I've been out sick, and should be back Thursday morning.

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) Since I’ve been sick, I’ve been watching some daytime television. If you are not a regular daytime TV viewer, you’re missing fine programming like MTV’s “16 and Pregnant” and TLC’s “Marriage Counseling”. You’ve also probably missing commercials for the SmartPhone.

The commercial says you may qualify for up to 200-free minutes a month, and up to 1,000 free text messages. And the commercial goes on to tell you just how you might qualify – by being on food stamps, Medicare, and several other welfare programs.
This is the Obama Phone.

The LifeLine program is funded by a special fee on everyone else’s phone bill. It used to be for land-lines only to provide emergency 911 services. Now it’s been extended to cellphones. Many phone companies take part in the program, since they have a chance to upsell their welfare-customers if they go over their usage levels.


The rumor you heard, that the phone companies and their customers get to ‘self verify’ for the program is also true. That is supposed to be changing soon.

Well, at least you know it’s not an urban legend.

The good news is that the Obama Phone wasn’t created through legislation; the change from land line to cellphone eligibility is a rule change from the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington. When someone else is in charge at HHS, the rules could be changed back. Of course, that means someone else must be in the White House. And the people who get Obama Phones seem to be very aware of where this largess is coming from. And they vote accordingly.

Chris Conley
2.20.13

The DC Everest hockey team’s season came to an end last night.

This team has provided more memorable moments in their season than any other I’ve followed this year. They had a 4-3 triple overtime win over Antigo, and a 3-0 win over Wausau-West. The Everest players will remember those games for the rest of their lives. Congratulations on a very nice season.