TV is NOT a right

This may come as a shock to a lot of people but television is not a "right". (I checked the Constitution, honest) I understand that it is the duty of the FCC to regulate the usage of the airwaves and that "the switch to digital" will free up a lot of those airwaves for newer technologies. Great, I have no problem with that. This is just another example of a government agency regulating something that should be in the public domain. (I'm not going to go off on a tangent about this because there will be plenty of opportunity to grind the "government buttinski" axe in the coming days... )

The thing that really bothers the most about this whole process is how hard the government is working to make sure that nobody loses a minute of viewing pleasure. The other day a local politician made the statement that "People have to have television access for their safety. To deny people access to television in this storm prone area would be criminal."

Well at least he was talking about something he knows - politicians in this area are experts in criminal behavior. But I digress...

To answer the politicians claim, No, people do not have to have television access [to stay informed of storm alerts] in this storm prone area. If we in this area are prone to any storms, it is hurricanes. Three days people, you get at least three bloody days warning if a hurricane is headed your way. I grew up in "tornado alley" and with your average tornado you are lucky to get fifteen minutes warning.

I have to wonder how much of this "no more TV" paranoia is borne out of the misguided notions of TV personalities and their belief that we somehow "need" them.

Long live radio. I looking forward to my TV being nothing more than a display for my DVD player.