Reach for the Stars @antares@qoto.org

This is a fitting tribute to the lat Sen. #Feinstein who always tried to do her work away from the prying eyes of the public and her constituents.

@AmpBenzScientist @freemo As someone who has done a good deal of transmitting on FAA frequencies, I can tell you this is not always true. Of course I was at the controls of a Skyhawk at the time so there may be some exceptions.

Well that was quick. I can now join the *long* list of people who have been blocked by TruthSandwich. My crime? Saying that Barak Obama and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were [better for the Democratic party](https://qoto.org/web/statuses/111173666283535745) than the candidates they defeated in a free and fair election.

#USPol #fediblock

@TruthSandwich So you think electing Pres. Obama over Clinton was a mistake? Because, I think Obama was the best think to happen to the Democratic party in my lifetime (I go back to Jimmy Carter BTW), and I would like to see more candidates like him.

Same story with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beating out Joe Crowley.

I think skilled enthusiastic politicians are hitting the metamucil ceiling while politians from the last age block advancement of new people and new ideas because they are bough and paid for by the entrenched corporate lobbyists.

@cfiesler when I was in grad school the culture was that everyone was on a first name basis. One professor came to class one day and asked that she be addressed by title. A student asked if she would give her students the same courtesy. It turned out that there were 2 PhDs, a JD 2 MDs, a judge, a state senator, and a police officer who all would have had professional titles. We went back to first names. Ironically the student who made the fuss is now entitled to be addressed as "The Rt. Rev." or "Bishop"

I think the most toxic idea in the #democratic party today is that it is someone's turn. In this age of corruption and division, length of service is not a useful qualification. Fresh ideas, passion, and voices of younger generations need to be given more value. #uspol

@BillMcGuire @Hey_Beth she is a lobbies for a California union who works in DC and lives in a Maryland suburb. I'm interested that there isn't more pushback about appointing a lobbiest. Tempest in a teapot either way.

@garyackerman It is however an excellent way for leadership to convert a questionable opinion into an "indisputable" fact.

Butler, who is based in Washington and maintains close ties with Los Angeles, had a stint as director for public policy and campaigns at Airbnb and spent nearly two decades as a powerful and well-respected labor leader with the Service Employees International Union. As president of SEIU California, she worked closely with then-Gov. Jerry Brown on policies like hiking the minimum wage to $15 per hour and raising taxes for wealthy Californians. She also served on the University of California Board of Regents, to which she was appointed by Brown in 2018 before stepping down in 2021.

Butler is the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the Senate.

Politico [Newsom picks Laphonza Butler as Feinstein replacement](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/01/newsom-senate-pick-butler-00119360)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, elevating the head of a fundraising juggernaut that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, according to a person familiar with the decision.

Newsom is moving swiftly to name the next senator, two days after Feinstein’s death and just as a perilously split Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown. Senate Democrats are in need of every vote in the closely divided chamber.

@georgetakei Why negotiate with McCarthy? I wonder if there is someone more moderate that the Dems could support in his stead. Hell, at this point could there be found 4 GOP members that would support a Democratic speaker?

@Setok

You're not going to get anywhere with Hypx. The only other people I've ever seen to be so single-minded are lobbyist who are being paid to be so. I can offer no proof that Hypx has a financial stake in the hydrogen economy, but I cannot imagine someone who did being any more committed tot he cause. It really is their one thing.

@Nonya_Bidniss With propane exchanges, [you do own the tank](https://bluerhino.com/propane-info/faqs/buying-blue-rhino-tanks-faqs/is-blue-rhino-a-deposit-program), and because tanks are only $40 or so and are not wear items this works. Batteries are wear items, they have a limited number of charges and are effected by the type of use they receive. They also cost are a significant percentage of the value of the car.