Items filtered by date: Tuesday, 18 April 2017

The smartest business analysts in the world don’t seem to know what Dish Network’s CEO Charlie Ergen is up to after spending $6.2 billion in the recent airwave spectrum auction. That put Dish on the same playing field as Verizon and T-Mobile when it comes to ownership of the airwaves. All of it’s unused, however, and Dish has never presented a plan of how it intends to use its spectrum, whether that’s streaming Dish Anywhere to its customers’ devices or building a wireless network of its own for Sling TV users, which is helping Dish add subscribers but is lowering revenues.

Analysts say Dish Network’s action in the auction makes it less likely that Verizon Wireless would merge with Dish, like AT&T did with DirecTV. But I refuse to believe Verizon isn’t interested in Dish’s spectrum. Verizon reportedly needs more urban capacity (and I can attest to this personally), which requires the very spectrum Dish owns. If that doesn’t scream value on Dish Network’s behalf, I don’t know what does.

But Dish stock has plummeted since the spectrum auction purchase was announced, dropping over six percent in two days. It’s stock price is lower than it has been since the start of 2017. That drop could continue until companies can start communicating again at the beginning of May, which was done to avoid collusion during the auction.

That’s when I see the fireworks happening. Ergen will sell all the spectrum Verizon doesn’t need at a huge markup thanks to Ergen’s opportunistic purchasing of the airwaves from bankrupt satellite providers over the years. The sale will put Dish in an ideal situation to negotiate a merger with Verizon, thanks to Ergen retaining the spectrum in low frequency bands that Verizon requires to make it’s urban service better. Verizon currently owns 24.3 fewer megahertz of spectrum below the 1-gigahertz frequency than AT&T.

Verizon and Dish merge to give AT&T some real competition while AT&T negotiates a new contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in June. Verizon will get the boost it needs in urban areas thanks to Dish’s spectrum, and Dish will get a boost in subscribers from bundlers getting out of cable contracts, which are expected to double in price. Dish will also benefit from turning their Sling TV subscribers into new Dish contracts by offering bundles that will save them money on telephone service. Sling TV will continue to bring in those unwilling or unable to pay for television service, while DirecTV lowers prices to try and match the new juggernaut in the market.

The best part is that both Verizon Wireless and Dish Network share the same color scheme and already provide commendable customer service. I’ve never been a customer of AT&T's before, but the customer service experience I had with Dish is far better than that of DirecTV. I never had a problem with Verizon (besides price) in 12 years as a customer, but they just reported a loss of subscribers for the first quarter ever. I was one of them.

These near-monopolies know where the market is headed. People are going to move between the very few providers of television and telephone services to take advantage of introductory rates, much like they do with credit card debt and balance transfers. The key is to give consumers a reason to join and then more reasons to stay. There’s inherent value in already providing commendable customer service, and when people switch to VerizonDish, they’ll be more apt to stay once they speak to a customer service representative.

Courtesy of FierceCable.com via Strategy Analytics

Editor’s Note: An update follows.

Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen announced in an interview with the Denver Post that Dish will use its spectrum to build a network for devices, citing that most Sling TV subscribers are watching on mobile devices and not televisions.

The network could be used by any device that connects to the internet, including self-driving cars, heart monitors and home security systems. Ergen didn’t rule out partnering with other wireless companies but did say that Dish would like the network built by 2020.

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Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; -Amos 6:3

It has been said that he who brings the light must endure the flame. How true that is in the Christ (John 14:6) that I follow (2 Timothy 3:12). One thing that I have come to understand as a preacher of God’s Word is that men are either going to hate their sin and repent, or they are going to hate me (Acts 20:21; 2 Corinthians 7:10).

The Awful Price of Freedom and Redemption.

Since the beginning days of ministry, I have found that the problem is not so much with those that are called the left (Lawless). It is more so with those who call themselves the right (Mark 8:15). They are often referred to as the silent majority (outside of the 78% of them that profess Christianity (1 John 2:4).  Remember those who crucified Christ claimed to belong to God, as well (John 8:33)).

When I first started in ministry, I wondered why people were attacking me for telling them what they claimed their values consisted.  After all, I was not giving any one of my messages to bring about change to America’s values, but only to reinforce them. I became what Paul described as the enemy because I spoke the truth (Galatians 4:16) that exposes the lawlessness (1 John 3:12).

I have had the media dog my trail since day one.

State Run Media Exposed.

Wikipedia founder has even come out against me.

On my Wiki page, which we did not set up, there are reports of outrage at my events and distortions of who we are and what it is that we have done as a ministry. The page is full of blatant lies and half-truths, written by people who have never approached me. Yet, they have written as if I had answered all of their questions. How is this not criminal? It is. They want to set the narrative without any truth exposing their lies.

Media Hit Piece.

Of course, the good news is in the back, hard to find, and in many cases, the people could care less about the truth. They simply let it fall to the ground (Isaiah 59:14). It is as if Psalm 120:7 rings like a bell in my ears: “I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.”

Well, guess what? They are, and it is one that they will not win in this life unless you let them (Matthew 16:15-20). This is how the seat of violence comes nigh (Amos 6:3). The seat of violence comes near to those who do not deal with the wicked (Isaiah 59:15).  These people are known as the “silent majority.”

The silent majority is responsible for the evils that prevail because they look the other way rather than deal with the enemies of the law (Isaiah 56), even when the promises of God unto victory are given to us (Romans 8:37).

I don’t believe that I have ever had a day in my Christian life in which I did not feel the responsibility of duty before the God (Acts 3:13) that I love (Galatians 4:9) to prove Him and His Word (2 Chronicles 16:9). When we respond to His commands, He promises to respond with longevity to all those who fear Him.

That thou mightiest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. -Deuteronomy 6:2.

And victory over the enemies, regardless if there are many to go it with you or not. -2 Samuel 23:10.

“A man with God is always in the majority.” –John Knox

As well, a man of conscience is not there to take a consensus, a man of conscience is there to mold the consensus. -Proverbs 14:26; 28:1.

What happens when you do take a stand? The Lord is willing to give us that for which we are willing to fight (Exodus 23; 1 Timothy 6:12).

Here is a list of those who have spoken out against this ministry, or have stood against the laws of this land that would not be confronted on live nationwide radio. These are those who when confronted want to turn and run. Again, they are simply there to establish the narrative.

• Congressman Keith Ellison

• Senator Amy Klobuchar

• Senator Al Franken

• Former Speaker of the House-Nancy Pelosi

• Tarryl Clark-Opponent of Michele Bachmann for Congress

• Kevin Jennings-Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug Free Schools, US Dept. of Education.

• George Soros

• Media Matters

• Right Wing Watch

• MSNBC’s “Useful Idiot” Rachel Maddow

• Rob Boston, Americans United for Separation of Church and State

• Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

• San Francisco Police Department concerning the crimes of Larry Brinkin

• LGBT

• Out-Front Minnesota

• Joe Solmonese-Human Rights Campaign

Why are these lawless people so adamant about shutting my ministry down? This is what happens when you become effective. However, I can also show you what happens when you become silent: You draw nigh the seat of violence.

Indisputable. America's Christian Heritage.  

Donald Trump is in the battleground state of Wisconsin to sign an executive order that will reportedly make it harder for technology companies to hire cheaper, high-skilled workers from overseas and prioritize the hiring of American workers and strengthen rules to make sure government contracts are awarded to American contractors.

Trump and White House officials have targeted the H-1B visa for high-skilled, foreign workers, which will even affect Trump himself. His own company takes advantage of the H-1B visa at his hotels, golf courses and vineyard. According to a CNN Money investigation conducted in July 2016, Trump utilized the visa to import 1,256 workers over 15 years. One of Trump’s campaign promises was to end the H-1B visa as a cheap labor program, but according to a study by Brookings Institute researchers, H-1B job vacancies are harder to fill and H-1B workers are paid more than non-H-1B workers, with wage growth much higher than the national average. Here are some answers to criticisms brought against the study and here’s a comparable study that comes to the same conclusion.

According to WorkPermit.com, the U.S. H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows American companies to employ graduate level workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as in IT, finance, accounting, architecture, engineering, mathematics, science, medicine, etc. Any professional level job that usually requires a Bachelor’s degree or higher can come under the H-1B visa for specialty occupations, but if a foreign worker does not have a Bachelor’s degree, they may still be able to show degree equivalence through work experience or other qualifications.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it received 199,000 petitions for 85,000 slots during this year’s H-1B visa lottery. Last year, the agency received 236,000 applications. Indian outsourcing firms such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro receive most of the visas because they submit the most applications to increase their chances.

Technology companies have long complained of a lack of a highly educated and skilled American workers as a reason for taking advantage of the H-1B program, but there are also companies taking advantage of it. Regardless, American technology companies could get around all of this by hiring foreign workers to work remotely from their home countries.

Supporters of the H-1B visa program say Trump’s executive order will make it harder and more expensive for businesses to find adequate workers, while the opposition says Trump’s order doesn’t go far enough. If more is to be done, however, Congress will have to get involved. Several bills have been introduced to overhaul the visa program. One presented by Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley would require companies seeking H-1B visas to make a “good-faith effort” to hire Americans prior to exploring foreign workers. What constitutes a “good-faith effort” will be determined by the Labor Department. The bill would also give foreign students studying in the U.S. the upper hand when applying for H-1B visas.

H-1B visas shouldn’t be confused with the H-2B visa program, which does allow companies like beach and ski resorts to import cheaper, low-skilled labor to serve seasonal positions. Hotels, resorts, restaurants, construction companies and seafood processors got a big boost when a spending bill was approved last year that allows for anyone who obtained an H-2B visa in the last three years to retain it and not count towards the 66,000 visa cap. These jobs will still go to immigrants who will do the work for less. That’s why every time you ski Montana or Colorado or California or Utah there’s rarely a local to be found in uniform. Yet the price of admission never seems to reflect the lower cost of the labor.

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Today -- April 18th, 2017 --  is the last day you can file your Federal Income Taxes. Uncle Sam has bills to pay and expects your check in a timely manner. I usually do my taxes at the last minute and this year was no different. I have oft wondered, “Is this the year where I don’t get my taxes done in time and have to file an extension?”

Thankfully, the answer is, “Nope. Not this year!” But what does one do if one has not yet filed their taxes? You can link jump to irs.gov and fill out: Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. It’s a pretty simple form.

Keep in mind if you file for an extension there may or may not be late fee penalties, accrued interest, nasty letters from the IRS, collection agents, tax levies and / or liens. Consequences all depend if you are filing late or not filing at all. There is a huge difference in the amount of consequences between filing late and not filing. All sorts of bad thing can happen to you up to and including jail time if you fail to file your taxes on time or at all. So don’t do it.

Even celebrities get in trouble for income tax evasion! And celebrities can get away with nearly anything. Here is a partial list of Celebrities Who Were Forgiven For Their Horrible Acts. I mean, look at that list! Matthew Broderick has killed people! And his grand punishment was that he had to fork over a colossal fee of -- $175. Not $1.75 million or $175 million.Nope. One hundred and seventy five dollars! For killing two people! Like I said, celebrities can get away with a lot of awful stuff. But not tax evasion. Just ask Martha Steward or Wesley Snipes or Willie Nelson or Nicolas Cage.  

Point being, the tax man gets his money. It doesn’t matter if it’s your $284 or Nicolas Cage’s $6 million. The tax man always wins. So file today  and you free, free, free from the tax man!

Well, until next year. Or until your extension expires. I guess I take that back. You will not be free. There is a reason, “Death and Taxes,” is a colloquialism. Nothing is inevitable except for … well, you know.

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