Re: pumpkins DIGEST V1 #299
- Subject: Re: pumpkins DIGEST V1 #299
- From: L* C*
- Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 08:20:38 -0600
- Content-disposition: inline
- List-archive: <http://www.hort.net/lists/pumpkins/> (Web Archive)
It is a bogus e-mail and not true.
>>> FmrJohnsPumpkins@aol.com 01/08/02 10:34PM >>>
I apologize if it is incorrect of me to send this to our list, however,
since
it involved e-mail, and important pumpkin e-mail at that, I thought I
should
let the list see this. It came from a usually reliable source. Thank
you.
Eda
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 our 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.
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