Don Libes has a very long post (it's actually an entire press release and more from Verizon) about the reasons why Verizon is suing Montgomery County, Maryland. It is difficult to know who is the good guy and who is the bad guy in all this. I mean, Montgomery County is notoriously corrupt, so it is difficult to believe anything the county says through its officials. Nevertheless, e-Week.com quotes Mont. Co.'s Marylin Praisner saying:

"Verizon just doesn't want to play by the same rules: They haven't submitted a franchise application," Praisner said, adding that when Verizon representatives appeared before her committee, she was told that the company would submit a franchise application, but so far that hasn't happened.

Praisner said that if Verizon didn't like the standard franchise agreement that other cable operators have signed, they could have red-lined the parts they didn't like, and submitted the changed version for negotiation, but she said the company hasn't done that, either.

"I don't think it's rocket science," Praisher said. "Verizon really doesn't want to play by those same rules. This is about a cable franchise; that's the arena in which they want to play."

But if Ms. Praisner is right and this really is all Verizon's fault, I need to ask: why did Anne Arundel County, Maryland just approve a franchise for Verizon under the same federal regulations and similar (if not identical) county cable franchising regulations? Unanimously!?

It's the Fourth of July, Independence Day, so I'd like to take a moment to just remember everything that has gone into making this country what it is today, I'm also going to try and keep the political jargon to a minimum. Freedom, its something that most us, myself included, take for granted and as result it has become something that we expect rather than respect. Nobody owes us anything; other than those in our military who have fought and died for this country the liberties we use and(some) abuse everyday have just been dropped in our laps, but instead of being thankful for the things we've been giving, we just whine and complain about how we think we deserve better. If you don't like it here, leave! It is an honor to be a part of this great country and if we all, instead of complaining about what we don't like, did something to make it better, just imagine what could happen.

While we all run about amidst the commotion of this Fourth of July enjoying fireworks and barbecues, let us never forget the sacrifices that have been given by all of our soldiers, past and present, at home and abroad.

We Will Never Forget

Across the country telephone companies have been pushing for franchising bills to be past, while in Montgomery County this process has stalled somewhat, there have been bills passed elsewhere around the nation. While they are not all exactly the same, they do however serve the same purpose, to let these companies compete with local television providers.