That may be, but I agree with the GP... what you've described is already a problem, where you need to competing services to get all of the content, despite the fact that 90% of it overlaps. Now imagine Sony content (including TV shows and several motion picture companies they own as well as libraries of content from studios like MGM, which they acquired a while back) only being available from Sony.

Apparently some mod can't handle the truth.

That's an absurd conclusion. Look at how many are graduating from STEM fields instead of liberal arts, then start making ridiculous claims like that. It's never convenient for the whiners to compare apples to apples, is it? (no pun intended)

And you never stop hearing the white people whining about it! Right? Right!?!? It never stops!

I had this argument before w.r.t. affirmative action. I asked if they didn't want to be judged on the content of their character instead of the color of their skin, and was told - seriously - that quote is from Martin Luther King Jr., and he's "theirs," so I'm not allowed to use his quote in an argument. No,.. really.

And because some idiot seems likely to come along with some crap like "so says the ac," I'll echo this using my account.

For the last time - equal opportunity does NOT mean equal outcomes. Correlation is not causation - if you can actually prove the system is biased against minorities/women/any other special interest, then do it instead of complaining the outcomes aren't what you want. If you want to prove someone isn't being paid fairly, the ONLY way to do it is show that people with equal educations, equal experience, and equal OUTPUT are not being paid equally.

Because the content providers are not the ones using the bandwidth, it's the ISPs own customers that are using the bandwidth they paid for. Netflix doesn't push it's contents onto an ISPs network - the ISPs customer pulls it, using the bandwidth they've already paid for. If the ISP wants to charge more, or renegotiate terms with all those customers they promised "unlimited high speed" bandwidth to, that's a different story. Punishing the content providers is absurd. If you could punish the spam pushers, that'd be a different story, but companies like CNN, Yahoo, Netflix, Amazon... they don't force their content onto anyone's networks.

Even if the NSA was out of the equation, there's always some #@$hole out there who'll hack your stuff anyway... whether for gain (blackmail) or fun... you can't win.

Sure you could... if you like having to take extra steps every time you get a new book before you can read it. Maybe you don't care; technical issues like this are easy for us nerds, but most people just want things to work without hassle.

Good post. Mod points expired the other day. Great Lincoln quote.

I call myself a classic liberal... it actually has meaning compared to the common nomenclature used in modern politics... neither of the two major parties has a lock on conservative or liberal thinking. In fact, they both would restrict your personal rights and freedoms, just different ones... neither party is particularly liberal, except with other people's money.

So if I just make my own money with an image I made that happens to be identical to the real one, that's not counterfeiting?

But that's not the point... I don't live anywhere near where I went to school. Most people I know don't. But it's the area with the school losing potential tax revenue. Not that I really care.

Well... while I'm not one for hate and vitriol like most of the politically oriented people out there (it seems), I sit back and watch and: 1) I agree with the other response that neither of the two major parties actually represent a majority of anybody but politicians and businesses, and 2) I thought the tea party was an interesting idea until they became right wing on steroids. I thought they were interesting until they started campaigning against abortion, and inviting people like Sarah Pailin to speak at events. Again... I don't run out and start hating on either abortion or anti-abortion activists, I know they both have their opinions and beliefs, but I think it should largely stay out of politics at this point, and it's not going to change any time soon - both parties use it to rile up their bases, though.

So no hate against the Tea Party, but they are hardly a big difference between them and republicans - more like republicans demanding what the party SAYS they represent as opposed to how republican candidates actually act when they get into office. The GOP just needs some house cleaning, IMO.

People SAY they want freedom and liberty, but neither major party offers it. There's really only one out there that does (besides complete anarchists), and everybody thinks they're "crazy" because they want freedom and liberty, which, OMG, requires people to take back some responsibility for themselves.

Yeah, because students spend as much as, for example, middle income families.