Well said. We do indeed have to ask ourselves what is stopping us from making stopping Trump our top priority. And yes, it's tempting to hope that the regime's stupidity and criminality will cause it to crash and burn, and that everything will somehow be OK when it's over. I catch myself feeling hopeful with every hint or rumor that the Mango Mussolini's health is failing.
Yes indeed - we need to get rid of Trump and company ASAP, however, it WILL NOT BE OK if and when that happens as we still have the inauthentic opposition party that will not represent us as the wealth gap widens, and the poor are left to rot.
You're right, of course. Things were not OK before Trump. I struggle to find the right words to express this. I should have said "back to rule of law bourgeois democracy, such as it is.
FYI, the locals refer to the town as Spo-kan, i.e., can, not cane. I agree with all that you otherwise said, in the main, (I'm a bigger Colbert fan than you), but some things just drive me to annoy others, in this way. (its vs it's is a lifetime issue...) Keep fighting!
One more comment: keep in mind when hoped for result of those large rallies is not only two make a showing for the powers that be, but to connect community members, show others that they are not alone in their concern, and help organize ongoing ways ofdealing with the situation. You’re right, it’s important for people to realize they are not alone in their concerns.
This is Long, but I thought you might be interested in this. This letter was written by the CEO of the national Federation of community broadcasters. Along with NPR, and CPB or PBS, the funding cut will affect media outlets in rural and less populated areas, and some targeted communities in more urban areas. In the rural and tribal areas, some of these Terrestrial stations are a critical lifeline in terms of news, public safety, and emergency information, and education. Again, sorry for the Link, here’s the article and letter.
I respect the years of Mr. Berliner's career in public media, his lived experiences at NPR and honor his perspective. But the unintended consequences of his critique on NPR are being used and weaponized to decimate those not even affiliated with NPR. So I shared with thoughts directly with Mr. Berliner via the comments section to his article on Free Press and then formatted the below Op-Ed, submitted for consideration to the NYT and posted this on LinkedIn and Facebook. I've also sent this as NFCB's statement to a couple requests for a comment on the rescission vote.
And, I share this with all of you. Be well and take care. May you all have a restful weekend.
Warmly,
Rima
You May Hate NPR. But Killing CPB Puts Rural America at Risk.
Defunding public media doesn’t punish NPR—it guts the emergency lifelines that small towns and Tribal communities depend on.
The Senate’s vote to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding for public media has been framed as a rebuke to NPR. Critics argue the network lost its impartiality, and some have welcomed this cut as an overdue reckoning.
But NPR is not the real casualty here. Rural America is.
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) represents nearly 200 community radio stations across the United States. Most of these stations are not affiliated with NPR or PBS. They are hyper-local, often 100% volunteer-run operations serving small towns, Tribal nations, and rural communities. They operate on shoestring budgets, powered by donated time and secondhand equipment.
For these stations, federal support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is not ideological—it is survival. According to CPB and GAO reports, up to half of rural stations could go off the air without federal funding. And when those stations go silent, so do the emergency alert systems communities rely on during wildfires, floods, tornadoes, and other emergencies.
This is not theoretical. AM/FM radio remains the most reliable medium in a crisis (FCC, 2018). When cell towers burn, when the power goes out, when internet networks fail, people turn to battery-powered radios. In many rural and Tribal regions, these community stations are the only real-time source of life-saving information.
The recent debate about NPR’s editorial choices should not be used to justify dismantling this critical civic infrastructure. The $1.1 billion Congress has clawed back will not significantly impact NPR executives or national programs, but it will devastate tiny community stations that have no other safety net.
These stations are staffed by neighbors, teachers, and retirees. They air high school sports scores, weather alerts, and local music alongside emergency notifications. They provide connection in places where isolation is real—and in moments of crisis, they save lives.
The next time a wildfire roars through Montana, a hurricane floods a Gulf Coast town, or a Tribal community issues evacuation orders, some people will turn their dials and hear only static.
Federal investment in public media is not a luxury. For millions of Americans, especially in rural and Tribal communities, it is a lifeline. Once those radios go silent, turning them back on will not be easy.
"History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Keep your finger on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da-l7PY7bAM
Take action people, NOW. The time is NOW.
Well said. We do indeed have to ask ourselves what is stopping us from making stopping Trump our top priority. And yes, it's tempting to hope that the regime's stupidity and criminality will cause it to crash and burn, and that everything will somehow be OK when it's over. I catch myself feeling hopeful with every hint or rumor that the Mango Mussolini's health is failing.
Yes indeed - we need to get rid of Trump and company ASAP, however, it WILL NOT BE OK if and when that happens as we still have the inauthentic opposition party that will not represent us as the wealth gap widens, and the poor are left to rot.
You're right, of course. Things were not OK before Trump. I struggle to find the right words to express this. I should have said "back to rule of law bourgeois democracy, such as it is.
FYI, the locals refer to the town as Spo-kan, i.e., can, not cane. I agree with all that you otherwise said, in the main, (I'm a bigger Colbert fan than you), but some things just drive me to annoy others, in this way. (its vs it's is a lifetime issue...) Keep fighting!
One more comment, I think those rallies
One more comment: keep in mind when hoped for result of those large rallies is not only two make a showing for the powers that be, but to connect community members, show others that they are not alone in their concern, and help organize ongoing ways ofdealing with the situation. You’re right, it’s important for people to realize they are not alone in their concerns.
This is Long, but I thought you might be interested in this. This letter was written by the CEO of the national Federation of community broadcasters. Along with NPR, and CPB or PBS, the funding cut will affect media outlets in rural and less populated areas, and some targeted communities in more urban areas. In the rural and tribal areas, some of these Terrestrial stations are a critical lifeline in terms of news, public safety, and emergency information, and education. Again, sorry for the Link, here’s the article and letter.
wrote an Op-Ed piece based on a comment/letter to Uri Berliner's latest article in The Free Press. (https://open.substack.com/pub/bariweiss/p/happy-independence-day-npr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3lpaua)
I respect the years of Mr. Berliner's career in public media, his lived experiences at NPR and honor his perspective. But the unintended consequences of his critique on NPR are being used and weaponized to decimate those not even affiliated with NPR. So I shared with thoughts directly with Mr. Berliner via the comments section to his article on Free Press and then formatted the below Op-Ed, submitted for consideration to the NYT and posted this on LinkedIn and Facebook. I've also sent this as NFCB's statement to a couple requests for a comment on the rescission vote.
And, I share this with all of you. Be well and take care. May you all have a restful weekend.
Warmly,
Rima
You May Hate NPR. But Killing CPB Puts Rural America at Risk.
Defunding public media doesn’t punish NPR—it guts the emergency lifelines that small towns and Tribal communities depend on.
The Senate’s vote to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding for public media has been framed as a rebuke to NPR. Critics argue the network lost its impartiality, and some have welcomed this cut as an overdue reckoning.
But NPR is not the real casualty here. Rural America is.
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) represents nearly 200 community radio stations across the United States. Most of these stations are not affiliated with NPR or PBS. They are hyper-local, often 100% volunteer-run operations serving small towns, Tribal nations, and rural communities. They operate on shoestring budgets, powered by donated time and secondhand equipment.
For these stations, federal support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is not ideological—it is survival. According to CPB and GAO reports, up to half of rural stations could go off the air without federal funding. And when those stations go silent, so do the emergency alert systems communities rely on during wildfires, floods, tornadoes, and other emergencies.
This is not theoretical. AM/FM radio remains the most reliable medium in a crisis (FCC, 2018). When cell towers burn, when the power goes out, when internet networks fail, people turn to battery-powered radios. In many rural and Tribal regions, these community stations are the only real-time source of life-saving information.
The recent debate about NPR’s editorial choices should not be used to justify dismantling this critical civic infrastructure. The $1.1 billion Congress has clawed back will not significantly impact NPR executives or national programs, but it will devastate tiny community stations that have no other safety net.
These stations are staffed by neighbors, teachers, and retirees. They air high school sports scores, weather alerts, and local music alongside emergency notifications. They provide connection in places where isolation is real—and in moments of crisis, they save lives.
The next time a wildfire roars through Montana, a hurricane floods a Gulf Coast town, or a Tribal community issues evacuation orders, some people will turn their dials and hear only static.
Federal investment in public media is not a luxury. For millions of Americans, especially in rural and Tribal communities, it is a lifeline. Once those radios go silent, turning them back on will not be easy.
“… it's neo-McCarthyite paranoia and blatant propagandistic absurdity on steroids.”
It’s worse than that if it brings back Tom Lehrer.
Current dangers are greater than the cold war era, and that line quoted above warrants a musical presentation.