Topic: Us Postal Service

Shipping carriers including UPS, FedEx, and the U.S. Postal Service are projected to deliver over one billion packages during the 2017 holiday season. Volume has increased 50% over normal levels, driven by a 30-40% year-over-year growth in e-commerce. Reports also note a rise in "porch pirates" stealing deliveries, leading some homeowners to install booby traps involving mouse traps or blank shotgun shells.

An account is provided of navigating the Silk Road marketplace using the Tor browser and Bitcoin. The site is described as a sophisticated, eBay-like operation featuring escrow services, resolution centers, and PGP encryption. Despite the anonymity of the browser, the physical delivery of pharmaceuticals and illegal substances via the U.S. Postal Service suggests the operation may be sanctioned or monitored by federal authorities to build databases of users.

The hosts defend the U.S. Postal Service against critics on CNN who argue for its privatization. They explain that the Postal Clause in the Constitution protects the service and that its current financial "crisis" is manufactured by a unique requirement to pre-fund pensions 75 years in advance. They argue that the mail is a secure form of communication that the government and private competitors are trying to undermine.

Dvorak critiques the HBO series The Newsroom, calling it destructive liberal propaganda that attempts to rewrite history. Curry mentions the film The Postman, specifically noting a scene where the U.S. Postal Service oath is rewritten to include a line about "homeless trash" not stopping the mail.

The U.S. Postal Service has clarified rules regarding the Cigarette Trafficking Act, now allowing tobacco to be sent in military care packages via Priority Mail starting August 27th. As long as the sender and recipient are adults and the transaction is non-commercial, tobacco products can be shipped to overseas military addresses.

The US Postal Service is reported to be keeping thousands of idle employees in "resource rooms" or "holding pens" because union contracts prevent layoffs despite a 15% drop in mail volume. This practice is framed as a way for the Obama administration to keep unemployment numbers from rising while the agency seeks a $7 billion taxpayer bailout.