Are you kidding me?

I was catching up on my DC Confidential newsletter from Chuck Muth. The one that I was reading contains a press release from the Letter Carriers' Union (a.k.a. postmen). How's this for chutzpah? The president of the union, one William H. Young, is claiming that postal workers are somehow a line of defense in the war on terror.

As columnist and humorist Dave Barry often writes: I am not making this up. Check out this excerpt from the press release:

The threat to the quality and security of the mail posed by low-wage contract workers cannot be overstated," Young said. "In the midst of a global war on terror, now is not the time to open a hole in the nation's defenses by giving unscreened, contingent workers access to the mail stream.

Young recalled the anthrax attacks on the United States in 2001 and the trust that both mailers and the American people had in highly skilled letter carriers during that critical period. [emphasis added]

Excuse me, but walking a route and putting the mail for 123 Main Street in the box in front of 123 Main Street doesn't strike me as requiring much skill.

Frankly, I think we should abolish the post office and let FedEx and UPS have a crack at delivering first class mail. I would bet you any amount of money you care to name that they could do it cheaper and faster.