PBS/M & M/Newt

The newly empowered Republicans in Congress have not targeted the big ticket items such as Medicare and Social Security with their budget axe but have focused on NPR and the CPB to trim funding and even eliminate public subsidies. I applaud this move.

The Herald has run a series of articles that have clearly shown the excesses of the local affiliate WGBH which provides about 30% of the programming for PBS. Salaries and a cushy state of the art studio have been a central point but what caught my eye was PILOT. PILOT is payment in lieu of taxes that most if not all non profits - a joke in of itself - contribute to the City of Boston. WGBH moved into their new digs four years ago and have contributed the grand total of zero dollars despite having that new $85,000,000 studio. Prior to that the contribution was about $10,000.

Now those pesky Republicans view the fiscal attack up Elmo and the rest of the crew as political payback as the far left slant of PBS that is rather well known. Just as Juan Williams canned for expressing his opinion on FOX. Or one of the honchos at the public broadcasting trough who fell for an undercover scam that had him labeling Tea Party types as “racist.” That seems to be the code phase du jour for the far left to explain away opposing points of view. Having a nice British accent does not exactly mean what you hear is the truth and the resulting faux pas led to a resignation.

The budget input for tax dollars for WGBH represents about 8% of their budget so somehow they will survive. Maybe a nice tea (party) put on by some of the more concerned citizens in Cambridge and Brookline can make up the cash loss. Across the board the loss will be somewhere in the neighborhood of about 10% of the various public broadcasting leeches so that is manageable. Maybe the heavy contributions of the Koch Foundation can be increased? A last total the Koch Foundation had contributed $7,000,000 to PBS - not bad for a Libertarian/conservative.

If all goes down the tubes there is always the option for the executives to move into other positions at other non profits and I understand there is about a dozen slots that may open up soon at Blue Cross. In the meantime I will have to miss the mating ritual of some obscure Australian rodent or the opportunity to pay exorbitant amounts of money for DVD’s from groups and individuals who I have never heard of. Seems whenever I tune into WGBH and their various other incarnations I see a string of semi ads anyone. Just go ahead and let Ronald McDonald replace the obnoxious Big Bird.

Mansfield found it necessary to run Saturday sessions to make up for school days lost to snow. Naturally the “For the kids” teachers union stepped in with a union protest but it was unnecessary since the kids didn’t bother to show up. Session two was canceled.

MiMi and Marsha are running as a tandem team much like a tag team in the WWE. I have no idea of what their election platform will be? Plant more flowers? Tazer those who dare approach the sacred podium? Sit in the audience when a discussion gets around to the IT Department? Whine about a pooch on your street? So you get a mirror for your vote. Vote for both and you get exactly the same and from what I can gather MiMi should change her name to mimic since that is usually her path on the BOS - Mimic Marsha. Marsha has IMO reached that point in performance and presentation that is like a party guest who is boring the bejabbers out of everyone and proceeds to stay around and entertain you when everyone else has left. How can I miss you when you won’t go away? With MiMi I have no idea what she is doing aside from making comments that leave me just wondering if it is me only to discover - thankfully - it is not.

I remember back about a year ago when the gavel was forced to at least grovel a bit when you saw an interesting group lined up at the podium - Neil, Steve, Lincoln, and several other who I have left out that served the BOS quite well. Those with a clue approaching a Chair without a clue? At least it presented a stark beep…beep….beep moment as the Chair managed to backtrack a bit.

So it is fairly easy to understand who I will vote for and it will not be a bullet vote. The political chain that is the BOS has two weak links and maybe - hopefully - they’ll be voted off the island.

Why let a cheap shot go by? Homeowners stage a protest and Quelle and Frawley marched with them but our own twin Marie Antoinette’s offered them cake! What, MiMI, no flowers?

So Newt wants to get into the oral office and bring the entire nation to its knees like he does his paramours. Maybe GM will revive the Hummer in honor of Newt? As far as the arm candy she has figured out the way to his heart is not through his stomach. Maybe he can hook up with Clinton some day and discuss an oral history of the presidency?

Speaking of comedy in presidential politics it is not yet a done deal that Sarah Palin will run for the office. Is she a female Dan Quayle destine to be the punch line of jokes? Appears that way. The Republican Party ran roughshod over the Democrats in the last election cycle but appear to have quite a leadership vacuum for those running to grab the big enchilada. And I just love the personal foibles of some of the more morally anointed ones getting their PAC’s ready. I guess they have to fill the void of hypocrisy that Ted Kennedy left behind.

I read a nice assessment of President Obama where the connection was made to how he is an academic type that is prone to lecture and not leadership. Seems to be a high degree of vacillation when certain issues hit home with the Community Organizer In Chief.

The recent disaster in Japan is reflected in world wide financial markets with a massive sell off. Investors remind me of when a forecast of two inches of snow is in the works and the supermarkets empty of milk and bread in panic buying only with the financials it is panic selling.