Fewer days of mail delivery to fix postal budget?
(PHOTO CREDIT: William Thomas Cain/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
A majority of Americans say they could get by with fewer mail deliveries so the U.S. Postal Service can save some money.
A new Gallup poll shows 66-percent of those surveyed would support cutting delivery from six to five days a week. 66-percent also back reducing the number of days the post office is open to five.
Fewer people support other cost-cutting measures like raising stamp prices or laying off more postal employees.
Despite the price of a first class stamp recently going up to $0.44. The post office is on track to lose more than $6 billion this year. It's being squeezed by several factors - including the economic slowdown, and competition from the internet as well as with private carriers.
When you add on rising gas prices... things could get even worse. Maybe we can get to $5.00 for a stamp and the mail will be delivered once a month. It's no wonder people increasingly are turning to UPS and FedEx.
Postmaster General John Potter wants permission to cut the number of postal delivery days. If it happens, they would cut back delivery on a day with light mail volume - possibly Saturdays or Tuesdays.
But not everyone supports the idea. Many manufacturers, publishers, and other small businesses say it would hurt their cash flow and their ability to get their products out.
Here’s my question to you: Would you support fewer days of mail delivery to save the postal service money?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How will recent GOP sex scandals affect upcoming races?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
A couple of high-profile sex scandals were probably just about the last thing the Republican Party needed. This is the party of "family values," after all. First was Senator John Ensign of Nevada - who admitted to having an affair with a former staffer.
L to R: Sen. John Ensign (R-NV); Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC); Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
Next was South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. After going AWOL for nearly a week - with staffers saying he was hiking the Appalachian Trail - Sanford admitted to an affair with a woman from Argentina. Both Ensign and Sanford had been considered 2012 presidential hopefuls.
Also, don't forget about Louisiana Senator David Vitter... who is still in the Senate despite calls for his resignation... after his phone number showed up in the records of the D.C. madam a couple years ago.
Some wonder how much damage these incidents will have on the GOP in the 2010 elections. After all, the sex scandals come at a time when the party has been trying to rebrand itself. Although Republicans certainly aren't alone in dealing with these scandals - see Democrats John Edwards or Eliot Spitzer - they do make life more difficult for the party of traditional, family values.
But, former Vice President Dick Cheney, for one, isn't too worried... he says the Republican 2012 bench remains strong. Cheney says the party has "got some great talents out there," and that "in adversity, there's opportunity." Cheney helped create the adversity the Republican party is trying to overcome.
Here’s my question to you: How much will recent Republican sex scandals affect upcoming races?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How will SCOTUS reversal on Sotomayor decision affect her confirmation?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Critics of Judge Sonia Sotomayor have some new ammunition... now that the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a group of white firefighters claiming reverse discrimination in New Haven, Connecticut.
The high court said New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no blacks and only two Hispanic firefighters would have been promoted. It's a case that could change employment practices around the country... and make it harder to prove discrimination.
And it's a bit of an embarrassment for the White House - since President Obama's Supreme Court nominee had earlier ruled against these firefighters.
All this comes just two weeks before Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings... Republicans say the Supreme Court's decision raises issues about her ability to serve on the high court... they say they'll use this ruling, along with her 2001 comment about a "wise Latina woman" to question her views on discrimination.
But supporters of Sotomayor say the ruling actually proves her restraint and unwillingness to go beyond established precedents... that's because the panel on which she sat upheld a district court judge in the case. The Supreme Court's five-to-four ruling also gives the justice cover.
The White House insists there's "little political significance" to the court's decision when it comes to Sotomayor. I guess we'll see in two weeks.
Here’s my question to you: How will the Supreme Court's reversal of a decision by Sonia Sotomayor affect her chances of confirmation?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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