"...The USPS inspector general says, in an Oct. 6 memo, that the Postal Service hasn't analyzed the impact of closing and consolidating processing plants or informed stakeholders of changes to the consolidation plan. ..."
"...The amendment she introduced and joined 12 other senators in authoring would also re-establish overnight delivery standards for first-class mail. ..."
"...When the U.S. Postal Service announced it would shutter 82 mail processing facilities in 2015, it planned to start closing many of the plants in January. But for at least 10 of the facilities, USPS has now moved back that timetable to April or later. ..."
"...It happens to be the first invoice I pay every month, and according to my records, it had been mailed Jan. 2. In a phone call to the headquarters in Great Falls, they said they had received my check a day after they had mailed me the notice. Where had this check been for 10 days?..."
"...The buildings largely house private businesses, but the U.S. Postal Service is also headquartered at L'Enfant Plaza...."
"...the following efforts: Establish annualized work hours, as opposed to a standard 40-hour workweek. Create work or job sharing processes, allowing more collaboration between employees and the ability for some employees to cover absences of others. Allow employes to self-schedule or trade shifts. Establish a roster of supplemental employees, or recalled retirees, to be used during peak times of year and absences. Allow employees to maintain reduced work hours in order to deal with issues in their personal life. ..."
"...failed to unknot her hair quickly enough during the appointment she had while wearing her U.S. Postal Service uniform..."
"...Houston post office employees say they are not getting paid on time. It's happening at a Houston mail processing facility that has been the center of customer complaints about slow mail delivery. ..."
"...On Jan. 4, the U.S. Postal Service postmaster general virtually eliminated the overnight delivery standard for first class mail...."
"...Charles Jackson and Kendrick Watkins were convicted in August of robbing the truck in Conley shortly before Christmas in 2013, the time of year when postal volume is at its highest. They conspired with a third defendant, former postal employee Latonya Evans, to plan the robbery; Evans gave Jackson and Watkins non-public information to help them commit the crime...."
"...The Postal Service said it could not complete the statutorily required analyses because it had not yet finalized its new processing guidelines, which will scale back delivery standards starting on Monday. The agency does not plan to update its impact studies before the consolidation plan begins, Ninivaggi said. ..."
The postal service is warning customers to be on the alert for a malicious email. The email contains a link, that when opened, will install a virus that can steal any personal information found on your computer. Do not open the email, simply delete it.
The following is the alert posted by the Postal Service:
"BEWARE OF SPAM!
BOGUS E-MAILS SENT TO POSTAL CUSTOMERS
Some postal customers are receiving bogus e-mails about a package delivery or online postage
charges. The e-mails contain a link or attachment that, when opened, installs a malicious virus
that can steal personal information from your PC.
The e-mails claim to be from the U.S. Postal Service and contain fraudulent information about
an
attempted or intercepted package delivery or online postage charges. You are instructed to
click on a link
, open the attachment, or print the label.
But Postal Inspectors warn: D
on't
do it
!
Like most viruses sent by e-mail, clicking on the link or opening the attachment will activate a
virus that can steal information—
su
ch as your user name, password, and financial account
information.
What to do? Simply delete the message without taking any further action. The Postal Inspection
Service is working hard to resolve the issue and shut down the malicious program.
If you have questions about a delivery or wish to report spam, please call 1-
800
-
ASK
-USPS or
email
spam@uspis.gov . "
"...An audit published earlier this year by the Postal Service said that mail delivery after 5 p.m. is becoming an increasing problem in some parts of the country and cited staffing shortages as the main reason...."
"...Police said the shooter was a man between 35 and 40 years old, wearing a Dallas Cowboys jacket, and driving a gray or silver 2002 Chrysler Town & Country minivan with Tennessee license plate 633-YKY...."
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| Congressman Jason Chaffetz |
"...When the lawmakers at last week’s meeting told Carper it was too late to move forward with such a sweeping bill and said they should instead focus on preventing the facility closures, an aide said Carper rejected the proposal...."
"...After the 2010 ruling, the Postal Service engaged in its “normal pattern” of “delay and obfuscate,” asserting that no monetary remedy was appropriate and refusing to supply the union with information necessary to determine a monetary remedy, Raymer said...."
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| Example |
"...In the report, Panzar found that if the Postal Service would completely abandon mail processing, there will be an overall loss in both efficiency and profits. "The Postal Service is made worse off..."
"...The institute’s analysis concluded that the “USPS figures on ‘savings’ do not account for the substantial adverse employment and economic impacts on Arizona or the lost tax revenues to the federal, or state and local governments.”..."
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| C-SPAN2 |
"..."There is no reason that the USPS cannot delay its consolidations to provide time for the public to see and comment on the service standard worksheets," the senators wrote in the letter. "It is only fair to allow the process to unfold in this way, and the USPS gains little by deciding to continue the consolidation process on its current, arbitrary timeline." ..."
"...“According to the USPS, this chain of events wasn’t a mistake. It was a policy,” the television report noted. “Employees are routinely instructed not to call 911, but to alert a supervisor first.” The Postal Service’s written policy says, “Only the Postal Police are to initiate the 911 procedure.”..."
"...The suit complains that the Postal Service has failed to comply with federal historic preservation laws prior to entering into a contract for sale of the building. The National Trust’s complaint is..."
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| Stop Staples |
"... Unfortunately, it appears the breach was worse than originally thought. Apparently, information regarding OWCP records that were shared with the Department of Labor exposed medical records, bank account and routing information for tens of thousands of employees and retirees. The Postal Service plans to issue follow-up letters to those impacted by the latest findings shortly.
..."
"...Donahoe pushed to close smaller, less trafficked post offices and mail distribution centers. He enticed older postal employees to retire by offering buyouts to tens of thousands of them (postal employment has dropped from 620,000 to 490,000 on this watch)..."
"...MacGregor said a contractor was repairing a piece of machinery that loads packages onto a conveyor belt when a hydraulic line burst, causing the machine to fall onto him. Officials compared the machine the victim was working on to a dump truck...."
"...Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe will retire Feb. 1 ...The board named Postal Service veteran Megan Brennan as the new postmaster general...."
"...Postmaster General Donahoe says he'll retire Feb. 1 after leading troubled agency for 4 years...."
"...According to the postal service, the plant consolidations would most affect first-class mail. Personal letters, bills and greeting cards..."
"...The American Postal Workers Union have sent an official complaint to the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that it was illegally kept in the dark about the major data breach revealed this week. Postal Service workers found out that hackers had stolen 800,000 employees personal data, including Social Security numbers, at the same time as the rest of the country, and their union leaders are not happy about it...."
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| USPS Employee Data Breach |
"...Phase 2 was originally scheduled to begin February 1, 2014 with the adoption of First Class service standards that would eliminate the intra ‐ plant overnight commitment for collection mail (a mailer presort delivery option would be preserved)...."
"...Clifton Knight of Hartford was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and possession of over 4 ounces of marijuana after authorities intercepted two packages containing a total of 12 pounds of marijuana being sent through the United States Postal Service..."
"...Postal workers petitioned legislators to fight facility closures, and the moratorium was requested by Congress and granted, Todd said. But the decision-making ultimately falls with USPS leadership in Washington, D.C., and it is moving forward...."
"...Some standard mail has been increased from three to four days. Besides the changes to the delivery standards, the report also describes changes to operations that USPS has made since 2012, such as shutting down several processing facilities and shifting long-distance transportation of some mail from air transportation to surface transportation, and how these changes have affected the delivery time. ..."
"...We are asking all members of Congress to join with a majority of the Senate and over 160 House members in urging the Appropriations Committee to place a 1-year moratorium on this wrong-headed scheme by the PMG to drastically slow down Americas mail. While our lawmakers are home, we need to deliver the message that Congress can and must act to stop these imminent, reckless, and irreversible cuts to America’s mail!..."
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| Click above to enlarge |
Many people, over time, forget about updating their important beneficiary forms. Everyone should visit your postal records and verify that your beneficiary forms are up to date. If not, we suggest that you submit you do so as soon as possible.
If you do not have a valid beneficiary form on file, benefits will be paid in the order of precedence as noted on the beneficiary form—check each form for the exact wording that would apply. For example, this is the order of precedence from the TSP-3, Thrift Savings Plan Designation of Beneficiary:
1. To your widow or widower.
2. If none, to your child or children equally, and descendants of deceased children by representation.
3. If none, to your parents equally or to the surviving parent.
4. If none, to the appointed executor or administrator of your estate.
5. If none, to your next of kin who is entitled to your estate under the laws of the state in which you resided at the time of your death.
Source: liteblue.usps.gov
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| Read More on Staples |
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| Stop Purposely Delaying the Mail! |
Feel free to cut, copy and paste the 2014 North Pole Christmas Postmark and Cancellation for your Christmas letters and other Christmas craft ideas. Merry Christmas! Visit the 2014 North Pole Postmark site.
"Designed to show primary grade pupils how the United States post office system operates. Follows both a city and a rural mailman on their appointed rounds and explains graphically to children how postmen sort mail and deliver it. Also the great social responsibility of Uncle Sam's letter carriers."
Public domain film from the Prelinger Archive, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
"...The APWU and USPS have agreed on a “pecking order” for filling newly created positions in POStPlan Installations. A recent arbitration award will result in the creation of 9,000 new Clerk Craft jobs in six-hour and four-hour offices affected by the POStPlan. The pecking order is based on the arbitration award and the subsequent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). ..."
"...The National Postal Mail Handlers Union has initiated a Step 4 grievance concerning violations arising from the Postal Service's plans to close or consolidate approximately 82 facilities starting in January 2015. In particular, the NPMHU believes that the Postal Service's decision to close or consolidate these facilities is a violation of Handbook P0-408, Area Mail Processing (AMP) Guidelines, which is incorporated into the National Agreement through Article 19...."
"...The crime was quick as two men, one of whom was armed, approached the letter carrier and demanded the keys to open mailboxes in apartment complexes...."
"...Many employees of the U.S. Postal Service are getting quite a surprise right now: notices that they owe taxes that were supposed to be taken out of paychecks but weren’t...."
"...By definition, persons who have been issued a concealed carry permit have been authorized to carry a handgun for lawful protection almost everywhere in a state. They do not become more dangerous when they set foot in a post office. Nor does the licensed carry of a firearm impose any greater risk than does carrying in other public places...."
"...The USPS expressly reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to reject any or all expressions of interest or offers to purchase the property (the “Property”), and/or terminate discussions with any entity at any time with or without notice. The USPS shall have no legal commitment or obligation to any entity reviewing the marketing materials or making an offer to purchase the Property unless and until written agreement(s) for the purchase of the Property have been fully executed, delivered and approved by the USPS, and any conditions to the USPS's obligations have been satisfied or waived...."
"...Issa said last week that Senate Democrats might be willing to deal on postal reform if they lose control of the chamber in November. But for now, he added that he didn’t think that his favored proposal would even make it through the House, despite estimating that 90 percent of GOP lawmakers supported it.
“Zero Democrats are willing to do it,” Issa said. “And candidly, 90 percent of Republicans doesn’t get us to 218.”..."
"...said Osburn is assigned to the Rose City Park Post Office, did not have a dedicated route, and is not a full-time employee...."
"...BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The man who killed two former co-workers and then himself at a UPS shipping center Tuesday had told some people that he was having problems at work but never suggested the situation might turn violent, his pastor said...."
"...The APWU has won a major victory on staffing in post offices affected by the “POStPlan” – a victory that will result in the creation of at least 9,000 new Clerk Craft jobs within 90 days.
In a ruling dated Sept. 5, Arbitrator Stephen B. Goldberg concluded that jobs in four- and six-hour post offices must be assigned to clerks – not Part-Time Postmasters or Postmaster Reliefs (PMRs). A Sept. 22 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlines procedures for implementing the award.
The ruling and MOU establish a minimum of 3,000 new Level 6 career jobs in six-hour offices and Level 18 offices. Positions in the six-hour offices must be staffed with full-time employees. The ruling and MOU also establish more than 6,000 new Level 6 non-career jobs in four-hour offices, to be filled by Postal Support Employees (PSEs). The union expects thousands of additional new career jobs to be created as the process unfolds...."
"...Last night, our U.S. Postal Service mail arrived at 6:30 pm. A few nights earlier, it arrived after 8 pm. Several WSB readers have e-mailed mentioning the same thing, and wondering why they’re getting deliveries so much later than before. ..."
"...The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday that it’s postponing plans to discontinue home delivery service to 533 addresses in Lead and 218 in Deadwood, switching to centralized mailbox locations next month...."
"..."I'm doing this not just for myself, I'm doing it for my family, I'm doing it for my neighbors, and I'm doing it for my city," said concerned Erie resident, Jason Brendel, of a petition he's helping spotlight online. "Because I believe that the more people we have working, the better."
The petition has hundreds of signatures, and simply asks for support in keeping the post office open. The petition can be viewed HERE in Erie. ..."
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| Postal Pete |
"...“Nutty” is the new normal in our nation’s capital and Exhibit A is how Congress — with its union-busting mentality — helped create a financial disaster with the U.S. Postal Service and refuses to enact legislation that can provide a fix...."
"...The IG reviewed 33 of 114 relocation project from fiscal 2011 through 2013 and found that 25 new site selections weren't announced until after the public comment and appeals period ended. And two of the site selections had no announcement dates...."
"...The Postal Service said this summer that it would start consolidating as many as 82 processing facilities at the beginning of 2015, on top of the 141 the agency has already shut down in recent years...."
"...“Postal management is tearing apart the infrastructure of the public postal service,” said Partridge, a retired letter carrier. Vowing further direct actions, Partridge declared that “we plan to escalate this fight to save our national treasure.”..."
"..."Buried in the bill is a section that would create cluster mail boxes for all neighborhoods, and that's just not a practical solution," said local Rep. Susan Davis...."
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| Click Image to See Video |
"...“Eventually we will go to five-day mail delivery,” said Donahoe. He says by cutting back on one day of delivery, the Postal Service can save billions of dollars, but that’s not all. “We’re looking at changes with mailboxes,” said Donahoe, “some more flexibility in terms of what we do with centralized boxes.” Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Postal-Service-Changes-Coming-to-Neighborhoods-272963671.html#ixzz3BfRGp3pA Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on Facebook ..."
"...A spokeswoman for UPS says the information includes names, card numbers and postal and email addresses from about 100,000 transactions..."
"...Geo-fence technology leverages global positioning system signals to create virtual geographic zones that ensure delivery personnel stay on schedule and on their routes...."
"...The Postal Service has released a schedule showing when the phase-two mail processing plants will be consolidated next year. The spreadsheet shows the date on which each type of mail will be relocated from a closing facility to a gaining facility...."
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| 20Stamps app |
"...One employee who contacted News 13 on Monday says he saw it all happen and watched his co-workers wrestle the shooter to the ground when the gun was fired. Customers say the news is disturbing. “There’s some kind of an dynamic that’s happening within the U.S. Postal Service that leads people to that,” said Rush...."
"...Allegations of intentional delays at the Cape Girardeau mail processing facility prompted a letter from U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt on Thursday to postmaster general Patrick Donahoe. ..."
 |
| Don't Buy From Staples |
"...The USPS' financial filings said the adjustment to workers' compensation expense -- an exercise that is on paper rather than a reflection of actual costs -- counted as a $540 million expense. The agency's retiree commitments for the quarter totaled $1.43 billion. Without those two expenses the agency would have posted a net income of $10 million. ..."
"...Tittle is a stamp collector, though collector is too dull a word to describe her pursuit. A few years after she retired from being a high school gym teacher in 1993, she began traveling around the country attending as many “first day of issue” ceremonies as possible. Civil War stamps, Kwanzaa stamps, Joe DiMaggio stamps — she wants them all. And not just the stamps. Tittle collects the souvenir envelopes the stamps come in..."
"...A move by the USPS that will slow America’s mail service and that threatens tens of thousands of jobs requires an urgent response, said APWU President Mark Dimondstein.
On June 30, the USPS announced its intention to close and consolidate 82 mail processing facilities in 37 states throughout the country beginning in January 2015.
On Aug. 1, the USPS posted a notice in Federal Register announcing that the consolidations will eliminate overnight mail delivery..."
"...While the Postmaster moves forward with his disastrous scheme to dismantle the postal network, Congress has the power to undo his plans -- but they need to hear from us!
Work is underway in the Senate to prevent USPS from going forward with its decision to close and consolidate 82 mail processing facilities nationwide. Send your senators a message today in support of Senator Tester's letter urging swift action on postal closures!..."
"...The Sunday work is performed primarily by “non-career employees,” which is lingo for part-time employees. A U.S. Postal spokesman said these employees most likely would not receive as many hours as they do if it were not for Sunday delivery. Because of this, you will often see them not in uniform...." 
.
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| The Postmaster General (USPS) |
"...A Staples announcement on July 14 indicating that the company is terminating its no-bid deal with the U.S. Postal Service and replacing it with an “approved shipper” program is a ruse. Staples and the USPS are changing the name of the program, without addressing the fundamental concerns of postal workers and postal customers. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.
The Staples announcement and a letter from the USPS dated July 7 make it clear: They intend to continue to privatize postal retail operations, replace living-wage Postal Service jobs with low-wage Staples jobs, and compromise the safety and security of the mail...."
"...36, of Birmingham, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Hopkins to five years of probation, including six months home detention, for his guilty plea to six counts of theft of U.S. Postal Service money orders and one count of theft of government property. ..."
"...The Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment Authority, also known as buyout authority, allows agencies that are downsizing or restructuring to offer employees lump-sum payments up to $25,000 as an incentive to voluntarily separate. When authorized by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), an agency may offer VSIP to employees who are in surplus positions or have skills that are no longer needed in the workforce who volunteer to separate by resignation, optional retirement, or by voluntary early retirement, if approved. By allowing employees to volunteer to leave the Government, agencies can minimize or avoid involuntary separations through the use of costly and disruptive reductions in force (RIFs). Agencies such as the Department of Defense that have been granted agency-specific VSIP authority are not required to seek OPM approval for their use of this option...."
"...measures for Priority Mail, Express Mail and Parcel Select," but that the agency did not meet any of those goals in fiscal 2013. ..."
"...The Postal Service is offering buyouts and early retirement options to more than 3,000 postmasters before it proceeds with a reduction-in-force (RIF) in early 2015...."
"...“I believe the decision to resume plant closures is a purposeful attack by the Postmaster General, who is retaliating because he could not get five-day delivery. He’s also frustrated by the union’s powerful campaign against the deal between the USPS and Staples,” Szeredy said.
Ignoring the Possibilities
The Postal Service claims the plant closures will generate $750 million in annual savings. “Yet he is ignoring a report by the USPS Office of Inspector General that says the Postal Service could generate $9 billion by offering basic financial services without any cuts to traditional postal service,” Szeredy said. “Something is wrong with this mentality.”
“The Postmaster General also neglects to mention that the USPS earned a profit from operations in fiscal year 2013 and in the first two quarters of 2014,” she added.
Donahoe claims that there have been steep declines in first-class mail, Szeredy pointed out, “yet he fails to tell the public that the USPS has already given away 60 percent of first-class mail processing to Pitney Bowes and other pre-mail sort houses.”..."
After recently announcing a two year moratorium on plant closures, the PMG has recanted that idea and has again announced a return to shuttering hundreds of much needed mail processing facilities. The PMG cited a three year decline in first class mail volume as well as exigent price increases or a lack thereof as the reasoning. In a short video to employees, the PMG OFFERED NO DETAILS on what impacts the new closures will have on employees. It appears the postal service is unsure of what it is going to do, but they are going to do it anyway. Stay tuned for an update when more details are available.
"...The Postal Service’s propaganda machine has been working overtime in recent months, with workers forced to watch videos featuring Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe spewing falsehoods about “the state of the business” and the deal with Staples.
APWU President Mark Dimondstein takes on the PMG’s claims in a new video that every postal worker should see.
But while management can require employees to view his message while they’re on the clock, the union can’t. So make sure your co-workers hear the truth! Please show the video in swing rooms, cafeterias, at union events, and wherever postal employees get together...."
"...a budget accounting trick that would finance road projects by preventing a future bailout of the U.S. Postal Service. But the top postal official says he couldn’t be more pleased. “We not only need five-day delivery,” Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said..."
"...The new designation reflects that the employees were hired as career employees on or after Jan. 1, 2013, and are covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) as Revised Annuity Employees (RAE).
In accordance with the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, career employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2013, pay more for their retirement benefits than their predecessors. ..."
"...APWU National Business Agent Shirley Taylor challenged the re-election of Robert Sulentic to Staples’ board of directors, noting that he has an apparent conflict of interest. Sulentic is also CEO of CBRE, the giant real estate firm that holds an exclusive contract to sell post offices and other USPS facilities...."
"...House Republicans are constructing a proposal to keep thousands of road and transit projects from grinding to a halt this summer by transferring funds into the nation's nearly depleted Highway Trust Fund from the already money-losing U.S. Postal Service...."
"...May 21, 2014 - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members passed the latest postal bill offered by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), which would end “door delivery” for 15 million postal customers. The vote, which passed along party lines 18-13, occurred less than 48 hours after it was introduced." title="Committee Passes Controversial Issa Bill ..."
"...FedEx Corp.’s recent decision to incorporate package size in the pricing of its ground service will result in a significant boost in shipping costs – but it could also open up competitive opportunities for the U.S. Postal Service...."
"...The American Federation of Teachers Michigan (AFT Michigan) voted at its convention on May 17 to endorse the boycott. Citing “a common battle against privatization” of public services, delegates voted unanimously to take their business elsewhere. “Members of our union want safe, secure, high-quality service when we go to the post office – not a low-wage, high turnover operation where employees have little or no training and no qualifications to handle sensitive letters and packages,” said David Hecker, president of AFT Michigan. “And nobody understands better than teachers, staff, and faculty how much we all have to lose when essential public services – like schools and post offices – are put in the hands of private companies with lower standards.”..."
"...There was a more recent postmark on the letter -- from Minneapolis 2013 – printed over the old. "We think somebody put it back into the mail stream," Rowe said. A vintage sealing material..."
"...The positive balance sheet continues the steady progress in the finances of the Postal Service, which has been operating at a profit since October 2012. A dramatic increase in online shopping has sparked an explosion in package volume and revenue, while a gradually rebounding economy has stabilized letter revenue.
“All of this good news exposes an ugly truth,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “Postal management’s zeal for cutting service and outsourcing operations in a thinly-veiled attempt at piecemeal privatization.”..."
"...Customers can sign up for a six-month trial for free, unlimited deliveries. Otherwise, there is a $4.99 per store fee. There’s no minimum purchase and Google says it will not raise item prices. Orders can be placed online or via mobile apps...."
"...assault on government control last attempted by private carriers in the mid-1840s, the Postal Service's detractors have mounted a new, more promising offensive in the present era. To their credit, they have enjoyed some success by redefining the terms of engagement, and by reconstituting the nature and mission of the US postal system from its historical role as a civil service entity to a Frankenstein-like corporate/government hybrid with most of the downsides, and few of the advantages of both...."