NPR ‘appalled’ by former exec’s comments

[charlestudor2005]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecut...execs-comments

[pjorourke]

With a trillion dollar deficit I don't know why we are even debating public funding for these clowns. Time to kick them out of the nest and let them find new funding sources -- then we rightfully wont give a shit about any of this crap.

[discreetgent]

The percent of their budget they get from the government is pretty small they can probably make it up elsewhere ...... of course cutting them will hardly put a dent in the deficit (where did I hear that before? )

[pjorourke]

Good, I'm glad to hear government funding is such small potatoes to them -- if so wtf are we in that business.

Re deficit: a billion here, a billion there, soon you are talking real money. Next up is Reid's "cowboy poetry" festival.

[discreetgent]

Originally Posted by pjorourke

Good, I'm glad to hear government funding is such small potatoes to them -- if so wtf are we in that business.

Re deficit: a billion here, a billion there, soon you are talking real money. Next up is Reid's "cowboy poetry" festival.

LOL; we all know that until they start looking at Medicare and to a lesser degree Social Security there is no way they really cut the deficit significantly AND on an ongoing basis.

Seems like fake interviews are becoming all the rage these days. First with Gov. Walker, now this; who is next?

[Mazomaniac]

Fuck Yeah!

If we don't clamp down on this government spending soon we'll be doing things like buying airplanes that cost $1B each, or dropping $400M on a bridge to nowhere, or spending $2.7B to build a single destroyer that the Navy doesn't want and says it doesn't need.

Mark my words on this. If we give "these clowns" $450M to do things like produce education televisions shows for children there'll be no end to the waste and sloth we'll have to deal with in Washington. Public broadcasting is exactly the kind of program that we need to concentrate on in trying to cut out all of this wasteful and useless federal spending.

Cheers,
Mazo.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

Fuck Yeah!

If we don't clamp down on this government spending soon we'll be doing things like buying airplanes that cost $1B each, or dropping $400M on a bridge to nowhere, or spending $2.7B to build a single destroyer that the Navy doesn't want and says it doesn't need.

Mark my words on this. If we give "these clowns" $450M to do things like produce education televisions shows for children there'll be no end to the waste and sloth we'll have to deal with in Washington. Public broadcasting is exactly the kind of program that we need to concentrate on in trying to cut out all of this wasteful and useless federal spending.

Cheers,
Mazo.

No, PJ wants an ignorant public so we can spend a billion bucks on a plane we don't need. He read it in the Tea Party Constitution that it is ok to waste money on Defense No common sense arguments will change his mind. He has a yappy dog photo for folks that disagree with him!

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by discreetgent

LOL; we all know that until they start looking at Medicare and to a lesser degree Social Security there is no way they really cut the deficit significantly AND on an ongoing basis.

The starting age has to be pushed back until it hits 70.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

Fuck Yeah!

If we don't clamp down on this government spending soon we'll be doing things like buying airplanes that cost $1B each, or dropping $400M on a bridge to nowhere, or spending $2.7B to build a single destroyer that the Navy doesn't want and says it doesn't need.

Kill it all!

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

Mark my words on this. If we give "these clowns" $450M to do things like produce education televisions shows for children there'll be no end to the waste and sloth we'll have to deal with in Washington. Public broadcasting is exactly the kind of program that we need to concentrate on in trying to cut out all of this wasteful and useless federal spending.

No, "public television" is exactly what the government should not be funding. A lot of it is quality TV that would find a market, without the government dole. Today's cable systems have 100+ channels and they are crying for good content. There is no shortage of money to pay for the production of good TV. In fact, people knowledgeable about the industry claim that this is the golden age of TV. Shows can be profitably produced that only have 1 million member audiences or less. In the days when the three nets controlled everything (including the news), this couldn't happen.

So getting rid of government funding will not damage NPR -- it will just change it and make it more customer focused and less political -- which I see as a good thing. If we lose one or two talking head "opinion" shows, I'm not going to shed a tear -- maybe MSNBC will pick them up. They like "crap" shows.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by WTF

He has a yappy dog photo for folks that disagree with him!

Just for you WTF -- because you are "special".

[charlestudor2005]

OK, here is my objective question to whoever knows the answer: most everybody is posting about public television, yet the article was about NPR (National Public Radio). How is PBS (television) and NPR (radio) interlocked?

OK, PJ, since you brought up the subject: just what list of activities is properly funded by government???

Are there popular libertarian activities currently funded by the government that should be cut?

[Mazomaniac]

Originally Posted by pjorourke

No, "public television" is exactly what the government should not be funding. A lot of it is quality TV that would find a market, without the government dole. Today's cable systems have 100+ channels and they are crying for good content. There is no shortage of money to pay for the production of good TV. In fact, people knowledgeable about the industry claim that this is the golden age of TV. Shows can be profitably produced that only have 1 million member audiences or less. In the days when the three nets controlled everything (including the news), this couldn't happen.

Damn right!

Because if I have to pay a big cable bill to watch NASCAR on TNT then poor kids should have to give up part of the welfare check to watch Sesame Street too.

And let's not forget about all those schools that record PBS programs off the air at night and use them in their classrooms the next day. It's that kind of free-loading that kills the important entertainment choices we get from well-loved public service giants like Comcast and Time-Warner. What would we all do if Rupert Murdoch went broke because some teacher recorded free shows from PBS rather than pay him to produce and transmit them to her?

Damn right PJ. You've really hit the nail on the head this time!

Cheers,
Mazo.

[Mazomaniac]

Originally Posted by charlestudor2005

OK, here is my objective question to whoever knows the answer: most everybody is posting about public television, yet the article was about NPR (National Public Radio). How is PBS (television) and NPR (radio) interlocked?

What they're trying to kill is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. CPB funds the public radio and TV stations that carry PBS and NPR programming. Kill CPB and you effectively take out all three.

The right loves to focus this argument on the "politics" of NPR but it's Big Bird's head on the chopping block too.

Cheers,
Mazo.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

The right loves to focus this argument on the "politics" of NPR but it's Big Bird's head on the chopping block too.

The hell it is. Children Television Workshop (CTW) is a separate and very profitable company. http://supportus.sesameworkshop.org/...STATEMENTS.PDF