Free Republic

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) -- Viewers expecting to see the latest local meeting on their public access channel got an eyeful recently when Cablevision played a tape of nude dancers accidentally. The mistake affected customers in parts of Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam and Orange counties. Hopewell Junction resident George Morton returned home from Palm Sunday Mass and turned on his television to see a striptease contest. "I thought, this is terrible," Morton said. "I don't get HBO or anything like that." Cablevision said Thursday it was not a public access program and that a "program switching error" occurred. "When it was detected,...

Bob Teitelbaum is a sports fanatic who gets his daily fix of football, baseball and basketball games from DirecTV, the satellite television provider. In all, he spends about $150 a month for his premium programming package. But his household, like every other in his West Palm Beach, Fla., golf community, is also required to pay about $31 a month for cable TV from Adelphia Communications. The real estate development company that runs Mr. Teitelbaum's community has a deal with Adelphia that obligates every homeowner to subscribe to a standard cable package whether they use it or not. "That's the rule,...