A little extreme, don't ya think?

I'm not a fan of "Dancing With the Stars." On those rare times I do tune in, it's usually to watch a so-called star (I think the show should be called "Dancing with the D-List and Has-been Stars") I don't care for fall on their rear end -- like Kate Gosselin this season.

STEVEN COWAN

But I do know who is on the show, and a lot of people question why Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, is on the show. Like I said, the show should be renamed because why is she a star?

From what I"ve read, Palin is an awful dancer, yet continues to move on as call-in voters continue to get rid of other contestants. After Tuesday's show, Palin advanced to the final 3 with a chance to win the title next week.

Well, one man in Wisconsin was so upset by this that he took out a shotgun and shot his TV. According to investigators, this led to an all-night standoff with a SWAT team.

According to the Associated Press, Steven Cowan, 67, was arrested Tuesday morning after officers coaxed him out of his house in Vermont, a farming community near Madison. Cowan, who is accused of threatening his wife with the gun after destroying the television, appeared in a Madison courtroom Wednesday on a charge of second-degree reckless endangerment. His bail was set at $1,500.

Cowan's wife, Janice Cowan, told investigators that her husband suffers from bipolar disorder and had threatened her life in the past.

Read the full story here.

"Simpsons" off the air on Venezuelan channel

Scrolling through the international wire is something I don't do on a regular basis, so I had missed this story when a colleague pointed it out to me.

It seems the National Telecommunications Commission in Venezuela doesn't like "The Simpsons."

Well, maybe they do like them, but not on television during daytime hours.

Apparently, the channel Televen had the audacity to show Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie at 11 a.m. -- a time slot that the commission said was OK for all viewers. What irked the regulators was that most viewers at that time of day are children -- and by airing "The Simpsons," the channel violated regulations to protect children.

In the Associated Press story, Commission Director Elda Rodriguez said in a statement that the agency had urged Televen in January not to show "The Simpsons" at that time, but the channel did not comply. Rodriguez complained of "inappropriate language" and scenes "that can influence the behavior and education of boys, girls and adolescents."

Because of its indescretion, the station could be fined, kept off the air for 3 days, or have its programs chosen by the commission in place of regular programming.

A spokeswoman for the station said it is still waiting for information from the commission, but will keep "The Simpsons" off the air until a decision is made.

So what, you may wonder, is being broadcast in place of "The Simpsons" at 11 a.m.? "Baywatch Hawaii," featuring scantily clad lifeguards — a program the channel says has not drawn complaints.