6 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”

1. Just across the border they know how to protest….

   Protesters chanting ‘no to Nazis’ block access to AfD party congress

   Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the East German town of Riesa on Saturday in a bid to blockade the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party congress.

   Protesters chanting “no to Nazis” blocked roads in the town, preventing many of the party’s 600 delegates from reaching the convention venue and ultimately delaying the kick-off of the proceedings. Police estimate some 10,000 demonstrators will be in Riesa over the course of the weekend.

   https://www.politico.eu/article/protesters-chanting-no-to-nazis-block-access-to-afd-party-congress/

   The Dutch National Broadcast news had this tidbit about the Elon Freundin Party leader:

   In her acceptance speech, (Alice) Weidel said that AfD can make Germany "strong, rich and secure again". She also said that she wants to put the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline to Russia back into operation. "If we are at the helm, we will demolish all the wind turbines."

   She also said that there should be a different migration policy, inspired by Dutch and Hungarian intentions to say goodbye to the European asylum policy. "The German borders are closed," says Weidel.

   But the protest was the real news:

   The AfD party congress started more than two hours later than planned due to protests around the location. The meeting was supposed to start at 10:00 am, but by then only a small part of the 600 participants were present in Riesa, about 130 kilometers south of Berlin.

   Opponents of the AfD had set up blockades in the neighborhood. According to news agency DPA, party leader Weidel also failed to get in on time. Finally, the congress started around 11.45 am. According to the police, there were about 10,000 demonstrators, the organizers of the protests keep it at about 12,000 participants. The police were present with riot police and water cannons, and helicopter and drones.

   According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung protestors unscrewed car tire valves of police cars and stuck stickers on official vehicles. The police intervened in several places. For example, officers used pepper spray to drive activists away from police cars and put an end to a blockade at an intersection.

    https://nos.nl/artikel/2551317-afd-kiest-weidel-als-kanselierskandidaat-congres-uren-later-begonnen-door-protesten

    

   I gotta say I like their style…..

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2. Agreed, falling into line here in 1/2 MAGA USA will be illuminating and nausiating at the same time. 

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3. DOGE and USPS realities: 

    

   DOGE has no power, and any thing they want to do must go through Congress. The Republicans have only the slimmest of majority's so they can't lose a single vote. Name me a congressman who will vote to remove a Federal facility from his district or state. 

    

   Much of what Easterly has is long term leases for court houses, offices, labs and VA clinics. Not things you will pry out of a pork loving congressmen's hands. More recently they took over county properties for AAA rated Wake County, NC. They also have a few properties used by major defense contractors. This gives a little bit of diversification. Yes they are mainly in federal properties, but honestly I think they are fairly bulletproof. Even if DOGE closed down a few locations, they would have to buy out of long term leases leaving easterly with a big pot of money. 

    

   Musk and his buddy are clueless as to how the government operates. I expect noise, but little action on the federal side. I actually look forward to their efforts, all those red states assholes on the federal sugar teat will see their free ride threatened. Look for congressional seat flipping as Musk and MAGA fuck up and people feel threatened.

    

   PS, Musk talks of pulling federal workers back to the office, how can that happen if they cut back on federal facilities.

    

    

   The USPS is a different story. If they privatize, you will see higher rates and I would expect consolidation mainly of small town offices. No firm is big enough to take them over and none have the desire. The money is in transporting, not delivery. Freeing the self funding USPS from the feds could allow expansion of the delivery side. UPS and FEDEX may move more delivery business to the USPS. We already see that as surepost, mail innovations and etc. Both firms have long dreamed of ditching the delivery business, it's labor and equipment intensive. 

    

   PS, closing local USPS offices to cut costs will help to flip more votes. People like their post office. Closing one has big political repercussions.

    

   To show how no firm is big enough, globally UPS handles 22.3 million packages daily. Just the building at JFK I worked at sorted up to 16 million pieces of mail a day. Nationally the USPS delivers on average 318 million pieces a day of which 23.5 million are packages. FEDEX is even smaller than UPS. Their ground service does 9.2 million a day and express does 5.6 million a day. They contract the ground delivery, only express uses FedEx employees.

    

   Musk and his buddy are over their heads!

    

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   1. Thanks for the reminder on comparing the size of USPS, UPS, and FedEx. 

      Also worth mentioning:  the actual comparison on similar service.   DollarSlate: The cheapest overnight shipping options (2025): USPS vs. UPS vs. FedEx

      • USPS (United States Postal Service) offers a cost-effective option with their flat rate envelope. The price for this service starts at $27.90,
      • The UPS Next Day Air service for a half-pound letter starts at $35.29.
      • The FedEx Standard Overnight, which delivers by 3 PM, starts at $32.03.

      more nuances and options in the article …

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   2. That congressperson is named Boebert. She will do what Trump tells her.

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4. Mr. President – You Can Release Jack Smith's Reports

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