Debunking Teabagger Revisionist History for Fun and ... Fun.
I read the following blurb in Wednesday's edition (03 March, 2010; pg. 3) of the Chicago Tribune in the section titled "60-Second Riff":
Socialism Fails to Deliver Once Again
by Rex W. Huppke
My fellow patriots:
It was announced Tuesday that the United States Postal Service wants to scale back mail delivery to five days a week. With that, we can now definitely say that President Barack Hussein Obama's radical socialist agenda is failing.
Government-run mail delivery has long been a stain on the capitalist fabric of our society. Only last year the Postal Service - i.e., the propaganda distribution arm of big government - issued a stamp honoring civil rights pioneer Mary White Ovington, noting in a news release that she "grew interested in socialism." What further evidence that this federal entity is a simmering bed of anti-Americanism?
News that the post office is unable to fulfill its obligations - bringing us Eddie Bauer catalogs and reminders of upcoming teeth-cleaning appointments six days a week - should be celebrated far and wide. If government can't do something as simple as distribute 667 million pieces of mail each day, how could it handle the nation's health care needs?
What are we to expect? Doctors who are unavailable on Saturdays and Sundays?
Americans concerned about freedom from tyranny and the sanctity of the Constitution must continue to root for the downfall of the Postal Service. Our march to victory will be down a road paved with unmailed coupon booklets.
Thank you and God bless.
P.S. Please remember from here on out to send your tea bags via FedEx.
The first thing that sprang to mind in Huppke's ridiculous argument is how he believes that the Postal Service is some government monolith that became socialized under President Obama's leadership. Considering that the Postal Service predates an independent United States by a year (with uber-socialist Benjamin Franklin as its first Postmaster General), this assertion is laughable.
Secondly, the Postal Service is a government owned corporation and it's run as such. Because it is government run, it can operate without turning a profit. If it does run deficits to the point where it can't operate, then the government would provide a subsidy to keep it running. The last time the Postal Service received a subsidy to remain solvent was nearly thirty years ago. Since then, the Postal Service has operated solely with postal rates as its income.
However, Huppke is correct about the glut of catalogs that clog snail mailboxes all over the country. This is the magic of capitalism at work (direct mail campaigns, complete with coupons and so forth) is an effective driver of consumerism. But many people choose to correspond by electronic means and choose to pay and receive bills electronically, thereby removing a sure income stream from the Postal Service. As more people choose to do their business online, the Postal Service does what most corporations do when they have dams in their revenue streams; they cut back on services (like Saturday delivery).
The only explanation I have for Huppke's comparison between the Postal Service and the impending health care reform (HCR) is that he believes (as most teabaggers) that everything the government touches has the Midas touch (in the true sense of King Midas' tragic tale). I would argue that there are some things that the government should have a hand in: the distribution of some services and the regulation of others and of industry. I say this because capitalism's primary concern is making a profit. There's nothing wrong with making a profit, but bad things can happen if that is a person's or corporation's sole motivating factor in engaging in capitalistic behavior.
As for Mr. Huppke, if he prefers to spend $8.95 to send his tea bags to his representatives in Congress rather than give the Postal Service $0.44 to do the same thing, he is more than free to do so.
Socialism Fails to Deliver Once Again
by Rex W. Huppke
It was announced Tuesday that the United States Postal Service wants to scale back mail delivery to five days a week. With that, we can now definitely say that President Barack Hussein Obama's radical socialist agenda is failing.
Government-run mail delivery has long been a stain on the capitalist fabric of our society. Only last year the Postal Service - i.e., the propaganda distribution arm of big government - issued a stamp honoring civil rights pioneer Mary White Ovington, noting in a news release that she "grew interested in socialism." What further evidence that this federal entity is a simmering bed of anti-Americanism?
News that the post office is unable to fulfill its obligations - bringing us Eddie Bauer catalogs and reminders of upcoming teeth-cleaning appointments six days a week - should be celebrated far and wide. If government can't do something as simple as distribute 667 million pieces of mail each day, how could it handle the nation's health care needs?
What are we to expect? Doctors who are unavailable on Saturdays and Sundays?
Americans concerned about freedom from tyranny and the sanctity of the Constitution must continue to root for the downfall of the Postal Service. Our march to victory will be down a road paved with unmailed coupon booklets.
Thank you and God bless.
P.S. Please remember from here on out to send your tea bags via FedEx.
The first thing that sprang to mind in Huppke's ridiculous argument is how he believes that the Postal Service is some government monolith that became socialized under President Obama's leadership. Considering that the Postal Service predates an independent United States by a year (with uber-socialist Benjamin Franklin as its first Postmaster General), this assertion is laughable.
Secondly, the Postal Service is a government owned corporation and it's run as such. Because it is government run, it can operate without turning a profit. If it does run deficits to the point where it can't operate, then the government would provide a subsidy to keep it running. The last time the Postal Service received a subsidy to remain solvent was nearly thirty years ago. Since then, the Postal Service has operated solely with postal rates as its income.
However, Huppke is correct about the glut of catalogs that clog snail mailboxes all over the country. This is the magic of capitalism at work (direct mail campaigns, complete with coupons and so forth) is an effective driver of consumerism. But many people choose to correspond by electronic means and choose to pay and receive bills electronically, thereby removing a sure income stream from the Postal Service. As more people choose to do their business online, the Postal Service does what most corporations do when they have dams in their revenue streams; they cut back on services (like Saturday delivery).
The only explanation I have for Huppke's comparison between the Postal Service and the impending health care reform (HCR) is that he believes (as most teabaggers) that everything the government touches has the Midas touch (in the true sense of King Midas' tragic tale). I would argue that there are some things that the government should have a hand in: the distribution of some services and the regulation of others and of industry. I say this because capitalism's primary concern is making a profit. There's nothing wrong with making a profit, but bad things can happen if that is a person's or corporation's sole motivating factor in engaging in capitalistic behavior.
As for Mr. Huppke, if he prefers to spend $8.95 to send his tea bags to his representatives in Congress rather than give the Postal Service $0.44 to do the same thing, he is more than free to do so.
Comments