http://www.businessinsider.com/things-youll-regret-doing-in-your-20s-2016-2?utm_content=buffer1ee41&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

10 things you'll regret doing in your 20s

ShutterstockDon't waste time worrying about what others think.

How do you know if you're taking full advantage of your 20s, making all the right decisions in your personal and professional lives?

Well, you don't. Life is about taking chances and doing your best.

But those who've already been through this critical decade can certainly help point out the landmines. That's why we turned to threads on Quora and Reddit, where users weighed in with their biggest regrets from their 20s.

Here are a few things you might want to avoid:

1. Not exercising

Quora user Carl Logan regrets never working out in his 20s.

"If I [had] hit the gym I probably would've been a lot happier and would've had more success with the opposite sex," he writes.

Even beyond happiness and the ability to attract mates with your six-pack abs, regular exercise in your 20s can help prevent health issues down the line. One recent study found that your fitness level in your 20s may have a major impact on your risk of heart disease and death as you progress toward middle age.

2. Worrying about what other people think

"I wasted a lot of time worrying about what others think — I've learned it rarely matters," Logan says.

In fact, research suggests that people generally overestimate the amount of attention others pay them. It's called the spotlight effect, because people mistakenly believe that they are the center of attention in a room.

If you accept this idea in your 20s instead of later on, you'll have more time to act freely, without fearing that you look like an idiot.

3. Letting your parents' opinions determine your life choices

Riina Rinkineva says she regrets "not standing my ground against my parents for what I wanted for myself in my life and what I didn't want."

It's incredibly important to set some boundaries between you and your folks, so that you have space to figure out what you want personally and professionally.

At the same time, you shouldn't cut yourself off completely from parental support. As psychologist Jeffrey Arnett told Business Insider, parents "often have life experience and wisdom that you haven't acquired yet."

Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesAvoid charging everything to a credit card.

4. Racking up credit-card debt

Yash Mishra says he regrets getting a credit card and "charging like crazy" in his 20s.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, consider taking a tip from one Business Insider reporter and going on a cash-only diet, during which you stop using credit and debit cards completely.

5. Getting married too quickly

Before getting married, Diane O'Neil says, "I should have first found out who I was and what I was capable of achieving as an individual; I became someone's wife long before I found out what I wanted to do personally."

Obviously, everyone is different and, for some people, getting hitched before 30 is the perfect choice. In fact, some research suggests that people who marry in their mid to late 20s have happier marriages than those who marry later.

But if you feel like you need more time to explore — by traveling, trying out different careers, and learning what you want in a romantic relationship — you may not want to rush to the altar.

6. Not investing

One of Ramya Sridharan's biggest regrets from her 20s is that she didn't invest in the stock market. As she notes, the earlier you start investing, the higher the returns.

Sridharan is right — the earlier you invest, the more time your money has to accrue interest — it's a principle called "compound interest." That's why you should open a retirement account, such as a company-sponsored 401(k) or an individual retirement account (IRA), as soon as possible.

Flickr/DeortizMake time to travel the world.

7. Not traveling the world

"The biggest regret I have about one decision I made in my 20s is not traveling enough when there were a lot of opportunities," writes Vishnu Prabhu.

Inspired to globe-trot but overwhelmed with all the potential places to visit? We've narrowed it down to 40 trips you should take before you turn 30 — from swimming with jellyfish in Palau to camping out in Nevada for Burning Man.

8. Not mustering the courage to ask someone out

Over on Reddit, stardust7 says, "I regret not being more direct when I liked someone. I had no confidence back then."

If you're not quite bold enough to approach the object of your affection in person, be slightly less bold and take these tips from comedian Aziz Ansari on how to text them. Hint: "heyyy" probably won't work.

9. Forgetting to floss

"I have cavities now because I didn't floss daily," says Eurycerus. "Kills me that I could've prevented it. Now I floss daily."

But it's not just cavities that result from letting plaque build up between your teeth. Medical experts say that not flossing can cause periodontal disease — when the gums recede and create a gap between the gum and the tooth that can become infected.

Periodontal disease is linked to other issues as well, including heart disease, HPV infection, mouth cancers, diabetes, and kidney failure.

10. Never living alone

"I always had a roommate or lived with my fiancé/wife," writes an anonymous Redditor. "I strongly believe I missed out on discovering some level of self sufficiency. ... It's not the [worst] thing in the world, but I feel like it could have contributed to my growth."

Living alone is getting more common. As of 2013, as many as 23% of Americans were doing it, partly thanks to the decline in marriage rates. But there's still a relative paucity of advice for singletons.

Kate Bolick, author of "Spinster," tells Business Insider that, if you're living alone, it's important to accept that you'll be lonely at times and there's nothing shameful about it. You'll also want to place special importance on your friendships, which can have a big impact on your health and happiness.

~A.

IoT Research Report & Ecosystem - Internet of Things

http://www.businessinsider.com/iot-research-report-and-ecosystem-internet-of-things-2016-2?nr_email_referer=1&utm_content=BISelect&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_campaign=BI%20Select%20%28Wednesday%20Friday%29%202016-02-19&utm_term=Business%20Insider%20Select

This exclusive report reveals the ABCs of the IoT

Business Insider

The Internet of Things (IoT) Revolution is picking up speed and it will change how we live, work, and entertain ourselves in a million ways big and small.

From agriculture to defense, retail to healthcare, everything is going to be impacted by the growing ability of businesses, governments, and consumers to connect to and control their environments:

• "Smart mirrors" will allow consumers to try on clothes digitally, enhancing their shopping experience and reducing returns for the retailer
• Assembly line sensors will detect tiny drops in efficiency that indicate critical equipment is wearing out and schedule down-time maintenance in response
• Agricultural equipment guided by GPS and IoT technology will soon plant, fertilize and harvest vast croplands like a giant Roomba while the "driver" reads a magazine
• Active people will share lifestyle data from their fitness trackers in order to help their doctor make better health care decisions (and capture discounts on health insurance premiums)

No wonder the Internet of Things has been called "the next Industrial Revolution." It's so big that it could mean new revenue streams for your company and new opportunities for you. The only question is: Are you fully up to speed on the IoT?

After months of researching and reporting this exploding trend, Business Insider Intelligence has put together an essential briefing that explains the exciting present and the fascinating future of the Internet of Things. It covers how IoT is being implemented today, where the new sources of opportunity will be tomorrow and how 17 separate sectors of the economy will be transformed over the next 20 years, including:

If you work in any of these sectors, it's important for you to understand how the IoT will change your business and possibly even your career. And if you're employed in any of the industries that will build out the IoT infrastructure—networking, semiconductors, telecommunications, data storage, cybersecurity—this report is a must-have.

Among the big picture insights you'll get from The Internet of Things: Examining How the IoT Will Affect The World:

• IoT devices connected to the Internet will more than triple by 2020, from 10 billion to 34 billion. IoT devices will account for 24 billion, while traditional computing devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.) will comprise 10 billion.
• Nearly $6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions over the next five years.
• Businesses will be the top adopter of IoT solutions because they will use IoT to 1) lower operating costs; 2) increase productivity; and 3) expand to new markets or develop new product offerings.
• Governments will be the second-largest adopters, while consumers will be the group least transformed by the IoT.

And when you dig deep into the report, you'll get the whole story in a clear, no-nonsense presentation:

• The complex infrastructure of the Internet of Things distilled into a single ecosystem
• The most comprehensive breakdown of the benefits and drawbacks of mesh (e.g. ZigBee, Z- Wave, etc.), cellular (e.g. 3G/4G, Sigfox, etc.), and internet (e.g. Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.) networks
• The important role analytics systems, including edge analytics, cloud analytics, will play in making the most of IoT investments
• The sizable security challenges presented by the IoT and how they can be overcome
• The four powerful forces driving IoT innovation, plus the four difficult market barriers to IoT adoption
• Complete analysis of the likely future investment in the critical IoT infrastructure: connectivity, security, data storage, system integration, device hardware, and application development
• In-depth analysis of how the IoT ecosystem will change and disrupt 17 different industries

The Internet of Things: Examining How the IoT Will Affect The World is how you get the full story on the Internet of Things.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the IoT universe, choose one of these options:

1. Purchase an ALL-ACCESS Membership that entitles you to immediate access to not only this report, but also dozens of other research reports, subscriptions to all 5 of the BI Intelligence daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you've given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of the IoT.

~A.

Know Anybody Who Uses Tylenol? Researchers Discover That It Kills More Than Just Pain… | Collective-Evolution

Define pain....
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2016/02/18/know-anybody-who-uses-tylenol-researchers-discover-that-it-kills-more-than-just-pain/

Know Anybody Who Uses Tylenol? Researchers Discover That It Kills More Than Just Pain…

Researchers from Ohio State University discovered that the commonly used pain reliever, acetaminophen, has a previously unknown side effect: it kills positive emotions. In the study, participants who took acetaminophen reported feeling fewer strong emotions when they were shown very pleasant orvery disturbing photos, compared to those who took placebos. You might be thinking correlation doesn't mean causation, but when you use the Bradford Hill criteria, and examine all of the other studies done regarding the psychological effects of over the counter pain killers, the picture becomes clearer. (source)(source)

Acetaminophen is the main ingredient in the commonly used pain reliever Tylenol and has been used for more than 70 years in the United States, but this marks the first time that this "side effect" has been documented. It's the most common drug ingredient in the United States, found in more than 600 medicines, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. (source)

"In all, rather than being labeled as merely a pain reliever, acetaminophen might be better described as an all-purpose emotion reliever… [and] it is apparent that using acetaminophen for the treatment of pain might have broader consequences than previously thought." –  Geoffrey Durso, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in social psychology at The Ohio State University. (source)

Again, the conclusions of the study suggest that acetaminophen "has a general blunting effect on individuals' evaluative and emotional processing, irrespective of negative or positive valence."(source)

This is not the only research that has been conducted on acetaminophen's effects beyond just mitigating physical pain. Studies have shown that it does indeed have some sort of psychological effect, and as Durso states, "this study takes those results one step further by showing that it also reduces how much users actually feel positive emotions." (source)

The researchers also mentioned that:

"These results build on recent psychological research illustrating that acetaminophen can blunt the intensity with which individuals experience negative events that originate from physical, social, or cognitive sources (DeWall et al., 2015; DeWall et al., 2010; Randles et al., 2013). Further, these findings expand on the research to date to show that acetaminophen blunts positive evaluations in like fashion." (source)

It's also important to note here that the use of pain killers (like aspirin and ibuprofen) has been associated with heart failure risk. A review of 754 clinical trials( published in Lancet) found that pain killers (ibuprofen in particular) have been estimated to be a contributing factor in the deaths of thousands of people each year. According to the lead researcher of that review, long term use of these drugs caused thousands of heart attacks as well as sudden cardiac deaths that occurred between 1999-2003. In this case, the drug Vioxx was singled out. (source)(source)

"Meta-analyses of randomised trials and of observational studies have shown that coxibs and tNSAIDs are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and upper gastrointestinal complications." (source)

"Long-term high-dose use of painkillers such as ibuprofen or diclofenac is 'equally hazardous' in terms of heart attack risk as use of the drug Vioxx, which was withdrawn due to its potential dangers."(source)

This information is not to be taken lightly. These over the counter pain-killers are so common, and it's become natural to just pop one anytime one has a headache, without ever being aware of the many side effects of doing so, both short and long term. The researchers of the study also emphasized this by stating:

"That a drug purported to relieve negative evaluations of pain also reduces positive evaluations of pleasant stimuli suggests the existence of a common evaluative psychological process that influences a wide range of thoughts and behaviors. This might mean, for instance, that certain methods designed to specifically alter individuals' reactivity to negative stimuli (e.g., treatment of phobias) could, if too broadly applied, potentially change their sensitivity to emotionally evocative stimuli more generally, including positive events (e.g., causing them to feel less joy at a wedding). It is interesting that such diminished evaluation sensitivity could also presumably cause people to feel less conflicted, indecisive, or uncomfortable when they experience ambivalence toward individuals or experiences that elicit both negative and positive reactions (e.g., Priester & Petty, 1996; Rydell & Durso, 2012)." (source)(source)

As Sayer Ji from greenmedinfo.com  points out, given the fact that it took the FDA 32 years after its own expert panel told the agency in 1977 that it was "obligatory" to put on the warning label of Tylenol products that it caused "severe liver damage," it's doubtful that this information will be disseminated widely any time soon. (source)

For 6 Natural & Effective Alternatives Click HERE

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~A.

The 12 Biggest Life Secrets Forgotten By Mankind | The Mind Unleashed

http://themindunleashed.org/2015/03/the-12-biggest-life-secrets-forgotten-by-mankind.html

The 12 Biggest Life Secrets Forgotten By Mankind

The more I ponder about life, the more I come to one solid realisation: The biggest curse and predicament of modern Man is forgetfulness. Like a creeping malaise, forgetfulness has seeped through all of Man's being and doing. Individually, collectively, historically or culturally, we are spellbound to forget.

We haven't only forgot our past but also our place in the present and our responsibility of the future. On a personal level, our ego-based state of consciousness is on a mission to keep us in this state of forgetfulness – to break the link to our being as a whole and to the interconnected web of life and universal consciousness. On a collective level, this forgetfulness is perpetuated and reinforced by social and cultural means – mainly by being tranced into a reality of unconscious consumerism, inauthentic lifestyles and a materialistic mindset.

The brighter side of it is that we all have the chance to re-member and re-connect to ourselves and the universe at large. The power of remembering is at the centre of the spiritual path to self-discovery and realisation.

Here is a list of what I believe we have forgotten, or more importantly, a list of things to remember:

1. We forgot our place in the natural world:

In the last couple of hundred years we have detached ourselves from nature. We have exploited, ravaged, consumed and attempted to control nature to appease our greed driven by self-absorbed madness. We tried to distance ourselves from the natural circle of life. We forgot how to listen to and understand the natural rhythms and cycles of the earth – its signs and languages. We forgot to follow nature's path and live in balance with it.

2. We forgot our connection to life and the cosmos:

By detaching ourselves from nature, we forgot that we are deeply connected to it and to the cycles of the universe. Some tribes on the outskirts of 'civilisation', and who still follow ancestral ways, have preserved this connection with respect and reverence. We, on the other hand have instilled a sense of separateness which drove us out of balance and in dis-ease.  We forgot how all consciousness is interconnected and weaved into a delicate and beautiful dance.

3. We forgot our ancient wisdom:

We forgot our ancestral wisdom. In the quest to gain scientific knowledge through the rationalisation of our mind, we forgot the wisdom through the opening of our heart. We forgot the ancient stories and folk wisdom that was handed down from from seers and wise men of antiquity who lived in harmony with the universe.

4. We forgot our path and our dreams:

By stirring away from our inner path we forgot to dream the dream of life. More importantly we forgot how to awake in that dream and see our true nature as co-creators of life – as the dreamers. We forgot that we have the power to weave dreams and use our power of intention to direct those dreams into manifestation.

5. We forgot our purpose:

With too much chatter, noise and distraction in this dense reality we forgot what we came here to do. We forgot our purpose. We are caught in the mass trance of fabricated consensual reality. We lost sight of our authenticity, that inner spark that drives us towards our happiness and self-realisation. We forgot that we are here to be realised as spiritual beings embodied in a physical form and embedded in a congenial universe.

6. We forgot that everything is Love:

This is perhaps the deepest mystery of all that only some seers came to understand it as an all-embracing truth. That truth however is hidden somewhere deep inside of us. We knew it at some point but have lost touch with it. We forgot that everything is ultimately energy and consciousness and that love is the fundamental fabric of existence that runs through all energy and consciousness.

7. We forgot to Forgive:

By being made to believe that we are separate and disconnected from the others and from everything else, we forgot to forgive. In its deepest sense forgiveness is the act of reminding ourselves that we are one with everyone and everything and that there is no victim or perpetrator. It's just all of us together moving together in a dynamic web we call life.

8. We forgot to be Free:

Remind yourself one thing everyday: You were made to be free.

We were born and raised in a 'reality' where freedom is only a concept. We were bound to the shackles of fear, misconceptions, false ideologies, material reward and held ransom to rules and laws laid down to safeguard the interest of the few. We were made to forget that we are free agents of change. We are free to be who we are without fear or guilt.

9. We forgot our real power:

Living in fear has made us forget how powerful we are. We forgot the massive power of our will and intention to change our reality. We have been tranced into sleepwalking and following the ready made signs like automatons.

10. We forgot our lessons from history:

If there is something that history has taught us is how fast we are at forgetting our lessons. Time and time again we keep on repeating the same mistakes, stuck in the same patterns of greed and self-destruction. We cannot be blamed individually for the mistakes done by humanity in the past but we are responsible as individuals to to remind ourselves of the past mistakes and pass it on to the collective psyche.

11. We forgot to be simple:

Human life got more complex and complicated. We are seduced by the glitter of more and not by the power of less. We forgot to be simple and the meaning of simplicity. Life is simple really. Simplicity means discarding all the inessential stuff and ideas that clutter the view to our life purpose and the other truths we have forgotten.

12. We forgot to trust, believe and wonder:

We lost our enchantment with the world. We forgot to be wondered by the miracle of life. We do not stand in awe at the majesty of it all anymore. Our skepticism and cynical view of the world has made us lose trust in ourselves and the magic of the universe. We forgot how to believe. This is perhaps the biggest tragedy of all. It weakened our spirit and impoverished our soul.

Credits: "The 12 Biggest Life Secrets Forgotten By Mankind," from myscienceacademy.org, by The Mind Unleashed Contributing Author Gilbert Ross

Featured image: "Watchmen"

~A.

12 Little Known Laws of Karma That Will Change Your Life - DavidWolfe.com

http://www.davidwolfe.com/12-laws-of-karma-change-life/?c=cevo&vp=wuw

12 LITTLE KNOWN LAWS OF KARMA THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Most people view Karma as a punishment. The phrase, "karma is a b$&@!" comes quickly to mind. However, this is a misconception about karma that is drawn from the media and the misunderstanding of culture and religion.

Karma is the Sanskrit word for action. One can think of karma as the spiritual equivalent of Newton's Law of Motion. "For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction." Basically, when we exhibit a negative force in thought, word, or action, that negative energy will come back to us.

However, karma is not meant to be a punishment. It is present for the sake of education. How else is someone to learn how to be a good person if they are never taught that harmful action is wrong. A person only suffers if they have created the conditions for suffering.

Here are the 12 laws of Karma everyone should know!

1. The Great Law

• "As you sow, so shall you reap." Also known as the "Law of Cause and Effect."
• To receive happiness, peace, love, and friendship, one must BE happy, peaceful, loving, and a true friend.
• Whatever one puts out into the Universe will come back to them.

2. The Law of Creation

• Life requires our participation to happen. It does not happen by itself.
• We are one with the Universe, both inside and out.
• Whatever surrounds us gives us clues to our inner state.
• Surround yourself with what you want to have in your life and be yourself.

3. The Law of Humility

• One must accept something in order to change it.
• If all one sees is an enemy or a negative character trait, then they are not and cannot be focused on a higher level of existence.

4. The Law of Growth

• "Wherever you go, there you are."
• It is we who must change and not the people, places or things around us if we want to grow spiritually.
• All we are given is ourselves. That is the only thing we have control over.
• When we change who and what we are within our hearts, our lives follow suit and change too.

5. The Law of Responsibility

• If there is something wrong in one's life, there is something wrong in them.
• We mirror what surrounds us, and what surrounds us mirrors us; this is a Universal Truth.
• One must take responsibility for what is in one's life.

6. The Law of Connection

• The smallest or seemingly least important of things must be done because everything in the Universe is connected.
• Each step leads to the next step, and so forth and so on.
• Someone must do the initial work to get a job done.
• Neither the first step nor the last are of greater significance. They are both needed to accomplish the task.
• Past, Present, and Future are all connected.

Wikipedia

7. The Law of Focus

• One cannot think of two things at the same time.
• If our focus is on Spiritual Values, it is not possible for us to have lower thoughts like greed or anger.

8. The Law of Giving and Hospitality

• If one believes something to be true, then sometime in their life they will be called upon to demonstrate that truth.
• Here is where one puts what they CLAIM to have learned into PRACTICE.

9. The Law of Here and Now

• One cannot be in the here and now if they are looking backward to examine what was or forward to worry about the future.
• Old thoughts, old patterns of behavior, and old dreams prevent us from having new ones.

10. The Law of Change

• History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.

11. The Law of Patience and Reward

• All Rewards require initial toil.
• Rewards of lasting value require patient and persistent toil.
• True joy comes from doing what one is supposed to be doing, and knowing that the reward will come in its own time.

12. The Law of Significance and Inspiration

• One gets back from something whatever they put into it.
• The true value of something is a direct result of the energy and intent that is put into it.
• Every personal contribution is also a contribution to the Whole.
• Lesser contributions have no impact on the Whole, nor do they work to diminish it.
• Loving contributions bring life to and inspire the Whole.

Karma is a lifestyle that promotes positive thinking and actions. It also employs self-reflection to fix the problems in one's life.

To learn more about Karma, take a look at the video below!

This work Originally Published at (In5D)

Nov 16, 2015DavidWolfe.com

~A.

INFOGRAPHIC: Top 18 houseplants for purifying the air you breathe, according to NASA | Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building

http://inhabitat.com/infographic-top-18-houseplants-for-purifying-the-air-you-breathe-according-to-nasa/

INFOGRAPHIC: Top 18 houseplants for purifying the air you breathe, according to NASA

Houseplants do wonders for a house: they breathe new life to a room, add a bright pop of color, and purify the air. Not all plants are equally effective, however, when it comes to filtering harmful air-borne toxins and pollutants. NASA conducted a Clean Air Study to identify the best air-filtering indoor plants, all of which commonly found at local flower shops, to help guide us in our purchasing decisions. Even better, Love The Garden created an infographic that lists 18 NASA-recommended plants for improving air quality as well as the common toxins that each plant can treat.

+ Love The Garden

~A.

The Scariest Cable Merger Nobody in Washington Is Talking About - BillMoyers.com

http://billmoyers.com/story/the-scariest-cable-merger-nobody-in-washington-is-talking-about/

The Scariest Cable Merger Nobody in Washington Is Talking About

Time Warner Cable headquarters at Columbus Circle on May 26, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

This piece originally appeared on Medium.

When Comcast tried to merge with Time Warner Cable last year, reaction was swift and negative. Not many people liked the idea of America's largest and least loved cable company getting any bigger; the deal collapsed after hundreds of thousands of Americans spoke out and federal regulators signaled that they would not let it go forward.

Big Cable should have gotten the message. But here we are just a year later with a new cable mega-merger in the works. This time, Charter Communications wants to snatch up Time Warner Cable along with Bright House Networks.

Unfortunately, this deal hasn't received nearly as much public attention as the Comcast-Time Warner Cable proposal. The harms it presents are just as serious, however — serious enough for lawmakers and regulators to give this outrageous proposal the attention it merits.

Let's start with some basics. The three merging companies would create a new Mega Cable company, controlling about one-third of the nation's cable and cable-broadband markets. In addition, the new colossus would own programming, including regional sports networks all across the country, and would completely dominate some of America's largest media markets, including New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Charlotte, Tampa Bay, Orlando and St. Louis. Finally, the combined companies would have an anti-competitive incentive to preference their streaming-video offering over that of competitors.

When you add it up, the new company would look a lot like, well, Comcast. Yes, this merger would create a new Comcast — a national cable giant with the ability and the incentive to thwart competition, diversity, and consumer choice.

And it gets worse. Because they don't compete in any markets, Comcast and the new Mega Cable company would stand shoulder to shoulder in control of more than 70 percent of the high-speed broadband market. The two companies would have no incentive to compete against each other, but every incentive to coordinate against their shared marketplace competitors.

Thanks to services like Netflix, Hulu and Sling, television is in the midst of a creative renaissance. These emerging services are finally breaking the decades-long stranglehold of the cable bundle on American consumers who have been forced to collectively fork over billions of dollars in monthly cable bills, largely to pay for channels they never watch. The services' growth has been fabulous for consumers, content creators and workers in the entertainment industry. Now, just when competition is finally gaining traction, the Comcast-Mega Cable duopoly could squash it.

Then there is the issue of independent programming. Already, too much of the cable dial is filled with content produced by a handful of media conglomerates. When the vast majority of cable homes are served by just two companies, it will become even harder for independent and diverse voices to gain a foothold. That is especially problematic because Comcast and the new Mega Cable will own content that directly competes with independent programmers.

That kind of dominance leads to homogenization of content and the marginalization of independent voices, cutting right to the heart of the public interest in diverse cable offerings that give voters a broad range of perspectives on the issues of the day.

Finally, there is the issue of price and customer service. To finance this deal, Charter will be taking on $27 billion in new debt — about $1,142 for each subscriber. To keep its lenders and creditors happy, the merged company will have every incentive to raise prices and slash service. And because it will face very little competition, the company will run little risk in doing so. How much more beneficial it would be if Charter invested those billions in building cable competition in presently uncompetitive markets!

The bottom line is that this merger is no less threatening to consumers than the Comcast-Time Warner Cable tie-up would have been. It points a dagger directly at competition, diversity in programming and consumer rights. Before it's too late, the public should send a message telling regulators to once again stand up to the cable giants and stop this harmful merger.

More than 200,000 people have already spoken out, but there's still time to speak out if you have not already. Take action today to stop this affront to the public interest.

~A.