U.S., not Amazon, must save Postal Service
Regarding “Bring in Amazon” (Letters, Aug. 28): I’m guessing the letter writer was joking when he advocated that Amazon take over the U.S. Postal Service. It’s worth clarifying for people who don’t know the difference between an agency providing an essential, affordable service for all Americans, and a forprofit business.
It’s also worth defending the Postal Service, which is incredibly reliable compared with similar offices in other countries. This is especially remarkable considering America’s vast size, and the USPS’ record of delivery success to anyone paying 55 cents. There is simply no way Amazon could provide this service so well for every address in America at such a low cost. Nor would Amazon want to.
Peter Albert, San Francisco
Outrageous requirement
I am writing in response to the writer who recommended bringing in Amazon to solve the postal crisis. A better solution is to stop requiring the U.S. Postal Service to put aside 75 years’ worth of retirement benefits. No other entity is saddled with this requirement. It is time for it to end.
Elizabeth Larson, San Francisco
Listen to health experts
Having watched the entire Republican Convention, and having noticed events with audiences and participants without masks, I got the impression that President Trump and the Republicans are giving Americans the message that our president has gotten the pandemic under control.
Unfortunately, this will result in further loss of life to COVID19 because of the potential for a superspreading event among the attendees. Yes, one could say, this is poetic justice. But those who support Trump will hail him as our savior who wants to open the
American economy and get things back to normal. Alas, these supporters will be sorely disappointed when they finally realize that the quickest way to normality is the path advocated by health experts and the Democrats.
Paul Sheeran, Davis
Unfair exemption
It’s time for Congress to scrap the Hatch Act if it’s not going to be enforced, or only selectively enforced against anyone outside President Trump’s line of sight. Look no further than Kellyanne Conway, the soontobeexWhite House counselor, who was cited as a Hatch Act repeat offender by the Office of Special Counsel, the independent agency that supposedly enforces compliance. Conway’s take on the matter: “Blah, blah, blah. If you’re trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it’s not going to work. Let me know when the jail sentence starts.” She, of course, was absolutely correct, as she is special. I am a retired federal government employee. I’d like to know why I, for 25 years, and all my coworkers were muzzled by the Hatch Act while the likes of Conway and the rest of Trump’s cronies were exempted from the law.
Tom Ruppel, Dixon
Reinforce the police
Republicans will continue to use the phrase “defund the police” as a weapon against the Democrats in general and the Joe Biden/Sen. Kamala Harris ticket in particular. To date, I’ve seen no response to the false charge that Biden supports defunding police departments. The longer his campaign’s silence, the more the false accusation will become fact in public opinion.
My advice: Fight this misrepresentation with force by reframing the concept along the lines of reinforcing the police with ontheground support from mental health experts, domestic violence counselors, specialists in dealing with drug abuse and overdose, etc. That, after all, is the core concept behind the misleading defund initiative.
Ben Bayol, San Francisco