I generally find Steve Smith’s logic wired...

I generally find Steve Smith’s logic wired to a different set of

neurons than mine, albeit in a harmless sort of way. But I was really

confused by his logic regarding the KOCE sale (“Static over TV

issue”).

I was actually watching a John Denver special on KOCE when I read

the column. It’s hard these days to find folk singers in any media,

so I was enjoying John yodeling a little in “Calypso” and harking

back a few decades with “Rocky Mountain High.” Why, I thought, would

I really want to trade that experience for, in Smith’s words, “some

sorry-looking, overly made-up, perfectly coiffed preacher” from the

Word of God Church in Dallas?

The issue here is keeping ownership in the hands of some

organization that will offer content that others don’t. I think I’ll

tune in again today. I might be lucky enough to catch the Sarah

Brightman special where she sings a better “Nessun Dorma” than

Pavarotti.

BOB SCHMIDT

Corona del Mar

Steve Smith should review the words in the New Testament that say,

in effect, Why do you complain about the splinter in your neighbor’s

eye when you have a log in your own? Or, in less poetic language,

Smith’s Saturday column is a case of the pot calling the kettle

black.

He attacks Joseph N. Bell for being antireligion, but his apparent

hatred of all things liberal has him foaming at the mouth as he

unloads a wild array of outrageous characterizations of liberals that

have no basis in fact.

Smith doesn’t watch television, so he knows nothing about it,

other than what he reads in the press. He should realize his

complaints are about commercial television, not public television.

Public television has a lot of junk, but it is relatively harmless

junk, and in between there are many informative and entertaining

programs. The reason for the existence of public television is

precisely to provide material that commercial television is not

interested in.

The airwaves belong to the public; some are leased to commercial

television and some are reserved for public service. The PBS

broadcasters are public service, nonprofit licensees. For some

reason, religious broadcasters are also qualified for nontaxable,

public service status.

Which broadcaster will provide the best public service? That one

should get the license, not the group with the most money.

But no one seems to be discussing this question. Do we need to

trade Orange County’s only public television station for a Christian

television station when we already have at least two such stations in

the county?

DEBORAH RECTOR

Costa Mesa

For a while there I was starting to think that Steve Smith was

learning how to think, but then I read his recent column attacking

Joseph N. Bell’s piece from Thursday, and I realized that Smith is

the same as he’s always been. Could someone please tell Smith that

good thinkers don’t go off on illogical rants?

Now that he’s out of high school, Smith should stop using the term

“knee-jerk” every time he’s describing somebody he doesn’t agree

with. And he should stop putting thoughts into other peoples’ heads.

Just because Bell doesn’t want our local public TV channel sold to

televangelists, that doesn’t mean he thinks other forms of

commercialism are acceptable. Smith says that “to the left, the

vacuous, mind-numbing rot on TV is OK.” Where does he get that idea?

Bell never said anything like that. If Smith would read Bell’s

column carefully, he would see that Bell and Jerry Patterson are

opposed to losing our wonderful, highly educational, public TV

station and seeing it turned into another money-making channel.

Smith is so caught up in his vendetta against TV that he probably

doesn’t realize that amazing educational opportunities are available

on our public broadcast channels, commercial-free. Bell wants to keep

it that way.

I suspect that Bell feels, as I do, that there is already enough

commercialism on the airwaves, whether it’s Pamela Anderson and her

attributes or a perfectly coiffed preacher.

Smith is right, of course, that there are too many sleazy aspects

of TV. People will do disgusting things to make money.

Bell would like to see less of that, not more. That was the point

of the column. That’s why he wants to protect our public station.

Smith missed another point that I think Bell was making. Yes, the

commercialism on TV is disgusting, but aren’t people who use God and

claim to speak for him in order to pry money from unsuspecting dupes

a lot more disgusting than even Pamela Anderson? At least she is

honest -- she is using her sexuality to sell products and make money.

Smith’s column includes a list of “is it worse” questions. What he

is asking is if an “overly made-up” televangelist pretending that God

wants you to give him money is worse than a woman taking her clothes

off, or worse than commercials enticing young kids to eat junk food.

The answer is a resounding yes. It’s far worse. Even McDonald’s

doesn’t stoop to using God to sell French fries.

Smith needs to start doing more critical thinking, which means

giving some deep thought to every point of view, rather than throwing

labels at people.

JOE ROBINSON

Newport Beach

I regularly read Steve Smith’s column in the Daily Pilot, and more

often than not I agree with his viewpoint.

But not today.

I just finished his column about the sale of KOCE-TV.

I think Smith is missing a major point in the controversy about

the sale of this TV station.

He argues that most of the stuff on TV is garbage, so he doesn’t

watch it. And, if it is garbage, why not let a TV network like

Daystar buy it and put on their programming, which will appeal to

some of the people here in Orange County.

Not all nonreligious TV stations are the same. Many of them show a

lot of the stuff Smith describes. However, others, such as KOCE and

KCET, have a large number of shows such as “Mystery” and the English

comedy shows that I find interesting and worth watching.

They also provide news programs that are more balanced,

thoughtful, thought-provoking and interesting than the stuff that

appears on channels such as Fox or the major networks. Hence, simply

equating KOCE with channels showing garbage is incorrect.

The fact that there has been a concerted effort to keep KOCE in

its current form indicates that there are a lot of people in Orange

County who watch KOCE and would prefer to go on watching KOCE instead

of what Daystar would provide.

And I hope they are successful.

HANS BODE

Newport Beach