Okay, okay. One more bit about the news/pop culture and then I'll get off my soapbox for a couple days. (No promises.) Can someone tell me what the hell is going on with this whole Jon and Kate Plus 8 business? And why we're supposed to care so much? They announced on their show that they were getting a divorce? Seriously? They're complaining -- I presume, because I would, if I were in their situation -- that they don't have enough privacy, that they're constantly under scrutiny, yet they announced their divorce on their own TV show? What?

But okay, whatever. Let that be the end of it. They're no longer a couple, so that's the end of the show, right? No, apparently not. Because, according to the CNN article, (and pay attention to the phrasing, because that's the kicker) "TLC says Jon is being dropped from 'Jon and Kate Plus 8.'" He's being dropped? Passive voice aside, yeah, it's a TV show, but, more importantly, it's these people's lives. You can't drop people from their existence. You can choose not to film him when he's with the family. But you don't just drop people. That's fucking low.

I know this is an issue of semantics, but come on. Those are some strong words. And I don't know who this guy is. He's probably a toolbag, but still. This whole show, this whole situation, is completely dehumanizing. You're saying he's not a living, breathing person, but some guy who appears on TV every once in a while, waves, and gets cheers from the studio audience. That's not how it works. People shouldn't be second to their character.

Here's the kicker, though. This is the line I read that sent me into a tiff: "Jon Gosselin is scheduled to appear on CNN's 'Larry King Live' on Thursday to discuss his reduced role on the TLC show." Reduced role? Again, this isn't a part for him. He's not an actor. This is his life.

Postscript: The President of TLC, Eileen O'Neill, has some absolutely disgusting quotes in the article. Here, read these, then convince me that O'Neill is a person, a human being composed of empathy and reason and all those other faculties one associates with members of the human race:

"Given the recent changes in the family dynamics, it only makes sense for us to refresh and recalibrate the program to keep pace with the family."

"The family has evolved, and we are attempting to evolve with it," O'Neill said. "We feel that Kate's journey really resonates with our viewers. Additionally, the network is in development on a Kate project for 2010."

Just let it end.