So, was it Ted Turner ?

I thought it over and decided Ted Turner may be responsible for my lousy disposition this summer. I need someone to pin the blame on, so maybe it's Ted Turner.

Turner is generally given credit for the creation of CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel. It seemed like a neat idea at the time, but CNN was possibly the origin of the media monster that's eating up intelligence in America in big gulps.

CNN's success led to the creation of FNC and MSNBC and eventually to an insatiable demand for crap to occupy all those hours of viewing time. There's not enough serious "real" news to fill up 504 hours per week (24/7 x three cable channels), so bullshit like Ace's Britney Spears/Paris Hilton ad gets rehashed for hours as if it were something that's actually important. Add the sexual components, which have real lowest-common-denominator appeal, and things get even worse. Three cable news channels are all over this shit around the clock, so the broadcast networks and print media are compelled to toss in their own coverage... rather than be left standing outside the circus tent.

Because Americans are conditioned from childhood to believe that it must be important if it's on television, trivia becomes the topic of conversation all across the country. People stop asking themselves why they're wasting time on insignificant bullshit. Brain cells atrophy and die. Civilization declines.

Bottom line: For the time being, I'm blaming Ted.