The Royal Gazette

(fm the BC thread "The Man in the Mirror")

Insufficiently Sensitive,
(CPB) proudly announces that $10,000,000 (...) will be devoted (to) creating “local journalism centers”

During WW-II the Democratic Congress snapped at FDR and insisted that the Office of War Information (OWI) curtail its domestic activities. The USIA and Department of State are prohibited from distributing domestically, except I believe for academic research, materials produced to influence opinion overseas. It is not only unconstitutional but illegal to spend any taxpayer dollars for a partisan purpose within the United States.

For those who claim that PBS is really "an independent agency" that happens to be "owned by the American people," I appreciate the invitation to laugh but decline to find this amusing. For those who claim that if you hold the books a certain way and count up all the tote bags and DVD sets sold they do not really depend on taxpayer support or their quasi-official status I think that shows a faith in creative accounting that should earn ample time going over the details in conversation with Ken Lay, or if you are less fortunate another guest of the government named Viper. There is no basis in even the most generous interpretation of the Commerce Clause for a public agency that competes with private agencies in the provision of journalism services.

The original justification for Public Broadcasting was that these were locally controlled educational outlets geared to assist the public schools. All the educational and Civic functions once served by Public Broadcasting can now be delivered by cable services, such as The Learning Channel, The History Channel and C-Span, without violating the Constitution. Since the switch to digital broadcasting PBS television does not even provide it's services to people who do not have access to cable.

The CPB system, especially the radio arm NPR, provides generous incomes to Establishment leftists. They are spared having to compete in the marketplace and produce their content for the tiny minority who are their social and ideological peers. Our Lords and Ladies think they can use tell us what is good for us. It is now a cossetted Middle Class Rip Off.