Going Postal...or Postal Gone?

One of America's enduring institutions -- however great or flawed you feel it may be -- is the U.S. Postal Service.

For more than two centuries, our system of moving mail around has served the country well. From the Great Postmaster, Ben Franklin, to the Pony Express, mail delivery has been an important part of our lives and history.

But, as the song says, "The times they are a changin'."

Past tense: they've changed.

Unfortunately, the postal system hasn't been able to keep up. Private delivery services (like UPS and FedEx), new technologies (the web/email), and skyrocketing employment costs have made the USPS a major money hole. Each year, the postal folks post their losses...which are in the billions.

The service's unsustainable course was the subject of Congressional testimony this week and the outlook is bleak. Current plans for trying to save the system include ending Saturday deliveries, closing post offices and laying off -- perhaps -- more than 100,000 workers.

Even the White House is mulling over ways to try and save the USPS.

Megan McArdle, editor at The Atlantic, points out that the USPS, the White House and others with good intentions might very well be hamstrung in their efforts by Congress: “Congress has given the Post Office two incompatible mandates. It is to make money like a business . . . but it is not to have any of the freedom that businesses have to, say, close branch offices, cut its delivery area, or change delivery schedules. This is, to put it mildly, lunatic.”

It's not "mildly lunatic." It's straight up crazy.

The prediction here: the USPS will be trimmed (service, employees and more) but the federal government will provide a bailout. Let's face it, as much as we love the efficiency and speed of companies like UPS and FedEx, we do love our relatively cheaper and fairly reliable snail mail. And as many from one particular political party in Washington, D.C., know, adding any additional numbers to the current unemployment situation mean fewer votes.

“Fake, fake…fake, fake!”

Those four words, uttered by the great 20th century philosopher Elaine Benes, sum it up rather nicely…don’t you think?

What am I talking about? Why all the fake jobs and fake money that’s been flowing into fake Congressional districts from the fake Stimulus bill.


Jerry: "What about the breathing, the panting... the moaning, the screaming?"
Elaine: "Fake, fake...fake, fake!"

Recovery.gov shows money flowing to nonexistent Congressional districts. “Recovery.gov also shows 2,893.9 jobs created with $194,537,372 in stimulus funding in New Hampshire’s 00 congressional district. But, there is no such thing. The site also shows $1,471,518 going to New Hampshire’s 6th congressional district, $1,033,809 to the 4th congressional district and $124,774 to the 27th congressional district. In fact, New Hampshire only has two congressional districts; inviting confusion about where the money listed for the 00, 4th, 6th and 27th districts is going.” (h/t: Instapundit)


The "yeas" had it...

According to The Washington Times, “The government Web site that promised to show exactly where the $787 billion in stimulus spending was going to "create or save" jobs is allocating billions of tax dollars to hundreds of congressional districts that don’t exist. Researchers at the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity found 440 “phantom districts” listed on Recovery.gov, consuming $6.4 billion and creating or saving nearly 30,000 jobs. Their findings are listed HERE.”

And there’s a map of the federal fakery HERE!


It's all about jobs, especially when you can double-up on them...

You know it’s bad when even the Democrats are up in arms about it. “Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, took the administration to task for pervasive errors on the Web site designed to monitor disbursement of the stimulus funds. He called those errors ‘outrageous.’ He added, ‘Credibility counts in government and stupid mistakes like this undermine it. We've got too many serious problems in this country to let that happen. Whether the numbers are good news or bad news, I want the honest numbers and I want them now.’"


Give it away, give it away, give it away - now...

The White House, of course, blames it on “human error.” Of course…

Bizarro Joey...

Opposite day: Remember the “Bizarro Jerry” episode of “Seinfeld?” In it, the character of Elaine Benes discovers a world that is 180 degrees different from the one she occupies. In the present day, real world, Vice President Joe Biden (D-Amtrak) appears to occupy that bizarre space.


Just the opposite...

When it comes to Afghanistan, Delaware Joe is foursquare against any build-up in Talibanland. In fact, he’s pushing for a drawn-down. We know, based on Mr. Biden’s performance record that the exact opposite should be done.

Let the record speak for itself: “Biden voted against the successful Persian Gulf war of 1991, voted for the Iraq invasion of 2003, proposed dividing Iraq into three sections in 2006 and opposed the additional troops credited by many with turning Iraq around in 2007. ‘When was the last time Biden was right about anything?’ Thomas E. Ricks, a military writer, wrote in a blog on Sept. 24. Mr. Ricks is affiliated with the Center for a New American Security, a research organization founded by Democrats.”

The Lonely Conservative chips in with this additional bit of Biden history: “In his first U.S. Senate campaign in 1972, he called for cutting and running from Vietnam. He later voted to cut off funding for South Vietnam and spoke out against the war. After we did withdraw, communist forces conquered South Vietnam as well as Cambodia, where Pol Pot carried out a campaign of genocide. In the 1980s, Mr. Biden opposed President Ronald Reagan’s national security approach on almost every front, including funding for the Contras in Nicaragua, building missile defenses, and increasing military spending.”

Heck, it doesn’t even seem like Biden’s boss is on the same page. Obama in official remarks from the White House, the president explained the need to get a handle on Afghanistan this way:

“Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan. And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban — or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged — that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can. …But this is not simply an American problem — far from it. It is, instead, an international security challenge of the highest order. Terrorist attacks in London and Bali were tied to al Qaeda and its allies in Pakistan, as were attacks in North Africa and the Middle East, in Islamabad and in Kabul. If there is a major attack on an Asian, European, or African city, it, too, is likely to have ties to al Qaeda’s leadership in Pakistan. The safety of people around the world is at stake.”

Just remember: whatever Joe Biden tells you to do when it comes to matters of war, do the exact opposite and you’ll be OK…every single time.

It's Not All Bad News...

The Dow Jones climbed out of its hole today, saw its shadow and...

Today's Dow Jones Industrial Average...better
than yesterday's...or the day before that...

• It's official: Everyone hates the NY Yankees.

• Well, it's good news if you're Bill Gates. (But not if you're Bill Gates and you were counting on those commercials with Jerry Seinfeld scoring.)

Bill Gates (left) and Jerry Seinfeld:
Some people thought it would work.

• And it's good news if you're an ad agency doing spots for the McCain or Obama campaigns. After all the heated rhetoric, conventions, stump speeches, etc., no real movement in the polls.

• If you get to charge Sen. Joe Biden a buck for every time he says you're his favorite, here's some good news.

• Good news if you're a Berkshire Hathaway Inc., type.

Extra: Out of all the economic tumult this week, is there actually a plan to get things going again? Just asking...