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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: July 8th, 2023

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  • Yeah, so historically, it was the same here in WA. You could file a special request for an absentee ballot if you were unable to be physically present to vote, but you had to file your request for every election. In 1991 they made it policy that anyone could request an absentee ballot on an ongoing basis, and that would become your default voting method. In 2005, they gave counties the option of switching to VBM as the default for everyone. Most switched immediately, and I think the rest followed pretty quickly. Back then, there were no drop boxes and you had to mail your ballot back with postage. The drop boxes arrived a few years later, and pre-paid postage was added a little later.

    Republicans hate VBM for two reasons: the ease and convenience increases voter turnout. The voter pamphlets you get with your ballot increase awareness of who and what you’re voting for. Both of these things result in fewer Republican wins.





  • I’m having trouble reconciling these two passages:

    “Elementary-aged children are now asking questions about sex, gender identity and pronouns and gender presentation,” said Aaron Driver, a Middle Creek parent.

    “Parents shouldn’t have to discover major changes about their children’s education from X, or national media outlets,

    So which is it? Are their children asking them questions they don’t like, or are they showing up to rabble-rouse because they saw something on X? I’m guessing it’s more likely the latter. Because kids, by-and-large, are fine with these sort of things. They aren’t confused unless someone at home is telling them “no, that’s not a woman, that’s a man pretending to be woman.”


  • I’m in WA and I never vote by mail.

    Sorry, but that’s incorrect. Barring exceptions, everyone in WA always votes by mail. Your ballot is delivered via USPS to your home. You can (and always should, if able) choose to use the drop boxes to turn in your completed ballot, but all ballots are considered mail ballots (though in exceptional cases you can vote in-person at a county elections office). And if the USPS is allowed to institute this new policy, they will refuse to deliver the ballots at all unless the state provides detailed voter registration data for every ballot to the federal government. If that happens, the state will either have to comply, fight it in court, or find a new way to distribute ballots.

    You may or may not be old enough to remember that before the current system, you had to specially request an “absentee” ballot to vote by mail, and most people voted in-person at designated polling sites. Those sites don’t exist anymore.


  • Hampton Grocer has recalled its popular Lacnola Lactation Granola, after one of the ingredients, moringa powder, tested positive for the bacteria.

    Moringa powder? Never heard of it. I wonder what it’s for…

    Moringa powder is a green superfood made from the dried, crushed leaves of the Moringa oleifera tree. It is packed with vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and plant antioxidants, and people use it to boost energy, lower inflammation, and support overall wellness.

    Oh, cool, a completely unnecessary supplement ingredient with a bunch of gibberish medicinal claims.