>Date: Thu, 23 Feb 1995 20:58:36 +0600
>Message-Id: <Pine.SOL.3.91.950223212809.26937B-100000 at mercury>
>Reply-To: bene at straylight.tamu.edu
>Originator: bene at straylight.tamu.edu
>Sender: bene at straylight.tamu.edu
>Precedence: none
>From: "Richard Wallace (GD 1999)" <rwallace at minerva.cis.yale.edu>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <bene at straylight.tamu.edu>
>Subject: URGENT PETITION -- Fight Govt. Censorship!! (70 lines) (fwd)
>X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
>X-Comment: Straylight ListProcessor -- BENE Distribution List
>content-length: 3427
>
>
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>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.
>
>
>
>Here's what you have to do to sign the petition:
>
>send an e-mail message to: S314-petition at netcom.com
>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 at leland.Stanford.EDU 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
>
>***** NOTES from Jeff Guinzburg (JEFF at ISI) at 2/22/95 10:51 PM
>Sorry if this is off-topic or too long for you, but I wanted to ensure a
>wide distribution for this message, which I feel has a high degree of
>importance for those of us who value the privacy of our electronic
>communications. I encourage its wide distribution. I'm planning to sign
>the petition.
>
>Best Regards, Jeff. [full sig on request]
>
>

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416