Thursday, February 9, 2012
Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, February 9, 2012
Hiya gang!
Great day today... new personal record at the gym... burnt 600 calories in 42 minutes; resistance settings 14-16-18 on both the upright bike and the low bike!
To celebrate... let's return to newsbite theme songs of the day!
Today's...
(Great song, huh?!)
So, anyway... I'm sitting next to one of the library staff who was bitch'n and moan'n about "free" cell phones going to the "poor." Apparently she'd just heard about this federal program - though the program actually advertises on the radio here in the NY tri-state region!
(*LAUGHING TO MYSELF*)
So you know me... I couldn't resist... I inserted myself into the conversation.
As the woman was bitch'n and moan'n about Obama I threw out the following:
"VIOLENCE IS THE ONLY ANSWER."
I said it calmly.
This woman did a double-take. She looked at me as if I were kidding. She smiled and said, "No, violence isn't the answer," in a tone suggesting she expected me to smile back and say something along the lines of, "no... you're right... I was just kidding."
(*SMIRK*) (*SNORT*)
Instead I asked her, "Ever hear of the American Revolution?"
Silence...
I then added, "Ever hear of the American Civil War... the War Between the States... the War of Secession?"
I of course could have gone on to give this woman (no doubt college educated) a lecture on American history and Constitutional theory, but...
(*SMILE*)
Instead I just smiled at her and asked, "Not a big fan of General George Washington and his merry band of violent revolutionary traitors, huh?"
(*CHUCKLE*)
That one just left her mumbling to herself...
(*GRINNING FROM EAR TO EAR*)
Anyway... on to newsbiting!
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2 comments:
http://news.yahoo.com/washington-footing-cell-phone-bill-millions-low-income-202500656.html
Last year, a federal program paid out $1.6 billion to cover free cell phones and the monthly bills of 12.5 million wireless accounts.
* APPARENTLY THIS WAS THE STORY THAT CAUGHT MY FRIEND'S EYE... (*GRIN*)
[P]articipation [has been] rising steeply since 2008, when the government paid $772 million for phones and monthly bills.
(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
* HEY... WASN'T GEORGE W. (THE IDIOT) BUSH PRESIDENT ALL THROUGHOUT 2008?
(*SMIRK*)
[O]bservers complain that the program suffers from poor oversight, in which phones go to people who don't qualify, and hundreds of thousands of those who do qualify have more than one phone.
The Lifeline program provides low-income Americans with free cell phones (basic ones such as those made by Tracfone, not smartphones) and covers up to 250 free minutes each month. As many as 5.5 million residents in Pennsylvania alone could qualify for the program, which is funded primarily by the Universal Service Fund fee added to the bills of land-line and wireless customers.
* UP TO 250 FREE MINUTES... (*HEADACHE*)
The program came to be after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed, and the FCC created the Universal Service Fund to help "to promote the availability of quality services at just, reasonable, and affordable rates," among other things. All telecommunications carriers must pay into the fund, and many do so by tacking on a fee to each of their customers' bills. It's probably added into your monthly wireless bill and your landline bill, if you still have one.
* HMM... 1996... DIDN'T REPUBLICANS CONTROL BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS IN 1996...???
Americans who receive food stamps, Medicaid, or other federal aid, or who earn up to 135% of the federal poverty guidelines, qualify for the program.
* HOW'BOUT ILLEGAL ALIENS? DO THEY GET FREE CELL PHONES TOO? (WOULDN'T WANNA "DISCRIMINATE," RIGHT?!)
[A]n FCC audit of the program last year showed that many participants in the program were taking more than their fair share. According to Businessweek: 269,000 wireless Lifeline subscribers were receiving free phones and monthly service from two or more carriers.
(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
* FOLKS... WE ARE SO FUCKED...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POSTAL_PROBLEMS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-09-09-40-07
Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service's loss in the fourth quarter ballooned to $3.3 billion...
(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
From October through December 2011, losses were $3 billion more than the same period a year ago, even though that quarter is typically the strongest due to increased holiday shipping.
(*MORE SARCASTIC CLAPPING*)
The mail agency said that at this rate, it will run out of money by October.
(*SARCASTIC CHEERING THROWN IN*)
The agency forecasts a record $14.1 billion loss by the end of this year.
* OUT-FUCKING-STANDING!
Last year, postal losses totaled $5.1 billion.
(*SARCASTIC DOUBLE THUMBS UP*)
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