Monday, December 11, 2017

Turn It Off

When I was a kid back in the late ’50’s and early ’60’s, my mom would lament that I and my siblings spent so much time watching TV.  “It will rot your brain,” was a common admonishment.

This was in the time before cable — indeed, before we had color TV — and there were three networks; four if you include the CBC which came in across Lake Erie from Windsor, Ontario.  That was it.

Now we have hundreds of channels in living color and HD, not to mention the streaming services.  There’s a lot out there that won’t rot your brain.

But for some, it’s too late.  Exhibit A:

The Times reports that Trump begins each day around 5:30 a.m. by turning on CNN before quickly flipping to Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.” He occasionally watches MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” because it works him up, Trump’s friends told the Times.

Trump’s favorite programs include “Fox & Friends” as well as Fox News primetime shows from Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Jeanine Pirro. Trump sometimes “hate-watches” CNN host Don Lemon, according to the report.

The Times also reports that the only people allowed to touch the remote control for the White House television are Trump and White House technical support staffers.

She’s waited over fifty years to hear it, but, Mom, you were right.

One bark on “Turn It Off

  1. Thank you.
    Regarding this chilling account of how our “president” (Charles Blow’s usage) spend the hours between 5:30 in the morning and 10:00 and then later when he can snatch a look at one or another of the 90″ TV’s scattered around the White House, left me wondering where in the world is Melania? There was no mention of any family life at all. Do they still live together, sleep together, eat together? Is he a real father to his young son? We always knew Obama saved the evening hours for family time and after the girls were in bed he worked until the early hours when he finally turned in. This account was weird on many levels but the plain and simple loneliness of the man stands out.

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