Trump sending out text message today @2:18pm whether you want it or not

[balloonshark]

Not a big user of cell phones but how do you re-view this message or similar emergency messages? I don't see it in my text or call history but I did get the message.

 

[paperfist]

IIRC, The "welfare phone" program started with an Act back in the 90s. The ball started rolling with Bush and finally got implemented during Obama's time. The president has nothing with this program. Kind of like how this alert got started.

It rolled out under Obama though, hence the 'Obama phone'

 

[Victorian Gray]

It rolled out under Obama though, hence the 'Obama phone'

Actually, the program was started during the Reagan administration.

 

[Puffnstuff]

It rolled out under Obama though, hence the 'Obama phone'

The term Obama phone referred to the government sponsored cell phones under the 28 year old lifeline program, as indicated by VG, that some of the poorer members of society were able to get from the government.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...44febada3a8_story.html?utm_term=.4a01e3c27ed9

 

[ch33zw1z]

It rolled out under Obama though, hence the 'Obama phone'

Cons are easily played by throwing Obama on a name, watch the hate flow. Who knew....

 

[allisolm]

I saw this in the newspaper today:

The test message should have been

"This Presidential Text Alert is only a TEST...

Had this been an actual alert, you would have gotten a tweet. "

 

[paperfist]

Actually, the program was started during the Reagan administration.

There were no cell phones in the Regan era. Don’t pull my leg like that.

Besides I’m getting my facts straight from my homies on the dole and they call it the Obama phone. How much more factual can you get then that?

The term Obama phone referred to the government sponsored cell phones under the 28 year old lifeline program, as indicated by VG, that some of the poorer members of society were able to get from the government.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...44febada3a8_story.html?utm_term=.4a01e3c27ed9

“The program has nearly tripled in size from $800 million in 2009 to $2.2 billion per year in 2012,”

Holy moly it looks like President Obama liked the program so much he bought the naming rights to it with tax payer money!

 

[zinfamous]

There were no cell phones in the Regan era. Don’t pull my leg like that.

dude!

 

[Fanatical Meat]

There were no cell phones in the Regan era. Don’t pull my leg like that.

Besides I’m getting my facts straight from my homies on the dole and they call it the Obama phone. How much more factual can you get then that?



“The program has nearly tripled in size from $800 million in 2009 to $2.2 billion per year in 2012,”

Holy moly it looks like President Obama liked the program so much he bought the naming rights to it with tax payer money!

Thing is they reduced the wired phone subsidy and increased the wireless one. Basically makes moves & finding a job easier

 

[paperfist]

dude!

Dude he’s so screwed that totally had GPS in it and caused cancer!

Is that from Wallstreet?

Thing is they reduced the wired phone subsidy and increased the wireless one. Basically makes moves & finding a job easier

Around here they use ‘em for booty calls and drugs.

The people I’ve ask said they get the phone and minutes for free, but if you loose or break the phone you’re screwed and have to wait a year for replacement.

An increase to 2.2 billion is pretty hefty. That can’t be just going from wired to wireless...?

 

[Victorian Gray]

There were no cell phones in the Regan era. Don’t pull my leg like that.

Besides I’m getting my facts straight from my homies on the dole and they call it the Obama phone. How much more factual can you get then that?



“The program has nearly tripled in size from $800 million in 2009 to $2.2 billion per year in 2012,”

Holy moly it looks like President Obama liked the program so much he bought the naming rights to it with tax payer money!

Here, try some, you know, actual facts.

• The Lifeline program originated in 1984, during the administration of Ronald Reagan; it was expanded in 1996, during the administration of Bill Clinton; and its first cellular provider service (SafeLink Wireless) was launched by TracFone in 2008, during the administration of George W. Bush. All of these milestones were passed prior to the advent of the Obama administration.
• The Lifeline program only covers monthly discounts on landline or wireless telephone service for eligible consumers. It does not paycellular companies to provide free cell phones to consumers, although some cellular service providers choose to offer that benefit to their Lifeline customers.
• Lifeline discounts are not available only to “welfare recipients” — these programs are implemented at both the state and federal levels, so qualification criteria can vary from state to state, but in general participants must have an income that is at or below 135% of the federal Poverty Guidelines, or take part in at least one of the following federal assistance programs:
  • Medicaid;
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps or SNAP);
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
  • Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8);
  • Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
  • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF);
  • National School Lunch Program’s Free Lunch Program;
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance;
  • Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF);
  • Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR);
  • Head Start (if income eligibility criteria are met); or
  • State assistance programs (if applicable).
• The Lifeline program is not directly subsidized by taxpayer monies. It is paid for out of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) through a fee assessed against telecommunications service providers, who may or may not pass those costs along to their customers:
  
  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/phone-home/

 

[Puffnstuff]

I don't understand the big deal over that program. Personally I'm too cheap to pay a phone bill so I'm on FreedomPop where I purchased an unlocked GSM phone of my choosing, paid $4.99 at BestBuy to purchase their SIM card and $15 to activate it. Now I have free voice, texts and data each month on the AT&T 4G LTE network without having to worry about paying a cell phone bill.

My first phone with them was a CDMA Note 2 that ROI'd in 30 days when compared to the Verizon bill I was paying. The latter Note 4 ROI'd in 32 days comparatively speaking and if you're willing to accept the on sale unit you can get the whole deal for around $20 out of pocket with a monthly bill of $0.

 

[paperfist]

Here, try some, you know, actual facts.

• The Lifeline program originated in 1984, during the administration of Ronald Reagan; it was expanded in 1996, during the administration of Bill Clinton; and its first cellular provider service (SafeLink Wireless) was launched by TracFone in 2008, during the administration of George W. Bush. All of these milestones were passed prior to the advent of the Obama administration.
• The Lifeline program only covers monthly discounts on landline or wireless telephone service for eligible consumers. It does not paycellular companies to provide free cell phones to consumers, although some cellular service providers choose to offer that benefit to their Lifeline customers.
• Lifeline discounts are not available only to “welfare recipients” — these programs are implemented at both the state and federal levels, so qualification criteria can vary from state to state, but in general participants must have an income that is at or below 135% of the federal Poverty Guidelines, or take part in at least one of the following federal assistance programs:
  • Medicaid;
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps or SNAP);
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
  • Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8);
  • Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
  • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF);
  • National School Lunch Program’s Free Lunch Program;
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance;
  • Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF);
  • Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR);
  • Head Start (if income eligibility criteria are met); or
  • State assistance programs (if applicable).
• The Lifeline program is not directly subsidized by taxpayer monies. It is paid for out of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) through a fee assessed against telecommunications service providers, who may or may not pass those costs along to their customers:
  
  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/phone-home/

You do realize I'm joking about this?

If not then:

"The Lifeline program originated in 1984, during the administration of Ronald Reagan; it was expanded in 1996, during the administration of Bill Clinton; and its first cellular provider service (SafeLink Wireless) was launched by TracFone in 2008, during the administration of George W. Bush. All of these milestones were passed prior to the advent of the Obama administration."

I'm discarding Reagan as it really didn't turn into a cell phone thing which is what this thread is about receiving emergency messages.

“The program has nearly tripled in size from $800 million in 2009 to $2.2 billion per year in 2012,” which is under Obama. It really took off under him so he owns it

"The Lifeline program only covers monthly discounts on landline or wireless telephone service for eligible consumers. It does not paycellular companies to provide free cell phones to consumers, although some cellular service providers choose to offer that benefit to their Lifeline customers."

Ah these people typically don't have jobs, so uh they are paying for their phones and service with tax payer dollars.

Eligible consumers? LOL https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...nd-abuse-theyre-right/?utm_term=.e34dcd4e3fe2

"For years, however, Lifeline has come under bipartisan criticism over its handling of benefits. Thursday's report, commissioned by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), appears to underscore those problems. GAO's study of 46 states and the District of Columbia found that 1.2 million subscribers could not be confirmed as being eligible for Lifeline benefits — out of 3.5 million accounts analyzed by the agency. It is unclear how many ineligible subscribers may be in the remaining pool of 8.9 million subscribers GAO did not study.

By analyzing Lifeline's database and also matching it against Social Security Administration records, GAO found 5,500 duplicate beneficiaries, as well as 5,400 who had actually been dead for more than a year. These individuals accounted for roughly $1.2 million of wasted funds every year, according to GAO estimates."

"The Lifeline program is not directly subsidized by taxpayer monies. It is paid for out of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) through a fee assessed against telecommunications service providers, who may or may not pass those costs along to their customers:"

Cat and mouse. The Lifeline program is run by the government which is funded by tax payers. The phone companies are charging consumers (tax) a fee to fund it. What's the difference?

I don't understand the big deal over that program. Personally I'm too cheap to pay a phone bill so I'm on FreedomPop where I purchased an unlocked GSM phone of my choosing, paid $4.99 at BestBuy to purchase their SIM card and $15 to activate it. Now I have free voice, texts and data each month on the AT&T 4G LTE network without having to worry about paying a cell phone bill.

My first phone with them was a CDMA Note 2 that ROI'd in 30 days when compared to the Verizon bill I was paying. The latter Note 4 ROI'd in 32 days comparatively speaking and if you're willing to accept the on sale unit you can get the whole deal for around $20 out of pocket with a monthly bill of $0.

Eh I personally don't like the way the program is abused, but that's every program that the government runs. Which strikes me as hilarious as everyone in this forum is always arguing 'their side' is always right yet 'their side' is laughing all the way to the bank on tax payer money. So no matter 'your side' the joke is on us.

I was just making light that everyone on here (mostly) is bent out of shape that Trump sent an emergency text to their phone as if they had lost their virginity to a troll. Now all of the sudden Trump is going to use it as a tool to convert voters to 'his side'.

 

[Lanyap]

It rolled out under Obama though, hence the 'Obama phone'

Now we have the 'Trump Alert'.