How does this regulation hurt our economy? I used to be able to drop my package in a mailbox, no time wasted. But recently, I wasted a half hour at the post office. My package was all weighed and stamped, but I was forced to wait in line and give it toa clerk, just so she could toss it into a bin without a glance.

Now add that up. Add up all my time wasted yearly just to hand deliver packages that could as easily be dropped in a mailbox. Multiply that by millions of others waiting on line for the same purpose. If only ten million people waste ten hours eacha year due to this pointless law, we're already talking a hundred million work hours lost to the economy. And it's easily more than that.

All that lost productivity, for a regulation that hinders people from doing honest business, but did nothing to prevent anyone from mailing anthrax.

But can't I give my packages to my letter carrier? I wish I knew. I've tried. It's worked sometimes. But I've also had the letter carrier accept my package, only to return it days later stamped "return to sender" because it wasn't hand delivered at the post office. (I mean, what's the point? If they think it may be a bomb, why not call in the FBI? Why return it to me?)

Yes, it seems a small inconvenience, but that's the most effective way of destroying freedom; chipping away at it rather than taking it all at once. A frog will jump out of a pot of hot water, but if you place it in cool water, then bring it to a slow boil, the frog will remain there until it dies.

Yes, I know some idiots will scream, "Hey, in case you haven't heard, we're at war!" as they defend every law designed to "fight terrorism," no matter how pointless and ineffective and even counterproductive. Such people don't care about my personal inconveniences. They don't even care about their own liberties. But why are they helping terrorists by weakening our economy?