>About mailing rice, oatmeal, what have you: everybody please bear in mind
>that
>if you mail stuff -with the intention- that it be mistaken for a dangerous
>substance, causing delays in mail, etc., you can end up doing some serious
>prison time. In fact it might be a felony to go beyond the theoretical
>chatter we have been having so far and encourage people to do it on this list.
Good point but I don't think anyone is intending anything that could be counted as malicious or even negligent. People have, for decades, mailed stuff to the White House. And, damn it, if I can't participate in pulling a Miracle on 34th street on 'em to prove Santa is alive, then life is not worth living. :)
The lady who mailed oatmeal was just a Mennonite who didn't have rice! Now, if you place foot powder in there, as one woman who worked for NASA did, then you get your ass kicked by the Fizzlean. (this was in her personal fight over some political issue. paying taxes or something.)
But, mailing rice as part of a widely circulated call to protest for peace, what a freakin' stretch. If anything happens, it's from unintended consequences. It's also why people are trying to make sure folks use rice and use padded envelopes.
If they do crack down on this, they're just going to look worse in the eyes of USers and people abroad. My public opinion meter, limited as it is, tells me that people are fed up with this nonsense.
kelley