Off Topic But Still Important

[Brent]

Rumor has it that someone on the senate appropriations committee is going to try and sneak an amendment in to make the broadcast flag (DRM in digital television broadcasts) law this week.

 URGENT: Call your Senator RIGHT NOW or live with the goddamned Broadcast Flag forever!

    We've heard rumors that the Broadcast Flag that Cory, the EFF, and a coalition of pressure groups have fought so hard against (and beat in the courts) will be sneaked back via an amendment to the giant Senate Appropriations Bill in a sub-committee at 2PM EST on Tuesday 21st. This week is Hollywood's last chance to ram the flag past Congress, and they're working hard to get it under the radar.

    There's no time to write letters or start a media campaign: but folk in the states below have just enough time to warn their senators, who are all on the sub-committee. People of Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin - it's up to you!

    There's a sample script after the phone list. Remember: be cool, collected and polite. Most of these senators won't know a thing about the flag, until one of them makes it a throwaway amendment tomorrow. Make sure their ears twitch when they hear "broadcast flag" today.

    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

    "Hello, Senator _________'s office"

    "Hi, I'm a constituent. [Remember: Only say 'I'm a constituent' if you really are -- if you're calling the Senator from _your own state_] 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."

    "It will prevent fair use of copyrighted works: critical review, and use of material in distance learning"

    "This is an important issue which will affect all Americans, and should not be inserted in a large bill, at the last moment, with no debate."

    "Please oppose the broadcast flag amendment. My name and address are ___________________."

    "Thank you for your time."

    Good luck!


The EFF has an action alert where you can contact your senator on the committee, and tell them to stop the amendment. You can now fax and email appropriation committee members for free at the EFF's action center. Do it tonight, or live with the consequences of a Hollywood veto over your PC forever.

http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=145