Fwd: EFFector Special Alert: Forty-Eight Hours to Stop the Broadcast Flag

June 20, 2005

Type: discussion

Begin forwarded message:

> From: EFFector Special Alert <[email protected]>

> EFFector Special Action Alert, June 20, 2005 [email protected]
>
> MPAA ATTEMPTS TO BYPASS CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
> BROADCAST FLAG MAY BE SNEAKED IN THIS WEEK
>
> Rumor has it that this Tuesday, June 21st, in a
> sub-committee on Commerce, Science, and Justice, a single
> senator will propose an amendment, hidden among many
> others, to re-animate the MPAA's broadcast flag and burn
> it into law.
>
> On Thursday, the full Senate Appropriations Committee
> will vote on that amendment. If they nod it through, the
> Broadcast Flag will be law.
>
> It's the lobbyist's oldest, and most desperate, trick. If
> you can't win in the market, snag a regulator. If you
> can't snag a regulator, get a law passed. And if you
> can't get a law, sneak an amendment into one of
> Congress's giant Appropriations Bills.
>
> If you've received this mail from us, your senator is one
> of the few with the power to put a stop to the flag.
>
> ACT NOW TO STOP THE FLAG
>
> Your senator is on the relevant sub-committee or the full
> Senate committee. You have less than 24 hours to warn him
> or her of Tuesday's manoeuvre. You have only 48 hours to
> warn the full committee.
>
> Letters are too slow. The press will be too slow. Only
> you, as a constituent of a senator on the committee, can
> reach them in time, by personal phone call or by fax.
>
> IF YOU HAVE THIRTY SECONDS
>
> Click here to use our action center: read, add your own
> comments, and then send a message directly to your
> senator via fax and email.
>
> <URL:http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id5>
>
> IF YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES AND A PHONE
>
> Here are the list of senator contact details. Pick the
> one that matches your state, and leave a personal message
> warning of what's planned in the Appropriations committee.
>
> Please be cool, collected and polite. There's a sample
> script after the phone list.
>
> SUB-COMMITTEE AND FULL COMMITTEE MEMBERS
>
> ALABAMA Senator Richard Shelby (202) 224-5744
> ALASKA Senator Ted Stevens (202) 224-3004
> HAWAII Senator Daniel Inouye (202) 224-3934
> IOWA Senator Tom Harkin (202) 224-3254
> KANSAS Senator Sam Brownback (202) 224-6521
> KENTUCKY Senator Mitch McConnell (202) 224-2541
> MARYLAND Senator Barbara Mikulski (202) 224-4654
> MISSOURI Senator Christopher Bond (202) 224-5721
> NEW HAMPSHIRE Senator Judd Gregg (202) 224-3324
> NEW MEXICO Senator Pete Domenici (202) 224-6621
> NORTH DAKOTA Senator Byron Dorgan (202) 224-2551
> TEXAS Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (202) 224-5922
> VERMONT Senator Patrick Leahy (202) 224-4242
> WASHINGTON Senator Patty Murray (202) 224-2621
> WISCONSIN Senator Herb Kohl (202) 224-5653
>
> FULL COMMITTEE MEMBERS
>
> MISSISSIPPI Thad Cochran (202) 224-5054
> PENNSYLVANIA Arlen Specter (202) 224-4254
> MONTANA Conrad Burns (202) 224-2644
> UTAH Robert F. Bennett (202) 224-5444
> IDAHO Larry Craig (202) 224-2752
> OHIO Mike DeWine (202) 224-2315
> COLORADO Wayne Allard (202) 224-5941
> WEST VIRGINIA Robert C. Byrd (202) 224-3954
> NEVADA Harry Reid (202) 224-3542
> CALIFORNIA Dianne Feinstein (202) 224-3841
> ILLINOIS Richard J. Durbin (202) 224-2152
> SOUTH DAKOTA Tim Johnson (202) 224-5842
> LOUISIANA Mary L. Landrieu (202) 224-5824
>
> A TYPICAL CALL
>
> "Hello, Senator _________'s office"
>
> "Hi, I'm a constituent. I'm registering my opposition to
> the broadcast flag amendment being introduced in the
> Senate Commerce Justice and Science Appropriations
> subcommittee mark-up on Tuesday, and in full committee on
> Thursday."
>
> (*** You can give your own reasons for opposing the flag
> here. Here's a sample: ***)
>
> "The Broadcast Flag cripples any device capable of
> receiving over-the-air digital broadcasts. It give
> Hollywood movie studios a permanent veto over how members
> of the American public use our televisions. It forces
> American innovators to beg the FCC for permission before
> adding new features to TV. "
>
> "This is an important issue which will affect all
> Americans, and should not be inserted at the last moment,
> with almost no debate."
>
> "Please oppose the broadcast flag amendment. My name and
> address are ___________________."
>
> "Thank you for your time."
>
> And thank you for reading this,
>
> The activists at the EFF.
>
>
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>
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