Net not worth it

DNC Chairman Joe Andrews reassures the world in his open letter on freedem.com that "freedem.com offers free access to the Internet, and the wealth of information it contains, to everyone ... even Republicans."

But to get this "free" access, consumers have to sell a lot of information. The registration fields read more like the long form of the census than a simple registration form.

Income, labor organization memberships, voter registration status and political affiliations are all required fields (ethnicity, interestingly enough, is optional).

But consumers should be wary. If enough people use the service, the DNC will have direct access to a lot of voters. Although there is an option to uncheck the "send me freedem.com updates," direct communication with voters is far too tempting for a political party to keep silent.

They might not sell the information to the Republican party, but they will definitely use it to their advantage. This is not just democratic benevolence. Certainly, the Republican version of freedem.com can't be far behind. Consumers should not bite.

There are just too many other companies offering free Internet access to let any political party have free reign.