DeMint, Coburn Introduce Bill to Defund NPR and PBS

Big Government

“Our nation is on the edge of bankruptcy and Congress must make some tough choices to rein in spending, but ending taxpayer subsidies of public broadcasting should be an easy decision,” said Sen. DeMint. “Americans struggling to make ends meet shouldn’t be forced to fund public broadcasting when there are already thousands of choices for educational and entertainment programming on the television, radio and web...NPR boasts that it only gets 2 percent of its funding from taxpayers and PBS gets about 15 percent, so these programs should be able to find a way to stand on their own.”
"...Today, CPB is slated to receive $430 million from taxpayers in the current fiscal year and President Obama recently asked for an increase to $451 million.
According to the 2009 tax forms all nonprofits are required to file (990), PBS President Paula Kerger received $632,233 in compensation that year while NPR President Emeritus, Kevin Klose, received more than $1.2 million in compensation. The PBS program Sesame Street’s Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $956,513 — nearly a million dollars — in compensation in 2008. And, from 2003 to 2006, “Sesame Street” made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales...."

Can you just picture the circus that will surely ensue at the senate hearings for this? You just know one of the Dems will stand up there and say, "The Republicans want Big Bird to DIE QUICKLY!" I say, BRING IT ON!

On the heels of this announcement, hitting the news and blogosphere today was a video of NPR executive Ron Schiller attacking Tea Party members, Jews, and conservatives, especially Christian conservatives: The video was released by James O'Keefe, who tricked the two into believing he was a Muslim Brotherhood backed donor and that he was planning to make a large donation to NPR on behalf of Muslim causes. Schiller says in the video,

"The current Republican Party, particularly the Tea Party, is fanatically involved in people’s personal lives and very fundamental Christian – I wouldn’t even call it Christian. It’s this weird evangelical kind of movement...”

Later in the meeting Schiller says,

"Well, frankly it is very clear that we would be better off in the long run without Federal funding. NPR would definitely survive and most of the stations would survive."

Sounds like a good plan to me! Here's the video:

White House memo notes shortage of applicants for contest to have Obama to speak at high school graduation - CBS News

"The White House is ramping up an effort to promote a nationwide competition to decide which high school wins a commencement speech by President Obama. An internal White House memo indicates that the White House is facing a shortage of applications less than a week before the deadline. "As of yesterday we had received 14 applications and the deadline is Friday," the memo said. The memo also urged recipients to, "please keep the application number close hold." A follow-up memo on February 28 reported receipt of 68 applications. Noting the competition among more than 1,000 schools last year, the memo said, "Something isn't working." It called on staffers to ask "friendly congressional, gubernatorial and mayoral offices" to encourage schools to apply..."

Well, that's a little embarrassing!

Union-controlled NLRB receiving free Google ads - Red State

Red State is reporting that the National Labor Relations Board is receiving free ads from Google. The ads, which showed up in the Google sidebar (see below) were promoting unions and had a link to the NLRB's .gov website.

When this information was brought to light, the NLRB quickly covered its tracks. Sort of. They posted this on their website:

Fact Check
This feature encourages accuracy in the media by correcting common misperceptions and errors of fact when they are brought to our attention.
Google AdsIt has been reported that the NLRB spent Agency funds on Google ads. An initial review indicates that the ads were provided at no charge beginning in 2008 by Google. The Agency has decided to discontinue them.

Red State wants to know....

Who wrote the ad on “How to Start a Union”
What the total value of the free advertising was
When the NLRB began accepting free advertising from Google
How many other agencies are getting free advertising from Google
Whether Google is getting any other form of recompense or favorable treatment for its free advertising

In a follow up story at Red State, Neil Stevens notes several problems with this deal:

"First, the NLRB is supposed to be the impartial arbiter of disputes between unions and employers. For the NLRB to promote unionization is to tip its hand as being a tool of one side: the unions. Second, Google isn’t even unionized. Third, and the undoing of the scheme: The NLRB, like the rest of the government, is prohibited by law from accepting free goods or services."

Paul Ryan uses this chilling presentation to call for budget cuts - Business InsiderPaul Ryan (R-WI), who is quickly becoming the Ross Perot (in a good, chart-toting kind of way) of the House, has released some slides showing the dire circumstances our country is in. These are very sobering.

For those of you who are too young to remember Ross Perot, here's a blast from the past. Perot was warning us way back in 1992 of the "deep voodoo" we were heading into. This is only a small sample of his lengthy infomercial. Perot bought time on prime-time television to promote his presidential campaign. Notice the huge pile of charts. Classic.

Herman Cain in Iowa - HT: Cubachi

Founder of Godfather Pizza and potential presidential candidate Herman Cain appeared at last night's Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition. He said,

“You can’t separate social issues from domestic issues. They go hand in hand.”

He also criticized President Obama for leaving out "endowed by their Creator":

“When the President of the United States leaves out three times on purpose “endowed by their creator” something’s wrong. And, that’s what social conservatives and others are pushing back on.”

You can watch the entire speech at The Right Scoop.

Finally, Justin Taylor at the Gospel Coalition had an awesome post today. And I don't use that word flippantly. He says:

"Jesus “will come [again] in the same way as [they] saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God” (1 Thess. 4:16). “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7)...When you watch [this video] let it be just a faint echo, a taste, a foreshadowing, of your “blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). "

My imagination-challenged personality had never thought of the rapture in terms of what it might be like visually. Seeing this video gives me a new perspective, although I will hope fervently that the Michigan stadium is not the last thing I glimpse on my way to glory - although that might be a fitting way to say 'good riddance' to this place! : )