After a nine-year run, the Geography Network will be closing up shop at the end of 2009.
With so much data on ArcGIS Online with multiple ways to access it and so many other web services available, ESRI has decided the time has come to shut it down.
Here’s the blog post about it: http://blogs.esri.com/Support/blogs/arcgisonline/archive/2009/12/09/geography-network-to-retire.aspx