I don’t know about you, but I get an awful lot of junk mail, free magazines and catalogs that I rarely do more than skim through but for some reason can’t resist signing up for, lengthy policy declarations and “privacy policy” notices that I don’t even bother to take out of the envelopes they come in, let alone read, and the occasional bill from some unenlightened philistine company (typically it’s from some government looking for property taxes or something; haven’t the teabaggers put an end to taxes yet?) that refuses to skip the paper and just go with e-bills. In short, other than parcel post and the occasional priority mail envelope, I could live without the USPS (besides, now my mailbox is about 360 feet from the house, so it’s a pain to check).
Fortunately, with Republicans now running the show in the House, the Senate Democrats still feckless (yes, they have no feck), and the office of the President of the United States being more or less vacant, we may soon see an end to mail delivery as we know it. The USPS lost $8.5 billion last year, and between the fact that nobody uses the mail much these days, its mandate to provide delivery everywhere in the US at the same cost, and the fact that Republicans are no doubt salivating over handing over the PO to their buddies in the private sector, I don’t see how things can stay the same. Get ready for $5 first class mail rates.
Oh well, time to get ready to get some work done around here. Have a good one.
Now I understand. A little more feck and the Dems would be warriors for the little people. Perhaps we can cook some.
As for mailboxes, on Shelter Island there is NO mail delivery. You want mail, you go to the post office. There is also no public transportation so you either drive or those bills can wait.
The derivation of feckless:
1590s, from feck, “effect, value, vigor” (late 15c.), Scottish shortened form of effect; popularized by Carlyle, who left its opposite, feckful, in dialectal obscurity.
Dems have no effect but the Rethugs are feckful.
A prominent Tea Party group is hoping to ensure that recently elected GOP representatives aren’t transformed by their newfound Capitol Hill influence, by allowing their constituents to get to them before Washington does.
At least that was the logic behind the Tea Party Patriots’ decision to release the personal cell phone numbers and email addresses of almost 100 incoming Republican representatives, a step they took after they learned that their “Freshmen Orientation” seminar was going to be rivaled by an event supposedly “coordinated by lobbyists and campaign consultants” and organized by the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/12/tea-party-patriots-releas_n_782963.html
A jerk is a jerk is a jerk. But, to be fair, we all know it’s their teachers’ fault.
Gail Collins:
I have faith in Barack Obama. Of course, I also have faith in the New York Mets.
I believe Obama is going to get his groove back and be the leader we elected, even though he is testing us sorely. This week he went to South Korea to negotiate a trade agreement, and the agreement fell through. The administration says this is because he was being a tough bargainer, but you don’t send the president overseas to fail to get an agreement. Wasn’t anybody taking notes when he went to Denmark to fail to get the Olympics for Chicago?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/opinion/13collins.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
The USPS is a lifeline for me and what I do these days. I could not afford to use UPS or FedEx (anti-union, btw) for shipping and they both have limitations to their service. I get what I consider excellent and reasonable service on a daily basis from the Post Office.
Nevertheless, the USPS is tagged with lots of baseless and false criticism mostly from the wrongies and used as another example of an ineffective and inefficient gubment agency even though it independent of the US government. The USPS is not funded by taxpayer money but it does borrow from the US Treasury to cover debts, and, yes, it has been bleeding red ink of late and needs some fixing. Besides the revulsion of the privateer freaks that it is ‘gubment’ that could be turned over to tender mercies of the private sector, I suspect that it is also under attack because it has historically been an opportunity center of decent employment for minorities and it is unionized. :omg:
I also am guessing that many of the ‘consitooshunalists’ of that ilk are not aware that the Postal Service is mandated in the US Constitution and believe in the separation of Post and State. Otherwise I am sure that they would be more than ready to cough up the Benjamins to help it survive.
UPS workers are represented by the Teamsters Union. Fedex is not unionized.
I am known at my local PO as 1004, the last 4 digits on a credit card.
Cindy McCain made a video in support of the repeal of DADT. Of course hubby, John, has vowed to filibuster any attempt to repeal the law. So Cindy had to clarify her position, to wit:
“I fully support the NOH8 campaign and all it stands for and am proud to be a part of it. But I stand by my husband’s stance on DADT.” (NOH8 is the California proposition that repealed gay marriage.)
‘Tis proof that ALL Republicans have very malleable unbending principles.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/13/cindy-mccain-dont-ask-dont-tell_n_783146.html