AT&T: MA BELL WANTS HER MONOPOLY BACK
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 46: Communication 1
IronBoltBruce's Kleptocracy Chronicles for 1 Nov 2011 (g1a2d0046c1)
How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

"We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company." - Lili Tomlin

Ma Bell wants her monopoly back, and she's almost got it:

"After being broken up in the mid-1980s in a landmark antitrust case, this telecommunications icon re-formed in 2005, and became the nation's largest phone company when SBC Communications bought AT&T Corp. for $16 billion.  As SBC, the company led the fight to allow the Baby Bells to enter the long-distance market, where they hope to offer profitable broadband Internet services.  Cingular, which bought AT&T Wireless for $14 billion in 2004 and was part of SBC, is now in AT&T's fold. Cingular - ultimately renamed AT&T again - is the leading U.S. wireless carrier, with more than 54 million subscribers. And AT&T's growth continues.  In 2006, AT&T agreed to buy southern Baby Bell BellSouth in a deal valued at more than $65 billion.  In 2011, AT&T sought to merge with T-Mobile USA..."

http://tinyurl.com/24np77u

"This $39 billion mega merger would create the country's largest wireless company, which along with Verizon – the other 800-pound gorilla in wireless – would control nearly 80 percent of the U.S. marketplace.  That means less competition in an already much-less-than-competitive market, fewer choices, and, most likely, higher prices.  Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union, said, 'AT&T is already a giant in the wireless marketplace, where customers routinely complain about hidden charges and other anti-consumer practices.  From a consumer's perspective, it's difficult to come up with any justification or benefits from letting AT&T swallow up one of its few major competitors.  We plan to work very closely with regulators and lawmakers to carefully scrutinize this deal and what it would mean to people's pocketbooks.'"

http://hearusnow.org

Many other consumer advocates oppose the merger, but they face an uphill battle because of all of the politicians whose pockets AT&T is happy to line.  The Texas-based telecom giant has invested over $142 million in lobbying since 1997, plus more than $56 million in state and federal campaign contributions since 1989, with their friendly pay-to-play Governor Rick Perry taking the top recipient spot by pocketing $722,194 plus the profit on 700 copies of his "Fed Up" book that AT&T bought...

http://tinyurl.com/3qzx7ef

...all told, almost three times as much as the $276,843 they gave to Barack Obama over the same period:

http://tinyurl.com/3jlw3f4

And of course there's plenty more where that came from, as Josh Levy of the Save The Internet coalition laments:

"Maybe it's the water in Washington that's making people silly.  Or maybe it's AT&T's hefty campaign spending.  Either way, something's got people believing AT&T when it says that up is down, green is red, 1 + 1 = 3 ... and that its proposed takeover of T-Mobile would be good for America.  Look no further than the 15 shameless representatives who just signed a letter urging President Obama - whose Justice Department is suing AT&T to block the deal - to support a settlement that would enable the merger and give AT&T control over T-Mobile...  We've debunked every AT&T myth about this disastrous merger.  The Justice Department boldly declared that the deal breaks antitrust law.  And AT&T's own leaked documents prove that its only goal is to snuff out a competitor."

"As Free Press Action Fund Research Director S. Derek Turner put it, 'Surely these members can't believe that a letter repeating long-debunked talking points would cause the Department of Justice to reverse course and ignore the evidence behind its lawsuit.'  Either these members of Congress actually believe in the fantasies AT&T cooks up, or they are so worried that AT&T will turn off its spigot of campaign contributions that they'll sign anything the telecom puts in front of them.  Speaking of which, it turns out that these signers have collectively received more than $570,000 in campaign cash from AT&T:

Career Contributions from AT&T

Rep. Joe Baca (Calif.): $70,000
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (Calif.): $69,500
Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas): $54,701
Rep. Mike Ross (Ark.): $51,250
Rep. John Barrow (Ga.): $38,000
Rep. Jim Costa (Calif.): $37,250
Rep. Dan Boren (Okla.): $37,250
Rep. David Scott (Ga.): $37,000
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (Calif.): $31,500
Rep. Mike McIntyre (N.C.): $31,500
Rep. Leonard Boswell (Iowa): $28,500
Rep. Ben Chandler (Kent.): $28,500
Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.): $25,450
Rep. Mike Michaud (Maine): $25,000
Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.): $9,500

It's time these members of Congress paid a price for raking in campaign contributions while ignoring the plain truth about this job-killing deal..."

http://tinyurl.com/5vwbl7k

Related Image:

http://ldrlongdistancerider.co.....nopoly.jpg

Related Videos:

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IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT OF THE LAST 14 U.S. PRESIDENTS, 7 HAVE BEEN DEMOCRATS AND 7 HAVE BEEN REPUBLICANS.

Our Kleptocracy-controlled media focuses on America's two-year election cycles as if who wins or loses in the swinging of the pendulum was a matter of life or death, when in fact even at the Presidential level it makes no more difference than the outcomes of Monday Night Football, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Hillbilly Handfishing or the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor.  U.S. elections are staged primarily to give Sheeple the illusion of control so they will (a) vent their frustrations and expend their energy, emotions and resources supporting or attacking the Puppet on the Left hand or the Puppet on the Right, and consequently (b) never recognize and challenge the common omnipotent Puppetmaster.

There was no real change in 2008.  There was no real change in 2010.  There WILL be real change in 2012, but it won't be coming from tele-brainwashed couch potatoes, manipulated voter lists, rigged voting machines or predetermined ballot counts.  It will be coming from us...

The 99 Percent

http://corporatecriminalsexposed.com

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I AM NOT ANONYMOUS. I AM AN AMERICAN.

I am not just a Consumer. I am a Citizen.

I will no longer be labeled Left or Right, Liberal or Conservative, Demopublican or Republocrat.

I will no longer follow Puppets labeled Left or Right, Liberal or Conservative, Demopublican or Republocrat.

I am the People. And I am coming for the Puppetmasters.

I am part of the 99 Percent. And I demand the following:

1. End the Fed.
2. Reverse Citizens United.
3. Repeal PATRIOT Act.
4. Expose 9/11 Truth.
5. End Profit Wars.
6. Refund Taxpayer Trillions.
7. Imprison the Kleptocrats.
8. Single Term Limits.

Or, if these demands are not addressed promptly:

1. Regime Change.

http://ironboltbruce.com

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LABELS (A POEM OF PROTEST)

"Democrat", "Republican",
The parties of the system;
Puppets both, for sale their votes,
No character or wisdom.

"Liberal", "Conservative",
For change or status quo?
Pick either one, the change is none,
All charlatans and whores.

Far "Left" we place the Anarchists,
Libertarians claim far "Right";
Yet both decry the government:
False continuum brought to light.

For oil, "We" bomb their mud huts,
Strip them bare, then offer "Aid";
And fake their retribution as
Pretext - a false flag raised.

Unarmed hundred thousands killed
By weapons of "Defense",
While rights are lost for "Freedom" sake -
On profit, all depends.

With stroke of pen, the "Patriot" Act,
And patriots' gifts are taken;
Then "Citizens United" leaves
Our citizens forsaken.

We protest loss of liberties,
Put "World Wide Web" to use;
Cloudmark Authority censors us
For "messaging abuse".

They label us to finger-point,
With labels, "They" deride us;
Their labels keep us all at bay,
For with labels, "They" divide us.

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com

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JOIN THE GLOBAL REVOLUTION!

Occupy Wall Street/OWS:

http://occupywallst.org/

Occupy DC/Stop the Machine:

http://october2011.org/

Occupy Together:

http://occupytogether.org/

Watch these Videos:

http://tinyurl.com/kleptocracytutorial

Take this Pledge:

My Pledge of Allegiance to the Constitutional Republic of the United States of America

How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

http://ironboltbruce.blog.com  

Also "kleptocracy" + "chronicles" + ".com" but Cloudmark blocks that URL!