Topic: Legislation
(What are "political devotions"? Click here.)
Some good news from the Parents Television Council:
. . . [C]able choice may soon be a reality. A measure offered by Rep. Deal would allow cable or satellite operators to voluntarily offer customers cable channels on an "a la carte" basis, which means you will be able to pick and pay only for those channels you want.The PTC has a sample message for your Representative and an e-mail utility here.
Right now, cable and satellite companies force customers to buy big packages of channels that may contain programming they neither watch nor want to pay for. Why should parents have to subsidize cable channels that undermine their core values and beliefs? Why should a parent who wants their child to benefit from educational programming on the Disney Channel or the Discovery network also have to underwrite programs like The Shield, which recently featured an episode in which a police captain was forced to copulate a gang member at gun point? Or MTV's Spring Break which glorifies and glamorizes high-risk promiscuity and binge-drinking to young viewers.
Offering parents the ability to choose the channels they want, and to pay only for those channels, puts power back in the hands of the consumer and forces the producers of indecent or violent programming to fund their own raunch. These raunchy networks have been carried on the backs of American consumers long enough. It is time for this extortion to end.
Please Act Now!
Help us let Congress know you're fed up with lack of cable choice. Act now and send a message to the House Energy and Commerce Committee to support the Video Programming Choice and Decency Act of 2004.
Posted by Tim
at 1:10 AM EDT
