As I noted in another post, this is a hoax. There is not Rep. Schnell,
no "Bill 602P" and the Washingtonian is a monthly, so there could not be
a March 6th issue. The Washingtonian denies ever publishing such an
article, anyway. And any bill originating in the House of
Representatives is identified by an "HR" prefix.
Skip
Chris Hannon wrote:
>
> Hi All,
> I'm kind of new to the list. I've been reading for a couple of months
> but this is my first actual post. This is the coolest mailing list.
>
> Well, here's the point of this email. Sounds kind of screwie. What do
> you folks think?
>
> > U.S. House of Representatives
> > 1207 Longworth House Office Building
> > Washington, D.C. 20515-4611
> > Phone: (202) 225-2931
> > Fax: (202) 225-2944
> >
> > Please read the following carefully if you intend
> > to stay online and continue using email:
> >
> > The last few months have revealed an alarming trend
> > in the legislation that will affect your use of the
> > Internet. Under proposed legislation the U.S. Postal
> > Service will be attempting to bilk email users out of
> > "alternate postage fees". Bill 602P will permit the
> > Federal Govt to charge a 5 cent surcharge on every
> > email delivered, by billing Internet Service providers
> > at source.
> >
> > The consumer would then be billed in turn by the
> > ISP. One congressman, Tony Schnell AE has even
> > suggested a "twenty to forty dollar per month
> > surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond
> > the government's proposed email charges. Washington
> > D.C. lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to
> > prevent this legislation from becoming law.
> >
> > The U.S. Postal Service is claiming that lost
> > revenue due to the proliferation of email 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 citizen received
> > about 10 pieces of email per day in 1998, the cost to
> > the typical individual would be an additional 50 cents
> > per day, or over $180 dollars per year, above and
> > beyond their regular Internet costs. Note that this
> > would be money paid directly to the U.S. Postal
> > Service for a service they do not even provide.
> >
> > The whole point of the Internet is democracy and
> > non-interference. If the federal government is
> > permitted to tamper with our liberties by adding a
> > surcharge to email, who knows where it will end. 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 New York to Buffalo. If the U.S.
> > Postal Service is allowed to tinker with email, it
> > will mark the end of the "free" Internet in the United
> > States.
> >
> > Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored
> > the story, the only exception being the Washingtonian
> > which called the idea of email surcharge "a useful
> > concept who's time has come" (March 6th 1999
> > Editorial. Don't sit by and watch your freedoms
> > erode away!
> >
> > Send this e-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and
> > tell all your friends and relatives to write to their
> > congressman 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 don't want.
>
> Chris Hannon
> 95 Dakota Sport V6
> working on website now!
-- Shadowcatcher Imagery http://members.tripod.com/~shadowcatcherimagery/index.htm
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