Scary new TV trend

Remember when television was a fun distraction, a relaxing break after the work or school day? Remember when there were only 5 TV stations (unless you counted the UHF stations), and most of those signed off at the end of the day, somewhere between 12 and 2 a.m., telling (in no uncertain terms) those late-night viewers, "Enough TV already... go to bed!"...

Well, fast-forward to 2006. The most important (read: expensive) object in our homes is the TV, and the catch-phrase of the era is "Must-See TV." There are now 40-gazillion channels, nearly all of them sending signals 24/7/365.

But the big trend in current television is the serialized episodic program. Not that serials are a new thing. "Dallas" is probably the most famous example from recent history, but soap operas have been using this format for decades. Almost every show now, however, requires a dedicated commitment on the part of the viewer to "keep up."

A recent story in the Review-Journal, titled "Pay Attention," stated this in the sub-head: "Networks tout many shows that require devoted viewing to understand."

The list of the upcoming crop is an arm long. And, it would seem, every show is "wonderful" and "Must-see TV." From "Lost" to "Desperate Housewives" to new hopefuls like "Heroes," "Kidnapped," and "Vanished," the message is strong: clear out your schedules, folks, and grab the remote - you're in for some heavy-duty must-see TV, and you can't afford to miss a single minute!

Meanwhile, as America is hypnotized, mesmerized and lobotomized, we continue to wage unlawful wars around the globe; turn a blind eye to human rights violations, destruction of the planet, poisoning of our food, air, and water; and willingly hand over more and more of our rights and freedoms to a corrupt system.

Never doubt, for one second, that this is all done "by design," folks. It is a plan. The people who own the media, are the people who have the money, are the people who pull the strings, are the people who control what we see and when we see it, etc., etc.

If they can keep us DISTRACTED by television and the media, FRIGHTENED by constant scares and terror alerts, DUMBED-DOWN from chemicals in vaccines, fluoride and aspartame in our drinks, SICK from poisons in our air and food, and (most importantly) SUSPICIOUS of each other by creating imaginary divisions like color, culture and religion... they just might accomplish their goals.

BUT - we have the power NOT to let this happen. Or we can watch some more TV.

Today is the day.

This is the day I look forward to every year. After the horrendously hot summer and the start of the new school year, there comes a day that holds a very special place in my heart. Today is that day.

It is the day the air conditioning is turned off (all day), windows are opened, and the cool Vegas breeze blows out the stagnant air (held hostage since spring) and fills the house with fresh (ok, fresh may be stretching it a bit) clean (stretching again) and invigorating new life.

To commemorate, we were greeted this morning by a surprise visitor. I opened the back door to let Mimi in, and there, sitting on the porch, was a tiny yellow bird. Apparently the little guy had flown into one of our windows and stunned himself. Mimi got hold of him in her mouth, thinking she was protecting her family from the beast, but I yelled "drop it!" and she immediately did.

I called the ladies out to have a look. We all assumed that, sadly, the bird was probably dying, as it allowed me to pick it up, the girls to touch it, and it sort of flopped around a little when I set it down. "The humane thing to do is kill it quickly," I said. Of course, whatever it would take to do such a thing, I don't have... and the girls certainly wouldn't let me, even if I did.

So, I put it in a planter, Eva got it some water and a few seeds, and we watched and hoped it would eat and drink itself back to health. Well, good thing I didn't wring the little fella's feathery neck, because within a minute or two, it came back to its senses and flew off over a neighbor's house and into the distance.

Although the first "official" day of fall is still nearly a week off, today was that day for me. Hope it was a good one for you.

Be Afraid.

Lest we forget to be afraid every second of our lives, Good Ol' GW, in conjunction with the government-controlled major media, reminds us on the front page of a recent Las Vegas Review-Journal that the "Terrorism threat persists," and that "they" remain "determined to attack the United States."

If we can be kept in fear, those in power can continue to manipulate us and strip away our freedoms. Don't give in to it. Do some research. Find out what is really going on, and be determined to do something about it.

As we near the 5th anniversary of the Sept. 11 "terror" attacks, we will be seeing more and more disinformation spread. We've already seen a supposed "exposé" when the authors of the 9/11 Commission Official Report went public about the resistance they encountered while trying to research their report.

Stories of government incompetence will surface, commentaries on the news networks will abound, and more movies and TV shows will come out, supposedly giving us insight into the "truth" behind what happened.

All of these things will only serve to reinforce the "official" story, however. "Yeah, OK, we blew it... we weren't prepared and we screwed up bad." They will even admit to low-level government cover-ups. Again, this will all be a smoke-screen to pacify the majority of people who question the events of 9/11.

Don't buy it. Seek the truth. In truth there is no room for fear.