9-29-12 Hodgepodge

Where Do "Obama Phones" Come From?

This is a question that few of his supporters will concern themselves with -- nor will many of them they wonder why we don't all have everything we need by now. But I digress...

In case anyone else wondered how Barack Obama can afford to bestow phones on a chosen few vocal supporters, the answer isn't that he bought them himself or used campaign donations to do so.

The program is called Lifeline, established in 1984, originally created to subsidize landline phone service for low income Americans, funded by government-collected telecommunication fees, paid by consumers.

"Government-collected", by the way, is a euphemism for "stolen" in this case.

The rest of the article goes on to explain that the cost of this program skyrocketed once cell phones were included. A conservative congressman has even produced a video about the escalating costs of the program, but so what? The costs are indeed bothersome, but this immoral, rights-violating program should be abolished, and not merely reduced in size.

It's not the costs that are the real problem. The real problem is that nobody bats an eye about the government stealing money from random individuals -- in this case, through small add-ons to telecommunications bills. The excuse that people need phones -- or anything else -- does not make any theft, no matter how small, any less wrong.

Weekend Reading

"[P]erhaps this little bit of insight can help reduce the captive listeners' exasperation by reminding us that, beneath the fragile veneer of 'knowing it all,' they actually feel like they don't know very much at all." -- Michael Hurd, in "Are You a Captive Listener?" at DrHurd.com

"This was a disgusting act by the Obama regime, trying to show Muslims it would arrest and harass Americans who mock Mohammad - while the truly consistent Muslim leaders pledged to murder them." -- Richard Salsman, in "Obama's U.N. Talk Bolsters the U.N.'s Assault on Free Speech" at Forbes

"The cycle is clear. Islamists attack, expecting a non-response. We, unable or unwilling to tackle the issue of religion, submit, conciliate, appease--inviting them to ramp up their aggression." -- Elan Journo, in "Our Self-Crippled Policy Encouraged the Deadly Embassy Attacks" at Fox News

My Two Cents

The Salsman piece is a must-read for anyone concerned about Barack Obama's appeasement of Moslems or refusal to defend freedom of speech. I fit both categories and I was still amazed at just how bad he is on each count. Read the whole thing.

Whom Obama Appeases

An Iranian news agency has apparently reprinted a farcial piece from The Onion word-for-word as news.

The article cited a fake poll which found 77% of white, rural workers would rather go to a baseball game or have a beer with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known for his tirades against the West, than with Mr Obama.

This is funny on one level and exasperating on another.

--CAV