How many DU'ers called their Cell Phone Providers and Protested Today?

[KoKo]

If your cell phone company is allowing "private outsiders" to pay to view your phone calls...shouldn't you be angry about this?

Here's a link to what this is about:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=134699&mesg_id=134699

[WhiteTara]

1. it's my first call tomorrow

I only heard about it after I got home this evening. A raging call, I think. I'm tired of all of this invasion of my privacy.

[evlbstrd]

2. Best option: No cell phone.

They don't get a dime from me or because of me.

[KoKo]

13. We are small business owners...and have to have one...Personally

we still use our old wall phone at home...but most folks we know have pulled the plug and use "cell" exclusively.

I've never been comfortable with cell phones...but for business we use them for international calls...Now...I'm thinking: Who the hell could be monitoring us...our competition? Bushites figuring we are terrorists?

I use my home phone to gab with friends and relatives...but sometimes hubby and me talk about politics on the cell phone...AND we are involved in LOCAL DEM POLITICS and ELECTION REFORM... We talk about meetings and such exclusively on the CellPhone because Hubby has it in his car and I borrow it.

ANYONE could be monitoring us...and we aren't the kind of avid users most folks today are.

I find this all very scary, having grown up in a time when "privacy" was more important than "convenience." :-(

[evlbstrd]

16. All of the things you mentioned can be and have been

accomplished without cell phones. We've been sold on the necessity when, in reality, they are an expensive convenience.

[DarleenMB]

19. We use tracfone

Pay as you go. We pay for a year's service in advance, minutes can be bought as needed either from the website or any big box store.

It's NEVER on. We keep it only for emergencies when we're traveling.

I love technology but man, I HATE cell phones. Enjoying a nice meal at a restaurant? Good luck when the yutz at the table next to you is yakking away on the phone. Seems everyone is so important around here they have to talk on the phone while driving. People talk on them in the movie theater, lunkheads.

[mike_c]

3. why can't folks understand that the only "crime" in this...

...is that you have to pay someone for the information? The airwaves are a public place, just like the middle of the street. There is no inherent right to privacy there. The CONTENTS of communications can be priviledged, but not the fact that the communications took place. Using a cell phone-- a BROADCAST DEVICE-- is the equivalent of shouting across a crowded room.

[KoKo]

6. Read THIS! and tell my why Cell Phone Tapping isn't Life or Death?

Look at what's involved in this and tell me how you can sleep at night knowing what this means for all of us. :shrug:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x135341

[mike_c]

9. read my reply....

Don't use a BROADCAST DEVICE on the PUBLIC AIRWAYS if you want to hide the fact that you've communicated with someone.

[rman]

20. it's not like an ordinary radio broadcast, since

only the one you call can receive your transmission.

[mike_c]

21. not true-- EVERY cell phone in range on that frequency...

...receives the transmission. They all have to in order to "decide" whether to decode it and make it audible to you, i.e. in order to confirm whether you are the intended recipient. Just because the transmission isn't made available to you, doesn't mean that your cell phone-- and any other receiver tuned to the correct frequency-- isn't receiving it. Cell transmissions are in fact "ordinary radio broadcasts." There's nothing magical about them-- at it's heart, a cell phone is a pretty standard low power transceiver.

[rman]

23. it's not much of reception if it doesn't get decoded -

if you don't actually hear the transmission.

[KoKo]

15. So it should be free info all the phone numbers that folks call and anyone

should have access as long as they don't have to pay. Is that what you are saying? There's no right or wrong here...it's just private companies abusing free airwaves? :shrug:

[bliss_eternal]

4. I have Virgin mobile--

which is the pay as you go sort of service--don't think it can be traced, viewed by outsiders. If I am wrong, I will call to complain.

[KoKo]

7. How are you going to know that YOUR CELLPHONE is one of them...in

Bush America. Remember he said "he will use whatever means necessary" and we can't get the records as to what the NSA has tapped and you think YOUR CellPhone Provider is going to tell you the truth? :shrug:

[bliss_eternal]

10. True--

but there was a report on the news last night, stating that the cellphones that are 'pay as you go' can't be tapped. There was apparently a large number of purchases of those after these reports started to spread.

One store, a Target somewhere I think got a man trying to purchase 150 pay as you go phones at one time--which made the store think the guy may be a terrorist. I wasn't paying close attention to the report--don't recall if an arrest was made or not.

Just that phones like mine, aren't trackable... :shrug:

[BadgerKid]

11. Did you pay cash for airtime?

Otherwise they can associate credit card with your phone. I don't know why not being on a plan would make the calls untraceable.

[KoKo]

12. What plan exists to make one's calls "untraceable?"

If there IS ONE why didn't Wes Clark use it? How could John Aravosis of America Blog, buy his phone records for $89 and some loose change?

[bliss_eternal]

18. Yes, we pay cash.

One of the reasons they are not traceable is no one is keeping track of your calls, as they do on a plan. With a plan, they keep track of everything because they bill you for it. Records should be accurate if they want to get paid, right?

I don't get bills--which is one of the reasons I wanted this type of phone. My husband and I aren't like most you see out and about--with a phone constantly glued to their ears. We only use our phones occasionally, keep them on us when together and apart for emergency only. We treat it as something that is used 'as needed' and not as a necessity. I'm not one that feels the need to be--so connected, constantly checking e-mail,phone messages at home, etc. After Columbine and 9/11 it was obvious how important having one was, but I wasn't convinced I need one with all the bells and whistles...

I refused to pay the amounts people pay for service, sign up, billing, etc,etc. We had all that before, and really didn't care for the trouble or expense. When I heard about pre-paid I knew it was what I wanted.

[DainBramaged]

5. Cingular's answer "your records are safe, we don't sell phone records"

And when I take a dump it's snow white. I pay below prime for money. The Bentley is paid for. I'm sterile. Yada, yada, yada.

They bounced me around for nearly 30 minutes and also refused to allow me to stop paying Federal tax on my cell phone bill.

They're all scum.

[KoKo]

8. So...they didn't answer......is what you are saying. They made it

"difficult." What does that tell you?

[bigwillq]

14. I have Cingular

I will call tommorrow and see what they say.

[f-bush]

17. Once again....

...it goes to the spying on American people with out a warrant. There needs to be some serious indignation!!!

[welshTerrier2]

22. i called Verizon ...

i spoke to Customer Service, then to their Fraud Dept and then to their Subpoena Dept and neither one of them had heard anything about this ...

i spoke to people both on the wireless side and the land line side ... my next call is to their Corporate Office so some PR type can tell me they have everything under control ...