Reinventing the nanny state

We have complained from time to time about the CNN Airport News Channel that we are forced to endure during waits for flights. Now my conservative cousin from New York informs me of another insidious intrusion CNN is foisting upon an even more captive audience. He writes:

As I sit in various medical offices awaiting cancer treatment I am subjected to constant scolding from the CNN Health Channel. Patients many of whom are in great pain and decrepitude hear hour after hour of the channel’s host, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, drone on about the dangers of such activities as eating French fries, playing video games and riding swings. Gupta often echoes Democratic talking points on such issues as global warming and pharmaceutical regulation.
One day I asked the receptionist if I could change the channel to watch the Yankee game. She explained that the TV was locked into the CNN Health Channel. When I then asked if she would turn the set off, the receptionist apologized and said that CNN pays a fee to the doctors for having the set on during office hours.
Several other patients joined me in complaining. Soon the room was filled with a cacophony of New York, Chinese and Spanish accents asking her to shut the TV off. Finally, the receptionist agreed to lower the volume. Another patient pulled out his radio so we could listen to the Yankee game. What a relief.

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