[Davis Democrats] FW: Congress Is Selling Out the Internet

[John Chendo]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Robert McChesney, FreePress.net" <list at freepress.net>
Reply-To: <notice-reply-i78nieb2fjnx8jd at ga-mail.action.freepress.net>
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2006 14:21:03 GMT
To: John  Chendo <jac07 at dcn.org>
Subject: Congress Is Selling Out the Internet

 <http://www.freepress.net/>
 Dear John , 
 <http://www.savetheinternet.com> Congress Sells Out After accepting
hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from big telecom firms,
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) is sponsoring a bill to hand over the Internet to
these same companies. He's not alone. Where Does Your Representative Stand?
<http://www.savetheinternet.com/=map>

Act Now: Save the Internet
<http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i78nieb2fjnx8jd?>

 

Congress is about to sell out the Internet by letting big phone and cable
companies set up toll booths along the information superhighway.

Companies like AT, Verizon and Comcast are spending tens of millions in
Washington to kill "network neutrality" -- a principle that keeps the
Internet open to all.

A bill moving quickly through Congress would let these companies become
Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow -- and which
won't load at all -- based on who pays them more. The rest of us will be
detoured to the "slow lane," clicking furiously and waiting for our favorite
sites to download. 

Don't let Congress ruin the Internet:

Tell Congress to Save Net Neutrality Now
<http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i78nieb2fjnx8jd?>
Our elected representatives are trading favors for campaign donations from
phone and cable companies. They're being wooed by people like AT's CEO, who
says "the Internet can't be free" and wants to decide what you do, where you
go and what you watch online.

The best ideas never come from those with the deepest pockets. If the phone
and cable companies get their way, the free and open Internet could soon be
fenced in by large corporations. If Congress turns the Internet over to
giants like AT, everyone who uses the Internet will suffer:
* Google users -- Another search engine could pay AT to guarantee that it
opens faster than Google on your computer.
* iPod listeners -- Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a
higher-priced music service that paid for the privilege.
* Work-at-home parents -- Connecting to your office could take longer if you
don't purchase your carrier's preferred applications. Sending family photos
and videos could slow to a crawl.
* Retirees -- Web pages you always use for online banking, access to health
care information, planning a trip or communicating with friends and family
could fall victim to Verizon's pay-for-speed schemes.
* Bloggers -- Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips
-- silencing citizen journalists and amplifying the mainstream media.
* Online activists -- Political organizing could be slowed by the handful of
dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay a fee to join the
"fast lane." 
* Small businesses -- When AT favors their own services, you won't be able
to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, and
Internet phone calls.
* Innovators with the "next big idea" -- Startups and entrepreneurs will be
muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay for a top spot
on the Web. 
We can't let Congress ruin the free and open Internet.

Let Congress Know that You Want Net Neutrality Now
<http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i78nieb2fjnx8jd?>
We must act now or lose the Internet as we know it.

Onward, 

Robert W. McChesney
President
Free Press
www.freepress.net 

P.S. Visit www.SavetheInternet.com <http://www.savetheinternet.com> to
contact your representative, learn more about this issue, and discuss this
campaign with other activists.

P.P.S. Tell your friends about this campaign
<http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/forward> .

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