Tell Congress to protect your internet privacy

From Fight For The Future:

Hi, this is our last chance.

The House of Representatives will vote in a matter of hours on a resolution to gut broadband privacy rules that prevent Internet Service Providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon from selling your personal information -- like browsing history and real-time location -- to advertisers without your consent.

Telecom lobbyists have been using their influence to convince lawmakers that this is a partisan issue, but that’s just not true. People from across the political spectrum can agree we don’t want the government or giant corporations monitoring everything we do on the Internet.

Many members of the House Freedom Caucus have taken strong previous stands for American’s right to privacy. They are the most likely to break party ranks on this and help defeat the measure. We need to blast them with tweets and phone calls RIGHT NOW.

Can you help? Click here to retweet our tweet to @FreedomCaucus to tell them to defend our privacy!

Not on Twitter? You can still take action. I’m pasting below the names and phone numbers of each individual member of the caucus. Contact them now!

Here’s a sample script of what you can say if you call:

“Hi, I’m calling to ask REP NAME to protect my Internet privacy and vote against the Congressional Review Act bill coming before the House today to gut the FCC’s broadband privacy rules. Please pass my message along to the Representative. Thank you.”

The vote is coming up in a matter of hours. It’s now or never.

For the Internet,

-Evan at Fight for the Future

Net neutrality is not partisan so protect it right away

From Fight For The Future:

The Internet is awesome. It lets us access more information than ever before, find alternatives to mainstream news, keep in touch with our friends, find new music and videos, and more.

Why is it so awesome? Because unlike television and print, what you see and do online is up to *you*—not some corporation or bureaucrat.

But politicians and lobbyists from the cable companies keep trying to mess with that fundamental structure. They want to allow the government and corporate monopolies to slow down or censor certain websites in order to squeeze us for more money, or because they don’t like their politics.

One of the biggest problems is that politicians in Washington, DC have decided to turn the Internet into a political football. They’ve made net neutrality a partisan issue, which is silly because it’s not -- it’s a basic technological principle that has made the Internet what it is today. Now the former lobbyist for Big Cable who's been put in charge of internet regulation, Ajit Pai, says he’s planning to “take a weed whacker” to the basic principle upholding the open web.

We need to show Congress and the FCC that people from all across the political spectrum love the Internet and don’t want politicians to screw it up by getting rid of net neutrality. Sign the petition, and check one of the boxes to show decision makers that people want the Internet to stay awesome, regardless of their political ideology.

When you sign the petition, back it up by indicating where you fall on the political map, and share with everyone you know who feels the same!

Trump adminstration may be hostile to Net Neutrality;individual privacy.

From Open Media:

The Internet is at a turning point: Under Donald Trump, Net Neutrality now ‘faces extinction’ at the FCC,1 and the NSA is poised for a dramatic expansion in spy powers.2 Either we stand up now for our digital rights, or we accept a world where everything we do online is monitored by governments and ISPs, free expression is quashed, and Internet access gets more expensive.

The United States has always been a trend-setter for Internet policy across the globe. If we stop fighting for our values then the door flies open for oppressive regimes the world over to follow our regressive lead.

Our nimble team is ready for this fight -- and we’ve received some seriously good news: a generous donor has just offered to double your donation every single month for a whole year if you sign up as a monthly donor right now.

This could make a huge difference in our fight against some of the most powerful and well-funded interests on the planet.

At OpenMedia, we’re experts in using cutting edge digital tools to force decision-makers to pay attention to citizen voices. But building and sharing these tools takes a lot of time and resources.

Our fight wouldn’t be possible without the strength of our grassroots donors: it’s their donations that enable us to run high impact campaigns to defend the Internet in the United States and around the world.

And if you donate today the Internet Society and TunnelBear have generously agreed to match the value of your donation. Please, give $10, $20 or whatever you can and double your impact protecting the open Internet!

Here’s what we’re up against in 2017:

A President and Congress intent on dismantling Net Neutrality consumer safeguards.1

Out-of-control government surveillance threatening to turn the Internet into something it was never intended to be: Big Brother.3

A president-elect who says he wants to “close down parts of the Internet” and who actually will have the power to make that happen.4

An AT&T-Time Warner mega-merger that will result in less competition and Internet price hikes for average Americans.5

If we are going to keep the Internet open, we’re going to have to fight to protect it. To succeed we need you to donate today so we can unlock essential matching funds. Please join for this time-sensitive opportunity.

The open Internet is under constant threat, but because of people like you we know we’ll be there to protect it.

With gratitude for all you do,
Alana,
on behalf of your OpenMedia team

P.S. The open Internet empowers everyday people in an unprecedented way--to create, share, communicate, learn, invent, challenge government, support a cause, and express ourselves. Big Media, Big Telecom, and governments all want to put you and the free Internet on a leash.Please donate now before our special matching funds program ends — for just this short time, we can double your impact.

[1] Net neutrality faces extinction under Trump. Source: CNBC
[2]FBI and NSA Poised to Gain New Surveillance Powers Under Trump. Source: Bloomberg News
[3] US: Case Challenges Mass Internet Surveillance. Source: Human Rights Watch
[4] The Law That Could Allow Trump To Shut Down The US Internet. Source: Forbes
[5] Open Internet groups open letter to Trump and Clinton to stop the merger. Source: Coalition Letter

Congress wants to tax the internet

From Ron Paul at Campaign For Liberty:

You and I fought long and hard...

We thought it was defeated...

But now it's back from the dead -- and it's coming for YOU!

No, I am not talking zombies or vampires.

I'm talking about the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate!

For three years, Campaign for Liberty members have stopped every attempt to pass legislation imposing new taxes and regulations on the Internet...

But, like deranged mad scientists, the Big Government, big business cabal in Congress will not let the Monster stay dead.

They are lurking in the shadows, waiting for the lame-duck session of Congress where they plan to ram the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate into law.

Taking cues from a Scooby Doo villain, they've disguised the Monster as a "compromise" that protects small businesses and consumers.

But when our gang rips that mask off, all versions of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate still:

***Raise prices on online goods

***Force businesses to comply with out-of-state tax laws

***Impose new regulations on the Internet that could prevent development of the next Amazon or eBay

This is a treat for the special interests...

But a trick for the American people!

I'm confident you and I can slay the Internet Sales Tax Mandate monster once again.

But we need to act now!

So please sign your "No Lame-Duck Internet Sales Tax Mandate" petition to your Representative and Senators today.

Right now, members of Congress are explicitly sensitive to the views of the people...

So if they see anti-Internet Sales Tax petitions coming into their offices in the days before the election, they are more likely to stand with us in opposition to taxing the Internet.

It is vital we get as many Representatives and Senators as possible on record in opposition to the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate before Congress returns for the lame-duck session.

I don't want to scare you, but...

The fact is, the powerful forces behind the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate are closer than ever to victory.

You see, earlier this year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- the ringleader of the Internet Sales Tax Mandate in the Senate -- promised they would vote on the bill in 2016.

Senator McConnell has yet to fulfill his promise, most likely because he did not want to force vulnerable Republican Senators to choose between the people and the special interests before the election.

But in the lame-duck, he will think he is safe to move this bill since the people are burned out on politics and too busy with the holidays to pay attention to Congress.

So we must let Senator McConnell and his colleagues know that we are not going to back down -- instead, we will keep the heat on the Senate through the lame-duck!

But the Senate is not our only, or even our main, threat.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has recently endorsed the version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate that has been proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte.

Ryan and Goodlatte claim their plan is "fair" to small businesses, even though -- unlike the Senate plan -- this bill does not include a small business exemption from the mandate.

And even if the Ryan-Goodlate plan is fair for business, it's not fair for consumers!

Like every other version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate, the Ryan-Goodlate plan raises prices on your online purchases.

But unlike other versions, the Ryan-Goodlatte plan doesn't even exempt small businesses from the mandate!

The Ryan-Goodlatte plan also imposes a complex and costly tax collection scheme on online commerce.

Proponents of the Ryan-Goodlate plan claim that these costs will be borne by state governments.

But you and I know that state-level bureaucrats and politicians will find a way to make sure the costs are "passed along" to consumers and taxpayers.

The Ryan-Goodlatte plan rewards tax-hungry governors and state legislators by giving them a fresh source of revenue, allowing them to continue their fiscally irresponsible ways.

This will only make the inevitable day of reckoning all the more painful.

Now, Capitol Hill sources have told me that Goodlatte is working with House supporters of the Senate version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate to find a "compromise" version of the legislation.

And you know that President Obama will be doing all he can to help broker such a compromise.

He would love to add "signed the National Internet Sales Tax Law" to his list of "accomplishments."

The good news is, Paul Ryan has not made any public pledges to vote on the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate.

If he knows that we will not accept any phony "compromise" that burdens the Internet with taxes and regulations, he will likely back down on his plan.

So please sign your "No Lame-Duck Internet Sales Tax" petition to your Representative and Senators asking them to publicly pledge to oppose any version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate in the lame-duck session.

And please make a generous contribution of $15, $10, or $5 to help Campaign for Liberty mobilize more Americans in opposition to the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate.

With your support, we will be able to contact thousands more anti-tax Americans in the weeks before the elections and keep the heat on Congress during the lame-duck session.

If funds permit, Campaign for Liberty will also run ads targeting wavering politicians across the Internet and social media.

In order to defeat the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate, you and I will need to keep the pressure on Congress from now until the end of the lame-duck.

But in order to do that, C4L will need resources we simply do not have.

While Campaign for Liberty's financial position has improved over the last few months, we still do not have the resources to even plan, much less run, the type of intensive, month-long program it will take to guarantee our success over the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate.

So if you can, please make a generous contribution of $15.

I know that is a lot, but with Paul Ryan now pushing a version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate, and with Mitch McConnell's pledge to act on it, the threat that a tax-free Internet could become a thing of the past is closer than ever.

So if $15 is too much, is there any way I can count on you for a special contribution of $10?

If we raise the resources this month, Campaign for Liberty can ramp up its efforts to get Representatives on record opposing the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate by running hard-hitting Internet ads before the election.

So if $10 is too much, could you make a contribution of $5?

And whatever you contribute, please make sure you sign your "No Lame-Duck Internet Sales Tax Mandate" petition to your Representative and Senators.

In Liberty,

Ron Paul
Chairman

P.S. Like mad scientists in a bad horror movie, special interests and their Congressional allies are reviving the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate for passage in the lame-duck session.

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell promised Senate action, and House Speaker Paul Ryan is now pushing a new version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate.

If they get their way, online commerce could soon be crippled with taxes and regulations.

That's why you and I must turn up the heat on Congress starting now -- when they are listening especially closely to grassroots activists.

Please sign your "No Lame-Duck Internet Sales Tax Mandate" petition to your Representative and Senators demanding they pledge to oppose any legislation containing any version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate in the lame-duck session.

Tell Congress to Vote against TPP

From Fight For The Future

We already know the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is not about trade, it’s about corruption and corporate control. And now we know more about its economic impact.

The TPP could be even more devastating than we thought. Tell Congress to vote no on this secret deal that opens the floodgates for Internet censorship!

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), an obscure Federal agency that enthusiastically rubber-stamps destructive trade deals like NAFTA [1], just released its report projecting the economic effects of the TPP in the US. These bureaucrats almost always gives trade deals a 5 star review, but even they are not convinced by the TPP.

That shows just how bad the TPP really is. Even the government admits it. But corporations are pouring millions into lobbying. if we don’t speak out Congress will pass it anyway.

Email Congress to vote NO on TPP

So what did the USITC say about TPP?

The study indicates that in the TPP’s first fifteen years:
•The United States’ global trade deficit would actually increase by $21.7 billion;
•That there would be a decline in output for U.S. manufacturing, natural resources and energy of $10.8 billion [2]

TPP supporters have already started spinning pieces of this report to their advantage. Let’s make sure Congress isn’t fooled.

Through digital and intellectual property policies, the TPP would globalize the worst of US copyright law, limit freedom of expression, threaten internet security and privacy, and adopt harsh criminal sanctions that could be used against journalists and whistleblowers. [3]

Tell Congress: Bad for the internet, bad for the economy. Vote NO on TPP.

[1] Source

[2] Citizens Trade Campaign (no link included)

[3] Source

Want to support our work? Fight for the Future is powered by people like you who care about keeping the Internet open and free.

Tell the FCC to make broadband internet access available to all

From Demand Progress:

Tell the FCC to ensure more Americans have reliable access to the Internet.

By the end of the month, the FCC is expected to vote on whether to expand access to broadband Internet and narrow the digital divide.

It’s astonishing: Nearly 1 in 5 Americans does not have broadband access to the Internet. That’s the digital divide in action.

Most of us rely on the Internet for so much in our daily lives. Everything from job searches, to health care, to homework, to – as Demand Progress members know – taking political action all require Internet access.

The number one factor holding families back from getting online? Cost. And studies show that communities of color are hit hardest.

The FCC has a chance to help close this gap. It’s voting this month on whether to expand the Lifeline program – originally created in the ‘80s to help low-income families afford basic phone service – to cover broadband Internet.

Tell the FCC to narrow the digital divide by expanding broadband Internet affordability for low-income families.

The FCC recognized three decades ago that telephone access was necessary to fully engage in society. Now, the Internet has become at least as critical to life in the 21st century as the phone was in the 80’s.

Closing the digital divide and increasing access for low-income families can create more economic opportunities, promote greater democratic participation, and foster a more just society.

Now, the FCC needs to hear from you, the public.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn have already put forth a proposal to modernize Lifeline and expand it to broadband.1

We need to make sure that when the FCC votes, it does the right thing. Making broadband more affordable means low-income families aren’t left further behind when it comes to accessing job opportunities, education, and essential health services.

Will you contact the FCC and let the commissioners know you support increasing broadband access?

Thanks for taking action,

– Mark and the team at Demand Progress

1.Source

Tell the worst offenders in both houses to support Net Neutrality

From Demand Progress:

It's so anomalous for DC to actually do what the people want that the Republicans are investigating how the hell it happened.

Call the key Net Neutrality opponents in Congress and tell them to stop messing with the Internet.

Now that the FCC's moving in the right direction on Net Neutrality, the cable and phone companies have turned their attention to a new target: Congress.

Their tactic? Stall the FCC. In the last few weeks we've seen outright calls for a delay on the vote, legislation that would undermine the agency's authority, and a Republican-led campaign to investigate the process Chairman Tom Wheeler used to craft the rules.

One thing's for certain: If Wheeler were bowing to Big Cable, the Republicans wouldn't be launching an investigation to find out why.

We can't let Congress jeopardize the future of the Internet in an attempt to score partisan points. This stops now.

Call the Net Neutrality opponents in Congress and tell them to stop messing with the Internet.

We've put together a list of the worst offenders in the House and Senate — all you need to do is enter your phone number on this page and we’ll connect you. You might not be connected to your member of Congress, but these are the people who need to hear from real Net Neutrality supporters.

People nationwide have urged the FCC to protect Internet users — and that’s exactly what it’s poised to do. Congress shouldn’t try to block the FCC by pushing bad bills or hauling the FCC into hearings to defend the plan millions have called for.

The opposition has woken up its base and we’re seeing more and more industry lies circulating online. Companies like Comcast and AT&T will stop at nothing to destroy Net Neutrality now that we’re so close to winning. We can’t let them get away with this.

Click here to call Congress now.

And if you can't make a call... could click here and chip in $10 to help us continue our activism? We rely on support from activists like you.

Let's not let the ISPs snatch away our hard-earned victory.

-Demand Progress

Protect the net stand up to big cable

Fight For The Future:

So today we did something a little absurd. We launched 535 websites. One for each member of Congress.

Why? The battle over net neutrality in the U.S. is coming to a final showdown, and the outcome will affect every Internet user in the world. One year ago today, Verizon’s lawyers got our net neutrality protections struck down in court.

Since then, we’ve unleashed an Internet-sized can of whoop-ass on the FCC, the White House, fence-sitting tech giants, Team Cable lobbyists, and anyone else standing in the way of keeping the Internet open and unfettered by corporate and government interference.

The online free speech movement has gained so much ground that Comcast and Verizon are now begging the FCC to implement the rules that just a year ago today they sued to strike down.

We’re winning. We we're winning so hard. There’s literally only one thing that can stop us now: partisan nonsense in Congress.

I know what you’re thinking: partisan nonsense in Congress can ruin ANYTHING. You’re right. That’s why we’re pulling out the stops on this one. We made every member of Congress their very own website showing where they stand on net neutrality. Are they with the public or in bed with corporate monopolies that want to regulate the Internet?

Congress knows that the public is overwhelmingly in support of net neutrality. We need to let them know that there will be political consequences for any politician who betrays the open Internet. These sites are just the first part of the plan, but they’re exactly the kind of attention politicians don’t like. It’s like if we put up giant billboards with their faces on them, except it only costs a couple bucks per site :-)

Congress has been scared of the Internet ever since SOPA. Let’s keep it that way.

Yours for the web,
-Evan, Tiffiniy, Holmes, Jeff, Kevin, and Vasjen
Fight for the Future

P.S. The FCC decision is coming up at the end of next month and we need to bring on more people so we can kick our campaigns up a notch. Please chip in $10 to help if you can!

To sign petition

Tell the FEC to leave the internet alone

From the Tea Party:

Liberal allies of Barack Obama on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) are attempting to regulate political speech on and off the Internet, and to restrict our constitutionally protected freedoms. We have a short window of time to stop it!

Under current FEC guidelines (from a unanimous, 6-0 decision in 2006), political advertising or commentary posted on YouTube is exempt from campaign reporting requirements. Democrat FEC Vice Chair Ann Ravel apparently finds this unacceptable, and speaks unfavorably of “this effort to protect individual bloggers and online commentators.”

As if free speech is unworthy of protection!

If Ms. Ravel has her way, any video you post of your own political commentary will fall under the scrutiny of the federal government.

After six years of Obama Administration overreach and encroachment into our personal freedoms, none of us should be surprised. What’s important, though, is that we stop their latest assault on our Bill of Rights.

If you think outlets like YouTube and the broader Internet should be free from federal government control, you must join me in standing up and being heard–NOW.

But it isn't just YouTube that the FEC is going after. Obama's FEC is engaging in the same kind of political repression that we have seen over the past few years with the IRS targeting. The new proposed rules will limit individuals' rights to associate and to form political organizations. The broader implication of this FEC rule would be a total crackdown on non-profit organizations that exist to petition the government on a variety of issues.

We have the ability to tell FEC Chair Ann Ravel and her Obama Administration friends HANDS OFF the Internet and HANDS OFF our precious, Constitutionally protected freedom of speech. We must do this, and urge others to as well:

Make an official comment against any new government intrusion by clicking here before January 15. Note, you’ll need to leave your full name and postal address for your comment to count. It takes a few minutes, but believe me, it’s worth it. Speech-stifling power grabs such as this get shut down all the time, but only when WE SPEAK OUT AND REGISTER OUR COMMENTS.

Again submit your comment and then spread the word. The comment period ends January 15, so act now well before the deadline so that we can start putting points on the board right away!

Good news about Net Neutrality

Free Press Action Fund:

Just let me say this first: You're amazing.

Thanks to you and other Net Neutrality supporters, the FCC has been overwhelmed by public comments in support of the open Internet.

In fact, so many people inundated the FCC site on Tuesday that it crashed. The agency was forced to extend the initial comment deadline — a pretty unprecedented move.

Today, I can tell you with confidence that we didn't just break the site; we broke the record: The FCC has never received this many comments on a proposed rulemaking.

Millions of people have commented. And the vast majority have urged FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to abandon his flawed plan and put in place a Net Neutrality rule that truly protects free speech and innovation.

We've won round one. Now the hard work begins:

Support the Free Press Action Fund's Plan to Save the Internet with a Donation of $10 (or more!) today.

Wheeler's proposed rules for protecting the open Internet fall so spectacularly short that all of the major phone and cable companies are lobbying Washington to support them.1

We need to beat back these lobbyists before the agency holds its final vote on Net Neutrality by the end of the year.

With your help, Free Press plans to drive millions more public comments by the FCC's final deadline, organize Net Neutrality rallies around the country, spread our message through the press, meet with dozens of members of Congress, and build one of the largest, most creative and diverse coalitions in the history of media activism.

Be Part of the Battle to Save the Internet. Support the Free Press Action Fund.

Public awareness about the open Internet has reached a new peak. Our challenge is to turn awareness into public pressure for real change.

With your help we can do this and protect the open Internet forever.

Thanks for your support—

Tim, Candace, Carrie and the rest of the Free Press Action Fund team
Free Press Action Fund

P.S. We've got momentum on our side. Help us win this one with a donation of $10 (or more!) today. Thank you!

1. Mike Masnick, "All the Big Broadband Players Support the FCC's Proposed Rules ... Which Says All You Need to Know," Techdirt, July 16, 2014: click here


The Free Press Action Fund is a nonpartisan organization fighting for your rights to connect and communicate. The Free Press Action Fund does not support or oppose any candidate for public office. Learn more at freepress.net.

Since the cable companies want to be assholes about it why don't you just dump your cable provider. Why not,what is on cable these days anyway? Crap on MTV. More of the Kandashians. More of that crap. You're better off with the internet,you're better off embracing the internet for the freedoms it provides instead of watching what someone else decided you can watch on cable. Cable is old and a waste of money. When I got rid of cable I couldn't believe how much money I was saving. So if the cable companies are going to be assholes about it fuck them and dump them. They are not worth it.

Don't let net neutrality die

From Free Press:

Bad news: Three judges in Washington, D.C., just dealt a huge blow to the open Internet.

An appeals court struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet Order because of mistakes the agency made when it adopted its Net Neutrality rules.

Translation: This court just killed Net Neutrality. This could be the end of the Internet as we know it. But it doesn’t have to be.

This decision means that Internet users can expect companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon to block or slow down any website, application or service they like. These companies will rush to change the Web and line their own pockets at our expense — creating new tolls for app makers, expensive price tiers for popular sites, and fast lanes open only to the few content providers that can afford them.

Here’s the Thing: The FCC Could Stop All This Right Now.

Yup, you heard us: The FCC could make all this go away by simply reading the law right and reclaiming the authority it already has to protect Internet users for good.

During the tenure of former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the agency made a grave mistake by failing to put its open Internet rules on the most solid legal footing. Internet users will pay the price of that decision unless and until the FCC fixes the problem it created for itself.

New FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler must correct the agency’s past mistakes and truly protect our nation’s communications infrastructure. The agency must ensure that broadband communications networks are open, accessible, reliable and affordable for everyone. It needs to stop fulfilling the wish lists of the big phone and cable monopolies — and start looking out for Internet users.

Let’s Get It Right This Time. Tell Chairman Wheeler to Protect the Open Internet — and All of Its Users — for Real.

Millions of people have fought for Net Neutrality. Together we can fight back against these greedy Internet service providers. Together we can save the Internet we love.

Onward,

Josh, Candace and the rest of the Free Press team
Free Press
freepress.net

P.S. This isn’t the end of the open Internet. It’s just the beginning of a long fight to save the Internet we love. We don’t take money from business, government or political parties and rely on the generosity of people like you to fuel our work. Please donate $15 (or more!) today. Thank you!

To sign the petition

Updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act

This Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering an update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to ensure our email and online data finally receive the same privacy protections from government access as postal mail and phone calls.

However, Sen. Grassley of Iowa is pushing a terrible amendment to allow government agencies to read our email without a warrant. This would make our privacy situation WORSE, not better. Grassley’s amendment would give government agencies like the SEC and IRS even more access to our emails and private data.

To oppose Grassley's amendment click here and sign the petition.

These are the Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee:

ALABAMA: Jeff Sessions - (202) 224-4124
ARIZONA: Jon Kyl - (202) 224-4521
CALIFORNIA: Dianne Feinstein - (202) 224-3841
CONNECTICUT: Richard Blumenthal - (202) 224-2823
DELAWARE: Christopher A. Coons - (202) 224-5042
ILLINOIS: Dick Durbin - (202) 224-2152
IOWA: Chuck Grassley - (202) 224-3744
MINNESOTA: Amy Klobuchar - (202) 224-3244
MINNESOTA: Al Franken - (202) 224-5641
NEW YORK: Chuck Schumer - (202) 224-6542
OKLAHOMA: Tom Coburn - (202) 224-5754
RHODE ISLAND: Sheldon Whitehouse - (202) 224-2921
SOUTH CAROLINA: Lindsey Graham - (202) 224-5972
TEXAS: John Cornyn - (202) 224-2934
UTAH: Michael S. Lee - (202) 224-5444
UTAH: Orrin Hatch - (202) 224-5251
WISCONSIN: Herb Kohl - (202) 224-5653

If your Senator is not on the above list you can call or email Senator Chuck Grassley and tell him why you're not a big fan of his amendment. If you Senator is on the list call or email your Senator right away. Time is running out.

UPDATE: I heard a few Senators are teetering on this,Senator Dianne Feinstein is one of them whether you live in California or not you can reach her at the phone number above or you can email her here. We need everyone of these Senators on board with this. Any Senator wavering can be disastrous that is why we need a "yes" vote on this bill to safeguard the internet.

Old media vs new media

When the internet first came out it was demonized by the old media as "harmful to children" and they did they're best to undermined it and then to have Al Gore demonize the net (yes,the same Al Gore who claimed to have invented the internet) as harmful to children. Now we can see why they feared the net,with printed newspapers losing circulation we see the truth. The internet gave a voice to everyone not just the priveleged elite few who have a stranglehold on the old media of newspapers and TV and cartel the prices to keep ordinary people from voicing their opinions with pictures and only allowing their opinions in the "op-ed" section of the newspaper with lower chances of being seen and subject to an editors discretion and if that editor has an axe to grind and you have the opposing opinion then there is a chance your letter won't get published. It happened to me when I wrote the Los Angeles Times opposing feminism. The old media had a stranglehold; you wanted something visual you put it on TV if it was visual and audio then you also selected radio and one will cost big bucks let alone two. TV and radio,they were your only choice and they both had high prices,truly a sweetheart deal for both and no competition. Now let's introduce the internet giving a voice to the people and letting them know that things are not how the elite paint them to be and people such as myself that are as far from politically correct as you can get as assures us we are not alone in our beliefs. There was also other reasons they feared the internet such as competition as I've said but also the internet holds the old media accountable we can point out watch was inaccurate about what was said on radio and/or TV thus holding them accountable. No wonder they feared the internet. I've heard that politicians are now paying attention to bloggers just as they paid attention to the old media when it was a cartel and that is truly revolutionary. The internet is taking us in an original voyage that is unheard of in the past and I trust take us down a positive path in the future.