When you walk into your local Martin's or Giant Eagle grocery store to buy yourself some of those yummy Lays baked potato chips that you love so much, you wouldn't really expect to see an advertisement there in the store telling you to go to nearest Bilo or Piggly Wiggly to get more food selection and at a cheaper price now would you? Of course not. But that is exactly what television cable subscribers are experiencing. Those of you who subscribe to satellite TV may as well tune to the next blog as this doesn't really concern you (mainly because you get CSTV and I don't and I hate you for that!).

But cable users; how many times have you been watching your favorite episode of Swanky the Teenage Fish when a commercial break comes on and the next thing you know Jessica Simpson is dressed in her hoochie gear telling you to check her out in HD 1080i on DirectTV? If you stop and think about it, here's what's going on. You pay money (real money mind you, not that Monopoly stuff you steal from The Bank every time you play) to your cable provider to be able to watch the TV shows you crave, and those you'll never ever see in a million years. In return, your cable provider offers you its services like any good company would. However because television is a medium for advertising, your cable provider also gets money (even more of the real stuff in amounts you'll never see in your lifetime) from other companies wanting to get you to buy their stuff as well. It just so happens that there are other companies out there that want you to buy your TV viewing pleasure from them and not your local cable company. Your cable company has no choice but to let satellite television providers as well as other competing cable companies advertise for their services on your local's commercial space.

When you think about it, it's really absurd that a company would do such a thing. When was the last time you went to fill your tank up with ridiculously expensive gasoline and the Exxon you stopped at kept flashing messages at you to go fill up at BP where the fuel is 10 cents cheaper? HAHAHA! Dream on you deranged petroleum psychopaths!