Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 15:14:30 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Aquilina, Stella" Subject: Re: Fwd: Land of the free - but not on the internet MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" This is an urban legend. Please consult http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/emailtax.html for info. -----Original Message----- From: Aaron Haines [mailto:wildhawksah@HOTMAIL.COM] Sent: Friday, March 16, 2001 3:11 PM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Fwd: Land of the free - but not on the internet I think this bill will definately have an effect on public listserves everywhere in the US. >>Subject: BILL 602-P >> >>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 >>non-interference. 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. 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. > _____ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================