Obama to announce $795 million in funding to expand broadband in poor, rural areas

[ConHog]

Tell that to the kid growing up poor, in crime ridden ares, and to parents who don't care about their social and academic development.

Yep, look no further than my kid's friend who is now living with us.

I will immodestly tell you that we are the only reason he even graduated high school. Neither of his parents did, he had 8 siblings none by the same 2 parents as himself. His dad is in prison for drugs, his mom is off doing whatever.

This kid had NOTHING, and no knowledge that there was anything better before he met my son when they were FR in high school. He honestly didn't know any better. He figured on dropping out of school and selling drugs like his dad when he turned 16. His mom neither knew nor cared where he was, let alone if he had done his homework or studied. He came out to the farm one day as a 14 y/o and had never even done a hard day's work. No one in his family was there to teach him how to drive, or to counsel him on not further ruining his life by getting a girl pregnant as a teenager. No family member was there to congratulate him when he actually passed all his classes for the first time in a school year, they just didn't care. They couldn't even be bothered to come to his graduation; but you know what? At the end of four years of being around us he changed , he knew that was wrong, he knows that an education is his best chance of beating the life his parents would have relegated him to.

Now what about the kids who aren't fortunate enough to meet someone who will take the time and yes spend the money to help them like we've helped this kid? Just screw them? It's their own fault for being born where they were?

That's a rare, lucky kid.

I'd slap the piss out of his mom and take all her kids from her if I could. She wouldn't let him move in with us when he was in HS because she was getting a check that would have stopped, but she damned sure didn't care if he was over eating my food and wearing clothes that I bought him every night. She's total garbage and the father and aint no better.

But the kid, he's a good sweet kid, he just didn't know any better. But once the ground rules were laid down and he adjusted to them he was fine. Now he actually IS living with us, him mom kicked him out the day he turned 18,he's chafing a little but no more than my own 18 y/o is, pretty common; but he has the foundation. Both of them are working full time jobs this summer, and both of them are attending college in the fall.

Hell, he's even talking about joining the national guard with my son. I'm truly proud of both of them.

 

[NYcarbineer]

You can eliminate the mandated 'social safety net' because you have the freedom to succeed that goes hand in hand with the freedom to fail

Nothing will ever 'fix' poverty... something entitlement junkie supporting leftists just cannot understand

Then I guess alot of Christians are getting duped by their churches who do work to help the poor. Suckers, eh?

People can overcome obstacles. It makes them stronger. If obstacles are going to prevent you from achieving, then you weren't much to begin with.

By the 'logic' of that bit of 'wisdom', we should do more to strengthen America,

by putting up even more obstacles.

oh wait...that is the conservative agenda...

hey Carbiner, this is an adult conversation, why don't you take your stupid attempts to attack Christians and conservatives back to the playground

Why don't you refute what I said. The argument here is that handouts to the poor are a bad thing.

Christian charity to the poor is exactly that.

That makes Christian charity a bad thing.

 

[NYcarbineer]

According to the always entertaining logic of the resident cons,

we should raise taxes on the poor

and use the money to fund free broadband for the rich.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I thought the saviour of wingnuttery was the new media.

I'd think you'd want more people to have more access to drudge, alex jones, infowars, and stormfront, and the rest of conservatism's internet presence...

...getting the message out to defend the old liberal media, that's your vision, isn't it?

...oh, and Sarah Palin's facebook page, let's not leave that out.

 

[boedicca]

How's that broadband going to work for the poor in rural areas once Obama has driven energy prices to the point where they are reduced to burning wood in the stove once again?

Just wonderin'.

 

[ConHog]

Then I guess alot of Christians are getting duped by their churches who do work to help the poor. Suckers, eh?

By the 'logic' of that bit of 'wisdom', we should do more to strengthen America,

by putting up even more obstacles.

oh wait...that is the conservative agenda...

hey Carbiner, this is an adult conversation, why don't you take your stupid attempts to attack Christians and conservatives back to the playground

Why don't you refute what I said. The argument here is that handouts to the poor are a bad thing.

Christian charity to the poor is exactly that.

That makes Christian charity a bad thing.

Yeah ok except

I'm conservative and FOR some government "handouts"
At least one conservative has for sure changed his mind about this program since the thread started
And another is clearly on the fence.

I guess your theory that conservatives hate charity just went out the window.

And just what exactly Christians do and don't do charity wise is a whole nother thread.

 

[NYcarbineer]

hey Carbiner, this is an adult conversation, why don't you take your stupid attempts to attack Christians and conservatives back to the playground

Why don't you refute what I said. The argument here is that handouts to the poor are a bad thing.

Christian charity to the poor is exactly that.

That makes Christian charity a bad thing.

Yeah ok except

I'm conservative and FOR some government "handouts"
At least one conservative has for sure changed his mind about this program since the thread started
And another is clearly on the fence.

I guess your theory that conservatives hate charity just went out the window.

And just what exactly Christians do and don't do charity wise is a whole nother thread.

I never said conservatives hate charity. I said exactly the opposite, genius.

 

[AllieBaba]

How's that broadband going to work for the poor in rural areas once Obama has driven energy prices to the point where they are reduced to burning wood in the stove once again?

Just wonderin'.

I'm with you.
My first response was, why does he want poor people to have internet?

So he can shut it off, of course!

 

[AllieBaba]

Which makes me think...how does he think he's going to control people with the internet?
In the beginning of Obamatime, he wanted to bail out all the newspapers...if they'd go non-profit and subsequently become government-run media outlets.

But they weren't interested, they just want to die quietly...so now he's turned his attention to the internet.

It's all about him finding ways to control media. That's all it is.

 

[Care4all]

How's that broadband going to work for the poor in rural areas once Obama has driven energy prices to the point where they are reduced to burning wood in the stove once again?

Just wonderin'.

i am not poor and neither are my neighbors and there is no dsl or cable broadband service here.

most of the poor live in urban areas....the wealthier live outside of that, which is rural up here....

so your blank statement on that is far from being accurate....

i just need the utility service available to BUY monthly....I even offed up to the phone company a thousand bucks of my own money to get me a dsl line here....they said no.....i live a mile and a half from where some dsl service is available....i live a mile and a half to the town post office....2.5 miles to mcdonals, hannaford grocery store, true value, ebs lumber, subway, dollar store, dentists, doctors etc....so we are very very very close to civilization, town center....they still will not run it this short distance for goodness sakes! just frustrating as heck!

i know it is not the country's problem...it's my personal bitch....i wish the phone company would just run fiber optics through my area so we can get dsl...true, there isn't many of us...all my neighbors own 10-250 acres each so we are few and far between....but we are only a couple of miles from where they do have it available darn it!

 

[ConHog]

How's that broadband going to work for the poor in rural areas once Obama has driven energy prices to the point where they are reduced to burning wood in the stove once again?

Just wonderin'.

i am not poor and neither are my neighbors and there is no dsl or cable broadband service here.

most of the poor live in urban areas....the wealthier live outside of that, which is rural up here....

so your blank statement on that is far from being accurate....

i just need the utility service available to BUY monthly....I even offed up to the phone company a thousand bucks of my own money to get me a dsl line here....they said no.....i live a mile and a half from where some dsl service is available....i live a mile and a half to the town post office....2.5 miles to mcdonals, hannaford grocery store, true value, ebs lumber, subway, dollar store, dentists, doctors etc....so we are very very very close to civilization, town center....they still will not run it this short distance for goodness sakes! just frustrating as heck!

i know it is not the country's problem...it's my personal bitch....i wish the phone company would just run fiber optics through my area so we can get dsl...true, there isn't many of us...all my neighbors own 10-250 acres each so we are few and far between....but we are only a couple of miles from where they do have it available darn it!

Something doesn't add up. How far are you from the nearest telephone exchange?

 

[Ravi]

I think a few of you are missing the point. Not only will this be a benefit to rural communities in the long term, in the short term it will allow people to keep their jobs or even allow a few companies to hire back some that have been layed off. This money will pay for people to BUILD the infrastructue. A win/win.

It's hard to understand how an actual conservative could be against this.

 

[Gadawg73]

this isn't about 'not' having it, this is about faster internet....if they have telephone lines, they can get internet

If they have a fireplace they can get heat.

great, so obama should be in top the line fireplaces in all their homes, afterall....those who are rich have them

No, the fireplace reference is what they said in the 30s in opposing the electric subsidies.

 

[Political Junky]

Applause For Finland: First Country To Make Broadband Access A Legal Right

Starting July 2010, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection as an intermediate step, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications. By the end of 2015, the legal right will be extended to an impressive 100 Mb broadband connection for everyone.

 

[steeliniraq]

I wonder how many winter coats for children in those poor rural areas 800 million will buy?
Do you think those children prefer winter coats or faster internet?

No shortage of winder coats for poor rural kids in this neck of the woods, amigo.

In fact, a friend of mine is storing scores of them that were collected for poor kids.

They're being stored because they cannot find anybody who wants them.

Meanwhile kids herabouts who live less than a mile off US route one don't have access to broadband internet service.


So I think making broadband internet ubiquitous in the USA is a damned good investment.

So let me get this right. These poor kids dont want free coats because...they arent great big name coats is my guess. They also want fast internet access. Hmmmm answer me this...how the f*(& do they get on that internet without a computer? Oh i know they have computers but here is my issue. Are internet, computers and brand named coats needs in life? Most Americans don't mind paying taxes and that money going to help poor people that need food, shelter, and clothing but I have a major issue with paying for people to have computers and internet and coat that i can't even afford. This is exactly why Americans hate the social programs.

 

[edthecynic]

I think a few of you are missing the point. Not only will this be a benefit to rural communities in the long term, in the short term it will allow people to keep their jobs or even allow a few companies to hire back some that have been layed off. This money will pay for people to BUILD the infrastructue. A win/win.

It's hard to understand how an actual conservative could be against this.

It's because Obama is doing it. The America-hating CON$ervoFascist cabal does not want anything good for America to happen until they can seize control. Until that happens CON$ want Americans to SUFFER. CON$ want unemployment to rise to Reagan levels, they want the Bush Depression to be prolonged, and they want terrorist attacks (plural) worse than Bush's 9/11.

 

[DiamondDave]

I agree you will never fix poverty and that there will always be winners and losers in life. But I'm glad we live in a society that provides a net to help if you do fail, or are unlucky, or unhealthy and doesn't just say "fuck 'em."

And I support those who voluntarily give and help others... what I am against is a system of government growing larger and larger and thinks it has the job of doing this, and people who think they are OWED something because they are on hard time or they have failed or they are 'unhealthy' or they are simply fucking lazy

We the people created that system. A sizable majority of the nation supports the programs you rail against. If you don't believe me, run for Congress on what you would consider your platform. See how far that gets you. Your beef with the people who feel like they are "owed" something is a beef with a minority. They are the yin to your "I gots mine" yang. Both sides of that coin are extreme and both sides are wrong.

An ever growing government created that 'system' against original intent.... A sizable majority of people wanting something at the expense of others... and a number of people who like to be labeled as generous, except only with the monies of others and not their own supports those government handout programs and the notion of the government should be providing for personal wants

As for me running... maybe in the future I will.... kind of busy with career and kids at this point

And while you may consider a return to personal responsibility and the cutting of long government tendrils "extreme"... the only one that should be considered wrong is the side of the coin that believes government exists to give your personal wants and alleged 'needs'

And as I told you before.. it is not an "I gots mine" thing.. .it is an I EARNED mine thing, and I VOLUNTARILY give to causes I wish to support thing, and a you need to earn your own now thing

 

[daveman]

When FDR wanted to run electricity to folks in the 30s they fought that also.
How dare folks want electricity just because others had it?

And that makes it the government's responsibility HOW?

The government is not in existence just to fulfill your wants at the expense of someone else

Some people will simply be incapable of understanding this idea.

 

[daveman]

Great. This will result in more mindless red staters jamming up the internet with their inane chatter.

Good Gaea's pancreas, but you sure are afraid of different ideas.

 

[daveman]

People complain that we're losing our place as the #1 superpower in the world. Well now that we are trying to dramatically upgrade our technological infrastructure, people here complain....and it's ONLY because it's being done under Obamas watch. I guarantee if it was under a republican all of you complaining would be saying that this is LONG overdue and what took so long.

Your guarantee is meaningless. If the economy was in as bad a shape as it is now, yes, I would be complaining.

If you think it's such a good idea, you spend your money on it. Oh, that's right...liberals are only generous with other people's money.