Apparently I was the only un-informed list reader. My appologies to everyone. -b !Delivered-To: nanog-outgoing@merit.edu !Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 13:54:28 -0500 (EST) !From: Charles Sprickman <spork@inch.com> !To: "Brad S. Dreisbach" <bradd@dn.net> !Cc: nanog@merit.edu !Subject: Re: Fw: Congress to vote on allowing a toll charge for internet access] !MIME-Version: 1.0 !X-Loop: nanog ! ! !Just a general note, never mail anything to anyone else that says: ! !"PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW WHO USES EMAIL" (or much of anything !else written ALL-CAPS. ! !See: ! !http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html#emailtax ! !http://www.kylgrafx.com/bill602.htm ! !Charles ! !On Tue, 25 Jan 2000, Brad S. Dreisbach wrote: ! !> > CNN has reported that within the next two weeks Congress is going to !> > vote on allowing telephone companies to CHARGE A TOLL FEE for Internet !> > access. Translation: Every time we send a long distance e-mail we !> > will receive a long distance charge. This will get costly. !> > Please visit the following web site and file a complaint to your !> > Congressperson. !> > We can't allow this to pass! The following address will allow you to !> > send an e-mail on this subject DIRECTLY to your Congressperson. !> > http://www.house.gov/writerep !> > Pass this on to your friends. It is urgent! I hope all of you will pass !> > this on to all your friends and family. We should ALL have an interest !> > in this one. !> > WAIT, THERE'S MORE! IN ADDITION, 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 your use of the !> > Internet. Under proposed legislation the U.S. Postal Service will be !> > attempting to bilk email users out of "alternate postage fees". Bill !> > 602P will permit the Federal Govt. to charge a 5 cent surcharge on every !> > email delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The !> > consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP. Washington D.C. lawyer !> > Richard Stepp is working without pay to prevent this legislation from !> > becoming law. The U.S. Postal Service is claiming that lost revenue due !> > to the proliferation of e-mail costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue !> > per year. (Oh, isn't that too bad?) You may have noticed their recent !> > ad campaign "There is nothing like a letter". Since the average citizen !> > received about 10 pieces of email per day in 1998, the cost to the !> > typical individual would be an additional 50 cents per day, or over $180 !> > dollars per year, above and beyond their regular Internet costs. !> > Note that this would be money paid directly to the U.S. Postal Service !> > for !> > a service they do not even provide. !> > The whole point of the Internet is democracy and non-interference. If !> > the !> > federal government is permitted to tamper with our liberties by adding a !> > surcharge to email, who knows where it will end. You are already paying !> > an !> > exorbitant price for snail mail because of bureaucratic inefficiency. It !> > currently takes up to 6 days for a letter to be delivered from New York !> > to Buffalo. If the U.S. Postal Service is allowed to tinker !> > with email, it will mark the end of the "free" Internet in the United !> > States. !> > One congressman, Tony Schnell (r) has even suggested a "twenty to forty !> > dollar per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the !> > government's proposed email charges. Note that most of the major !> > newspapers have ignored the story, the only exception being the !> > Washingtonian which called the idea of email surcharge "a useful concept !> > whose time has come" (March 6th, 1999 Editorial). !> > Don't sit by and watch your freedoms erode away! Send this e-mail to !> > EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and relatives to write !> > to !> > their Congressman 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 don't !> > want. !> > !> > PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW WHO USES EMAIL !> > REMEMBER THESE ARE TWO SEPARATE ISSUES THAT EFFECT !> > ALL OF US ONLINE LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD NOW, NOT AFTER. ! !