From my new blog:

It sounds like Apple should not offer rebates if they have no intention of honoring them. An irate letter from a long-time Mac fan would hopefully wake up someone at Apple; maybe not.

At this point, the Apple Store is still being devious (read: dishonest) about rebates. They advertise rebates on some items, but when you read the fine print, you find out that the rebate only applies if you don't buy from the Apple Store. It looks like they are taking co-op advertising money but screwing the customer.