STOP MANDATORY CABLE TV NOW !!!
Signatures from 14 states!!
Join us in the fight for economic freedom!!
Here's the deal: you must buy cable or satellite TV from your landlord's PREFERRED provider, whether you want it or not, or you will LOSE YOUR HOUSING. THAT'S THE DEAL!! It's spreading all over the country!
Even homeowners' associations are subject to this, as well as prospective buyers of new houses.
And the Federal Government is behind it all!! Keep reading!!
We are Tenants United For Fairness (TUFF), and we intend to put a stop to this practice ACROSS THE NATION. We stand TUFF on this issue!
TUFF's goal is at least 10,000 signatures on this national petition to be presented to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the U.S. Congress. ANY LEGAL U.S. RESIDENT 18 YEARS OR OLDER CAN SIGN THIS PETITION. IT IS NOT LIMITED JUST TO TENANTS.
In October, 2007, the FCC ruled that landlords could not make "exclusivity contracts" with video services providers (VSPs). But this 'back door' ruling did not address "preferred provider" contracts, thus knowingly providing landlords and telecom companies with a gigantic loophole through which to FORCE citizens to buy their services, whether people want them or not, whether people can even use them or not. Their tactic is to present tenants with a so-called 'choice' of more than one VSP, but at the same time requiring tenants to FIRST purchase from the landlord's designated provider, thus taking away the consumer's freedom of choice and even taking away the freedom to have NO video service at all. The penalty for refusing telecom services is to lose your current housing and/or to be denied new housing!
On March 01, 2010, the FCC in essence upheld the ruling of October, 2007. This is NOT GOOD NEWS for us who oppose Mandatory Cable TV, but it doesn't mean that we're licked. However, it DOES mean that we're in for a long, tough fight. T.U.F.F. intends to continue that fight!!! The link to the full text of the FCC Report and Order can be found under the BLOG tab at the top of this page. You need to read and understand this report.
We believe that the federal government, the landlords, homeowners' associations and builders have no right to impose the mandatory purchase of telecom services under any circumstances, much less as a condition of housing, because cable TV, satellite TV and Internet are NOT essential public utilities such as electricity, water, sewer service, natural gas, or trash disposal. Unlike these, cable TV, satellite TV and Internet are NOT required to maintain safe, healthy, livable dwellings. Cable TV, satellite TV and Internet are purely optional luxury items, the purchase of which rightfully belongs and should remain strictly within the citizen's individual freedom of choice.
"MANDATORY cable/satellite TV/Internet" is clearly unfair and absurd on its face. No one should have the right to force people to buy services they may not want from providers they may not like, nor to deny housing to those who refuse!!
If we don't stop the Federal Government, the landlords, and the telecom companies on THIS issue, there will be NO LIMIT to the number of mandatory 'services' they force upon us. This is not a "private property rights of landlords" issue; this is a Constitutional freedom issue and a "free markets" issue!!
We, the undersigned, therefore petition the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Congress to take immediate regulatory and legislative action to forbid the mandatory purchase of telecom services including: cable TV; high-speed Internet; satellite TV; satellite radio; or ANY such services, even those yet to be devised. We further ask that landlords be prevented from disguising the charges for these unwanted luxury services in other ways or under other categories. We ask that the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Congress take us seriously on this issue because, according to the FCC itself, 30% of all people in the country live in apartment houses and are already vulnerable to this unfair practice--that's 90 MILLION people. THAT MAKES MANDATORY CABLE/SATELLITE TV A HUGE CONSUMER ISSUE AND POLITICAL ISSUE. WE VOTE!!
BE SURE TO FORWARD THE PETITION TO OTHERS USING THE "E-MAIL FRIENDS" LINK ABOVE !! OUR SUCCESS DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON YOU FORWARDING TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE. PUT THE PETITION LINK ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE. USE TWEET AND TWITTER, TOO.
WE ALSO NEED YOU TO WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS ON THIS ISSUE AND FILE COMPLAINTS WITH THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. SEE THE BLOG LINK ABOVE FOR INSTRUCTIONS. CLICK ON THE TITLE OF EACH BLOG ENTRY TO SEE THE FULL TEXT.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome! Use the comments box below and the new BLOG link at the top of the page. Also use the "Contact Petition Sponsor" link under the Sponsor field. TUFF will respond!
Please sign below (IMPORTANT: use your correct Zip code) and stand TUFF with us !!