George takes a swipe at Big Bird

[wendybeth]

Eh, I give up. This damned 'war' is going to bankrupt the country, and I no longer even care. (Much). We can give hundreds of millions to some jackass up in Alaska to build what amounts to his own private bridge to his island, and no one seems to have a problem with that. Everything is being cut, at least everything that goes to help the poor and elderly and mentally ill and all the other powerless in this nation, and the industrial military complex grinds along with nary a protest. We have some really ****ed up values these days.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

This, I'm not so sure about - certainly things are different that the days of 3 Networks. But the times when I cruise the gazzillion channels, I really don't find much that speaks to me in the same way as the publicly funded stuff. Maybe that's becasue that niche is already filled by them.

And this is where I get left behind. The feeling that if you have a preference in content, that the government should subsidize its existence if nobody else will.

I'd prefer that there be a commercial-free revival of Firefly but have no expectation that the government step in and give me one. Either I find enough like-minded people or it doesn't happen.

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

We can give hundreds of millions to some jackass up in Alaska to build what amounts to his own private bridge to his island, and no one seems to have a problem with that.

(Raises hand) I do.

and the industrial military complex grinds along with nary a protest.

I will never object to that. The protection of our country is one of the only constitutionally mandated functions of the feds. This, of course, does not mean there is not waste and/or corruption.

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by mousepod

As I get older, I find that I am more of a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. Exactly like neither of the two parties.

Yeah, I'm with you there. But, it's the focus on cutting these "liberal" programs that hurts me the most. There's not much emotion for me in striaght econmics and, while they both deal with quality of life, I think the "nice to have" is just as important as the economic niceties and I'm not sure why the feeling is that the government should only be concerned with one of these things.

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

I'm leaning more and more left these days, mainly because the right seems to be moving even further right.

That's exactly how I feel. I’ve always been a moderate; and I vote for the person or issue, not for the party. More and more the last few years, I have been voting Democrat. An ex-friend (long story) once accused me of becoming a liberal. I told him that my beliefs and opinions have not changed – I stayed put, the country moved.

Edited to add: Just a thought… If my beliefs don’t change with time, doesn’t that make me a conservative??? Hmmm….

[Alex]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

We can give hundreds of millions to some jackass up in Alaska to build what amounts to his own private bridge to his island, and no one seems to have a problem with that.

There were an average of four earmarks per congressional district in the transportation bill, so it isn't so much that nobody has a problem with it but that everybody has a problem with it except when the money comes to their home town and so everybody looks away.

If you haven't seen nary a protest you haven't been looking in the right places. The fiscally conservative side of the Republican base has been up in arms since the transportation bill passed. Check out Porkbusters for an example.

Hopefully the earmarks process will be killed but it benefits both parties so probably not.

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

And this is where I get left behind. The feeling that if you have a preference in content, that the government should subsidize its existence if nobody else will.

To be sure, I don't expect the government to fund my interests (but I have expressed my bias above) but I want to at least ensure that I have access to my interests.

If cable is expected to replace CPB braodcasts - then give me a voucher I can use toward my cable billl to cover my access to the bandwidth I just lost to another identical network.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by mousepod

As I get older, I find that I am more of a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. Exactly like neither of the two parties.

Libertarian, baby!

[JWBear]

Ignore. Duplicate post.

(Why did the board add a second post when I went to edit the original???)

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by JWBear

An ex-friend (long story) once accused me of becoming a liberal. I told him that my beliefs and opinions have not changed – I stayed put, the country moved.

Me too.

I can't help but feel that this cut is retribution for CPB's critical report on Kenneth "Rove" Tomlinson. He quit after allegations about him came up when he used CPB money to monitor Moyers' show without the board's approval.

I donate to PBS and NPR when I can. Their listeners will fill that gap. Once they do, I'll be sure to listen in more. If Bush thinks they're critical of him now wait and see what they'll be saying soon enough.