Washington, DC /DenounceNewswire/ -- 29 June 2003 -- Striking back against politicians from every point on the political spectrum, American consumers came out in force on Friday, registering more than 1.2 million names to the new national do-not-vote list on its opening day.

"We're tired of the lies, the greed, the power-grabs, the media, the war, you name it," said Galen Kendrick, chairman of the Why Bother foundation, based in Bethesda, MD. "The elections are decided by lobby and corporate money anyway, who are they trying to kid."

At times, the donotvote.gov website's servers were so busy, consumers had to wait for hours before the home page appeared on their browsers. "It was almost as bad as standing in line to vote," says Kendrick.

"We figured we'd have a big response, but this demand was way beyond anything we planned for," admitted Blanche Daffney, a spokesperson for the Federal Elections Commission, an agency which recently received major budget cuts and massive layoffs as part of the White House's "Shape Up or Ship Out" program. However, the agency was able to get more servers online by mid-afternoon in time for the evening activity.

The do-not-vote service enables American consumers to decline to vote in any future elections, be they local, state, or national. Any political parties, candidates, or other organizations who attempt to contact people registered through the service are liable for a $1,000,000 fine or life imprisonment, whichever comes first. The service automatically removes voter registration records which for many states means these individuals will no longer be able to participate in a jury --- a fact that critics claim is the real reason so many people are signing up to sign out.

"It's the beginning of the end of democracy as we know it," says Steve Stalgia, director of Americans for Democracy, a special interest group which fought hard to prevent the do-not-vote list from going on-line. "By signing up on this list, people are under the delusion that becoming permanently disqualified from jury duty is a good thing."

President George W. Bush and Senator Chuck Hagel, who together originally sponsored the do-not-vote program, dismissed the criticism as un-American. "We're giving the people what they want," Bush said.

San Helifino, CA /DenounceNewswire/ -- 28 June 2003 -- Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live in the world of Internet Punditry? Do you dream of meeting and learning from the legends of the web? Is there a blog article in your head that you would like to bring to life? Do you want to spend five days and nights following pundits around to see what they do?

IPFC, Inc. announces the launch of the Internet Pundit Fantasy Camp, and a chance to be among the presence of such luminaries as Jason Kottke, James Lileks, Doc Searls, Glenn Reynolds, Esther Dyson, Cory Doctorow, Christopher Locke, Clay Shirky, Xeni Jardin, Scott Rosenberg, Joi Ito, Marc Canter, John Dvorak, Dan Gillmor, Andrew Sullivan, Dave Winer, and David Weinberger.

For five days and five nights, campers get to observe these and other notable internet pundits up close and personal:

• Dining near them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Watching them as they write their blogs and news articles
• Small group instruction from celebrity internet stars
• Observe pundits taking copious pictures with their digital cameras
• Meet their cats, dogs, and other pets (availability subject to change)
• Read newspapers and magazines in the same waiting rooms as the pundits
• See pundits glance at their watches
• Listen in as pundits talk on their cell phones and to each other.
• Stay up late at night surfing the web, sharing findings with pundits, receiving their commentary
• Exchange emails with pundits (guaranteed replies!)
• Join internet superstars in a special Tuesday morning cocktail party (time, date, and locale subject to change)
• Enjoy a personalized pundit tour of a Fry's Electronics store (time permitting)
• Receive personalized pundit commentary on the software and documents present on your own notebook computers.
• Receive a personal jpeg of a signed, personally autographed photograph of the pundit of your choice (limit one per camper)

Modeled after the successful Rock and Roll Fantasy Camps, which let mere mortals jam along with famous rock stars, the Intenet Pundit Fantasy Camp is destined to become a favorite experience for internet enthusiasts across the country. With sessions opening this summer in New York, Washington, San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago, there's never been a better opportunity to rub shoulders with giants of internet punditry.

Each camper receives a box of CampCam(tm) videotapes covering the entire five days and five nights of the camp.

Cost of the camp is $5,995 per person (for reservations made up to 60 days in advance) or $6495 thereafter. Note: pundits and venues subject to change without notice.