The News, From Democracy Now:
Congressional Panel Moves to Cut Public Media Funding
Congress has taken initial steps to sharply cut how much money the
government spends on public TV and radio. On Thursday a House
Appropriations subcommittee voted to cut $100 million in funding for
the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. In addition the panel agreed
to eliminate within two years all federal money for the CPB. The
subcommittee also voted to cut $23 million for the creation of
children's educational shows as part of PBS's Ready to Learn program
which funds Sesame Street and other programs. According to the
Washington Post, the proposed cuts are the most drastic since the
formation of the CPB in 1973.
The commentary, from me:
I know from my work in the public sector that you never kill a
government program outright, first you ruin it, and then you say "this
program doesn't deliver to the public" and then you dismantle it. I
(and much better people than me) have pointed out the swift
rightward-rush of NPR. When the process of making it a clone of CNN
and Fox is complete, the Bush administration will be able to say it
serves no useful purpose, and divest the government of this asset.
They will no doubt turn it over for the personal profit of the former
CBS execs (and Bush appointees) that are running it now. This is how
they operate in the world of energy, and there is no reason to think
that they will take a different view of this media asset.
What frankly surprised me was that the current initiative (which will
do a lot to move things towards the goals outlined in the previous
paragraph) came from Congress, and not the administration. Of course,
it all depends on who in Congress is pushing this, doesn't it?
I was perfectly aware that Trent Lott was shown the door so that the
administration could consolidate it's power over the congressional
branch of the government (with his racially insensitive remarks
providing the pretext) - were you?. At the time, Cokey Roberts
smirking coverage of the event left no doubt that people inside the
beltway knew what was going on. Given her status as the daughter of
Hale Boggs, a former Democratic House Whip who was the product of a
corrupt Louisiana political machine that dates back to Huey Long, she
certainly understands how these things work. It would have been nice
if she would have spelled it out the bulk of people outside the
beltway, who did not get it.
Bill Frist's subsequent performance should leave no one unconvinced
that he is the Bush Administration's man.
At any rate, I wonder what White House asset is in charge of this hit
on CPB? And at this point is there enough of CPB left for anybody to
care?
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