By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--August 22, 2011
Cover Story | CFP Comments | Reader Friendly | Subscribe | Email Us
“Back in January we pointed out that in order to buy NBC Universal the government had forced Comcast to start its own welfare program. According to an FFC letter at the time, Comcast promised to provide “2.5 million low income households:The New York Post could easily have added that it was the Barack Obama-Bill Ayers Annenberg Challenge foul-up that left Chicago school kids in need. “Who needs the Internet more than the voters in the President’s home town?” The children in cities like Detroit, decimated by the economic policies of the Democrats. How about Atlanta, where 5,000 people dressed in business suits and office heels, many of them parents of children at home, stood out in overnight lineups and sweltering heat just to get a chance to get into a job fair on the first day Obama was cooling his heels in the playground of Cohen’s boss, Brian Roberts. Just like their heroes, Obama, Jarrett, and Emanuel, Comcast has a very skewed vision of what fairness really is.“Poor blacks in Chicago are the ones getting Comcast’s sweet deal, because who needs the Internet more than voters in the President’s home town, which is now run by his former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel? As the mayor explained, “This will insure that every part of this city has a chance to grow in the new economy. And Chicago will lead the country in dealing with this economic and social divide issue,” Emanuel told reporters at the Woodson Regional Library. And this isn’t just some one-year contract. “If a parent signs up a child at kindergarten or first-grade, Comcast will stay with that child all the way through to high school and that access. It’s a tremendous investment that no other city is gonna experience,” Emanuel declared. “The head of Comcast even got into the act by explaining that the giveaway was all about “fairness”. Comcast Executive Vice-President David Cohen said “So many of us take Internet access for granted...I wish that were true for every household in Chicago, but it’s not...Other communities enjoy broadband adoption rates that are two-and three-and four times the adoption rates in Washington Heights and Roseland...That’s just not fair,” Cohen said.
- high-speed Internet access for less than $10 per month;
- personal computers, notebooks, or other computer equipment at a purchase price below $150; and
- an array of digital-literacy education opportunities.
View Comments