Quote of the Day: "You can always turn the television off and of course block the channels you don't want, but why should you have to?"

Actually it was a quote from yesterday, but I found it to be such an idiotic comment that I had to post it anyway.

The quote is from FCC Chairman - and Edward Herrmann lookalike (you decide which is which) - Kevin Martin. Apparently, this Republican appointee to the FCC feels that the government should be regulating what people can or cannot see on cable and satellite television.

Television is pretty coarse, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin charged Tuesday. So he warned cable and satellite programmers to shield children from racy shows or risk coming under sharper government scrutiny.

"Parents need better and more tools to help them navigate the entertainment waters, particularly on cable and satellite TV," Martin said. "You can always turn the television off and of course block the channels you don't want, but why should you have to?"

In addition to expanding federal decency standards to include cable and satellite programs, Martin suggested several options, including creating a family-friendly tier of channels that would offer shows suitable for kids, such as the programs shown on the Nickelodeon channel.


There was a day not long ago when conservatism held that the government should let individuals decide for themselves what they might watch on television, especially when it came to programming not broadcast over-the-air (ie, cable). With a new brand of "conservatism" now having taken hold in this country, apparently it's now the government's business.

And for the record, when Martin refers to the need for a family friendly tier of channels that would offer shows suitable for kids, perhaps he should do his homework first. DirecTV, for one, has offered just such a package for years on channels 290-300. In fact, my kids have made good use of those channels over the years.

But I guess this all goes back to this new breed of "conservatives" wanting to - again - dictate how others conduct their lives. Once upon a time, it was up to the parents of the household to monitor and determine what their kids could or could not watch. That's what we've done for years and it works quite nicely.

But, alas, our current leaders feel they know what's best for our kids. And, just maybe, they have a point. After all, they've done such a bang up job knowing what's best for the kids serving in Iraq. Perhaps they should leave the parenting to the people who know what's best for their kids: PARENTS!