(this post has updates below including official replies from USPS; new info about veterans receiving medication; and a video from Glenn Kirschner)

We’re in the midst of a growing national pandemic and 2020 Elections are right around the corner. All’s good with United States Postal Service, right?

LOL, you know the answer.

(Writer’s note: Let’s set aside *sabotage of federal agency USPS* being committed by donald’s newest donor-henchman, Louis DeJoy. That could be a factor in the story later.)

After getting a recommendation to write to Atlanta’s postmaster—both as a customer and journalist—I decided to fire off a nastygram and offer anonymous-whistleblower help to anyone who’ll listen. I wanted someone to hear my complaint about mail being intentionally slowed down… in Atlanta and nationwide. But the story only starts there.

SO WHO EXACTLY IS ATLANTA POSTMASTER?

So glad you asked. I got a quick reply from Ashlea Meyer, whom I thought was ATL Postmaster, but she informed me she’d been replaced by a fella named Justin Henderson. Mr. Henderson appears literally nowhere in public-facing databases and has not responded to repeated emails. USPS spox Kim Frum—who was quite responsive and delightful—declined to answer my questions about Mr. Henderson *and* any USPS’ data about mail-carriers and COVID.

ORDERS COMING FROM… WHERE EXACTLY?

This Atlanta mishegas is happening concurrent to ratf*ckery at the top via Louis DeJoy, who is a GOP donor, donald pal and tech oligarch. Slowdowns are happening literally everywhere and that’s not an accident. I’m just a layperson but sabotaging a federal agency for political gain is a CRIME.

Ms. Frum pointed me to the spokesperson for Georgia’s USPS, whose name is Ricky Badie. I’ve now reached out to HIM for comment and answers to my questions. I’ll be updating this post as news comes in. Watch this space. 🔴

UPDATE (1 August 2020): After sending repeated requests for comment I received this short confirmation from Mr. Badie: “The Postal Service can confirm that Justin Henderson is the Acting Postmaster of Atlanta.” wow, thanks for clearing that up. All my other questions went unanswered and, after another follow up, I got a terse reply: “You have been given all the information USPS is able to provide.”

UPDATE 2 (3 Aug 2020): Literally NOBODY is taking responsibility for sketchy stuff happening at USPS. I decided to widen my search for sources who’d be willing to talk; I focused on blue cities in MAGA-poisoned states and came up with David Guiney, who is Postmaster of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Interestingly Mr. Guiney has served for quite some time and hasn’t been replaced in the past year (he’s served since April 2016). I dug up his email and wrote to him; instead of getting a reply from him I got a note from what’s called “Strategic Communications Specialist” which basically said he’s unavailable for comment. Beltway Media may take “no comment” politely but to me this is just more evidence of a coverup. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 3 (5 Aug 2020): Fallout from Louis DeJoy’s sabotage of a federal agency continues: here’s anecdotal proof that USPS slowdown is affecting veterans who receive medications by mail. Delaying medications, some of them life-sustaining, even a few days can be a fatal problem—Fred Wellman reports meds can be delayed as much as 2 weeks. BIG hattip to Greg Davis for this tweet. This post has gotten traction on NextDoor and elsewhere so I’ll be continually updating it.

UPDATE 4 (5 Aug 2020): Former federal prosecutor and Twitter pal Glenn Kirschner is out with a new video explaining how DeJoy & donald are conspiring on election fraud.

UPDATE 5 (24 Dec 2020): Replacing Atlanta Postmaster this summer had desired effect: on-time delivery fell dramatically to 68% leading up to Election 2020. From Eric Garland quoting this WaPo piece via Jacob Bogage:

Since DeJoy sabotaged districts won by Hillary Clinton with surgical precision (again, a felony) you can bet we’ll be pushing for more transparency. Watch this space.

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS INFORMATION ON THIS OR ANYTHING ELSE CONTACT ME SECURELY; YOUR IDENTITY WILL BE PROTECTED AND YOU MIGHT JUST SAVE THE WORLD FROM 4 MORE YEARS OF DONALD TRUMP

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Will Pollock is a perpetually crabby New York City escapee based in Midtown Atlanta. He’s a freelance multimedia journalist, media analyst and author of two books (award-winning Pizza for Good & Leaving Triscuit), with more on the way.

In 2001, Will earned his Masters from The Medill School of Journalism, graduating with highest honors from the magazine sequence. As permanent member of Journalism’s National Honors Society, he’s been active in monitoring, writing and blogging about media and journalism ever since he graduated.

Obsessed with good storytelling and journalistic excellence, Will uses snark, humor and reason to distill dumb shit and make it fun. He’s a seeker/maker of non-consensus news, and helps you cure crankies by finding the nut in every story.

As for-profit media continues to fail us, it’s more important than ever to find reliable sources. Authentic storytelling exists—you just have to look for it. On this blog you’ll get ideas, not ideology. Sass with class. Reporting with rapport. Evidence with a touch of evil. You get the idea.

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