Discussion about hot topics trending today

[Annoyed]

So.. All of them should go? None of them can survive on ad revenue alone. That's why you pay for cable/satellite.. Why they sell shows to overseas networks and have merchandising licences..

Nope. Cable content providers charge cable companies (and similar) for the right to air their channel. SyFy charges time warner, etc. That's where the shortfall left by ad revenue alone is made up.
And the cable companies most often "bundle" a package of channels together, and charge X dollars for that bundle.
But some niche channels don't have enough viewers; if they weren't part of a bundle, not enough people would pay for that channel to justify its existence, cause it can't exist on ad revenue alone.

Overall cable charges would be lower if customers were allowed to pick a list of individual channels to subscribe to; I'd pay for the channels I want, Fred next door would pay for what he wants and such.

But niche channels might not have enough people willing to pay for that channel. Why should that channel be able to ride on the coattails of the more popular channel? If it can't draw enough viewers who want to subscribe to it, let it die. Why should I pay higher prices for the channels I want in a bundle in order to subsidize a channel that can't cut it standing on its own?

[Falcon Horus]

One word: whitewashing

Or is that two words: white washing

Hopefully Disney rethinks their live action Mulan film because after that leak, it might not turn out great for them.

[garhkal]

Red Dwarf had some great acronyms as well, especially from the Episode "polymorph"

Way back in the day i loved that show.. Now days its "MEH" to me.. Guess age mellowed me out to its type of humor..

bah, chances are Trump will have to clamp down on civilian gun ownership anyway

How do you figure?

[SoulReaver]

How do you figure?

increasing wealth disparity will result in heavy social unrest: strikes demonstrations & probably riots (the latter especially being problematic) so he'll just claim the country's in a state of emergency & call for "temporary" suspension of all sorts of rights which most americans - gullible pushovers as they are - will readily accept in the name of security™
even your 1st amendment won't be safe so use your freedom of speech while you still can

can't wait to see this hehe

[Annoyed]

bah, chances are Trump will have to clamp down on civilian gun ownership anyway

Maybe he'll have to require ownership.
Seriously, I strongly doubt he or any other R would ever consider that. Political suicide.

[Falcon Horus]

Seriously, I strongly doubt he or any other R would ever consider that. Political suicide.

No worries, he's already started his political suicide. He can take care of that, all on his own.

[Annoyed]

No worries, he's already started his political suicide. He can take care of that, all on his own.

Regretably, I think you're right. I expect we're gonna end up stuck with Hillary.

[jelgate]

No worries, he's already started his political suicide. He can take care of that, all on his own.

But he is ready for a rebellion. When he loses it won't because he had fewer votes, but because the election is rigged. His supporters are going to riot....for about 10 minutes

[garhkal]

increasing class disparity will result in heavy social unrest: strikes demonstrations & probably riots (the latter especially being problematic) so he'll just claim the country's in a state of emergency & call for "temporary" suspension of all sorts of rights which most americans - gullible pushovers as they are - will readily accept in the name of security™
even your 1st amendment won't be safe so use your freedom of speech while you still can

can't wait to see this hehe

And you don't think obama is already trying to create that sort of unrest?

[Annoyed]

Trump Proposes Term Limits for Congress

While the term limits idea is ok, and is very popular, in my view, we already have a mechanism for limiting terms in the form of the voting booth. But this should help him at the polls.

But contained within is a 5 point ethics reform package

First: I am going to re-institute a 5-year ban on all executive branch officials lobbying the government for 5 years after they leave government service. I am going to ask Congress to pass this ban into law so that it cannot be lifted by executive order.

Second: I am going to ask Congress to institute its own 5-year ban on lobbying by former members of Congress and their staffs.

Third: I am going to expand the definition of lobbyist so we close all the loopholes that former government officials use by labeling themselves consultants and advisors when we all know they are lobbyists.

Fourth: I am going to issue a lifetime ban against senior executive branch officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.

Fifth: I am going to ask Congress to pass a campaign finance reform that prevents registered foreign lobbyists from raising money in American elections.

All of the above are good ideas.

But I can't help but wonder how long before and how he will manage to put his feet in his mouth over this.

[Gatefan1976]

They -are- good idea's, but the problem with them is, -who- is he going to ask, Congress.
He will ask congress to limit it's own power and post political careers (which I don't think it is currently legal for a employer to do, no matter the job).

Congress would -never- pass such changes, and I think Trump is smart enough to know that.

[Annoyed]

Yes, congresscritters would be loathe to limit their own options.
But if Trump does win, he is going to have a hell of a lot of political capitol behind him, particularly among Republican voters. Don't forget the record levels of support he enjoyed during the primaries. So Republicans might choose not to oppose him so as not to endanger their own jobs next time they are before the voters. Unless Congress flips, he might just be able to get it passed.

[Gatefan1976]

Yes, congresscritters would be loathe to limit their own options.
But if Trump does win, he is going to have a hell of a lot of political capitol behind him, particularly among Republican voters. Don't forget the record levels of support he enjoyed during the primaries. So Republicans might choose not to oppose him so as not to endanger their own jobs next time they are before the voters. Unless Congress flips, he might just be able to get it passed.

Who is he going to have this capital with dude?
2 years he will have the current congress, Democrats won't work with him, and he is abusing his own party, so there goes half of term one. He will have to spend those 2 years building up replacements for the Republicans he wants to eject. So he needs to take over congress while avoiding losing support.

[jelgate]

I don't think Annoyed understands how checks and balances work

[aretood2]

Nothing wrong with the idea, but in most cable markets, there aren't enough viewers to support the channel. From time to time, there are various trial balloons regarding a la carte pricing for cable channels; instead of buying a package of X number of channels, you pay for only the channels that you want to get. BET and a few other niche channels always oppose this, because they know they won't get enough subscribers to pay the bills.

I don't have any problem with the idea, but in essence, by being included in bundles, they are being subsidized by more mainstream / popular channels. If the channel can't draw enough viewers to sustain its costs, how do you justify its continuing existence?

That makes sense, on the surface. But as thekillman pointed out, there's more too it. Take the CW for example. Pre Arrow and Pre The 100, there is no way I would even consider watching that channel, ever. So I take it out of my custom bundle. And I won't discover that channel for it's program that I've come to love. Or Sci Fi (When it was called that) if my parents didn't include it in their custom bundle, I would never have known about Stargate, they aren't sci fi fans at all.

That's the supermarket effect. You go in to buy bread and milk and you end up finding a new brand of cereal you'll enjoy plus a tasty cake to treat yourself. That cake and cereal helps subsidize the prices of the bread and milk. Imagine if The Flash had to slash its special effects budget? Would we get the same quality show? Or if Legends had to be cancelled from the get go because they'd have to slash the budget for wardrobe and settings. The 100 wouldn't have scenes in Space. In the end, my subsidizing of the CW during its time of programs that I didn't care for helped pay for programs I very much enjoy watching.

I don't think Annoyed understands how checks and balances work

A fact readily lost on the Trump camp.