To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before!

Or in this case where the courts have never gone before… and it is scary!

Texas sues New York doctor for telehealth abortion pill prescription

CBS News

December 13, 2024

Texas has sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, launching one of the first challenges in the U.S. to shield laws that Democrat-controlled states passed to protect physicians after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Collin County, and it was announced Friday.

Such prescriptions, made online and over the phone, are a key reason that the number of abortions has increased across the U.S. even since state bans started taking effect. Most abortions in the U.S. involve pills rather than procedures.

Mary Ruth Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, said a challenge to shield laws, which blue states started adopting in 2023, has been anticipated.

And it could have a chilling effect on prescriptions.

"Will doctors be more afraid to mail pills into Texas, even if they might be protected by shield laws because they don't know if they're protected by shield laws?" she said in an interview Friday.

Fear, that is what Texas is dealing out… they want to make doctors afraid of treating patients.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that the state will "protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them for doing their job."

"Abortion is, and will continue to be, legal and protected in New York. As other states move to attack those who provide or obtain abortion care, New York is proud to be a safe haven for abortion access," she said in the statement.

This can have far reaching implication… is a doctor sitting in an office and talking to patient in another state considered a business transaction in the doctor’s state or is it where the patient lives? That is the question. Now other states are think about it…

"I began to think about how we might be able to both provide an additional deterrent to companies violating the criminal law and provide a remedy for the family of the unborn children," said Tennessee state Rep. Gino Bulso, who is sponsoring the legislation there that includes a provision barring use of the medications for abortion.

MSNBC reports,

A fragile truce between the states on abortion just collapsed: Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against a doctor in New York for mailing pills into the state. The physician, Margaret Daly Carpenter, is part of a group called the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, which represents doctors who mail abortion medications — in this case, mifepristone and misoprostol — to states where the procedure is banned. ACT refers to these clients as “shield providers” because they rely on the protections afforded by so-called shield laws, which are on the books in 23 states and the District of Columbia to protect providers and other possible defendants from out-of-state legal consequences. Texas’ suit is the first to challenge these shield laws, and it’s likely to raise unprecedented legal questions in the new year.

I think this is different from the trans case in Washington state where Texas sued for a hospital records on patients from Texas because this involves medicines. MSNBC writes,

With this lawsuit, we enter uncharted territory. Texas has accused Carpenter of practicing medicine without a license and violating a state law limiting the availability of abortion pills, with civil penalties for the latter starting at $100,000. If Texas’ lawsuit goes forward, it seems likely, Texas will win in its own state courts. A Texas court will have to decide which state’s law applies, given that the physician was based in one state and the patient and the abortion in another. Standard telehealth law tends to focus on the location of the patient. And Texas will argue that it has the right to apply its laws because of where the abortion — the injury in Texas’ view — took place. That means Texas could win a civil judgment against Carpenter even if she never travels to the state.

I can see the difference between physically driving to a state verses a Zoom meeting.

This opens up a whole Pandora's Box for telemedicine!

NY officials decry Texas lawsuit against New Paltz doctor who prescribed abortion pills

The state of Texas has sued a New Paltz, New York doctor for prescribing a medicated abortion to a Texas resident online, setting up the first test of a New York law meant to protect abortion providers.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

By Jesse King

December 17, 2024

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a federal, civil lawsuit against Dr. Maggie Carpenter for practicing in Texas without a license and prescribing two abortion medications — mifepristone and misoprostal — to a Texas woman via telemedicine. Texas banned nearly all abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

According to the filing, it was the father in the pregnancy who discovered the abortion, after the woman experienced complications that resulted in her going to the hospital.

The lawsuit is one of the first trying to prevent telemedicine providers from mailing abortion pills to states that ban it. It’s also the first test of New York’s “shield law” — one of several shield laws in states across the country — designed to protect providers and abortion advocates from retaliation.

“It’s definitely something we’ve expected to see, this kind of inter-state conflict around abortion," says Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis. "This is a question about states’ rights, right? And when states have to listen to one another.”

This case is going to the Supreme Court! No ifs, ands, or buts! And it is a biggie!

Suppose a doctor at a famous teaching hospital is consulting with a doctor in another state on a patient in that state… what would the legal ramifications?

Suppose a doctor in Californian is treating a patient way out in the boonies in a town in Alaska without a doctor?

“It’s going to be one of many lawsuits we see, and potentially prosecutions like this, in the New Year — in addition to lobbying of the Trump Administration to take steps at the federal level," she explains. "For example, to disallow telehealth access to abortion medication, or to use the Comstock Act, which is a 19th Century obscenity law, to essentially block the mailing of not just abortion pills, but any abortion-related paraphenalia.”

Suppose a doctor tells a trans patient this is dosage and the drug you need to block puberty and the patient buys the drug from New Zealand… what is the doctor’s liability since he didn’t write a prescription for the drug?

Beckers Hospital Review writes that,

Dr. Carpenter was not a licensed Texas physician and was not authorized to practice telehealth in the state, the release said. It is illegal to treat patients or prescribe medicine through telehealth services without a valid Texas medical license. And Texas law prohibits any physicians from providing abortion-induced drugs by courier, delivery and mail service.

The lawsuit requested the courts impose civil penalties of $100,000 for each violation of the law.

Dr. Carpenter is the fourth physician that the Texas attorney general has sued since October. The first three, all Texas physicians, were sued for allegedly providing gender-related transition care to minors. In November, Mr. Paxton sued Brett Cooper, MD, claiming the physician illegally prescribed hormone therapy drugs to 15 minors, most recently as of Sept. 25. On Oct. 17, his office filed a similar lawsuit against May Lau, MD, a Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center physician; and on Oct. 31, Mr. Paxton sued Hector Granados, MD, over allegedly providing gender-affirming care to 21 patients between the ages of 12 and 17. 

If Texas prevails with this case, it could set a horrible precedent for stricter regulation of interstate telemedicine services, potentially affecting access to transgender healthcare via telemedicine.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when we twist the Constitution to our religious beliefs!

Are Your Feet Getting Restless?

Are you thinking that maybe it might become downright unfriendly for us here? Well you are not alone, Forbes even wrote an article about it,

Want To Leave The U.S.? Countries Welcoming Americans With Open Arms

Thinking about leaving America in light of the 2024 election results? Here are some of the best countries for Americans to move to, plus ideas for how to move out of the U.S.

By Laura Begley Bloom

Nov 6, 2024

Interest in how to move out of the U.S. has been growing in recent years—but following the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, it has reached a fever pitch. With news that Donald Trump is returning to the White House, searches for popular moving abroad terms—“the best countries for Americans to move to,” “best country to move to from USA,” “leaving America,” “where to move out of the US,” “where to move abroad”—have spiked dramatically. According to Google Trends, queries for “how to move to Canada” increased by 400% by 8 p.m. on election night.

Marco Permunian, a founder of the Italy-based Italian Real Estate Lawyers—an agency with offices in New York, Houston, Memphis and Los Angeles that specializes in Italian citizenship law and immigration matters—says he has been inundated with requests. “As of today—the day following the election—since Trump’s victory was announced we have been receiving an inquiry every three minutes,” Permunian told me in an interview.

You know it is not easy to move out of the country. Are you going to drive in the other country? What about work?

But moving abroad isn’t always simple. Alex Ingrim, a Florence, Italy-based financial advisor with Chase Buchanan USA, advises Americans on the financial and logistical complexities of relocating. “Moving for political reasons rarely leads to a sustainable move,” Ingrim told me in an interview. “It’s important to consider all the small things that can add up to significant complications in a move—are you legally allowed to live in the foreign country? Are you planning on becoming tax resident? Is the cost of living affordable? Could you qualify for a mortgage? All the things we take for granted in the U.S. can be harder to re-create in a foreign country. This can sometimes take several months of pre-planning.”

I knew someone who moved to Mexico, she moved to the East Coast of the Gulf of California and she was living quit well on Social Security.

They report on a number of countries but some of them I don't know how safe they are for LGBTQ+ people. That is the problem with these articles, they assume you are White, Cis-gendered, and Heterosexual.

Why Do They Hate Us So Much?

Why is Texas so anti-trans? We have been around since the dawn of time and it has never been a problem until the Republicans politicized us and made us their bogyman, their scapegoat.

Ken Paxton sues NCAA over transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports
The attorney general is accusing the organization of misleading fans by allowing transgender college athletes in women’s sports.
Texas Tribune
By Berenice Garcia
December 22, 2024

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Sunday he sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association, accusing the organization of misleading college sports fans by allowing transgender women to participate in events marketed as women's competitions.

Paxton said the NCAA violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by deceiving fans who want to support sporting events that only include athletes whose female sex was assigned at birth.

Paxton also accused the NCAA of misleading consumers by not identifying which athletes are transgender, and of “jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of women” by allowing transgender athletes to participate in its sporting events.

“Radical ‘gender theory’ has no place in college sports,” Paxton said in a news release Sunday.

Paxton wants the court to limit the participation of trans athletes in NCAA competitions taking place in Texas or involving Texas teams, or to stop the organization from labeling events as women's sports if they include transgender women.

Why do they hate us so much?

120 anti-trans bills have already been filed across the United States before 2025 has even started
The number surpasses the number of bills filed in advance of 2024, a historically hostile year towards trans individuals.
The Advocate
By Erin Reed
December 21, 2024

After a record-breaking year for anti-trans legislation, 2025 is shaping up to be even more challenging for transgender and queer people across the United States. A legislative tracker maintained by Erin In The Morning and other volunteers has found that nearly 120 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ bills have already been filed in states nationwide ahead of the 2025 legislative season. This far surpasses the 80 bills filed by this time in 2023, signaling another historic wave of legal attacks on the ability of transgender people to move, live, and exist freely as themselves in public.

The bulk of the bills so far come from Texas and Missouri, two of the earlier states that release prefilled legislation ahead of the 2025 session. However, states like South Carolina, New Hampshire, Georgia, Wyoming, and Montana all feature multiple anti-LGBTQ+ bills, with more being added every day. Thirteen states in all have seen anti-trans bills filed: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

This year, several state bills aim to strip legal recognition from transgender people entirely. Between 2022 and 2024, ten states passed such legislation or enacted similar policies, with devastating consequences for affected communities. In Kansas, Florida, and Texas, transgender individuals are now unable to update their driver’s licenses, and in some cases, states have begun reverting gender marker changes that were made years or even decades ago. Transgender people who have lived as their legal gender for years may face forced reversion of their identification documents if these new bills are enacted. Similar legislation has already been introduced in Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, and Wyoming.

Why do they hate us so much?

Not Everyone Can Leave: Survival Advice From Trans Teens in Texas
Media often focus on trans teens fleeing the anti-trans states they’re living in. But what about those who can’t leave?
Truthout
By Marisol Cortez ,
November 13, 2024

“The hostility has always been there,” Paul told me. “But I feel like it truly began to ramp up like 2020.”

A 16-year-old student at a large public high school in a large Texas city, Paul (a pseudonym to protect his safety) is a varsity athlete with aspirations to join the FBI. But in 2020 he was still in middle school. Texas wouldn’t pass its first anti-trans bill — a sports ban on trans youth playing on the team aligning with their gender — for another year. But Paul remembers watching sports bans passing in other states and feeling unsettled, “hearing [rumored] horror stories of kids having to take their pants off and have teachers check them. I wasn’t out yet. But [another family member] was. So it was really scary. I couldn’t at the time tell why it scared me so much. But thinking about it [being] like an invasion of my privacy, even though it wasn’t directly happening to me.”

For Mike — another 16-year-old trans guy who likes cooking, playing bass and hanging out with his friends — his first awareness of something shifting in Texas happened around the same time, also from hearing about political developments in other states. Ron DeSantis’s 2019 inauguration as governor of Florida, which launched anti-trans restrictions on sports and health care, and Florida’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill, was a key memory for him, making a big impression on him as a youth living in Texas, another red state: “That’s when I decided, if I’m going to college” — the son of immigrants, he would be the first in his family to go to college — “I need to get out of here. I don’t think it’s safe for me to stay here.”

Why do they hate us so much?

Voting, privacy, safety: How will the state’s new ID rules affect transgender Texans?
KERA

By Stella M. Chávez
September 23, 2024
 

 

Last month, Texas became the largest state to block transgender people from updating the sex listed on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

The policy change, which was not announced in public, took many people by surprise. State officials released some basic information about the decision. But many questions remain unanswered.

The Texas Newsroom filed records requests and interviewed state officials, LGBTQ advocates and legal experts to better understand the potential effects of the new policy.

The change should not hamper the ability of transgender Texans to vote, according to local and state election officials. But it’s still unclear whether they will encounter new problems opening a bank account, updating their health insurance or dealing with other everyday tasks that require an ID. The legality of the policy has also been thrown into question. As of now, however, the change remains in effect unless and until a lawsuit is filed.

Meanwhile, many transgender Texans are caught in legal limbo. In interviews, they said it feels as though the state is creating a list to keep track of them — but to what end?

The answer is simple… POWER! CONTROL!

They crave for power and they do it by demonizing us.

What do Brazil’s Vargas, Poland’s Jaruzelski, Panama’s Noriega, Hungary's Orbán, and Russia’s Putin have in common? The all demonizing of us! And now we can add the Republicans to the list.

You Knew That We Weren't Going To Win

There is a name for it (A poison pill), it was in a must pass bill and the Republicans knew that there were not the votes there to block it.

Defense bill passes Congress despite transgender provision

Reuters

By Patricia Zengerle

December 19, 2024

The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly for an $895 billion bill setting policy for the Pentagon on Wednesday, despite the inclusion of a controversial provision on transgender medical care for minors.

The 100-member Senate backed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, by 85 to 14. Since it passed the House of Representatives last week, approval sends it to the White House, where the bill's congressional supporters say President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law.

This year's NDAA authorizes a record $895 billion in annual military spending, covering purchases of ships, aircraft and weapons, and including provisions intended to boost competitiveness with geopolitical rivals like China and Russia.

[...]

 

It authorizes a 14.5% pay increase for the lowest-ranking troops, and 4.5% for the rest of the force, higher than usual. It also authorizes billions of dollars for military housing, schools and childcare centers.

The bill bans the military health program, TRICARE, from covering some gender-affirming care for the transgender children of service members if it could risk sterilization, a provision that caused some Democrats to vote no in the Senate and in the House.

A lot more than us depended upon this bill passing and the Democrats were between a rock and a hard place so what were the options?

• Option 1: Let the bill die. But that wasn't a doable option because the bill had to pass, it includes the salaries for the military servicemembers, pensions for the retired servicemembers, housing for them, new badly needed school funding, It would also have resulted in millions of workers getting laid off as the funding for their defense jobs stops.
• Option 2: Block the amendment, however the votes are not there.
• Option 3: Sallow the "poison pill"

What would you do?

The Lies

What do you expect from the right-wing... lies, lies, lies, and more lies!

No, the Wisconsin school shooter wasn’t transgender

Every time a mass shooting happens, right-wing influencers falsely claim that the shooter is trans; rarely is that true.

The Advocate

By Christopher Wiggins

December 17 2024

In the aftermath of yet another devastating school shooting in America, misinformation spread rapidly across social media, falsely claiming the alleged 15-year-old school shooter in Wisconsin — identified as Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha — was transgender. Law enforcement officials in Madison are pushing back, emphasizing that these baseless claims only distract from the lives lost and the urgent need to address gun violence.

[...]

Barnes was responding to a reporter’s question that specifically pointed to Moms for Liberty as a source of false claims that the alleged shooter was trans. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated Moms for Liberty as an anti-government extremist group. “I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not, and quite frankly, I don’t think that’s even important,” Barnes said. “What happened today has nothing to do with how she or he or they may have wanted to identify, and I wish people would leave their own personal biases out of this.”

It figures that it is an organization who started the rumors

Yet, almost immediately, a now-familiar pattern emerged. A prominent user on X (formerly Twitter), with 1.4 million followers, falsely claimed, “The Wisconsin school shooter has been identified as a 17-year-old trans identified male. Another mentally ill girl on testosterone.” The account referenced a locked Google Doc “manifesto” allegedly linked to the shooter. Another widely followed account wrote, “They cannot tell if the shooter is male or female. So my guess, it’s a mentally unstable transgender, because, let’s be real, it’s always them.” These inflammatory claims spread like wildfire despite the absence of evidence.

In 2022 the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, we got blamed for that. The politicizing of us in the aftermath of tragic events, often leading to the spread of lies and animosity against us.

 

Tell a lies often enough and it becomes the truth.

 

Only one of the shooters listed was trans the others are all lies spread by right-wing organizations! Newsweek ran a hatchet job on us where it listed

A tweet listing four mass shootings in the past five years that were perpetrated by transgender people has gone viral, attracting 5.4 million views as of 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday and the attention of Twitter's owner, Elon Musk.

Benny Johnson, a political columnist and Turning Point U.S.A. official, wrote in his viral tweet: "One thing is VERY clear: the modern trans movement is radicalizing activists into terrorists."

Musk—who has expressed varying views on transgender issues and is reported to have a transgender child—replied to the tweet with an exclamation mark, itself seen 2.2 million times.

USA Today wrote that,

Our rating: False

There's no evidence the shooter was transgender. No official sources or credible media outlets have reported this, and none of the images or videos included in the post prove the shooter identified as male.

Claim about transgender shooter is baseless

Police reported a 15-year-old-girl shot and killed two people and injured several others before taking her own life at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Dec. 16. Police later identified the shooter as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha.

Like many past shootings, the incident has become the target of online speculation regarding the shooter's gender identity. But there's no evidence Rupnow was transgender.

However Reuters reports...

Fact Check: Most mass school shootings are not carried out by transgender people

By Reuters Fact Check

September 6, 2024

The mass shooting at a Georgia school on Wednesday sparked a narrative on social media that all mass shootings at schools in the U.S. in recent years have been carried out by transgender people, which is false.

Fourteen-year-old Colt Gray killed two students and two teachers and wounded nine others at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Sept. 4 and is being charged as an adult.

A Facebook post, opens new tab that suggests Gray identifies as transgender reads in part, “Every single mass school shooting in the last 2 years has been carried out by a transgender individual.”

[...]

A search of the entire GVA database, opens new tab in September 2024 with “Incident Characteristic” filters for “mass shootings,” “school incident” and “trans: suspect” returns just one result, opens new tab referring to a 2023 Nashville school shooting that killed six people, in which the suspect reportedly identified as transgender.

Once again what Joseph Goebbels said about lies it true, the right-wing conservatives are demonizing us!

---

The House negotiated a spending bill that included funding for pediatric cancer research, bans on junk fees, and provisions to lower prescription drug costs. But then two billionaires blew up the deal because it didn't help them enough.

How Trump and Elon Musk caused Congress' nightmare before Christmas

Still a month away from the White House, Trump and his billionaire backer threw Congress' plans to get home for the holidays into chaos over a government funding bill.

NBC News

By Matt Dixon

December 19, 2024

It was government shutdown season in Washington, and all through the House, many creatures were stirring — most notably Elon Musk.

Lawmakers in Congress were expecting a glide path to the holidays. They had a bipartisan deal that would keep the government funded and send them all on their merry way back to their districts.

But then they got a taste of what the next four years might be like with Donald Trump back in the White House and Musk, the world’s richest man, wielding enormous power over the political process.

[...]

Less than a day later, House Republicans released a 116-page plan to keep the government open through March 14. The plan had the support of both Trump and Musk, the billionaire who was Republicans’ biggest 2024 political donor and a frequent presence in Trump’s orbit. 

But even after a significant arm-twisting and primary threats from Trump and his allies, the new plan went down in flames on the House floor Thursday night with significant Republican opposition.

This is what $250 million dollars buys!

Musk has his money, but he also has his megaphone. He has the most followers on the social media platform X — more than 208 million — which is not entirely surprising since he owns the site. 

Musk, who spent more than $250 million getting Trump elected, posted about his opposition to the original spending deal well over 100 times over the past two days, with threats to fund primary challenges to anyone who voted for the plan, which was six weeks in the making.

“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk posted Wednesday afternoon on X. 

We have the best government money can buy!

The Clown Car Is Back! Or The Grinches Stole Christmas

Last minute deal... the House passes a spending bill @ 5:40 Friday. The bill now goes to the Senate.

Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown

I wrote this Friday afternoon and by Saturday morning everything changed... but Trump & Musk team didn't get their way. Drama! We are going to have this type of drama for the next four years! Our hope lies in the midterm election and hope that enough people will say... "F**k this s**t!"

*****

I dusted off the Clown Car... I haven't used it in four years but it is back with vengeance. The Republicans didn't even wait until they got into office!

The bipartisan budget was with support from both sides of the aisle but then Musk whispered in Trump's ear... "Stop It!" and Trump bowed down and said "Your wish is my command!"

How Trump and Elon Musk caused Congress' nightmare before Christmas

Still a month away from the White House, Trump and his billionaire backer threw Congress' plans to get home for the holidays into chaos over a government funding bill.

NBC News

By Matt Dixon

December 19, 2023

It was government shutdown season in Washington, and all through the House, many

creatures were stirring — most notably Elon Musk.

Lawmakers in Congress were expecting a glide path to the holidays. They had a bipartisan deal that would keep the government funded and send them all on their merry way back to their districts. 

But then they got a taste of what the next four years might be like with Donald Trump back in the White House and Musk, the world’s richest man, wielding enormous power over the political process.

They don't care that it is only days before Christmas!

What Musk wants, Musk gets... that is what $250 millions buys you.

'President-elect Musk': Elon's influence on display in government spending fight

Musk began posting on X against a stopgap government spending bill on Wednesday well before Trump weighed in against the legislation.

USA Today

By Zac Anderson and Josh Meyer

December 19, 2024

Hours before Donald Trump blew up a bipartisan stopgap funding deal, putting the federal government in danger of a Christmas holiday shutdown, an influential member of his inner circle already was working hard to sink the bill.

Elon Musk took to X – a social media platform he owns – to slam the spending measure, repeatedly writing that lawmakers should “kill the bill” in a tsunami of more than 100 posts on Wednesday that swamped the carefully negotiated funding measure.

Rockefeller circa 1890s

When Trump finally weighed in, 14 hours after Musk first attacked the bill, it looked like he was following the tech impresario's lead. Political observers took notice, questioning who was setting the Republican agenda, Trump or Musk?

“President-elect Musk is really setting down the marker of how he wants to run his administration. VP Trump better pay attention,” former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger taunted Trump on X.

$250 million speaks loudly!

Elon has the Donald firmly under his thumb.

---

8:00PM Friday.

The New York Times writes that,

Something unusual happened this week after President-elect Donald J. Trump ordered House Republicans to back legislation raising the debt limit: Dozens refused.

It was a rare breach by a group of Republicans who have traditionally backed Mr. Trump’s policy preferences unquestioningly and taken pains to avoid defying him.

And it laid bare a disconnect between Mr. Trump and his party that could upend their efforts next year to pass transformative tax and domestic policy legislation with the tiniest of majorities. Even as Mr. Trump has displayed a laissez-faire attitude to the federal debt and a willingness to spend freely, a number of lawmakers in his party fervently adhere to an anti-spending philosophy that regards debt as disastrous.

[...]

Balancing it all, Representative Jodey C. Arrington of Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee, conceded on Friday, is only going to get more difficult when the Republican majority shrinks even further next year.

Saturday: 9

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!


SATURDAY 9: HAPPY HOLIDAYS
On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

 
From the archives

1. As you can see, when Sam Winters was a little girl, she loved giving her annual wish list to Santa. If you could ask Santa for anything at all, right now, what would it be?
Energy! Energy to get up and out to do things!

2. Are you currently on the Naughty or Nice list? How did you get there?
Well when you are a senior citizen it is awful hard to be either.

3. Are you traveling this Christmas? If so, are you going by car, plane or train?
You have to be more specific. On Christmas Day?… nope. Or are you traveling to be with family holiday season? Yes, the family is getting together on the 28^th down in New Jersey.

4. Did you ship any gifts to friends and family this year? If yes, which one traveled the farthest?
Nope!

5. Did you buy yourself a gift this year?
Not yet but I got my eye on a new smartphone.

6. Which do you prefer: candy canes or gingerbread?
Um… I don’t know how to put this… but you do know that I’m diabetic.

7. Close your eyes and tell us the first carol that comes to mind.
Burl Ives “Little Drummer Boy” let me put it this way, it is rather getting it out of my mind! They were playing this at the store I went to yesterday and it is stuck in my ear!!!!!

8. What's your favorite winter beverage?
Hot Chocolate.
I’m on this kick, pasteurized but non-homogenized milk, it is so much creamier than homogenized milk and it makes great hot chocolate.
 
9. Share a memory from last Christmas.
Well it is mostly adults the kids all have kids now and even those have grown up. So we just have a Yankee Swap.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us next week for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!"

 

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Right now I'm up at the cottage packing up everything that has to go home for the winter, emptying out the refrigerator, and anything that will freeze.

I found an electrician and they will do the repairs over the winter and I am also having a new kitchen floor put in. I think that I'm leaving on Monday because I think that maybe, just maybe the holiday traffic will be less than today or tomorrow,

Do you like the banner? I experimented with HTML tables, this code...

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    <tr>
    <td>pic1</td>
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Right On!

She got everything right! This is the beginning of Project 2025! (That Trump said he didn't know anything about)

Watch this!

And remember, Trump threatened retaliation for any Republican who does not vote for his appointees.

Caved In!

That is what Disney did, the caved in to the right-wing extremists!

Win Or Lose’ Transgender Actress Speaks Out After Disney Cuts Her Storyline: “Very Disheartened”

Deadline

By Lynette Rice

December 17, 2024

In 2020, Chanel Stewart was scrolling through X when she happened upon a post about how Pixar was looking for an authentic, 14-year-old transgender girl to voice a transgender teenager in a new animated series.

Stewart, who at 14 had already logged a few commercials, knew instantly that it was her role of a lifetime.

“I was exactly what they wanted to a T, and that’s why it felt so right. It felt just so right,” says Stewart, who is a transgender girl from Los Angeles. “I immediately asked my mom if I could do it, because I just felt like if I don’t do this, it wouldn’t make sense. You know what I mean?”

[...]

“It was upsetting because my daughter is transgender and this is her life. I felt like it was very important that we not hide that fact,” Stewart’s mom Keisha tells Deadline. “There may be some parents out there who are not ready to have that conversation, but this is the world that we live in and everyone should be represented. Everyone deserves to be recognized. And it felt like it was just another setback for the LGBTQ community, because it’s very hard on transgender teenagers … transgender people, period. Especially when you’re young and you’re trying to figure out how to navigate this world that you live in and be able to grow into your own person.”

CNN wrote...

“When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” Disney said in a statement.

Tell me would they say the same thing if they cut a Black storyline out of the movie?

The announcement comes after the reelection of former President Donald Trump, who has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which have become a cause célèbre of the right. In response to online pressure and threats, many companies have recently made changes to their DEI policies.

It is censorship pure and simple! Businesses are running scared! They are are afraid of their bottom-line. The name of the movie is very fitting... we all lose.

When hate wins.

When bigotry wins.

We all lose.

The Plan! Activism

This is a series on activism and grassroots organizing! The last time I wrote about the Inside Out Game, this morning I am writing about the first step in grassroots organizing… planning!

Getting Out There!

• When we were working to pass the gender inclusive non-discrimination bill we had a Speakers Bureau where we went out to talk to anyone who listened.
• We had a group whose job it was to write replies to newspapers editorials.
• We had a list of “Talking Point” so we were all on the same page.
• We had our “Elevator Speech” a 30 second summation of what the bill is about.
• We had a lobby day at the Capitol where we did training for those who wanted to talk to their legislators. (Here is a link to one of our training presentations.)
• We were organized!

For the lobby day we did training on how to talk to your legislators, (My presentation here.)

The Community Tool Box writes about communication…

What do we mean by communication?

Communication is the process of transmitting ideas and information. For a grass roots initiative or community-based organization, that means conveying the true nature of your organization, the issues it deals with, and its accomplishments to the community.

Communication can take many forms, including:

• Word of mouth
• News stories in both print and broadcast media
• Press releases and press conferences
• Posters, brochures, and fliers
• Outreach and presentations to other health and community service providers, community groups, and organizations
• Special events and open houses that your organization holds

To communicate effectively, it helps to plan out what you want from your communication, and what you need to do to get it.

[…]

How do you develop a plan for communication?

Planning for communication is an eight-step process. The steps are:

• Identify the purpose of your communication
• Identify your audience
• Plan and design your message
• Consider your resources
• Plan for obstacles and emergencies
• Strategize how you will connect with the media and others who can help you spread your message
• Create an action plan
• Decide how you will evaluate your plan and adjust it, based on the results of carrying it out.

Back in the early days of trying to pass the Gender Non-Discrimination bill we had an example of what

At UConn School of Law talking about the non-discrimination bill

not to do… A trans person wrote to their legislator a damning letter that got read on to the floor of the House, in the letter she swore, personally called their legislator names. It took a long time to counter the letter, there is nothing that we could do to stop them. So be prepared for letters like that!

Go on the Sunday morning’s talking head shows, I’ve been on all the local network affiliates including Fox. The local CBS network affiliate we the only one that I did a slow burn on the show… I was there to talk about the bill but the only the anchor talked about was trans athletes.

*** A Tip ***

If you can get a friendly media person to come in and talk about how to do interviews and avoid traps, it helps greatly. One of the things that I learned quick… talk in sound bites. No long winded speeches. 

Have you ever been in a press conference… I have.

Another Community Tool Box chapter is on press conferences…

What is a press conference?

You and your group members have probably seen them on television  before or after a major local or national event,. On the evening news there’s a short television clip of a speaker surrounded by a crowd of reporters asking questions. So, you may know what press conferences look like, in general.

But what exactly is a press conference? A press conference is a tool designed to generate news – in particular, hard news that can advance the cause of your organization. Hard news is defined as a story in the print or electronic media which is timely, significant, prominent, and relevant.

Imagine a flock of media reporters coming to an event that you have organized. This can be exciting stuff, and an important opportunity for your organization. If you've never done it before, holding a press conference can be intimidating, even frightening. But the material in this section will guide you through the process, and you'll see that it's not all that hard.

Why should you hold a press conference?

Press releases, interviews, and informal media contacts are excellent ways of getting your message across. They are the bread and butter of your media relations, and often of your entire outreach effort. A press conference is an additional media technique, for special occasions, when you really want to make an impression. More specifically, why hold a press conference? Because:

You can give more information than in a press release.

• A press conference is interactive; you can answer questions from the press, and emphasize points you might not otherwise have a chance to make.
• You can announce an important development, and explain its significant local and wider implications.
• You can set the record straight if your group received negative publicity.
• You can often generate the kind of notice or publicity – a spot on the 6:00 TV news, for instance – that you’d otherwise have to pay a large amount for.
• When many media representatives are present, it makes your conference seem really newsworthy -- the media presence itself adds to the importance.
• A successful media conference can not only generate news, but can also boost the morale of your own group -- that is, your group can take pride in knowing that the press will really turn out to hear what you have to say.

You just don’t call a news conference and wait for everyone to show up.

Rehearse what everyone is going to talk about… and keep to the script! Have one person who is the MC and they are the ones who answer the questions. Practice answering questions, have people quiz you before the press conference.

Your homework assignment: Read Community Tool Box chapters 3 through 7 on the media.

Government Ethics.

[Editorial]

 

I know some people will consider this as an oxymoron.

As many of you know I am on the governor's advisory council on hate crimes... but I am not paid one cent for being on the council. it is considers a voluntary position.

However, I had to sign the same ethics forms that an employee signs.

Why are Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy exempt from government Ethics rules for the DOGE committee?
Economic Times

December 4, 2024

 

 

President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as the leaders of a new advisory committee designed to cut federal spending is stirring debate among ethics experts.

The committee, named the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aims to devise plans for reducing federal regulations and agency budgets.

However, there is a huge controversy and questions are being raised about why Musk and Ramaswamy are being exempted from government ethics rules. It is to be noted that ethics rules typically apply to official Cabinet members and top government positions, as mentioned in the USA Today report.

[...]

The Department of Government Efficiency will focus on eliminating waste and inefficiency within the federal government, cutting unnecessary regulations, and streamlining federal agencies. Musk and Ramaswamy have expressed their commitment to reducing the size of government, but the lack of transparency surrounding their roles has raised red flags.

As a state volunteer I am expected to obey all laws and government policies and the reason I had to sign them was to prevent me from steering work to myself or to friends.

Lack of Oversight in Advisory Roles
Unlike Cabinet secretaries who must publicly disclose their financial interests and divest from any conflicting investments, outside advisors are not required to do so.

Special government employees, who work in advisory roles, must comply with conflict of interest laws. However, those serving on advisory committees with no official government status are exempted.

USA Today writes,

Such responsibilities usually fall to full-time White House employees who have to abide by conflict of interest standards and disclose their financial interests, either publicly or confidentially, depending on the person’s role, according to Kathleen Clark, a professor of law for Washington University in St. Louis. Outside advisers have no such requirement.

“It’s as though Musk and Ramaswamy are cosplaying government officials,” Clark said. “It looks like the transition team is intentionally blurring the line between what’s inside and outside of government so that Musk and Ramaswamy will be able to have a great deal of influence.”

[...]

 

Reid Hoffman, the venture capitalist who co-founded LinkedIn, wrote in the Financial Times that Musk’s ownership in a startup called xAI combined with his broad advisory position with Trump creates “a serious conflict of interest in terms of setting federal AI policies for all US companies.”

Ramaswamy founded Roivant Services, which owns several drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but he stepped down when he was pursuing the presidential nomination. He lists himself on LinkedIn as the co-founder of the Ohio-based investment firm Strive Asset Management.

"My best advice to you is, if you're evaluating somebody's advice, you got to look at whatever their self interest is in evaluating that advice, right?" Ramaswamy said at the Aspen Security Forum in Washington, D.C. "That includes me."

According to Salon Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass...

After dropping more than $250 million on his effort to elect Donald Trump, billionaire and Pentagon contractor Elon Musk could now use his power and influence to steer sweetheart deals to his network of companies, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., warned in a letter sent Monday to the Trump transition team.

[...]

In her letter, obtained by The Washington Post, Warren said Musk may not share the same interests as the American public.

“Putting Mr. Musk in a position to influence billions of dollars of government contracts and regulatory enforcement without a stringent conflict of interest agreement in place is an invitation for corruption on a scale not seen in our lifetimes,” Warren wrote. “As your Transition Team Ethics Plan makes clear, the role of government is not to line the pockets of the wealthiest Americans; a strong, enforceable ethics plan for the world’s richest man is a necessary first step for delivering on that promise.”

Warren's letter comes after Reuters reported earlier this month that the incoming Trump administration may also scrap a crash-reporting requirement for autonomous-driving systems, a move that would benefit Tesla, which reports by far the most incidents

This is so wrong! It opens up to all types of abuses... Musk can fire federal employees to who ruled against his companies and he can fill the federal agencies with his cronies.

Then we have the "high quality" of Trump appointees... Musk posts racial pictures of Sen. Warren!

Elon Musk Posts Racist Images In Response To Elizabeth Warren's Call For Ethics Standards

"It shows he's scared," ventured one scholar from the University of California, Los Angeles.

HuffPost

By Ryan Grenoble

Dec 18, 2024

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) seems to have struck a nerve by calling for Donald Trump to hold Elon Musk to the kind of ethics standards set for government officials while the tech billionaire remains a major figure in the president-elect’s orbit.

On social media Tuesday, Musk shared a series of racist images — apparently generated by artificial intelligence — that depicted Warren and leaned heavily on Native American stereotypes.

In one image, Warren is depicted wearing a beaded headdress adorned with bird feathers. The image also imagined the senior Massachusetts senator wearing a buckskin shirt with leather fringe.

Subsequent posts by the world’s richest person imagined Warren ― still shown in Native American garb ― eating cake and smiling gently while wearing some sort of leather garment.

[...]

The images appear to be a reference to Trump’s racist nickname for Warren, “Pocahontas,” which is itself derived from Warren’s own tangled claims of Native American ancestry.

She said,

“It shows he’s scared,” she ventured. “Responding to it in this fashion seems to suggest he needs to distract from the substance of her critique.”

How does that saying go... "Birds of a feather flock together"

 

[/Editorial]

What Is All Of This Paranoia Over Drones?

Fact: Drones have been sighted all over the northeast!
Fact: Drones are not illegal to fly!

N.J. is freaking out over these mystery drones. Inside the fascination and paranoia.

NJ.com
By Murjani Rawls
December 17, 2024


Look up in the sky. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s many large drones reported to be flying all over New Jersey (more than 3,000 reporting sightings so far, the FBI said).

Surely, the statewide hysteria surrounding these mysterious machines — even the Feds don’t know who’s behind them — will someday be immortalized, not unlike Orson Welles’ infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast, which also claimed to see lights in the sky over Jersey.

But these drones are real, concrete details are scarce since their first sightings in mid November, and folks are descending into varying displays of fascination, paranoia and conspiracies, as seen all over social media this week.

Are these objects being sent from an alleged foreign adversary to spy on the everyday dealings of New Jerseyans, or is Marvin the Martian gearing up to use his Illudium Q-36 Space Modulator? Nobody seems to know, but there sure are plenty of opinions as to what these flying objects could be.

They must be sinister!

The New York Times writes,

After reviewing thousands of tips, federal law enforcement officials on Saturday reaffirmed that mysterious drones spotted in the Northeast in recent weeks pose no national security threat and in most cases are not even drones.

Investigators reviewing video footage and interviews with witnesses have so far determined that at least some of the roaming objects were manned aircraft, such as airplanes or helicopters, that were misidentified as drones, according to officials from the F.B.I., Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity on Saturday because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Oh look Jane!
See the lights!
They are blinking… red and green!
Oh Dick, I’m scared!

You know you would think that half of the people never look up at the sky!

The U.S. officials said they had confirmed drone sightings over military bases in New Jersey, including Picatinny Arsenal, but they had no evidence the devices were operated by a foreign government or authority. U.S. national security officials have not been able to identify the operators of the drones.

Meanwhile the more that the government denies that they are harmful the more these kooks think it is a conspiracy theory!

Mystery Drones Saga: Ohio Air Force Base Sees More Drone ‘Incursions’ (Updated)
Forbes
By Stephen Pastis
Dec 17, 2024

 A group of federal agencies on Monday night said the weeks-long sightings of low-flying drone-like objects in the night skies of New Jersey and other nearby states are likely a mix of misidentified legal aircraft and stars that pose no threats—even as a U.S. Air Force base reports repeated drone sightings.

 

[...]

 

 In a joint statement, the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, FAA and Defense Department said they examined the notable leads from the more than 5,000 reported drone sightings and determined “the sightings to date” are a “combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.”

The more they deny it the more conspiracy theorist scream coverup!

Conspiracy theories and false recordings of alleged drones have circulated online. Unfounded claims the U.S. government is flying the reported drones—possibly to search for radioactive materials—appears to be gaining traction, thanks to celebrities like Bethenny Frankel posting on TikTok, Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., arguing it’s “in control” and podcaster Joe Rogan promoting a video claiming the drones are secretly detecting radioactive material. Michael Melham, the mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, fanned the theory to Fox 5 New York Tuesday, saying drones are “all over the place” while federal officials say New Jersey officials “don’t know what we’re talking about.” Another prominent conspiracy theory that’s re-appeared is Project Blue Beam, a decades-old conspiracy that the government will use deceptive tactics—like faking an alien invasion—to dominate society.

Then we have the perpetual Congressional nut case Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Daily Mail says...

Firebrand Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has accused the Pentagon of being 'full of crap' amid mystery drone sightings.

The unidentified objects have been hovering over New Jersey for nearly a month, yet the FBI and the Pentagon say they have no answers as to who is behind them.

Greene told DailyMail.com: 'I'm gonna call it total bulls*** that no one knows what these are. And I think it's a slap in the face to the American people to say they don't know what this is.

 She added: 'They can track down a guy that just killed a CEO, but they can't identify what these drones are and where they're coming from?'

'I think that is absolutely disgusting to lie to the American people like this, and the truth needs to be told about it.'

Then we have Trump adding his two cents...

Trump accuses Biden, Pentagon of covering up drone mystery in NJ, NY: ‘The government knows what is happening’

New York Post

By Steven Nelson

December 16, 2024

The truth is out there.

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday accused President Biden and the Pentagon of hiding information about mysterious drones spotted hovering above New Jersey and New York.

“The government knows what is happening,” Trump, 78, said after Biden representatives pleaded ignorance despite thousands of Garden State and New York City residents seeing — and in some instances photographing — the unidentified aircraft.

“Look, our military knows where they took off from — if it’s a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went, and for some reason they don’t want to comment,” the once and future president said during a wide-ranging, 70-minute press conference in Palm Beach, Fla.

“And I think they’d be better off saying what it is. Our military knows and our president knows. And for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense.”

The Daily Beast writes...

President Joe Biden on Tuesday made his first public comments about recent reports of unexplained drone sightings in the northeast.

Asked by reporters what was behind the drones, Biden answered: “Nothing nefarious, apparently, but they’re checking it all out.” He added that authorities are “following this closely,” but so far there is “no sense of danger.”

Biden’s comments were the latest effort from his administration to reassure the public about the sightings. Lawmakers have called on the federal government to provide more answers, and conspiracy theories have spread online.

[...]

But Biden administration and law enforcement officials have repeatedly addressed the concerns. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby told CNN Monday that the sightings over the East Coast “represent lawful, legal, commercial [and] hobbyist drones—even law enforcement drones,” which don’t pose a threat to the public.

But that just riled up the conspiracy nuts including Trump,

On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump nevertheless insisted at a press conference that “something strange is going on” and claimed government officials “don’t want to tell the people” what’s happening. “I think they’d be better off saying what it is,” Trump said. “Our military knows and our president knows, and for some reason they want to keep people in suspense.”

The comments of Yahoo are hilarious, one person wrote "We want the truth! No more lies" what they really mean that the only answer they want is something nefarious even if it is lie. 

So what do you think all this drone stuff is about?

online polls

Hey! Are You Looking For A Job?

Do you want to go into the healthcare field? Do you want to work with the geriatric community?

Caregiving in the LGBT Community

With no family, a caregiver finds a support system in her neighborhood

AARP

By Victoria Sackett  

November 20, 2017

Like so many people thrown into the family caregiving role, Cindy Mermin was taken by surprise. Mermin, a clinical psychologist, and her wife, Helen McDermott, a clinical social worker, had a successful psychology practice in Manhattan when McDermott had heart valve replacement surgery in 2004. 

[…]

As is often the case among lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) older adults, there was no family to lean on. Mermin, who is 78, and her wife, who is 84, are both long estranged from their families because they couldn’t come to terms with a loved one being gay.

When older people in the general population need help with everyday tasks, they most often turn to family. Eighty-five percent of caregivers are family members -- spouses, sons and frequently daughters.

I don’t think that I am that far away from that point.

LGBT elders are twice as likely to be single and aging alone as the general population, according to SAGE. In addition to alienation from family, they are also three-to-four times less likely to have children.

We become socially isolated and that is one thing that I am working on.

Trans Aging Project

How many Pride parades have something for senior adults? At the rally in West Hartford I give them an “A+” for having seats up near the front for those who mobility challenged!

 “For us, those people [Family members as caregivers] don’t exist,” says Alex Kent, a caregiving consultant at SAGE, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults. “I'm been asked by several clients for my number to list me as an emergency contact,” says Kent. “For us, those people don't always exist. They don’t have anyone else.”

Senior center, bereavement groups, support groups for diseases all of those make some of us feel like outcasts.

The idea of turning to a senior center or other community resource for help provoked lots of anxiety. Wary of how they will be treated, LGBT older adults access support services like senior centers and meal programs, housing assistance or food stamps, at only 20 percent the rate that their non-LGBT peers do, according to Prepare to Care: A Planning Guide for Caregivers in the LGBT Community, a joint publication of SAGE and AARP. “Our generation is uneasy all the time,” Mermin says.

I’ve gone to the senior in town and they treated me excellently but it is hard when you are the only trans person in the whole room.

So some of the things I have been pushing… more activities for us at Pride Centers during the day such as a drop in center, and a LGBTQ+ bill of rights for Long Term Care facilities. Something is on the wish list… a 55+ LGBTQ+ facility.

So the beginning of this post I said about a job. Have you thought about going into geriatric healthcare? Many of us LGBTQ+ would feel a lot more comfortable have someone from our community take care of them.

“Give No Quarter”

You Knew This Was Coming! Are they playing the Degüello for the Post Office?
 

He did everything he could to kill it? What? The post office. The Republicans want to get their greedy little hand on the mail. I just had a package from Amazon that was shipped by USPS, and it has been delayed. It was supposed to have been delivered Friday and now it is Tuesday, it was shipped the same day that they got the order so it is not the vendor who delayed it.

Trump eyes privatizing U.S. Postal Service, citing financial losses
Trump feuded with the mail agency in his first term. Privatizing it could shake up consumer shipping and business supply chains.
The Washington Post
By Jacob Bogage, Jacqueline Alemany and Jeff Stein
December 14, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump has expressed a keen interest in privatizing the U.S. Postal Service in recent weeks, three people with knowledge of the matter said, a move that could shake up consumer shipping and business supply chains and push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of the government.

Trump has discussed his desire to overhaul the Postal Service at his Mar-a-Lago estate with Howard Lutnick, his pick for commerce secretary and the co-chair of his presidential transition, the people said. Earlier this month, Trump also convened a group of transition officials to ask for their views on privatizing the agency, one of the people said.

The Republicans hate the post office! Why?

But as congressional Republicans and others in Trump’s orbit have clamored in recent weeks for federal cost-cutting, the Postal Service has emerged as a prominent target. People who will work on the “Department of Government Efficiency,” a nongovernmental panel led by tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, have also held preliminary conversations about major changes to the Postal Service, said two other people familiar with the matter, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect private talks.

To put it all in perspective…  "This is all poppycock" You want to know why the Post Office keeps losing money? PolitiFact reports that…

The 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act required the Postal Service to pre-fund future retiree health benefits, not pensions. The law put a financial strain on the service, which has defaulted on some of the statutorily prescribed payments.

And it goes on to say,

The health benefit requirement

The 2006 law also established a fund for Postal Service retiree health benefits. It required prepayment of those benefits according to a 50-year schedule, starting with 10 years of statutorily prescribed payments of roughly $5 billion from 2007 to 2017.

[…]

Regardless, Partenheimer [a spokesman for the Postal Service] told us that "the pre-funding requirement included in the 2006 law is a major reason for our financial situation, along with an outdated business model."

So now they bootstrapped the Post Office and are complaining the losses!

---

Then vengeance is mine saith Trump…

Exclusive: Trump may cancel US Postal Service electric mail truck contract, sources say
Reuters
By Jarrett Renshaw and Alexandra Ulmer
December 6, 2024

Donald Trump's transition team is considering canceling the U.S. Postal Service's contracts to electrify its delivery fleet, as part of a broader suite of executive orders targeting electric vehicles, according to three sources familiar with the plans.

The move, which could be unveiled in the early days of Trump’s administration that begins on Jan. 20, is in line with Trump's campaign promises to roll back President Joe Biden’s efforts to decarbonize U.S. transportation to fight climate change – an agenda Trump has said is unnecessary and potentially damaging to the economy.

Reuters has previously reported that Trump is planning to kill a $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicle purchases, and plans to roll back Biden's stricter fuel-efficiency standards.

The sources told Reuters that Trump’s transition team is now reviewing how it can unwind the postal service's multibillion-dollar contracts, including with Oshkosh (OSK.N), opens new tab and Ford (F.N), opens new tab, for tens of thousands of battery-driven delivery trucks and charging stations.

Anything to spike the Democrats even if it destroys the planet.

The Constitution does not mandate a postal service but it does allow Congress to create and regulate a postal system and it gives Congress broad power over postal matters.