A simplified view of blazars: comparison with multi-frequency observations

We have recently proposed a new scenario where blazars are classified as flat-spectrum radio quasars or BL Lacs according to the prescriptions of unified schemes, and to a varying combination of Doppler boosted radiation from the jet, emission from the accretion disk, the broad line region, and light from the host galaxy. This mix of different components leads to strong selection effects, which are properly taken into account in our scheme. We describe here the main features of our approach, which solves many long-standing issues of blazar research, give the most important results, and discuss its implications and testable predictions.