The power is already in your hands

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
In our culture of "not my job, man" the refusal to take responsibility for ones actions has reached record proportions.

Rather than own up, suck it and deal with it, we as a culture head right to the nearest human condition parasite (lawyer) and demand a judge tell us it is not our fault.

Visit any courthouse in the nation from the County level up to the federal and you can find suit after suit filed by suit after suit (hows DAT for language use) for all manner of idiocy.

Some time back, a suit was filed by a customers of a cable TV company. The customers complained the cable company was bundling crap channels in with the good ones. The customers alleged they were "forced" to accept the junk channels to get the good ones.

Best selling edition ever.

Say what?

Forced?

Someone held a gun to their heads and told them to get cable TV or they would be shot? Or arrested and jailed. Pick your metaphor as long as it means the cable subscribers were coerced into getting the cable TV packages.

Wow. 1984 much?

The suit was tossed out by the judge. As well it should have been.

Now, cable TV provider Cablevision is suing content provider ViaCom over the same stuff. The Cablevision brief states in part is contract with Viacom "effectively forces Cablevision's customers to pay for and receive little-watched channels in order to get the channels they actually want."

It goes on to add "Viacom's abuse of its market power is not only illegal, but also prevents it from delivering the programming that its customers want and that compete with Viacom's less popular channels."

Wow. Fascist much?

We need to communicate.

The LA Times story reports: In its suit, Cablevision said Viacom forced it to carry 14 low-rated channels in return for the right to carry Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV. Most of the channels Cablevision said it was "illegally" forced to carry are spinoff networks such as Nicktoons, VH1 Soul and MTV Jams. Cablevision also said it was forced to carry Logo, Viacom's channel aimed at gays, lesbians and transgender people.

As the Captain told Cool Hand Luke, "What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men."

Like nearly everyone who has experienced cable or satellite TV, I strenuously objected to the junk channels. My definition of junk is different than other folks, but it's the overall sentiment we're after.

Lemme put this point a different way: If you go to a restaurant and order food and the server brings food you don't want and presents a bill for it, what will you do?

Rather than throw my hands up in the air and whine, I did something about it. I have not watched TV in nearly a decade and have not have satellite or cable TV in my house for nearly that long as well. You see, I decided to take personal responsibility for my choices. The giant TV corporations make no money off me and never will until they provide what I want. I'm willing to pay for what I want, but only what I want.

You have that power too. It is in your hands right now. Turned the damned idiot box off. Read a book. Watch a movie. Do something constructive.

Some people are now going to look at me like I am an idiot or incredibly stupid.

Warrant!, if you are one of those people who thinks I am stupid and bitches about paying for stuff on cable or satellite which you do not want, then yeah, one of us is stupid.

Meanwhile, please, enjoy that sardine, spinach and anchovy sandwich the waiter delivered with the rest of your meal. It'll be on your tab every time you come back to the restaurant.