It was a fun, wide-ranging show last night, discussing the short-sighted US policies towards Egypt. then the short-sighted greed of corporations using tax shelters, and onwards to liberal tea parties.
Among the topics
The US, regardless of the outcome in Egypt, has hugely lost influence and power. Who will trust us now that we’ve waffled all over the place? China is making noises about backing Mubarek and the Saudi king had testy words for Obama. Yet the courage of the protesters in Egypt is what is driving it all. Does the US support democracy or does it support ‘stability’ by backing thugs? It can’t have it both ways.
How about we all protest against corporations that use sleazy tax shelters. Have flash mobs at Fedex combined with boycotts, with people using USPS instead. Hit ’em where it hurts. This goes double for Google and Apple, high visibility targets with a major investment in their brand. Yet Google routinely passes money through Irish corporations with the sole purpose of avoiding taxes. Flash mobs and protests against high-tech companies like these would get huge publicity if done right and might even make them change their evil tax-shelter ways.
And yes, there is a liberal Tea Party now – in Britain. It’s called UK Uncut. It started small at a grassroots level and has snowballed in size. We can do the same here.
With Josh Mull of Firedoglake & Rethink Afghanistan, Steve Hynd of Newshoggers, and myself.
For a liberal “Tea Party” to work, they’ll have to have better ideas than just electing new and better scumbags to the same old power center. There will need to be serious governmental restructuring and reform– and then they’re no longer just liberal…
As for using USPS, I think it’s a great idea. Except that USPS promises to get an Express Mail package from Utah to San Francisco in 3 days. (Their website says differently, but when you drop off at our post office they tell you the real story.) Not one or two days, but three!! Even UPS Ground can do better than that. And I got a refund because my Express Mail package arrived late. Free is good, but on time is better.
That is our government in action, serving its people. (Not.) Because after all, if USPS could actually compete, that might cut into corporate profits!
Since FedEx and USPS uses the same planes, you get the same service……….Fedex carries all USPS mail
If only that was true! FedEx guarantees overnight service to San Francisco – and I have never had them fail. USPS guarantees 3-day delivery to San Francisco – and most shipments I make end up being free because they don’t make it on time. They may go on the same planes, but it’s definitely NOT the same service.
I don’t think Fedex and USPS use the same planes. Fedex has a fleet of its own aircraft. As I understand it, all packages go to a central processing location & are sorted & shipped out from there. So if I send a package from Los Angeles *to* Los Angeles, it goes to another state where all packages go, is sorted to go to Los Angeles, and returns. And still arrives on time.
And, while we’re on this topic, remember how we sent our 2009 tax return via USPS, certified, return receipt, priority mail?
& how we mailed it on April 13 and it arrived at its destination, an IRS address in the same state from which it was sent, over 12 business days later?
& how, because it was so late, the IRS recorded that we were non-filing evildoers?
And so we had to go to the taxpayer assistance center, 180 miles away, to prove that we were not miscreants, so I could get this job?
And who couldn’t sleep all weekend, thinking I wouldn’t get this job?
And who complained mightily when I strongly insisted (because I knew shipping by USPS could cause trouble) that the return be sent certified, return receipt, because it was a big hairy pain in the a**?
And didn’t the certified mail receipt and return receipt instantly prove “timely mailed is timely filed” to the nice IRS TAC employee?
And who later thanked me mightily for being such a big hairy pain?
(Correct answer: yes, dear.)
YES DEAR!