Email for Free? Not for long!

[Mari333]

Got this in my email today from a social activist in the area.

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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 on-line
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. &n bsp;
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

[Moderator]

1. Locking

This is an old hoax that has been around for years.

DU Moderator