If you don’t see the video above, you can find it here.
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Netflix recently announced a rate hike of 60% for many of their subscribers.
This announcement has been met by a flurry of news articles about how ‘outrageous’ this move is. About how ‘upset’ people are. Even about how ‘damaging’ this is to the poor.
A prime example is a recent MSNBC article, Outrage over Netflix rate hike continues.
Most of the article is not particularly unique or interesting, however, it does contain a fascinating quote from a man on unemployment who is upset with the Netflix price hike. His direct quote reads:
“Having the streaming only plan would not be so bad if ALL the movies were available but they are not! So your forced to get the DVD…This was my only luxuary I COULD afford being on unemployment…no cable, just reg TV and wireless where Icould find it. So I would watch movies at McDonalds or something or at the library. I cant afford $16 a month not on unemployment…Thank YOu netflix for taking the one little piece of entertainment I had!”
So, the best example MSNBC could come up with is a complaint from a man who is ‘so destitute’ that he will no longer be able to watch Netflix movies while at McDonalds. He has a way to view movies with wireless access – a computer or iPhone/iPad. He goes to, and likely eats at, McDonalds. He has access to a library. But Netflix is his ‘only entertainment’ and he can’t afford it any longer. I see several problems with the logic here.
Netflix offers a value not beaten by anyone. They have been and are expanding their collection tremendously. The expansion costs significant money in licensing fee to owners of the content. Customers have been asking for more content and they are getting it, along with different options for how they wish to receive it.
Perhaps Netflix will get too greedy at some point. Perhaps their competitors will offer a better deal to consumers at some point. But that point is not today.
What will $16 dollars a month get you otherwise:
What does it provide:
Today Netflix provides one of the best entertain deals in existence.
Thank You Netflix.
The folks over at ParentsDecide.com have put together a few videos meant to further to cause of getting the government out of education and putting the choice and responsibility back into the hands of the parents.
My favorite is the ‘Free School Fallacy’. Now if we can only find ways to get people to watch it, and more importantly, to think about it.
Parents Decide: Free School Fallacy
If you don’t see the video above you can find it here.
Parents Decide: Parental Involvement in School
If you don’t see the video above you can find it here.
Parents Decide: Vision of the Future
If you don’t see the video above you can find it here.
These videos were created using the free website / tool called xtranormal. This site allows anyone to create animated videos using only a web browser. The site even converts your text script to speech. It’s quick, fun and worth a look.
Here’s a wonderful, short animation created by Dan at Liberation Animation which provides a simple yet humorous overview of the non-aggression principle. It’s so simple most children can understand it. Why can’t most adults?
If you can’t see the video above, you can find it here.
The lyrics to the song can be found here.
I met Matt Fitzgibbons at the 2005 PorcFest where he was playing songs from and selling his album Patriot. I talked with him and his friend, the album’s guitarist, Gene for hours. Having always loved music but having never learned to play, I’ve always been impressed by people who make it seem effortless. Add a message of liberty to that music and it becomes compelling.
Matt’s a genuine, passionate songwriter with a message to spread. His latest song “They Can’t Take That Away From You” is one of his best ever. He’s put together a simple, yet moving music video of the world-wide fight for liberty that transcends cultures, borders, race, and time.
If you don’t see the video above you can find it here.
You can find more of his music at PatriotMusic.com.
I’m happy to call Matt a friend and I look forward to his next creations.
I hear and read about the problems, the negatives, everywhere. Governments are tyrannical and bankrupt; jobs are gone; the economy is broken. Crime is rampant; people are lazy; children are rude and uneducated; disease is spreading; the environment is doomed.
It’s all falling apart.
When I find myself focusing on these negatives too much, I ask myself one question:
If not now, when in history would you prefer to be alive?
Paleolithic times? Under the reign of the pharaohs? At the height of the ancient Greek culture? During the building of the Roman empire? During the lifetimes of Moses, Jesus, Allah, Confucius? The birth of the Renaissance? The Ming Dynasty? The Aztec empire? The 1600s? 1700s? 1800s? Early 20th century?
My answer, across the board is ‘None of them’.
There isn’t a single time in history that would I trade with for today. My reasons are many, varied and I’ve outlined some of them below.
Slavery — throughout human history, until the last 200 years, slavery was accepted and expected on every continent. It was a constant. Who were the slaves and who were the masters changed, but the acceptance of slavery rarely wavered. Today, slavery is almost universally denounced. Slavery has officially been abolished in all countries, in law, if not in practice. The idea that one human can own another has been rejected.
Freedom of Speech — similar to slavery, the right to speak one’s mind without government interference or punishment was not widely recognized throughout most of human history. History is littered with the bodies of those who dared to speak their minds. The right to free speech is certainly not recognized world-wide yet, but more countries acknowledge it then ever before. More importantly, the idea of free speech has become deeply embedded in minds of people around the world.
Death During Childbirth — giving birth even in the recent past was a dangerous undertaking. According to the University of Houston’s Digital History - Childbirth in Early America page, 1% to 1.5% of all births in early America resulted in the death of the mother and 10% to 30% of children died before the age of five. It’s always astonished me when reading about early United States of America how many founding fathers’ first and second wives died in childbirth.
My wife and I have four girls, the last two are twins. My wife needed a C-section for the twins due to their positioning. Two hundred years ago the chances of all three surviving would have been questionable; today, thankfully, it is routine.
Death during childbirth used to be common. Now, in many countries it’s a shocking tragedy, and fortunately one I didn’t have to experience.
Women’s Rights — some parts of the world still have a long way to go on this point, but in Western countries I can’t think of another time I’d want my four daughters to experience.
Science & Technology — the pace of advancement in the last 100 years has been breathtaking. Everyday tools – cars, airplanes, x-rays, cell phones, 3D movies, tractors, washing machines, light bulbs, antibiotics, refrigeration - would have been considered magical in the past. Science fiction – robots, driverless cars, neural interfaces, nanotechnology - is quickly becoming fact. I am surrounded by ‘magic’.
Communications & Travel — news, ideas, people, and products travel faster and more efficiently than ever before due to advances in science and technology. It’s common to have friends and family living in multiple countries and continents. In the past, visiting a famous, far-off city might be a once in a lifetime event, the journey taking months. Today such travel can be a yearly occurrence with transit times no longer than a good night’s sleep. Visiting famous sites, experiencing different cultures, and exchanging ideas has never been easier.
The Internet & Learning — soon, the best teachers will be online. Anything you have the desire and determination to learn you’ll be able to, from the most skilled teacher, regardless of your physical location. The best teachers will be able to expand their impact, touch more students, and transform more lives.
Extensive, free math curriculums are already online. All of MIT’s coursework is available. Countless videos, courses, forums, tutorials, and examples are online for virtually any topic imaginable.
Knowledge is flowing onto the web and around the world. Hopefully wisdom will follow.
Markets — perhaps not truly free, but freer and more diverse than any in history. The world has become one huge marketplace. Competition may be stiffer, but with better communication and the ease of transfer of goods, the division of labor continues to generate more wealth for a larger percentage of people than ever before.
Access to Beautiful, Inspirational Art — art has the ability to move and inspire, to educate and uplift. Regardless of one’s definition of art or one’s tastes, the great works of art are more accessible today than ever. Throughout most of history the majority of people had limited or no exposure to art. Even if they were lucky enough to live near a city with a museum or an amphitheater, their exposure was still limited to the objects in that museum and the performers who visited that amphitheater. Artworks from the rest of the world were mostly hidden from them.
Today I can read read, view, hear, experience much of the greatest art ever created. Sure there’s tons of junk, but that doesn’t diminish the quantity or the quality of artwork within my grasp. I can visit museums and symphony halls around the world, buy prints and replicas, instantly listen to almost any piece of music ever created. I can view famous artworks from my couch in detail that I couldn’t even see in museums. I can download millions of books, and many classics are free. Beauty and inspiration are always at hand.
Opportunity — this one word sums up the reason why now is when I would choose to live. In the the past, more often than not, a person was born, lived, and died where their parents did. They worked the same job with the same tools as their father or mother. Change was slow and opportunity scarce.
Advances in the areas above combine to provide tremendous opportunities. Opportunities to be seized, to enjoy. Opportunities to live, explore, learn and grow.
I’m not dismissing or minimizing the problems in the world, only putting them in context. A simple question - ‘If not now…when?’ – helps me keep my perspective, my sanity, and my optimism.
