To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=82055
19 messages

Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets

15 Jun 05 - 01:10 PM (#1501709)
Subject: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: Pauline L

As many of you know, a House panel has recommended slashes in public funding for PBS and NPR. Moveon.org is collecting electronic signatures for a petition to restore the funding, and I'm forwarding their email message to me.

Tomorrow, the House Appropriations Committee will decide whether to approve these severe cuts to NPR and PBS. We can stop the cuts—and save public TV and radio—with a strong show of public outrage. We'll report to the committee members on our petition before they vote.

Can you help us reach 400,000 signers by the end of the day? Please send the note below to friends, family and neighbors who count on NPR and PBS.

Thank you for all you do,

–Noah, Joan, Rosalyn, and the MoveOn.org Team
Wednesday, June 15th, 2005

P.S. Here's a note to send your friends:

Hi,

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/?t=1

A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year—$100 million—and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

The next vote on the cuts will take place tomorrow (Thursday). Help us reach 400,000 signatures to be delivered to the committee members.

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/?t=2

Thanks!


15 Jun 05 - 04:44 PM (#1501889)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: GUEST,.gargoyle

IT is about time the free-loaders got their budgets CUT - CUT - CUT

If a place like the MC or the DT can make it without government grants ..... less worthy institutions should be able.

Let Buster try busking - and Clifford could use a clip-job.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle


15 Jun 05 - 04:48 PM (#1501898)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: GUEST,.gargoyle

THIS ..... Sure appears to be:

B. S. B. S. B. S. B. S.

?????????????????????????????????????

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

it is so much more fun with brucie and martin gone


16 Jun 05 - 02:59 PM (#1502392)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: gnu

brucie? Say what?


16 Jun 05 - 03:04 PM (#1502399)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: gnu

brucie is alive and well and stll here. I just saw a post from him on another thread.


16 Jun 05 - 03:17 PM (#1502412)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: GUEST,celtaddict at work

Personal feuds aside (please), if you feel the government should be supporting public media, and specifically advertising-free media aimed at improving the availability of quality programming, do support this issue. Yes, there are highly worthy programs that make it without help, but there are also folks who would not have this exposure without help. (Intellectual food stamps? Why not?) NPR is about the only radio I ever listen to, as the quality of programming is not only good, it is often material unavailable elsewhere, on the commercial waves.


16 Jun 05 - 03:30 PM (#1502421)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: Clinton Hammond

National Pretentious Radio and the Pretentious Bull Sh!t station can both go to hell and stay there for all I care...


16 Jun 05 - 03:37 PM (#1502428)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: GUEST,Hold your horses

As some people who have commented here probably already know, This story is an internet hoax. It has been around in one form or another for a decade. When the chain letter version hits the right community, it reproduces in several forms very quickly.

See
http://www.npr.org/about/urbanmyth.html


16 Jun 05 - 03:37 PM (#1502429)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: Peace

Oh, Gargoyle. You are off your meds again. Poor boy.


16 Jun 05 - 04:03 PM (#1502440)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: GUEST,celtaddict at work

Thanks, Hold Your Horses; I do check hoax-potential of most of such things I receive (at least that small minority I read) but did not on this one.


16 Jun 05 - 04:56 PM (#1502473)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: GUEST,David Ingerson

Thanks, hold your horses, for your vigilance and your attempts to keep the internet clean. I have also sent the hoaxbusters url out to many of my email friends for this and other garbage.

HOWEVER, THIS IS THE REAL THING. Not only does MoveOn document it with footnotes; I saw an article about it in our paper yesterday.

A significant percent of artists has always been supported by the powers that be, whether they are kings, landed gentry, foundations, or governments. An artist's work does not have to "sell" in order to be valuable and worthy of support.

David


16 Jun 05 - 04:58 PM (#1502474)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: Donuel

The CPB board meeting is next week.

Ms. Harrison (a former chair of the RNC) is slated to be installed as President of CPB over the objections of the magority of the board.



.................................

It appears unspoken extortions are running hot and heavy.


16 Jun 05 - 06:46 PM (#1502563)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: GUEST,David Ingerson

Here is some verification:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/09/AR2005060902283.html

I tried to make a blicky several times (and I have before, also unsuccessfully). Apparently I'm doing something wrong, but I am having a difficult time figuring out what.

David


16 Jun 05 - 08:03 PM (#1502637)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: Bat Goddess

Here it is


16 Jun 05 - 09:23 PM (#1502664)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: Alice

THIS IS NOT A HOAX. For years there was an email hoax circulating about NPR, but if you read the Washington Post article or have been following any media that provides in-depth news LIKE NPR AND PBS you would have heard that this is a real threat to intelligent broadcasting. NPR and PBS are the only really objective and thorough sources of news we have. In Montana. we have one public radio station out of Billings for Montana and northern Wyoming, and one PBS tv station for the state jointly producing programs at U.of M. in Missoula and Montana State U. in Bozeman. Do you want the US population to be even more poorly informed? Should only those who can afford to pay for broadcast reception be informed? Do you want areas of the country to be unable to receive cultural broadcasting? Much of the country does not live where there is access to theater, music and other educational sources. NPR and PBS connect us to the rest of the world of culture and information. Here is a list of just some of what I and many others in Montana can see and hear because of the support of our stations by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Thistle and Shamrock (Celtic music hosted by Fiona Richie), The Folk Sampler, Prarie Home Companion, local music and news, From the Top (Click here to hear age 18 and under classical performers), Classical Guitar Alive, World of Opera, National Native News (news from tribes in the US and Canada), To The Point (debate of current issues Click here, Marian McPartland Piano Jazz Click here and on television, MORE in-depth coverage of news, science and the arts, BBC news, Masterpiece Theater, Frontline, Mystery, symphony performances, Austin City Limits, NOVA, gardening, painting, building... Those who want to eliminate public radio and television want to dumb-down America even more - the attitude of "Let them eat cake"... let them watch Fox.


16 Jun 05 - 09:45 PM (#1502669)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: kendall

They should know better than to report the truth about politicians.


16 Jun 05 - 11:41 PM (#1502725)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: GUEST

advertising-free media??????

About every eight minutes they give one, two, even three PLUGS as "thanks" from corporations.

Let them DIE....and let the world choose the I-Pod station of their choice.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

The world is in a HUGE stage of flux at the moment....major corporations, frustrated, impotent, can view their dinosauer end. Some are "out of copyright" and others are "copyright conflict"....and an ever growing population is "let us share" I have created and can distribute without at a profit greater than my prescribed DUES


21 Jun 05 - 05:30 PM (#1506293)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: Pauline L

More evidence that this is for real is given by the New Yosk Times on June 17 in an article cited here.

Not everyone can afford an iPod and many of those who can have never been exposed to some of the things on NPR/PBS. My own life has been greatly enriched by Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. Take a look at the following programs, cited by Alice, above. I'll bet that almost everyone who reads this list loves at least one of these programs.

  1. Thistle and Shamrock (Celtic music hosted by Fiona Richie)
  2. The Folk Sampler
  3. Prarie Home Companion
  4. From the Top
  5. Classical Guitar Alive
  6. World of Opera
  7. National Native News (news from tribes in the US and Canada)
  8. To The Point (debate of current issues)
  9. Marian McPartland Piano Jazz Click
  10. Many channels carrying in-depth coverage of news, science and the arts
    news
  11. Masterpiece Theater
  12. Frontlineline
  13. Mystery
  14. Many symphony performances
  15. Austin City Limits


Don't you want these to continue to be available to all interested people? Please sign the petition sponsored by MoveOn.Org (link cited above on this thread).


21 Jun 05 - 05:33 PM (#1506295)
Subject: RE: Major cuts for PBS and NPR budgets
From: Pauline L

Here is the link for the petition to sign.