House votes to defund NPR

[Kuya]

Not all of it quoted.

The House on Thursday voted to end federal funding to National Public Radio. Republican supporters said it made good fiscal sense, and Democratic opponents called it an ideological attack that would deprive local stations of access to programs such as "Car Talk" and "All Things Considered."

The bill, passed 228-192 along mainly partisan lines, would bar federal funding of NPR and prohibit local public stations from using federal money to pay NPR dues and buy its programs. The prospects of support in the Democratic-controlled Senate are slim. Seven Republicans broke ranks to vote against the bill.

"It is time for American citizens to stop funding an organization that can stand on its own feet," said Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., the sponsor. He said it was not a question of content -- which many conservatives say has a liberal bias -- but whether taxpayer dollars should go to nonessential services. "As a country we no longer have this luxury."

Other Republicans also denied that the measure was a vendetta against NPR, although the organization left itself open to conservative attacks last week when an executive, talking to conservative activists posing as members of a fake Muslim group, was caught on camera deriding the tea party movement and saying the NPR would be better off without federal funding. Both the executive and the president of NPR resigned after the incident.

"Nobody's on a rampage," said Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., who also asked "why should we allow taxpayer dollars to be used to advocate one ideology?"

Democrats retorted that the legislation would do nothing to reduce the deficit and would be a blow to local public stations that rely on the national programs that include "Morning Edition" and "Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me" to attract listeners. "This bill would pull the plug," said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass. "It would snuff out stations from coast to coast, many in rural areas where the public radio station is the primary source of news and information."

The move to curtail federal subsidies for NPR follows a House vote last month, as part of the GOP plan to cut federal spending for the remainder of this budget year, to take back some $86 million budgeted for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the parent organization of NPR. That proposal, which also faces opposition in the Senate, does not provide for $430 million in future spending for CPB.

Thursday's bill would ban federal funding of NPR, which was about $5 million in fiscal year 2010. It would bar public radio stations from using their federal grant money to pay dues to NPR. That total was about $2.8 million in fiscal 2010.

It also would bar public radio stations from using federal funds to buy NPR programs. NPR received $56 million in programming fees last year, its largest single source of revenue. Stations could still use federal money to produce their own programs.

In fiscal years 2009 and 2010 the CPB distributed federal grant money to more than 600 public radio stations, which used that money to buy programs and pay dues to NPR.

NPR says that of its $145.5 million in budgeted revenues in the fiscal year ending last September, only 1. 9 percent came from station dues. The biggest chunk, $63 million or 43 percent, came from station program fees. Another $36 million, or 24.7 percent, was derived from corporate sponsorships. About 3 percent came from grants from federally funded agencies such as the CPB and the National Endowment for the Arts.

This is similar to the defunding of the organization ACORN whose purpose it was helping low income families vote. It was defunded based on an edited video that purpoted to show that ACORN provided free housing to prostitutes. The video was found to be misleading, but ACORN was defunded regardless and it was later disbanded.

Another similar story involved a highly edited video of a government worker Shirley Sherrod that purpoted to show her making racist comments, but it was found that the video was also misleading. Sherrod was fired from her job.

In all these cases the same group of people have been involved with the edited videos, and in every case the government has inmediately responded to these videos by defunding or firing the involved parties.

The group producing these edited videos is right-wing and the target of these videos have been seemingly left leaning persons or groups. I use the world left loosely.

http://www.salon.com/news/npr/index...._to_defund_npr

[Demosthenes11]

RP knows whats up

[Pirian]

If they're making false allegation then why is no one suing them for slander? It seems like they've gotten away with an awful lot

[Kuya]

Sherrod is currently suing.

[finitek]

I listen to NPR every day.

And certainly not because it is biased in either political direction. For me its more about listening to "world news" and hearing the "news" not opinions.

Whatever happened to "Just the facts"...

Corporate media can go suck it.

If anything this has made sure I will double my donations to my local radio stations.

[Pirian]

Yeah, the only radio station listen to is NPR.

Sherrod is currently suing.

Ahh ok , good to know. My post wasn't questing those guys validity, but rather a genuine curiosity as to why they've been allowed to operate for so long while spreading proven false information

[Kuya]

We live in times where the liberals and democrats consistently retreat on debates, and the right-wing feels the world has become too liberal after 20 years of the US getting more conservative.

We live in strange times.

[notorious bum]

Man, I'm going to be mega-pissed if there comes a day that I can no longer listen to the great interviews from Fresh Air, fuck the news. I grew up on Terry Gross in the mornings.

[Pirian]

I would become a politician, but I don't think I could force myself to be a democrat, and it's fucking pointless to be an independent. My girlfriends brother is a high-profile lawyer in DC and became a lobbyist to try and make a difference, but after 2 years he just couldn't keep doing it without feeling fucking guilty, so he quit. I would like to think that I would have the willpower to stay a straight line in that business, but I don't know if I could, and that too is another reason.

[Correction]

KCRW plays the best fucking music in LA right now. If that programming goes down the pipes I'll be extremely sad.

but I guess Car Talk, Prairie Home Companion and This American Life are just too gosh darn left leaning for our fair and balanced congress.

[Yabby]

I listen to NPR every day.

And certainly not because it is biased in either political direction. For me its more about listening to "world news" and hearing the "news" not opinions.

Whatever happened to "Just the facts"...

Corporate media can go suck it.

If anything this has made sure I will double my donations to my local radio stations.

Don't you understand that "Just the facts" = left wing crazy socialist agenda

[Eaglestrike]

I would become a politician, but I don't think I could force myself to be a democrat, and it's fucking pointless to be an independent. My girlfriends brother is a high-profile lawyer in DC and became a lobbyist to try and make a difference, but after 2 years he just couldn't keep doing it without feeling fucking guilty, so he quit. I would like to think that I would have the willpower to stay a straight line in that business, but I don't know if I could, and that too is another reason.

I am so with you man. I'd like to be in politics, but I don't think I could stand the bullshit necessary to succeed there.

[Kuya]

RP knows whats up

I don't trust him, but i certainly agree with what he's currently saying.

[Dantrag]

Will make a donation to NPR come the next cycle. This is bull shit imo.

[Dantrag]

I don't trust him, but i certainly agree with what he's currently saying.

I trust him more than 99% of the other politicians that are out there at the moment. I agree with him that these wars need to end ASAP. It cost something around 1.3 million PER solider to deploy them into one of the two current theaters.

[barber2006]

I support NPR and listen to it almost daily but it has surprised me that it has made it this long with government funding. Regardless of what you think about the bias (or lack thereof) of NPR, radio just doesn't seem like something that taxes should be paying for. I suppose you could try to lump it in the category of museums/etc and say it is contributing to the 'culture' of the nation. But they only play music 30% of the time (and half of that is stuff like 'world cafe' and I seriously doubt Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, and Bjork can be considered culture). The rest of the day is talk radio which is at best just another source of news from which there is an endless supply nowadays.

I don't suspect movie theaters will be asking for Government stipends just because for every 4 "Big Momm's House III's" they show they also will have an "Amedeus". Heck our theaters here play recordings of operas 4x a week but they survive on income from customers and advertisements just like every other similar entertainment venue. I don't see why NPR should be any different.

Don't get me wrong, I've been supporting NPR for 20 years. But it don't see them offering anything, especially in today's economy, that deserves public funding over infrastructure, education, etc.

[Not Kuno]

But it don't see them offering anything, especially in today's economy, that deserves public funding over infrastructure, education, etc.

Hahahaha. That is never going to happen. This shit is going to get squandered.

[Kuya]

I support NPR and listen to it almost daily but it has surprised me that it has made it this long with government funding. Regardless of what you think about the bias (or lack thereof) of NPR, radio just doesn't seem like something that taxes should be paying for. I suppose you could try to lump it in the category of museums/etc and say it is contributing to the 'culture' of the nation. But they only play music 30% of the time (and half of that is stuff like 'world cafe' and I seriously doubt Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, and Bjork can be considered culture). The rest of the day is talk radio which is at best just another source of news from which there is an endless supply nowadays.

I don't suspect movie theaters will be asking for Government stipends just because for every 4 "Big Momm's House III's" they show they also will have an "Amedeus". Heck our theaters here play recordings of operas 4x a week but they survive on income from customers and advertisements just like every other similar entertainment venue. I don't see why NPR should be any different.

Don't get me wrong, I've been supporting NPR for 20 years. But it don't see them offering anything, especially in today's economy, that deserves public funding over infrastructure, education, etc.

You're pulling a guartz here.

[Correction]

[Demosthenes11]

is there anything this man does that is not brilliant?