It Has Been Said; We The People.... uh... with credit cards?

So it is that I happened upon the "Congress.Org" website yesterday.... and I went to "clicking around" some to find a rather interesting "standard" being employed on the website which represents the Congress of The United States of America.

In order to place a "soap box alert" post in/on the "soap box forum" at "Congress.Org," you must be prepared to PAY to do so.

This struck me as odd immediately seeing the vast number of UNITED STATES CITIZENS who are immediately excluded from such activity and interaction with of their rights as citizens, in being required to PAY for such "soap box" communication and further to PAY with a credit card.

Social discrimination to say the least, based entirely upon what some private corporate credit issuer sets as a standard for "acceptible people" within the requirement for remittence and further with a credit card simply to exercise already existing rights.

I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THIS VERY "SERVICE" USED TO BE FREE AND OPEN TO ANY THAT HAD AN ISSUE TO RAISE. Which is part of the reason that it struck me as so odd.

Followong is a copy of the communication exchange which I initiated with the website pertaining to this matter;

-----Original Message-----
From: David_A_Archer_02_151968@yahoo.com
[mailto:David_A_Archer_02_151968@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 7:58 PM
To: CS
Subject: Request Contact

CAPITOL ADVANTAGE

A request for Customer Service contact has been submitted from:
First Name: David
Last Name: Archer
Email Address: David_A_Archer_02_151968@yahoo.com
Organization:
Telephone Number:
REMOTE_ADDR: 192.80.65.234

Comments:
Why does it now cost money to post a "soap box alert?" Why is
it that a person must have a credit card or pay to contact others in the
forum of the United States Congress? I don't recall any pre-determined
amount of money set forward in the constitution to access
representatives OR discuss issues within the rights of American
Citizens.

Those supposed peripheral "costs" which will or are used as an excuse
for such money demands to exercise rights, should and ARE covered in
the budgets already alloted of already paid tax dollars.

How is this seriously justified?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


CS wrote:
Greetings,

Thank you for writing. If you wish to contact your legislators, please
visit http://congress.org/ and enter your ZIP code in the box on the
side to find your representative. All direct emails to representative
are free.

A SoabBox alert simply allows you to post a message on Congress.Org that
others can use to send emails to their representative. It is the
electronic equivalent of the street corner Soap box. It does not send a
message to individual representatives.

Customer Service

~~~~~~~~~~~

From: David Archer [mailto:david_a_archer_02_151968@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 12:58 PM
To: CS
Subject: RE: Request Contact


"equivalent of the street corner Soap box"

Very much a part of my point. When was the last time that a person had to pay, and
pay with a credit card, to "soap box" on the street corner... especially a "street
corner" affiliated with the official GOVERNMENT FUNDED web site pertaining to the
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA? For which we all are supposed to have
equal rights of access to regardless of income level, social or fiscal station
within corporate or financial entities, or who may have co-signed some corporate
contract to boost ones "credit" to a level of being issued an exclusively corporate
and therefore private form of recognition which has little to do with being a
citizen of the United States of America and the rights pertaining to such.... or
supposedly so.

Essentially, in justifying the use of payment... and further payment by credit card
simply to "soap box," it is then that some large, private institution has superseded
the rights of the citizens of the United States in being the acceptable form
of "recognition" to obtain access to something that is already their right as a
citizen of the United States to have access to, equally. Without that standard
of "equality" being some corporate entities acceptance of their supposed financial
credibility.

My question remains unanswered; Why and how is charging people to "soap box on the
street corner," and further charged through a credit card, justified?


Looks allot like a type of social discrimination meant to deprive equal access to
such a forum, to me. But as of this moment, such is only my opinion.


~~~~~~~~~~~

CS wrote:
Sir,

Thank you for writing back. Please note, we are not a government funded entity.
Congress.Org is operated and maintained by Capitol Advantage. Any monies taken in
from SoapBox alerts go to help fund and maintain the site, so we can continue to
offer it to the public as a way of speaking out, locating their legislators, and
seeing what others have to say on topics of interest. The charges are, again, only
to support the site maintenance.

Thank you for your time,

Customer Service

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirs or Madams;

Precisely part of my point. It doesn't matter where the "monies" are supposedly
used. Why is it that your PRIVATE credit issuing institution, should have a right to
exclude, especially in the guise of GOVERNMENT AFFILIATION, citizens from such a
forum based on whether or not they meet YOUR credit standards. That is like the
bully on the block "pimping" everyone else just to exercise their ALREADY PRESENT
rights within the writ that supposedly governs even those larger entities such as
yourself.

Why is it that you have affiliated yourself with that writ and system, and then fail
to comply with even the most basic (and vital) of elements within it which insure
its most efficient and equal usage?

This is in no way a personal attack, please do not take it as such. Simply a
question which I feel should concern more people than it seems to.


So it is that my question still stands unanswered. Where is it justified in any way?

A person has to laugh... if at nothing more than the blatant hypocrisy employed in this instance. The company/corporate entity which is posturing and effectively acting as an extention of the United States Government should be acting under and within the same frame of standards and rule, right?

Of course, the further laugh is that they very much are in many ways! Given the fact that it usually takes some sort of money exchange to "grease the wheels" for just about anything when it comes to our "elected officials" and "efficiency" there abouts.

So perhaps it is more than just one of the best jokes I have ever seen in practical use on and against the very people that "it" claims to represent. Perhaps it is a wonderfully hilarious "actual," real time representation of the reality within and of our current version of Representative Democracy?

Essentially, on the Congress.Org website, a person cannot raise an issue in the "public" forum without paying with a credit card. I would imagine, just as a direct relation and relative consistency, that most Representatives and Senate members (as well as Judges and other Political figures), now accept payment with debit or credit cards!

....Uh, Hemmmm... Just to "Greese the Wheels," Of Course!

So with that.... please keep in mind, that when purchasing political favor or access to exercise already present rights.... and when violating the rights of the citizens you are supposedly representing....

.....make sure that it is done "properly," so as not to seem in poor form or bad taste.