Spring forward.
To delete this message, click the X at top right.

Save the US Postal Service

Trying to make sense of a crazy world, with limited success mostly
User avatar
sugar magnolia
Posts: 3228
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:54 pm

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#151

Post by sugar magnolia »

My sister lives in Memphis, 150 miles from here. She mailed her Christmas cards on Dec 17. We got it yesterday.
User avatar
RTH10260
Posts: 14353
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:16 am
Location: Switzerland, near the Alps
Verified: ✔️ Eurobot

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#152

Post by RTH10260 »

What's the complaint? Well in time for the 2022 holidays... :twisted:
User avatar
Volkonski
Posts: 11592
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:06 am
Location: Texoma and North Fork of Long Island
Occupation: Retired mechanical engineer
Verified:

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#153

Post by Volkonski »

sugar magnolia wrote: Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:40 am My sister lives in Memphis, 150 miles from here. She mailed her Christmas cards on Dec 17. We got it yesterday.
This is why I paid the taxes on our North Fork cottages online using a credit card the past two Decembers. Couldn't be sure a mailed check would arrive before the due date.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
User avatar
pipistrelle
Posts: 6693
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:27 am

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#154

Post by pipistrelle »

Picture me seeing this and turning into the Tenth Doctor saying, “ What? WHAT?”

User avatar
RTH10260
Posts: 14353
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:16 am
Location: Switzerland, near the Alps
Verified: ✔️ Eurobot

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#155

Post by RTH10260 »

Yeah - print a postage stamp, one single unit, freshly issued, then place an NFT on it that folks can participate in the ownership of this unique object.

:yawn:
User avatar
pipistrelle
Posts: 6693
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:27 am

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#156

Post by pipistrelle »

RTH10260 wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 2:32 pm Yeah - print a postage stamp, one single unit, freshly issued, then place an NFT on it that folks can participate in the ownership of this unique object.

:yawn:
I liked the responses like, "Surprise me by delivering my prescriptions."
User avatar
keith
Posts: 3705
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:23 pm
Location: The Swamp in Victorian Oz
Occupation: Retired Computer Systems Analyst Project Manager Super Coder
Verified: ✅lunatic

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#157

Post by keith »

WHEN WILL THE USPS LIFT THE EMBARGO AGAINST AUSTRALIA?
Has everybody heard about the bird?
User avatar
MN-Skeptic
Posts: 3000
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:03 pm
Location: Twin Cities

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#158

Post by MN-Skeptic »

keith wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 5:37 pm WHEN WILL THE USPS LIFT THE EMBARGO AGAINST AUSTRALIA?
I just talked to my sister the other day who is an author. She sells her books on her website and got orders last month and shipped them off. The ones headed for Australia came back to her. She's frustrated. An expensive lesson.
User avatar
keith
Posts: 3705
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:23 pm
Location: The Swamp in Victorian Oz
Occupation: Retired Computer Systems Analyst Project Manager Super Coder
Verified: ✅lunatic

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#159

Post by keith »

MN-Skeptic wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 6:39 pm
keith wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 5:37 pm WHEN WILL THE USPS LIFT THE EMBARGO AGAINST AUSTRALIA?
I just talked to my sister the other day who is an author. She sells her books on her website and got orders last month and shipped them off. The ones headed for Australia came back to her. She's frustrated. An expensive lesson.
I've got a package of CD's sitting at the vendor in Seattle since September 4.

USPS placed the embargo on September 3
Has everybody heard about the bird?
User avatar
tek
Posts: 2250
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:15 am

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#160

Post by tek »

The initial shutdown was apparently due to delivery issues once in-country, but the current blockage is due to lack of scheduled airline cargo capacity. Pay (a lot) more, USPS will put it on dedicated cargo flights.

UPS, FedEx, DHL appear to be surcharging and extending delivery times but have some 'economy' transport capacity.

International logistics are pretty screwy these days. One of my clients finds it far easier to ship (internationally) a dozen racks of servers than a box of spare parts.
User avatar
Volkonski
Posts: 11592
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:06 am
Location: Texoma and North Fork of Long Island
Occupation: Retired mechanical engineer
Verified:

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#161

Post by Volkonski »



Image
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
User avatar
raison de arizona
Posts: 17654
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:21 am
Location: Nothing, Arizona
Occupation: bit twiddler
Verified: ✔️ he/him/his

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#162

Post by raison de arizona »

Jon Cooper @joncoopertweets wrote: BREAKING: The U.S. Postal Service has finalized Louis DeJoy’s plans to purchase a mostly gas-powered delivery fleet, defying both the EPA and the White House. The USPS will spend up to $11.3 billion on a fleet of 90% gasoline-powered trucks and only 10% electric trucks.
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
User avatar
AndyinPA
Posts: 9856
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:42 am
Location: Pittsburgh
Verified:

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#163

Post by AndyinPA »

:explode:
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
User avatar
RTH10260
Posts: 14353
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:16 am
Location: Switzerland, near the Alps
Verified: ✔️ Eurobot

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#164

Post by RTH10260 »

Such a contract is long running, production takes time. I guess DeJoeys successor can specify different propulsion on parts of the fleet, eg more electic where sensible.
User avatar
Volkonski
Posts: 11592
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:06 am
Location: Texoma and North Fork of Long Island
Occupation: Retired mechanical engineer
Verified:

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#165

Post by Volkonski »

“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
User avatar
raison de arizona
Posts: 17654
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:21 am
Location: Nothing, Arizona
Occupation: bit twiddler
Verified: ✔️ he/him/his

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#166

Post by raison de arizona »

Biden signs Postal Service reform bill into law

President Biden on Wednesday signed into law legislation reforming the U.S. Postal Service in a bid to increase transparency and stabilize the financial footing of what he called an essential agency.

Biden listed off the critical functions of the Postal Service at a bill signing ceremony in the State Dining Room, which was packed with dozens of mostly mask-less guests. He noted mail carriers help deliver prescription drugs, bill payments for small businesses and the votes of millions of Americans.

“This bill recognizes the Postal Service as a public service and we’re ensuring that it can continue to serve all Americans for generations to come,” Biden said.
:snippity:
https://thehill.com/news/administration ... -into-law/
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
User avatar
Reality Check
Posts: 2177
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:46 pm
Verified: ✅ Curmudgeon
Contact:

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#167

Post by Reality Check »

Why is DeJoy still running the USPS?
User avatar
raison de arizona
Posts: 17654
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:21 am
Location: Nothing, Arizona
Occupation: bit twiddler
Verified: ✔️ he/him/his

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#168

Post by raison de arizona »

:yeahthat:
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
User avatar
keith
Posts: 3705
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:23 pm
Location: The Swamp in Victorian Oz
Occupation: Retired Computer Systems Analyst Project Manager Super Coder
Verified: ✅lunatic

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#169

Post by keith »

Reality Check wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:34 pm Why is DeJoy still running the USPS?
Because the board still has Trump majority. Till the middle of next year, ithink
Has everybody heard about the bird?
User avatar
raison de arizona
Posts: 17654
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:21 am
Location: Nothing, Arizona
Occupation: bit twiddler
Verified: ✔️ he/him/his

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#170

Post by raison de arizona »

keith wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:37 pm
Reality Check wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:34 pm Why is DeJoy still running the USPS?
Because the board still has Trump majority. Till the middle of next year, ithink
Biden could have appointed board members that would have replaced DeJoy, he chose not to. I don't know why.
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
User avatar
Kriselda Gray
Posts: 3125
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:48 pm
Location: Asgard
Occupation: Aspiring Novelist
Verified:
Contact:

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#171

Post by Kriselda Gray »

raison de arizona wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:42 pm
keith wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:37 pm
Reality Check wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:34 pm Why is DeJoy still running the USPS?
Because the board still has Trump majority. Till the middle of next year, ithink
Biden could have appointed board members that would have replaced DeJoy, he chose not to. I don't know why.
This article at Slate is from Feb 2021, so it's over a year old, but it lays out how the Post Office Board of Governors and the Postmaster General are chosen and how they can be removed from office. It's a pretty complicated system, but I've tried to pick a few choice points to share. I'd recommend reading the whole thing, though: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/202 ... dejoy.html
[...] While the president can fire other high-ranking executive officials at will, federal law bars the president from terminating the postmaster general under any circumstances. Biden can attempt to oust DeJoy indirectly, but that option is fraught with legal uncertainties, and certain to trigger Republican complaints of norm busting. Unless the president is willing to take a significant legal risk, DeJoy will remain in control for months or years to come.

[...] If DeJoy served at the pleasure of the president, Biden surely would’ve fired him on Day One. But he doesn’t. The problem, ironically, originates from Congress’ desire to insulate USPS from politics. For most of American history, the Postal Service played an integral role in the spoils system, and postmaster general was a plum post for an ally of the president. In 1970, Congress overhauled the structure of the Postal Service to end this sordid tradition of patronage by giving the agency substantial independence. To oversee USPS’s activities, Congress established a nine-member board of governors who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than five members of the board may belong to the same political party. Once confirmed to the board, governors can only be removed by the president “for cause”; that means their jobs are safe unless the president can show that they engaged in malfeasance or extreme neglect of duty. The board of governors, in turn, selects the postmaster general, who is not subject to Senate approval. And once appointed, the postmaster general can only be removed by the board, though it need not justify its decision.

This structure, in short, is why Louis DeJoy remains postmaster general under Biden. The board of governors is dominated by Trump appointees; Senate Republicans refused to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominees to the board, leaving vacancies that Trump promptly filled. Today, there are four Republicans and two Democrats on the board, plus three vacancies. One Democrat, Ron Bloom, is serving a holdover term, which means Biden can replace him at any time. Thus, Biden can fill four seats on the board of governors—a move that would flip the board, giving Democrats a 5–4 majority. The new president can then urge the Democratic members to remove DeJoy, which they can do by a majority vote.

Filling these vacancies is the simplest way for Biden to get rid of DeJoy, though there is no guarantee that it will actually work. The new board would include five Democrats—but one of them, Donald Lee Moak, is a Trump-appointed moderate who, along with the rest of the board, backed DeJoy when he came under fire for his alleged corruption. It appears unlikely that Moak would choose to oust a postmaster general whom he supported through this summer’s controversy. And if Moak declined to join Biden’s nominees in firing DeJoy, the postmaster general would retain his position indefinitely.
The article then goes on to look at the risks and problems involved in trying to fire the Board of Directors since they have to be fired "for cause," as well as looking at ways Biden might be able to get around then "for cause" requirement and the possible ramifications (big ramifications) that could have. It also notes that a Dem Representative has suggested that a "cause" for firing the board might be to claim that by leaving DeJoy in power, they have been negligent in their duty to serve the best interests of the people, but it's very much unclear if that would even begin to fly.

Like I said, the article is over a year old so some things will obviously have changed since then, but apparently not enough yet to get DeJoy taken out by the Board of Directors. The most recent thing I saw while searching was that Ron Bloom, the hold-over the article says Biden can replace at any time has now been replaced, but I didn't see anything beyond that.
User avatar
raison de arizona
Posts: 17654
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:21 am
Location: Nothing, Arizona
Occupation: bit twiddler
Verified: ✔️ he/him/his

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#172

Post by raison de arizona »

Since then Biden appointed two Democrats that weren't enthused with replacing DeJoy and... a Republican that was against replacing him. :shrug: Biden literally appointed a Republican that worked in the Trump admin.
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
User avatar
Kriselda Gray
Posts: 3125
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:48 pm
Location: Asgard
Occupation: Aspiring Novelist
Verified:
Contact:

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#173

Post by Kriselda Gray »

raison de arizona wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 7:13 pm Since then Biden appointed two Democrats that weren't enthused with replacing DeJoy and... a Republican that was against replacing him. :shrug:
That seems rather stupid.



(NOTE: I'm not calling BIDEN stupid, just noting that this decision seems particularly stupid to me.)
User avatar
raison de arizona
Posts: 17654
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:21 am
Location: Nothing, Arizona
Occupation: bit twiddler
Verified: ✔️ he/him/his

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#174

Post by raison de arizona »

I mean, there must have been a reason, but I haven't ever learned what it is.
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
User avatar
Kriselda Gray
Posts: 3125
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:48 pm
Location: Asgard
Occupation: Aspiring Novelist
Verified:
Contact:

Re: Save the US Postal Service

#175

Post by Kriselda Gray »

raison de arizona wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 7:15 pm I mean, there must have been a reason, but I haven't ever learned what it is.
I got nothin' on that point....
Post Reply

Return to “Current Politics”