From last week’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee:

SEN. SPECTER: As you know, this committee was hard at work with legislation which I had proposed and others had co-sponsored and four hearings. And I think we could have been of assistance to you if we had been consulted.

The issue of the signing statements, Mr. Attorney General, continues to be a matter of major concern. Read the rest of this entry »

The White House yesterday confirmed that Dan Blair, deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management, and a former aide to Congressman John McHugh has been nominated to a seat on the Postal Rate Commission, “and upon confirmation designate Chairman”.

The nomination had been predicted last month by Linn’s columnist and veteran postal correspondent Bill McAllister, who wrote at the time that “Blair’s appointment to a five-year term is a highly significant move signaling that the administration wants a strong commission to oversee the Postal Service.”

The collection of postal reform blame game stories this morning was pretty funny- unless of course, you count on the USPS for your livelihood. Nothing that happens in our dysfunctional capital these days should come as any surprise, but the outbreak of finger pointing over the weekend was breathtaking. I can’t put it any better than the commenter on postalnews who had this to say:

Postal Reform has bought the farm yet again.

NAPS blames the NALC.

The NALC blames the White House.

The DMA blames UPS.

yada yada yada.

Careful if you’re headed to Washington DC. There’s so much finger pointing going on, somebody could lose an eye.

Now we get to see if Bush & Co. sneak through a real whopper of a bill during the lame duck session that NOBODY likes. They haven’t considered what the vast majority of the American public want on anything else, so why should they be concerned about shafting everyone yet again?

The beat goes on…
gruntled

Today’s NAPUS newsletter includes a short piece on the ‘horse race’ that has developed in the Connecticut’s Democratic primary election for Joe Lieberman’s Senate seat. NAPUS argues that Joe has been a friend of postal workers, and is in a position to help us, even as though his party is still in the minority. It goes on to suggest that his opponent, Ned Lamont, ‘appears to be solely an anti-war candidate’.

Fair enough- but accusing Lamont of being a ‘one issue’ candidate is a little ironic coming from NAPUS. Don’t get me wrong- I don’t think NAPUS, or the NALC for that matter, are doing anything wrong in endorsing Joe Lieberman. They’re just doing what their members pay them to do- support the politicians who will do the most good for the membership. But NALC and NAPUS are by definition, ‘one issue’ organizations. We don’t expect them to have a position on flag burning or gay marriage, thank god.

In the case of the Connecticut election, however, the issue that Ned Lamont is running on is far more important than any fears about his position (or lack thereof) on postal affairs. Lieberman’s enthusiastic support for George Bush’s disastrous war against Iraq is a disgrace. Lieberman may continue to claim that he is still a ‘real Democrat’ on domestic social issues. By supporting Bush’s war, however, he’s helped Bush to chip away at Americans’ rights, and he’s contributed to the increased hatred of America in the rest of the world. He’s also an accomplice in the staggering budget deficits the war has created, deficits made worse by Bush’s handouts to the wealthy. Doesn’t sound very ‘Democratic’ to me.

So NAPUS and the NALC are really asking their members to support Lieberman based on ‘one issue’- his record of support on postal matters. Fine- but knowing the damage he’s helped Bush do to this country, I think I’d rather take my chances with Ned Lamont!

For a chuckle, google the word ‘failure’- (you can use the Google box at the bottom of this page), and see what the first entry is!

Thanks to the Associated Press for the story. (And thanks also to the ‘Italian postal police’ who are said to be investigating the Berlusconi case. I’m guessing they’ve got a lot of spare time on their hands?)