USPOL Spring: We are putting out that life because it's a bad life

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USPOL Spring: We are putting out that life because it's a bad life

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mllaneza: Apr 28, 2007; Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1993-1952

Rural areas in general, and Alaska in particular are hosed if the USPS goes under.

e. Taxxe

# ? Apr 12, 2020 05:46

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# ? Jun 10, 2024 03:03

Nonsense: Jan 26, 2007

https://twitter.com/KamVTV/status/1249083529247494144?s=20

# ? Apr 12, 2020 06:13

Mr Interweb: Aug 25, 2004

Arglebargle III posted:

Yeah so Trump is on track to kill 60,000 Americans. The smoking gun from the CDC's Red Dawn email chain:

don't see the issue. that's 180k lower than what trump said would die. MAGA :911:

# ? Apr 12, 2020 06:21

SocketWrench: Jul 8, 2012; by Fritz the Horse

The Sean posted:

Fun thought experiment: how the gently caress would UPS, Fedex, and other delivery frims function without USPS? How do you keep track of zip codes? Addresses? You would need to have a UPS code, Amazon code, Fedex code, and so forth (which would increase costs for these companies, passed on to the consumer, as they try to keep this poo poo in check).

Also, private parcel companies rely on USPS for a lot of out-of-the-way last step deliveries since it's not economically feasible for the private company to deliver somewhere way out of the way but USPS has to.

~private companies do it better~ lol

They'd probably stick with the current zip code system same as everything else. Or if you mean had the USPS never existed? Then we'd likely have registered zones anyways

# ? Apr 12, 2020 06:26

SocketWrench: Jul 8, 2012; by Fritz the Horse

Nonsense posted:

https://twitter.com/KamVTV/status/1249083529247494144?s=20

Yeah, how dare they try and force people to uphold social distancing for the betterment of the society as a whole because assholes like you exist.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 06:29

SKULL.GIF: Jan 20, 2017

Bottom Liner posted:

Everything about this is so loving fake it's amazing that people buy into it. The giant american flag green screen, the giant cross jewelry, Trump talking about prayer. Just loving wipe out america at this point.

The people it's for are equally fake.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 06:32

Star Man: Jun 1, 2008; There's a star maaaaaan
Over the rainbow

The Sean posted:

Fun thought experiment: how the gently caress would UPS, Fedex, and other delivery frims function without USPS? How do you keep track of zip codes? Addresses? You would need to have a UPS code, Amazon code, Fedex code, and so forth (which would increase costs for these companies, passed on to the consumer, as they try to keep this poo poo in check).

Also, private parcel companies rely on USPS for a lot of out-of-the-way last step deliveries since it's not economically feasible for the private company to deliver somewhere way out of the way but USPS has to.

~private companies do it better~ lol

The only consequences Republicans care about when they dismantle a public service is what's in it for them. They don't care if things get worse. They don't care if UPS, FedEx, Amazon, a resurrected DHL, or anyone else struggle to meet the same demands the US Postal Service was able to.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 06:40

geegee: Aug 6, 2005

SocketWrench posted:

Used to be Republicans hated a politician that flip flopped as much as captain bone spurs does

Your point stands, but its CADET bone spurs. Even at our lowest ebb (late 60s) no service would have commissioned this joke.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 06:44

Lumpy: Apr 26, 2002; La! La! La! Laaaa!; College Slice

Republicans hate the USPS because their donors hate the fact that there is government money being spent without a sizable chunk of it flowing into their pockets. The same reason they hate public education and every other institution they want to destroy.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 07:06

Melomane Mallet: Oct 11, 2012; I'm bad; I'm just not born that way.

The Sean posted:

Fun thought experiment: how the gently caress would UPS, Fedex, and other delivery frims function without USPS? How do you keep track of zip codes? Addresses? You would need to have a UPS code, Amazon code, Fedex code, and so forth (which would increase costs for these companies, passed on to the consumer, as they try to keep this poo poo in check).

Also, private parcel companies rely on USPS for a lot of out-of-the-way last step deliveries since it's not economically feasible for the private company to deliver somewhere way out of the way but USPS has to.

~private companies do it better~ lol

UPS employee: this is correct; we get tons of packages (I work in the small sort) that go from the sender company to us, we deliver to the nearest post office for rural/POBox and let the USPS take it from there, because us delivering to rural addresses ourselves is not cost efficient.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 07:13

Devor: Nov 30, 2004; Lurking more.

John Wick of Dogs posted:

I don't know what that means

They scan and email you the front exterior of your mail

They don't open it for you

# ? Apr 12, 2020 07:16

Herstory Begins Now: Aug 5, 2003; SOME REALLY TEDIOUS DUMB SHIT THAT SUCKS ASS TO READ ->>

mllaneza posted:

Rural areas in general, and Alaska in particular are hosed if the USPS goes under.

e. Taxxe

Imagine the state of the rural housing market if one of the perks of your rural property purchase is you now have to drive an hour to pay extra money to pick up any mail/packages

# ? Apr 12, 2020 08:06

SocketWrench: Jul 8, 2012; by Fritz the Horse

^Either you'll see Republicans move back into the cities, or they'll pay it and blame the dems for it or thank god Trump gave them this "privilege"

Lumpy posted:

Republicans hate the USPS because their donors hate the fact that there is government money being spent without a sizable chunk of it flowing into their pockets. The same reason they hate public education and every other institution they want to destroy.

I always felt public education hate was because schools taught reality instead of "America great, everything is awesome, god, country, we were always better than the soviets" type revisionist bullshit they keep spewing whenever someone doesn't conform to their belief of what reality is
I can still remember my grandmother's reaction when she asked me what history class was teaching us and I told her we were learning what the background situation as to why the Japanese made their move. "Why are they teaching you that? They were heartless bastards that just wanted to take everything. But they tangled with the wrong country when they bombed us"

SocketWrench fucked around with this message at 09:13 on Apr 12, 2020

# ? Apr 12, 2020 09:08

Herstory Begins Now: Aug 5, 2003; SOME REALLY TEDIOUS DUMB SHIT THAT SUCKS ASS TO READ ->>

American schools hop kids up on as much bullshit nativist exceptionalism propaganda as really any other country on the planet, they're completely horrible in that regard. They just don't do it in quite the right, or quite jesusy enough, way for what a lot of the charter school movement parents were hoping.

Idk how much is school and how much is just society and media at large, but holy gently caress is a good job done on basically every american at cementing a ton of implicit biases about americans just being better at things than everyone else. It's surreal that it manages to be as much of a thing on the left as on the right, too.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:01

Skippy McPants: Mar 19, 2009

Nativism was a hell of a drug long before public education was commonplace, and we're dang good at it.

Maybe even the best, naturally!

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:10

Mr Interweb: Aug 25, 2004

we're 1/3 of the way to trump's goal!

https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1249165391345209345

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:13

mistaya: Oct 18, 2006; Cat of Wealth and Taste

SocketWrench posted:

They'd probably stick with the current zip code system same as everything else. Or if you mean had the USPS never existed? Then we'd likely have registered zones anyways

Who maintains the current zip code system? Like if a new property is built, how are they given an address without the US postal service?

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:14

C2C - 2.0: May 14, 2006; Dubs In The Key Of Life; Lipstick Apathy

Re: long-term effects of this virus: I'm really, really worried about the economic fallout from this. Ignoring the fact that some parts of the country will "open" way too early & cause a second wave of the pandemic, the lingering issue when it's all said & done is going to be the unemployment. With loving MILLIONS out of a job right now, there's no way there's going to be a vacuum effect when things return to normal where everyone (me included) are gonna' find themselves back at their old jobs. Too many business' are currently losing their shirts & the uncertainty that will exist later this year isn't gonna' give an impetus for all of them to reopen. Hell, many won't ever open again.

No matter what the lords of capital suggest, there's gonna' be a lingering unemployment issue nationally & the governments (both state & federal) probably won't give a poo poo. No extension of benefits, no programs to ease the strain of all this happening.

gently caress this goddamn country up its stupid rear end.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:19

Herstory Begins Now: Aug 5, 2003; SOME REALLY TEDIOUS DUMB SHIT THAT SUCKS ASS TO READ ->>

C2C - 2.0 posted:

Re: long-term effects of this virus: I'm really, really worried about the economic fallout from this. Ignoring the fact that some parts of the country will "open" way too early & cause a second wave of the pandemic, the lingering issue when it's all said & done is going to be the unemployment. With loving MILLIONS out of a job right now, there's no way there's going to be a vacuum effect when things return to normal where everyone (me included) are gonna' find themselves back at their old jobs. Too many business' are currently losing their shirts & the uncertainty that will exist later this year isn't gonna' give an impetus for all of them to reopen. Hell, many won't ever open again.

No matter what the lords of capital suggest, there's gonna' be a lingering unemployment issue nationally & the governments (both state & federal) probably won't give a poo poo. No extension of benefits, no programs to ease the strain of all this happening.

gently caress this goddamn country up its stupid rear end.

I remember in the 2008 recession lovely minimum wage jobs were regularly getting hundreds and sometimes thousands of applications. I can't even fathom what things look like with vastly more people out of work. That was already bad enough that it economically crippled a generation.

It's hosed and even the best case outcomes are scary.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:31

Young Freud: Nov 26, 2006

Melomane Mallet posted:

UPS employee: this is correct; we get tons of packages (I work in the small sort) that go from the sender company to us, we deliver to the nearest post office for rural/POBox and let the USPS take it from there, because us delivering to rural addresses ourselves is not cost efficient.

Just trying to figure out a USPS-less America and it's brain-breaking:

You know all those flyers, pre-approved credit card offers, mailers, and other junk mail that fills your mailbox? That's bulk mail, a service that the USPS and while most of it is junk mail, it does offer a correspondence between corporate and administrative America and the average citizen in the form of bills, various letters of notice, reimbursements, etc. In addition, much of that correspondence includes envelopes and cards that is categorized as "business reply mail". The USPS gives big discounts to commercial mail: for example, typical postage rate for first class single-piece mail is .55 cents, but is reduced significantly to about .40 cents per piece for commercial first-class, around .10 to .19 for direct mail and business reply mail can go for 0.06 to 0.008 cents per piece. FedEx and UPS ship at about $8 for a 1lbs. or less parcel for ground delivery and I have no doubt that a privatized post office will hike up its rates to match.
At those rates, no bulk mailer is going to use a private service to pump out 5000 postcards to everyone in a zip code and a business will balk at those prices for even sending out bills. For direct marketing, a privatized post office is a death knell to the direct marketing industry, and would have cascading effects in other industries like printing and design houses. And while most businesses are increasing going online for customer service, business mail carries the implication of "we know where you live" to customers as well as businesses sure love getting checks that they pay less than a penny in shipping. A privatized postal service jacking up rates according to the market is going to break all this, because no business is going to send bills and statements out at an inflated price to thousands and hundreds of thousands of customers and not everyone is online, even now. Customer correspondence is going to be a heavily-added expense to everyone's bottom line and there's going to be cuts and more unemployment even if they're not some direct marketing group.
It's a federal crime to vandalize or interfere with USPS property, because it's a government service, while Fed-Ex, etc. is just private property offense. I can't break into my own mailbox in my apartment complex without the possibility of being sent to federal prison, because, despite being on private property, it's still the USPS' duty to maintain it. I know that I am occasionally relieved when I see something I order online is coming USPS because it means that when it comes in, it's going to be in a secure and available location, as opposed to being left on my open doorstep, unsupervised for hours at a time, or locked in my apartment office with it's oddball times. To this end, the USPS has essentially it's own police force, the United States Postal Inspection Service, to maintain law and order involving property handled by the USPS. This includes handling a wide variety of fraud, investigating and prosecuting prohibited mailings (the biggest and most publicized of these is child pornography, but the USPIS will also get involved with mail bombs, narcotics, and money laundering if it involves the USPS being used for these things), maintain postal security, and insure that international mail is not interfered or tampered with. If there's a privatized postal service, how does it even do that? FedEx and UPS don't give two shits if a parcel that gets left on your doorstep is ripped of by a porch pirate or if someone used their service to send contraband to someone.
How the hell is Army/Air Force Post Offices, Fleet Post Offices, and Diplomatic Post Offices supposed to work now? Because the USPIS gives a poo poo about internal security, the USPS is the only carrier that delivers to these delivery locations. Even FedEx and UPS have to go through them because of security restrictions. I supposed privatizing the post office will end up easing up on these restrictions, which would bring a whole host of problems.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:38

GoutPatrol: Oct 17, 2009; *Stupid Babby*

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/...pgtype=Homepage

I think this is the first NYTimes story about the Reade allegation.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:38

Mr Interweb: Aug 25, 2004

C2C - 2.0 posted:

Re: long-term effects of this virus: I'm really, really worried about the economic fallout from this. Ignoring the fact that some parts of the country will "open" way too early & cause a second wave of the pandemic, the lingering issue when it's all said & done is going to be the unemployment. With loving MILLIONS out of a job right now, there's no way there's going to be a vacuum effect when things return to normal where everyone (me included) are gonna' find themselves back at their old jobs. Too many business' are currently losing their shirts & the uncertainty that will exist later this year isn't gonna' give an impetus for all of them to reopen. Hell, many won't ever open again.

No matter what the lords of capital suggest, there's gonna' be a lingering unemployment issue nationally & the governments (both state & federal) probably won't give a poo poo. No extension of benefits, no programs to ease the strain of all this happening.

gently caress this goddamn country up its stupid rear end.

it's gonna be quite painful regardless, i hate to say

myself personally, although i lost my job a week ago, i'll be mostly okay, and i have enough money to help me last for a few years. my big concern is food/supply shortages and rises in inflation that's gonna make all the money i saved up practically worthless.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:40

Wark Say: Feb 22, 2013; by Fluffdaddy

Herstory Begins Now posted:

You're aware that plenty of people hate this, right?

Yeah, but most people at least have

SocketWrench posted:

It's not his name he has a problem with. He's a self entitled ego obsessed rear end in a top hat. Not calling him Mr. Trump, or now President Trump is, as far as he sees it, disrespectful and an insult to him.
Lots of my teachers back in the day would go ape if you called them anything but their specific title (Mr. Mrs. Miss)

Skippy McPants posted:

Yeah, that's a quirk that isn't at all unique to Trump. Above a certain age or social class referring to anyone by their first name is a quick way to get under their skin.

Indeed, but I find it somewhat funny that, for someone who has made his name his brand to the extent he has, he hates part of it.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:44

Arbetor: Mar 28, 2010; Gonna play tasty.

mistaya posted:

Who maintains the current zip code system? Like if a new property is built, how are they given an address without the US postal service?

This occurs at the local jurisdiction level, usually county or equivalent. Counties need addresses and street names to be consistent, for other reasons, like emergency services. (note that this is from experience in Florida.)

One of the most infuriating things about conservatives is that any failure of a government is because government can't do anything right, but a failure of a private company is temporary. You had to wait in line 10 minutes at the DMV? Only losers who can't make it in the private sector work for government. You had to wait in line 2 hours to resolve a billing problem at Comcast? They are just busy, I am sure they will fix it.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:46

Sanguinia: Jan 1, 2012; ~Everybody wants to be a cat~
~Because a cat's the only cat~
~Who knows where its at~

I'm a semi-rural teacher in a district that's been desperate for manpower for almost a decade, so I have extreme job security even in the event of a bad recession, my pay's been guaranteed to the end of the school year, new contracts for next year with the last of a series of state-mandated pay raises go out in a couple of weeks, and I have a big chunk of savings because I've been enduring living with my parents since I got the job three years ago. The amount of luck I've been blessed with economically in this mess is kind of astounding. I paid it forward by loaning a friend 1200 bucks last week because she was three months behind on her mortgage. I'm really worried about what might happen to some of the families of my students in the coming years though.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:56

OhDearGodNo: Jan 3, 2014

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1249270878451482624?s=21

e:fb

# ? Apr 12, 2020 11:57

StratGoatCom: Aug 6, 2019; Our security is guaranteed by being able to melt the eyeballs of any other forum's denizens at 15 minutes notice

loving unparodiable.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 12:54

Al-Saqr: Nov 11, 2007; One Day I Will Return To Your Side.

Morning folks!

A thousand curses and damnations on the hollow lich Barack Obama!

Have a pleasant day!

# ? Apr 12, 2020 12:58

Noise Complaint: Sep 27, 2004; Who could be scared of a Jeffrey?

Sanguinia posted:

I'm really worried about what might happen to some of the families of my students in the coming years though.

This is why the district I work for just completely removed means testing, or any kind of questions asked when it comes to breakfast and lunch pickup for students.

I�m pretty sure we�re feeding parents and families out of the school kitchens now but nobody wants to acknowledge it.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 13:03

Robviously: Aug 21, 2010; Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist.

Lumpy posted:

Republicans hate the USPS because their donors hate the fact that there is government money being spent without a sizable chunk of it flowing into their pockets. The same reason they hate public education and every other institution they want to destroy.

I'm a USPS employee and this is incorrect.

The USPS is fully self-funded due to republican bullshit and we run using only the money we get from postage to do the work day in and day out. The "help" we get occasionally is a line of credit that is expected to be paid unlike every other corporate bailout that comes down the pipelines. If not for the prefunding of tensions and benefits for every employee that gets hired, the Post Office would be much much closer to running in the black. We get something stupid like a 97% favorability rating when asked what the public's favorite institution is.

Republicans hate anything that takes money out of their own hands.

Now it's time for me to go deliver Amazon and UPS Sunday deliveries so good luck if we fold fuckers.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 13:06

Car Hater: May 7, 2007; wolf. bike.
Wolf. Bike.
Wolf! Bike!
WolfBike!
WolfBike!
ARROOOOOO!

Al-Saqr posted:

Morning folks!

A thousand curses and damnations on the hollow lich Barack Obama!

Have a pleasant day!

Barack Obama's failure to purge the elite class in entirety in 2009 has doomed America, much more consequential a legacy than Trump imo

# ? Apr 12, 2020 13:13

LeeMajors: Jan 20, 2005; I've gotta stop fantasizing about Lee Majors...
Ah, one more!

Car Hater posted:

Barack Obama's failure to purge the elite class in entirety in 2009 has doomed America, much more consequential a legacy than Trump imo

He would never purge his own class OP

# ? Apr 12, 2020 13:14

Car Hater: May 7, 2007; wolf. bike.
Wolf. Bike.
Wolf! Bike!
WolfBike!
WolfBike!
ARROOOOOO!

LeeMajors posted:

He would never purge his own class OP

He had to claw his way up into it, he wasn't born at the top layer. A good noble knows that if you ascend to the throne in a time of civil strife between lords and lordlings you have to knock off at least half of them, including some that supported you on the way up, if you want any hope of a stable administration. He was smart enough to know what needed to be done and chose to sentence his daughters to the breakdown of society, lol.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 13:20

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

Arbetor posted:

This occurs at the local jurisdiction level, usually county or equivalent. Counties need addresses and street names to be consistent, for other reasons, like emergency services. (note that this is from experience in Florida.)

One of the most infuriating things about conservatives is that any failure of a government is because government can't do anything right, but a failure of a private company is temporary. You had to wait in line 10 minutes at the DMV? Only losers who can't make it in the private sector work for government. You had to wait in line 2 hours to resolve a billing problem at Comcast? They are just busy, I am sure they will fix it.

Seriously, this.

I don't think I've ever had to spend longer than a half an hour in a DMV or a post office in my entire life. But the number of times I've spent hours over repeated calls to places like Comcast, CITI or Verizon are the stuff of legend. The USPS and DMV are cast as these giant incompetent punchlines in our society for reasons I've never understood.

What, I can mail this document from Florida to California for 50 cents and it'll get there in 3 days? What a rip off!

You mean I can make an appointment at the DMV, bring in some utility bills and a couple other things and get new state drivers license in 15 minutes? God, what a hassle.

Now the complaints about the IRS I'll allow because loving dealing with those people is insane and needs to be fixed somehow. Routinely 2 hours on the phone every time and numerous cut offs. And why the gently caress can't we just file our taxes directly on the IRS website? They already have the W2's and 1099's plus all your information but, no, we need a 3rd party that usually charges a fee and who often don't help you out if they gently caress up somehow.

Edit: I'll throw libraries into the mix too as things republicans seem to hate funding. Libraries are loving awesome.

BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 13:36 on Apr 12, 2020

# ? Apr 12, 2020 13:34

e.pilot: Nov 20, 2011; sometimes maybe good
sometimes maybe shit

BiggerBoat posted:

And why the gently caress can't we just file our taxes directly on the IRS website? They already have the W2's and 1099's plus all your information but, no, we need a 3rd party that usually charges a fee and who often don't help you out if they gently caress up somehow.

Literally because of tax prep lobbyists protecting their industry. Capitalism is a gently caress.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 14:01

Ague Proof: Jun 5, 2014; they told me
I was everything

LeeMajors posted:

He would never purge his own class OP

Necromancers?

# ? Apr 12, 2020 14:03

VitalSigns: Sep 3, 2011

# ? Apr 12, 2020 14:12

Bubbacub: Apr 17, 2001

Nonsense posted:

https://twitter.com/KamVTV/status/1249083529247494144?s=20

Are there any cities with rail transit that have a Republican mayor?

# ? Apr 12, 2020 14:13

olylifter: Sep 13, 2007; I'm bad with money and you have an avatar!

BiggerBoat posted:

Seriously, this.

I don't think I've ever had to spend longer than a half an hour in a DMV or a post office in my entire life. But the number of times I've spent hours over repeated calls to places like Comcast, CITI or Verizon are the stuff of legend. The USPS and DMV are cast as these giant incompetent punchlines in our society for reasons I've never understood.

What, I can mail this document from Florida to California for 50 cents and it'll get there in 3 days? What a rip off!

You mean I can make an appointment at the DMV, bring in some utility bills and a couple other things and get new state drivers license in 15 minutes? God, what a hassle.

Now the complaints about the IRS I'll allow because loving dealing with those people is insane and needs to be fixed somehow. Routinely 2 hours on the phone every time and numerous cut offs. And why the gently caress can't we just file our taxes directly on the IRS website? They already have the W2's and 1099's plus all your information but, no, we need a 3rd party that usually charges a fee and who often don't help you out if they gently caress up somehow.

Edit: I'll throw libraries into the mix too as things republicans seem to hate funding. Libraries are loving awesome.

Grovie's quote about drowning a small government in the bathtub encapsulates everything about the post-Reagan GOP as far as I can tell

none of these smash the state types ever have an answer to who they think is going to step in to fill the ensuing power vacuum if not faceless and unaccountable international corporate entities and if so, why these are the better option.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 14:14

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# ? Jun 10, 2024 03:03

Jezebel: Sep 6, 2004; Skal!

OhDearGodNo posted:

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1249270878451482624?s=21

e:fb

Can someone de-paywall this for me (or link a different good article about the topic)? For once I've used up my free credits cuz of actually reading articles during this time, and all the tricks I used to know don't work anymore.

# ? Apr 12, 2020 14:24

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USPOL Spring: We are putting out that life because it's a bad life

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