The James Morrow Technique Of Radio Programming

I forget how many tens of millions of people live in Canada, but one of those people is very offended by the way the word "faggot" appears in the 26-year-old Dire Straits song Money for Nothing. Thus, in order to make that one person happy, Canadian authorities have banned the uncut version of the song from being broadcast on Canadian airwaves.

Meanwhile, on a shelf somewhere in my little apartment a few hundred miles south of the Canadian border, I have an autographed copy of the book Only Begotten Daughter, by James Morrow. It's an extremely dark comedy about Julie, the half-sister of Jesus Christ, borne of God and a virgin Jewish male. According to the book, every person who ever was or ever will be born -- with the exception of Jesus himself and the prophet Elijah (or whichever Old Testament prophet God "brought up to heaven in a whirlwind") -- is condemned to hell after death, because in order for you to be condemned, all that's necessary is for one person to believe you deserve it.

Sounds like Canadian broadcast authorities read the book and thought, "That Morrow fellow was on to something, eh?"