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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (130537)4/19/2012 8:00:37 AM
From: TideGlider3 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224746
 
Here is one persons opinion on how to salvage it.

practicalmatter1 I believe that we need to keep the post offices open on Saturdays. Here is my rational. How many days a week do we really need mail delivered to our home or business? 6 days for delivery allows us to cut delivery in half, a third, or one sixth. If we use 6 days we can give everyone delivery 3 days a week (6 divided by 3 = 2 routes per carrier) , M/W/F or T/Th/S. Of the 343,300 postal carriers in 2008, we may be able to cut about 1/3 of them. Using their average 2008 salary of $48,900 that is a savings of over 5.6 Billion dollars a year. Add to that the savings in fuel, trucks, benefits, mechanics, etc., we could balance their budget. Increased income can be generated by allowing individuals and/or businesses to purchase mail delivery 6 days a week if they feel that they need it (say $10 per month). By maintaining the 6 day per week delivery, as mail continues to decline in volume, we would eventually be able to cut delivery to 2 days per week (6 divided by 2 = 3 routes per carrier). Postal Carriers should then be first in line to be HIRED by other parts of the government (or reassigned) instead of others trying to get in on the government retirement program. Most of this could be accomplished thru attrition and retirement. It's really not that difficult. It's a PRACTICAL MATTER. Just takes some political will of the politicians



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (130537)4/19/2012 8:05:51 AM
From: TideGlider2 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224746
 
A 'dire' situation: Post Office loses $5.1 billion

Karen Bleier / AFP - Getty Images

The government faces difficult decisions on the Postal Service.

By Msnbc.com staff and wire
The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it lost $5.1 billion last year as a weak economy and increased Internet use drove down mail volume.

The bleak financial report for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 was not as high as the $10 billion in losses previously estimated. But that's because an annual payment of $5.5 billion the post office owed the federal government has been deferred to a later date.

Postal officials called the financial situation "dire." They say the Postal Service will not be able to make the $5.5 billion payment due this Friday due to low cash flow.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has warned of a postal shutdown next year unless there is congressional action to address the agency's long-term money problems.

“The Postal Service can become profitable again if Congress passes comprehensive legislation to provide us with a more flexible business model so we can respond better to a changing marketplace,” said Donahoe in a statement. “To return to profitability we must reduce our annual costs by $20 billion by the end of 2015."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (130537)4/19/2012 8:08:22 AM
From: TideGlider3 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224746
 
Post Office Loses $20 BILLION In The Past FOUR Years, $8.5 BILLION In 2010 ALONE and the Union Doesn't Want Concessions
Seeded on Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:35 PM EDT
Article Source: The Washington Post
us-news
Seeded by Prophat247

The financially strapped U.S. Postal Service is proposing to cut its workforce by 20 percent and to withdraw from the federal health and retirement plans because it believes it could provide benefits at a lower cost.

The layoffs would be achieved in part by breaking labor agreements, a proposal that drew swift fire from postal unions. The plan would require congressional approval but, if successful, could be precedent-setting, with possible ripple effects throughout government. It would also deliver a major blow to the nation’s labor movement.

In a notice informing employees of its proposals — with the headline “Financial crisis calls for significant actions” — the Postal Service said, “We will be insolvent next month due to significant declines in mail volume and retiree health benefit pre-funding costs imposed by Congress.”

During the past four years, the service lost $20 billion, including $8.5 billion in fiscal 2010. Over that period, mail volume dropped by 20 percent.

The USPS plan is described in two draft documents obtained by The Washington Post. A “Workforce Optimization” paper acknowledges its “extraordinary request” to break its labor contracts.

“However, exceptional circumstances require exceptional remedies,” the document says.

“The Postal Service is facing dire economic challenges that threaten its very existence. .?.?. If the Postal Service was a private sector business, it would have filed for bankruptcy and utilized the reorganization process to restructure its labor agreements to reflect the new financial reality,” the document continues.

In a white paper on health and retirement benefits, the USPS said it was imperative to rein in health benefit and pension costs, which are a third of its labor expenses.

For health insurance plans, the paper said, the Postal Service wanted to withdraw its 480,000 pensioners and 600,000 active employees from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program “and place them in a new, Postal Service administered” program.

Almost identical language is used for the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (130537)4/19/2012 8:15:38 AM
From: TideGlider2 Recommendations  Respond to of 224746
 
Post Office Mansion?
Posted: 12:21 PM ET
We received a tip about the United States Postal Service buying a $1.2 million mansion from a former postmaster in Lexington, South Carolina, who voluntarily relocated to Carrolton, Texas for a job as a customer service manager. Right away we wanted to know more.



The same day we got that tip, CNN aired a story about Postmaster General John Potter getting job perks, and receiving a salary that some critics say is far too high.

In January, Potter testified to Congress that the Postal Service was experiencing a "severe financial crisis," and needed help with its finances. At the hearing, Potter said he had cut travel, and frozen executive salaries.

The Postmaster told members of Congress he feared USPS would suffer a $6 billion deficit for this fiscal year, and he was even recommending a cutback in the number of days USPS would deliver mail.

Despite all of this, it wasn’t until last week that the Postal Service said it would set a new limit on how much it would spend on houses purchased in its relocation packages.

In the past, there were no limits. In one case, the USPS paid $2.8 million for a home.

If you compare this home purchase policy with those of various government agencies, you can see just how generous it really is. For example, the Food and Drug Administration has a $330,000 cap for home purchases when an employee is relocated. The Department of Homeland Security tells CNN it would rarely pay to move an employee, but if it did, the total cost would not exceed 25 percent of his or her salary.

I wonder what we would find out if we compared the way USPS home purchasing and relocation policies compare to the relocation packages of Fortune 500 companies.

With the economy in a recession, and the housing market struggling, do you think USPS should buy million dollar mansions, while at the same time, increase the cost of stamps, and cutback on delivery days? Would your company buy your home in a market like this? I bet you wish it would.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (130537)4/19/2012 8:32:58 AM
From: lorne5 Recommendations  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 224746
 
Eric Holder warned: Arrest Black Panthers!

'Racist organization' retaliates for Trayvon Martin killing
by Bob Unruh
Thursday, April 19, 2012
wnd.com


A high-profile minister and commentator for Fox News, CNN and MSNBC who has been described as the “antidote to Jesse Jackson” is calling today for more arrests in the Trayvon Martin case in Florida. But the ones who should be in handcuffs, according to Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, are members of the New Black Panther Party.

Peterson, founder of the Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny, as well as the affiliated BOND Action, has written to Attorney General Eric Holder asking for the arrests.

“The New Black Panther Party has been emboldened by the Justice Department’s refusal to prosecute them for past and current crimes,” he said. “They must be stopped now before their incitement to violence and bloodshed becomes a tragic reality in Florida and across this nation. Swift and aggressive action by your office would show that the DOJ is still committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, not just blacks, and that you’re seeking justice for all parties involved in this unfortunate case. I hope that you’ll do the right thing. The nation is watching.”

Peterson cited the “$10,000 bounty” that the party placed on the life of George Zimmerman, who has been arrested in the death of Trayvon Martin. The party also has “distributed flyers called for his capture ‘dead or alive.’”

“Even though George Zimmerman is now in custody and has been charged with second-degree murder, the blood lust and inflammatory remarks by New Black Panther Party leaders still rages. As you know, the New Black Panther Party is a racist organization – similar to the Ku-Klux-Klan,” wrote Peterson, who has been a driving force behind the national boycott of the NAACP and author of “SCAM: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America” and “From Rage to Responsibility.”

Peterson’s letter cited the bounty offered by the New Black Panther Party as well as comments from Michelle Williams, chief of staff for the party.

Williams said, “Let me tell you, the things that’s about to happen, to these honkeys, these crackers, these pigs, these pink people, these – people. It has been long overdue.”

She also said, “My prize right now this evening … is gonna be the bounty, the arrest, dead or alive, for George Zimmerman. You feel me?” later adding, “It’s in me to fight. It’s in me to raise up soldiers. It’s in me that every time my feet touch the ground [in] the state of Florida – these crackers – they scared.”

Also, Peterson noted, Malik Zulu Shabazz, chairman of the New Black Panther Party said, “We’re going soon within a few weeks [to Sanford, Fla.]…. We have to raise up an army of black men and black people who will patrol and defend the community and we have to have a ministry of defense in Florida.”

In addition to the letter to Holder, Peterson is raising a petition for Americans to join together in his cause.

The petition explains: “During the investigation into the shooting of Trayvon Martin, New Black Panther Party members have taken it upon themselves to seek vigilante justice and intimidate the citizens of Florida. They’ve put a $10,000 bounty on George Zimmerman’s life and have distributed flyers calling for his capture.”

It continues, “The New Black Panther Party is pouring gasoline onto an already inflamed situation.”

Peterson pointed out that there have been other incidents involving the New Black Panthers that Americans have questioned, including the Department of Justice decision to back out of a case against party members for allegedly intimidating voters in 2008.

That decision, wrote Peterson, “has led to allegations that this Department of Justice under the Obama administration is unwilling to prosecute blacks for civil rights violations and hate crimes against whites.”

Peterson said, “As the leading law enforcement official in this nation, you know that every American is guaranteed due process and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

On the question of the Obama administration’s treatment of the party, Les Kinsolving, WND’s correspondent at the White House, recently sought answers.

He wanted to know, “Does the president believe it is legal for the New Black Panthers to offer $10,000 ‘dead or alive’ for George Zimmerman, who they called a ‘child killer’ and warned Zimmerman ‘should be fearful for his life?’”

At the daily White House press briefing, he also was prepared to ask, “Has the president any regret about his intervention in the case, when he said, ‘If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon?”

White House press secretary Jay Carney did not let him even ask the questions.

The issue was, however, raised in the Washington Times.

In an editorial there, the newspaper asked, “What is it about the Justice Department and the Black Panthers?”

“On March 24, Mikhail Muhammad, leader of the New Black Panther Party, offered a $10,000 bounty for the ‘capture’ of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin. The Panthers distributed wanted posters, calling him a ‘child killer’ and offering the bounty ‘dead or alive.’ Muhammad warned that Mr. Zimmerman ‘should be fearful for his life.’”

Continued the editorial, “These acts were almost certainly criminal. Florida Code 787.01 makes it a felony to threaten someone or abduct them with the intent to terrorize. Florida Code 777.04 further criminalizes solicitation which ‘commands, encourages, hires or requests another person’ to engage in criminal activity such as kidnapping.”

The issue reflects some of the fundamental beliefs of Obama, the commentary said.

“This scandal offers an opportunity for the Obama administration to show it can act impartially and calm racial tensions. So far, the White House has failed to lead on the issue. President Obama’s high-profile public statement – ‘If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon’ – was bizarre and seemed to show undue bias. Taking swift action against those who seek to incite racial violence would demonstrate that the federal government enforces the law without prejudice.”

The commentary noted Zimmerman’s family has asked Holder why has his office not arrested the New Black Panther Party members for hate crimes.

“Since when can a group of people put a bounty on someone’s head, circulate Wanted posters publicly, and still be walking the streets?” the newspaper asked.

An earlier Obama DOJ statement on the same party came shortly after the 2008 election.

See the video:



As WND reported, in Philadelphia a case was brought against the organization and several individuals who witnesses say derided voters with catcalls of “white devil” and “cracker” and told them they should prepare to be “ruled by the black man.”

One poll watcher called police after he reportedly saw one of the men brandishing a nightstick to threaten voters.

“As I walked up, they closed ranks, next to each other,” the witness told Fox News at the time. “So I walked directly in between them, went inside and found the poll watchers. They said they’d been here for about an hour. And they told us not to come outside because a black man is going to win this election no matter what.”

He said the man with a nightstick told him, “‘We’re tired of white supremacy,’ and he starts tapping the nightstick in his hand. At which point I said, ‘OK, we’re not going to get in a fistfight right here,’ and I called the police.”

Subsequently, former DOJ attorney J. Christian Adams testified before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission that the Voting Section of Holder’s agency is dominated by a “culture of hostility” toward bringing cases against blacks and other minorities who violate voting-rights laws.

Further, two other former U.S. Department of Justice attorneys later corroborated key elements of the explosive allegations by Adams.

One of Adams’ DOJ colleagues, former Voting Section trial attorney Hans A. von Spakovsky, told WND he saw Adams was being attacked in the media for lack of corroboration. He said he knew Adams was telling the truth, so he decided on his own to step forward.

Adams was ordered by his superiors to drop the case prosecutors already had won against the New Black Panthers. When they were ordered to stop prosecution, Adams and the team of DOJ lawyers had already won the case by default because the New Black Panthers declined to defend themselves in court. At that point in the proceedings, the DOJ team was simply waiting for the judge to assign penalties against the New Black Panthers.



To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (130537)4/19/2012 8:40:06 AM
From: TideGlider4 Recommendations  Respond to of 224746
 
DATA SNAP: 4-Week Average Of US Jobless Claims Highest Since Jan
Last update: 4/19/2012 8:30:00 AM
      By Josh Mitchell and Eric Morath      Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES    

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A closely watched measure of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to its highest level in nearly three months, a sign of lost momentum in the labor market.
The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims rose by 5,500 to a seasonally adjusted 374,750, the highest level since Jan. 28, the Labor Department said Thursday. The moving average smoothes out weekly volatility.
Initial claims filed in the week ended April 14 fell by 2,000 to 386,000. Even though the decline indicates a slight improvement, the prior week's level was revised sharply higher to 388,000 from a previously reported 380,000.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires predicted that 375,000 new claims would be filed last week.
The level of weekly claims--a measure of the pace of employer layoffs--is still far below levels seen a year ago when they typically exceeded 400,000. But the decline in jobless claims has moderated in recent weeks.
Also, job creation slowed in March, when U.S. employers added 120,000 nonfarm jobs, half of what they added the previous month.
With the labor market appearing to lose steam, speculation is rising about the Federal Reserve's next moves. Fed officials could be more likely to stick with their easy-money policies and resist raising interest rates if growth slows.
Fed officials, who will hold their next policy meeting next week, have said the federal funds rate is likely to remain near zero at least through late 2014. Stronger growth earlier this year prompted some economists to call for raising rates sooner.
Thursday's report showed the number of continuing unemployment benefit claims--those drawn by workers for more than a week--rose by 26,000 to 3,297,000 in the week ended April 7. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
The number of workers requesting unemployment insurance was equivalent to 2.6% of employed workers paying into the system in the week ended April 7--the same as the prior week.
The Labor Department report on jobless claims can be accessed at: dol.gov.
--By Josh Mitchell and Eric Morath; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6637; joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2012 08:30 ET (12:30 GMT)