Of course the GQP hates the post office. After all, it is (or rather, used to be) an efficient government service with convenient access to most Americans and a really good job for those it employed. All those things they hate.

What is surprising is that "Postmaster General Louis DeJoy" is a phrase to be found in that article. Being one arm of a brazen coup attempt in plain sight is not enough to lose one's job, it would appear.

@3 What's weird is that the people who will really suffer if the USPS is crippled are people in rural areas, especially those with poor internet access. IOW, the GOP base.

There's whole swathes of the country where UPS and FedEx pay USPS to deliver packages the last dozen miles because it's cheaper than sending one of their trucks that far down a country road for a single package.

@ 3, Mail-in voting increases participation and turnout. This is why the GOPnazis are hellbent on destroying the Post Office.

Hate-KKKrazed old white people will always find the time to queue up in person to harm everyone else, so destroying the Post Office won’t impact rural voting patterns even if it does blow another hole in their eCONomies, which the don’t give a shit about in their ongoing civil murder-suicide.

@2,

"registered them with State and Federal authorities"

lolwut?

There is no federal gun registration and only a handful of states have any sort of state registration laws.

Where I live it's easier to get a gun than it is to get prescription eyeglasses.

But your (sarcastic) comment is a reminder to all of us: If we had stronger gun laws, there'd be fewer shootings. So thank you for that, glad you agree.

@12 -- From https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country.

"Factors known to contribute to lower murder rates and decreased crime overall include the wealth of a nation, the effectiveness of its law enforcement, the availability of weapons (especially firearms), and the severity of punishment for committing murder. For instance, Japan is a fairly wealthy nation with very strict regulations regarding gun possession and murder is punishable by hanging."

We are actually very good when it comes to wealth and severity of punishment for committing murder. We could do better when it comes to effectiveness of our law enforcement, and who knows, if people listen to what groups like Black Lives Matter, we might. But we fail miserably when it comes to availability of weapons (especially firearms). Our murder rate is much worse than Canada, for example, because guns are much cheaper here. You can buy a gun in Canada (lots of people hunt, obviously) but it takes more of an effort, and costs a lot more. In this country you can get a gun for cheap, and if the seller is unlicensed, use it immediately (to say, kill your ex because they dumped you).

@7 -- Harsh, but true. There isn't much of a shift, and it is quite possible the shift had more to do with the fact that Merkel isn't running, which makes Matt's statements idiotic.

@7 -- All that being said, it is quite possible this represents a significant change for Germany. There may be a centrist coalition (as before, but lead by the leader of the center-left party) or a center-left coalition. Not a huge change, but still a change. More like Ford to Carter, instead of Reagan to LBJ.

GOP-aligned constituencies have been gunning for the post office since forever. Its the next logical step of the GOP's multi-generational project to convert middle class civil servants into desperate wage slaves while stuffing the cost differential into the pockets of shareholders.

Jesus Christ on a pogo stick! If COVID doesn't wipe everybody out, the GOP will.

how amtrak gonna charge 4x more than a plane ticket and yet crash more?

@22: Ah yes, the famed bicycle grievance killers, such a scourge on our country. Jesus Christ, "silly" doesn't even begin to describe the conflating you're trying to pull there.