Major Garrett of Fox News asked Robert Gibbs White House spokesperson a very simple straightforward Health Care slash illegal email question yesterday. How did people who never had any communications with the White House receive unsolicited emails concerning Health Care from the White House.(see story)
Gibbs’ inability to give a coherent answer left egg on his face as well as questions about the Obama White House violating the American people’s personal privacy not to mention the violating of the 2004 United States CAN-SPAM Act.
Watch in horror (or delight) as Gibbs begins to look and sound like a fox biting off his leg because his leg’s been caught in a steel trap (see 2:51min video)
Why was Gibbs so flustered? Doesn’t he know what’s going on the in Obama White House or was he flustered because he knows exactly what’s going on the in the Obama White House?
Follow are examples of two unsolicited emails that came from the Obama White House one from White House advisor David Axelrod and one from Barry Soltero himself.
Dear Friend,
This is probably one of the longest emails I’ve ever sent, but it could be the most important.
Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back — even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions.
As President Obama said at the town hall in New Hampshire, “where we do disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed.”
So let’s start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you’ll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now.
Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what’s below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.
Thanks,
David
David Axelrod
Senior Adviser to the President
P.S. We launched www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck this week to knock down the rumors and lies that are floating around the internet. You can find the information below, and much more, there. For example, we've just added a video of Nancy-Ann DeParle from our Health Reform Office tackling a viral email head on. Check it out:
And now Barry’s unsolicited spam email:
From: President Barack Obama
Date: July 29, 2009 5:08:09 PM EDT
To:(Name removed to protect receivers privacy)
Subject: What health insurance reform means for you
Reply-To: President Barack Obama
Dear Friend,
If you’re like most Americans, there’s nothing more important to you about health care than peace of mind.
Given the status quo, that’s understandable. The current system often denies insurance due to pre-existing conditions, charges steep out-of-pocket fees – and sometimes isn’t there at all if you become seriously ill.
It’s time to fix our unsustainable insurance system and create a new foundation for health care security. That means guaranteeing your health care security and stability with eight basic consumer protections:
No discrimination for pre-existing conditions
No exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays
No cost-sharing for preventive care
No dropping of coverage if you become seriously ill
No gender discrimination
No annual or lifetime caps on coverage
Extended coverage for young adults
Guaranteed insurance renewal so long as premiums are paid
Learn more about these consumer protections at Whitehouse.gov.
Over the next month there is going to be an avalanche of misinformation and scare tactics from those seeking to perpetuate the status quo. But we know the cost of doing nothing is too high. Health care costs will double over the next decade, millions more will become uninsured, and state and local governments will go bankrupt.
It’s time to act and reform health insurance, drive down costs and guarantee the health care security and stability of every American family. You can help by putting these core principles of reform in the hands of your friends, your family, and the rest of your social network.
Thank you,
Barack Obama
Both people who received the above emails claimed that they did not make contact with the White House, what’s more, they are concerned that the White House has the ability to Spam their email accounts.
Finally, follow is information regarding the illegality of sending unsolicited emails.
Spam Laws: The United States CAN-SPAM Act
CAN-SPAM stands for "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing." The act was put into place January 2004 to set out requirements for those sending out commercial emails, establish penalties for spammers, and give consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.
The law covers email that's primary purpose is to advertise or promote a product, service, or website. Personal emails and email updates and advertisements that have been consented to are not covered under this law.
The CAN-SPAM Act is enforced by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Justice has authority to enforce its criminal sanctions. Other federal and state agencies can enforce the law in their jurisdictions, and internet service providers can also sue violators.
Additional fines are also charged to commercial emailers who break the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act and also:
• "Harvest" email addresses from websites or web services prohibiting the use of their directories for sending unsolicited mail
• Generate email addresses using the "dictionary attack" (combining names, numbers, and/or letters in multiple ways to come up with email addresses)
• Use automated ways to register for multiple accounts to send commercial email
• Relay messages through a computer or network without permission
Imprisonment is possible for commercial emailers who:
• Send commercial email through a computer they are not authorized to use for that purpose
• Relay or retransmit multiple messages to deceive recipients about the origin of a message
• Falsify header information
• Register for multiple email accounts or domain names with false identities
• Falsely represent themselves as owners of multiple IP addresses used to send commercial messages
Given the existence of the CAN-SPAM Act, it's important that you report spam in your inbox rather than just deleting it so that the spammers can be prosecuted and fined under the law. If we all do this, it can help reduce spam in the future.
Reporting Spam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
One of the fist steps to take when dealing with spam is to report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Send a copy of the unsolicited email to spam@uce.gov. Your email will then be stored in a database, so that the appropriate measures can be taken to deal with those at the heart of the offense.
If your request to be removed from a mailing list was not honored, you should also report to the FTC. Simply fill out the online form located at www.ftc.gov. This will send the site to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel database so that both law enforcement and consumer protection agencies may access it.
You should also send a copy of the email to your Internet service provider (ISP). Normally, their abuse desk will have the email address abuse@theirispname.com, or postmaster@theirispname.com. This will alert them to the problem and help them to prevent it in the future. Likewise, you should also send a complaint email to the sender's ISP. They are usually glad to rid themselves of anyone abusing their system.
When reporting spam email, you will need to have the full header of the email you received. Most email programs have a method of acquiring this information. For example, if you use Microsoft Outlook, here are the steps you need to take:
1. Left click the email in question and click on 'Properties'.
2. Click the 'Details' tab, and then 'Message Source' - this will make the full header of the email available for viewing. You should then copy and paste this into the body of the email you send for reporting spam.
If you are unclear on how to retrieve this information, consult your email software's FAQ page on their website.
In addition to the FTC, there are other online services that will report spam on your behalf. One of the most reputable among them is SpamCop.com. These sites will report the spam on your behalf to the ISP. Although this can oftentimes be more convenient, it will mean the spammer won't have any legal action taken against them. (source)
Thank you Major Garrett for doing the job that the American News Media won’t do!
As for you Mr. Gibbs you said, " Let's move on to ' something constructive."
Naturally for you and the Obama administration that would be advancing the Liberal agenda through government bailouts, government take overs and government control of medicine.
To the rest of us that means removing Barack Hussein Obama and Democrats from power as soon as possible. 2010 and 2012 can’t come soon enough!