My mom has the other service. She has DirecTV. She faxed over her bill to me and ironically, pointed out the same question. Why is her bill going up from $72.57 to $75.73?

Then she asked a question I was pondering about. Why did she all of a sudden lose the National Geographic channel and the Dog Whisperer channels? I remember her having them several months ago, but one day I visit my mom and I turn on the TV and I try to go to National Geographic and it’s just not there anymore.

There is a conspiracy here, because the same thing happened to me on Dish Networks. Biography, History Channel and others disappeared from my service, too.

Someone out there at either DirecTV or Dish Networks has to become a whistle blower on this issue. Because I’m friggin’ hopping mad at getting screwed like this.

When you call them up, demanding to know WHERE your two or three favorite channels are, you get an Indian or Pakastani person politely explaining to you that you never had those channels to begin with in your original programming line up. That makes me even more infuriated. They make it seem like your the idiot with a really bad memory.

Here’s my conspiracy theory: Dish Networks and DirecTV watch your TV watching habits. Today, you are at the basic package level 1. You have America’s Top Choice something… it’s 100 channels, and whether you like it or not, you have get Noggin, Nick at Nite, Disney, fifteen channels of ESPN, and more crap channels I never watch so I don’t want them, but rhe rub is you CAN’T remove them. So the two or three channles you DO watch are secretly taken away and stuck into the next higher package.

Eventually, you complain about the missing channels you used to watch, the firms make you feel like your memory is wrong and you end up paying extra for the next package upgrade. And then you get more channels of crap you don’t want to watch in order to get Biography or the History channel turned back on.

I am sick and friggin tired of HANNA MONTANA! I don’t EVER WATCH THESE CHANNELS. So why am I having to pay for them? Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhggg!!!!

Your advertising commercials on these channels never reach me, so I’m not going to be motivated to buy products and services on the channels I’m not watching. So why are you forcing these damned things down my throat? Someone has GOT to explain this one to me.

I want to watch 11 channels. That’s all. Eleven channels. Not 100. Not 500. Just 11.

I have friends, family and every colleague I speak with has their own line up of 10 to 15 channels they want to watch, too. Neither one of these satellite firms are listening.

Well it’s time to listen, because I am going to write a big fat check to the people who are going to start up Select Star. It is a new service and it’s going to be TV your way. No more having to buy channel packages. You want 11 channels, fine. You pay for 11 channels.

Who else out there is fed up with Dish Networks or DirecTV?

– Bart