If you thought that product placement was one of the fastest growing forms of marketing due to TV viewers TiVo'ing past all the commercials, think again. Now comes the commercial-free cable channel Showtime jumping into the lucrative game. And why not, when there's so much cash to be had. Then more cash will be had from all of the lesbian viewers being targeted.

We all keep hearing how Comcast is dropping MSNBC from its basic line-up and only offering it to their digital cable subscribers. If we work together as a united front we can hold Comcast accountable for their action and restore a balance to basic cable.

So, who do you think belongs on the All-Star team?

A funny thing happened to me today when I came on here today to get my news and issue update. I see two very prominent ads from the cable industry's lobbying organization the NCTA.

I just sent a very short note to the USGA concerning what they want for someone to see the United States Open. A few years ago my son and I went to Beth Paige on Long Island to see all great pros play golf. I can't remember exactly what I paid for 2 days at the event but somewhere around $100 for both of us. Of course, then there were motels and meals that had to be paid as well. When I looked at what they wanted for next years event I thought about how insane this had become. They offer two packages, one for $400 the other $595(if you win a lottery and are picked). It involves getting tickets for every day of the event and a person can only buy one total package. Luckily I learned from the last event that the privilege of walking around in the mud and not really seeing much of the total picture isn't all that it seems it would be. But this isn't about golf this is about pricing a normal person out of participating.

So, if we've got George Soros, Theresa Heinz-Kerry, and some other truly wealthy progressives, why don't we have a LEFTY TV-Cable Channel? And while Current-TV is pretty damn cool, I'm talking about something that can truly play the propaganda war toe-to-toe with both Fox AND Fox-lite MSM, a channel that gives us town hall debates like on the BBC, that mixes progressive documentaries with programming that goes from Olbermann-style news to Bill Maher style roundatbles, from Stewart style political comedy to shows where REGULAR people and tv-pundits sit across from each other and get to ask each other REAL questions?

I mean, something that, unlike Current-TV or PBS, doesn't try to be perfectly wonky, but aims at people on multiple levels, and might even get ratings and advertising? I mean, can't we beat Fox at their own game? Too often progressives eschew any format that isn't Bill Moyers, but Maher, Stewart, Olbermann, and the BBC have shown there are other ways. How can we get a full channel of this?  

I stumbled across International Net News recently. If they have an agenda, it's spread very wide. Mostly I find news items posted there that just aren't worthy of the MSM. They're too mundane (xx dead Iraqis and yy dead Americans today) or too plain vanilla business stuff. After reading it for a week or so, there have been some threads that start to stand out.

One thread is the falling value of the US dollar and the economic havoc that is causing all over the Mid-East. Israel and the OPEC nations are having fits over it. The move to the Euro as the reference currency has already begun. Welcome to the third world of international currencies. The USD is about to join the SGD, HKD and NTD in the world of dollar denominated currencies. There's probably more dollar types out there, too.

Then there's another thread: InfraGard

Hello everyone.  I am a touch of a conspiracy theorist.  I look for improbable coincidences.  Most of the time, I never find out if my hypotheses are right.  Right off the bat, it's important to note that this is nothing more than speculation on my part.  If you want to hear about my other theories, tell me, and I'll write about them on my blog.  

You see, I normally don't think that any of the things that I vaguely suspect are worth writing about, but today is different.

There are three possible mechanisms of control which can be used to silence progressive voices: economics, community standards, and ownership.  All three of these are a part of net neutrality.

The choice by the FCC to probe Comcast is critical, important and worth of praise. The following describes how net neutrality can be sold, and the triple threat faced by   community and people-powered media. Net Neutrality is a central long term issue for Daily Kos.

First, the breaking news:

FCC OPENS NET NEUTRALITY PROBE OF COMCAST
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Comcast Corp., the nation's leading provider of residential high-speed Internet access, has received official word that it is being investigated by the Federal  Communications Commission in connection with its network management practices, two sources said Monday. .... "consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement."

In Portland, Oregon -- a city known to the Bush family for nearly two decades as "Little Beirut" -- we've got limited options for cable service (just like most other major metro areas). In our case, it's mega-giant Comcast.

We've been toodling along with our old non-digital cable hookup for years. An Expanded Basic program has given us more than enough crap to choose from, especially with a DVR to record anything we might want. News on the three main cable networks as well as the Northwest Cable News, the Travel Channel for Anthony Bourdain, Home & Garden TV to laugh at what people call decor, the Sci-Fi Channel for mindless entertainment.

But all of that's about to change at the end of the month. Along with Oxygen and Hallmark Channel and a couple of shopping channels, as we move into the final months of the primary season Comcast is making one of the cable news networks unavailable to non-digital subscribers. Would that be GOP house organ FOX News? CNN with their steady diet of celebrity gossip and Glenn Beck? Or did I give it away in the title?

This article will also be published at blogcritics.org. By Heloise

Genre: Review and opinion on Emmy Award 59th

UPDATE: We won. After hours of pressure and calls from reporters, cable giant Insight Communications agreed to air the television ad.

Cable giant Insight Communications refused to air our hard-hitting, Daily Kos-featured new ad on Mitch McConnell last night, pulling it from their rotation without so much as courtesy notification.  Insight’s executives have donated $17,000 to McConnell. Now they are helping him even more by engaging in political censorship to keep this ad, which criticizes McConnell for his special interest politics, off the air.

Help Public Campaign Action Fund take the first step in building pressure  by signing this petition and telling Insight Communications that you won’t stand for political censorship.

All the other broadcast networks, including NBC, ABC, and CBS and another cable system are running the ad after reviewing its content for accuracy. Why won’t Insight air it?  

Here's another reason to hate Comcast.... and hopefuly a good reason to boycott them.

I want to choose which networks appear on my television.

And I just sent that message to congress from here

HearUsNow

It would be great if others would do the same.

What if your cable subscription was like a menu.  You could choose which
networks you want.  There would be no package that includes 30 channels
that you find obnoxious.  No more would you have to support all this
product that you wish would simply go away.

No it's not an "official" blackout, but it's one imposed on us by the various cable and corporate interests in the U.S. And yeah I know.... I'm in San Francisco and instead of watching soccer I should be doing something about the Republican attempt to steal the 2008 election.... I've already sent money and I'm doing volunteer work... we'll beat these neo-cons!

Now it would be nice if we were able to just pick the channels we wanted in our cable line-up. I think John McCain (?) and several Democrats a few years ago tried to do just that (and they failed in grand fashion thanks to cable operators and their lobbyists).... why should we have to put up with holy-roller channels, racist Christian Identity preachers, bulsh** shopping networks and no quality porn? OK just kidding about that last one... what I meant to say was that there's no way to watch all the UEFA Champion's League matches, unless you move to an E.U. country for 6 months.
Now if you want NASCAR, bass fishing, cheerleading finals, poker or billiards, ESPN comes through in style!!

Does anyone disagree?  She is on MSNBC right now, and I have to say that she is the most attractive newswoman on TV.  I have been a fan for a while, but she looks extra good today.

Who is your favorite newswoman on TV?

Just thought I'd post some nonsense - too much serious stuff hurts my brain!

The worst thing that can happen to a TV channel is for you to go outside. While you're in your home, there's a possibility you are watching. Outside, there's no possibility. TV channel's business models depend on people watching. People outside are not making any TV channel any money.

Follow me below the fold for more on an artist's insight from 14 years ago.

A la carte pricing for cable/satellite TV is an idea that's been around but is kinda stuck. This might get it moving.
Sirius and XM, the nation's two satellite radio services, want to hook up in the worst way. In order to get the FCC's blessing,

[the companies] said they would offer two "à la carte" pricing plans. One would enable consumers to purchase the best of the premium services now offered by each company — like professional football, baseball and basketball — for a monthly fee of $14.99. For $6.99 a month, the other would enable listeners to choose 50 of the nonpremium channels, with each additional channel costing 25 cents.

What this has to do with dkos and kossacks--and Fox News--on the flip.