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| The Stuff of Turkeys... |
June 24, 2003 |
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By Chris Copeland
Chris is an incoming senior at Cibola High School and is serving an internship in Congresswoman Wilson`s Albuquerque office. He has a younger brother and worries about the effects Spam can have on kids like his little bro`.
 As a typical Internet user, I check my email fairly often. We`re a varied bunch--email users are pretty diverse. But one thing that binds us is a pain that medicine can`t get rid of--spam.
Now, there might be a cure to spam. Heather Wilson and Representative Gene Green, a Texas democrat, want to make Spam a thing of the past.
E-MAIL TURKEYS: Congresswoman Heather Wilson is working to ban e-mail spam. Wilson and Congressman Gene Green wrote and introduced the Anti-Spam Act (HR 2214).
I want to be able to tell someone no and have them respect my choice. But the turkeys who send spam don`t seem to have the ability to acknowledge those two little letters, N.O.
Spam has made it difficult to let young children hop on the home computer to use the Internet. Children shouldn`t be subjected to the types of things that spam makes available, often without any warning at all. Once upon a time (you know, in the olden` days) we were able to let young kids go on the computer and play on the Nickelodeon web site or look up cheat codes for video games.  Now we`re forced to take that privilege away from them even though they haven`t done anything wrong.
Make no mistake: Parents and older brothers like me have a responsibility to protect kids from internet scourges. But we shouldn`t have to worry about young mousers opening misleading e-mails that take their young eyes to adult-oriented websites.
I personally want to see an end to spam, and I`m glad it`s an issue Heather Wilson is working on. I don’t want a super-low interest rate, or somebody`s personal photo, or a free dating service.
If Heather Wilson gets her way, the only place left to find Spam will be in a can. I hear the turkey stuff is good.
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And I don`t want to get involved in a Nigerian money-making scheme. What I want is to be able to communicate with the people I want to communicate with.
The Internet started out as a cheap and easy way to communicate. But today spam makes the Internet a chore and gives our `delete` finger a daily work-out. It`s enough to give a young guy carpal tunnel just thinking about it.
Unsubscribing from their mailing lists never works--all that does is confirm that they have a good e-mail with a live person on the other end. That makes your e-mail address a saleable commodity.
Wilson`s and Greeen`s bill has some momentum behind it, earning the support of key Representatives John D. Dingell and John Conyers. The Anti-Spam Act created by Wilson and Green would first call for our ability to opt-out of unwanted commercial email; it requires companies to promptly comply with a consumer`s opt-out request; it prohibits fraudulent email and protects consumers from sexually-oriented messages. It also includes tough civil and criminal enforcement provisions. The Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, State Attorneys General, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will have the ability to prosecute violators of the bill`s provisions.
If Heather Wilson gets her way, the only place left to find Spam will be in a can. I hear the turkey stuff is good.
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