Storm'n Norm'n: Taxachusetts to Tax Satellite Television

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Taxachusetts to Tax Satellite Television

Update 3 March 2010 (We have a distinguished visitor):

Domain Name

state.ma.us ^? (U.S.)

IP Address

146.243.4.# (Commonwealth of Massachusetts)

ISP

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Location

Continent	:	North America
Country	:	United States (Facts)
State	:	Massachusetts
City	:	Boston

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Wouldn't you know it...

I finally got rid of the cable television (a big move for me) and got me one of those satellite dishes that you see sprouting up all over the country. I see them everywhere; even at the campgrounds. I mention that because we have a travel trailer and the package deal we got included an extra dish for trailer for only $5.00 more per month.
After a somewhat lengthy installation (about 4 or 5 hours) for for both systems we decided to run out to the nearest campground to test my ability to set the dang thing up by myself (the installer was not a whole lot of help with instructions for greenhorns). In any event I fiddled with the dish antenna that comes with it's own tripod and got connected to that high tech gadget in the sky (It's really spaced out there a bit!).
Getting back to my opening line...
Wouldn't you know it, the very first station that came into view had the headline, "Massachusetts to impose tax on satellite TV!" Wow! I didn't know they could do that!
The Communications Act of 1934 (to the best of my knowledge is still in effect) gave the airways to the people. That's why you don't have to pay for AM, FM, shortwave, or regular television broadcasts. I don't remember which president said it but I do recall hearing one say, "Anything going out over the air and into a receiver should be free to the public (transmitting is another story). Which leads me to think, "Why do we have to pay for satellite TV or radio for that matter. If we can buy AM-FM radios and other receivers to listen and/or watch, then why cannot we simply buy our own satellite dishes and receiver's and get what's coming in free as the Act was intended? Well I'm sure we won't get around the use fee for the satellite so I can understand that's the way it is and that's the way it's going to be.
But the tax! That shouldn't be! If this legislation is approved by the Taxachusetts politicians, then what's stopping the other states from joining the revenue trough?
The story below hints of some kind of backdoor politics that will ultimately serve only the politicians and the consumer be damned...hey there cable companies, didn't you ever hear of competitive pricing? - Norman E. Hooben

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Cable Industry Lobbies to tax Satellite TV

Cable is out to strike a blow against satellite TV. They are pushing for a bill in Massachusetts that would tax Satellite Television 5% under the terms of a proposed House bill, a move the cable TV industry is pushing because satellite providers such as DirecTV are competing with them for subscribers.

The proposal bill would officially levy the tax on both cable and satellite TV users. But there is a catch, but wording in the bill, which is written by the cable industry, would then nullify the charge for cable subscribers because they already pay up to 5 percent in so-called franchise fees.

Cities and towns have traditionally charged cable companies the fees to compensate a community for stringing wires and digging up roads to provide their service. And therefore the tax on cable television is justified. Massachusetts regulators have directed that the money be used for public access programming such as televised city council and selectmen meetings.

Satellite companies have been spared the fees both because they came into existence after the fees were created and because their service does not rely on public infrastructure such as roads and utility rights of way. Since they are not using the community infrastructure, why should they pay the same tax as cable?

``These guys can't compete fairly in the marketplace so, in our view, they have attempted to impose these taxes to gain a competitive advantage,'' said Robert Mercer, a spokesman for DirecTV satellite television.

``We don't tear up the city infrastructure,'' Mercer added. ``Our infrastructure is 22,300 miles in space.'' In fact, satellite TV must pay for their own infrastructure of satellite communication.

A cable industry spokesman acknowledged the aim of the bill is to raise the price of satellite TV bills, since satellite television has increasing taken away market share from the cable industry.

If you are a subscriber to satellite television in Massachusetts contact your local representative and voice your disagreement over this bill.

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Quote Of The Day

“If the truth is just my opinion then the truth will never be known.” ~ Norman E. Hooben

"Massachusetts can survive an Elizabeth Warren. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made her their senator." ~ Norman E. Hooben

"Not since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, and before that the fall of France in 1940, has there been so swift an erosion of the world influence of a Great Power as we are witnessing with the United States." ~ Conrad Black

To make clear that Islam is in fact a military movement rather than a religion, please consider that Islam does not ask one to emulate the humble, kind, peaceful, compassionate, loving Jesus but rather the arrogant, violent, brutal, lustful, savage military commander and beheading ruler Mohammed. It's all in the staging. ~ by Bernie

Our society chooses to pay for bastards and wonders why the number of bastards increases. Our society refuses to support poor families with married fathers in residence, and wonders why the number of single mothers increases. Our society pays for single motherhood, and wonders why we get it. Our society gives stipends to unemployed and/or homeless males, and wonders why we get more and more of them. — Bill Quick (More like this here)

The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency. It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to an electorate willing to have such a man for their president.
The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.” ~ Author Unknown

The real goal of "health care" legislation, the real goal of "cap-and-trade," and the real goal of the "stimulus" is to rip the guts out of our private economy and transfer wide swaths of it over to the government to control. Do not be deluded by the propaganda. These initiatives are vehicles for change. They are not goals in and of themselves except in their ability to deliver power. They and will make matters much worse, for that is their design. ~ November 23, 2009 Cloward-Piven Government By James Simpson

Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. - Winston Churchill

Tribute to America's Veterans

"Those Honored Dead"
"Why do you fly the flag today?"
My Grandson wants to know.
I fly it for the graveyards
Where the countless crosses grow.

I fly the flag for children
Whose fathers are a name.
A half-remembered memory
of a face within a frame.

I fly it for the families
of sons and daughters lost.
They know the price of liberty
How terrible the cost!

I fly the flag for veterans
who lost their youth in blood.
And saw their comrades slaughtered
in the carnage and the mud.

I fly it for the ones who marched
In cadence off to war
To close their eyes forever
Upon some foreign shore.

I fly the flag for grief poured out
Upon a granite wall.
The laying-on of hands that heals
The scars within us all.

I fly it for the sound of Taps---
That melancholy tune
That lays to rest those honored dead
Who always die too soon.

Copyright 1994 Marion G. Mahoney

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George had the foresight to see the Clintons, CFR, New York Times, and Obama on the horizon.

" ... How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public... " [From George Washington's farewell address.]

Other Quotes:

"Don't worry about genius and don't worry about not being clever. Trust rather to hard work, perseverance and determination. The best motto for a long march is ' Don't grumble. Plug on.'....Be honest. Be loyal. Be kind. Remember that the hardest thing to acquire is the faculty of being unselfish. As a quality it is one of the finest attributes of manliness." Sir Frederick Treves

"...To be clear, the Constitution of the United States of America is the United States of America. They are one and the same. Any individual or agency which seeks to subvert the Constitution and wage political and/or rhetorical war on it, are self-declared enemies of the United States of America, as they are subverting and waging war on the United States of America." - Pat Dollard

The truth to the matter is that Obama lies but he does it with such finess that the easily fooled are easily fooled. ~ Norman E. Hooben

"Going for the grandest illusion of all, [Obama] ... told the New York Times: 'We've actually been operating in a way that has been entirely consistent with free-market principles.' Excuse me while I pick my jaw off the ground. Everyone knows -- or should know -- that putting more and more of the government in charge of more and more of the economy is entirely inconsistent with free-market principles. This means that the president's statement to the contrary is what is known as a big lie." --columnist Diana West

When you trust a stranger more so than your friend, you become stranger than the stranger; Barrack Husein Obama is a stranger. - Norman E. Hooben

We the people…We the people now have a New World Order that we the people did not order. Norman E. Hooben

"We are now in a great civil war of words and you have the honor of participating as a true patriot. The battle has not been won but you will be there when we are victorious. The pen is mightier than the sword and you will inscribe your name in the book of freedom…and that, my friend is an honor." (Norman E. Hooben in response to a writer who complained of not having the honor of serving in the U.S. Military)

"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Winston Churchill

It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.
-Ronald Reagan

Back in the days of "The Lone Ranger" program, someone would ask, "Who is that masked man?" People need to start asking that question about Barack Obama. - Thomas Sowell

For those who promote a race they are called, "racists". For those that promote American they are called "American". For 'American' is a 'concept' and no racial tones are tolerated either in shades or sounds. -Norman E. Hooben (In reference to Lourdes Galvan of San Antonio, Texas racial bigotry regarding American military heroes.)

Note to NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA (Hola! I know you are watching): I'm not white, I'm not black, I'm not upper class, I'm not lower class, I'm not middle class, I'm not French, I'm not Irish, I'm not Asian, I'm not European, I'm not Hispanic, My children are not half Hispanic...They are and I am what I am, An American! And I'm not hyphenated! - N.E. Hooben

The Police State of Massachusetts is now imposing laws against nature. Massachusetts is by far the most un-Constitutional government of the State, by the State, and for the State than any among the the fifty that hold a star on the banner of freedom. It is run by Socialists and hypocritical so-called Christians…the worst among them are the Catholics who go to Church on Sunday and forget what they Prayed for on Monday. - Norman E. Hooben - "A proud Catholic proud of my Faith. A proud Catholic NOT so proud of my Church!" - July 16th 2008

Will Rogers never met Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid. - N. E. Hooben, July 2008

Harvard University was once an all boys school...today they have no balls at all. - N. E. Hooben
I will stand with the Constitution For The United States of America should the political winds shift in an ugly direction. – N. E. Hooben

Politicians are like vampires...
Whether its blood or money they want to suck it out of you till you die. ~ N. E. Hooben

When a people are satisfied with receiving gifts paid with their own taxes as a way of life Anarchy is sure to follow. - Fred Boutin 2008

From the first time I heard about the boogey-man as a child to the first time I got shot at in Vietnam, nothing in my entire lifetime, THAT'S NOTHING! has put more fear into me than this man Obama. - Norman E. Hooben - July 2008

We are here for only a mini-second in the sands of time. Then we become the dust that makes the sand; and the Hand of God molds us anew. Take care my friend and may God Bless... - Norman E. Hooben on the death of our dearly beloved pet dog, Stirling

The evidence is overwhelming!
In order to save America we must destroy the Socialst Marxist Party... - N. E. Hooben

"America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within." -- Josef Stalin --

When it comes to lying, prudent people are guided by a Higher Authority driven by ‘thou shall not’ written in stone. Whereas Bill Clinton has no Higher Authority to guide him, ‘thou shall not’ has no conscious objections; for without a conscience there is no guilt.” - Norman Hooben

“The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.” - Adolph Hitler

The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. - James Madison, the Federalists Papers

There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some Exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back And stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.
In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked,'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly, the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity. The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America.
The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms- just a little at a time.
One should always remember 'There is no such thing as a free Lunch!' Also, 'You can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

You apparently don't share a sense of patriotism, Americanism, freedomism, or whatever kind of 'ism' that true Americans believe in... You do however, display a bit of socialism, communism, marxism or whatever kind of 'ism' that you make excuses for... ~ Norman E. Hooben (in response to an Obama supporter's views about the ACS census)

A nation that knows not from where it came, knows not where it is going! Today, Americans know too little about the foundations of our nation. The result is a nation now in chaos, its people unable to discern what is wrong with the transformation (paradigm shift) of our society and form of government that, if left unchecked, will destroy every facet of freedom, liberty and justice. The price of freedom is vigilance; the price of vigilance is knowledge. Many of America's founding documents are now available on the web. ~

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