Just a couple things I wish to ponder... things that are sending up warning flags.
One thing I have to ask is WHY the mail was opened by customs officials in the first place? What reason did they have to tamper with a citizens private correspondance? Now, last I knew, law enforcement officials needed a warrent to open the mail of a citizen of the United States, unless it was clearly something that posed a clear and present danger to the security of the U.S. What kind of national security threat would a collector of manga be? I suspect that there is a lot to this story that has not been heard yet. Either somehow, the Feds have heard that he had been making purchases from a known dealer of contraband material (which they can watch for via the dealer's own records) or they have decided to randomly target collectors.
Another thing that bothers me. It seems that the scope of these laws is ever increasing. One thing that I noticed is that one of the citeria mentioned is "what the community would find offensive". By WHOM within the community are they going to make that judgement of what is and is not offensive? I do happen to know numerous people who would find the mild (by today's standards) publication Playboy, to be highly offensive. A lot of these same people would rate a high percentage of the stories within the archives offensive. And, you have to admit, a certain percentage could fall under the scope of some of these laws coming out.
What will all of this mean for us? And, more importantly, what will it mean for the 1st Admendment rights of everyone in this country? We now stand upon the threshold of a dangerously slippery slope. A slopw which has a lot of sharp daggers waiting for us at the bottom. I for one pray that reason prevails, but I am fearful that it may not.