John McCann Riverside,
California
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 8:13
AM
Subject: [FWDLK] E MAIL WILL BE CHARGED
TO YOUR ACCOUNT===PLEASE READ
Subject: Federal Bill
602P-Mail Charge
Guess the warnings were true. Federal
Bill 602P charges 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 inefficiency. 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!
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