Letters to the editor: The Postal Service

Boost Postal Service

It wasn’t until I lived in Trinidad and Tobago for three years that I learned to appreciate the U.S. Postal Service. Up until then, I took it for granted. In Trinidad, my accountant mailed me some important tax-related papers. It was six weeks before the letter arrived, and it traveled all of two miles.

A dependable, fast and inexpensive postal service is one of the institutions that separates a developed country from an underdeveloped country. I can’t imagine why the Postal Service has become the focus of political controversy, especially in the middle of a pandemic when face-to-face interaction without reasonable precautions is foolhardy. We can’t all afford to use the services of Federal Express or UPS. We should be boosting support for the Postal Service, not trying to undermine it.

William Rice, Boise

Stop the destruction

Do Republicans not vote by mail; receive their Social Security checks by mail; receive their prescription drugs by mail; or receive Veterans Benefits via mail?

Difficult to believe that “one person” has the ability to destroy a U.S. institution, like the Postal Service.

You realize that Donald Trump is slowing down postal delivery because he wants to eventually eliminate/privatize the Postal Service and because he is simply scared to death of losing the election if every eligible voter votes in the 2020 election?

And if you want proof, Donald Trump recently said the quiet part out loud: “They need that money in order to make the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” ... “But if they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.”

It’s regrettable that during a global pandemic, we don’t have a president who would put the life and health of the American people before his own partisanship.

Gladys A. Ashley, Eagle

Country first

I was a lifelong Republican until Donald Trump appeared on the scene. I contributed to the Heritage Foundation and the Idaho Freedom Foundation because they encouraged free markets and limited government. But by standing silently behind President Trump, these organizations and the Republican Party have lost their souls and in so doing they lost the U.S. House of Representatives and will also lose the Senate.

The president’s current assault on our Republic is his attempt to destroy the Postal Service’s ability to process mail-in ballots. This would allow the president to declare the election fraudulent and announce himself the winner. This is only the latest of a long list of examples of corruption, diminished intellect and failed leadership.

All of our elected Republicans have failed to speak up. Why? Is it the fear that Trump will give them a nasty nickname? Come on Senators Risch and Crapo. Make your exit from the cult and think of country first!

Tom Skeem, Kimberly

Fight for voting rights

Donald Trump is waging the biggest war against voter suppression that this country has ever seen. Are Russ Fulcher, Mike Crapo and Jim Risch going to stand up against that? This is ridiculous and must be stopped. Voter suppression hurts everyone regardless of whether you’re Republican or Democrat, and I would think that our members of Congress would stand up to protect our rights. We are watching what they do. Democracy is being taken from this country. You would think that might matter to our elected officials. They need to fight for our right to vote safely and without any restrictions and stop Trump from destroying the post office. Many members of my family live in rural areas and count on the post office. It’s insane that I even have to write about this.

Jil Boatright, Garden City