Salon.com > drudge report

“Obama phones”: Right wing’s latest bogus obsession

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:25:00 +0000

Why are Republicans looking to scale back Lifeline, a Reagan-era policy that provides discounts to low-income phone users? Because the policy, referred to as "Obama phones" by conservatives, has had the bad luck of being distorted as the Obama administration's policy of handing out free phones to welfare recipients -- a claim that was boosted by a racially charged video that went viral.

This month, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the policy. “The program has nearly tripled in size from $800 million in 2009 to $2.2 billion per year in 2012,” Republicans on the committee wrote in March. “American taxpayers — and we as their elected representatives — need to know how much of this growth is because of waste, fraud and abuse.”

Lifeline began during the Reagan administration, and was expanded during George W. Bush's presidency to include cellphone service. It's funded by phone bill fees that most people pay -- not, as some conspiracy theorists believe, by taxes. As the Washington Post reports:

Blame austerity economics, not gay marriage

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:40:00 +0000

  A curious thing happened in the Beltway last week: for the 48 hours surrounding two landmark gay marriage Supreme Court oral arguments, the millennial political class’ collective Facebook feed blushed bright red. Obama-handshake profile pictures gave way to a sharp crimson square designed by the Human Rights Campaign’s marketing department.

Between torrents of memes and legal commentary on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s skim milk analogy, Samuel Alito’s rusting Burkeanism, and Elena Kagan’s “batting average,” another item, a report about adults turning to cooperative households to save money, passed without remark in liberal circles.

Superman to quit Daily Planet, maybe start “the next Drudge Report”

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:06:00 +0000

In issue No. 13 of the current Superman comic book series, out tomorrow, Clark Kent will dramatically quit his day job as a reporter at the Daily Planet in front of the entire staff. The change in Kent's character reflects writer Scott Lobdell's goal of making Superman more relevant in the 21st century (part of a grander push from DC's "New 52" relaunch of several comics). A DC representative said, “This is not the first time in DC Comics history that Clark Kent has left the Planet, and this time the resignation reflects present-day issues – the balance of journalism vs. entertainment, the role of new media, the rise of the citizen journalist, etc.”

Dumb tweet: Obama phone “a bribe”

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:33:00 +0000

A video of a woman claiming that the Obama campaign gave phones to minorities in Cleveland went viral today, thanks to a link from the conservative Drudge Report. Word of the "Obama Phone" -- which is a myth -- spread to Twitter:

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