Now It’s The Free Government Internet Scam

You work hard, pay your bills on time, try to raise your kids to know right from wrong, and if you’re lucky you can even stash a few bucks in the bank every month.

What the hell is wrong with you? This is not the way to get ahead in the America of 2012.

Remember that free government cell phones scam we wrote about last year? Well, it turns out people loved that freebie so much, the Federal Communications Commission has now approved cheap internet for the downtrodden, the deadbeats and the drug dealers.

Please allow us to repeat that in case you have been stricken catatonic by the mere thought of another government freebie:

The FCC just approved an extension of the free government cell phone program that will offers cheap, high-speed broadband internet service to the downtrodden, the deadbeats and the drug dealers.

Yes, the same high speed broadband for which you have to pay $49 or $69 or more per month, is now being offered to society’s losers for just $9.95 per month.

The curse of the FCC: Internet Basics and Internet Essentials

Be happy -– very happy –- if you never need to get the approval of the Federal Communications Commission.

Comcast, a company better known for its cable TV business, is entering the cheap internet fray with a program called Internet Essentials. CenturyLink, one of the nation’s largest phone companies, it offering its version of cheap broadband and calling it Internet Basics.

But whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of assuming that either company wanted to give away internet access for almost nothing. No, they were both strong-armed into the cheap internet business by the Federal Communications Commission.

When Comcast wanted to acquire NBC and when CenturyLink wanted to acquire Qwest, the FCC said no-go unless you agree to “increase broadband deployment in low income households.”

In other words, we’re going to hold up two reasonable corporate acquisitions that will benefit all four companies’ customers unless you agree to governmental blackmail.

So what, exactly, did they agree to give away?

Both programs offer high-speed Internet for just $9.95 a month plus a personal computer for just $150. (Yes, a mere $150 for something suckers like us pay much more for.) The programs also offer free or nearly free computer instruction classes and tech support.

Holy freakin’ moly. These are your tax dollars.

Coming soon: Connect to Compete and Lifeline Internet

Ahhh, you’re probably thinking, those are two unique situations that will only apply to a few people. Wrong. This is the government we’re talking about.

Other companies have seen the writing on the wall and have begun their own programs before the FCC forces them to participate.

One program, Connect To Compete, is a combination of private companies and non-profit organizations such as Cablevision, Charter, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, Bend Cable, Bright House Networks, Eagle Communications, GCI, Insight, Mediacom, Midcontinent, Sjoberg’s Cable and Suddenlink.

And on the last day of January, 2012, the FCC extended its controlling tentacles just a little further by introducing a new program called Lifeline Internet that will offer deeply discounted internet service. It’s the evil offspring of the Lifeline free government cell phone program and will supposedly be funded by savings that result from an FCC crackdown on fraud in the cell phone program.

We’ve tried to remember a case of the government saving money by finding and prosecuting fraud in one of its bloated programs, but our memories fail.

Lord, give us strength.

All these government-mandated cheap and free internet services are similar. They each offer similar cheap high-speed broadband internet service for just $9.95 per month, ultra-cheap home computers, classes, the whole shebang.

And to no one’s surprise, you don’t qualify. Forget it. These programs were not designed for responsible, hard-working people.

What does it take to qualify for these freebies?

If you’re downtrodden, a deadbeat or a drug dealer, qualifying is a piece of cake.

You are eligible for Comcast’s Internet Essentials and Connect To Compete if you (1) have at least one student enrolled in the Free School Lunch Program; (2) if you’re not a current
 subscriber to broadband (or have subscribed in the last 90 days); and (3) if you don’t have an overdue bill or if you’re not holding on to any unreturned equipment that belongs to the participating service provider.

You’ll be eligible for CenturyLink’s Internet Basics and Lifeline Internet if you also participate in other government giveaways (such as food stamps (SNAP), public housing assistance, Medicaid, Section 8 housing, Supplemental Security Income, various Home Energy Assistance Programs, National School Lunch and other programs.

In most states you can also qualify if your household income is no more than 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. (It’s 150% in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas.)

Bend over and relax. This won’t hurt a bit

There’s no doubt in our mind that the bureaucrats will soon say it’s unfair to charge the poor for Internet service. “IT MUST BE FREE!”

You know it’s coming. We know it’s coming. Anyone with half a brain knows it’s coming.

We can hear the plaintive bleating of the government sheep now, “It’s not fair that we give them free government cell phones, but expect them to pay for cheap Internet service. It should all be free.”

Free to them, that is. Not so free for you because you’re not only paying for your own internet access, you’re paying for their’s.

Overcriminalized

Overcriminalized.com is a fascinating and terrifying project from The Heritage Foundation.

The Heritage Foundation is an extremely conservative think tank.  These are not the kind of people you would normally expect to be complaining about “too much law and order.”

And yet that is exactly the purpose of Overcriminalized.com.  The web site documents a frightening array of Americans from all walks of life who have been prosecuted and convicted of crimes that almost no one knows are crimes — and that should not be crimes.

A few minutes spent reading the Case Studies section of the web site will go a long way towards preventing a good nights sleep.As Montesquieu wrote in 1748, “Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.”  There are so many laws now in the United States that the vast majority of American citizens are federal criminals.   This causes a general lack of respect for the law, because no man can truly respect a system which calls him a criminal for acts which are not morally wrong.

I do not believe this current situation to be accidental.  In 1957, Ayn Rand wrote “There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”  In this, as in so many things, Rand appears to to have been born before her time.  In the United States today, there are so many federal laws that it is effectively impossible for a citizen to avoid breaking them — unless that citizen sits down and refuses to do anything except what the government tells him (or her) to do.

This is not the philosophy of independence and self-reliance upon which the united States was founded.  This is an essentially communist philosophy which believes “everything which is not specifically allowed is forbidden.”

We Americans have lost control of our government.  If we don’t take it back now, we may have to take it back from inside our prison cells.

Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party

Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, a special publication from The Epoch Times, offers an insightful glimpse into the usually secret world of Chinese politics. The topics of the nine commentaries are:

1. On What the Communist Party Is
2. On the Beginnings of the Chinese Communist Party
3. On the Tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party
4. On How the Communist Party Is an Anti-Universe Force
5. On the Collusion of Jiang Zemin with the CCP to Persecute Falun Gong
6. On How the Chinese Communist Party Destroyed Traditional Culture
7. On the Chinese Communist Party’s History of Killing
8. On How the Chinese Communist Party Is an Evil Cult
9. On the Unscrupulous Nature of the Chinese Communist Party

The site publishes a running total of Chinese citizens who have submitted statements withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party or its affiliated organizations. At the time of this writing, the number is 109,569,665 — more than one hundred million individuals. That is a fairly impressive number considering the penalties for opposing the totalitarian Chinese regime can include imprisonment and death.

Wu Yalin, a Chinese activist for freedom, has already been sentenced to three years hard labor for spreading the Nine Commentaries.

Under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, 60 to 80 million innocent Chinese people have been killed. It appears that at least some of the citizens of China are ready for a change.

Panama’s Gun Laws

The Pinkerton Intelligence Agency has given Panama has the highest rating for tourist safety. After having visited four countries in the area (Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama), I can tell you from personal experience that Panama is by far the safest country in the region.

Private firearms ownership is the reason that Panamanians enjoy this level of safety and security.

Panama does not have ridiculous laws against carrying a weapon concealed. In fact, if you can legally purchase a firearm in Panama, you are also legally allowed to carry it concealed.

Panama also does not have crazy laws to prevent honest citizens from receiving permits to buy firearms. You are required to give a blood sample with a finger prick. This is used for DNA fingerprinting. You will also be asked to pee in a cup to show that you are drug-free. Applicants are then checked by the police department. This isn’t quick; nothing in Panama is quick.

For American pensionados (retirees) and other immigrants to Panama, the process is the same. Yes, you can retire to a tropical paradise and sip rum drinks on the beach, all the while knowing that your family and your property is protected.

Short barreled rifles and shotguns are legal in Panama. Silencer are not legal. Fully-automatic weapons are also not legal.

For more information on firearm ownership in Panama, read Panama Gun Laws.

For more information about retiring to Panama, visit Expat Panama.

The Skeptic’s Annotated Qua’ran

I was looking for a Sura I remembered and Google introduced me to The Skeptic’s Annotated Qua’ran.

The site displays each sura of the Qua’ran, along with analytical study notes giving a plain-English analysis of important verses.

Verses are also marked with a useful legend highlighting specific attributes:

Injustice
Intolerance
Cruelty and Violence
Absurdities
Good Stuff
Women
Contradictions
Sex
Interpretations
Science and History
Family Values
Language
Homosexuality

For example, Sura 9:29:

9:29 Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.

Fight against Christians and Jews “until they pay the tribute (the Dhimmi) readily, being brought low.”

This web site also features The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible and The Skeptic’s Annotated Book of Mormon, so be ready for some equal-opportunity analysis.

I strongly encourage every American to read the Qua’ran.  Only by reading this book can we truly understand why modern day Muslims are murdering innocents across the globe.

Suicide is a Human Right

In most the United States, it is a crime to kill yourself. This is a gross encroachment of government into individual rights.

As John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, “The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant.” Thomas Jefferson echoed Mill when he wrote “Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others.”

Thirty thousand Americans successfully end their own lives every year. Three out of four of these Americans are men. The highest suicide rates are in men over 60 years of age.

These are not people who do not know what they are doing. These are not confused people who need government to tell them what to do. These are people who have made a conscious decision that they are done with life and it is their time to go. This is their choice and this is their right.

It’s time that we pushed the government out of our lives, and out of our deaths.  The only thing a man can really own in this world is himself, and it’s time that we once again accept that we — not the government — own our own destinies.