I just received this from Brian Hanish: thought it ought to be passed on. Don't know if it's real yet. Brian is usually pretty reliable.
>
No way lets not let this happen
> >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 tosend 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. >
89747
Brian
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