SOS for the USPS

A venerable institution in this country is in dire need of our help and support. I'm talking about the neighborhood post office. But first, an awkward segue.

You know, nothing angers up the blood quite like the environmental do-gooders who have targeted direct mail with their latest campaign in an effort to save the earth (by the way, if you want a, pardon the pun, earthy take on environmentalist efforts to save the planet, visit YouTube and look up George Carlin...outrageously hilarious). Where do enviros get off, trying to get "anti-junk mail" legislation passed?

Before you flame the beejezus out of me, rest assured that I share in the common goal of a beautiful, sustainable planet. My recyclables are, well, recycled properly. That goes right down to my mail; not only is it not tossed into the community landfill, it is repurposed into a national archive here at NAPCO. The Cagle household does not contribute to the estimated 2 percent of landfill occupied by Wal-Mart circulars, Capital One credit card offers and Papa John's coupons.

Well, the city commissioners in San Francisco took it upon themselves to pass a resolution encouraging not only the state of California, but the nation, to take up the creation of a Do Not Mail list, modeled after the Do Not Call registry. My first reaction: What a bunch of losers. My second reaction: The affectation that accompanies residence in San Fran has transformed from the superficial to the superfluous.

Unless the gentle folk in the city by the Bay are getting 10 pounds of mail per day, I'm missing a very fundamental issue with the enviro peeps. We kicked telemarketers to the curb because they called at dinner time, which is intrusive. But mail? What did mail ever do to you?

First off, I LOVE MAIL. That's not a printing butt smooch, either. I was a stamp collector as a young boy and loved the educational aspect of them. I was the only 10-year-old on the block who knew about Dag Hammarskjold (and the printing error/variation on the former UN secretary-general's stamp). I am a big fan of the USPS and am prepared to take a punch for Mr. ZIP.