All Things Considered is a mediocre program at best, and I don't ordinarily listen to it...but it's just past midnight West Coast time, and I've been listening to San Francisco's KQED for a few hours tonight, Prairie Home Companion, repeats of This American Life and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, all of which I dearly love...and then the repeat of All Things Considered.
The chirpy airhead tonight interviewed a former autoworker who took the employee buy-out and early retirement offered him and has gone full time with his new entrepreneurial pursuit, the Main Street Dollar Store, and another about a mile away from that location in a town in Michigan. He's not making as much money as he did as an autoworker but he's got income and some amount of protection for his family. And good for him, that's a good thing for him and his family, and I don't begrudge him that.
But...
It astounds me that Chirpy Airhead, in concluding that segment, gave some upbeat words strung together about as usefully and intelligibly as Sarah Barracuda in front of the cameras.
Lacking in that story?
Dollar Stores' inventory appears to be 100% Chinese imports. I know. I visited two in early November in Sonoma County out of curiosity and went from one shelf to another, one aisle to another, reading labels all the way.
Made in China.
100%.
Thanks for your penetrating news analysis, NPR Chirpy Airhead.
In the following segment on that program, Chirpy Airhead has been joined by Guy Voice who's talking about how some energy expert from an energy consortium agrees more with McCain's view of America's energy needs than he does with Obama's view thereof.
Well, lah di daaaahhhhhhh.
NPR Guy Voice, researching the past and getting high on it. Hey, dude, catch on up! Obama won! Was there no contrasting opinion to be had for the airing?
I really appreciate KQED's (SF Bay Area) locally produced programs, typically thoughtful, well-researched, sometimes humorous, always informative. But I've not contributed to PBS/NPR since Bu$hCo took over and every one of the syndicated programs have taken on a decidedly right wing slant. All I can hope for is that NPR/PBS will move toward commentary based on facts, connecting the dots, offering context and opinion reflecting the real, not the ideologically right or vacuous. Then maybe I'll resubscribe.
What do you think?