Q: As a radical-feminist-polyamorous-wiccan-socialist-vegan-left-handed union member of color, I believe it's important to watch television shows that reflect my particular world view. What programs out there mirror my cultural legacy? -- Danielle Ralls, Eugene, Oregon

	Today's Daypass sponsored by The TV Turnoff Network. Save your life, save your brain, save your soul -- stop watching television April 19-25! You'll thank us for it!

A: First let me congratulate you on having the courage of your convictions. Plenty of people are willing to identify themselves as radicals or feminists or polyamorites or wicca or socialists or vegans or even union members or some combination thereof, but few are committed enough to live their lives that way. So kudos to you.

Unfortunately, unless your local public access station is airing The Radical Feminist Polyamorous Wicca Socialist Vegan Hour Sponsored by the AFL-CIO I'm afraid there are very few shows on the airwaves that cater to your specific interests.

That said, I suggest you watch Whoopi. No, Whoopi is not very funny or interesting or even mildly entertaining. But Whoopi Goldberg herself was a Howard Dean supporter. So as you sit there stone-faced for the half-hour that Whoopi will steal from your life each week, you can at least comfort yourself with the knowledge that you're supporting someone who supports good causes.

And isn't that more important than being entertained?

----------

Q: I don't buy clothes from companies that exploit third-world sweatshops. I don't eat grapes picked by non-union fingers. Are there any television networks that I -- a socially conscientious TV viewer -- should go out of my way to avoid? -- Lou Toady, Mira Mesa, California

A: An excellent, excellent question. If only more people thought like you, Lou, there would be no need for a column like mine. So I guess I should be happy that the world is filled with ignorant, ill-read people awaiting my guidance, or I'd be out of a job!

To answer your question, obviously the right-leaning Fox Network is no place for people like us. To watch ABC is to pump more money into the Disney corporate behemoth, just as depriving the WB of your viewership will be another brave blow to the Time-Warner goliath. I have not forgiven CBS for cravenly bowing to right-wing pressure and pulling The Reagans mini-series off the air -- they'll get no business from me and none from you either, I hope.

If you're even thinking of watching the season finale of Friends, let me ask you this: will you still find Rachel and Ross's awkward courtship to be laugh-out-loud funny knowing that NBC-corporate parent G.E. is building enough nuclear reactors to radiate everything east of the Mississippi? Because I don't find that funny at all, even if Chandler Bing is telling me how G.E. fuels the war machine.

You might think that PBS is a safe harbor for a thoughtful progressive. You thought wrong. Ever since the radical right tried to slash public television funding, PBS has responded by showing more Yanni concerts. That sort of cowardice should not be rewarded, no matter how interesting that night's episode of Frontline appears to be or how sturdy a tote bag your local PBS affiliate is offering.

That leaves UPN. UPN is OK for you to watch. Enjoy Half and Half and Rock Me Baby.

----------

Q: On the one hand, I'm glad to see gay people finally represented on prime-time programming. On the other hand, most of those representations are embarrassing stereotypes. What's a politically sensitive viewer to do? -- Joe Edwards, Hammond, Indiana

A: All I know, Joe, is that before Will & Grace, there was no gay marriage in this country. With Will & Grace, there is gay marriage. If making Middle America comfortable with gays means that Sean Hayes has to sashay about like a hopped up monkey, then I say let's keep him capering in prime time until he's old enough to shatter a hip doing it.

----------

Q: Are there any reality programs that a left-leaning, NPR-listening urban sophisticate like myself can watch without feeling any deep-seated shame? -- Matthew G. Robinson, Alexandria, Virginia

A: Are you kidding me? Reality shows are the lowest form of entertainment in a medium that regularly scrapes the bottom of the barrel. Reality shows thrive through ridicule and humiliation, sacrificing needy human beings on the altar of ratings. They offer up only a passive viewing experience, even by the standards of television. They honor mediocrity and conformity. And their ongoing success is marginalizing writers and other creative types, turning television into the vast wasteland that Newton Minnow spoke of several generations ago.

That said, I enjoy both Big Brother and America's Top Model.