Panic setting in…can’t breathe…

Oh, my God! I couldn’t believe it! I thought I’d become inured to all of the horrible news in the world. But when I saw the headline on the CNN web site, I knew that Laurel and I now had to face something that would catapult us into a new category of fear and trembling: loss of Comedy Central on our Dish Network receiver, which means…NO “DAILY SHOW”! The only bright side in this nightmare is that the Portland CBS station is still on the air, not being owned by Viacom—with whom Dish Network is having a pissing match. So “Survivor” is still on our Thursday night viewing schedule.

Still, the Comedy Central blackout alone is serious stuff, really serious. All that appears on the Comedy Central channel now is an infuriating message from Dish Network telling me to call Viacom at such and such a number to complain about Viacom’s supposed price-gouging. Yeah, right, as if my job as a Dish Network subscriber is to do their negotiating for them. All I want is my MTV! (which also is off the air, along with Comedy Central).

The DishNetwork and EchoStar web sites are, not surprisingly, overloaded by angry subscribers. But I managed to find EchoStar Communication’s fax number: 1-303-723-1399. If you are a frustrated Dish customer, I invite you to vent your rage via a fax to the EchoStar executives. I just did this and it made me feel better. EchoStar needs to know that they are toying with the core of people’s lives here, what keeps them going when the Darkness creeps in under the door sill. I spoke the truth in my fax: “Life without the Daily Show isn’t worth living” (perhaps a call from EchoStar headquarters to the Salem suicide prevention hot line is being made at this moment—if so, it can be called off…for a few days at least).

P.S. I just located the DishNetwork email address: CEOofDishNetwork@Dishnetwork.com. So this is an even easier option for rage-venting.