No seriously, our tax dollars at work.
Anything the GOP can do to dumb down the population of the United States of 'Merica, they are on it like *white on rice.
I was listening to NPR, and the local news was covering this interesting story. I still cannot believe that they are serious.
Educational Programming?
We live on NOVA in this household. We love it. Neil deGrasse Tyson RULZ!
So yea, cutting Educational Programming from PBS or in this case OETA, wouldn't just be about Sesame Street. I suspect that it has more to do with Frontline and all the work they do with Pro-Publica, and series like NOVA and Nature which clearly do not adhere or promote the idiotic "Young Earth" Crapola, nor do they deny Evolution or sell Christian Creationism which is all neatly packaged in a more neutral manner--aka Intelligent Design.
But I can see why they would target Sesame Street. It promotes the hated MULTICULTURALISM *Aaaaack! Run away--don't get any on ya Cletus!
You know that heathenish belief system that embraces egalitarianism and equality between the genders, and racial equality and tolerance and other icky, sticky, stinky things you often find on your shoe on a hot day in a Walmart parking lot.
This has been going on a for a while. I thought perhaps the locals had given up, but apparently it was just drowned out by all the Anti-Choice-GOP-War-On-Women Hoop-la. Some of which, thankfully was DOA.
Senate Bill 1689 would end state appropriations for "public media or establishing a statewide educational television system." OETA is the only Oklahoma public media to receive state appropriations. KOSU and KGOU - public radio stations licensed to Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma - receive their state funding indirectly through those schools, not through appropriations. http://www.tulsaworld.com/...
Why would they do this? Because only poor people use public television programming, and libruls!
Honestly this is just an extension of the Republican War on Everything [as one commenter put it on a previous diary], which includes de-funding National Public Radio as well.
What cracks me up is this right here:
Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, author of SB 1689, did not immediately return telephone calls about his bill.
House Bill 3039 would also eliminate funding for OETA over the course of five years.
Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Tuttle, author of HB 3039, said the bill represents a reprioritization of state spending.
"I don't want them to close their doors or lose their programming. I think they do a great job," Osborn said.
But the state has core public services that need the money more urgently than public TV, she said. She specifically cited the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, which needs state funding to protect the lives of children, as an agency with a higher priority than OETA.
"I'm looking at it purely from a fiscal standpoint. Can government continue to fund (OETA) when we have these other areas?" IBID
But--Governor Mary Fallin wants to end State Income Tax. So it sort of begs the question.
Okla. Senate OKs Fallin's Income Tax Cut Plan (Apr 25, 2012)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Mary Fallin's plan to slash and phase out the state's income tax has passed the Senate, even though there is still no agreement on how much of a cut may be possible this year.
http://www.kgou.org/...
Are we or Aren't we in some kind of Fiscal need?
If we are seriously talking about ending State Income Tax, while saying we need to cut services because we-as-a-state are tight in the finance department, then I have to raise the BS flag here.
I am sure they will go after Public Libraries next. Why? Because they is full of those square thingies with the papers in em, that the devil uses to tempt the weak minded!
________________________
Added April 26, 2012, 11 AM.
Federal Arts Endowment Sharply Cuts PBS Grants--NYTs
And here it is:
Other programs receiving less than in 2011 include “The PBS NewsHour,” whose $50,000 is half that of last year; the documentary series “Independent Lens” which also got $50,000, down from $170,000; and the documentary series “POV,” which received $100,000, down from $250,000.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
The more I think about this, the more I believe that the attempt to squeeze funding off for these programs is most likely being fueled by some of their sponsors like the
Koch Brothers.
These organizations could not simply stop funding without looking bad from a PR standpoint. But if the shows loose all their other funding and simply fail, the problem is solved for these sponsors. Then these programs appeared to have failed all on their own.
Normally I don't like putting the tin-foil-speculatron on my head so early, but given the big donor-activity in attempts to obfuscate and confuse climate change issues by big oil, and the backing of the GOP and other reprehensible projects and causes; would this really be such a stretch?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
and
http://thinkprogress.org/...
and
and http://www.greenpeace.org/...
And this jewel from Common dreams:
The report says some of Europe's top greenhouse gas-emitting companies – the same ones, it says, that argue additional emission reductions in Europe must wait for the U.S. to limit its emissions – have been funding some of the most notorious climate deniers in the U.S. Senate races.
Nearly 80 percent of the $306,100 contributed by European corporations Bayer, BASF, Solvay, Lafarge, BP, GDF-SUEZ, Arcelor-Mittal and EON has gone to those who oppose U.S. action on climate change, CANE says, amounting to what it calls a hijacking of U.S. elections by foreign corporate interests and a hypocrisy in that these companies often tout their green credentials.
"It's disturbing that these European polluters fund anti- climate crusaders in the U.S. while simultaneously fighting against strong climate legislation in Europe," Tomas Wyns, senior policy officer at CANE, said in releasing the report Monday.
http://www.commondreams.org/...
Looking back at last year:
A group of conservative Republicans, called the Republican Study Committee, revealed a new plan on Thursday to cut federal funding for arts down to zero. This means the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities would be left in the cold. Not to mention the potential hit at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Run by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the over 150-person group's plan, the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, would "save" $167.5 million pulled from the NEA and the Humanities endowment and $445 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They are forecasting that this erasure of cultural funding would reduce federal spending by $2.5 trillion over the next decade.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
According to the LA Times,
The NEA and NEH each will take a $12.5-million cut this year, from $167.5 million to $155 million -– a 7.5% reduction. Spending at the IMLS will decrease from $282.2 million to $237.9 million, a drop of 15.7%. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/...
So that means big cuts for programs they support. It has hit mostly just the arts for now. The main target of the Culture Wars, but I believe that is just the beginning, the distraction for what is coming.
PBS provides some of the last investigative journalism that is available free on television. Think of all the people who really do not have regular internet access, who also may not have cable.
Disappointingly, NPR has moved closer to Tabloid News and further away from the hard hitting tone that they had 10 years ago. I wonder if that wasn't a CYA measure, knowing that they were being targeted in a country that is moving further and further right of crazyville.
Frontline in particular, as well as This American Life, and others have delivered hard hitting works on the BP Gusher, Hurricane Katrina, Fracking Pollution, Health Care gaps in the U.S. and a Whole Lot More.
Nature and Nova also have repeatedly looked at ongoing studies by Scientists in the field, regarding climate change, evolution, and pollution just for starters. 2 of those are big targets of the culture war.
Because in reality, we cannot separate the corporate funding of Climate Change Denial from the funding of the Culture War. The money and politics emerge from many of the same sources.
I am still in the process of connecting the dots, but a pattern has emerged for me.
And yes, Public Libraries are really Next: http://blog.libraryjournal.com/...
Not just because of the books, but also because this is where poor people can use the internet and have an account and participate in online political movements. Something that has been a thorn in the side of politicians and lobbyists from the start.
This had been happening at a state level for now. But in reality that fits the culture war SOP.
http://www.dallasvoice.com/...
and
http://www.northjersey.com/...
and
http://hillpubliclibrary.com/...
When you add all this up with the potential future loss of our postal system, it could leave many people disconnected from the rest of America in a serious way. Post Offices were purposefully placed in central locations for ease of access. UPS and Fed Ex--Not so much. They want maximum traffic for sure, but profit being what it is, makes it abundantly clear that they will go where the money is, and not necessarily where the individual citizens are.
Companies and corporations are big spenders on packages. Individuals who only occasionally mail a card or letter simply cannot compete in terms of dollars.
So no, no internet, no library, no PBS, No NPR and now no easily accessible post office. Hmmmmm.
Many people only get their news from tabloid tv but what if you didn't. What if you relied on PBS stations, NPR Radio, and the Public Library Internet Connection for access to more balanced material regarding matters in the world. Not just the arts, but politics, the environment, etc.,?
The pattern I see emerging here, is to make each and every Democrat, every Liberal, every Environmentalist, every poor person feel completely disenfranchised and isolated and helpless.
Let's add one more layer to this.
New Voter ID laws and loss of polling stations.
Is it all coming together for you now?
Now the elderly, the infirm [including disabled veterans], the poor, etc., are cut off from the vote.
No library, No PBS, No NPR, No internet, No Postal system, and no vote.
But gee, there sure are a lot of churches.
When you combine this with the Republican resistance to Public Transportation and city planning with pedestrians in mind--I dunno, what does this look like to you?