Fun_People Archive
13 Jun
Senate getting hysterical about Internet; please act


Date: Tue, 13 Jun 95 12:13:55 PDT
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: Senate getting hysterical about Internet; please act

[Oops!  I think I forgot the funny part on this one... -psl]

Forwarded-by: Mary Simoni <msimoni@umich.edu>
Forwarded-by: Robert S. Newcomb <Robert.S.Newcomb@Dartmouth.EDU>

========================================================================
       CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE EXON/GORTON COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT

	Update: -Senate currently considering four Internet censorship
		 bills.  You need to act now.
		-What You Can Do Now (US and non-US citizens)

        CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT
			   June 8, 1995

      PLEASE WIDELY REDISTRIBUTE THIS DOCUMENT WITH THIS BANNER INTACT
		 REDISTRIBUTE ONLY UNTIL June 25, 1995
	     REPRODUCE THIS ALERT ONLY IN RELEVANT FORUMS

      Distributed by the Voters Telecommunications Watch (vtw@vtw.org)

________________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS
	The Latest News
	What You Can Do Now -- U.S. and non-U.S. citizens
	Senate Contact List
        For More Information
        List Of Participating Organizations

________________________________________________________________________
[Note that this week is going to be a stressful one, as the Telecomm
 Reform bill is on the Senate floor and things are moving *very quickly*.
 We're trying very hard to minimize the numbers of letters we send out,
 and the size of the alerts.

 If you feel they're coming too fast and are thinking about unsubscribing,
 please consider waiting until the end of next week, when the traffic
 will die down again. -Shabbir]

THE LATEST NEWS

First there was the Exon/Gorton Internet Censorship bill.  Then, there
was the Dole/Grassley bill, which would criminalize "profane" speech
among other things.  Then came the Lott amendment, which would make
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) liable for the traffic of their
users.  Now, Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) has announced his intention to
introduce his very own legislation.  Since obscenity is already
illegal, it's unclear what benefits Coats' legislation will bring.

However given the tradition of the Senate's attempts at restricting the
Internet (Exon/Gorton, Feinstein, Dole/Grassley, and Lott) it's
becoming clear that few people are taking the First Amendment into
account when drafting their legislation.

As you read this, the Telecommunications Reform bill is being debated
on the Senate floor.  The Exon/Gorton Internet Censorship language
is *in that bill*.

If the net as a whole doesn't do anything, the Exon bill will become
a reality.

Even if it's found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court several years
from now, the damage it will do in terms of BBS seizures and chilling
speech in the meantime will make online systems a very different and
sad place.

A few days ago we put out an alert asking people to call Congress and
Vice President Gore.  This generated significant support and we've
even seen Senator's offices take notice of the fact that lots of computer-
literate individuals are calling to point out the problems with the
Exon/Gorton bill.

If you already called, *thank you*.  Your comments warmed the hearts of
several of us, who have been swamped trying to process all the mail
you sent.  You have done your country proud.  Just as heart-warming
have been the letters from those abroad, who took the time to email
(and even call!) Vice President Gore.  We hope we can return the
favor somehow someday.

However, many of us have not called or faxed.  If you haven't done so
yet, take a moment to do that now.  Make your voice heard in
Washington.  Remind the Senate, which is paying more attention now to
voters than it has in several years, that you care about this new
medium that enables us to communicate in such an unprecedented
many-to-many fashion.  Demand the *exact same* rights and
responsibilities for speech in the digital world as we expect in
print media, no more, no less.

________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW -- U.S. and non-U.S. citizens

The Telecomm Reform Bill currently includes the Exon/Gorton Internet
Censorship bill.  Leahy intends to offer a swap, to remove the Exon
language in exchange for his bill which advocates a study of the issue,
with an emphasis on the preservation of the First Amendment and
parental control.  The other proposals could become involved as well.

It is essential that the Leahy language be substituted for Exon's, and
therefore it is essential:

1. That all citizens call or fax their Senators as soon as possible.
   There is no time for written letters and email is too easily
   discounted or ignored. Non-U.S. citizens should contact Vice
   President Gore.  Note, if you decide to send a fax, you'll want to
   write an expanded version of the statement below.

   It's very important that you always be cool, collected, and polite.

   U.S. citizens:
	<call your Senators' offices, contact info below>
	"Hello, Senator ________'s office"
	"Hi, I'm a constituent and would like to register my
	 opinion on the Telecommunications Reform bill to the 		
	 Senator.  May I please speak to the technology staffer,
	 _________?"
	"Hold On please.  Alright, go ahead."

	"Please oppose the Exon/Gorton bill (Title 4 of the Telecomm
	 bill) and other bills for censoring the Internet.  Please
	 support the Leahy alternative (S714) which examines these
	 issues.  My name and address are ________."

	"Thanks for calling."
	<click>

   Non-U.S. citizens:
        <call, fax, or send email to Vice President Gore>
        "Dear Vice President Gore,

	 The world looks to the United States as one of the leaders in
	 developing a Global Information Infrastructure.  Title 4 of
	 the Telecomm Reform bill and other Internet censorship bills
	 imperil that leadership.  Please work to remove them from the
	 Telecomm Reform bill (S652) and support Senator Leahy's
	 sensible alternative (S714).  I'm calling from ____________."


2. Send VTW a note telling us what you did. If you contacted your two
   Senators, send a letter to vtw@vtw.org with a subject line of
   "XX ack" where "XX" is your state.  For example:

	To: vtw@vtw.org
	Subject: OH ack

	I called my Ohio Senators and expressed my opinion.

   If you contact Senators outside your state, please let us know what
   state you're from.

   If you contacted Vice President Gore, send a letter to vtw@vtw.org with
   a subject line of "gore ack".  For example:

	To: vtw@vtw.org
	Subject: gore ack

	I called VP Gore and expressed my opinion.  I'm from France.

   An automatic responder will return an updated contact tally.

3. Forward this alert to relevant forums on other online services and
   BBS's.  Check the letter you get back to see which Senators are
   underrepresented by citizen contacts. Forward the Alert to any
   friends and colleagues in those states.

4. If you haven't yet signed the petition to support Sen. Leahy,
   do so now at http://www.cdt.org/petition.html.  If you don't have
   WWW access, send mail to vtw@vtw.org with a subject line of
   "send petition" for directions.

5. Congratulate yourself!  Your two-minute activism joins that of many
   thousands of others over the past two months.

________________________________________________________________________
SENATE CONTACT LIST

Vice President Gore can be reached at:

	White House comment line
		Telephone: (202) 456-1111 (M-F 9-5 EST)
		Facsimile: (202) 456-2461 (M-F 9-5 EST)
		Email:	    vice-president@whitehouse.gov
	

*** Note that we have included names of the several Senators    ***
*** Telecommunications Policy staffers below.  Please attempt   ***
*** to speak to them when you call.				***

US Senate Listing:

      D ST Name (Party)               Phone           Fax
      = == ============		      =====	      ===
      R AK Murkowski, Frank H.        1-202-224-6665  1-202-224-5301
      R AK Stevens, Ted               1-202-224-3004  1-202-224-1044
                Earl Comstock - Technology staffer
      D AL Heflin, Howell T.          1-202-224-4124  1-202-224-3149
      R AL Shelby, Richard C.         1-202-224-5744  1-202-224-3416
      D AR Bumpers, Dale              1-202-224-4843  1-202-224-6435
                Thomas Walls - Technology staffer
      D AR Pryor, David               1-202-224-2353  1-202-224-8261
      R AZ Kyl, Jon                   1-202-224-4521  1-602-840-4848
      R AZ McCain, John               1-202-224-2235  1-602-952-8702
                Mark Buse - Technology staffer
      D CA Boxer, Barbara             1-202-224-3553  na
                Leanne Shimabukuro - Technology staffer
      D CA Feinstein, Dianne          1-202-224-3841  1-202-228-3954
                Robert Mestman - Technology staffer
      D CO Campbell, Ben N.           1-202-224-5852  1-202-225-0228
                Lori Fox - Technology staffer
      R CO Brown, Henry               1-202-224-5941  1-202-224-6471
                Liz Woodard - Technology staffer
      D CT Dodd, Christopher J.       1-202-224-2823  na
      D CT Lieberman, Joseph I.       1-202-224-4041  1-202-224-9750
      D DE Biden Jr., Joseph R.       1-202-224-5042  1-202-224-0139
                Demetra Lambros/Michelle Deguerin - Technology staffer
      R DE Roth Jr.  William V.       1-202-224-2441  1-202-224-2805
      D FL Graham, Robert             1-202-224-3041  1-202-224-2237
      R FL Mack, Connie               1-202-224-5274  1-202-224-8022
                Victoria Anderson - Technology staffer
      D GA Nunn, Samuel               1-202-224-3521  1-202-224-0072
                Jonathan Reif - Technology staffer
      R GA Coverdell, Paul            1-202-224-3643  1-202-228-3783
                Therese Marie Delgadillo - Technology staffer
      D HI Akaka, Daniel K.           1-202-224-6361  1-202-224-2126
                Nanci Langley - Technology staffer
      D HI Inouye, Daniel K.          1-202-224-3934  1-202-224-6747
                Margaret Cummisky - Technology staffer
      D IA Harkin, Thomas             1-202-224-3254  1-202-224-7431
                Phil Buchan - Technology staffer
      R IA Grassley, Charles E.       1-202-224-3744  1-202-224-6020
                John McNickle - Technology staffer
      R ID Craig, Larry E.            1-202-224-2752  1-202-224-2573
                Elizabeth Criner - Technology staffer
      R ID Kempthorne, Dirk           1-202-224-6142  1-202-224-5893
      D IL Moseley-Braun, Carol       1-202-224-2854  1-202-224-2626
                Bill Mattea - Technology staffer
      D IL Simon, Paul                1-202-224-2152  1-202-224-0868
                Susan Kaplan - Technology staffer
      R IN Coats, Daniel R.           1-202-224-5623  1-202-224-8964
                David Crane - Technology staffer
      R IN Lugar, Richard G.          1-202-224-4814  1-202-224-7877
                Walt Luken - Technology staffer
      R KS Dole, Robert               1-202-224-6521  1-202-224-8952
      R KS Kassebaum, Nancy L.        1-202-224-4774  1-202-224-3514
                Ed Bolen - Technology staffer
      D KY Ford, Wendell H.           1-202-224-4343  1-202-224-0046
                Martha Maloney - Technology staffer
      R KY McConnell, Mitch           1-202-224-2541  1-202-224-2499
      D LA Breaux, John B.            1-202-224-4623  na
                Thomas Moore - Technology staffer
      D LA Johnston, J. Bennett       1-202-224-5824  1-202-224-2952
                Michael Gougisha - Technology staffer
      D MA Kennedy, Edward M.         1-202-224-4543  1-202-224-2417
                Jeff Blattner - Technology staffer
      D MA Kerry, John F.             1-202-224-2742  1-202-224-8525
                Scott Bunton - Technology staffer
      D MD Mikulski, Barbara A.       1-202-224-4654  1-202-224-8858
      D MD Sarbanes, Paul S.          1-202-224-4524  1-202-224-1651
                Fred Millhiser - Technology staffer
      R ME Snowe, Olympia             1-202-224-5344  1-202-224-6853
                Angela Campbell - Technology staffer
      R ME Cohen, William S.          1-202-224-2523  1-202-224-2693
                Kelly Metcalf - Technology staffer
      D MI Levin, Carl                1-202-224-6221  na
      R MI Abraham, Spencer           1-202-224-4822  1-202-224-8834
      D MN Wellstone, Paul            1-202-224-5641  1-202-224-8438
                Mike Epstein - Technology staffer
      R MN Grams, Rod                 1-202-224-3244  na
      R MO Bond, Christopher S.       1-202-224-5721  1-202-224-8149
      R MO Ashcroft, John             1-202-224-6154  na
      R MS Cochran, Thad              1-202-224-5054  1-202-224-3576
      R MS Lott, Trent                1-202-224-6253  1-202-224-2262
                Chip Pickering - Technology staffer
      D MT Baucus, Max                1-202-224-2651  na
                Brian Cavey - Technology staffer
      R MT Burns, Conrad R.           1-202-224-2644  1-202-224-8594
                Mark Baker - Technology staffer
      R NC Faircloth, D. M.           1-202-224-3154  1-202-224-7406
      R NC Helms, Jesse               1-202-224-6342  1-202-224-7588
      D ND Conrad, Kent               1-202-224-2043  1-202-224-7776
                Steve Super - Technology staffer
      D ND Dorgan, Byron L.           1-202-224-2551  1-202-224-1193
                Greg Rhode - Technology staffer
      D NE Exon, J. J.                1-202-224-4224  1-202-224-5213
                Christopher MacLean - Technology staffer
      D NE Kerrey, Bob                1-202-224-6551  1-202-224-7645
                Carol Ann Bischoff - Technology staffer
      R NH Gregg, Judd                1-202-224-3324  1-202-224-4952
      R NH Smith, Robert              1-202-224-2841  1-202-224-1353
      D NJ Bradley, William           1-202-224-3224  1-202-224-8567
                Mark Schmitt - Technology staffer
      D NJ Lautenberg, Frank R.       1-202-224-4744  1-202-224-9707
                Bruce King - Technology staffer
      D NM Bingaman, Jeff             1-202-224-5521  na
                Wayne Propst - Technology staffer
      R NM Domenici, Pete V.          1-202-224-6621  1-202-224-7371
      D NV Bryan, Richard H.          1-202-224-6244  1-202-224-1867
                Andrew Vermilye - Technology staffer
      D NV Reid, Harry                1-202-224-3542  1-202-224-7327
      D NY Moynihan, Daniel P.        1-202-224-4451  na
      R NY D'Amato, Alfonse M.        1-202-224-6542  1-202-224-5871
                Kraig Siracuse - Technology staffer
      D OH Glenn, John                1-202-224-3353  1-202-224-7983
                Susan Palmer - Technology staffer
      R OH Dewine, Michael            1-202-224-2315  1-202-224-6519
                Josh Ruben - Technology staffer
      R OK Inhofe, James              1-202-224-4721
      R OK Nickles, Donald            1-202-224-5754  1-202-224-6008
      R OR Hatfield, Mark O.          1-202-224-3753  1-202-224-0276
      R OR Packwood, Robert           1-202-224-5244  1-202-228-3576
                Hans Haney - Technology staffer
      R PA Santorum, Rick             1-202-224-6324  1-202-228-4991
      R PA Specter, Arlen             1-202-224-4254  na
                Dan Renberg - Technology staffer
      D RI Pell, Claiborne            1-202-224-4642  1-202-224-4680
      R RI Chafee, John H.            1-202-224-2921  na
      D SC Hollings, Ernest F.        1-202-224-6121  1-202-224-4293
                Kevin Josephs - Technology staffer
      R SC Thurmond, Strom            1-202-224-5972  1-202-224-1300
      D SD Daschle, Thomas A.         1-202-224-2321  1-202-224-2047
      R SD Pressler, Larry            1-202-224-5842  1-202-224-1259*
                Katie King - Technology staffer
      R TN Thompson, Fred             1-202-224-4944  1-202-228-3679
                Kevin Moxley - Technology staffer
      R TN Frist, Bill                1-202-224-3344  1-202-224-8062
                Dave Berson - Technology staffer
      R TX Hutchison, Kay Bailey      1-202-224-5922  1-202-224-0776
                Amy Henderson - Technology staffer
      R TX Gramm, Phil                1-202-224-2934  1-202-228-2856
      R UT Bennett, Robert            1-202-224-5444  1-202-224-6717
                Amy Henderson - Technology staffer
      R UT Hatch, Orrin G.            1-202-224-5251  1-202-224-6331
                Mike O'Neill - Technology staffer
      D VA Robb, Charles S.           1-202-224-4024  1-202-224-8689
                Bill Owens - Technology staffer
      R VA Warner, John W.            1-202-224-2023  1-202-224-6295
                Russel Wilkerson - Technology staffer
      D VT Leahy, Patrick J.          1-202-224-4242  1-202-224-3595
                Beryl Howell - Technology staffer
      R VT Jeffords, James M.         1-202-224-5141  na
                Bill Testerman - Technology staffer
      D WA Murray, Patty              1-202-224-2621  1-202-224-0238
                Mike Egan - Technology staffer
      R WA Gorton, Slade              1-202-224-3441  1-202-224-9393
                Terri Claffey - Technology staffer
      D WI Feingold, Russell          1-202-224-5323  na
                Jeannine Kenney - Technology staffer
      D WI Kohl, Herbert H.           1-202-224-5653  1-202-224-9787
                Jon Liebowitz - Technology staffer
      D WV Byrd, Robert C.            1-202-224-3954  1-202-224-4025
      D WV Rockefeller, John D.       1-202-224-6472  na
		Cheryl Bruner - Technology staffer
      R WY Simpson, Alan K.           1-202-224-3424  1-202-224-1315
		Michael Stull - Technology staffer
      R WY Thomas, Craig              1-202-224-6441  1-202-224-3230

________________________________________________________________________
FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information on the Communications Decency Act, visit the
following resources:

Web Sites
	URL:http://www.panix.com/vtw/exon/
	URL:http://epic.org/
	URL:http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/
	URL:http://www.cdt.org/cda.html

FTP Archives
	URL:ftp://ftp.cdt.org/pub/cdt/policy/freespeech/00-INDEX.FREESPEECH
	URL:ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Alerts/

Gopher Archives:
	URL:gopher://gopher.panix.com/11/vtw/exon
	URL:gopher://gopher.eff.org/11/Alerts

Email:
	vtw@vtw.org (put "send help" in the subject line)
	cda-info@cdt.org (General CDA information)
	cda-stat@cdt.org (Current status of the CDA)

________________________________________________________________________
LIST OF PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

In order to use the net more effectively, several organizations have
joined forces on a single Congressional net campaign to stop the
Communications Decency Act.

Please send a message to vtw@vtw.org with "send orgs" in the subject
line to receive a list of these organizations.

________________________________________________________________________
	End Alert
========================================================================



[=] © 1995 Peter Langston []