STAMP ACTS
Re: Tracy Robinson’s You Can’t Lick ‘Em:

I must be the only person in the country, save the postal workers, that seems to think the USPS does a pretty good job. Thirty-seven cents to send a letter anywhere in the country? My mail brought to my door? (OK, out at the end of the driveway.) Reasonable expectations of pickup and delivery times and even today remote mailbox drop off locations. Perhaps it is more the workings of my living in the heartland or fly-over area of the country, but personally I am hesitant to be critical. I happen to think the USPS is doing pretty well, at least in the center of the country.
— Roger Ross
Tomahawk, WI

I have some solutions for Tracy — use the computer.

I personally have stopped mailing at least 10 monthly bills by paying them online. And I’m not using a monthly service for this, I just pay those businesses that accept online payments. All of my credit cards do. Both my phone companies do.

So the USPS didn’t earn an extra 30 cents from me in the increase, they lost the previous $3.40 a month. Then I decided to drop my cable and electric payment off locally while I run errands. That’s two fewer stamps a month. And I elected to receive E-Bills from the three companies that offer them and thus they don’t send me a paper bill in the mail. That is now about 15 different mailings the USPS no longer delivers each month.

But we do need the USPS, so far, to get the “American Spectator” and “National Review On Dead Tree”!
— Greg Barnard
Franklin, TN

MAPLE MISSISSIPPI
Re: The Prowler’s WorldCom Movement: Mississippi Calling:

One problem in calling it “a Mississippi thing”: Bernie Ebbers is not a Mississippian by birth. He is a Canadian. So like smog from Quebec and stinking trash in Toronto, Canada has yet again sent something foul to the U.S. In the words of South Park the movie, “Blame Canada.”
— unsigned

TAIWAN ON
Re: Jed Babbin’s Chiang, We Are Here:

It’s good to see Jed Babbin make a stand against the Chicom dictatorship in Beijing. We should provide the Republic of China the means to defend itself from aggression. Regrettably, Mr. Babbin continues to insist America requires the services of other dictators around the globe, particularly the one in Pakistan. Pakistan’s intelligence services created Al Qaeda and continue to support this terrorist organization. Pakistan continues to support Islamic terrorists in Kashmir. It is time for this country to withdraw from a United Nations that provides dictatorships equal standing with democracies. Thomas Jefferson did not cater to dictators. Neither should we.
— Mike Slater

Jed Babbin replies: Mike, I love ya. But you have to get off Musharraf’s back. First, ISI didn’t create al-Qaeda. OBL did, with the help and consent of others in Saudi Arabia. ISI did help create the Taliban, and Musharraf has fired the old ISI generals who were in charge in that era.

I hear a conservative version of Jimmy Carter in your insistence that we refuse to deal with dictators, even when it’s in our interests to do so. I’m not so holy. When these guys can help, we should use them unless they’re of the genocidal ilk of Pol Pot or Hitler. We can’t refuse to deal with people because their hands are dirty.

I’m no fan of the U.N., but it can serve a useful purpose if we use it to lead. If we waffle, we’ll suffer for it, both there and elsewhere. But I don’t think it’s in our interests to withdraw at this time. I’m very disturbed by the President’s apparent retreat on the U.N – International Criminal Court issue. We need to stop the train entirely until that’s resolved. Best, Jed.

SEE NO TERROR
Re: K. E. Grubbs Jr.’s Diversity Perversity at LAX:

It seemed that the FBI expended a large effort to prove that it was not a terror attack. Why??? Could it be because the murderer was an Egyptian immigrant and to charge him as a terrorist would “offend” Egypt’s Mubarak who G.W. is trying to “make nice with?” If so, it’s one “heck” of a way to wage war against an enemy.
— Kenneth E. Wyman
Huntsville, AL

ACTIVITY SCENE
Re: George Neumayr’s New Times for the New Church:

Have you read an article in “Catholic World Report” from 2000? Log onto May 2002 and scroll down. According to the article, a bishops’ conference in Connecticut was blackmailed into changing its public press release under threat that sitting bishops would be outed as homosexuals. I am supposing bishops had to be active for them to be outed.
— Annette Cwik

ABOUT DAVID GOVETT’S LETTER
Re: Reader Mail’s Bright Ideas:

Your Web Site User Interface is OK by me! Let’s face it, we thinking members of The Great Unwashed visit your site for the content, not for the cosmetics. “Form vs. Substance.”
— Bob Johnson
Bedford, TX