Obama Wastes Stimulus Funds on Poor Western Massachusetts Minorities Already Served by USF, FCC

When I look at the items called the Universal Service Fund (USF) on my Comcast (CMCSA) and Verizon (VZ) Internet Service Provider (ISP) bills as they relate to President Obama spending $45 million to bring broadband to Western Massachusetts with so-called Stimulus funds as they relate to the FCC proposal to increase taxes to bring free broadband and Internet access to the the poor dispossessed minorities throughout the United States, I am reminded of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave everyone their own telephone and free monthly fee during the Great Depression (doing away with the party line).  And how Eisennhower gave everyone a free car during the 1950s' recession to use on his new interstate highway system (which was funded by gas taxes that served the same purpose as the USF).

Combining the use of my money and my money and my money in these three creative ways that meld into one massive screwing is political-class ingenuity taken to a new level. Clearly this is the proven way (look to Ike and FDR) to get the poor dispossessed people of Western Massachusetts back to work. As Joe Biden would say now that his 'sainted mom' can't hear his potty mouth (and who probably got the same deal for the depressed chicken farms of Delaware south of the chemical plants), this is a big freakin' deal. 

In case you don't know much about Western Massachusetts, it is made up of bears and moose, a big defunct GE plastics plant that you taxpayers in Nebraska are paying to clean up (Thanks! And thanks, Nebraska, for the Big Dig!), the state land-grant university, a gazillion-gallon resevoir that buried a dozen towns so as to supply water to Boston, a corrupt city run by Congressman Neal, 100,000 summer people from New York City, and about a million acres jointly owned by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Bill Cosby. That's it.  Half the people own satellite dishes (if not their own satellites -- which is how the Springfield drug lords stay in touch with the home office) for their Internet access and the other half don't want access.

And what about us poor people down here on Cape Cod, Massachusetts where our fishing industry has been decimated by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (no one in the country is eating fish on the false assumption that it all comes from Louisiana) and our tourist industry has been decimated by the Bush Recession.  We need high-speed broadband access too.   

Really, is there no idea too stupid for Obama and his goos goos?

-- Dennis Byron

(no financial interest in companies  mentioned)

Comments

[John Smith]

The following comment from the "John Smith" proves my point about Western Massachusetts:

"Wow your a moron and cleary know nothing about western mass."

Clearly a part of the half of the Western Mass. minority population that sits around watching tractor pulls sucked in via his satelitte dish.

Can't see spending more on putting the Internet into Western Mass than we spent on putting it in Afghanistan (see http://byrondennis.typepad.com/it_investment_research/2010/07/obamas-western-mass-broadband-123-project-more-expensive-than-afghanistanis.html) helping John much.

But thanks for spending all that think time on your comment, "John."

Dennis

[John Smith]

Actually I believe he is referring to your comments coming off racist and belittling to the many successful and distinguished citizens of western mass. Yes Springfield has its issues but western mass includes the towns of Amherst, Hadley, South Hadley etc. To group everyone into western mass as a bunch of "drug lords" is extremely ignorant. Your blog comes off extremely insulting to the citizens of western mass, if it were less presumptuous then perhaps you would have some more comments that agree with you that perhaps we should not be funding placing internet in some of the less developed towns with our tax dollars when I can think of thousands of other things we could fund that would be of greater benefit, such as funding for schools or law enforcement.
Maybe you should do a little more research into the things you post on your site and perhaps we will respect you more, until then enjoy your extremely low rating ( http://www.alexa.com/search?q=byrondennis.typepad.com&r=home_home&p=bigtop )blog that nobody reads.

[Dennis Byron]

From down here on Cape Cod, I'm a little perplexed on how to answer the anonymous and brave defender of Western Mass., "John Smith," because in his reply to my reply, he refers to himself in the third person. So I'm guessing I'm dealing with two brave Western Mass. people not willing to use their names.

The only reason I am moderating the second comment onto the site is because I want to assure anyone -- and I doubt that any of my clients, all of whom know me well, felt this way -- that I did not use the word "minority" above in a rascist sense. I mean minority to mean minority. I don't have to worry about some liberal Western. Mass elite's political correctness.

I have sent an email to the address given by "John Smith" with more data but I suspect that that email address is bogus too.

I read recently that some Maine newspapers have stopped allowing commenters for this reason. What I'd like to see happen is that we go back to the old print-world days when you could not get a letter to the editor printed unless you gave a name, address and phone number.

Dennis