Mudville Gazette

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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.

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The Mudville Gazette is written and produced by Greyhawk, the call sign of a real military guy currently serving somewhere in Iraq. Unless otherwise credited, the opinions expressed are those of the author, and nothing here is to be taken as representing the official position of or endorsement by the United States Department of Defense or any of its subordinate components. Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house.

I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email.

Original content copyright © 2003 - 2008 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed.

Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com

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August 19, 2003

THIS ONE'S GOT ME A BIT FIRED UP...

Greyhawk

First read this or this.

Then this Washington Times link From Susan Serin-Done, long time ScrappleFace commenter, Mudville visitor, and 3ID '72-'78:

Frankie Mayo has a mission ? to cool the air for as many U.S. soldiers in Iraq as she can by sending them as many as air conditioners as she can lay her hands on. What started with a single air conditioner sent to her son at the end of June has grown into Operation Air Conditioner, with tons of units being sent to the troops. It is more than just providing them a touch of comfort or a taste of home, it is about helping them avoid heatstroke and providing them comfortable sleeping conditions. But, Mrs. Mayo had 302 new air conditioners waiting to go on Friday, when the U.S. Postal Service pulled the plug.
... at 4:50 Friday afternoon, Mrs. Mayo was told by a bureaucrat in an air-conditioned office at Delaware's Wilmington Distribution Center that it would no longer ship the air conditioners because they contain freon, which is listed as a class 2 compressed gas.

If you're like me you need a few minutes to get your chin off the floor.

Let me summarize: Mother of GI starts organization to send AC units and other supplies to troops in the sand box (Click here for Operation Air Conditioner homepage, soon to be a permalink on this page!) but is temporarily stymied by interpretation of rules regarding shipment of a gas that Al Gore and others feel could cause global warming. Okay, got it.

(Quick note on mail to overseas servicemen & women: Most mail is sent to a stateside location (APO) where USPS turns over to the military. Military then ships to overseas location where member receives mail in a box in a post office on base/post that looks a lot like your post office. UPS, FEDEX, etc, do not or can not deliver to the APO - though they can ship to an actual overseas address if military member has one. Price vs post office delivery usually eliminates this option. But when it comes to Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. the US Postal Service pretty much has no competition.)

If this is okay with you then by all means do nothing. If, however, this makes you unhappy you can contact Postmaster General John Potter (202/268-2020, fax 202/268-5211 or e-mail click on consumer feedback) or his ultimate boss at the White House. (Oh wait, I forgot, we're his ultimate bosses.)

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August 19, 2003

THIS ONE'S GOT ME A BIT FIRED UP...