NINE - Be Dissapointed

It seems the country is getting stupider by the day. I had a huge list of supporting statements, but chose not to print them. You know what I am talking about though. Luckily, the television networks that once promoted education have picked up on what we really need as a country, and happily deliver.

TLC - remember when they were called The Learning Channel? Once "a place for learning minds", now they aim to teach you how to dress yourselves and how to get the most money out of your house by painting walls and updating your kitchen. Fascinating. Last month they changed their slogan (for the 4th time) to "Life Surprises". Surprise, you can watch American Chopper, A Wedding Story, LA Ink, Miami Ink, While You Were Out, and What Not To Wear. Let the learning begin. If only they had a show about a bounty hunter, or a family of bounty hunters. I feel as an American that I could always learn more about this exciting (and growing!) trade.

A&E - Thank you. The channel I found to be too boring as a teen who wanted nothing to do with stuff old people would consider "the arts" made a series of good moves. They moved "Murder, She Wrote" (very artistic!) to The Biography Channel, an obvious choice, as the show is completely biographical show about the fictional Jessica Fletcher solving fictional crimes. They canceled some fancy-smancy show called "Breakfast With The Arts" and brought in a show about an ex-con, father of 12, Mad Max-inspired BOUNTY HUNTER! He was now "on the path to right". He is a man of strong values, (look out - sarcasm alert!) as exemplified by a life lesson he taught his son on why dating outside of his race was wrong and when it's OK to use the N-word. What else? More reality TV, like a show about Gene Simmons, "Growing Up Gotti", and "Criss Angel Mindfreak". Now that's what I consider "The Arts"!

Discovery Channel - Not too much to say about them. They started to stray from their educational roots with shows like Monster Garage and American Chopper (which they generously gave to TLC as well), but they did work to revive their tarnished reputation in 2006. MythBusters does feature the two hardest to watch hosts in the history of TV, but you can't say it's a bad show, nor can you not learn from it fairly often.

National Geographic Channel - now here is a channel I can depend on. They would never cave in and run a show about a bounty hunter.