Fourth Class

In the 2006 mid-term elections the Republican Party lost both the House and the Senate. On their way out the door, on December 7 (a day which will live in infamy) they passed a bill called The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. It is single-handedly destroying the U.S. Post Office.

The Act's main provision was to force the post office to fund the health benefits of its retirees for the next 75 years, and to accomplish this in just ten years. No other private or government corporation has ever had to do this. Because of this onerous law the USPS is almost $20 billion in the red and is about the default about on a $5.5 billion dollar payment.

Why would the GOP pass this law? The answer is two-fold. First, it would drive the USPS out of business, allowing much more expensive private firms to step in to its shoes.

So long 47-cent first class letters. Hello $10 post cards.

Second, it's so the GOP can get its hands on the existing pension money as the fund is currently overpaid by about $80 billion dollars. Think of all the lovely wars that could buy. Or hookers.

I should also mention this would result in hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs and millions more in related businesses, like printing and avertising. But killing jobs is what Republicans do. Increasing unemployment is, after all, their only hope of taking take back the White House.

Keep in mind that the Post Office does not cost you, the taxpayer, one red cent as it's an independent business. Yet the Congress is also currently siphoning off almost a billion a year from it to balance their own books.

I love the USPS. I am happy to pay 47 cents to mail a letter to a destination thousands of miles away. I'm gleeful to pay $5 to mail a DVD all the way to Australia. I'm ecstatic that I can get free shipping from businesses all over the net. Anyone who does not recognize the USPS as a gem in America's somewhat tarnished crown does not deserve it.

Republican Darrell Issa is working furiously to tank the post office by pushing additional legislation aimed at reducing its work force and making its payment obligations even more difficult. What a surprise.

On the progressive front Democrat Stephen Lynch has introduced a bill that would make it easier for the USPS to make its payments. Here's hoping.

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I mentioned a month ago that my uber cat, known hereabouts as The Pooz, contracted herself a bad case of the diabetes. It just about killed her but she's reacting well to the insulin and is already getting feisty again.

I dreaded the necessity of giving injections to Pooz as you can never tell how a cat will react to being stuck with sharp objects but, as it turns out, Pooz not only offers no resistance to the process she seems to understand that the shots are good for her and will actually "assume the position" (which means hunkered down on all fours) next to the refrigerator whenever I reach for the vial of insulin.

She's always been very bright in this regard. In fact, I also have to orally administer a pill, about the size of a large aspirin, and she remains "in the position" until she gets it. She even makes a noticeable effort to down the damn thing, even when I aim it wrong. She's a remarkable animal and it looks like I get to have her around a few more years. Yay.

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As for the game of "Post Office" I had to check the internet for the rules as I'd always hear dof the game but had never actually played it. I am sad to report that it's not NEAR as licentious as I'd hoped.

=Lefty=

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Republican Job Creation Update

"We're going to have a relentless focus on creating jobs." - John Boehner, February 10, 2011.

The following is #91 in a list of Republican job creation activities since they gained control of the House in 2011. None, sad to say, have yet to result in one, single new job.

(91) 9-30-2011: Here's a novel way that the GOP creates fewer jobs; Refusing to appoint federal judges. Only 62% of Mr. Obama's choice of judges (A record glacial pace) have been approved so far and some have had to undergo the process for over a year. As far as the GOP is concerned, the only good activist judge is a Republican-appointed activist judge.

NOTE: As a result of an unexpected wave of enthusiasm the Republican Job Creation update now has its own web site. It will remain on the RP but a web site of its own will raise its visibility on the 'net as we progress towards the critical 2012 elections. And I thank you for your support.

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