Watching the average American is a lot like watching Homer Simpson. There's an episode of the television series The Simpsons where someone, probably Bart, puts a Twinkie in the backyard. The Twinkie is equipped to electrocute anyone who touches it. Homer loves Twinkies and just can't resist them. Then for the next few hours we hear a shocking noise followed by Homer's trademark D'oh. Poor Homer isn't smart enough to avoid being shocked over and over again. Perhaps the reason Homer is one of America's favorite stars, aside from his exceptional acting skills, is that we can identify with his plight. The press or at least the news is a lot like the electric Twinkie, we want it, yet it continues to bite us. We are not smart enough to see it for what it really is. Media is a business, and today, with cable news bursting into our lives every minute of the day and in nearly every nation, it's a mega business. We mistakenly view them as a public service or as providers in all truth, while in reality it is designed to keep us tuned in long enough to broadcast several commercials. The only function of news is to sell products. With this in mind, news services, at least cable services, have become design agencies that cater to the political predispositions, susceptibilities, and propensities of these chosen viewers—perhaps the better term is cronyism. We must understand that the press is not interested in the truth; the press is interested in selling advertising. If you really want to understand the point of view of news channels, pay attention to advertising. Fox advertises beer, frozen vegetables, Volkswagen Jettas and easy credit companies while CNN peddles trips to the Caribbean, expensive perf...... middle of paper ......ar as constitutional with respect to the first amendment, these programs must be allowed to continue. They must be protected at all costs. A free nation should never limit such political speech. The problem is that we have to understand the press. We need to understand the motivation. We need to understand who is speaking and why they say what they say, both for their deepest beliefs and to enrich their deepest pockets. Blaming the media for the erosion of participation is problematic. It's true that many people probably give up on participating because of the rhetoric and jokes, but in reality many people are motivated to vote because of these programs. In reality, a wash is likely. We viewers can't seem to get enough of it, we hate it and it hurts, yet we keep coming back. Meanwhile, advertisers are getting richer. Hay looks like a Twinkie D'oh.