Save Access

Update from SavetheInternet.com

Dear Coalition Member,

Here's a quick update on the SavetheInternet.com Coalition.

*VOTES IN WASHINGTON*

*Summary:*
This week there will be a pair of important votes on Net Neutrality. The first occurs Wednesday afternoon during a back-room meeting of the House Rules Committee. Rules will decide whether to allow the full House to vote on pro-Net Neutrality legislation later this week. If Rules allows Net Neutrality to the floor, a second vote could occur as early as Thursday evening, when every House representative has a chance to vote on the issue as an amendment to the COPE Act.

*What we are doing:*
Here's a letter that members of the Coalition sent to the Rules Committee today:
SavetheInternet.com Letter to House Rules
http://www.freepress.net/docs/coalition_ltr_re_cope_rules_6-6-06.doc

*How you can help:*
Create a loud public outcry to urge the Rules Committee to allow enforceable Net Neutrality legislation to the floor. More than a million Americans have voiced their support for Congress to action in defense of a free and open Internet. Our elected representatives can not dodge this important issue. Each needs to be put on the record regarding the future of the Internet. To that end, here's the outreach
http://action.freepress.net/freepress/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=2145202
Free Press sent to its activists today.

*FIGHTING TELCO ASTROTURF*

*Summary:*
The telco and cable lobby has fired up its phony front groups and launched a multi-million-dollar media blitz designed to paint Net Neutrality as burdensome and anti-consumer government regulation. The deceptive campaign includes local TV and print ads, canned telephone appeals and beltway radio spots. All of these Astroturf pitches fail to mention that every major consumer advocacy group is in our coalition -- and opposed to the telco position, or that their real plan is not to free the internet from regulation but to write new laws that clear the way for AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth to seize control of content.

*What we have done:*
We plan to fight this misinformation by raising money to support our own media campaign. As this campaign develops, our organizing efforts have extended beyond mobilizing the public to sign petitions, recruiting organizations to join the Coalition and creating and updating the campaign Web site. We now need to be able to raise money to support a media strategy that gets our message of Internet freedom across to more Americans. Here are two concepts:

"Strange Bedfellows"
http://cdn.moveon.org/content/pdfs/MoveOnChristianCoalition.pdf
"AT&T Wants to Reach out and Control You"
http://www.savetheinternet.com/files/att-nsa-print.pdf

*How you can help:*
Your organization can help support this effort by sending your members to the following fundraising site:
https://secure.freepress.net/05/net_neutrality

All money will go towards our Ad Fund to create compelling media that engages more people in the fight to Save the Internet.

*MOVING FORWARD*

After this week the Net Neutrality fight will shift to Congress, where we have good bipartisan momentum behind a bill offered by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota). Through June and into July, we'll be organizing more activists in support of our efforts in the Senate.

We will use segregate all funds raised through SavetheInternet.com outreaches and the Web site for campaign purposes. Fundraising will pay for expenses such as paid advertising that cannot be covered by in-kind contributions from coalition partners. We encourage all coalition partners to donate in-kind or direct financial support whenever possible.

I welcome your ideas and feedback as we move forward.

I will also keep you in the loop as we employ new tactics in this campaign. If you have any questions about that or any other aspects of our ongoing efforts, please don't hesitate to contact me at tkarr@freepress.net

Thank you for being a part of this important effort.

Timothy Karr
Free Press Campaign Director
SavetheInternet.com