Stamps Of Approval - Rosenbergs, Milosevic, Lewinsky dress now on official U.S. postage

The Smoking Gin ^ | 08/31/2004 | Smoking Gun Staff

[Che Chihuahua]

AUGUST 31--Nobody's dog deserves to be on a stamp. That was our first thought when we heard that the U.S. Postal Service had approved a pilot program for personalized postage. For about twice the regular cost, consumers can now slap any old picture on a stamp and surprise the recipient of their postcard or envelope (the image, of course, must not be deemed objectionable by the folks at Stamps.com, the online firm handling the trial run of Uncle Sam's postage gambit). But since objectionable is such a subjective term, TSG sought to determine what kind of interesting stamps we could actually create. While the image censors rejected our request for stamps featuring mug shots of Lee Harvey Oswald, Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano, and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, they did green light other equally, um, distinctive postage...

[Che Chihuahua]

Imagine Michael "Pig Boy" Moore on a stamp. Impossible! Because he'd need an entire sheet just to fit his gut into the picture. Or how about Al "Fruit Cake" Franken, who'd absolutely insist on lickable adhesive on the backside of his stamp.

[MineralMan]

This is great! Think of the possibilities for Freepers to create their own stamps. I can think of many images that appear again and again here that would be perfect.

I think I'll head over to stamps.com and get some stamps!

[texasflower]

It sound like fun. I used to use stamps.com, but I forgot all about them.

[blau993]

Moore and Franken stamps won't be allowed. They have a "no obscenity" policy.

Seriously, thanks so much for posting this. I never knew about this service. I have already ordered sheets featuring each of our two labs doing what they like best -- swimming with objects in mouth. Our son, who lives in Seattle, will get a real kick out of seeing these stamps on our next letter.

[AGreatPer]

Pinging STT. Gene, check this out. Potential, I think.

Bill in Hershey

[Maven]

I just sent an e-mail to my father to check out the site because I'm not sure if these are actual stamps or meter postage with pictures. He's been a stamp dealer for over 40 years and is a lifetime APS member - and he taught me the rules on what's supposed to be on U.S. postage (no living people, etc.).

Can't wait to hear back.

Maven

[A. Pole]

Rosenbergs, Milosevic, Lewinsky

What do they have in common?! Rosenbergs betrayed their country, Milosevic tried to protect his country and Ms. Lewinsky, hmm ... befriended the leader of her country.