Miscellaneous Musings, #2: The US Postal "Service"

Just recently, the US Postal Service announced they had yet another loss in revenue and might have to think about raising rates. Well, isn't that special?

They cited things, such as increased use of e-mails and online payments, gas prices, the economy, and all sorts of good stuff like that. One thing they forgot to mention was "service."

Many people have anecdotes about dealing with that behemoth, and I'm going to add another. I still haven't figured out what happened, and, by now, I really don't care, as long as the problem is fixed, and that remains to be seen.  The ball was dropped, and disappeared into the abyss.

Now, one would think that a change of address would be a simple thing, right?  Especially when the Postal Service allows you to do it online.  And charges your credit card $1.00 for the "service."   You get a lovely confirmation and their message tells you that you should receive your mail at the new address in about 7-10 business days.  What could be easier?

As part of their security efforts, they send a letter to your old address saying that someone has requested a change of address and list the named party(ies) that the change affects.  This is a good and happy thing, because if you didn't order it, you could still stop it from going through.

I trustingly put my Change-of-Address Order (PS Form 3575) online on September 29, 2010, with an effective date of October 1, 2010.  I paid my dollar, got the confirmation, and figured everything would be fine.  After all, I'm only moving a few blocks away, it's even in the same zip code, so the same post office would handle everything.  What could go wrong?  Uh huh.

Now, I'm no slouch at getting mail.  I get bills, junk mail, letters, all sorts of crap.  I waited for the 7-10 business days.  Nothing.  I began to get mail at my new address with my new address on it, but, nothing that was addressed to the old.  I had other fish to fry at that point, so I didn't make any inquiries.  In the interim, I had received two envelopes with the yellow update stickers on them:  one junk mail, and the other, from the state.

Now, to the intriguing part.  Early in November, I received an Official Change of Address Confirmation Letter from the USPS, telling me that my change would be effective as of November 4, 2010.  (Note:  more than a month after I filed the request online.)  I guess their concept of 7-10 business days differs from mine and the rest of the world's.  And I wait.

A week or so later, my former roommate called me and told me he's still getting regular delivery of mail for me.  I'm not sure why that's happening, but I figure now is the time to call the Postal Service and find out.  I dutifully called the number on the Official Confirmation, and got the local number for my post office.  I called and spoke with a very nice woman who said she'd check with the carrier and find out the status of the change.

A couple days later, she calls me back and said that the route carrier has no record of any change of address for me and that I should probably file another.  OK, whatever. 

But, wait, there's more!  Now, how much would you pay?  See your dollar stretch!

Remember the security letter that they send to verify the changes?  In the stack of mail I picked up from my former roomie, the letter was there, dated October 4, 2010!

So, two days ago, I wandered into my local post office and spoke with a very nice lady who told me I didn't need to fill out another change, it would only confuse the issue.

Then, she gave me some very interesting information.  When you file a change of address online, it goes directly to the change of address section in the main computer.  However, that information doesn't seem to get passed on to where it really counts:  the local post office and the carrier.  One hand apparently doesn't know what the other hand is doing.  Yet, they still took my dollar! 

She suggested that, in the future, I go directly to the post office and file it there so that they have a local record. I hereby pass that on for your information.

I'm not sure they've ever dealt with streamlining their organization, which at one time supposedly had one supervisor for every 8 employees, one manager for every few supervisors, and on up the management food chain. If they haven't, then, that would be a start.

Supporters will say that the cost of postage really hasn't risen, it's merely being adjusted to inflation. That may be partially true, but I don't buy it.  I'll bet if they improved their service, they might get a little more business and make the money they need.

I'm just sayin.

Miscellaneous Musings, #1: Westboro Baptist

I should probably sub-title this post: "Some Days, You Get the Bear; Some Days, the Bear Gets You."

Gotta hand it to the loons at the Westboro Baptist Church, the supposedly "Christian" family cult in Kansas that pickets the funerals of military personnel with signs such as "Thank God for IEDs," "God Hates Dead Soldiers," "God Hates You," and, of course, their standard "God Hates Fags." Why they have that particular bee, and not others as well, in their bonnet is anyone's guess.

Now, I am a strong defender of the First Amendment. I truly believe that, no matter how hateful and vile the messages they spew, they have the right to say it. I have the right not to agree with them, and I certainly don't.

Fred Phelps and his wife, Margie, are both attorneys as well as pastors of their kindred flock. They can choose to parse the English language any way they want, but I think most funerals are and should be private affairs, allowing the friends and family of the deceased time to grieve. The kinds of stunts they pull is, at the very least, a breach of etiquette and boorish behavior.

No matter, these self-righteous blowhards believe in what they're doing, and they spend lots of time and money going around to various funerals to do their shtick. Many states have enacted laws against protesting at a funeral, and the church has been sued over it, and one case from Maryland, Snyder v. Phelps, was just argued at the Supreme Court last month.

I reacted with mild amusement at how our local news radio station reported what happened last weekend. Maybe you didn't hear about the event, at which a van, containing 6 of the faithful, showed up.

Apparently, the folks in Tulsa, OK, were ready. A local motorcycle club got between the protesters and the funeral, and, while they were shouting, the bikers revved their engines to drown them out. I hate when that happens.

But the part that really amused me was how the reporter told about the group going back to its van... and finding all four tires slashed. But the fun was only beginning for their intrepid crew. As they drove away on rims, they tried to find somewhere to replace the tires. Nobody in Tulsa would help them. Guess whoever did eventually help them got a nice sale: 4 tires, 4 rims, and all the trimmings.

I will say categorically that I don't condone willful destruction of personal property.

Ya know, though, sometimes, you spew your hate and filth all over the place and claim you are totally in the right. But that doesn't stop someone who finds you really offensive from reacting a little outside the law.

I'm just sayin.