Ugh! The boys (and girls) in Washington, D.C. are at it again. Another bill is trying to be passed, and this time they're hitting close to home. They want to take away the funding for public access stations by removing the franchise fees that the large cable companies pay to dig up our personal and public property and bury wires. This places more money into the hands of the telecom giants and has the potential to completely change television and phone services -- ways that I don't even want to imagine. I think this falls into a class along with the original deregulation of the cable companies that was intended to place more of the stations within a person's grasp. More user-friendly if you will.

I grew up in a house that didn't have cable until the mid to late 80's. I watch the quality of programming slide deeper and deeper into the pit of hell by the year. Things need to change, I agree with that. But by providing the Time Warners, Comcasts, and Verisons with more money to put in their pockets, the quality of programming will continue to decrease until control comes back into the public's hands once again.

For more information, see Democracy Now!'s interview with Anthony Riddle and George Stoney.