Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ... Obamaphooooone!

[DiscoBerry]

Yup, an old favorite has returned. 

Before the so-called sequestration budget cuts began taking effect March 1, 2013, U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman had some alternative suggestions for the president.

On Feb. 22, he tweeted about one program he has suggested trimming: "Obama claims a small cut to federal means losing local police and firefighters, but he's spending $2.2 billion to give away ‘ObamaPhones.’ "

As far back as 2009, PolitiFact has checked claims about President Barack Obama handing out free cell phones. We decided to see how this statement compared.

http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2013/mar/15/steve-stockman/steve-stockman-says-president-spending-22-billion-/

[nickiknack]

Did it ever go away??

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Both factually inaccurate AND racist. Yup, it's a GOP talking point alright.

[Dakota Bob]

To be fair to the Republicans, they COULD have did a google search to check the validity of their talking point, but reading is hard.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

To be fair to the Republicans, they COULD have did a google search to check the validity of their talking point, but reading is hard.

[MadCatTLX]

There are programs out there that help people get cheap phones. You know why that's done? Because you need a phone to get a job. The person hiring you needs somewhere to call to tell you you're hired. I said this to a "friend" once and he said "I don't care, I don't want to pay for peoples' phones!" I responded, "Well then how are they going to get a job and be able to support themselves?" His answer was, " I don't care, it's not my problem."

This drives me up the fucking wall. You bitch about people being on unemployment, but then you bitch when we try to help them get a job. What the fucking hell do want these people to do? Die? Oh, right, that is what you want because all those poor people are "just a bunch of stupid niggers" or some shit like that.

People also bitch even when a homeless guy has a phone he paid for himself. "He shouldn't spend what money he has on a Blackberry" Do you realize how much older blackberries, original Iphones, and other older phones are worth? Not jack shit. Even when the function perfectly they aren't worth anything. There are also those prepaid phones you can buy just about anywhere.

I swear most people around here have no fucking functional brain cell in their damn head. You know what gets me the most? Most of the people I know throwing a shit fit about people on unemployment or welfare are on food stamps themselves. "Well I actually need it, all those other people are just lazy." Then there's the guy that said we Should punish the poor so they won't want to be lazy and poor anymore.

[Itachirumon]

On one hand I'm pissed off about what you're sayin' MadCat, on the other hand part of me wants to say the people around you don't count because where you live they....they aren't actually people They're just angry homunculi trying to pass off as people and failing...and I think they all suffer from erectile dysfunction.

But seriously, the lack of sympathy amongst folks like that makes me wish I had the authority to hide evidence of the crime and the physical power to literally make them bite the curb or something - make their stupidity actually physically painful for them. Especially infuriating because most of them try to pass themselves off as good Christians. I guess Objectivist Jesus strikes again.

[MadCatTLX]

Especially infuriating because most of them try to pass themselves off as good Christians.

Not to derail a topic but I recently overheard a discussion between to people that confirmed for me that people just go to the area church camp to hook-up and fuck. Seriously, that's the biggest reason I've heard from people for going.

[Dynamic Dragon]

Especially infuriating because most of them try to pass themselves off as good Christians.

Not to derail a topic but I recently overheard a discussion between to people that confirmed for me that people just go to the area church camp to hook-up and fuck. Seriously, that's the biggest reason I've heard from people for going.

Sounds like the premise of a Jay Naylor pornfolio.

As for the assholes who claim to be good Christians but let the poor suffer, I'm thinking there's a special place in hell for them.

[Cataclysm]

Wasn't it Bush who started the cell phone program or whatever?

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Wasn't it Bush who started the cell phone program or whatever?

The phone program started under Reagan and was expanded under both Clinton and Bush.

[nickiknack]

Wasn't it Bush who started the cell phone program or whatever?

They started the stuff with cell phones started under W in 2008. But it can be traced back to what happen under Reagan in 1984, but we all know that the right wing loves to latch onto any meme that makes low income folks look like the boogyman.

There are programs out there that help people get cheap phones. You know why that's done? Because you need a phone to get a job. The person hiring you needs somewhere to call to tell you you're hired. I said this to a "friend" once and he said "I don't care, I don't want to pay for peoples' phones!" I responded, "Well then how are they going to get a job and be able to support themselves?" His answer was, " I don't care, it's not my problem."

This drives me up the fucking wall. You bitch about people being on unemployment, but then you bitch when we try to help them get a job. What the fucking hell do want these people to do? Die? Oh, right, that is what you want because all those poor people are "just a bunch of stupid niggers" or some shit like that.

People also bitch even when a homeless guy has a phone he paid for himself. "He shouldn't spend what money he has on a Blackberry" Do you realize how much older blackberries, original Iphones, and other older phones are worth? Not jack shit. Even when the function perfectly they aren't worth anything. There are also those prepaid phones you can buy just about anywhere.

I swear most people around here have no fucking functional brain cell in their damn head. You know what gets me the most? Most of the people I know throwing a shit fit about people on unemployment or welfare are on food stamps themselves. "Well I actually need it, all those other people are just lazy." Then there's the guy that said we Should punish the poor so they won't want to be lazy and poor anymore.

This is why it's hilarious when these people say that they're for a hand up and not a hand out. Here's a question, Einstein, how are people supposed to be contacted that they got the job,  or be called in for an interview if they don't have a phone?? One can't simply walk into a store and get hired on the spot nowadays, it no longer works that way folks, and snail mail takes days for someone to be reached, and it sucks if the interview was day before you got the fucking letter.

[Radiation]

Wasn't it Bush who started the cell phone program or whatever?

They started the stuff with cell phones started under W in 2008. But it can be traced back to what happen under Reagan in 1984, but we all know that the right wing loves to latch onto any meme that makes low income folks look like the boogyman.

There are programs out there that help people get cheap phones. You know why that's done? Because you need a phone to get a job. The person hiring you needs somewhere to call to tell you you're hired. I said this to a "friend" once and he said "I don't care, I don't want to pay for peoples' phones!" I responded, "Well then how are they going to get a job and be able to support themselves?" His answer was, " I don't care, it's not my problem."

This drives me up the fucking wall. You bitch about people being on unemployment, but then you bitch when we try to help them get a job. What the fucking hell do want these people to do? Die? Oh, right, that is what you want because all those poor people are "just a bunch of stupid niggers" or some shit like that.

People also bitch even when a homeless guy has a phone he paid for himself. "He shouldn't spend what money he has on a Blackberry" Do you realize how much older blackberries, original Iphones, and other older phones are worth? Not jack shit. Even when the function perfectly they aren't worth anything. There are also those prepaid phones you can buy just about anywhere.

I swear most people around here have no fucking functional brain cell in their damn head. You know what gets me the most? Most of the people I know throwing a shit fit about people on unemployment or welfare are on food stamps themselves. "Well I actually need it, all those other people are just lazy." Then there's the guy that said we Should punish the poor so they won't want to be lazy and poor anymore.

This is why it's hilarious when these people say that they're for a hand up and not a hand out. Here's a question, Einstein, how are people supposed to be contacted that they got the job,  or be called in for an interview if they don't have a phone?? One can't simply walk into a store and get hired on the spot nowadays, it no longer works that way folks, and snail mail takes days for someone to be reached, and it sucks if the interview was day before you got the fucking letter.

This is so much true, my sister lives off government programs and doesn't have a computer and the Internet because she really can't afford it. So now that most government programs such as the Dept. of Human Resources is moving away from "snail mail" and requiring that changes in income, requesting for emergency money for utilities, etc be done completely over the Internet, it has been hard for her and she has to come to my apartment to use my computer and Internet connection to do her business with them. Similarly, her boyfriend has to look and apply for jobs on the Internet as well as most places and companies require that applications be done electronically. Also, my sister has at least 3 Obamaphones, one of which was mine that I had planned to use in case my regular phone got cut off because of missed payments, and she also has a prepaid smart phone. She is constantly running out of minutes and it is a pain in the ass to try to get a hold of her when needed.

Land lines are becoming obsolete and cell phones have grown and expanded in the last ten years that most people don't have land lines as having both a land line and a cell phone is costly so most people choose cells over land lines because of their mobility. If poor people are trying to get a job, deal with government programs, etc they need to have some sort of means of communication and cell phones are the best option.

[Captain Jack Harkness]

Radiation:  Traditional land lines may be going away, but VoIP has managed to step up.  You can get a traditional phone number, but it uses the Internet as a backbone, which makes it cheap.