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From: gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore)
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: Congress is now debating the future of Usenet
Message-ID: <1022@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: Wed, 20-Aug-86 02:19:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: hoptoad.1022
Posted: Wed Aug 20 02:19:51 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 20-Aug-86 23:21:12 EDT
References: <1632@well.UUCP> <1013@hoptoad.uucp> <1170@utastro.UUCP>
Organization: Nebula Consultants in San Francisco
Lines: 42
Summary: A draft of the bill is available for FTP on the Arpanet.

I have put a copy of S.2575, the Electronic Communications "Privacy"
Act, on lll-crg.arpa in the file pub/s.2575, which is available for
public anonymous ftp.  It's 68K of ASCII text.  You can't get it this
way unless you're on the Arpanet.  Uucp folks send mail to
{lll-crg,ptsfa,hplabs,hoptoad}!well!tenney (Glenn Tenney) to get a
copy.

If there is a consensus in favor, I'm willing to post the bill to
net.mail or net.sources.  MAIL votes to me on this, at {ihnp4,
ptsfa,sun,utzoo,cbosgd}!hoptoad!gnu.  Be quick -- there's not much time.

If it's likely that you won't see the bill for a few days, I suggest
calling your Senator's staff now, asking for an official copy, and
telling the staff that you are "concerned" about the bill and want
action delayed on it for further study.  This may keep them from voting
on it as soon as they get back from recess, if enough people call.

Here's a note I added to the online copy of the bill:
[Note added by John Gilmore, hoptoad!gnu or jgilmore@lll-crg.arpa:
 This version is not under consideration any more; it was replaced
 on 12Aug by a text that nobody to my knowledge has seen, then
 the Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights subcommittee voted the new
 text up to the full Senate Judiciary Committee.  I am working to get
 a copy of the current draft and will let people know when I have one
 online.  I have spoken with Judiciary staffer Cindy Blackburn at
 202-224-8059 and she says there will be no public hearings where we
 could testify; we just have to write, call, telegram, and otherwise
 buttonhole the congressmen on this.  I suggest that you definitely call
 YOUR senators, in case it gets to the full Senate, and in addition,
 contact one or more (draw at random so we don't all get the same ones)
 of the Judiciary Committee senators:  Thurmond (chairman), Mathias,
 Laxalt, Hatch, Simpson, Broyhill, Grassley, Denton, Spector, McConnell,
 Biden, Kennedy, Byrd, Metzenbaum, Deconcini, Leahy (sponsor of the bill),
 Heflin, and Simon.  Please cover as many bases as you can -- time is 
 short and our only chance is to let these guys know they're making
 a mistake, with our network on the line.  Letters and telegrams can be
 sent to:  Senator ______, US Senate, Washington, DC, 20510.  Contact
 directory assistance at 202 555 1212 for phone numbers.  Wouldn't it be
 nice if these guys were on the net?]
-- 
John Gilmore  {sun,ptsfa,lll-crg,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu   jgilmore@lll-crg.arpa
		     May the Source be with you!