but like virtually all the rest of the media in america he left out one pretty big detail about the post office its demise so you wonder is it that i'd still take. the most of the rest of the news it's been a rough few years for working people see the labor strongholds like michigan and indiana as right to work for less laws republicans of missouri and pennsylvania are considered. and similar laws meanwhile republicans in congress are taking it a step further senator rand paul introduced a national right to work for less law this week and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell threw his support behind it it's well known the right to work for less laws screw workers typical worker and a right to work for less state earns about fifteen hundred dollars a year less along with fewer benefits and more workplace accidents and more workplace deaths but now there's some good news that's coming from the state of vermont which is setting the opposite example with the introduction of the fair share bill think of it as kryptonite for right to work for less laws joining me now to explain more about th

farley post office.either snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. and for the time being, mail delivery has not been interrupted in new york state, although the postal service is asking people to help out their mail people by clearing snow and ice from t the driveways and porches. but in new england where the snow is heavier and driving conditions are extremely dangerous, post offices closed early today. new hampshire, maine, and vermont all pulled their drivers off the road today. but amazingly, the post office is expected to be back in full swing tomorrow. on saturday, mail delivery will be back. and it will be back for about seven months. you see, this week the postmaster general announced that starting in august, the post office will break with decades of tradition and will no longer deliver mail on saturdays. the post office has been downsizing for a couple of years now, shutting down locations that didn't add enough to the

there are too many post offices. when he post office started they had one post office for every 10,000 americans, now they have one for every 53,000. we have too many buildings and too many people and it's too expensive. >> eric: the way this works the post office when it runs a deficit like the last three years in a row they go to the u.s. treasury department. they post a letter of credit and treasury hands them money. what happens if the post office defaults. who is on the hook for that money? >> the taxpayer is on the hook for all of it. this is not -- this notion, they have endorsed privatizing it. and to provide universal service g-mail provides universal service for free. post office does it to the tune of billions of dollars that taxpayers stand behind. >> eric: great discussion. how is a college degree for only ten grand sound? a number of states are making that happen. is this the best idea to save money or will it end up costing taxpayers even more money. this woman, caught on camera, shocking new video, en

post office announced its ending saturday delivery of mail in an effort to save two billion dollars a year since then our news media has completely botched the story and given coverage to a republican party and its corporate donors for years they've been trying to destroy the us post office it's the largest unionized employer in the nation and now they're going to make it happen it looks like but almost nobody is reporting on that aspect of it wal-mart is the largest employer the second largest player is the post office only one of those who has a union one of the most egregious examples of this media malpractise occurred on sundays meet the press when david gregory reported on the post offices cut back by saying this. for many the decision to cut back to five days carries more symbolic consequences than practical in this information age of emails tweets and text messages what we have actually called snail mail seems somewhat impractical but the bigger question is this is the current model sustainable even with the most recent change put out once of the report to gregory bring up the

do we need a post office? that's what i want to know. do we need a post office? snail mail versus e mail. >> sure. even if it's private somebody would be delivering mail. that would be probably fedex and u.p.s. now whether in 2013-14 something the government should be doing. clearly the answer is no. what you are doing is twofold. you are subsidizing direct mail and people who live in hard to get to, remote areas of the country. like any subsidy if you don't have to pay for your decisions, i.e. living far away is costing me more money, there are no repercussions. >> this guy is nice. patrick donaghy wants to -- he's trying to survive. he wants to raise stamp prices, cut into the pensions and health care. they don't have any co-pays. they get away with murder on that. he wants to close post offices. republicans and democrats will not let him do it. this is an insane story. >> you're right. the post office should be independent from congress. they should have the authority to make decisions without having to go through congress. that doesn't mean it will last forev

i would have to go dmv and the post office. the post office is pretty notifying.f humor goes to die except where governor daniels fixed it. through merit pay if you were working at dmv and cut their time, average wait was 30 minutes to 13 minutes, then the people working at the dmv got extra money in their paycheck. it worked. it can be done. >> bob: when you go to register junior car by the time you get it it's time to get registered again. >> eric: anybody that doesn't, i find out when it closes and you go two minutes before it closes, you get inside the door and they lock you in so you no one else gets in. >> greg: we're having the discussion about worst government program, obamacare, this is what we're looking forward to? >> and the packages is like some kind of machine. why do they make you waited in line at the post office? you can get them online. >> we have to go. greg makes his own stamps. think that is illegal. do you want eyes in the sky capturing every move in america. some places want to ban it. is there an up side? and tom petty i believe. >> i belie

there are too many post offices. started they had one post office for every 10,000 americans, now they have one for every 53,000. we have too many buildings and too many people and it's too expensive. >> eric: the way this works the post office when it runs a deficit like the last three years in a row they go to the u.s. treasury department. they post a letter of credit and treasury hands them money. what happens if the post office defaults. who is on the hook for that money? >> the taxpayer is on the hook for all of it. this is not -- this notion, they have endorsed privatizing it. and to provide universal service g-mail provides universal service for free. post office does it to the tune of billions of dollars that taxpayers stand behind. >> eric: great discussion. how is a college degree for only ten grand sound? a number of states are making that happen. is this the best idea to save money or will it end up costing taxpayers even more money. this woman, caught on camera, shocking new video, entitlement fraud, wee

>> yes, for two years, then we'll do post-audit. i'm hoping to be able to do two audits on this area as opposed to one year. how are we doing for time? any other questions? >> i might have missed this in the beginning, but i was curious, how do you guys get funded for this program. >> capital city clean up is a city of edmonton program. it started in 2005 as a litter reduction program and when our bylaw changed in 2008 our city council was very thoughtful in determining they needed to put their mouths were. basically they were going to require the property owners clean their graffiti, then they needed to put some effort into cleaning their own graffiti as well as supporting property owners in those efforts. >> so you have steady funding? >> yes, i have steady funding for the audit and the clean up program. >> how often do you share your data with other departments? >> always. mark and i just finished finalizing it last week, but we will be holding a press conference basically when i get back, so we will be sharing the information wi

look, we gotta fix the post office.have to let them run their own business the way any other business would. take the extra demands off the post office. but just like any business that they've got to cut one day and save some money that way i think it is a smart move. pete summer. >> we're on twitter at bpshow. shawn says as a letter carrier this, for me is a hard pill to swallow. people will lose their jobs as a result of this. amy says -- >> bill: by the way donahue said they're not going to fire anybody. they'll just -- from attrition let the work force shrink but it will mean fewer letter carriers, for sure. >> amy says this is yet another attack on america's middle class. these jobs support neighborhoods. congress needs to fix the pension bill which is something you talked about and danny says i can live with the closure of the post office on saturday but not with the g.o.p. push to privatize mail service and close usps. >> bill: no. that would be totally dead wrong. by the way they're not closing the post offices

this morning, the "washington post" is telling people that the post office suffered tens of billions of dollars in losses in recent years with the advent of the internet and ecommerce. really? plenty of other media outlets. well, they are taking their information directly from the republican talking points on this story. well, thank god for the journalists over at think progress. they have the story correct, and they have a correct understanding of what has unfolded. think progress, they led with this very important detail. congress has for years forced the united states postal service to prefund 75 years worth of pensions for its employees, a requirement not made of any other public or private institution. this is without a doubt the root of the problem. no doubt about it. postmaster general pat donahue finally put the blame where it's supposed to be. >> and of the $15.9 billion loss, $11.1 billion was due to the amount that we are obligated to pay the treasury to prefund retiree health benefits. we had to default on those payments because we did not have the funds. >> hell of a bus

neil: until your kids is a very good idea. >> next time i wear a post office t-shirts. >> a full post office of that -- outfit. neil: that we live the other option. >> if they made silly t-shirts that said going postal or perhaps let's trade for stamps, that might work. neil: the bottom line is too much. >> if you start the trend i will follow but until then. tomr [laughter] neil: living like lance armstrong. have added i think the post office has gotten a bum rap. we will see you tomorrow. even e voters about running. however can you be. and an american ceo in paris. then post africa to her in their latest attempt to raise revenue. "the willis report" is on the ca. gerri: all of that and more coming up. worse, we have the debt ceiling, the budget battle, phrases used over and over again in washington and in the media. now, we have this. >> also known as the sequester, scheduled to take effect. >> the sequester, i don't like it. >> the sequester should be out of the question. >> when the sequester happens, it will damage the united states of america. gerri: sequester, sequester, seque

we'll keep you posted as more information comes in. limited right now, but we are on top of this one and we'll keep you posted. >>> new this morning, the boy scouts executive board delaying it decision on reversing a longstanding policy to exclude gay members and leaders. a po a spokesman says the policy won't be voted on until the annual meeting in may. the decision was supposed to have been made today during a board meeting in texas where it's headquartered. a bay area family that's following the news closely is the family of ryan andreesen. he's the openly gay scout who was denied the rank of eagle scout after completing all the requirements. his family calls the policy change, if it happens, a baby step in the right direction. >>> a san francisco 49er who made headlines during the super bowl for homophobic remarks is now asking for some sensitivity training. chris culliver has apologized. he's turned to the national organization called the trevor project for some help. that helps lgbt youth. and they can help culliver understand ex

post office. thom hartmann joins us on that. republicans are still fighting each other. it is like a civil war with the south fighting the south. and eliot spitzer is with us tonight which is historic because you know conan's not going on jay. today is the birthday of carl bernstein, florence henderson is 79. also the birthday of keller and somewhere, somehow jimmy hoffa is celebrating his 100th birthday. we celebrate valentine's day to publicly demonstrate your affection with crap. this is "viewpoint." >> john: good evening, i'm john fuglesang. coming up, another state moves a big step closer to approving american equality and another conservative moves a big step closer to having a heart attack over it. bp pays billions in fines for the gulf oil spill then gets billions more in government contracts. lindsey graham announce he will continue to block lady gaga's tour until she provides more answers about benefit -- benghazi. >>> starting with the senate and majority leader harry reid. >> republica

why would the post master want to do something that will cost the post office more money? >> well, i don't think he has really done the empirical study that is required to go through a comprehensive set of reforms. we need a new business model and he agrees with that. doing this piece could do more harm than good. that's my concern. not that we can't reform or shouldn't reform the post office. we need to be thoughtful and need to move based on evidence not on hunches and tuition or conventional wisdom. >> most of the surveys i've seen say that most americans are, you know, fairly comfortable with losing postal deliveries on saturday. if the post master goes through the proper process, would you support cutting mail deliveries on saturdays? >> if he can make a case for it, i'm certainly open to it. so far, he has absolutely failed to do that. >> so with your letter to the post master general and the attorney general, what happens now? does this affectively stop what he wants to do? >> i certainly hope so. he's going to have to make his case he has the legal authority. i can

joining us once again is tracy grant of washington post kids post.e to see you. >> great to be with you. >> first, you're looking to president abraham lincoln's birthday. >> that's right. we have this wonderful poster. these guys made history, a look at our presidents. you referenced the president who needed a step stool to lead, james madison, our fourth president. he was only 5'4" tall. we have lots of fun facts. who was the first president to see the pacific ocean, who was the teddy bear named after. all in sunday's kids post. fun facts about the presidents. >> very cool. kids will like that. next, this week's featured book, the one and only ivan. >> late last month t won the newbury prize. it's the best children's book. it's a wonderful story of ivan the silverback gorilla who is kept in a glass cage in a mall. it's actually based on a true story. but it's written sort of like his journal. it's wonderful, and i would recommend it for a read aloud for first graders all the way up to high schoolers and adults. really wonderful. we have an interview

the post offices are absolutely essential in our rural areas.one of the difficulties we have had, when it was said that post offices were going to be closed. i think it was a wrong process to go through. kagen and explained there were going to be closed. congress got in the way. the best process for any of these people and in rural areas, let them know how much it costs and ask them how they can reduce the cost. it would be surprised at the innovative ideas the people have. the mail sorting was moved to bigger areas. you talk about what sounds like a great idea, same day delivery. we used to have same-day delivery on the local stuff. they dropped into a separate box that is local. now you drop it all in one box, and it takes a day to go to another town. they started, it takes another day to come back. they get their local mail. the ones that i really hear from are the ones that have presorted mail. if it is presorted, it is ready to go out. but it is loaded on a truck, hold 130 miles -- hold 130 miles, and nothing is done with it. -- hauled 130

i became the paris bureau chief for "the washington post." from paris, i was in iraq and afghanistan a bit. i traveled pretty much everywhere. came back to washington in 2005 to be an editor. in 2007, i went to new york to be the new york bureau chief. another fantastic job. i got a piece of the 2008 presidential election at that time. in 2009, they asked me to go back to china. >> you were here in 1997. i want to show a clip of that when you were here for a book about africa when you were stationed over there. where did you live? >> nairobi. >> let's watch this. we will continue. [video clip] >> i do not hate africa or the africans. i hate the corruption. i hate the brutality, the inhumanity, the kids who point guns in my face, the big men who scared away billions in the swiss bank account. i hate the propensity of africa to roll over and wallow and endure this suffering without taking it to the streets and doing more to demand their own rights. i hate the people who tossed firebombs to the opposition. i hate the way people can walk by suffe

if they know the names, they post the nas. they almost always post the names.they have the address, they'll post the address. >> reporter: what's the point of that? >> because they are targeting and stalking these women. and the worst part is they seem to enjoy it. it seems to be a sport, a very, very sick sport for people responsible. >> i was approached in walmart by a complete stranger, an older man probably in his 50s telling me he saved my photos to his computer. i literally ran away from this guy. i was so terrified because now my safety is involved. >> reporter: kelly hinson is also pregnant and seeing intimate images of herself online has left her emotionally shattered. >> oh, gosh. i was almost hospitalized because high-risk pregnancy. can't sleep. it's horrible. you're plastered all over this site and your family sees it and you just think okay, great, i can't have a kid in this area because everyone's going to remember this. >> reporter: but revenge porn sites often operate cloaked in secrecy. >> they can create phony e-mail addresses, phony names, p

them. -- g-strings and then posting them. >> who was posting it again?> what was her name? >> carly crunkbear. >> she is a delight and if not for the internet i wouldn't know much about her. >> let me ask you, jedediah, you get the last word on this. last word. >> i used to be a waitress. i did it all in my spare time. >> i bet you went to the lilith fair? >> i did. >> did you really? >> i did. jay she is a woman of the -- >> she is a woman of the new millennium. >> i used to be a waitress. cocktails, food, if anybody stiffed me i would be mad. and appleby's violated their policy. people had written things on their receipts and they posted them. so they violated the policy. >> they should fire themselves. >> i was working in a certain venture where i hired a group of people. i won't get too specific, and they had -- they were doing some work for me, on-line work. all of a sudden i have the google alerts. there is a person on the web who said saw gutfeld in a bar [bleep]. and then i said what do i do? that's pretty mean. what did i do? it turns out this p

the post office could verify identity and residence in the local post office could be worse such cards could be reloaded on a monthly basis. it impacts communities the post office could be the distribution point to assist in relief efforts. sanders, will be a sad day for the american congress, for america if congress is incapable of reaching a compromise and meaningful postal legislation. as we've heard this morning, some due to postmaster general's recent actions as acts of desperation, which are doomed to backfire, while as part of a boat calculated plan for the postal service, and organization of which have been an employee for the past 46 years. in either case, my fear is that this congress does nothing to resolve their fundamental differences on postal reform, the integrity of our nation's universal postal system, which was constitutionally established more than 230 years ago will be irrevocably compromised. as president of the national association of the united states and on behalf of the nation's postmasters, i used this congress to promptly respond and assist the postal service

it's a people posting system. the bigger point probably is if you do your outreach, it doesn't matter. [multiple voices] >> if we could have gone forward with the slovenian hall, they would have been in violation with the posting where they posted it and we would not have been able to grant. >> i don't think it says that in the code. i think it says not having the notice up isn't reason enough to delay t but i'd have to check. i'm pretty sure that it says that, though. >> okay. i can't recall exactly what the code says about that. >> well, [speaker not understood]. certainly we have the authority to -- we can grant a continuance at a minimum [speaker not understood]. >> right. >> and force them to repost. >> would it have to be for the whole 30 days? >> i think that is not under discussion. >> okay. i just remember we have -- we continued the permit and made them meet for us 30 days when it was behind a gate. that was 30 years ago. i don't know if you remember that. so, it has to be posted where someone can read i

>> make the --. >> canadian --. >> canada post clean it up? we have a special relationship with canada post. it was a funny way how we got that relationship. they were arguing they couldn't keep up with cleaning them, so bylaw officers started sending notifications to the owner of the canada post boxes, who happens to be the post master general in ottawa. they take them over a week period and canada post has a contractor go out. we have two kinds of mailboxes in canada. one are the drop boxes that the mail carriers use, those are the gray ones that are mostly getting tagged: other ones red letter boxes where you are dropping off your mail. those have been wrapped now and we found very little graffiti on the wrapped boxes. we are quite excited that canada post is going to be changes their policies with respect to the gray boxes and they are actually eliminating them. >> that's what we're seeing in arizona, utility companies, whether it's gas, cable, water, their boxes are being tagged. the utility companies making millions of dollars in profit

why can't we go to a post ovrs and you know, buy a prepaid cell phone or go in a post office and buybigger. >> there's a lot of people that would be mad if we sold cell phones and coffees. here is what we are doing. the reason we are delivering packages on saturday is because package growth is booming. 14% up in the last two years. 17% christmas this year. year over year. big, big growth in fact, you will see in some areas we will be delivering packages on sunday starting soon. that is a big innovation. the other thing that you see, is the world of secure and secure digital messages. we are getting into that, people tell us, the same thing you can do from a hard copy, sealed against inspection, we need that in the digital, e-mail world. there's a lot on the table. we have to get the negative finance behind us in the rear view mirror so we can focus on growth. >> sunday package delivery. that's the first time i heard of that. >> yep, it's going to happen. >> when is that going to happen? >> it's going happen soon. i'm not telling you anything else. just watch for your letter carrier i