Screw the billion dollar profiting and million dollar bonusing oil companies. I know they suck and that the Exxon-Mobils and similar comporations involved in the oil/gasoline business are evil and deserve to lose about 98% of their bloated profits back in the form of windfall profits taxes, but I also know that if we proceed down that road that we'll never see those companies spend money on researching and developing alternative energy sources, or in exploration of sources of new places to drill for oil, and other such issues.
True, if our politicians (in the U.S.A.) had a half a brain between them, and had just a little bit of guts to go with it (actually at times I feel like most of the U.S. Congress are the other members of Dorothy and Toto's party in the path down the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz), they could probably pass a reasonable windfalls profits tax that gave big tax breaks to the oilco's for doing research on alternative fuel sources while taking away that 98% of the profits that aren't being used for anything but profits, bonuses, etc. But again, we aren't talking about the most motivated individuals here, as they've all drunk from the well and taken from the till of the oilco's lobbyists and none are inclined to really fix the problems that face us all as we continue to suck up the worlds supply of fossil fuels at alarming rates.
Sadly, my topic of the day here is probably one that also will never get any attention and never really get corrected either though. My topic: Comcast, the evil cable broadcaster and hi-speed internet provider that I'm pretty much forced to use given a dearth of choice for high speed or broadband internet in my market.
True, AT&T and Verizon are sniffing around looking at bringing FIOS services to markets in my state (Maryland), but they're going painfully slow, and are having to grease the local pol's and work over-time to get favorable conditions that might let them into an area where they'd compete against Comcast. If you are in an area where you can get such competition, you are able to benefit to the tune of approximately 25% cuts in prices for service, or equally as nice, you benefit by getting a larger selection of programming or greater speed in your internet if you do make the jump over to one of these other providers.
Competition has been sorely lacking in high-speed networking, and even with the existence of DirecTV (who I use for TV services) and Dish Network as satellite tv providers, the prices for cable TV service continue to climb.
To a large extent the climb can be blamed on the costs of sports programming. The type of programming that Comcast currently won't carry in the D.C. market, as they refuse to air Peter Angelos' and Major League Baseball's bastard step child, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) which is the sole provider for most of the Washington Nationals televised games. While MASN isn't what I'd call a network currently, as they only air Nationals games, and aren't a 24-7 operation yet, they are competition to Comcast's own Comcast Sports Network (Mid-atlantic) which is the former "Home team sports" network from years ago. Because of that, Comcast continues to refuse to make a deal to carry MASN, and in doing so show themselves to continue to be the evil monopoly that they are.
While they claim they are standing up to another robber baron (Angelos) and don't want to be blackmailed into over-paying to carry Washington Nationals programming, they are holding approximately 2 - 4 million area homes hostage by refusing to carry MASN as part of their stupid fued with Angelos.
I can't help but think that if there were more competition, and a greater penetration of the FIOS type systems, that Comcast would be much more customer friendly, and their prices would be brought down into a range that would put more pressure on DirecTV and Dish Network to also cut their own prices. Competition, as it would be in the oil business, is a good thing. Lets have it with oil companies, and lets have it with cable TV.
And to those that want to balance the budget by taxing everything in sight, if you are serious, then start the drive to take the obscene profits from all of these companies - the oil companies, the cable companies, the phone companies, all of them, if they aren't spending the money in socially acceptable ways and in ways that would lead to more competition and more services and features, and I just might jump on board and support your efforts. Note I said might. You taxaholics are a dangerous bunch and I don't want to be caught in one of those read-my-lips situations only to see my good will burned while you put in taxes that do nothing but kill businesses and wind up passed along to the consumers, but if you find a way that hits at the problems directly and keeps us from getting more Ken Lay's in the world, then I might be on board with you.
