Cal Thomas’ Amazing TV Set

Rightwing columnist Cal Thomas apparently has a TV set with a mind of its own. He alludes to it in this column.

I’m not up on all the latest electronic gizmos, but it seems Thomas’ television turns itself on and off at will, selects the channel and controls the volume. With every TV I’ve ever seen, you have to manually push a button to turn the TV on, and then push other buttons to select the channel. Where have I been?

Having this kind of TV set might be sort of fun for awhile, but it would get old really fast. With my luck, it would probably turn itself on at 3 a.m., tune in to some crazed televangelist and crank the volume up to 200 decibels.

In Thomas’ column he's talking about the lame quality of most TV programming and says the writers’ strike is a chance for people to turn off the TV and get a life. No argument there. The only must-see program for me is The Shield during its annual 3-month season. This coming season is supposed to be its last, and then I’ll be free.

Other than that I sometimes watch Law & Order SVU, the Daily Show, Seinfeld or Frasier reruns or a movie. But none of them are musts. And most of the time, to paraphrase Springsteen — 600 channels and there's nothing on.

Like most ultraconservatives, Cal Thomas is appalled at the “bad language” and “F-bombs” on most TV shows, and the fact that most news anchors look like porn stars. (Yup, he really said that.)

Here's where he talks about his magic TV set:

“Television was once viewed as a welcome guest in the home. Programmers were to behave as any guest, not soiling the carpet or breaking furniture, controlling their children and demonstrating sensibilities that would not offend their hosts. No more. Today’s television programs behave like uninvited guests who stay too long, eat all the food, drink too much and throw up on the new rug.”

I’m sure glad I have one of those old-fashioned TV sets. I get to select the channel myself, and if I can't find anything I like I can just turn it off. That pooor Cal Thomas. I wouldn’t want one of those infernal devices in my house.


cross-posted at Bring It On!