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The E-mail Tax Hoax Meets The Candidates

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the life-imitates-art dept.

senort01 writes: "Who couldn't find this humorous? 602P, (the post office will charge for e-mail being sent to make up for lost revenue), a classic Internet hoax, was asked about in the New York Senate debate. Needless to say, both parties aren't going to support it! Thank god!" And for those who prefer their news both more direct and more fun, ContinuousPark writes: "Declan McCullagh's Politechbot mailing list is reporting that the lame e-mail hoax made it into the Clinton-Lazio debate." the_quark helpfully points out not only the famous Bill 602P itself but the USPS's stock page denying its existence.

5 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Then what I want to know is... by 64.28.67.48 · · Score: 4

    Who the HELL have I been paying my 5 cents to?!?!!

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    The truth is out th- oh, wait, here it is...
  2. I hate 602P and Congressman Schnell! by Elwood+Blues · · Score: 4

    Man, I hate this rumor. I interned for a Congressman this summer, we sent out probably 50-100 letters a week to people who were concerned about this bill. They've sent out over 9,000 letters over the past THREE years on bill 602P and Congressman Schnell.

    Whoever started that rumor, has probably cost the taxpayers millions already. Unfortunately, congressmen (at least the good ones) are obligated to respond to all letters/e-mails received with valid snail mail addresses. They do not respond to simple e-mails, because there is no way of verifying actual constituency.

  3. Obligatory link to CIAC... by Speare · · Score: 5

    Here's the standard US Dept of Energy's Computer Incident Advisory Capacity (CIAC) website for tracking common Internet hoaxes.

    Most of the classics are in there, and they update this on a mostly useful schedule. I include this in the reply whenever one of my less-clued-in remote relatives asks "Is this legit?"

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  4. New third-level domain for it... by Speare · · Score: 5

    Looks like they reorganized last week. The new, more memorable address:

    http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/

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  5. Don't be too hard on them by vertical-limit · · Score: 4
    I know that this is an infamous hoax, but it's unfair to trash the candidates for not knowing about it -- remember, most Slashdot readers tend to specialize in technology, but for politicians, that's just one of dozens of areas they have to worry about. There's also foreign policy, health care, crime, education, the environment, and a lot of other fields, each with their own history and rumors. We can't expect them to know about every piece of legislation that does -- or in this case, does not -- exist.

    I think we should be more glad about the fact that both candidates were enthusiastially against this bill. Even the idea of an e-mail tax is ridiculous; it's good to sea that both Clinton and Lazio oppose it not just in politics but in principle.

    It's all a matter of trust. Trusting no politicians is not an option and will hurt you economically if others do take the risk -- nor is trusting every fool with a gavel. The truth is in the middle. I'm grateful to be living in a country where I think I can (mostly) trust the government to provide me this kind of services. So, whether you trust Clinton and Lazio or not is not very relevant. The major advancement here is the clear and present danger that e-mail taxes present.