Magazines, i.e. periodicals, are specifically prohibited from using media mail in section 3.1. of DMM 173. Section 3.2. goes on to say what is explicitly allowed.

There is nothing vague about it.

http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#wp1060522

I'm all for complaining about stupid government monopolies, but this isn't the best place to start.

This is not unusual behavior for the ATF.

See Lou Dobbs on the case of David Olofson, railroaded for 30 months in prison because his rifle malfunctioned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB237rfvHys

@yank
Like paintball guns, airsoft can start at $70 and go up to hundreds of dollars. $12k may have been retail value, not wholesale value.

My understanding is that, after reading Demon in the Freezer, we are not prepared for a smallbox epidemic as we have destroyed our vaccine stockpiles. But I could easily be mistaken.

I've read all of the books on the list with the exception of Grass. I take that back... I have a copy of Earth, but it is the only David Brin book I couldn't get into.

Ender's Game I've recommended many times.

Perdido Street Station I'd heartily recommend, if I thought the person could handle something a little dark.

The rest of the list I'd change.

I would substitute David Brin's Kiln People for Earth, and John Scalzi's Old Man's War for Heinlein. I love Stephenson (reading Anathem now), but I'm not sure if he is a good gateway author. If I was to recommend one of his books, I might recommend something more accessible such as The Big U or Zodiac.

While the Hyperion Saga is great (I preferred Illium), if someone likes violence and gore, I'd first recommend Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan.

As this list is already brushing close to fantasy, I'd also recommend Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (currently being made into a mini-series pilot on HBO), American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold.

Actually, here is something neat that I've only see one other place mention. Two bloggers were used as references in Justice Scalia's majority opinion: Clayton Cramer and Eugene Volokh. Other Bloggers wrote amicus briefs, such as Dave Hardy.

Blogging, FTW!!

Sad thing is that this is even considered a partisan issue.

One group that wrote an amicus for Heller was Pink Pistols, a LGBT group that believes that the second amendment is crucial to defend themselves from anti-gay bigots.

The NRA only wrote an amicus brief after they unsuccessfully tried to kill the case.
(See The Washington Post, "The NRA's Main Target?")

If the ACLU actually believed in defending ALL of our civil rights, I would donate to them in a heartbeat.

Unlike a lot of other lefty's.... at least the dailykos had some semblance of intellectual honesty when they posted about this:

"Sometimes in life (and in law), there are things that we might desire from a policy standpoint -- like certain forms of gun control, or restrictions on some election-related speech -- which are nevertheless forbidden by the Constitution. And as liberals -- unlike the other guys -- we ought not try to pretend that the Constitution doesn't exist when it gets in the way of our policy preferences."

First Habeus Corpus, now this... I'm almost starting to have hope...

And what hp said. Just like Lucas originally wanted to remake Flash Gordon, but couldn't secure the rights, so he made Star Wars instead.

I always thought Giovanni Belzoni was the inspiration for Indy.

That's the thing about people who think they hate computers. What they really hate is lousy programmers.
- Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle in Oath of Fealty

I bet the Federalists would be so very upset to know that Jefferson was immortalized in 1936 as one of America’s great presidents on Mount Rushmore.

Probably about as upset as Jefferson would be to find out that his face is gracing a federal reserve note.

I think these are the little monsters are sold (or used to be) at WalMart.

Little tiny things as babies, and they never tell you how big they get. You just find out after they eat all your other fish.

Another addicting game, same concept.

http://novelconcepts.co.uk/FlashElementTD/

You couldn't pay me enough to take possession of Obi-Wan's cloaca.

Yeah, but from what I keep hearing, isn't it the home where he spends most of his time? =P

For true irony, Bush's home uses passive solar heating, geothermal heat pumps and an underground waste-water purification system to irrigate his lawn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Chapel_Ranch