To everybody. I got this e-mail below.
Do I need to take notice, or is it just one of those...?
I cannot judge. I have "cleaned" the mail from html-tags etc.
Klas..
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Federal Bill 602p
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 t=
o
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 bil=
l
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 inefficiency. It currently takes up
to 6 days for a letter to be delivered from coast to coast. If the US Posta=
l
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 =AE has even suggested a "$20-$4=
0
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).
=20=20
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!
=20=20
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Phone & fax int + 295 310 01
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