Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Congressman Tim Burchett to the newsmakers line to talk reckless spending, Kevin McCarthy, and the Durham report.
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Outgoing Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) spoke Monday on the floor of the U.S. Senate on behalf of his bipartisan bill that would rename the Avondale area of Cincinnati.
“I’m pleased to come to the Senate floor today to speak in support of a bill sponsored by the entire Ohio delegation naming the post office in Avondale of Cincinnati, Ohio for two World War II veterans, John Leahr and Herbert Heilbrun,” Portman said. “These two remarkable men, one black and one white, grew up in Avondale, which is a neighborhood [that is] part of Cincinnati, Ohio.”
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On Tuesday, Tennessee Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) and the United States Postal Service (USPS) hosted a ceremony to rename the Henning Post Office building located at 415 N Main St. in honor of Paula Croom Robinson and Judy Spray.
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If you are queasy about entrusting the U.S. Postal Service with a vastly expanded role in our electoral system in the midst of a crucial election, the following news will exacerbate your nausea. Last Friday, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) followed the lead of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) by endorsing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Thus far, most objections to increasing the role of the USPS in the election process involve the inevitable logistical problems that will accompany a precipitous expansion of mail-in voting. The addition of overt partisanship among postal workers to inefficiency renders it obvious that the widespread expansion of vote-by-mail is dangerous. Even if we assume that most postal workers are nonpartisan, there is enormous potential for chaos associated with a wholesale increase in absentee voting. The leadership of the USPS has already warned most states that millions may be disfranchised by late delivery of ballots. The Washington Post reports, “The U.S. Postal Service recently sent detailed letters to 46 states and D.C. warning that it cannot guarantee that all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted.” As alarming as such warnings are, they aren’t…
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by Brittany Hunter Last week, the Trump administration unveiled a proposal to privatize the United States Postal Service (USPS). The plan comes as part of a broader initiative to trim and reorganize the federal government. And given its track record of waste and inefficiency, the USPS is a great place to start cutting the fat. “USPS’s current model is unsustainable. Major changes are needed in how the Postal Service is financed and the level of service Americans should expect from their universal service operator,” the White House’s new proposal reads. The plan goes on to say that the administration plans to “fix” the post office before beginning the process of privatization. “USPS privatization through an initial public offering (IPO) or sale to another entity would require the implementation of significant reforms prior to sale to show a possible path to profitability.” In terms of “fixing” the post office before taking it out of the hands of the government, the Trump administration has proposed reassessing the USPS’s ties with labor unions. This would give the new owners of the post office more freedom to set wages and provide benefits that are economically realistic. The document reads: “Freeing USPS to more fully negotiate…
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