by Jim Ring

Mervyn's, a Southwestern U.S  chain department store was running a sweepstakes called, Declare Your Style for an opportunity to win a grand prize of $10,000 tuition money plus other significant money and gift card prizes from 7/10 to 8/31.

By law there's no need of purchase to enter but get this, in the U.S., the sweepstakes is only open to residents of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah but no other states even though Americans in other states could easily enter via internet. What is really outrageous is that although most Americans can't enter, anyone anywhere from Mexico can! Mervyn's has stores in the seven states listed above but none listed in Mexico.

And if you wanted to get the official rules of the contest and you didn't have computer access you needed to send a self-addressed, postage paid envelope; that is, unless you were from Mexico. Mexicans could get the rules by mail without the SASE.

A Yankee, or a Southerner or a Mid-Westerner can't enter an American sweepstakes but a Mexican can.

Go lick a stamp Gringo!