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The USPS has a mandate put on it by a Republican-run Congress to have reserves that will fully fund its retiree health benefits plan for 75 years.[1]Most any business offering a plan with that kind of mandate would lose money. If you look at the USPS without that mandate, it is economically very healthy.Basic banking at the USPS makes a lot of sense, and Bernie knows it would have had a great impact on Burlington, VT in the 1980s if there had been such a bank in his city.It’s an idea whose time has come and gone and come again. We used to have banking at the local post offices. Congress authorized it in 1910.[2]It dropped off in part because the US Government started giving private-for profit banks the same deposit insurance that post office banking had—nice little chunk of corporate welfare if you think about it, giving them free insurance—and in part because US Savings Bonds gave a better rate of return, if less liquidity. Congress closed it down in the 1960s because under those circumstances it wasn’t profitable.I’m happy with my credit union, but I’d be quite interested in seeing what services a modern USPS Bank would offer. Banks are considered a cornerstone of cities and towns in the US, and many small places face no current local bank. Over a thousand rural bank branches closed between 2008–2016.[3] While cities lost more bank branches in both percentage and absolute numbers, urban centers tend to have a lot more banking choice.Done right, banking is profitable even without the enormous service fees charged by gigabanks. Fee-driven private banks worry about public competition form the Post Office because those fees would likely be both regulated and reasonably small. Even in urban areas, a USPS Bank could potentially be quite helpful for the city and be a welcome check-and-balance against certain shady private banks.[4]Footnotes[1] Congress, Not Amazon, Messed Up the Post Office[2] Postal Savings System[3] These Maps Show How Uneven the U.S. Banking System Is[4] How to figure out whether embattled bank Wells Fargo owes you money before the deadline to file a claim passes

I wrote this a couple of years back. And it fits the bill here too.Towards the twilight years of CS 1.6, a new team from Ukraine entered the global competitive scene and took it by storm.In 2010, less than a year after formation, NaVi (Natus Vincere, meaning “born to win”) won 3 of the biggest competitive tournaments at the time making it the first team to do so. They also broke the record for the highest amount of prize money won in a calendar year. And finally, 4 of their 5 players were ranked in the Top 20 players list by HLTV.(#1 Markeloff, #4 Starik #5 Edward, and #19 Zeus; *Top 20 players of 2010: Introduction* (Top 20 players of 2010: Introduction))They had a bright future ahead of them and were being touted by some of the greatest players of the time to be the next band of superstars.However, as fortune would have it, 2012 saw one of the biggest changes in the Counter Strike landscape with migration of players, teams, and tournaments, from the earlier 1.6 version to the new Global Offensive (CS:GO).While the crux of the game remained the same, there were a huge amount of changes done to the graphics, maps, movements, weapons. As such, even the best in the world found it challenging to come to terms with it. A lot of 1.6 legends retired from the game, paving the way for a new generation.Navi embraced the change too, however reluctantly, towards the end of 2012. For about 8 months they struggled to achieve anywhere near the same level of dominance they used to in 1.6. And then, a second blow came in the form of Markeloff and Edward leaving the team in the mid of 2013.From then, the team lingered in the mid to low ranks of the game, winning smaller regional competitions but failing to impress at the major ones. They tried various new players but couldn’t find the right fit. By the end of 2014, they finally had a new stable roster - Zeus, Edward (who returned), Seized, Guardian, and Flamie (the 3 new faces).2015 finally saw them displaying the same ferocity as they did in 2012. They reached the finals of their first ever Major tournament (the most prestigious CSGO tournaments, sponsored by Valve), but lost to one of the best teams in the world at the time, EnvyUs.A second place finish wasn’t bad. 5 months later, they again made it into the finals of their consecutively second Major, but lost again, this time to a rising dominant force in the making, Luminosity Gaming (which got brought by SK Gaming, and is now MiBR).But this isn’t the story of Navi.Nor that of Markeloff.This is the story of Zeus. The man who made himself a promise and kept it.In 2016, the long-standing captain of Navi left the organization.There were changes made to the game by Valve which allowed the team coaches to also guide players during the game and gave them more ammo to work with. A lot of teams, replaced their IGL (in-game leaders) or captains with individually stronger players since the role of IGL could now be done by the coach.So Zeus left.Despite a scintillating career spanning over 6 years, with a couple of years of slump, the man left with but one regret.He hadn’t won a major. Till that time, more than 30 people from 6 teams had the right to claim a Major title in their list of achievement but Zeus was not one of them.He went on and joined a small Russian team with probably just one internationally recognizable name. Gambit eSports soon made it to the finals, and won a bunch of decent tournaments.However, the real test came in July of 2017 in the form of PGL Major Krakow.Gambit had a great start, winning all 3 of their group stage games in convincing fashion (16–10, 16–6, 16–11). In the quarterfinals, they were met by the juggernaut of Fnatic, arguably the most dominant roster of all time in all forms of CS. They prevailed 16–14, 16–12 in a Bo3. The semis were the toughest challenge yet. Astralis, the best team in the world at the time. They prevailed once more, making it to the finals. Just one step away from their dream.The finals started rough with Gambit losing the first map a devastating 16–4. However, Gambit came back strong and won the next 2 maps courtesy some great team plays and some spectacular moments of brilliance by individual players like Hobbit and Dosia.The mighty Zeus finally held the major trophy in his hands. With a new rag-tag team. While his former team that had kicked him out was eliminated in the group stagesBut this is not the full story, either.A year back, while he was still in Navi, but was likely aware that he would be kicked out soon, he made a promise to himself.I am not going to give up before I win a motherfucking major.— Zeus // My book is OUT NOW (@ZeusCSGO) July 8, 2016well say goodbye to the dream— Axel (@axel911axel) August 4, 2016looks like you've given up...— your uber driver here (@ShoegazeFucboi) August 4, 2016@navizeus4444 pic.twitter.com/yc7u2z0lrC— Sævar Þór Sveinsson (@Saevarthor02) August 4, 2016And that is the story of how perseverance pays off and why you should not give up on your dreams.

Towards the twilight years of CS 1.6, a new team from Ukraine entered the global competitive scene and took it by storm.In 2010, less than a year after formation, NaVi (Natus Vincere, meaning “born to win”) won 3 of the biggest competitive tournaments at the time making it the first team to do so. They also broke the record for the highest amount of prize money won in a calendar year. And finally, 4 of their 5 players were ranked in the Top 20 players list by HLTV.(#1 Markeloff, #4 Starik #5 Edward, and #19 Zeus; Top 20 players of 2010: Introduction)They had a bright future ahead of them and were being touted by some of the greatest players of the time to be the next band of superstars.However, as fortune would have it, 2012 saw one of the biggest changes in the Counter Strike landscape with migration of players, teams, and tournaments, from the earlier 1.6 version to the new Global Offensive (CS:GO).While the crux of the game remained the same, there were a huge amount of changes done to the graphics, maps, movements, weapons. As such, even the best in the world found it challenging to come to terms with it. A lot of 1.6 legends retired from the game, paving the way for a new generation.Navi embraced the change too, however reluctantly, towards the end of 2012. For about 8 months they struggled to achieve anywhere near the same level of dominance they used to in 1.6. And then, a second blow came in the form of Markeloff and Edward leaving the team in the mid of 2013.From then, the team lingered in the mid to low ranks of the game, winning smaller regional competitions but failing to impress at the major ones. They tried various new players but couldn’t find the right fit. By the end of 2014, they finally had a new stable roster - Zeus, Edward (who returned), Seized, Guardian, and Flamie (the 3 new faces).2015 finally saw them displaying the same ferocity as they did in 2012. They reached the finals of their first ever Major tournament (the most prestigious CSGO tournaments, sponsored by Valve), but lost to one of the best teams in the world at the time, EnvyUs.A second place finish wasn’t bad. 5 months later, they again made it into the finals of their consecutively second Major, but lost again, this time to a rising dominant force in the making, Luminosity Gaming (which got brought by SK Gaming, and is now MiBR).But this isn’t the story of Navi.Nor that of Markeloff.In 2016, the long-standing captain of Navi left the organization.There were changes made to the game by Valve which allowed the team coaches to also guide players during the game and gave them more ammo to work with. A lot of teams, replaced their IGL (in-game leaders) or captains with individually stronger players since the role of IGL could now be done by the coach.So Zeus left.Despite a scintillating career spanning over 6 years, with a couple of years of slump, the man left with but one regret.He hadn’t won a major. Till that time, more than 30 people from 6 teams had the right to claim a Major title in their list of achievement but Zeus was not one of them.He went on and joined a small Russian team with probably just one internationally recognizable name. Gambit eSports soon made it to the finals, and won a bunch of decent tournaments.However, the real test came in July of 2017 in the form of PGL Major Krakow.Gambit had a great start, winning all 3 of their group stage games in convincing fashion (16–10, 16–6, 16–11). In the quarterfinals, they were met by the juggernaut of Fnatic, arguably the most dominant roster of all time in all forms of CS. They prevailed 16–14, 16–12 in a Bo3. The semis were the toughest challenge yet. Astralis, the best team in the world at the time. They prevailed once more, making it to the finals. Just one step away from their dream.The finals started rough with Gambit losing the first map a devastating 16–4. However, Gambit came back strong and won the next 2 maps courtesy some great team plays and some spectacular moments of brilliance by individual players like Hobbit and Dosia.The mighty Zeus finally held the major trophy in his hands. With a new rag-tag team. While his former team that had kicked him out was eliminated in the group stages(Picture credits)But this is not the full story.A year back, while he was still in Navi, but was likely aware that he would be kicked out soon, he made a promise to himself.I am not going to give up before I win a motherfucking major.— Daniil Teslenko (@ZeusCSGO) July 8, 2016One that he kept one year later.P.S. While some of the tweet replies, notably from the legend Get_Right were encouraging, many at the time dismissed his claim.well say goodbye to the dream— Axel (@axel911axel) August 4, 2016looks like you've given up...— your uber driver here (@ShoegazeFucboi) August 4, 2016@navizeus4444 pic.twitter.com/yc7u2z0lrC— Sævar Þór Sveinsson (@Saevarthor02) August 4, 2016And that is the story of how perseverance pays off and why you should brush off nay-sayers.