Is somebody else getting paid to use your Internet connection?

Pop-ups, one example of Internet ads

 

Are you paying too much for Internet, or at least more than you'd like? How would you like to know that there are companies out there making money on your Internet connection, and have no intention of paying you a dime of it?

Advertising itself is nothing new. It's probably older than the country you live in. But as you drive down the road and see a billboard, it isn't in your way, and it isn't sipping additional fuel out of your tank. It's just there. On TV and radio, you can't really get around ads, and they take up more and more time each year. In the 1960s, Star Trek episodes were over 50 minutes long, yet only occupied a one-hour time slot. This left less than 10 minutes for ads. Just five years ago, 'one-hour' shows were clocking in at around 42 minutes. Now they're down to 39. That's over a third of the hour spent on advertising. (Has your cable or satellite bill gone down to reflect this? I bet it hasn't.)

The video Facebook doesn't want you to see

A few minutes ago, I found a really cool video on Google+, so I went to share it with Facebook. I got an error I'd never seen before. Apparently Facebook doesn't think you should see this video.

This video contains no nudity or foul language. Whether it contains violence or not... well, violence is kind of implied at the end. It's a PSA from New Zealand about speeding. I wonder if Facebook will block my blog for posting it, or take action against my account. I'd be interested to know why they don't want their members seeing this video, though. Other videos can certainly be posted.

On Liberty vs Authority and the Pledge of Allegiance (today vs before the '50s)

Silly Authoritarian post on Facebook
posted on a so-called Libertarian page

Quick political science lesson: Forcing students to follow a state (as in government, not one US state) religion is authoritarian, not libertarian.

Just like you have Conservatives and Progressives (aka Liberals) and everybody in between, you also have Authoritarians and Libertarians.

Conservatives are opposed to progress; Progressives are for it. Generally this means minority rights, as well as welfare programs. In theory but not always in practice, it also extends to gun rights (which Conservatives fight for, mostly).

Authoritarians believe in the Authority of the State. Libertarians believe in the Liberty (freedom) of the Individual.