Answer that, then go from there. The TV world got turned upside down with the advent of digital cable. When TV networks started getting real feedback of who's actually watching and how long, instead of the WAG Nielsen ratings, that caused a panic among the TV and advertising industries. That's about the time reality TV and their lower production costs started really taking over, because you couldn't count on the same amount of advertising sponsorship to fund the higher production cost series.
I don't really watch TV anymore and the medium might as well go away as far as I'm concerned. They've cancelled all the good series I watched for more than 10 years, and replaced them with garbage. The Netflix model seems to be working OK for now and I have pursuits that make entertainment trivial to me; the idea of spending hours paying attention to merely entertain my brain and deliver an IV of advertisement is ghastly when I consider what I want life to be about.
If we put Senators back under the control of state legislatures, they'll be less influenced by outside money because the state legislatures can yank the leash when these "law makers" stop representing their constituents appropriately. This would make the Citizens United decision less relevant, at least on the Senate side.
The House reps are another story, because they're still under direct elections by the same public that keeps voting these "luminaries" back into power every time. Like senators, as soon as they finish lying to their constituents to their faces, they turn around and land in DC where they get hypnotized by lobbyists, committee chairmanships, etc. Then they're smooth sailing with their own agenda until it's time to come back home and lie to our faces again.
It seems everyone pointed at the Comcast/Netflix deal as the lynchpin of why FCC's "net neutrality" needed to be passed. What were the actual results of that debacle? A private company paid a bunch of money to another private company and users got better video streaming performance.
And by the way, it's highly skewed, back-room-negotiated regulations (like the ones used to pass NN) that keep smaller players from being able to compete against Comcast-type goliaths in local markets.
Congratulations on handing the well-meaning folks at the Federal government control of the internet, which was doing just fine. Now here's your prize:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-broadband-fees-20150409-story.html#page=1
These guys are obviously not anti-technology bigots, but they know there's something to being prudent and keeping the big picture in perspective. The purpose of technology is to aid mankind, not replace it, fix it, or supplant it. Seems like some of the people who are at the edge of technology and are aware of its potential to exceed its mandate are urging us as a society to slow down and not sacrifice our humanity at the altar of "progress" because we're in awe of the possibilities of what the technology can do.
Caution is not overrated. There are such things as unintended consequences. In fact they're everywhere and we just refuse to see them because we like our shiny new toys. I'd even say that for every benefit of anything, there are several unintended consequences.
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Discontinued-Manufacturer/product-reviews/B000I1X6PM
Great cable, but too fast.
Transmission of music data at rates faster than the speed of light seemed convenient, until I realized I was hearing the music before I actually wanted to play it. Apparently Denon forgot how accustomed most of us are to unidirectional time and the general laws of physics. I tried to get used to this effect but hearing songs play before I even realized I was in the mood for them just really screwed up my preconceptions of choice and free will. I'm still having a major existential hangover.
That's what you get when your supplier is the lowest bidder, and zero checks and balances are in place, all in the name of profit. Meanwhile, some MBA that set up the deal is relaxing on his Yacht. This is capitalism at work.
No, this is douchebaggery at work. They use capitalism to make their schemes happen, but capitalism also allows good things to happen too. Cars get you to and fro every day, and also get people killed at the rate of 35,303 per year for 2011 (source CDC death tables).
Pascal is not a high-level language. -- Steven Feiner