,” according to the email.
The sheriff said if anyone confronts an employee about them not wearing mask, the employee should “politely and professionally tell them I am not required to wear a mask nor will I, per the Order of the Sheriff,” and walk away.
(via shad0ww0rdpain)