Limbaugh, NPR and Ed

Limbaugh says that he is the balance on AFRN because it carries NPR. He contends that AFRN doesn't need Ed. However, many on the left have noticed a steady shift to the right in NPR since Kenneth Tomlinson (AFOK) was named to CPB’s Board of Directors. Many long time NPR liberal listeners now turn off NPR.

Ed Schultz remarked on his radio program the other day that there is a vast difference between public and commercial radio and television. And he is right! This is something that conservatives like Limbaugh have said for years. So to try make an equal comparison between public and commercial media now is disingenuous.

Ed is the true balance to Limbaugh on AFRN because he's a liberal in the commercial market. Until now, Limbaugh liked to trumpet that liberal talk shows could not flourish in commercial radio. That the only place they could project their ideas was on NPR. They were not, as he liked to say, commercially viable.

Air America, Democracy Radio and Ed Schultz are proving Limbaugh wrong and that's his real rub. Plus Ed is actually in "fly over country" delivering his radio show from North Dakota. Limbaugh broadcasts from New York City or Florida, but says he speaks for the heartland of America. In addition Ed takes his radio show on the road, something Limbaugh rarely does. (Rush on Broadway is not a live radio show) So who's really out of touch?

Limbaugh really doesn't want to go head to head with an equal on the other side of the aisle, a conservative commercial talk radio host vs. a liberal commercial talk radio host. Despite all his "free market" talk he would rather not compete that way.


*AFOK = A friend of Karl (Rove)

Ed protest banner

See also:
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oId=18930
http://christian-dem-in-nc.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/17/152413/97
http://mediamatters.org/archives/search.html?string=Limbaugh
http://mediamatters.org/items/200510190010

Quote of the Week: "Random acts of cruelty to powerless people.”

Yesterday I listened to NPR's "Fresh Air." The discussion topic is about economic policy and how we pay for Katrina, between host Terry Gross, Paul Krugman, columnist for The New York Times and professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton (liberal) and Stuart Butler, vice president of the Heritage Foundation, focusing on domestic and economic policy (conservative).

Both agree that the highway bill should be cancelled, and even Bulter says that we should talk about raising taxes. They agree on a lot of areas, but say that these conversations and debates are not going on in congress. It's an interesting and very good listen.

Interesting questions were raised, such as:
When, are we going to reach that "very ugly moment" when the bond market says that it doesn't make sense to continue to float our debt? Are we headed for an "Argentina scenario?" Are we setting ourselves up to be dictated to by China, who even now, owns massive amounts of our debt?

The best quote of the week IMHO came from Paul Krugman about the president proposing cutting food stamps he called it, “random acts of cruelty to powerless people.”

He also said that it takes chutzpa of a political opposition, after saying for 25 years that government doesn't work and is part of the problem, to then once in power take a highly praised and fully functioning agency, dismantle and gut it and then when the agency is needed then say "see I told you government doesn't work."

I think I've said similarly the same thing.

Dentene what's your take?

See also the AP article:
The bill by (Sen. Saxby) Chambliss (R-Ga) would cut food programs for the poor by $574 million and conservation programs and farm payments by more than $1 billion each.

The budget-cutting plan faces opposition from Democrats and others.

"This proposal is an unconscionable slap in the face at America's poor," said Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, the senior Democrat on the committee.