CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

One of the biggest complaints that I hear about the Democrats’ alleged failings is their inability to “message.” And, if we’ve met, you know that I’ve been saying all along that feeling the pain is the only way that many people will get the “message” of just how awful and evil the current Regime is. Well, the pain is here in myriad forms apart from pocketbook pain and with much more to come if you’ve at all paid attention to the news relating to that One Big Beautiful Bill.

Recently, a neighbor on Nextdoor posted that the USPS Contract Postal Unit (CPU) on Bell Road and 91st Street is closing on September 30, 2025 because its federal contract is being terminated. Several news articles have mentioned similar CPU closings, including Fountain Hills and the 60-year old facility in Paradise Valley (the only “post office” within city limits.) There are about 2,500 of these CPUs across the country located within private businesses and manned by non-governmental employees. CPUs allow for greater flexibility and accessibility, particularly in rural and underserved areas. They provide an alternative - - often the only alternative - - to full-service USPS post offices for customers who face challenges in reaching a full-service post office.

Might sound like no big deal because there are post offices all over the place. In LD3, most CPUs are a matter of convenience. Mine is a minute away in the General Store complex on Pinnacle Peak.* I only have to drive five minutes to get to my closest full-service USPS post office if the General Store CPU closes, but some rural communities rely solely on their CPU for mail services. These are the communities that will suffer most as a result of CPU closures. Several news articles around the country report that residents may have to drive up to an hour or more just to pick up their mail. And, CPU employees are not federal employees. So, the closing of these contracted post offices will put many more hundreds, if not thousands, of people out of work. Getting the message yet?

According to the Fountain Hills Times, Schweikert and his staff are “investigating” the reason for these CPU closures. Let’s see what comes of that. I anticipate that cost-cutting measures will be the given reason. Or maybe that these CPUs didn’t generate sufficient revenue. But, more cynically, I believe that interference with the ‘26 election is the plan and it’s already begun in many different forms. But, that plan may backfire. If people can’t receive or return their mail-in ballots conveniently, they may not vote at all. And, how many more Republicans than Democrats live in affected rural and underserved areas?

Even if mine is only a theory with no hard evidence to support it, cutting funds to eliminate government services across the board - - (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), Social Security (SSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes for Health (NIH), National Weather Service (NWS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Consumer Fraud Protection Bureau (CFPB), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and myriad crisis hotlines just to name a few) - - already has caused and will cause Americans immense pain and suffering, including loss of life.

Here’s Senator Ruben Gallego’s recent take on Congress’s rescission of $1.1 billion of funding that was earmarked for public broadcasting as it affects Arizonans after his amendment to the Senate bill just failed on Thursday:

"While CPB funding is critical for stations across Arizona, it is especially important for those located in rural and tribal communities. Many of these stations rely heavily upon CPB funding — stations in Kykotsmovi, Whiteriver, and Tuba City, for example, receive roughly three-fourths of their funding from the corporation. These stations also tend to be the last local media in their areas, making them a lifeline to the rural and tribal communities they serve. Without CPB support, however, they face an uncertain future, and rural Arizonans and tribal members stand to lose access to vital emergency alerts, public safety warnings, and educational programming."

Similarly, cuts to FEMA and the National Weather Service unquestionably affected Texas both before and after the recent devastating floods that took the lives of over 134 residents with 101 still missing.

Death by a thousand cuts. Literally. Get the message?

** UPDATE: The day this blog was posted, a reader notified me that the CPU in the General Store also will be closing on September 30, 2025.