Showing posts with label FCC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FCC. Show all posts

Monday, February 20, 2012

Obama Phones??

Received a troubling email from Conservative Action Alerts (CAA) this morning. At first, I thought, this can't possibly be true. After I read the email, I went to the CAA site to get more information. Well, guess what? The email is true! What was the email about?

Conservative Action Alerts: Nanny State Giving Out Free Cell Phones/Minutes to Welfare Recipients.

Ahh...NOW it all makes sense! Recall that the Occupy Wall Street maniacs practically ALL seemed to have cell phones? I thought that GeorgEVIL Soros must be paying for them. After all, he was paying the "occupiers" sixty dollars (kinda cheap for a billionaire...don't you think??) a day to protest. I'm sure you could find the video over at YouTube of one of the tattle-tellers (who admitted being clueless why he was there protesting!)  about that little gem of a fact.

Update:  FOUND IT!  Occupy Wall Street Protestor Admits Being Paid Video

Here's a preview of the coming film: OWS Occupy Unmasked

Don't get me wrong. I understand that the Lifeline program for the elderly and very poor is necessary. But I do think that it should be limited to landlines and for those who cannot afford to pay a monthly phone bill. But cell phones?? Does anyone see where this could lead to "bought votes" for Barack Hussein Obama?

The article (above) reveals that this program was also done under the Bush Administration. I need to do more research, but I would venture to guess that it wasn't abused the way it has been under Obama.  Could you imagine if Bush labeled them "Bush phones" for his re-election bid in 2004? 

But the fact of the matter is that once people get "free stuff" (a.k.a. adding taxes onto American workers phone bills to pay for it!!), it is very difficult to get them off the dole.  Thus, another Nanny State benefit balloons into a huge welfare benefit that people will not want to give up.

Excerpt:

Did you know that the federal government is giving out free cell phones and free cell phone minutes to welfare recipients?  It may be hard to believe, but it is true.  Right now, there are companies that are running advertisements specifically targeted at low income Americans informing them of the fact that all they have to do is sign up and they can get a free cell phone and hundreds of free cell phone minutes every single month and it will all be paid for by the federal government.  Some have referred to this as “The Obama Phone”, but that is not exactly accurate.  The outrageous federal programs that are paying for this were initiated before Barack Obama entered the White House.  But the fact that welfare recipients have been receiving free cell phones and free cell phone minutes under both the Bush and Obama administrations has been confirmed as being true by Snopes.  All of this is paid for by “the federal Universal Service Fund”.  That is one of those annoying little taxes that you may have noticed on your phone bill.  So what is essentially happening is the federal government is taking money from all of us so that they can provide free cell phone service for welfare recipients every single month.


The email that I received shares even more information:


Obama "phones in" to WIN the election

You're paying a hefty price to re-elect Barack Obama, whether you like it or not!

Did you know that you're paying a minimum of $80 a year to buy votes for Barack Obama?

Hiding behind the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), Barack Obama is adding charges to your phone bill in order to give free Obama cell phones - this includes smart phones - to people he claims are "financially unstable" and "financially disabled."

So far, more than 8 million "unstable" people - citizens and noncitizens alike - have taken advantage of THE OBAMA PHONE program, which gives people a new and free cell phone that is paid for by YOU!

We must act fast and demand that members of Congress support H.R. 3481, the 'Stop Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act.' Please send your personalized fax to Congress right now and join the fight for Americans like you who are paying for Obama's cell phone distribution scheme. Make your voice heard now with your personalized fax!

[Note: You can pay for faxes to be sent here or just utilize the wording and send emails.]

No money down, no credit check, no contract, and no phone bill for one year. The free Obama phone program allows people to send text messages, take pictures, and it even includes 250 free minutes a month (along with roll-over minutes), with an additional 100 free minutes earned for each referral.

The Obama phone website claims that taxpayers are not charged for this program. Nevertheless, wireless subscribers who are already paying for their individual, family, and business phone services, are funding the now multi-billion dollar program.

According to the Obama phone site: "Some people claim that the government is using taxpayer's money to run this program, however, the claim is false. Universal Service Fund (USF) which is administers (sic) by the FCC along with the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), pays for the Lifeline phone assistance program."

But wait; the truth is finally revealed in the next paragraph ...

"Paying customers might find a line item named 'Universal Service' on their telephone bills. This is because telecom companies choose to collect the amount they need to contribute to Universal Service Fund, from their subscribers...

"These charges appear as a percentage of the original phone bill. They also can't collect any charges from the [Obama phone] customers. The percentage of contribution of the telecom companies is renewed every quarter depending on the demand of the Universal Service Fund." (Demand is INCREASING. Thus, your charges will also increase.)

Introduced last November by Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.), the Stop Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act of 2011, has three co-sponsors, Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.). Right now, the bill is in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The following is an example of the 'Obama phone' charges on your bill:
(T-mobile cell phone charges from individual bill dated February 2012)


Communications Related
Regulatory Programs Fee*
*Fee we collect and retain to help cover our costs related to funding and complying with government mandates, programs and obligations.
1.61
Government Fees and Taxes
Government-Related Obligations**
Federal Universal Service Fund2.14
State Universal Service Fund1.85
3.99
**These charges relate to your service. They may be imposed on us and passed through to you pursuant to your contract.


If you only have one cell phone, then you're likely paying a minimum of $3.99 a month to pay for Obama phones. Add up all of the imposed fees, and you will see that the Obama administration is forcing you to pay $67.20 annually, to "cover the costs related to funding and complying with government mandates, programs and obligations." And to pay for charges imposed on cell phone companies by the government. These expenses are passed on to you, the customer. Multiply these charges over the next four years that Obama plans to remain in the White House, and you will have paid a whopping $283.80.

This is YOUR MONEY that you could have saved or donated to the charity of your choice.

Who qualifies for the Obama phone? Anyone who uses one of the following taxpayer-funded government programs:


Food Stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Medicaid
Supplemental Security Income - commonly known as SSI
Health Benefit Coverage under Child Health Insurance Plan (CHIP)
The National School Lunch Program's Free Lunch Program.
Low-Income Energy Assistance Program - LIHEAP
Federal Public Housing Assistance ( Section 8 )
If you are a low-income Eligible Resident of Tribal Lands
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families - TANF
But wait ... that's not all!

Barack Obama doesn't plan to stop with only forcing you to pay for Obama phones. In fact, according to the Obama phone website, you will soon see an additional charge on your Internet service bill. "Currently, the government is thinking of providing free wireless Internet service to the people under this program instead of [providing] old-fashioned land phones." According to FCC documents the subsidy is already in place; and when combined, these programs are expected to cost Internet/phone subscribers $2.4 billion this year alone.

FREE PHONES AND FREE INTERNET SERVICE = VOTES FOR OBAMA!

Barack Obama is laughing all the way to the November 6 election---the day he will have won four more years in the Oval office, in part by SPENDING YOUR MONEY TO BUY VOTERS' SUPPORT!
The Obama phone site claims that Americans shouldn't have to bother with "...paying telephone bills." And that the government can help to "...get rid of this extra burden."

Moreover, according to the website, our President's outlook on America's future is bleak, at best. The site includes statements saying that "with the turmoil in the economy, more than 8 million people will become eligible for this program. Meaning: we want millions upon millions of people to become dependent on the government.

Obama phone salary requirements:
(Exclusively for those who also depend on government programs.)




Number of
Persons
in Household
Annual
Income
Monthly
Income
1$16,335$1,361
2$22,065$1,839
3$27,795$2,316
4$33,525$2,794
5$39,255$3,271
6$44,985$3,749
7$50,715$4,226
8$56,445$4,704


Obama phones are being distributed in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.

Next, Obama phones will be distributed in: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

In order to apply for an Obama phone, people are instructed to "... fill-up (sic) the form provided, and you'll receive your cell phone with free talk time."

Once again, Americans are being fleeced by Barack Obama. Money is being stolen from our pockets to fund programs that are set up to garner votes for Obama during his re-election campaign. Why else would these phones be named Obama phones?

Conservative Action Alerts
www.ConservativeActionAlerts.com

P.S. It is imperative that we fight those whose aim is to force hard-working Americans to pay for the distribution and use of Obama phones so that the current occupant of the White House can WIN a second term. We must demand that members of Congress support H.R. 3481, the 'Stop Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act.' Make your voice heard now with your personalized fax!


Conservative Action Alerts (CAA) is a media outlet protected by the first
amendment and that support for our efforts is not tax-deductible.

*******

The most important question to ask yourself in all of this is why are the phones called "Obama phones?"

Answer:

Once again, Americans are being fleeced by Barack Obama. Money is being stolen from our pockets to fund programs that are set up to garner votes for Obama during his re-election campaign. Why else would these phones be named Obama phones?

It's all part of the class warfare that Obama intends to continue to use in his re-election bid.

I am grateful to the Conservative Action Alerts organization for alerting me to this egregious theft of taxpayer money!! Obama's relentless socialistic programs are designed for one reason - to keep him in power.

Ugh!!!

Please consider sharing this with others who, like me, were totally unaware of the "Obama phone" program.

Hat tips to all links.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

More “Free-Speech” Sleight-of-Hand From Obama Regime

With all the news coverage on Hurricane Irene, it might be easy to miss one of the more recent sleight-of-hand tactics recently employed by the Obamafraud regime.


Recall the Fairness Doctrine. One commentator over at NewsBusters said it well:


Fairness?
Submitted by ruby2ssday on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 5:01pm.

The "Fairness Doctrine" has nothing to do with fairness. It is to protect the speech of radical minorities and overpower those who promote rational debate.

It has been pushed upon the American people since way back in 1949 by the progressive loonies who thought that Americans wouldn't notice their deceitful practices. To be brief, the Fairness Doctrine was a misnomer that claimed talk radio needed to be balanced by providing the same amount of lefty progressive commentators as there are right conservative commentators. It was imposed to ensure the broadcasters gave equal time to differing political opinions.

The trouble is, when implemented, the lefty talk shows had far fewer listeners than the conservative ones anyway! Many of the failed progressive radio shows were cancelled. Therefore, demanding that "equal time to differing political opinions" be imposed made the loony lefties think that they would get the upper hand in talk radio.


The Obama gangster government tried to instill this stupid doctrine, once again, earlier in the beginning of this regime. Didn't work. Too many people were on to them and prevented the FCC from implementing it again.


Fast forward to August, 2011. It was announced by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) that the "the Fairness Doctrine is now officially dead." Sounds good, right? Not so fast! Take a look at this email letter I recently received that tells the truth of the matter:

From the Desk of:
David Martin, Executive Vice President
Media Research Center

August 25, 2011

Christine,

More “free-speech” sleight-of-hand is coming from the Obama Administration. Early this week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced they were doing away with what we have called the Censorship Doctrine - the so-called “Fairness” Doctrine. This federal doctrine, a relic from 1949, was imposed to ensure the broadcasters gave equal time to differing political opinions.

Great news, right? Not so fast . . .

According to Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell, the FCC “deserves one-handed applause” for the move. Before striking the politically volatile “Fairness Doctrine,” the FCC implemented rules of “localism,” “media diversity,” and a nebulous requirement to “serve the public interest.” All designed to empower the FCC to limit speech they don’t like.
As Brent points out, “the path to censor radio airwaves has been long paved through the back door.”

Click here to read Brent’s statement and then here to take action with the MRC.


+ + Speech isn’t free if it’s under government control

The FCC is making a big deal about the repeal of the “Fairness Doctrine, because they have put other tools in place to accomplish the same goals. Among others, these tools are “localism” and “diversity.”

Christine, under the nefarious concept of localism, unelected and unaccountable statists at the FCC could in regulate how much time broadcasters must dedicate to so-called local issues (as defined by the FCC) – in effect limiting the amount of time they can give to programming their listeners want to hear.

Under government mandated “diversity” in station ownership, a station owner could have his application to renew his license denied for no reason other than there being a lack of minority owned stations in their listening area. Across the rest of the federal government the people working as affirmative action bean counters have consistently shown that their ultra left-wing belief system takes priority over the rule of law.

Generations of American soldiers, sailors and marines didn’t die so that the First Amendment could be repealed by overpaid government employees at the FCC. These regulations do not exist for their stated purpose. They exist only a sneaky means for leftists in the permanent federal bureaucracy to control what the American people can hear.

The threats of government control and censorship are alive and well in the U.S. The free speech rights of EVERY American are threatened -- not to mention the fate of political free speech on radio airwaves!

Liberals know that silencing us will help them to advance their socialist agenda -- unchallenged and under the radar.

That’s why the MRC proactively launched our national grassroots petition to protect and preserve the free speech rights of Americans. Through this petition, Americans from all walks of life have the opportunity to answer back to the Obama Administration’s backdoor efforts to silence and suppress dissent!

Click here now and stand for free speech. [Note from Christine - SIGN THIS PETITION!]

By signing this petition, you will join with almost half a million American citizens who want their individual free speech rights defended and protected from government intrusion! Our great nation was built upon free and open discourse, and to remain a great nation this ideal must be protected and preserved at all costs.
After signing, please alert your friends -- urging them to follow your lead.



Thank you in advance for your efforts!




David

P.S: Alert your friends today. Forward this message to 25-30 friends urging them to read Brent Bozell’s statement and take action to protect and preserve our free speech right.


Well, I've done my job by signing the petition (at above link) and alerting the up to 100 visitors that come to this blog on any given day. I hope that you will pass this information along to others, too.


Let these liars know that WE WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!


Thanks,
~ Christine

Hat tips to all links.