I've been to the site numerous times (several times a day even) and I have yet to receive any emails so I doubt that is what happening. My guess is that they have purchased lists - which is totally legal.

Two things:

1. This doesn't work anymore to my knowledge, but used to be the site could request an image via anonymous ftp (with an ftp:// url) and the web browser would fill in the users email address, if it knew it, as a courtesy. That was stopped long ago due to spammers.

I've visited his site, and I'm not getting spammed. But I'm using FireFox on Linux. It would be possible to use an IE exploit to trap someone still foolish enough to use that browser, and it could work in the same way as a spyware installer. I would be very surprised if their webmaster did something like that.

2. I know of no email lists which may be purchased legally. None. It is illegal to spam, both on the state level in TN (47-18-2501) and on the federal level. Selling an email list is probably still legal, using it isn't. Companies that do "rent" lists do the mailing themselves to keep the lists out of the hands of spammers. Trust me, I know a lot about spammers. I receive over 2000 spams each day.

Yes, it's possible, if the website is "scanning" the cookies on your system, and if one of those cookies happens to have your address in it. I don't think it's illegal, but it's certainly unethical.

Have you tried simply contacting the Ford campaign and asking them where they're getting their email addresses, and specifically where they got yours, since you didn't sign up on their site?

If they give you any runaround, you should go to every media outlet you can find until one of them picks it up and runs with it. *If* Ford's campaign is really doing this, it's disgraceful, and people should know about it.

Russ, there's no way to "scan" cookies from a web site, except for those originating from the site. In the past, there have been exploits that would allow reading cookies from other sites, but I don't think any are currently unfixed.

I'm with dave f, quit speculating and ask.

I'm sure the Ford campaign monitors this blog - I know Ford's ally Chris Jackson does. So they are aware of the question. If they chose to address the issue of whether or not they are spamming folks, and how they are getting the email addresses, I''ll happily publish their response here.

Bill, since you know the Ford campaign monitors blogs couldn't it just be that they simply sent you an email as a media advisory? A professional courtesy? Lots of folks at the more traditional media get lots of notices from the campaigns. Maybe they're taking blogs seriously and sending news releases and other items and hoping the big name bloggers (like you) post their stuff. Seems like an intelligent PR move to me. Then again, I haven't gotten any emails, but maybe my blog isn't big enough.

I love political spam. Helps you know what they are up to. As Ann Landers would say: kwitcherbitchin

I am getting those emails and I'm not a journalist. My suspicion is that there is a mole in the Tennessee Republican Party. I recently got on the TRP's email list due to my emailing them about one of their positions that I took exception to. Shortly afterward, I began to get the Ford emails with my email address in all caps same as the TRP emails. Those are the only two sources that I get emails from with the address in all caps.