Folks outside the US and possessions can stop reading now.
I hope this is not really off-topic, because we
are using the facilities mentioned to communicate
with this mail list!
I also hope we haven't been hoaxed, but it sounds
like the kind of thing you could expect.
I was forwarded the following email:
>> >Contact you Congressional representatives!
>> >TOLL CHARGE FOR EMAIL. 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. Complain
>> >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 email 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 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 who's 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 TODAY, 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.
>> >
>> >
>> >Gertrude A. Gibson
>> >Secretary
>> >GSIA, Posner Hall 255
>> >Carnegie Mellon University
>> >Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
>> >Office: (412) 268-1337
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