-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- "Vlad" wrote: <snip>

I am all for helping congressmen "get a clue" at this moment in time. the Digital Telephony bill is not a declaration of war. when they try to tax Cyberspace or get the FCC to regulate it, or outlaw cryptography, *that* will be a declaration of war.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, and I try to resist forwarding messages from other lists, but on cyberia-L, Mr. Nick Keenan wrote: <snipped, forwarded message follows> ____________________________________ The FCC is now proposing a tax on ISP's -- in the name of "universal access" !?? :O(. They claim that since voice can be transmitted over the Internet, it falls under the jurisdiction of the FCC. Read about it in the Dec. 18 issue of Interactive Week ( http://www.zdnet.com/~intweek/print/951218/upfront/doc11.html)

From the article:

FCC Chairman Reed Hundt provided the tip-off earlier this year during a speech he gave in Washington at the Networked Economy Conference. Hundt said the commission would issue a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making sometime this year in order to re-examine how access charges are assigned and universal service is funded, said Mark Corbitt, Hundt's main technology adviser.

The Internet community "should wake up [and] pay attention," Corbitt said. "This issue could hit them before they know it. I don't think most of them are even aware" that this is bubbling up through the agency.

____End forwarded message____ I would hope that we would flood them with comments during the period after the "Notice of Proposed Rule-Making" appears, not that it will help, as they have already made up their minds. The FCC (like the FDA) should be defunded, not just "cut," whatever that word means anymore. There are good economic reasons why this won't help "universal access" any more than peanut subsidies help minority farmers, despite lies to the contrary by various self-interested bureaucrats. As Republicans said (before they became the majority party) "Cut Their Pay and Send Them Home." JMR Regards, Jim Ray http://www.shopmiami.com/prs/jimray "Hooters GUYS? Washington -- GET A GRIP!" _______________________________________________________________________ PGP key Fingerprint 51 5D A2 C3 92 2C 56 BE 53 2D 9C A1 B3 50 C9 C8 Public Key id. # E9BD6D35 <liberty@gate.net> IANAL _______________________________________________________________________ Help Phil! e-mail zldf@clark.net or http://www.netresponse.com/zldf _______________________________________________________________________ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Freedom isn't Freeh. iQCVAwUBMOtDhm1lp8bpvW01AQHwXQP/XLPjBtLj55FUCTIY+F5Jz6+q9Y3a6Ies qLKoMcGbSMZfNxqzS7nenBCwGgyajl2kxea7zjPJkVZiKgAMPTyOYQ7inrIMyLp3 G7OgmroqnqT7NqXJuAzpOVO86QrbT29kJhsTs9HgiD3dBjHLEGZX5uCAhiAxVS/A ZraKvoyZ1ao= =3NjK -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----