{"id":16607,"date":"2012-02-09T18:11:53","date_gmt":"2012-02-09T18:11:53","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2012-02-09T18:11:53","modified_gmt":"2012-02-09T18:11:53","slug":"obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama Gives Out Free Cell Phones"},"content":{"rendered":"

RUSH: TIME Magazine: “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. The program, overseen by the FCC and intended to help low-income Americans, is popular for obvious reasons, with participation rising steeply since 2008, when the government paid $772 million for phones and monthly bills.” Can I give you the numbers here again? In 2008, the federal government paid $772 million for phones and monthly bills. Since 2008, since Obama, $772 million has become $1.6 billion. It\u2019s more than doubled. <\/p>\n

“But observers complain that the program suffers from poor oversight, in which phones go to people who don\u00c2\u2019t qualify, and hundreds of thousands of those who do qualify have more than one phone. Last summer, a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review story shed some light on a government program that relatively few Americans knew existed. The Lifeline program provides low-income Americans with free cell phones.” They\u2019re not smart phones at least, but that\u2019s probably coming. “It 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.”<\/line><\/p>\n

So all of us are paying $1.6 billion in our phone bills to cover free phones and accounts for 12.5 million people. (interruption) Well, I guess you could probably apply to get you a government phone with your government mortgage payout. Yeah, you should go for it. You don\u2019t even have to be underwater. You can apply. Some of these people have more than two phones, more than two accounts. That\u2019s the thing. Obama\u2019s stash. What else is in there? <\/p>\n

What else is gonna be made available to people before November of this year? What other goodies are people going to be able to have just for asking or just for being an American or just for being one of the 99%? Or just for being screwed by the rest of the country, just for being screwed by this unfair Constitution and Declaration of Independence. This is how we\u2019re gonna make it up to you for all of the rotten treatment you\u2019ve had since this country was founded, $1.6 billion, free cell phones and the monthly bills, one and a half million wireless accounts, that\u2019s up from $772 million. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: This free cell phone and minutes program, it\u2019s called SafeLink. This is the program I just told you about, $1.6 billion totally from taxpayers and your phone bills, to pay for 12.5 million Americans to have free cell phones and free cell usage of 250 minutes a month. And this, for those of you watching on the Dittocam, is one of the advertising techniques. You can find this in websites. They buy space in magazines and so forth, and this is one of the many ways in which you can apply. From the SafeLink website: “How to qualify: If you already participate in other state or federal assistance programs such as federal public housing,” you\u2019re qualified.<\/p>\n

<\/a>“If your total household income is at or below 135% of the poverty guidelines set by your state and\/or the federal government…” Sounds to me like they\u2019re trying to “trick” poor people into getting free phones here, just like they “tricked” people into getting mortgages.<\/a> This is a trick! They\u2019re tricking people into getting free phones. “And if you refer a friend to the program…” They are advertising this, and they are trying to expand this! You know, the point of government assistance ought to be to remove people from it. But with the Democrat Party and Obama, the objective is to increase the number of people, and they use you.<\/p>\n

Not you, obviously, but they use other people who are dependent to recruit others. In the cell phone program, “You can get an additional free 100 minutes if you recommend a friend.” That\u2019s right. It says plain as day here: “Pay nothing!” exclamation point. “No bills, no contracts, no credit checks, no hidden fees. Don\u2019t worry, you can\u2019t go over your free minutes. You can purchase more if you need them, and you can get a hundred free minutes by recommending a friend to the program.” They\u2019ve spent $1.6 billion, up $772 million since 2008. SafeLink is one of these free Lifeline providers (they\u2019re the biggest, in fact) and, if you get food stamps, you can get a free cell phone. If you get food stamps — and what is it, 48, 49 million Americans are on food stamps?<\/p>\n

This is the “food stamp president,” as Newt properly says. You qualify for a free cell phone. “That\u2019s right, 100 SafeLink bonus minutes will be sent to your phone on your next monthly delivery for each friend who gets qualified for SafeLink services. Your friends who get qualified for Lifeline services receive 30 bonus minutes on their monthly delivery, too.” I got a note during the break: “Oh, yeah, Rush. This program, you\u2019re acting like you just now heard of it.” I did just now hear about it! I heard about it in TIME Magazine. “Oh, Rush, this program\u2019s been around forever. In fact, the people that have these phones call \u2019em ‘Obama phones.'”<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not surprised. They call them Obama phones. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: TIME Magazine: “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. The program, overseen by the FCC and intended to help low-income Americans, is popular for obvious reasons, with participation rising steeply since 2008, when the government paid $772 million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nObama Gives Out Free Cell Phones - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Obama Gives Out Free Cell Phones - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: TIME Magazine: “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. The program, overseen by the FCC and intended to help low-income Americans, is popular for obvious reasons, with participation rising steeply since 2008, when the government paid $772 million […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/ObamaCellPhones.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GeorgePrayias\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/ObamaCellPhones.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/ObamaCellPhones.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/\",\"name\":\"Obama Gives Out Free Cell Phones - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-09T18:11:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-02-09T18:11:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Obama Gives Out Free Cell Phones\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4\",\"name\":\"GeorgePrayias\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GeorgePrayias\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/GeorgePrayias\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Obama Gives Out Free Cell Phones - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"Obama Gives Out Free Cell Phones - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: TIME Magazine: “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. The program, overseen by the FCC and intended to help low-income Americans, is popular for obvious reasons, with participation rising steeply since 2008, when the government paid $772 million […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/ObamaCellPhones.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GeorgePrayias","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/ObamaCellPhones.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/ObamaCellPhones.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/","name":"Obama Gives Out Free Cell Phones - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2012-02-09T18:11:53+00:00","dateModified":"2012-02-09T18:11:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2012\/02\/09\/obama_gives_out_free_cell_phones\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Obama Gives Out Free Cell Phones"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4","name":"GeorgePrayias","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GeorgePrayias"},"url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/GeorgePrayias\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16607"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}