ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!
> >
VOTE
NO ON Bill 602P!!!! > > > I guess the warnings were
true. Federal Bill 602P 5-cents per E-mail > Sent. It
figures! 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. > >
Our congressional representative, Tony Schnell ? 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 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!