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.

[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.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

The protection of our country is one of the only constitutionally mandated functions of the feds.

If only there was any proof that the billions of dollars we put into Iraq are actually protecting us from any real threat. We aren't one tiny bit safer due to this war. If anything, we have made things worse.

Meanwhile, we are perfectly fine cutting the arts, cutting medicare, cutting student loans, etc.

It is downright sickening.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

This, of course, does not mean there is not waste and/or corruption.

When literally billions of dollars are wasted because congress insists on building more stealth bombers, despited the Air Force's insistence that they don't need any more (old example, but true and illustrative of how big of a military waste problem we have), I have a hard time swallowing the insistence that the CPB is the first place to start looking for budget cuts. Cutting $50 million may cripple public broadcasting, and will do next to nothing to restore spending order. Cutting several billion dollars of fat out of the military will barely register and would actually make a noticeable dent in spending. One word...priorities.

[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.

[Prudence]

I could support the government getting out of the content business if they would fully get out of the content business and stop whinging about boobies on the telly.

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Prudence

I could support the government getting out of the content business if they would fully get out of the content business and stop whinging about boobies on the telly.

Indeed we need public bandwidth set aside for specifically for porn - Why should the poor be expected to pay for something the rest of us take for granted?

[Alex]

Just for the record, I hardly consider getting rid of the CPB to be a high priority. If given access to the red pen there are plenty of places (including parts of the defense budget) where I'd start with much greater impact.

But just because I disagree with the prioritization of this cut doesn't mean I don't support the cut.

€uroMeinke, if Firefly is revived but instead of being on broadcast television (as it was the first time, on Fox) it is on the SciFi channel, should I get a goverment check to help me upgrade my cable to the package that includes SciFi channel.

As I said, I have no problem with the government guaranteeing a channel (through reserved spectrum space) but that isn't accomplished through CPB. They're providing content (and giving out grants for the design of the CPB annual report).

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

As I said, I have no problem with the government guaranteeing a channel (through reserved spectrum space) but that isn't accomplished through CPB. They're providing content (and giving out grants for the design of the CPB annual report).

I get that - but, I guess I don't see the spectrum being preserved what with all the giant media company mergers. So given that the regulatory bodies in place don't seem to be accomplishing what I think their objective should be, that makes me knee-jerk protectionist for my pork barrel funding.

So yeah, if the governemnt is preventing your programming on getting onto our public spectrum, then I think they should give you a Sci-Fi channel voucher.

[The Shadoe]

I find it interesting that people accuse the Right of moving to the right.

Michelle Malkin wrote a book (I've only read a little of it), about the left moving towards the extreme left, and how the party of John F Kennedy, Hubert Humphery, etc. has become the party that is driven by people like Ted Kennedy, Michael Moore, and Cindy Sheehan.

She doesn't provide an explanation (her book is meant to be more entertaining about the Unhinged, such as Al Franken sticking his finger in the face of the producer of Laura Ingraham's show, or those who decide to attack conservatives), but I listen to the news, and I wonder how on earth the party went in the direction that it did. It seems like they are controlled by the most extreme elements. I have a feeling that the Democrats are going to implode soon and split into two parties... the extremists will be one party, and we'll have another party that will be more like the Democratic party before Reagan was president.

The country definately "has moved". It's clearly evident when the south, which ALWAYS used to vote Democrat now is voting Republican. Or when our neighbors in Canada start voting Conservative.

I would go as far to say that in order to be winning elections again, the Democrat party will have to purge itself of the extreme elements. When Cindy Sheehan hangs out with Hugo Chavez who vows to bring the United States down, when Michael Moore calls Americans the stupidest people in the world, and articles appear in the Washington Post say that Mrs. Alito (who looks like a normal person) criticize her clothing for looking like furniture fabric, they will continue to alienate people. Which is why I see a split coming.

As far as my own personal beliefs go, I received this message on another board I post at:

You're a Libertarian (sp?). Limited control of government over social and economic factors. Limited government overall. I respect these people a lot, because, in general, these people are smart enough to make decisions for themselves without getting the government involved.

.