I've never understood how any citizen could complain about postage being too high.
It's always seemed a terrific bargain to me when you consider exactly what is involved in taking something from your location to another location and hand delivering it.
Posts by Terry
-
22What is REALLY behind the destruction of the Postal Service? I decided to research it ...
by Terry ini don't know about you - but i never know when i'm being lied to or told the truth any longer.
partisans are tribes warring on truth.
i decided to see what i could find out historically and this is what i've come up with.
-
-
Terry
-
8
What if the Christian version of the End of the World came an hour from now?
by Terry inthe next thing i knew, i was knee deep in conversation with a seminary student covering two thousand years of religious history.
damn, how did that happen?i won’t bore you with lavish details.
in fact, i only mention the incident for one reason.i'm no smarter than anybody - but i've had way too much practice chatting with eager christian seminary students.i posed a couple of questions i’d never done before which seemed to stop this fella dead in his tracks.
-
-
Terry
Interesting. I like it! Thanks, LeeT
-
8
What if the Christian version of the End of the World came an hour from now?
by Terry inthe next thing i knew, i was knee deep in conversation with a seminary student covering two thousand years of religious history.
damn, how did that happen?i won’t bore you with lavish details.
in fact, i only mention the incident for one reason.i'm no smarter than anybody - but i've had way too much practice chatting with eager christian seminary students.i posed a couple of questions i’d never done before which seemed to stop this fella dead in his tracks.
-
-
Terry
To disincentivize self-sacrifice removes the dopamine squirt the brain offers for virtue signalling.
My now deceased best friend who is the person who evangelized me into the Watchtower religion is guy I had more discussion / debates with than any other human.
I once asked him, "What if you heard a voice in your head instructing you to put your daughter down with a kitchen knife - and the voice assured you it was Jehovah speaking?"
Before he could form a coherent reply, I reminded him that it would be practically identical to the situation Abraham faced with Isaac.
He knew he was trapped by the apparent insanity of believing a "voice in your head".
I think the contrast shook him a little - but - he told me - if he genuinely believed Jehovah was speaking to him, he'd have to comply.
Just hearing those words sort of chilled me to his fanaticism.
I simply responded, "And we today don't even actually "HEAR" Jehovah's voice telling us what our sacrifice is to be ...no...we listen to the Governing Body who CLAIM it is THEY who hear." -
8
What if the Christian version of the End of the World came an hour from now?
by Terry inthe next thing i knew, i was knee deep in conversation with a seminary student covering two thousand years of religious history.
damn, how did that happen?i won’t bore you with lavish details.
in fact, i only mention the incident for one reason.i'm no smarter than anybody - but i've had way too much practice chatting with eager christian seminary students.i posed a couple of questions i’d never done before which seemed to stop this fella dead in his tracks.
-
-
Terry
John (the student in Seminary) had protested: "Jesus already died for everybody; he already proved His love. It's up to us to warn them." I had to smile (having been a JW with the same mindset.
I pointed out something he had never ever thought about before.
I said, "Yes, but Jesus came back from the dead. So, that's more like a magic trick where the woman isn't really sawed in half.
Death is a very elastic concept in spiritually minded people. Dead isn't dead as a doornail.
Dead is "But wait--there's more!" Only kidding - it's temporary.
Dead is judgment. Dead is Hell. Dead is heaven. Dead is paradise.
Because why?
These are assertions un-provable until you've traded the most valuable thing you have for what's behind door number three. -
22
What is REALLY behind the destruction of the Postal Service? I decided to research it ...
by Terry ini don't know about you - but i never know when i'm being lied to or told the truth any longer.
partisans are tribes warring on truth.
i decided to see what i could find out historically and this is what i've come up with.
-
-
Terry
Folks older than I am (not many of those around!) have always told me it's been like this from the beginning. I suppose corruption is corruption. But is it just me who never noticed before?
As an ExJW my interest in keeping up with things political at arm's length is conditioned. We were always instructed to see things a a set-pattern, like water running down hill, fulfilling prophecy.
Instead, it's human nature.
The Governing Body is a separate set of corrupt people who (possibly) believe they are instruments of greatness.
Self-delusion or simple dishonesty? The results are the same - aren't they? -
8
What if the Christian version of the End of the World came an hour from now?
by Terry inthe next thing i knew, i was knee deep in conversation with a seminary student covering two thousand years of religious history.
damn, how did that happen?i won’t bore you with lavish details.
in fact, i only mention the incident for one reason.i'm no smarter than anybody - but i've had way too much practice chatting with eager christian seminary students.i posed a couple of questions i’d never done before which seemed to stop this fella dead in his tracks.
-
-
Terry
The next thing I knew, I was knee deep in conversation with a Seminary Student covering two thousand years of religious history. Damn, how did that happen?
I won’t bore you with lavish details. In fact, I only mention the incident for one reason.
I'm no smarter than anybody - but I've had way too much practice chatting with eager Christian Seminary students.
I posed a couple of questions I’d never done before which seemed to stop this fella dead in his tracks.
Never has this occurred previously.
Bullets bounce off Seminary students!
Here is how it went down.
Me: “Half the world population (4 billion people) have never made a phone call, have never seen a television set, or heard a single word about a fella named Jesus. Let that sink in a minute. Now listen to me. I PROPOSE A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT. This is a WHAT IF. What if the Christian version of the End of the World came an hour from now--the Lord God Almighty takes you, John, aside and tells you the following . . . “
GOD: “John, I’m going to have to destroy 4 billion men, women, children, and infants. Is that okay with you?”
Me: “So, what do you answer, John?”
At this point, my young bearded Master of Divinity student begins to squirm. He deflects, he dodges and rebuts and pivots to the point I step in again and say firmly:
Me: “John, please accept the premise and simply respond honestly. God has asked a question and He expects an answer.”
After more squirming and another intervention on my part, finally, John answers.
John: “Yes. God is righteous and Just and Sovereign and can do no wrong. I have to accept that no matter what He does--it is always the right thing.”
Me: “Thank you, John. One last question--a variation on the first one. Are you ready?”
John (not ready at all) : “Okay.”
Me: “God now says to you. . . “
God: “ John, I’m going to leave the matter of LIFE or DEATH for those 4 billion persons entirely up to you. You are now able to save all of them by simply asking me to spare them. But, John---you have to die in place of them. Okay? What is your answer?”
Do I have to tell you, there followed another five minutes of wiggly, squirmy, pivoting? I waited for him to wind down making excuses. I cornered him and repeated ‘God’s’ question one more time until John answered wearily:
John: “Yes, I would have to do what Jesus did--as a Christian, I’d have to sacrifice myself to save others.”
My only purpose in setting up this artificial dilemma was to get him to realize something he had never considered at all.
Me: “John, do you realize what you’ve just done?”
Almost terrified (I kid you not) John’s eyes widened.
John: “What?”
Me: “You’ve demonstrated that YOU are more merciful than God Almighty! You would rather die than see 4 billion sinners destroyed even though you acknowledge they DESERVE to die because they aren’t believers in Jesus. How can you explain that?”
Now, I won’t repeat all of his subsequent dialogue. It was special pleading, diversionary rhetoric, and pure bombast.
I waited till it died down before proceeding. We have all heard this sort of thing a thousand times, haven't we?
Me: “The meaning of “Good” and the meaning of “Bad” are opposite meanings--except when God acts--suddenly Justice, Mercy, Love--all disappear in a puff of whimsical smoke! How can you believe God is Just and Loving no matter whether He kills 4 billion people or lets them live? When left to your own sense of Justice, Mercy, and Love you do the OPPOSITE of what you believe God would do on His own. John--that makes you a BETTER PERSON than God Almighty!”
John went into rhetorical meltdown mode for a good (bad) fifteen solid minutes of self-exculpation and disavowal.
Me: “ When you say God is Sovereign--you allow into your mind a Leader capable of any atrocity or miracle simultaneously. I submit to you--what is the difference between such a God and Kim Jong Un or Joseph Stalin, or Saddam Hussein? YOU are willing to give him a blank check and will sign off on both atrocity and miracles. If it were up to you (and trust me, it really IS) you wouldn’t approve of His outcome-based morality. So, I just wanted you to face that situation squarely. It is not a MORAL position for you. It is an IMMORAL one.”
John didn’t like what I was saying.
It wasn’t important, I fully expected him to bristle.
simply wanted to crack open the vault he’d sealed himself in whereby he detaches himself from humanity.
____________
What I didn’t tell you was the previous fifteen minutes conversation. That conversation was John going on about Homosexual sins, abortion, transgender bathrooms and such!
I listened with my stomach tightening. This was so clearly a person with a mind locked tight against his fellow human beings SOLELY because he thought God knew best--at least his version of God.
I left John after that long conversation with the following sentence. You judge for yourself if I was a big bully or not.
Me: “Your half of America sees the other half as THEM. Their half sees your half as THEM. Are you really willing to see them dead--or are you willing to die for them? Which is it really--and based on what? Christianity is many, many different ideas at odds--not a monolithic set of tablets with Do’s and Don’ts. When you earn your Master's Degree, what is it you’ve really “mastered” except a formula for condemning people who disagree?” -
22
What is REALLY behind the destruction of the Postal Service? I decided to research it ...
by Terry ini don't know about you - but i never know when i'm being lied to or told the truth any longer.
partisans are tribes warring on truth.
i decided to see what i could find out historically and this is what i've come up with.
-
-
-
22
What is REALLY behind the destruction of the Postal Service? I decided to research it ...
by Terry ini don't know about you - but i never know when i'm being lied to or told the truth any longer.
partisans are tribes warring on truth.
i decided to see what i could find out historically and this is what i've come up with.
-
-
Terry
Finding a "neutral" point of view on Democrat and Republican corruption isn't all that easy to find.
The Socialist website has its own ax to grind, of course, but sticking with the flow of legislation and getting the head count of ACTUAL support for laws and changes gutting our Postal Service was available there all alone.
To understand something you have to know not just the truth, but the whole truth and nothing but. Please correct any wrongly stated facts.
Cheers -
22
What is REALLY behind the destruction of the Postal Service? I decided to research it ...
by Terry ini don't know about you - but i never know when i'm being lied to or told the truth any longer.
partisans are tribes warring on truth.
i decided to see what i could find out historically and this is what i've come up with.
-
-
Terry
I don't know about you - but I never know when I'm being lied to or told the truth any longer. Partisans are tribes warring on truth. I decided to see what I could find out historically and this is what I've come up with. My points of reference are at the bottom. I would appreciate if you point out any errors I've made inadvertently. GOING POSTAL on the POSTAL SERVICE - “What really happened?”
1. Back in 1967 Democrat President Lydon Johnson CHANGED the Postal Service from a Cabinet-level Agency of the Federal Government into a Public-Owned CORPORATION.
WHY?
It prevented the Workers Union from striking for better working conditions. Johnson outlawed strikes and forced binding Arbitration instead.
2. Fast forward to 1980. By the 1980s, the USPS was cut off from all federal funding, forcing it to rely solely on revenue from its own products and services.
THE WORST was yet to come.
3. A crippling blow struck with a Senate Bill : H.R.6407 - Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in 12/20/2006. It’s ulterior purpose was to dry up any access to money.
Who sponsored this bill?
One Republican and Two Democrats.
Who passed the bill?
It was passed almost unanimously in the House of Representatives with 201 Democrats voting Yes and one abstaining. Bernie Sanders voted “Yes.”
Among Republicans, 208 voted Yes, 20 No, and two abstained.
-----LET’S PAUSE right here__
The Postal Service’s budget crisis started in 2006, with the landmark Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act passed by the George W. Bush administration with almost UNANIMOUS consent by the Democrats.
How did this “Accountability and Enhancement” cripple the Postal Service???
First, know this: NO OTHER existing entity has ever been required by law to LOSE $5.6 Billion dollars of operating funds thus forcing cutbacks, loss of employees creating a chokehold under the pretense of future funding for retirement.
What is going on here?
The POSTAL SERVICE WAS REQUIRED TO PRE-FUND for 80 years ahead it’s retirement benefits. That’s right, all the money available had to get locked away and inaccessible.
The act required the pre-funding of the health benefits of retirees, a requirement no other entity, public or private, has to make.
This required putting away an extra $5.6 billion per year, strongly contributing to the USPS’ loss of over $62.4 billion between 2007 and 2016.
A direct consequence of this action was the reduction of the USPS workforce by over 65,000 postal workers in 2009 and the start of yearly budget deficits. And so?
Put a cat in a bag, tie off the opening, throw the bag in the river. The cat will drown - right?
Well this cat has been holding its breath for over a decade!
4. As if this was not deadly enough - Democratic President Barack Obama continued and accelerated the assault on USPS workers. In 2011, under the pretext of reducing the federal budget deficit, the Obama administration outlined a plan to restructure the Retiree Health Benefit Fund and “refund” $6.8 Billion from the fund to the federal government.
Obama nominated a Republican board of governors, and the management pushed through severe restructuring. During his term, over 3,700 post offices were shut down and over 150,000 career employee positions were cut.
Now get this:
Richard Blum, the husband of California Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein, won the contract to sell off the post offices.
Corruption? Cronyism?
Notice carefully the clever wording of this official pronouncement:
On July 27, newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy declared: “The Postal Service is in a financially unsustainable position, stemming from substantial declines in mail volume, and a broken business model.”DeJoy continued: “We are currently unable to balance our costs with available funding sources to fulfill both our universal service mission and other legal obligations. Because of this, the Postal Service has experienced over a decade of financial losses, with no end in sight, and we face an impending liquidity crisis.”
Did you catch the wording: “We are currently unable to balance our costs with available funding sources…”??
Now you know why the funding sources are UNavailable.
The current outrage against the USPS is only brought to light as SOLELY the work of the Trump Administration.
Everything Trump is trying to do has ...wait for it ...wait for it...BIPARTISAN SUPPORT.
The so-called opposition is smoke and mirrors.
The USPS Board of Directors has been PACKED with --ready? UPS cronies! (United Parcel Service). This took place by appointments by the President APPROVED by the Senate.
Big Donors showering the Republican Party with lavish cash donations resulted in these appointments. No doubt about it.
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: USPS is headed by former Wall Street and corporate executives, whose collective millions are derived from decades of corporate raiding and financial speculation, ramping up corporate profits at the expense of the working class.
Every single one of these predatory Banker Vampires and all of the current members received overwhelming BIPARTISAN support in the Senate which demonstrates that regardless of their pretensions, BOTH Democrats and Republicans are united in their assault against postal workers and the social rights of the working class.
_______
Culled from:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/6407/actions
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/15/demo-a15.html
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/04/usps-a04.html -
1
Don't Sweat the Petty things (and Don't Pet the Sweaty things)!
by Terry inchanging a diaper is a lot like getting a present from your grandmother - you're not sure what you've got but you're pretty sure you're not going to like it.____egotists have one really great trait.
they don't talk about other people._____it is impossible to know what a truly deserted area looks like.____words to live by: don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.____strange but true: most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.____what does 'subjective' mean?
have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?____you have to stay in shape.
-
-
Terry
Career-wise - who do you think was the funnier of the two:
Dangerfield or Carlin?
Who has the wittiest one-liners TODAY?