ALERT: Sen. Kerry, who voted FOR THE CDA, will be online tonight to chat! (8/28/96)

[Voters Telecommunications Watch <shabbir@vtw.org>]

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__     _________        __
\ \   / /_   _\ \      / /        HELP EDUCATE SENATOR KERRY ONLINE!
 \ \ / /  | |  \ \ /\ / /	AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION ONLINE CHAT
  \ V /   | |   \ V  V /	    ON AUGUST 28, 1996 -- 4PM CDT/5PM EST
   \_/    |_|    \_/\_/	       

	SENATOR KERRY, WHO VOTED FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT, WILL
 	BE ONLINE!  PLEASE ATTEND AND EDUCATE HIM ABOUT SMART NET POLICY!

		DO NOT DISTRIBUTE AFTER SEPTEMBER 1, 1996

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Table of contents
	What's New
	Why you should join these chats
	Chat schedule
	Getting chat software

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WHAT'S NEW

Senator John Kerry, who voted in favor of the Communications Decency
Act and who has been dragging his feet on the encryption issue in the
Senate Commerce Committee, is on the Democratic Convention Chat schedule 
for this Wednesday, 4pm CDT (5pm EST).

Like many Senators, John Kerry's views are a combination of his personal
opinions, plus his perception of his constituencies' opinion.  When
he voted IN FAVOR OF THE COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT, he was not listening
to his constituency very well.  The high tech community of Cambridge 
must make him understand that bad Internet policy, like the Communications
Decency Act, can kill this industry, causing us to lose our jobs and the
state to lose a valuable industry.

Although Sen. Kerry shouldn't be let off the hook for voting of the CDA,
he needs to be shown that in hindsight, this was a terrible vote. Hostility
will not change his mind though, so please don't ask questions like,
"Senator, what the heck were you thinking when you voted for this stupid
bill which everyone knew was unconstitutional?"

Questions like these will just cause him to wrap himself in a "protecting
children" speech.  Instead, why not try questions like,

"Senator, don't you think that enough has changed in the past several months
 that would suggest that parents are really the best ones to control their
 kids access to the net?  Would you still vote for the CDA today?"

"Senator, don't you agree laws such as the CDA are really a poor second to
 a little bit of plain old parenting?  If more parents were to learn about
 the net, would there still be a need for the CDA?"

"Senator, I surf the net with my 10-year-old.  I think that's a far better
 cry than the CDA.  What could we do to encourage more parents to take this
 approach, rather than passing laws that harm Massachusetts businesses and
 freedom of speech?"

Know that the urge to flame him for his vote on the CDA will be strong.
It should be, it was a terrible position for someone from such an incredibly
net-savvy state.  No matter how you view politics, it was a poor move.
It angers both the business and public.  Please do not flame him, instead
try to change his mind.

It is imperative that the net community come out and show him this is a 
very serious issue for us, and that we won't forget his position on this.
Remember, the chat is at 4pm CDT, which is 5PM EST.  Please show up
early, as this is likely to be a very full chat.

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WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN THESE CHATS

The Democratic convention's online chat program has begun!  It's crucial
that Netizens make net concerns a high profile issue in the online chats
this year.  You can do this by showing up and simply asking the right
questions.  Does the candidate think the Communications Decency Act is
an effective method of shielding kids from material online, or parental
control?  Does the candidate support the use of privacy-enhancing 
encryption technology?  Does the candidate support program such as
THOMAS, that put government info in the hands of the people?

If you don't ask these questions, they'll never know we care.

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CHAT SCHEDULE

[Notably missing from this schedule are Senators Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) 
 and Russell Feingold (D-WI) and House member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).  All
 three have impeccable cyberspace credentials and we look forward to seeing
 them online.]

All chats take place at http://ichat.dncc96.org:4080/

Monday
	08/26/96 - 4:20pm CDT Governor Lawton Chiles 
	08/26/96 - 7:15pm CDT House Candidate Michela Alioto 
	08/26/96 - 10:30pm CDT Congressman Bill Richardson 
Tuesday
	08/27/96 - 9:00am CDT Senate Candidate Houston Gordon 
	08/27/96 - 5:00pm CDT Congresswoman Nita Lowey 
Wednesday
	08/28/96 - 9:00am CDT - Senate Candidate Houston Gordon 
	08/28/96 - 10:00am CDT - Governor Gaston Caperton 
	08/28/96 - 3:00pm CDT - Senator John D Rockefeller IV 
---->	08/28/96 - 4:00pm CDT - Senator John Kerry 
	08/28/96 - 4:30pm CDT - Senator Harry Reid 
	08/28/96 - 9:30pm CDT - Representative Corrine Brown 
Thursday
	08/29/96 - 10:30am CDT - Senate Candidate Houston Gordon 
	08/29/96 - 2:30pm CDT - Senator Kent Conrad 
	08/29/96 - 3:30pm CDT - Representative Eliot Engel 
	08/29/96 - 6:00pm CDT - Representative Barney Frank 
	08/29/96 - 7:00pm CDT - Senators Boxer & Murray 

Don't miss this opportunity to question the newsmakers on net issues
such as free speech and privacy!  We have to ensure that they feel 
appreciated for standing up for Net issues.

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GETTING CHAT SOFTWARE

The Democratic Convention has chosen iChat's chat software for their
interface.  To obtain a copy, simply follow the links from the main
convention homepage at http://www.dncc96.org/ to the software section.

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