Something that's not about writing

[feuervogel]

Uh, hmm. I split and transplanted some phlox the other day, and in the process I got easily 2 dozen bug bites of some variety (possibly ants or spiders, because there were a bunch of them disturbed in the process). My gardenias are flowering, and I cut a few branches and stuck them in water, and my living room smells really good. My azaleas never really flowered properly this year, which is kind of sad. I'll have to remember to feed them this fall and early next spring.

I got the box of Hertha fanstuff my Goethe-classmate Joey picked up for me while he was back there last month (he put it in his suitcase and mailed it once he got back, much more economical that way! Seriously, do you know how much DHL charges to ship shit overseas?) I got 2 shirts, a little keychain of the away jersey, a mug with the signatures on it, a little flag they gave out at the match he went to (Augsburg! Lucky bastard), the program book from the match, and photo cards of the players. The program book is 150 pages, and I've only made it through about 3/4 of it. Oh, and a sheet of stickers. And a plastic bag from the store (which I made the mistake of thinking would be safe on the table overnight and Claire chewed a hole in the bottom of. So if I feel like living dangerously, I could attempt to fix it by holding it near my iron and melting it. Or I could just fold it up and be sad that I can't use it.) So yay, I now have football gear that I can wear while shouting at the pirated feed on my computer.

I'd watch it legally if there were a way that didn't involve adding $30 to my cable bill to get ESPN so I can get ESPN3 on my computer, not that ESPN3 even shows any Bundesliga matches that don't involve FC Hollywood, or spending a ton more to get digital cable or satellite for hundreds of channels we never use. Seriously, we watch one show a week, and I'm not interested in it anymore (House). We dropped extended cable a few years ago because we didn't watch but one of the 70 channels we got, and that only rarely. Digital cable would easily double our bill from what it is right now.

Despite American "libertarians'" fetish for competition and the market, cable companies and ISPs are effective monopolies. Only one company runs cable to my neighborhood, and they're also the internet people. Our phone company offers "high-speed" internet (at 800 Kbps), but Time Warner's broadband has them beat.

See also the NC law just passed disallowing municipalities to offer broadband internet as a quasi-utility and act as ISPs to offer competition with Time Warner (which is pretty much the only player in this game). The Republicans brought it up and passed it, and Bev Perdue refused to veto it.

Republicans and the libertarians who vote for them really just want to suck big business cock, not advocate "principles" like competition and prevent monopolies. For some reason, they believe that they'll be the corporate lords and masters in this neo-feudal society, when really they'll be shoveling shit with the rest of us serfs.

Comments

[listener.livejournal.com]

That NC law is such a WTF. You're totally right that internet and cable service are such a monopoly in most places in the country. I remember that when I was looking for a NC ISP years ago, there were like five different options, all of which were Time Warner with different names.

We're using a local ISP here (monkeybrains.net) which provides line of sight wifi to parts of San Francisco. It's not that fast (especially given the opportunity cost of employer-funded business-class Comcast), but it's fast *enough*. And, I feel a lot better supporting local folks that I could walk over and talk to if I needed to.

[beth_leonard]

Despite American "libertarians'" fetish for competition and the market, cable companies and ISPs are effective monopolies.

I look at it differently -- government gives these companies "natural monopolies" so that we don't have 6 different potential cable companies digging up our streets offering competing broadband to our homes. It's the opposite of free market in electricity and broadband. Despite our fetish for free market, we still have some areas where we prefer government services. Maybe it is a good thing for government to step in and say "hey, only one company gets to dig up the streets."? but then we consumers have to live with the consequences, that is higher prices for services we don't want.

Regulatory capture is a big pain though, and both parties are subject to it. We are in serious need of campaign finance reform -- that is I'd like a reform to allow anyone to receive however much money they'd like from anybody (as long as it's public info who gave), that way if Meg Whitman wants to give $500M to someone she thinks is good to run (without having to pay 50% gift tax on the money), then more power to her, and that person doesn't have to go to a gazillion fundraising events all by themselves. It also keeps her personally out of the race. Right now only billionaires can afford to run without being beholden to unions, corporations, and special interests, and billionaires as a general rule are a bit strange.

Most of the time lately I find Republicans no longer represent me or the ideals I stand for. Frequently I prefer them to Democrats, but not always.

--Beth

Edit to clarify: take -> receive

[feuervogel]

This is the bill that I referenced. It's a bad bill that kills competition AT TIME-WARNER'S REQUEST. It's now law.

Short version: several cities in North Carolina wanted to build broadband networks just like any other utility (and let's not fool ourselves; in 2011, internet access is as much a utility as water and electricity) and offer higher speeds than Time Warner and other commercial entities were offering. (Telling quote: Time Warner "didn't think anyone" in Wilson wanted high speed internet.) So Time Warner went to NC Republicans and said hey, make some legislation that cements our monopoly. They did, and gave it the doublespeak name the "Level Playing Field" act.

Elections that are for sale are never free.

(Re finance reform? I say make it 100% taxpayer financed with spending caps. Even if a billionaire gives her favorite candidate (a Republican, duh) money, that Republican is STILL beholden to those special interests, ie, rich people who don't want to pay taxes or who run industries and want tax breaks on their stuff.)

[beth_leonard]

Elections that are for sale are never free.

Nod. Unions distorting elections also drive me batty.

--Beth