What is the definition of "spam"? Apparently it is

Any piece of unsolicited email except ones that you have sent.

At least that appears to the be the definition of the US congress. The New York Times reports that congressmen, after unanimously approving a law desinged to reduce junk email activity, have been sending out hundres of thousands of emails to unsuspecting constituents.

The purpose of the emails is to get people to subscribe to email distribution lists, which are exempt from a ban on tax payer funded mass distribution of election material for 90 days prior to an election.

The emails are spam in the purest sense because the addresses are sourced from email address lists purchased from commercial operations concerned with building such lists. At least 40 congressmen have purchased said lists. Looks like more "ends justifies the means" politics to The Green Man.