Someone give me an explanation for this USPS nonsense going on

[TitanTiger 20,499]

No, I mean the explanation where Our President the Psychopath isn't purposely orchestrating an artificial and capricious degradation of postal service to serve his own selfish interests with the election.  I'll hang up and listen.  Should be fascinating.

 

 

Quote

 

Internal USPS Documents Outline Plans to Hobble Mail Sorting

'This will slow mail processing,' a union official wrote on one of the documents announcing the machine removals.

 

The United States Postal Service proposed removing 20 percent of letter sorting machines it uses around the country before revising the plan weeks later to closer to 15 percent of all machines, meaning 502 will be taken out of service, according to documents obtained by Motherboard outlining the agency’s plans. USPS workers told Motherboard this will slow their ability to sort mail.

One of the documents also suggests these changes were in the works before Louis DeJoy, a top Trump donor and Republican fundraiser, became postmaster general, because it is dated May 15, a month before DeJoy assumed office and only nine days after the Board of Governors announced his selection.

The title of the presentation, as well as language used in the notice to union officials, undermines the Postal Service’s narrative that the organization is simply “mov[ing] equipment around its network” to optimize processing, as spokesperson Dave Partenheimer told Motherboard on Thursday. The May document clearly calls the initiative an “equipment reduction.” It makes no mention of the machines being moved to other facilities. And the notice to union officials repeatedly uses the same phrase. Multiple sources within the postal service told Motherboard they have personally witnessed the machines, which cost millions of dollars, being destroyed or thrown in the dumpster. USPS did not respond to a request for comment.

In May, the USPS planned to remove a total of 969 sorting machines out of the 4,926 it had in operation as of February for all types of letters and flat mail. The vast majority of them—746 out of 3,765 in use—were delivery bar code sorters (DBCS), the type that sort letters, postcards, ballots, marketing mail and other similarly sized pieces. But a subsequent document distributed to union officials in mid-June said 502 of those machines would be removed from facilities. 

The May document, titled “Equipment Reduction,” breaks down the exact number of machines the USPS slated to remove by region and facility. Although the document uses terms like “proposed reduction” and “reduction plan” and does not reflect the USPS’s final plan, it provides a general picture of the sweeping changes previously reported by Motherboard about mail sorting machines being removed around the country. It also shows that USPS management is undertaking a broad reduction of the agency’s ability to sort and process all types of mail, except for packages which have been steadily increasing in recent years before booming during the pandemic.

Further, the timeline of the May document did not come to pass. It proposed a plan resulting in the machines being removed by the end of July, but that didn’t happen. Interviews with six postal workers and union officials around the country, who spoke to Motherboard on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak to the media, revealed these machine removals are still occurring in Michigan, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Texas.

More machine removals are planned in the months ahead. The document sent to union officials in June shows an updated plan to extend the machine removal timeline through the first quarter of 2021.

Motherboard also viewed documents from the same region that laid out detailed plans to reroute mail to sorting facilities further away in order to centralize mail processing even if it moves the mail across further distances. To the union officials, the result of these plans was clear: “This will slow mail processing,” one wrote in large font.

The move to slash the agency’s mail-sorting capacity just as the post office prepares to play a pivotal role in the upcoming election has raised alarm among elected officials. On Wednesday, 47 Senators sent a letter to DeJoy urging him “not to take any action that makes it harder and more expensive for Americans to vote.”

The removal of so many letter-sorting machines also does little to quell concern that President Trump—who has stated his opposition to giving the USPS additional money to handle the election because he doesn’t want mail-in ballots to be properly handled and counted—is intentionally interfering in the USPS’s operations to achieve his desired ends.

“Donald Trump made clear that he is dismantling the Postal Service so he can steal the election by making it harder to vote by mail,” said Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, a signatory of the letter. “Removing 20 percent of the Postal Service’s sorting and processing equipment looks like another part of his plan to bulldoze a vital American institution just to cling to power.”

“The Trump Administration is launching an all-out war on the U.S. Postal Service,” said West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, another letter signatory. “Several weeks ago we learned they had unexpectedly announced closures of several West Virginia post offices. Then we learned of their plans to change the regulations surrounding the first class mail and election mail. Now we’re hearing reports that the post office is removing sorting machines and reducing capacity a few months before an election where we’ll see more mail-in ballots than ever before. This is insane.”

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkyv4k/internal-usps-documents-outline-plans-to-hobble-mail-sorting?utm_content=1597411702&utm_medium=social&utm_source=motherboard_twitter

 

 

[AUDub 11,153]

"Something something mail in ballots prone to fraud, something something this public service, doesn't make any money."

 

[TitanTiger 20,499]

Factcheck.org weighs in:

 

Quote

Trump Proves Biden Right on USPS Funding, Mail-In Ballots

By Eugene Kiely

Posted on August 14, 2020

In late June, Joe Biden claimed President Donald Trump “wants to cut off money for the post office so they cannot deliver mail-in ballots.” At the time, we wrote that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee had no evidence of Trump’s ulterior motive — but now he does...

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/08/trump-proves-biden-right-on-usps-funding-mail-in-ballots/

 

[aubiefifty 16,807]

his cultists do not care. they have sold america down the river for a freaking idiot.

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

This one has them stumped. They can’t whatabout Obama or any other democrat on this one. They can’t accuse the USPS of being a gold digging whore or say “they shouldn’t have come here.”  Give Fox time to come up with a rationale and then all the cult members will parrot it. 

[homersapien 11,388]

"Well, with the Trump administration, you never know if it is incompetence or malevolence." - David Brooks

 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/shields-and-brooks-on-kamala-harris-as-vp-pick-mail-in-voting-worries

• Judy Woodruff:

  Well, going back to politics, Mark, the story that we heard from William Brangham a few minutes about what is going on with the Postal Service, they are letting states know, most of the states know they are not going to — they may not have ballots returned in time for them to be counted.

  The president is continually, almost daily now denigrating mail-in voting, is opposed to funding so much of what the Postal Service says it needs. What are we headed for this November?

• Mark Shields:

  Well, Judy, I am not one to often question former President Barack Obama's selection of words or his eloquence, which is demonstrated, but I think he was absolutely wrong when he said that they are trying to kneecap, Republicans are trying to kneecap. I mean, it is a mafia term. And it is very harsh.

  I think what we are talking about here is nothing less than Bull Connor in the streets of Birmingham with dogs and fire hoses. I mean, this is repression and suppression of Americans who want to vote. It is nothing less. That is what it is. And let's call it for exactly what it is.

  Donald Trump is afraid of losing. So, most candidates, the voters pick the candidate. Donald Trump, in this case, wants to pick the voters. He wants to limit who can vote.

  And I just think that they are making an incredible mistake. There are 22 million Americans every month who are kept out of poverty, kept out of poverty by a Social Security check. There are 67 million Americans who live on them; 1,278,000 in Florida get a Social Security check.

  You go into the United States mail, you start playing games there, then you are really — talk about misery, and you want to talk outrage, and you want to talk about political unrest, I think it's — I think he's — the whirlwind is about to be set.

  And — but it is indefensible. And I have had five Republicans, I think, up to now, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Tom Cole, Kevin McCarthy, and Roy Blunt, who have even said — dissented publicly that this dismantlement of the post office is not — unacceptable.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Well, just quickly, David, we have seen the president's attempts to talk down mail-in voting have worked.

  We have a quick poll result to share. In May, I think it was 50 percent of the American people said they believed that they would be comfortable mailing in their ballot. That percentage is down to 43 percent, a big drop, especially among Republicans.

  So, the president continues to talk it down and to say he doesn't want to fund the Postal Service because it would — could mean universal voting.

• David Brooks:

  Well, with the Trump administration, you never know if it is incompetence or malevolence.

  In this case, the Postal Service is hemorrhaging money. And it is doing so because the number of pieces of mail has gone down 33 percent in the last several years. And so they — it makes sense to sort of try to make the thing a viable operation.

  Whether you want to cut some of these services right before a heavy election, where people are going to be mailing in ballots, strikes me as extremely foolish, but not necessarily malevolence.

  I do think we are going to end up funding this thing. Kevin McCarthy has said it is going to be funded.

  I would say to people, send in your ballots early or deliver it straight to the authorities. The problem is not going to get ballots to people. It is going to be the crush of millions of ballots in the final days in November.

  And so that's — that could be a crisis, even without Donald Trump, just because of the unusual nature. His tendency to talk down the voting and to delegitimize the system is its own shade of horror.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Shade of horror.

  Well, we — it is good advice to tell people to remember to vote under any circumstances, but especially this year. And if you can vote early, you should vote early.

  David Brooks, Mark Shields, we thank you.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

Good read here.  Alternatives for using absentee ballots while not dropping them in the mail.  I've advocated for the "drop locations" before and this goes into a bit more detail.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/absentee-ballot-alternatives-usps-mail-in-voting-presidential-election/

[creed 1,640]

The timing looks suspicious, but making plans to remove equipment or replace with more efficient equipment is solid plan based on the reduction of hard mail, perioducals, magazines and shopping flyers that used to be mailed versus delivered electronically today. Trump being in charge does make one to think of something underhanded. At least if you're a Democrat.

[homersapien 11,388]

Just now, creed said:

The timing looks suspicious, but making plans to remove equipment or replace with more efficient equipment is solid plan based on the reduction of hard mail, perioducals, magazines and shopping flyers that used to be mailed versus delivered electronically today. Trump being in charge does make one to think of something underhanded. At least if you're a Democrat.

I haven't seen where they are replacing any of the sorting equipment, just removing it.

As far as "thinking of something underhanded", Trump has admitted it: 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/trump-usps-funding-comments-2020-election/index.html

 

[creed 1,640]

13 minutes ago, homersapien said:

I haven't seen where they are replacing any of the sorting equipment, just removing it.

As far as "thinking of something underhanded", Trump has admitted it: 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/trump-usps-funding-comments-2020-election/index.html

 

Based on my reading, mail deliveries are down @ 30% since 2014. The plan in this article is to remove 969 machines from a total of 4926 which is 969/4926 = @ 20%. Looks like a few more machines need to be eliminated. 

[TitanTiger 20,499]

55 minutes ago, creed said:

Based on my reading, mail deliveries are down @ 30% since 2014. The plan in this article is to remove 969 machines from a total of 4926 which is 969/4926 = @ 20%. Looks like a few more machines need to be eliminated. 

They are removing and destroying functional equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars right before an election where they anticipate a much higher absentee/mail-in voting count, and you think it's about mail deliveries being down in recent years.  That's cute. 

That doesn't look untoward if you're a Democrat.  It looks untoward if you're a thinking adult who isn't a Trump groupie...but I repeat myself.

[creed 1,640]

1 minute ago, TitanTiger said:

They are removing and destroying functional equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars right before an election where they anticipate a much higher absentee/mail-in voting count, and you think it's about mail deliveries being down in recent years.  That's cute. 

Hey, I said it looks suspicious, but the math doesn't lie. Plus the USPS can prioritize ballots and push the other mail back to a later delivery  date.

[TitanTiger 20,499]

Just now, creed said:

Hey, I said it looks suspicious, but the math doesn't lie. Plus the USPS can prioritize ballots and push the other mail back to a later delivery  date.

Of course they can attempt to adjust for, you know, a presidential election.  It's not like I expect them to just shut down.  Would help if the egomaniacal psycho in the WH wasn't trying to tie an arm behind their back while they try.

[TitanTiger 20,499]

Even assuming it's all about "the math", it's not like the gov't is going to save taxpayers a bunch of money getting rid of them today rather than in mid to late November.  Think.

[homersapien 11,388]

1 hour ago, creed said:

Based on my reading, mail deliveries are down @ 30% since 2014. The plan in this article is to remove 969 machines from a total of 4926 which is 969/4926 = @ 20%. Looks like a few more machines need to be eliminated. 

Are you saying the volume of mail - specifically envelopes handled by this equipment - is down 30%? 

That sounds unlikely.  How about a source for that?

Furthermore, if that's the case, depending on the output of a given machine - removing machines would probably create more problems (such as is happening.)  Assuming the loss of volume occurs everywhere, it would likely make far more sense to reduce the operating time per machine, as opposed to eliminating complete machines from a given location and consequently reducing their capacity (just before we all know they will need it.)

Simply cutting back on machine time would presumably preserve the excess capacity required for voting in a pandemic.  Address the long term issues after the election.

[homersapien 11,388]

45 minutes ago, creed said:

Hey, I said it looks suspicious, but the math doesn't lie. Plus the USPS can prioritize ballots and push the other mail back to a later delivery  date.

I am suggesting your math - as well as your logic - is highly suspect.  You'll need to explain it much better and reference your facts. 

(And that "other" mail  contains a lot of critical correspondence - including checks and bills.)

[creed 1,640]

19 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Are you saying the volume of mail - specifically envelopes handled by this equipment - is down 30%? 

That sounds unlikely.  How about a source for that?

Furthermore, if that's the case, depending on the output of a given machine - removing machines would probably create more problems (such as is happening.)  Assuming the loss of volume occurs everywhere it would likely make far more sense to reduce the operating time per machine, as opposed to eliminating complete machines from a given location if it reduces their capacity.

This would presumably preserve the excess capacity required for voting in a pandemic.

I was wrong about the date but here is the research link. 

 

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/05/14/the-state-of-the-u-s-postal-service-in-8-charts/

[creed 1,640]

27 minutes ago, homersapien said:

 

(And that "other" mail  contains a lot of critical correspondence - including checks and bills.)

True, I'm saying prioritize ballots and delay by 1 or 2 days all other mail. I'm sure the consensus of the citizens would agree with this plan. Hell just delay all the freaking sale flyers...that's like 3 per day...lol. If Trump is going to play a game then play it better.

[wdefromtx 3,159]

1 hour ago, creed said:

True, I'm saying prioritize ballots and delay by 1 or 2 days all other mail. I'm sure the consensus of the citizens would agree with this plan. Hell just delay all the freaking sale flyers...that's like 3 per day...lol. If Trump is going to play a game then play it better.

I’ll postpone my valupak coupons I just throw away anyways so that jokers like Homer can mail in their vote and have it count. lol 

 

thats really all the mail is good for anyways...junk mail and Amazon I suppose. 

[homersapien 11,388]

14 hours ago, creed said:

I was wrong about the date but here is the research link. 

 

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/05/14/the-state-of-the-u-s-postal-service-in-8-charts/

OK, now all we need is more analysis on the sorting machines - capacity/machine, how many machines/location, etc.  If these machines are relatively low capacity and exist in multiples at all locations, it might make sense to retire some of them. 

But from what I've read, mail service will be - or has been - slowed as a result. 

 

[homersapien 11,388]

14 hours ago, creed said:

True, I'm saying prioritize ballots and delay by 1 or 2 days all other mail. I'm sure the consensus of the citizens would agree with this plan. Hell just delay all the freaking sale flyers...that's like 3 per day...lol. If Trump is going to play a game then play it better.

You have no idea if such a 1 or 2 day delay is an option.  Neither of us has the level of information to determine whether or not these cut-back efforts are being done in good faith. 

We do know however, that Trump wants to throw a wrench into the mechanism of voting by mail for purely political reasons.  He has admitted to it.

[TitanTiger 20,499]

18 minutes ago, homersapien said:

You have no idea if such a 1 or 2 day delay is an option.  Neither of us has the level of information to determine whether or not these cut-back efforts are being done in good faith. 

We do know however, that Trump wants to throw a wrench into the mechanism of voting by mail for purely political reasons.  He has admitted to it.

I imagine that's something they already do to an extent.  Junk mail gets deprioritized when other more important things are happening.  But these actions are putting a crimp in the postal service's ability to properly process ballots even with that taken into account.

[TitanTiger 20,499]

24 minutes ago, homersapien said:

OK, now all we need is more analysis on the sorting machines - capacity/machine, how many machines/location, etc.  If these machines are relatively low capacity and exist in multiples at all locations, it might make sense to retire them.  But from what I've read, mail service will be - or has been - slowed as a result. 

I would imagine if the answer were that simple and straightforward, it would have already been put out there to explain what's going on.  

[Auburnfan91 1,407]

Here's an informative article I found and it also touches on the Vice article in the OP

https://medium.com/@nharpermn/stop-panicking-about-the-post-office-8bcd689b9601

[AUFAN78 3,911]

6 hours ago, Auburnfan91 said:

Here's an informative article I found and it also touches on the Vice article in the OP

https://medium.com/@nharpermn/stop-panicking-about-the-post-office-8bcd689b9601

Very informative. Thank you!