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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was designed to insulated from political manipulation by being an independent entity and their funding approved several years in advance.
That has gone out the window.
We've been here before; budget cuts to our services over the decades have become a feature, not a bug. Expect stations to close, programming and services to be curtailed and more fundraising.
I've been in public broadcasting for 36 years and I've survived the decades of downsizing. I've heard the screams of "we've got to cut the fat!!!" and cut after cut being made until we were slicing off arms and legs. We became a skeleton crew. We rebuilt. We fought. That's what we do. That's what we will do.
But we can only do this with your financial and political support.
(Of course I had to throw in a pledge break.)
The ending song for the latest episodes of Sesame Street have the words, "You're going smarter, stronger, kinder - on Sesame Street." In a world where the Republicans want us to be dumber, sicker, meaner - we need public media more than ever.
Okay, quick break. Sure, the conservatives can't stand the children's programs because they can't sell shitty toys during the breaks and we show kids a world that isn't all white, xtianist and capitalist. What bugs the shit out of conservatives is that public broadcasting has been fact and reality based for decades. We follow the facts, not ideology. Frontline, News Hour, POV, American Experience have shown both the good and bad sides of America. Have we gotten things wrong? Lots of times. But they hate our news shows, our documentaries, our features that often portray American - and World - history in a more honest light. Did we murder and cheat the Native Americans? Yep. Base our economy and politics around slave labor while mouth "All men are created equal"? Yep. Treat Gay people like shit and demonize them for no reason? Yep. Incarcerate our own citizens and steal their property during World War 2? Yep. The list goes on and on.
Because if we don't examine our failures we will keep repeating them.
If that information makes you feel bad then *you might want to look into your own heart*. If you're all in keeping black people down, kicking gays and jailing people for their ancestry _then you should feel bad_.
Because that's not American.
That has gone out the window.
We've been here before; budget cuts to our services over the decades have become a feature, not a bug. Expect stations to close, programming and services to be curtailed and more fundraising.
I've been in public broadcasting for 36 years and I've survived the decades of downsizing. I've heard the screams of "we've got to cut the fat!!!" and cut after cut being made until we were slicing off arms and legs. We became a skeleton crew. We rebuilt. We fought. That's what we do. That's what we will do.
But we can only do this with your financial and political support.
(Of course I had to throw in a pledge break.)
The ending song for the latest episodes of Sesame Street have the words, "You're going smarter, stronger, kinder - on Sesame Street." In a world where the Republicans want us to be dumber, sicker, meaner - we need public media more than ever.
Okay, quick break. Sure, the conservatives can't stand the children's programs because they can't sell shitty toys during the breaks and we show kids a world that isn't all white, xtianist and capitalist. What bugs the shit out of conservatives is that public broadcasting has been fact and reality based for decades. We follow the facts, not ideology. Frontline, News Hour, POV, American Experience have shown both the good and bad sides of America. Have we gotten things wrong? Lots of times. But they hate our news shows, our documentaries, our features that often portray American - and World - history in a more honest light. Did we murder and cheat the Native Americans? Yep. Base our economy and politics around slave labor while mouth "All men are created equal"? Yep. Treat Gay people like shit and demonize them for no reason? Yep. Incarcerate our own citizens and steal their property during World War 2? Yep. The list goes on and on.
Because if we don't examine our failures we will keep repeating them.
If that information makes you feel bad then *you might want to look into your own heart*. If you're all in keeping black people down, kicking gays and jailing people for their ancestry _then you should feel bad_.
Because that's not American.
