Search Results for: postal service

Wayne Curtis looks at how our feelings about the postal service have changed over time: As recently as a century ago, the conveyance of information was still considered a fairly heroic human endeavor. Temples were built to honor the carriers, and post offices occupied grandly columned structures on squares and village greens. (For the past half-century, new post … Continue reading When Mail Was Miraculous

Felix Salmon summarizes yesterday’s USPS news: The latest move from the Post Office is a bold one: to abolish Saturday delivery unilaterally, starting August 1. This is a bit like Citicorp announcing that it was merging with Travelers: it’s illegal, but that’s not going to stop them, and the clear expectation is that somehow Congress will make it … Continue reading Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Political Gridlock

Yglesias asks whether “providing subsidized mail delivery to low-density areas is really a key national priority”: Without the monopoly/universal service obligation, it’s not as if rural dwellers wouldn’t be able to get mail, it’s just that they might need to pay more in recognition of the fact that it’s inconvenient to provide delivery services to … Continue reading The Mail Subsidy

First Read breaks it down: … Romney and his Super PAC allies have more than a 4-to-1 ad-spending advantage over Santorum and his allies in the pivotal state of Ohio. And overall, it’s nearly a 5-to-1 advantage. Here are the most up-to-date numbers for ad spending in the Super Tuesday states: Ohio: pro-Romney $4 million, … Continue reading Ad War Update: Romney’s Super Splurge

The company is splitting in two: the streaming service will retain the name Netflix while the DVD-by-mail service will be renamed Qwikster. Brian Barrett explains the logic:

There are two main benefits to cordoning off the mail service in the Qwikster ghetto. First, it keeps streaming customers shielded from the inevitable DVD price increases that will come with fewer subscribers and ever-increasing postal rates. And—maybe more importantly—Netflix is able to limit the constant reminders of all the movies that you can't add to your Instant queue. Streaming customers won't be able to see DVD availabilities any more, which means you won't get that feeling that you're staring at an unattainable ocean of truffles and bonbons with nothing but a Werther's Original in your hand.

Mark Suster defends the change.  Tim Carmody weighs the pros and cons. Henry Blodget thinks the move is good for Netflix but bad for its customers. Gizmodo lists "names that would be better for Netflix’s DVD business than Qwikster." And Alyssa Rosenberg connects this change to the problems of the USPS:

Today on the Dish, the internet weighed whether Obama's bill could pass, and David Brooks joined Andrew in supporting Obama's second stimulus. Andrew lingered on whether Palin's populism stems from opportunism or principle, Dan Savage bemoaned the fact that in America you can die by tooth infection, and Perry acted the hypocrite on health-related mandates. … Continue reading The Weekly Wrap

Testimony from the Postmaster General: The Postal Service is near default [NYT]. Josh Barro argues that mail sent to rural locations should cost more. Wilkinson's dream policy: My preference would be to lift the monopoly and shrink the USPS very gradually to, say, 20% of its present size (through a combination of buyouts, financed by the … Continue reading Can We Save The USPS?

By Carline Jean/Sun Sentinel/MCT via Getty Images. Today on the Dish, New York prepared for Hurricane Irene, including stockpiling wine, cards, ice and water to flush toilets, while some shrugged it off. On the political front, Rick Perry used to be a Democrat, and Frum concentrated on the problem of Perry's book. Douthat calmed Romney's … Continue reading The Weekly Wrap

Today on the Dish, a big earthquake shook the Eastern US. On the Libyan front, Saif al-Qaddafi reemerged to give conflicting accounts about government forces on the rebound, and then rebel forces took over Qaddafi's compound. We weighed whether our intervention worked and Zack duked it out with Freddie deBoer over our Von Hoffman awards. … Continue reading The Daily Wrap