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I agree that right now MA taxes are not unreasonable. The worst I encountered was a 12% short term Capital Gains tax, but I think even that has been reduced to around 5% in the past couple of years. The income tax fell from 5.9% to 5.3% in the past 5 years.

Did you notice the "optional" tax rate on the MA tax return form this year? Yes that's right, you had the option to be taxed at a higher rate if you wanted to!

Here's a good site and here's a lousy site about Bush lies. I am sure there are more.

that you choose to ignore the fact that we are WW3, against the exact same sort of fascist minds that we were in 60 years ago is not Pres. Bush's fault.

Do you mean fascist minds like that of Franco in Spain who kept ruling well past WW2? US still hasn't recognized the volunteers who valiantly tried to stop his takeover of power in the Spanish Civil War by granting them veterans' rights.

that ... the frogs and krauts ... agreed that saddam ... had WMD's...

Well, it looks as though the "frogs" and the "krauts" were wrong about that.;)

it is the same religious fanaticism that drives the islamicists to blow up buildings with airplanes.

Yes, all people who have opinions different from yours are driven by them to blow up buildings with airplanes.;)

National defence is one of the few legitimate functions of the Federal Government of the United States. Perhaps you, and the rest of the uneducated masses, should study the Constitution of the United States of America, and learn just what the Federal Government is supposed to be doing.

"The Answer" is very simple: the Federal Government must be reigned in, and constrained to the limits established for it by the Constitution. That means that the Federal Government can do only a very small list of things. Anything not on that list is legally forbidden from the Federal Government. How much of today's Federal Monster lives outside this carefully chosen boundary? How many times has Congress ignored the Ninth and Amendments?

The only political organization that shows any respect for the Constitution of the United States anymore is the Constitution Party, whom I support.

I just talked to the US Trade rep responsible for the IP section of the FTAA. She says she's new to that position, and so didn't know a lot about it, but that the general policy for negotiating the language the U.S. wants is to simply mirror domestic law. And sure enough, at least for one of the points, that seems to be the case, namely criminalization of "significant" non-commercial copyright infringement and imprisonment as a penalty. For proof, compare this (from the FTAA):

"[4.1. Each Party shall provide criminal procedures and penalties to be
applied at least in cases of willful trademark counterfeiting or infringement
of copyrights or neighboring rights on a commercial scale. Each Party shall
provide that significant willful infringements of copyrights or neighboring
rights that have no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain shall be
considered willful infringement on a commercial scale.

In criminal procedures, remedies available shall include imprisonment and/or
monetary fines sufficiently high to deter future acts of infringement and
with a policy to remove the monetary incentive to the infringer. Each Party
shall further ensure that such fines are imposed by judicial authorities at
levels that actually deter future infringements.]"

to this (Title 18, Section 2319 of the US Code):

"Any person who commits an offense under section 506(a)(1) of title 17 -

(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, or fined in the
amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists
of the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic
means, during any 180-day period, of at least 10 copies or
phonorecords, of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total
retail value of more than $2,500;"

You can search the U.S. Code here.

So, by her logic, the FTAA section isn't the issue. The issue lies in U.S. domestic federal law. I saw similar language about decoding scrambled satellite TV signals. It looks like IP Justice is skewing this.

However, it is shocking that what millions of people call "sharing music" has been criminalized, punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Do we want this kind of government?

Go here to contact them.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. Finally, complain to the media. If they get enough letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

Remember, VeriSign is busy telling them its side of the story. We need to tell them ours!

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. Finally, complain to the media. If they get enough letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

Remember, VeriSign is busy telling them its side of the story. We need to tell them ours!

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. Finally, complain to the media. If they get enough letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

Remember, VeriSign is busy telling them its side of the story. We need to tell them ours!

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. Finally, complain to the media. If they get enough letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

Remember, VeriSign is busy telling them its side of the story. We need to tell them ours!

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. Finally, complain to the media. If they get enough letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

Remember, VeriSign is busy telling them its side of the story. We need to tell them ours!

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. Finally, complain to the media. If they get enough letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

Remember, VeriSign is busy telling them its side of the story. We need to tell them ours!

After reading the Vonage v. MPUC ruling, it's clear that the judge made his ruling based on the "clear intent" of the congress to seperate information services from telecommunications services. The former being of the type which congress clearly wishes to remain regulation free, and the latter of the type which congress enforces regulation.

But this ruling is only as strong as congressional intent. MPUC (and for that matter any PUC) and all the LECs are going to start lobbying congress to change their intent w.r.t. VoIP. All that need happen is that congress clearly state that they did not intend to include VoIP as an information service and this ruling is moot.

Call, write, email your congress critters today. Do it now. Remind them that they should keep regulation to a minimum only in areas where "full competition has emerged" (quoting the ruling).

But undeniably, this is a step in the right direction. The above issues, of course, need to be addressed. Solutions such as online radio may improve the ability of individuals to sample music, for example, but the RIAA has created tough conditions for low level online radio systems, keeping the medium for the most part under the heavy thumb of the cartels. This isn't, by itself, a bad thing: there's nothing to stop independent groups coming together and creating libraries of non-mainstream music that Internet radio stations can play cheaply, or without cost at all. It requires the will however, and the mechanisms to be created such that Internet radio's operators can easily find and thus negotiate directly with such libraries, avoiding the dangerous possibility of not doing so and hitting the defaults the RIAA offers.

Creating a huge, high quality, downloadable library, as Apple has done, and making it semi-platform-independent, is certainly a single brick that can be used as a plank to build a bigger concept, a better music platform than the bricks and mortar systems of the past. Without other bricks to form those additional planks, however, that concept will never be dreamt.

This quagmire of downloadable music services requiring a substantial ancillary infrastructure to survive will not disappear by itself. Unless people are prepared to actually act, not just talk about it on Slashdot, nothing will ever get done. Apathy is not an option.

You can help by getting off your rear and writing to your congressman [house.gov] or senator [senate.gov]. Tell them that online music is important to you. Tell them that the infrastructure, both technical and organizational, must be built up to ensure the long term viability of online music. Tell them that you appreciate the work being done by Apple and others to create download services but that if the rest of the system is not built you will be forced to use less and less secure and intelligently designed alternatives. Let them know that SMP may make or break whether you can efficiently deploy OpenBSD on your workstations and servers. Explain the concerns you have about freedom, openness, and choice, and how a lack of a viable music distribution network harms all three. Let your legislators know that this is an issue that effects YOU directly, that YOU vote, and that your vote will be influenced, indeed dependent, on their policies concerning downloadable music.

You CAN make a difference. Don't treat voting as a right, treat it as a duty. Keep informed, keep your political representatives informed on how you feel. And, most importantly of all, vote.

People involved with the bill can be found with this press release.

COPA has its own site and a commision that put it together. Interestingly, they link to a bunch of research papers (many pdfs) Hearings and meetings too. Just skimming, it appears they made something of at least an attempt at a balanced inqury.

And what karma whoring post would be complete without a link to the statute?

Perhaps this will kick the US space program back into gear?

You should be weary of China's possible true intentions.

Here is a sample.

Now it appears that this strategic partnership with China is over. In recent years, China has threatened the United States over our support of Taiwan, including raising the possibility of nuclear war. China is also pursuing a significant strategic forces modernization program, and is greatly increasing the quality of its conventional force for the explicit, officially stated, purpose of challenging the United States in the China Seas, waters that are crucial to the United States for sustaining its relationship with Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, among others.

China is also recognized by the intelligence community as one of the most serious proliferators of weapons of mass destruction technology in the world today. Moreover, China is strengthening its political and military ties with Russia in ways that seek to isolate the United States diplomatically and limit United States influence in the region. These do not appear to be the actions of a strategic partner.

In light of these actions, I am perhaps most troubled by the Administration policy with respect to Taiwan. The Administration's obvious reluctance to arm Taiwan, a democratic friend of the United States, sends a dangerous message to Beijing. Similarly, the Administration's failure to sanction China for its proliferation practices and its failure to discourage China from pursuing stronger security ties with Russia represent further examples of dangerous miscommunication.

In sum, I am concerned that China's intention toward the United States may be more threatening than is widely accepted. If so, current Administration policy may be reinforcing China's behavior and setting the United States and China on a collision course.

Buzz Aldrin has some comments on how we ought to behave in this article. Also note a new position paper on human spaceflight from the National Space Society, and Congres is meeting this Thursday morning (session to be webcast!) to discuss The Future of Human Spaceflight. Should be an interesting week...

No, I didn't. Chris Cannon was one of the 'yeas.' I was referring to HR 395, the actual Do-Not-Call List bill. What Cannon voted 'nay' on was HR 3161, the bill that got pushed through both houses in response to a federal court ruling that the FTC didn't have the authority to enforce the law. He was joined in by Kendrick Meek (D-FL), while Tom Tancredo (R-CO) did the reverse by voting against the actual law but in favor of delegating authority to the FTC.

What's really interesting is the number of abstentions in the two votes, with almost twice as many non-voting members on HR 3161 as there were with HR 395. And, while I'm on the subject, HR 395 sailed through the Senate on a voice vote (which means nobody objected and there was no record kept) while there was a recorded Senate vote on HR 3161 of 95-0 with 5 abstentions.

No, I didn't. Chris Cannon was one of the 'yeas.' I was referring to HR 395, the actual Do-Not-Call List bill. What Cannon voted 'nay' on was HR 3161, the bill that got pushed through both houses in response to a federal court ruling that the FTC didn't have the authority to enforce the law. He was joined in by Kendrick Meek (D-FL), while Tom Tancredo (R-CO) did the reverse by voting against the actual law but in favor of delegating authority to the FTC.

What's really interesting is the number of abstentions in the two votes, with almost twice as many non-voting members on HR 3161 as there were with HR 395. And, while I'm on the subject, HR 395 sailed through the Senate on a voice vote (which means nobody objected and there was no record kept) while there was a recorded Senate vote on HR 3161 of 95-0 with 5 abstentions.

Y'all ought to check out how CAWG seems to applaud the death of any and all MS Antitrust work. In fact, it appears to be a group founded by the Reagan administration.

• He gets some ink in MS's freedom to innovate [sic] newsletter, complaining primarily that suing MS will hurt portfolios.
• Here, he is happy that West Virginia abandoned its anti-trust case.
• Or perhaps some testimony from Schatz claiming that the govt. should not be engaged in business (esp. businesses which compete with banks), because it is "unfair".
• Or here that "Budget Gridlock Doesn't Hurt Republicans". (Something which really has nothing to do with efficient government.)

• Sounds like a shill to me.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

Reading through the replies, I see that this is almost universally seen as a bad idea, motivated by little more than greed. So I say, do something about it. This is still being drafted, it hasn't even come up for vote yet. So much the better time to contact your representative and kill this thing preemptively. Read over the replies above and below, since many of them make good points about this idea. Include these ideas when you contact your rep.

If we make enough noise, they will listen.

http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?get doc+uscview+t33t36+1484+0++%28%29%20%20AND%20%28%2 835%29%20ADJ%20USC%29%3ACITE%20AND%20%28USC%20w%2F 10%20%28271%29%29%3ACITE%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%2 0

Yes is the simple answer to the first question. Probably not is the answer to the second question. If the Segway is covered by patents and this guy is using their patented technology in developing it then he'd likely be liable for infringement under the above provision of the US Code. What damages there would be can be found in 35 USC 281-287. No this isn't legal advice. Talk to a lawyer before considering building this device as described in that you may run into legal trouble as well. He might also be liable for actively inducing others to infringe but I dunno about that. If the Segway is patented, then you can get a copy of the plans for it from the patent office. That's the deal with patents. You tell everyone how to make what you made and in return we'll allow you full rights to exclude others from making it for X years.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member. Plus any of the other members you feel like contacting.
5. The Federal Trade Commission, which hears consumer complaints.
6. Your U.S. Representative
7. Your Senators
8. Your Governor
9. Your State Legislators
10. ICANN's wildcard comment address
11. VeriSign itself
12. Finally, complain to the media. If they get lots of letters on a topic, they'll run stories. Try the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and MSNBC.

No, but he did ignore Congress' intentions. They had already previously given their permission for it by giving the FTC funding to operate the list. See the following press releases:

Congress Pass Measure to Curb Unwanted Calls
Consumers Gain Power Over Unwanted Telemarketers

No, but he did ignore Congress' intentions. They had already previously given their permission for it by giving the FTC funding to operate the list. See the following press releases:

Congress Pass Measure to Curb Unwanted Calls
Consumers Gain Power Over Unwanted Telemarketers

Congress now needs to make a law authorizing the FTC to implement a Do-Not-Call registry.

According to the Washington Post , there is activity on the House side to do just that:

Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), the committee's ranking minority member, issued a joint statement this morning saying they "will take whatever legislative action is necessary to ensure consumers can stop intrusive calls from unwanted telemarketers."

I've listed the members of Energy & Commerce below. Members of Congress do care what their constituents think, and if they hear from enough of them, they are less likely to listen to lobbyists for the direct marketing industry. If you are a constituent of one of the members below, please do one of the following (in decreasing order of impact):

1. Write a snail mail letter c/o U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
2. Place a telephone call to 202-224-3121 and ask for your congressman's office.
3. Send an email.

If you're not sure who represents you, go here and type in your Zip code where it says "Find Your Representative."

If they don't hear from you, they will think you don't care.

Here are the members of this committee (as listed in The Almanac of American Politics ):

Majority (31 R): Tauzin (LA), Chmn.; Bilirakis (FL), Barton (TX), Upton (MI), Stearns (FL), Gillmor (OH), Greenwood (PA), Cox (CA), Deal (GA), Burr (NC), Vice Chmn.; Whitfield (KY), Norwood (GA), Cubin (WY), Shimkus (IL), Wilson (NM), Shadegg (AZ), Pickering (MS), Fossella (NY), Blunt (MO), Buyer (IN), Radanovich (CA), Bass (NH), Pitts (PA), Bono (CA), Walden (OR), Terry (NE), Fletcher (KY), Ferguson (NJ), Rogers (MI), Issa (CA), Otter (ID).

Minority (26 D): Dingell (MI), RMM; Waxman (CA), Markey (MA), Hall (TX), Boucher (VA), Towns (NY), Pallone (NJ), Brown (OH), Gordon (TN), Deutsch (FL), Rush (IL), Eshoo (CA), Stupak (MI), Engel (NY), Wynn (MD), Green (TX), McCarthy (MO), Strickland (OH), DeGette (CO), Capps (CA), Doyle (PA), John (LA), Allen (ME), Davis (FL), Schakowsky (IL), Solis (CA).

Contact your senators and representatives, at the very least by email, instead of harassing the judge who made the decision (no matter what your opinion of him). The directories are here:

House of Representatives

Senate

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

Please take a look at this and this and then write your congress creatures and tell them to support HR 2239.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

1. The Department of Commerce; VeriSign's contract to operate .com and .org was originally with them.
2. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telecommunications.
3. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; contact the committee itself, the chairman, the ranking member, and any of the other members you'd like.
4. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, including the committee itself, the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the ranking member.

By email, phone, fax, telegram, or letter (or better, several of these), let them know what you think. These are the people who can give Verisign reasons to change their behavior.

Tough to find specific references to business subsidizing residential rates, but here's an old reference (Requirement 3), and here's another. (1996) It's discussed in this 2001 hearing at the US House of Representatives.

Don't forget that residential means rural, suburban, and urban. How much money does Comcast make wiring Oklahoma and getting $45 per month when they can wire NY, LA, or Chicago and get $100 per month from a business? Residential does not pay it's own way in communications.