Always, Always, ALWAYS; Reblog!

"Two weeks ago, my 90-year-old mother, Catherine Ritchie, was preparing herself for bed at around 9pm. After brushing her teeth and hair, she turned around to find her bed completely engulfed in flames. She made an attempt to extinguish the flames herself by throwing blankets and pillows on the fire. The smoke and heat were so overwhelming that she immediately got disoriented, gave up fighting the fire, and decided to flee. She pushed the emergency call button she wears on her necklace, called 911, and attempted to get out of her now engulfed bedroom. She walked into the closet several times thinking it was the door that leads to the hallway. It wasn’t. She couldn’t find her way out. She was stuck. Smoke everywhere. Across the street, 4 boys saw the smoke and reflection of flames. Not an adult in sight. 4 kids who took immediate action to save an elderly woman who they couldn’t guarantee was home and who 3 of them had never even met. One started breaking the glass on the front door. One called 911. One went to the back door and began kicking it in. One went to the neighbors for an ax and help. Within minutes, a door was kicked in by a 14-year-old child who found my mother in the hallway outside of her bedroom and picked her up in his arms. Kids who are told about all the things they aren’t old enough to do saved the life of the most precious and beloved woman we know. Courageous young men. Young men who risked their own lives, their own safety, perhaps their good standing with their parents who might have chosen for them to do otherwise, and they carried my mother out of her burning home into the street, where firetrucks and ambulances would soon arrive. Dylan Wick – 16 years old, Nick Byrd – 14 years old, Seth Byrd – 16 years old, and Wyatt Hall – 17 years old, thank you! Thank you for your selfless acts of heroism and courage. Thank you for not allowing this to be the tragic end to our mother’s amazing life. Thank you for staying with her, hugging her, and helping her feel less alone until we could get to her. Thank you for being the kind of young men who thought about another person above yourselves. Thank you for staying safe yourselves as well. Thank you to your parents who obviously raised you in such a way that lead to you making life saving and heroic decisions on behalf of someone else. Thank you for more than we know how to thank you for! We will forever be indebted to the time you bought for us and the example you set for us. God Bless each of you for being such a blessing to us. Sincerely, Michael Ritchie, Karen Ritchie Sontag, Pat Ritchie, Jimmy Ritchie, Kelly Ritchie, John Ritchie, Tim Ritchie, Tom Ritchie, Missy Ritchie Nicholas, Ryan Ritchie, and 42 very grateful grandchildren."

I have spent a lot of time in the bay area over the years. It went from being my favorite place to being a complete shithole, just short of a third world.

The media is hellbent on pushing fake news and fake #COVID19 numbers and stories to keep the public in fear. This isn't some crazy conspiracy story, it's happening but you're asleep. You are being played! Wake up, people, wake up!

Cudos

#StopTheSteal

This could be the most important post I’ve ever shared. Please Share it with anyone who is or might be going through this terrible disease.

https://twitter.com/ItsMa____/status/1345432772538724355?s=19

USPS Insider’s Take

I come from a family of several career USPS employees, my wife being one of them. And like everything else the media gets their mitts on, the current news about the USPS and especially Trump’s involvement with it are hyped and in some cases TOTAL B.S.!

There are many, many issues I could address. But I’ll start with just these twelve:

#1 - Trump did NOT get rid of the former US Postmaster General! She retired!

#2 - Trump did NOT appoint the NEW US Postmaster General! He was VOTED IN by the board of USPS Governors!

#3 - Processing plants have been shutting down and consolidating for YEARS now! And yes, part of that process involves dismantling equipment, which is most often reassigned to ANOTHER processing facility and utilized there! Some machines are dismantled and are not reused because like everything else, they wear out and eventually aren’t worth fixing!

#4 - Yes, mailboxes in some areas are being removed. Why? Because mail volume in some areas has gone down, whereas in other areas, (like the greater Seattle area), the mail volume has recently INCREASED! But this too has been going on for YEARS and as many as 14,000 mailboxes were removed during the Obama administration. Was there outcry then? NO! And like Trump has NOTHING to do with the removal of mailboxes now, Obama had nothing to do with the mailboxes removed then!

#5 - The media LIES! The USPS processing plant in Everett, WA handled all of the regional mail from the south border of Snohomish county to the US/Canadian border. It closed in 2013 as part of a planned consolidation. True it was not initially to be the first plant in WA to close, but that’s how it turned out. The media had a field day with its closure and announced more than 300 employees would lose their jobs. How many employees ACTUALLY lost their jobs?: ZERO!

#6 - The USPS is not in debt - at least not in the sense that almost all other large US businesses are not also. Does the USPS have loans? Yes. Are they in default on those loans? NO!

#7 - Is and has the USPS been losing money for more than a decade now? Yes. But not for the reason most people think, and certainly not for the reasons the media reports! The truth is, the Postal Service is not losing money because of Amazon or any other tech company or technological advance is society. It’s losing money because in 2006, Congress passed a law forcing it to prepay its pensions AND HEALTH CARE BENEFITS for 75 years IN ADVANCE!!! NO OTHER corporation, whether in government or the private sector has to do this! The USPS has appealed this decision every year since during every administration and shift in Congress and it has never been repealed. This means the pensions and health care benefits for people who have yet to be hired or even BORN the USPS is required to pay and lock up every month - IN ADVANCE! Who bills them? Congress! And do they do so accurately? NO! Many times Congress has OVERCHARGED the USPS the monthly amount they are to pay. Has the USPS then EVER been REFUNDED the difference? NO! So, believe it or not, without this law, the Postal Service would be turning a PROFIT!!!

#8 - When the federal government allowed other businesses to handle the package business, (DHL, FEDEX, UPS) these companies took the most profitable business and left the USPS with the least profitable - delivery to EVERY household in the U.S. and all U.S. Territories, (yes, even Puerto Rico and GUAM!), regardless of the cost of delivery. Believe it or not, the Havasupai tribe that lives on the floor of the Grand Canyon receives first-class mail and packages delivered by MULES!!! NO private company wants this business… or any business for 55 cents to every door in America - no matter the distances between the customers!

#9 - Trump’s treasury department DID loan the USPS 10 BILLION dollars at the end of July! Why do they need it? In addition to the reasons already mentioned above, the Corona Virus Pandemic has had a significant NEGATIVE effect!

# 10 - Trump has TWICE said he WOULD IMMEDIATELY sign a STAND ALONE bill to provide even MORE funding, but the Democrats in Congress will not present a bill that does not include other stipulations such as stimulus checks provided to illegal aliens, mandatory voting by mail nationwide and bailouts for the blue states with cities that have been damaged by rioting.

#11 - EVERY major private package delivery service utilizes the infrastructure of the USPS somehow, someway on a DAILY basis! The private carriers simply do NOT have the capability of handling ALL their deliveries from END-TO-END without having the USPS help them out at some point! But the USPS is LIMITED by CONGRESS concerning the amount the USPS is allowed to charge these private carriers - and they are getting one heck of a deal!

#12 - This is perhaps the most unknown of all. The USPS is SELF-FUNDING! Yes, that means it is NOT funded by U.S. Taxpayers! This has been true since the mid-1980s! The USPS REVENUE is EARNED just like any other business via sales of products and services! Any money given to the USPS by the Federal Government is in the form of LOANS that it must payback! Are they low-interest Federal Loans? Yes! But why shouldn’t they be?!!!

Do I LIKE that Trump has been a long-time critic of the USPS? NO! Why? Because I believe he’s not considering the SOURCE of their misery, which is CONGRESS! But do I believe the problems are Trump’s fault? NO! Do I believe the current dismantling of SOME parts of the USPS have anything to do with Trump or the upcoming election? NO! What is the problem? CONGRESS and to some extent the MULTIPLE UNIONS within the USPS that FIGHT WITH EACHOTHER, but each time one wins a grievance over another it is the USPS that has to pay for it!