Listening to some furious questioning of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, let me tell you my own story of a lesser known DeJoy "improvement" since he took over the US Postal Service. It's the story of me wanting to order "PhotoStamps" with the message on my mask, at left. "I Voted By Mail."
The design of my face mask was done with the express goal of broadcasting the message that voting by mail might need to be the default option in the face of a pandemic whose virus has already been shown to infect voters who show up in person (see: Wisconsin primary). Duh. Thought that would be a simple message.
So I remembered that the US Postal Service ran a Photo Stamp program, where for the past 15 years, people could upload their own pictures of dogs, cats, Christmas trees, whatever. And produce their own custom postage stamps to use for their mail. My plan: I would use my face mask design and order First Class stamps (since I live overseas, I planned to have them shipped to family and friends in the States for their use). I thought, maybe the idea would catch on and go viral. Stamps emblazoned with the message "I Voted By Mail," how appropriate, how timely!
But when I went to finalize my order on the USPS website, the system just froze. I wrote to the USPS help desk, but by the time I received their response, it was to inform me that the program had just been discontinued:
Sadly, the U.S. Postal Service has ended its customized postage program and we are no longer able to offer PhotoStamps. All of us at Stamps.com would like to thank you for 15 memorable years and all your amazing PhotoStamps. From weddings to baby announcements to birthdays to grand openings, It's been our great honor to be a small part of your life through PhotoStamps. Your creativity, kindness and loyalty never ceased to amaze us. Thank you for the memories. It's been our pleasure to serve you.
I was disappointed, and cursed my timing. But I didn't realize this: the Photo Stamps program ended just as Louis DeJoy began his job as Postmaster General on June 16, 2020. So, a money-making operation that was very popular with stamp collectors, business people who wanted to use something other than a franking machine, and famously, TV comedian and activist John Oliver as a way of raising funds for a beleaguered USPS, was unceremoniously scrapped.
As I write this, the House Oversight Committee grilling of DeJoy continues. No one will bring up this little discontinued Photo Stamp service, which only brought in $15 million in revenue in its last year. And the stakes are so much higher than me getting my "face mask" stamps printed. But the message is important, and so is the action that Congress - and American citizens and voters - need to take. One suggestion for August 25 - tomorrow - at your local post office, brought to you by the American Postal Workers Union:
Aug 25 #SaveThePostOffice Day of Action
I rest my case. Waiting now for House Oversight member AOC to use her ace questioning skills on Mr. DeJoy...