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10/08/2007: "Dumb as a Postal Bag of Hammers ..."

I have a new favorite in the category of "stupidest branch of government" - the Postal Service. Now, these guys have been near the top of everyone's list for years (there's a reason we call it "going postal") for their too-frequent and too-unjustified rate hikes. But they've hit a new low - they no longer sell postage stamps!!!

Being basically anti-social, when I need stamps I'll head over to the Post Office's main branch in Redondo Beach during off hours armed with a pocketful of quarters squirreled away from my change. I feed the machine in the lobby until I'm out of change and take home my stamps.

But yesterday, when I tried to buy my stamps, the machines were dark and empty, and had a sign indicating that they were being removed from service! I looked around the lobby, but there weren't any other machines - they simply weren't going to sell stamps anymore! I tried a second post office, but found the same deal - this is the future of your postal service.

The sign on the machine said that I could visit USPS.gov to buy stamps online or locate "alternate sources". When I got home, I found that the "alternate sources" are supermarkets! I just need stamps, goddamn it! What's worse, when I used their online ordering service to buy a roll of stamps, I not only had to go through the process of creating an account - one that required far too much personal information, IMO - but had to pay $1 "shipping" for the damned things!

In researching this entry, I found that this isn't a new policy - they've been planning it for nearly a year, and it just now reached my Post Office. I understand their desire to embrace technology and all, but c'mon ...

Once again, the taxpayer is tossed under the bus by his own government. I'd send them a complaint letter ... if only I had some @#$%ing stamps ...