In Part Two of my continuing series Nettle vs ACLU, I describe the latest correspondence between me and the ACLU's officers. But first, I take on the Sierra Club's junk mail.

Here's an excerpt from my article:

While I know the ACLU doesn't believe the Sierra Club got my name and address from them, I am satisfied (based on the investigation I undertook, contacting a number of nonprofits who confirmed they got my info from ACLU) that indeed that's precisely what happened. But there's no point wasting time over that; we'll just have to agree to disagree. So how do deal with Sierra Club junk mail? There are number of ways. Here's one.

One Way of Dealing With Sierra Club Junk Mail

I was disappointed to see another envelope from the Sierra Club, complete with a typeface on the front of the envelope making it look like it was handwritten. I opened the envelope. Inside was a cover letter, a flyer about near-extinct species (which made me think, "Once you annoy a potential contributor, they're lost forever..."), an ad for some outdoor hiking gear, two stickers, a membership card, two petitions I was supposed to sign, and a bunch more items. I must confess I didn't read any of it.

Imagine how much money Sierra Club would save if they didn't cut down so many trees to send out such huge volumes of unwanted junk mail to people who in good faith joined the ACLU not realizing doing so meant they'd be bombarded with solicitations from all these other nonprofits?

Oops. Big mistake. They sent a Business Reply Mail letter with the postage already paid. Now, what should be done about that. Let's see. Huh? Who me? What evil grin?

First, pile all the junk mail together. Ah, but notice they've made the return envelope slightly smaller than the junk that was sent.

Not a problem. Scissors to the rescue!

Trim off edges so all the stuff will fit in the return envelope.

Jam it all in there. Loud organ music and mutters of "muu-ha-ha-ha" optional.

Ah, now doesn't that feel better? Some day next week, some poor schlepper at the Sierra Club will be scratching their head. Note the simulated handwritten plea at the upper left. My reply: "If you stopped sending out unwanted junk mail you would save even more much-needed funds."

For the full story, including the latest email from ACLU, and my latest reply to them, click here.

Copyright © 2003 Brian L. Dear. All Rights Reserved.