Legislation could hurt Harp-L

[HarmonicaB@xxxxxxx]

After receiving this forward, I realized that a lot of people, including our
world harmonica community, could be hurt by a piece of nefarious legislation
being proposed in the US Senate.  So, I decided to post it.  I got a copy of
Senate bill 314 and an alert expalining it from a C-Span gopher. If anyone
would like copies, email me your request and I'll send them to you.  --
HarmonicaB@xxxxxxx (Bob Miner)
=============================================
Forwarded Message:
Subj:	get your protestin' juices flowin' (fwd)
Date:	95-02-24 19:58:17 EST
From:	mtg-strategy-l@xxxxxxxxxxx
To:	mtg-strategy-l@xxxxxxxxxxx

From: archiba3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Matthew P Archibald)
Sender: mtg-strategy-l@xxxxxxxxxxx
Reply-to: mtg-strategy-l@xxxxxxxxxxx
To: mtg-strategy-l@xxxxxxxxxxx (Multiple recipients of list)

> Hello everyone...
>
> However, a matter has come to my attention that is of the utmost
> importance to all of us online.
>
> Simply put, a couple of senators have proposed a particularly
> heinous piece of legislation titled the "Communications
> Decency Act of 1995"  (Senate Bill S. 314).  Basically, the
> bill would subject all forms of electronic communication --
> from public Internet postings to your most private email --
> to government censorship.  The effects of the bill onto the
> online industry would be devastating -- most colleges and
> private companies (AOL, Compuserve, etc.) would probably have
> to shut down or greatly restrict access, since they would be
> held criminally liable for the postings and email of private
> users.
>
> Obviously, this bill is designed to win votes for these senators
> among those who are fearful of the internet and aren't big
> fans of freedom of speech -- ie., those who are always trying to
> censor "pornography" and dirty books and such.  Given the
> political climate in this country, this bill might just pass
> unless the computer community demonstrates its strength as a
> committed political force to be reckoned with.  This, my friends,
> is why I have filled your mailbox with this very long message.
>
> A petition, to be sent to Congress, the President, and the media,
> has begun spreading through the Internet.  It's easy to participate
> and be heard -- to sign it, you simply follow the instructions
> below -- which boil down to sending a quick email message to a
> certain address.  That's all it takes to let your voice be heard.
> (You know, if the Internet makes democracy this accessible to the
> average citizen, is it any wonder Congress wants to censor it?)
>
> Finally, PLEASE forward this message to all your friends online.
> The more people sign the petition, the more the government will
> get the message to back off the online community.  We've been doing
> fine without censorship until now -- let's show them we don't plan on
> allowing them to start now.  If you value your freedoms -- from
> your right to publicly post a message on a worldwide forum to your
> right to receive private email without the government censoring it --
> you need to take action NOW.  It'll take fifteen minutes at the most,
> a small sacrifice considering the issues at hand.  Remember, the age
> of fighting for liberty with muskets and shells is most likely over;
> the time has come where the keyboard and the phone line will prove
> mightier than the sword -- or the Senate, in this case.
>
> Yours in liberty,
>
>             -don
>
> >
> > Here's what you have to do to sign the petition:
> >
> > send an e-mail message to:  S314-petition@xxxxxxxxxx
> > the message (NOT the subject heading) should read as follows:
> > SIGNED <your online address> <your full name> <U.S. Citizen (y/n)>
> > eg.  SIGNED lsewell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  Laura Sewell  YES
> >
> > If you are interested in signing the petition, I would highly suggest
> > investigating the details of the situation.  You can find out more on
> > the Web at    http://www.wookie.net/~slowdog    or in the newsgroup
> > comp.org.eff.talk




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Subject: get your protestin' juices flowin' (fwd)
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