Así es Costa Rica (That's Costa Rica): For my friends in the U.S.

Here's something that found its way into my inbox this morning. A way to put your money where your mouth is -- literally:

Dear Activist,

Are you a customer of AT&T or Verizon?

Turns out AT&T and Verizon have been assisting the Bush administration’s illegal wiretapping program for quite some time. AT&T is alleged to run every byte of its internet traffic through a listening room where only NSA-approved personnel can go. And to make matters worse, the Bush administration has just about convinced Congress to grant the telecom companies retroactive immunity from suits from their angry customers.

What can you do? If you have a cellphone from Verizon or AT&T, you can keep on sending them your money and supporting them.

Or you can join CREDO Mobile. We’ve fought long and hard to expose the administration’s surveillance program and bring to justice those responsible.

CREDO Mobile is brought to you by your friends at Working Assets. It’s the same great wireless service we’ve offered for years, with a new name to reflect our commitment to the causes we believe in.

How different are we? Take a look below. What you see may upset you. For an immediate remedy, make the switch to CREDO Mobile.

What your phone company does:

CREDO

AT&T

Verizon

to spy on you: We don't.
Actually, we donate to the ACLU to STOP wiretapping Cooperate with the Bush administration's warrantless spying on American citizens.

with the money you pay them: We donate millions to progressive nonprofits, including the ACLU. Contributes more money to political campaigns than almost any other company — mostly to Republicans. Spends $90 million on lobbying — more than Phillip Morris or Exxon.

for the environment: We're America's greenest phone company — and the only one to offer solar chargers. Think of the worst polluters in elected office. That's where their money goes.

for your freedom of speech: We support First Amendment heroes like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Democracy Now. Censored Pearl Jam's criticism of Bush during a concert Webcast. Blocked text messages from NARAL Pro-Choice America (until forced to allow them).

for a free
and open Internet: We support nonprofit groups that advocate for Internet freedom. Preparing to abandon the neutral net and start filtering content. Called for an end to Google's "free lunch" and tries to drive users to its own search engine.

If you think your privacy is important, then it's time to think about CREDO Mobile. Switch now and we'll buy out your current contract (up to $200).* Click here to learn more or call 877.76.CREDO (877.762.7336) to talk to someone right now about making the switch — mention code 556068 — so they'll know I sent you.

Join today! Offer ends February 15, 2008.

Sincerely,
Michael Kieschnick
Co-founder and President
CREDO Mobile and Working Assets

P.S. In case you're wondering, you'll get the same quality coverage, phones and accessories with CREDO Mobile that you enjoy from any major provider. Sign up today and we'll give you a FREE Katana® II camera phone ($249 value) with no shipping or activation charges when you join.

I don't work for this company, and I don't even have U.S. mobile service. I just think it's a good idea. I did have Working Assets Long Distance when I lived in California all those years ago, and though it wasn't the cheapest service around, I liked the fact that they donated to various causes I also believed in. (Here's a list of the causes Credo supports.) It isn't necessarily cheaper to buy clothes that aren't produced in sweatshops, or produce that isn't organically grown, or phone service that is an alternative to the big guys, but as my Grandma used to say, "You get what you pay for." A lot of the time the only thing politicians listen to is money, so I say use it wisely. Vote with your dollars.

(And on a sort-of separate subject, I found my absentee ballot yesterday. Hooray! Do you think if I mail it tomorrow it will get there by February 5? And on a not-really-separate subject, if you do sign up for this service and end up with an old phone you don't know what to do with, feel free to send it to me! Esposo lost his and the price of phones down here is outrageous. Or you could donate it to charity.)

Así es Costa Rica (That's Costa Rica)

Sunday, January 27, 2008

For my friends in the U.S.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What your phone company does:	CREDO	AT&T	Verizon
to spy on you:	We don't. Actually, we donate to the ACLU to STOP wiretapping	Cooperate with the Bush administration's warrantless spying on American citizens.
with the money you pay them:	We donate millions to progressive nonprofits, including the ACLU.	Contributes more money to political campaigns than almost any other company — mostly to Republicans.	Spends $90 million on lobbying — more than Phillip Morris or Exxon.
for the environment:	We're America's greenest phone company — and the only one to offer solar chargers.	Think of the worst polluters in elected office. That's where their money goes.
for your freedom of speech:	We support First Amendment heroes like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Democracy Now.	Censored Pearl Jam's criticism of Bush during a concert Webcast.	Blocked text messages from NARAL Pro-Choice America (until forced to allow them).
for a free and open Internet:	We support nonprofit groups that advocate for Internet freedom.	Preparing to abandon the neutral net and start filtering content.	Called for an end to Google's "free lunch" and tries to drive users to its own search engine.