Ugh – I hate humidity. Summer’s not going to be that pleasant, I can say.
Enjoy the deep dish pizza, FC. I do wonder if it’s better in Chicago (since it is a classic Chicago dish).
The whole speculating on who’s going to be the next Supreme Court justice (assuming anyone will even step down from the high court) is getting nuts (not that the speculating isn’t fun or never crazy to begin with). Apparently, the Associated Press is taking the up the idea that the White House would want to nominate one of two conservative Republican Senators. Good grief. Can we stop the insanity? A senator? Well, I should be grateful that they don’t appear serious about nominating anyone more conservative from the House.
The (more conservative) House panel committee apparently voted to make a steep cut in the funds for Public television’s Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Among other things, NY Times’ Stephen Labaton reports:
By a voice vote, the House Appropriations subcommittee adopted a measure that would reduce the financing of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the organization that directs taxpayer dollars to public television and radio, to $300 million from $400 million. The subcommittee also eliminated $39 million that stations say they need to convert to digital programming and $50 million for upgrading aging satellite technology that is the backbone of the PBS network.
The cuts in financing went significantly beyond those requested by the White House and are likely to be approved next week by the full Appropriations Committee and then by the House. Lobbyists for public television and radio say they hope to have the money restored in the version of the bill prepared by the Senate, where they have support from several senior Republican members. The final legislation will be the product of negotiations between the House and Senate.
Republican lawmakers said the cuts were not aimed at punishing public broadcasting but were the reality of preparing budgets at a time of growing deficits.
Yeah, right. Not punishment? Not trying to be vindictive? These conservatives are the same people moaning about sex and violence on tv, but won’t support quality tv (not unless it followed some conservative Christian agenda). They feel that PBS has too much liberal bias, as if being “liberal” is somehow a dirty thing (as it is, lately, I try very hard not to equate “conservative” in such terms, but that’s because I’m objective and all that, and I’m neither “liberal” nor “conservative” – in fact, I’d like to think most Americans are somewhere in between, if it weren’t for the loud and annoying fringe). Ugh. Oh, and by the way, I don’t see anyone else in the tv industry, except PBS, producing educational tv for people (seriously, where else do you find GED programs or learning how to read stuff? Or the ballets or the orchestras or operas on the air?).
All right, off the soap box. I did my ranting for the day.
An interesting article on Slate about the history of “American Gothic” – the famous painting with the stern farmer and his wife (or daughter – no one, not even the artist, Grant Wood) figured out which).
Enjoy the weekend.
