The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has passed legislation to give the Postal Service the money it needs to survive and protect mail-in voting, but the action didn't come in time to save a bunch of baby chickens from being sent to the Dead Letter Office.
The Washington Post reported that Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and 22 other Democrats wrote a letter to DeJoy and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue calling for an investigation after the deaths of the mail-order chicks.
“One hatchery recently reported that a shipment of 4,800 chicks arrived in New England with 100 percent mortality losses,” the lawmakers' letter said. “We are deeply concerned that the recent issues with live chick deliveries may have been significantly exacerbated by recent changes to USPS service that have led to mail delays and staffing challenges.”
Now that gives new meaning to the "Dead Letter Office."
Don't mean to make fun of that situation because the hatchery that lost those birds undoubtedly suffered a serious financial hit. In fact, somebody ought to pay. If they find out that those birds died because of delays resulting from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's slow-down-the-mail tactics on behalf of Donald Trump, then both he and Trump should personally make restitution.
Perhaps it could be paid by the Trump presidential campaign, since all of this whining about mail-in voting by Trump is designed to set the stage for him to complain that the election was fixed after he gets tossed out on his big fat derriere.
The bill passed by the House would provide $25 billion to the Postal Service and prohibit any operational changes that could slow down the processing of the mail, including ballots.
Republicans who voted against the bill -- it was 257-150, with 26 Republicans joining the Democrats -- said Democrats were concocting "baseless conspiracy theories" about the postal service delivery delays as part of their campaign against Trump.
That's ironic, since it is the Republicans who are defending and endorsing baseless conspiracy theories, like those being spread by that wacko QAnon cult -- the same one that Trump said he liked when he said he was saving the world.
Republican leaders whipped against the bill, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, accusing Democrats of “wasting precious time spreading Speaker Pelosi’s mailbox myths.” And, even though Trump tweeted that it was a "money wasting HOAX by Democrats," 26 Republicans joined the Democrats in supporting the legislation.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, (D-NY), said "It makes absolutely no sense to impose these kinds of dangerous cuts in the middle of a pandemic and just months before the elections in November." She released Postal Service statistics documenting the delivery slowdowns since early July.
Apparently DeJoy's about face late this week that he would temporarily halt the changes he had ordered, including removal of blue mail boxes and sorting machines, provided cover for the Republicans who opposed the bill.
Nearly 180 million Americans are eligible to vote by mail, a choice many may make amid the coronavirus pandemic. Let's hope our ballots meet a better fate than those baby chicks that ended up in the Dead Letter Office.
November 3.