E-mail from the EFF

EFFector Special Action Alert, June 20, 2005 action@eff.org

MPAA ATTEMPTS TO BYPASS CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
BROADCAST FLAG MAY BE SNEAKED IN THIS WEEK

Rumor has it that this Tuesday, June 21st, in a
sub-committee on Commerce, Science, and Justice, a single
senator will propose an amendment, hidden among many
others, to re-animate the MPAA's broadcast flag and burn
it into law.

On Thursday, the full Senate Appropriations Committee
will vote on that amendment. If they nod it through, the
Broadcast Flag will be law.

It's the lobbyist's oldest, and most desperate, trick. If
you can't win in the market, snag a regulator. If you
can't snag a regulator, get a law passed. And if you
can't get a law, sneak an amendment into one of
Congress's giant Appropriations Bills.

If you've received this mail from us, your senator is one
of the few with the power to put a stop to the flag.

ACT NOW TO STOP THE FLAG

Your senator is on the relevant sub-committee or the full
Senate committee. You have less than 24 hours to warn him
or her of Tuesday's manoeuvre. You have only 48 hours to
warn the full committee.

Letters are too slow. The press will be too slow. Only
you, as a constituent of a senator on the committee, can
reach them in time, by personal phone call or by fax.

IF YOU HAVE THIRTY SECONDS

Click here to use our action center: read, add your own
comments, and then send a message directly to your
senator via fax and email.



IF YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES AND A PHONE

Here are the list of senator contact details. Pick the
one that matches your state, and leave a personal message
warning of what's planned in the Appropriations committee.

Please be cool, collected and polite. There's a sample
script after the phone list.

SUB-COMMITTEE AND FULL COMMITTEE MEMBERS

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

FULL COMMITTEE MEMBERS

MISSISSIPPI Thad Cochran (202) 224-5054
PENNSYLVANIA Arlen Specter (202) 224-4254
MONTANA Conrad Burns (202) 224-2644
UTAH Robert F. Bennett (202) 224-5444
IDAHO Larry Craig (202) 224-2752
OHIO Mike DeWine (202) 224-2315
COLORADO Wayne Allard (202) 224-5941
WEST VIRGINIA Robert C. Byrd (202) 224-3954
NEVADA Harry Reid (202) 224-3542
CALIFORNIA Dianne Feinstein (202) 224-3841
ILLINOIS Richard J. Durbin (202) 224-2152
SOUTH DAKOTA Tim Johnson (202) 224-5842
LOUISIANA Mary L. Landrieu (202) 224-5824

A TYPICAL CALL

"Hello, Senator _________'s office"

"Hi, I'm a constituent. 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. "

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

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

"Thank you for your time."

And thank you for reading this,

The activists at the EFF.


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Editor:
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