*Preface - Today has been long day. Rex Grossman and the Chicago Bears still beat the Eagles yesterday (I didn't dream it), it took forever to get to and from work, and I have shaky hands that ruin any photograph I attempt to take. I feel the need to unload on something.*

I woke up this morning to something I've been anticipating. And while I wouldn't go so far as to say I was eagerly awaiting it's arrival, I knew deep down in my heart its' coming was inevitable.

See, some things are too good to be true, and when reality strikes, it feels colder than the 0 degrees, Kelvin. As if you were given a free pass during the holiday season to drive as fast as you want on the open roads, then suddenly and with only slight warning signs, the roads get congested, mushy, and altogether unkind. The harsh winds start blowing directly into your face, and the path ahead is as unclear as Sean Paul speaking.

Still wondering what I'm going on about?

ABC's hit show,Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, has screwed over a family with more than enough troubles of its own. Extreme Makeover builds dream houses for underprivileged families, both extremes in their own rights, with the finished houses being ridiculously pimped out, and the families being severely underprivileged, many times appearing on the verge of bankruptcy because they either have too many children and/or need to pay hospital fees up the wazoo.

This makes for a very compelling story line, complete with the telling of the life story that led the family to the unfortunate borderline poverty situation they currently reside in, then finishing off with tears of joy as the family rejoices over a brand new house, furnished and finished at no cost to the family, supposedly. All very moving, and I know people that are near tears after watching this show.

Somebody hold me.

But that's only half the story. By increasing the worth of the property, the taxing of said property should very well increase proportionately. Of course, a family barely able to support itself before the upgrade in housing most probably would have no way to pay off additional taxes.

David Goldberg, president of the production company that delivers the show, countered with the statement, "It's about making people's dream of owning a home come true. It isn't about duping them and then leaving them riddled with a bunch of tax bills."

Or is it? DAVID? IS IT REALLY?

I never liked this show, and this just story just further alienates and infuriates me. There's a basic rule that was implicitly taught to me by my loving parents through the years as they started me off with a $1/week allowance, and that was to never give a huge amount of money to those that have never before handled a similar amount of money, because they won't know what to do with it.

You generously heap televisions, cars, houses, and money onto people that have owned nothing more than the equivalent of a cardboard box, how soon before they turn around and sell it to the first person that comes knocking? Or get squashed by taxation? Or, worse yet, mishandle and lose it all?

Note that I'm not discouraging generosity, in fact, you should be going out of your way to give to the needy, provided you do it in the right way.

This show goes about it in a way that is rewarding unfortunate circumstance, spoiling people for a day or two, then running away before the consequences of spoiling settle in, without looking back at the repercussions, or ever looking to correct the unfortunate circumstances in the first place. How about providing some meaningful employment opportunities instead of building a house that begs to not only be taxed higher, but also broken into?

In the end, it's all one big ruse to exploit the tear-jerking stories, and turn it into television revenue. ABC, I'm never going to watch your show, and if it weren't for the one or two compelling shows that your network happens to carry, I'd petition for a boycott of your channel altogether, including the removal of the '1' and '8' buttons on my television remote, an impressively ignorant, but definitely defiant, move.