Wanna BET There's Something Wrong With This Picture?

Despite the plight of these thousands of poor and recently homeless in the Gulf Coast, Black Entertainment Television has revealed its self, albeit in the shadiness of its late-night lineup.

Actually for BET, it's business as usual on Sunday, late nights. With the talk of some around the nation beginning to center upon the cries of racism dictating the relief efforts, BET is apparently unfazed, maintaining and parading a clownish triumvitrate with these, their huckster-brand of health, wealth and prosperity vultures:

Robert "Diane-Sawyer-Is-The-Devil" Tilton

Don "Lemme-Sell-You-A-33-Dollar-Prosperity-Bracelet" Stewart

Peter "Got-Caught-With-An-Earpiece-In-My-Ear" Popoff

How are these shameless money-shafting minions still given the airwaves, in light of the times? How is BET serving their audience with this chicanery? Tilton was exposed by "Primetime Live" in the early nineties and described by then Texas attorney general Dan Morales as "raping the most vulnerable segments of our society -- the poor, the infirm, the ignorant ... who believe his garbage." On his BET time block, he frequently herds in black gospel singers to legitimize his presence. Don Stewart's miracle bracelet is yours free for a love gift of at least 33 USDollars. Peter Popoff may actually be shown here with the earpiece that his wife used to funnel "divine revelations" about his audience in his ear. (For more on Petey, see here).

Even BET's director of corporate communications, Rob Santwer, said (of Tilton's program) in the Salon.com piece referenced here that it was the kind of thing you'd turn the channel as soon as you'd see it. Then why pump it out?

This surely can't be on par with BET's credo toward black empowerment, can it? With these predatory poor-man's money reavers still on the loose, they aren't doing anything but holding all of us down, black, white or otherwise.