VOTE NO ON Bill 602

[Kame'a Media <media...>]

>

To the List:

This was sent to me by a friend.

Wolf

> VOTE NO ON Bill 602P
> I guess the warnings were true.  Federal Bill 602P  5-cents per  E-mail Sent.

>
>  No more free E-mail!  We  knew this was coming.  Bill 602P will
> permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent charge on every delivered
> E-mail.  Please read the following carefully if you intend to stay online,
> and continue using E-mail.

> The last few months have revealed an alarming
> trend in the Government of the United States attempting to quietly push
> through legislation that will affect our use of the Internet.  Under
> proposed legislation, the US Postal Service will be attempting to bill
> E-mail users out of "alternative postage fees".  Bill 602P will permit the
> Federal Government to charge a 5-cent surcharge on every E-Mail delivered,
> by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The consumer would then be
> billed in turn by the ISP.  Washington DC lawyer Richard Stepp is working
> without pay to prevent this legislation from becoming law. The US Postal
> Service is claiming lost revenue, due to the proliferation of E-mail, is
> costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue per year.  You   may have noticed
> their recent ad campaign: "There is nothing like a letter."

>
> Since the average person received about 10 pieces of E-mail per day in
> 1998, the cost of the typical individual   would be an
> additional 50 cents a day-or over $180 per year - above and
> beyond their regular Internet costs.  Note that this would be money paid
> directly to the US Postal Service for A SERVICE THEY DO
> NOT EVEN PROVIDE. The whole point of the Internet is
> democracy and noninterference. You are already paying an exorbitant price
> for snail mail because of bureaucratic efficiency. It currently takes up to
> 6 days for a letter to be delivered from coast to coast. If the US Postal
> Service is allowed to tinker with E-mail, it will mark the end of the "free"
> Internet in the United States.

>
> Congressional representative, Tony Schnell (R) has even suggested a
> "$20-$40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the
> governments proposed E-mail charges".
> Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored the story-the only
> exception being the Washingtonian - which called the idea of E-mail
> surcharge "a useful concept who's time has come" (March 6th, 1999
> Editorial).

>
> Do not sit by and watch your freedom erode away!  Send this E-mail to
> EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and relatives to write their
>
> congressional representative and say "NO" to Bill 602P.  It will only take a
> few moments of your time and could very well be instrumental in killing a
> bill we do not want.

>
> Please forward.



---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+