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Will McAvoy Profile picture
@WillMcAvoyACN
Aug 14, 2020 • 11 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
Alright, let's talk about this.
So you may be wondering how Donald Trump was so swiftly able to take control of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service, considering it is an 11 member board serving seven year terms. I was too. All the current members of the board were appointed by Trump.
The board is supposed to work this way: Nine members are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. Those nine members then elect a Postmaster General, who will also sit on the board. The ten then elect a Deputy. No more than 5 members can be of the same party.
But when Obama left office, there were no active Obama appointees on the USPS Board of Governors. As such, Trump along with the GOP controlled Senate, were able to appoint enough members to make the board functional again, and bend it to their whims.
Now you might this this was another case of Republican obstruction, but that wasn't the case. While there have been some in the GOP who have called for the Postal Service to be privatized, there have traditionally been enough rural Senators around to ensure the board is filled.
No, in this case Obama's nominations to the Board of Governors were held up by a single Senator:

Bernie Sanders.
Sanders had objected to two of Obama's nominees on behalf of the Postal Worker's union: Mickey D. Barnett and James C. Miller, the two Republicans Obama nominated.

Again: Obama was required to nominate Republicans in order to maintain balance of the board.
Now, Sanders was notably fearful of the possibility that the USPS would reduce services. The Postmaster General at the time had floated the possibility multiple times, and perhaps Sanders felt preventing a quorum on the BOG would prevent that from occurring.
This information was broken by Bill McAllister of @LinnsStampNews in 2015. You can read his story here: linns.com/news/us-stamps…
Since this has been sent to me a couple times, in the interest of fairness I will include it here, though I've not verified all the information in it. I cannot find a source that Sanders blocked the nomination of Crawford, for example.
Of course, no one is questioning Sanders motivations here, only the results, which are undoubtedly worse that what even he could have reasonably expected.

This is a lesson in unintended consequences.

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More from @WillMcAvoyACN

Will McAvoy Profile picture
Nov 18, 2022
🧵 So, I have no idea if this is the end of Twitter, or just the end of Twitter as we know it, but it does seem--from the news reports--that its likely at the very list this website will be a different experience soon. /1
There is a comedian named Ardal O'Hanlon (@ardalsfolly) who has a bit about wanting to tell his father he loves him before he dies, but being afraid of getting the timing wrong and his father lives for another 15 years. It's a really great bit. /2
Well, it's possible that Twitter will still be here tomorrow, and this will all look silly and awkward, but I want to go through some of my favorite memories of this site, and thank some people who made my experience here a little less hellacious. /3
Read 11 tweets
Will McAvoy Profile picture
Sep 9, 2022
Named for the journalist kidnapped and murdered by militant Islamic terrorists while researching a story, the school focuses on journalism and communications as part of a comprehensive high school education.
The school paper, The Pearl Post, was recognized as High School Newspaper of the Year by the LA Press Club in 2016.

In November 2021, they reported that school librarian Greta Enszer had not been vaccinated and as a result the school library would be closed until further notice.
You can read the story here. thepearlpost.com/27098/showcase…
Read 22 tweets
Will McAvoy Profile picture
Feb 13, 2022
I think it’s interesting that a major problem in the discussion places surrounding pop culture is that some of the biggest fans of traditionally “nerdy” pop culture are unable to deal with the massive and uncontested victory they have achieved.
They did it. The geek inherited the Earth. And rather than accept their victory, they have fought it tooth and nail. Perhaps it wasn’t the stories or the characters they loved, but rather they enjoyed the feeling of being outsiders. Who knows.
The problem is that it often manifests in ways that are unhealthy. When a program, like Star Trek, tries to reach a new audience of outsiders (which is what Trek has always done) the older generation of Trek fans claim it’s not Star Trek, and complain about diversity.
Read 5 tweets
Will McAvoy Profile picture
Jan 10, 2022
Since the 1980s, hospitals have been replacing copper and brass surfaces with stainless steel. The reason? Copper and brass fade with time, while stainless steel retains its “new” look.

Here’s the thing: unlike stainless steel, copper and brass reduce the transition of disease.
In repeated studies, copper and brass objects have shown to break down bacteria and viruses quickly, when compared to other surfaces.

While COVID-19 can live on other surfaces for 72 hours, it dies on copper surfaces within four hours.

Here’s the thing: we knew this before.
Indeed, the disease prevention benefits of copper trace their ways all the way back to ancient Egypt, and is included on Smith's Papyrus, quite literally the oldest medical document known to man.
Read 4 tweets
Will McAvoy Profile picture
Nov 19, 2021
There seems to be a real disconnect here about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict. I’ve seen a number of legal experts come in and explain why it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Rittenhouse was acquitted.
There seems to, lately, be this trend that something must be shocking or unexpected to be upsetting, but the reality is for many people that status quo is just as upsetting. Please stop responding to people who are upset with “why are you surprised”?

You help absolutely no one.
Indeed, Rittenhouse was always going to have a good chance at acquittal. Under Wisconsin’s self defense law, he has a right to defend himself from a threat against his life. And the video from that evening makes it clear that such a threat existed. No one debates this.
Read 8 tweets
Will McAvoy Profile picture
Oct 13, 2021
They also aren’t voiceless. In fact their voices are heard disproportionately more than people who got the vaccines months ago and are desperate for a booster shot to lower their risk of getting infected at all.
Of the Americans who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination (66%), 76% would like a booster shot.

That means over 50% of Americans have had a COVID shot and want a booster shot.

When’s the last time you heard any of them interviewed?
We make decisions about the stories we tell. We’ve chosen to highlight stories of individuals quitting their jobs or otherwise defying vaccination mandates despite the fact that they make up less than 2% of the population of any of these groups. Why?
Read 4 tweets

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