USDA awards more than $103M funding to expand high-speed, broadband Internet in rural America
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on August 23rd, 2011 4:34 am by HL
USDA awards more than $103M funding to expand high-speed, broadband Internet in rural America
RICHMOND, Va. — Telecommunications companies in 16 states will share more than $103 million in federal funding to help expand broadband Internet access to those areas of rural America that haven’t been reached by the high-speed service or are underserved, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.
Policymakers, public interest groups and telecom companies are seeking to bridge the digital divide by reaching even the most remote pockets of the U.S. with broadband internet, hoping to improve economic and educational opportunities there.
The early line on Senate 2012 races — will the balance of power shift?
As the Republican presidential race begins in earnest, so are Senate campaigns across the country.
On Monday, former congressman Chris Shays (R) announced he would run for an open seat in Connecticut in 2012, while Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Allen B. West (R-Fla.) both announced they would not run.
Those three decisions came just days after former Obama administration adviser Elizabeth Warren announced that she was forming an exploratory committee to face Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), possibly giving Democrats their first top-tier challenger in that race.
As of today, both Reps. Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul would have a fighting chance in a matchup with President Obama in 2012.
That’s according to a new Gallup survey, which provides some of the strongest indication yet that Obama’s position in the polls has eroded — and also that nobody in the GOP has distinguished themselves as the most electable opponent.
The survey shows all four top GOP presidential candidates — Bachmann, Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry — within the margin of error against Obama. Romney leads by 2 percent and Perry is tied, while the two House members trail narrowly.
Waters talks tough on tea party
Rep. Maxine Waters has four words for the tea party: Go straight to hell.
At a community summit on Saturday, the California Democrat, who has been increasingly critical of President Obama, as well, had tough words for the other side.
“I’m not afraid of anybody,” Waters said at the summit in Inglewood, Calif. “This is a tough game. You can’t be intimidated. You can’t be frightened. And as far as I’m concerned, the tea party can go straight to hell.”
