Trump and Secretary Munchkin need to stop playing with the USA Post Office.

I spoke to friends in Ohio and their Ohio Unemployment checks are stuck in Temperance, Michigan because of reduced staff. Evidently, the checks were mailed the first week of April but haven't arrived yet.

I understand the concerns the president has about giving away postage to third-party sellers, but, this is not the time to carry out that agenda.

Evidently, Ohio Unemployment has a policy that demands the first check to be mailed and after that check is deposited, THEN they will make automatic deposits. Ohio Unemployment needs to suspend that requirement, it is causing Americans in that state a good deal of stress.


April 23, 2020
By Jacob Bogage and Lisa Rein

The Treasury Department (click here) is considering taking unprecedented control over key operations of the U.S. Postal Service by imposing tough terms on an emergency coronavirus loan from Congress, which would fulfill President Trump’s longtime goal of changing how the service does business, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Officials working under Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who must approve the $10 billion loan, have told senior officials at the USPS in recent weeks that he could use the loan as leverage to give the administration influence over how much the agency charges for delivering packages and how it manages its finances, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are preliminary.

Trump has railed for years against what he sees as mismanagement at the Postal Service, which he argues has been exploited by e-commerce sites such as Amazon, and has sought to change how much the agency charges for the delivery of packages....

Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General, I don't see a Trump appointee taking over that job.

I am appalled a federal administration mired in politics would even attempt at a time like this to hold the US Post Office hostage and cause Americans more problems. I do not see a postage stamp with Trump as an election issue.

The current US Postmaster General is Megan J. Brennan.

Post Master Megan J. Brennan (click here) attends the U.S. Postal Service Dedication of the Mister Rogers Forever Stamp at WQED's Fred Rogers Studio on March 23, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Mister Rogers commemorative stamp is a real winner. I am sure it will nearly sell out.

Megan J. Brennan (click here) is the 74th and the first female Postmaster General of the United States and the Chief Executive Officer of the world’s largest postal organization.

Appointed by the Governors (click here) of the Postal Service, Brennan began her tenure as Postmaster General in February 2015.  In the prior four years, Brennan served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of the Postal Service, and held prior roles as Vice President of both the Eastern Area and Northeast Area Operations. Brennan began her 33-year Postal Service career as a letter carrier in Lancaster, Pennsylvania....

The US Postal Service was created within the USA Constitution.

Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress

Just think about it for a second. The Founders of the USA Constitution and it's Ten Amendments is nothing short of genius. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and assembly and Section 8 of Article One of the actual Constitution creates the US Post Office and the Postal roads needed to facilitate freedom of speech and assembly. COMMUNICATION without burden was to guarantee the stability of the country and its future. That is genius.

I guess Chairman of the US Post Office Board of Governors isn't good enough for Trump.

Robert M. Duncan (click here) was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate in August 2018. The Senate confirmed Duncan for a second term in December 2019. His current term expires on December 8, 2025. Duncan was re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Governors in November 2019....

Because he also appointed the Vice Chairperson. Not only that but the Board of Governors of the US Postal Service are now ALL OLD WHITE MEN.

David C. Williams’ appointment (click here) to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump was confirmed by the Senate in August of 2018. Williams, a native of Illinois, is serving the remainder of a seven-year term that expired Dec. 8, 2019, and he will continue to serve as a Governor for an additional year ending Dec. 8, 2020, unless a successor is appointed before that date. He was elected vice chairman of the Board of Governors on Sept. 13, 2018 and was re-elected as vice chairman in November 2019....

John M. Barger (click here) was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 1, 2019. Barger will serve for the remainder of a term that expires on Dec. 8, 2021. He currently chairs the Board's Compensation and Governance Committee....

Ron A. Bloom (click here) was nominated to serve on the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump, confirmed by the Senate and began his service on Aug. 20, 2019. Bloom will serve the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on Dec. 8, 2020. He currently chairs the Board's Strategy and Innovation Committee....

Roman Martinez IV (click here) was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 1, 2019. Martinez will serve for the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on Dec. 8, 2024. He currently chairs the Board's Audit and Finance Committee....

Martinez earned his Bachelor’s degree (click here) from Boston College, and then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Prior to assuming his current role, Martinez spent 31 years at Lehman Brothers. He retired from Lehman as a Managing Director in 2003. Martinez also currently serves on several other boards. These include Cigna Corporation, GreenPoint Financial Corp., the New York Presbyterian Church, and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems....

The US Postal Service is a dear friend to all Americans. If they need monies they need to receive A GRANT for at least the first $5 billion and then if they still need funding they should be allowed to take a loan of the rest of it.

The virus is causing a lot of problems for USPS.

April 10, 2020

Postmaster General Megan Brennan (click here) told committee members in a virtual briefing on Thursday that USPS will “run out of cash this fiscal year” without further financial assistance.

Brennan said that USPS now expects a $13 billion revenue loss tied “directly to COVID-19” this fiscal year. Over the next 18 months, that loss would approach $22 billion and would exceed $54 billion within the next decade, “threatening our ability to operate.”

“We are at a critical juncture in the life of the Postal Service.  At a time when America needs the Postal Service more than ever, the reason we are so needed is having a devastating effect on our business,” Brennan said.

“The Postal Service relies on the sale of postal products and services to fund our operations, and these sales are plummeting as a result of the pandemic. The sudden drop in mail volumes, our most profitable revenue stream, is steep and may never fully recover.

“I want to commend the brave men and women of the Postal Service for all they are doing in the midst of this pandemic,” said Carolyn Maloney, the oversight committee’s chairwoman, after receiving a briefing from Brennan on Thursday. “The Postal Service is holding on for dear life, and unless Congress and the White House provide meaningful relief in the next stimulus bill, the Postal Service could cease to exist.”

The Trump administration is seeking to hobble the US Post Office which is guaranteed to the citizens of the USA. If the Congress passes a "mail-in" election in November, the votes will never reach the Secretaries of State to be counted. Count on it.

The best example of this problem can be viewed in Wisconsin where voters have come down with COVID-19 two weeks after the election.

Mnuchin needs to be a real American and have real loyalty to the USA Constitution and SUPPORT the US Post Office! They need monies and they need it in the form of grants. GET OVER IT!

I am concerned these numbers will continue to increase unabated if the states are opening too soon.

According to John Hopkins (click here):

The United States of America has over 31 percent of all confirmed cases globally. That percentage is followed by Spain with less than 10 percent of the confirmed cases.

Global confirmed cases: 2,682,225

USA cases: 856,209

The United States of America has more than 13.6 percent of the deaths globally. That percentage 

Global deaths: 187,330

USA deaths: 44,485

The United States of America has 24 percent of the deaths from COVID-19 globally.

April 23, 2020
By Domenico Montanaro and Elena Moore

A month ago, (click here) President Trump went on Fox and downplayed the potential lethality of the novel coronavirus and compared it to the seasonal flu.

"We've had horrible flus," Trump said March 24. "I mean, think of it: we average 36,000 people. Death. Death. I'm not talking about cases, I'm talking about death — 36,000 deaths a year. People die — 36 [thousand] — from the flu. But we've never closed down the country for the flu. So you say to yourself, 'What is this all about?'"

Trump's numbers on the flu have come into question, but even by his own cited numbers, there have now been far more deaths from COVID-19 — in less than two months. As the chart below shows, the curve nationally is hardly flattening by that measure....

"Moscow" Mitch, the Senate Majority leader with a Russian oligarch in his back pocket, is proud of his title of The Grim Reaper.

So now that the Senate Majority Leader has to look at the financial damage a virus the president wanted to make disappear into the flu statistics has done to the Blue States he doesn't want to have anything to do with it. He wants the states with the largest populations of the country to declare bankruptcy. Sounds like Trump has McConnell is his back pocket.

Everything is politics with McConnell and Trump. If a Democrat yelled they were going to be hit by an oncoming truck as they cross the street, they would first attempt to decide if it was a political advantage.

Senate Majority (click here) Leader Mitch McConnell calls himself the "Grim Reaper," vowing to kill whichever bill that he labels as socialist legislation, including a bill that pushes for election security.

McConnell absolutely is a partisan hack. That is all he is. He is probably the most corrupt member of congress between his spouse and his family which think nothing of coveting the federal treasury or the Chinese treasury, too.

Elaine Chao, (click here) the transportation secretary, oversees the American maritime industry. Her family’s shipping company, Foremost Group, has deep ties to the Chinese elite.

Most of the commerce by the Foremost Group is commodities to China. China has sponsored the growth of the company and the building of some of it's ships. That is probably just interesting and whether there are ethical issues isn't really clear, although it is known Foremost donates to the couple and McConnell's campaign regularly.

When the Department of Transportation Secretary assigns a special envoy to find spending for Kentucky it is a huge ethics violation. But, what difference does it make? None. She is still there and so is Mitch.

Credit...

June 10, 2019
By Tucker Doherty and Tanya Snyder

A certificate (click here) being presented to Ms. Chao in her role as an international adviser to the city of Wuhan.

Elaine Chao, (click here) the transportation secretary, oversees the American maritime industry. Her family’s shipping company, Foremost Group, has deep ties to the Chinese elite.

The Transportation Department under Secretary Elaine Chao designated a special liaison to help with grant applications and other priorities from her husband Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky, paving the way for grants totaling at least $78 million for favored projects as McConnell prepared to campaign for reelection.

Chao’s aide Todd Inman, who stated in an email to McConnell’s Senate office that Chao had personally asked him to serve as an intermediary, helped advise the senator and local Kentucky officials on grants with special significance for McConnell — including a highway-improvement project in a McConnell political stronghold that had been twice rejected for previous grant applications....

The deadly spring. The bodies of severe climate are adding up.

April 22, 2020
By Doyle Rice and Jessica Flores

Current weather pattern (click here) The storm system slowed and formed a vortex which increased it's surface wind speed.

At least five people were killed (click here) when severe storms ripped through southern states Wednesday night, after weeks of extreme weather that killed more than two-dozen people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

A tornado in Marshall County, Oklahoma killed one person and damaged at least two businesses.

Robert Chaney, Marshall County Emergency Management Director, said the person's body was found near J&I Manufacturing, a trailer factory about six miles southwest of Madill where the storm hit the Oklahoma Steel and Wire plant.

At least three people were killed when apparent tornado in southeast Texas touched down about 6 p.m. near Onalaska, about 75 miles north of Houston, the Polk County Emergency Management System said in a statement....

The underhanded political agenda of Donald Trump includes taking control of the media to begin a federal propaganda network.

It is completely clear that Trump's idea of "Fake News" is to create the demand among Americans for a new national media.

The level of corruption instilled in the federal government by Trump is unprecedented.

April 22, 2020
By Ben Schreckinger

Michael Pack, President Donald Trump’s nominee (click here) to lead a federal media organization has been funding his own private film company with donations from a nonprofit that he runs.

Voice of America (click here) director Amanda Bennett seems, at first glance, to be the perfect target for a Donald Trump attack on the mainstream media: A former Philadelphia Inquirer editor, wife of ex-Washington Post owner Donald Graham and Barack Obama appointee, Bennett has strived to maintain VOA’s independence from the White House during the Trump era.

So when Trump and his aides began attacking VOA earlier this month, stirring up anger on the right, the broadcaster and its leader seemed like another shrewdly chosen foil for rallying his populist base against Washington elites. But since then, a deeper motive has emerged: Trump is using the dispute to demand the confirmation of conservative activist and filmmaker Michael Pack, a close associate of Steve Bannon, to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA....