@Lookout

once felt that communication was important enough that it should be a universal service, and mostly, even in the US, a government service. I'm always amused by the crap about how much money the postal service "loses", as if it were ever intended to make a profit. Think about how much the State Department "loses", or the Dod. Why Single out the poor old Post Office?

be well and have a good one

In one sense, there is no legal requirement that only the government deliver the mail. The USPS does use private contractors on a regular basis. However, there is a constitutional snag for private ownership. Under Article I, Section 8, only Congress has the power to “establish Post Offices and post Roads,” the latter meaning mail routes.

There is no provision in the Constitution for Congress to abdicate its responsibility and leave the regulation of mail to private interests, even down to the level of deciding what facilities could process the mail. It would take an interesting twist by constitutional originalists to interpret the original intent of the framers to include such a choice.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2020/08/17/7-reasons-privatizin...

Those who want to privatize say...

...the USPS has lost more than $50 billion since 2007, and will likely continue losing money unless there are major reforms.3 One problem is that Congress stymies USPS efforts to improve efficiency. It impedes USPS plans to close unneeded post office locations, even though the bottom 4,500 rural locations average just 4.4 customer visits a day.4 It blocks the consolidation of mail‐​processing centers, and it blocks USPS plans to end Saturday delivery. Private businesses make such adjustments to their operations all the time as demands for their products fluctuate.

USPS’s costly union workforce is another problem. USPS worker compensation is substantially higher, on average, than for comparable private‐​sector workers.5 Collective bargaining agreements—which cover more than four‐​fifths of the USPS workforce—make it more difficult for management to make cost‐​saving changes, such as increasing part‐​time work. And, in some cases, unions have resisted the automation of postal functions.

The postal system’s financial challenges stem from first‐​class mail volume falling from a peak of 104 billion pieces in 2001 to 62 billion pieces in 2015, a decline of 40 percent.6 The decline is driven by the rise of email, Facebook, Evite, and Internet bill paying; the decline of printed magazines; and the rise of online advertising as an alternative to bulk print advertising.

The USPS’s financial challenges have been compounded by a requirement passed in 2006 to pay down the company’s large unfunded liabilities for retiree health care.7 USPS defenders complain that private companies are not required to pre‐​pay retiree health costs. But the vast majority of private firms do not even offer retiree health coverage. Also, since traditional mail faces a long‐​term decline, it is better to tackle these costs now than to leave them to taxpayers down the road under a possible federal bailout of USPS.

I like the idea of turning post offices into local banks, but not likely since that might compete with other banks.

Ironically there's no mail deliveries today...

Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, is one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays. It’s one of 11 official federal holidays, which means federal workers get a paid day off and there’s no mail delivery. Because federal offices will be closed, so will most banks and the bond markets that trade in U.S. government debt. The stock markets will remain open, however, as will most retailers and other businesses.

Beyond that, Columbus Day seems to be fading as a widely observed holiday, having come under fire in recent decades from Native American advocates and others, who’ve argued that Christopher Columbus isn’t an appropriate person to celebrate.
...
several states have moved away from Columbus Day. California and Delaware dropped the holiday entirely in 2009, the latter swapping in a floating holiday for state workers. Maine, New Mexico, Vermont and D.C. all renamed the day Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2019, while retaining it as an official holiday.

Thanks for the OT and all the music!

@QMS

why De Joy was allowed to stay on in the first place. He was originally given the job of destroying the PO and should hav been let go and the first Admin change.

be well and have a good one.

Good morning -

Just bought a roll of "freedom" stamps. $66.00. Would better be called the inflation stamp.
I see some congress critter is trying to investigate Commisar De Joy, head of the USPS
again. It has been pretty obvious the guy is as crooked as a blank stamp for awhile now.
But these crooks are never held to account. Instead, they are rewarded by being
shielded from negative publicity in the MSM.

@mimi

your proposed letter, but, OTOH, how would we learn if we didn't recall our mistakes.

be well and have a good one

to God. I ask him to grant to all the people the mental peace to forget everything they want to forget.

It is not the day today to live through. So let me forget what I want to forget and help me not to hear what I never wanted to hear.

Too sad of a day, today.

peace and love to all of you.

@on the cusp

post and thanks for the good wishes. I am taking very good care of myself, and, really, it's a bit of a drag.

be well and have a good one

post something.
Just did, feel better now.
Take care of yourself, El.

@dystopian

can be made safer if people and companies make the effort.

Last week saw household FOS butterbutt and WCSP. A mocker tried to take over the scrubbies favorite tree, I think they have a truce but it was fun, the mocker was up there singing his brains out and then the Scrubbie let out with a major STFU!

be well and have a good one

la da da, la da da,
Hi all, Hi EL!

Hope its all good out there.

In case you didn't see this... major window kill event along lakeshore in Chicago. An ebird report I saw from a dude trying to count stuff as it flew by southbound after sunup had THIRTY THOUSAND EACH of Palm and Yellow-rumped Warbler, 4000 thrush sps. etc. I see Catbirds and Canada Warblers in one tray at the news story.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/nearly-1-000-migrating-songbirds-perish-aft...

Windows are probably second only to cats for annual bird mortality by non-natural methods.

The first actual cold front of fall hit a few days ago, a couple weeks plus late, but took the burn and drippy out of the air. The Ruby-throated Hummers were over a hundred here late last week, and as soon as the post-frontal blow began, so did departures. There might be a dozen left today. That extra free 20+mph from the northerlies added to their airspeed is huge. They're doing nearly 50mph on it!

That is a world class great Entwistle album. He got to do Heaven and Hell the way he intended, not all bombastic as the Who version is.

Thanks for the tunes and history!

Stamp collecting is a hobby where you see how much you can spend on a little tiny used square of paper that someone once licked. Ask me how I know.

be well all!