Not A Dang Chance
Not A Dang Chance is a reply and a rant Greg had written about what seems to be a chain letter. The text was posted to his Mr Odd site under "Literature" and is dated early 2004. (Source)
Response To Comment:
The email below is most likely filled with bogus information, and I will tell you exactly why:
1. If email were not a free service, those without checking accounts (kids), businesses all over the world not associated with the postal office, and the internet as we know it would suffer!
2. It was mentioned that the post office is hurting due to email since the time email was invented (reduced mail usage) when there is nothing mentioned of telephones also nearly destroying (whatever, the USPS is fine) the post office.
3. Significant bills are already charged on packages sent, and if anything, the USPS has profited massively due to places like eBay, Amazon, and so on (good god yall, how could you believe this?)
4. The United States has BOOMED in population and nearly doubled since 1950 --- so the post office should also be doing well what with the mass growth.
5. E-Mails to freak people out and give the senders kicks are sent to mass mail lists very often, you writing to congress would make the senders laugh even harder, and judging from the fact that none of us have heard anything about email charge for casual email ANYWHERE BUT THROUGH THIS SMALL EMAIL ADDRESS LIST, there is pretty much no way any of this information is true.
If the below is true (which it may very well be as it was forwarded by an intelligent person to whom I am shocked that she actually did decide to forward it) than I suggest we all get our USPS flags out and start a burnin them. The government makes enough off of our taxes already (Norm (retired army guy) reports that they take .35 out of every $1.00 we make!) and we would not should not can not let them control us...
And I believe "the man" also knows this which is why "he" wouldn't be so stupid.
So like I said, PHONY!
-Greggo
MrOdd.com
Original Comment:
From: [Email]@***.com
To: [Emails], oddikaun@*******.com, [Emails]
Subject: Congressional Bill 602P
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 20:06:53 EST
> > Guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P charges 5-cents per
> > E-mail sent. It figures! No more free E-mail! We knew this was coming!!
> >
> > Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent charge
> > on every delivered E-mail.
> >
> > Please read the following carefully if you intend to stay online and
> > continue using E-mail. The last few months have revealed an alarming
> > trend in the Government of the United States attempting to quietly push
> > through legislation that will affect our use of the Internet.
> >
> > Under proposed legislation, the US Postal Service will be attempting
> > to bill E-mail users out of "alternative postage fees."
> >
> > Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent
> > surcharge on every e-mail delivered, by billing Internet Service
> > Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the
> > ISP. Washington, DC lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to
> > prevent this legislation from becoming law.
> >
> > The US Postal Service is claiming lost revenue, due to the proliferation
> > of E-mail, is costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue per year. You may
> > have noticed their recent ad campaign: "There is nothing like a
> > letter."
> >
> > Since the average person received about 10 pieces of E-mail per day in
> > 1998, the cost of the typical individual would be an additional 50
> > cents a day -- or over $180 per year -- above and beyond their regular
> > Internet costs.
> >
> > Note that this would be money paid directly to the US Postal Service
> > for a service they do not even provide.
> >
> > The whole point of the Internet is democracy and noninterference. You
> > are already paying an exorbitant price for snail mail because of
> > bureaucratic inefficiency. It currently takes up to 6 days for a
> > letter to be delivered from coast to coast. If the US Postal Service is
> > allowed to tinker with E-mail, it will mark the end of the "free" Internet
> > in
> > the United States.
> >
> > Congressional representative, Tony Schnell (R) has even suggested a
> > "$20-$40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond
> > the governments proposed E-mail charges. Note that most of the major
> > newspapers have ignored the story the only exception being the
> > Washingtonian which called the idea of E-mail surcharge "a useful
> > concept who's time has come" (March 6th, 1999 Editorial). Do not sit
> > by and watch your freedom erode away!
> >
> > Send this E-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and
> > relatives to write their congressional representative and say "NO" to
> > Bill 602P.
> >
> > It will only take a few moments of your time and could very well be
> > instrumental in killing a bill we do not want.
> >
> > PLEASE FORWARD!
>
Conclusion Comment:
I want you to all understand that throughout the web there are many individuals who are seeking a method of entertainment that would also grant them recognition for fooling the masses. About a week ago I received an email that suggested kittens were stuffed in jars and sold on the net for the sole unique value and overall rarity of the item... then shortly after I read of a potential .05 charge on each email I send out (I wish whoever came up with that made it more believable... like $10.00 a month charge etc... but hey, it is likely no one ever concluded that jokers were most often intelligent). I almost, if not partially, believed that cats were stuffed in jars and sold to the highest bidder, but I did not believe the .05 tax from the post office (!!!???) and I hope most of you found it to be a distant possibility as well.
My Ma, Tami emailed me a link I would like all those interested in coming to a conclusion over this email fee junk. http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/bill602p.asp --- The site states that the ---rumor--- was indeed false, so as I said before, no need to write congress.
I just want to get through one message in this email --- question possible/drastic changes in your life, whether it be the realization that someone could hold so much negativity inside to actually enjoy a tortured cat's presence, or the addition of yet another bill on our list of illogical debts to this country's corporate world (using relevant examples of course). E-Mails that are suggesting such things are most likely fraudulent as anyone can send an email with the right resources (fingers, brain, computer, keyboard, internet, etc) --- whether you believe it or not is up to your intellect and skepticism to decide and regardless of how many people the message has been forwarded to, you should still consider the information, and even end up being the last recipient of the eFake.
Before you agree, question your compliance. Why do you agree, and is it plausible that whatever message you agree with is not true despite your contradictory word.
Hopefully you already learned the above lessons long ago, but if not changing your approach to the net can contribute to a world wide web of morals, and incompliance with those who terrorize/test the average email receiver’s merit.
Talk to yall later ;)
-Greg
(the conclusion of this subject is being posted at MrOdd.com)