Ever vigilant, Miss Dolly Dalrymple is keeping an out for marauding bandicoots and bandersnatches.

Public Broadcasting Funds In Danger

Brad Cooper, The Wichita Eagle, Topeka Bureau, February 11, 2013

Little by little, Kansas public broadcasters feel the pinch of state budget cuts.

At High Plains Public Radio in Garden City, the air sometimes goes dead or programs play twice on consecutive days.

Broadcasts at Radio Kansas in Hutchinson shut down from midnight to 6 a.m. so the station can cut its electric bill.

In Kansas and across the country, public broadcasters find statehouses reluctant to help with the bills for two reasons: There’s simply less money to spare, and Republican-dominated legislatures see the radio and TV stations as too liberal.

“The real question is: Is it a dinosaur that’s dying?” asked state Rep. Pete DeGraaf, a Mulvane Republican and chairman of the General Government Budget Committee.

Managers at public stations face even more gaps in their budgets if the Kansas Legislature agrees with Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s plans to cut funding even more.

“We would take a pretty good hit. All the stations would,” said Deb Oyler, the executive director for High Plains, which serves a large swath of western Kansas.

In a world with hundreds of cable TV stations, satellite radio and the Internet, public broadcasting faces increasingly tough battles to win government money.

Across the country, cash-strapped states have cut their support for public broadcasting. Brownback tried to eliminate it outright during his first year in office, but legislators went along only with lesser cuts.

This year, the governor wants to cut state support for public TV and radio stations by 40 percent, or roughly $400,000.

For some rural Kansas stations such as Smoky Hills Public Broadcasting in Bunker Hill or High Plains Public Radio, the state’s contribution can make up between 11 percent and 16 percent of their budgets. For stations such as KCPT in Kansas City, state funding makes up about 2 percent of the overall budget.

The Brownback administration has urged public broadcasters to look elsewhere for money, something station executives say they are doing.

Station managers say they are trimming staff, asking employees to take on multiple duties and stepping up fundraising.

Cuts proposed for Kansas mirror a national trend of states getting out of public broadcasting, whether because the outlets are viewed as too liberal, anachronistic in a world overflowing with media or not a core government service.

Amid the billions of dollars that government spends, public broadcasting is easy picking for lawmakers who want to limit government expenses.

Many conservatives see public radio as outside traditional government responsibilities that should be limited to things such as schools, social services, public safety and roads.

But they also see something more sinister: state-run media.

“The fundamental problem is we need to separate news and state,” said David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, a free-market think tank.

“It is inappropriate for the government to be involved in news and ideas,” Boaz said. “The First Amendment is designed to protect the free flow of information and the free flow of ideas, but not to have the government producing the ideas.”

Local public broadcasters say they remain relevant to modern life. They say they deliver local public affairs shows or documentaries that cannot be seen anywhere else.

“Those commercial stations that are owned by absentee owners are not doing local history, local arts or any of those things,” said Eugene Williams, general manager at KTWU in Topeka.

About half the states have cut money to public broadcasting in recent years. Those cuts neared $37 million — to $177 million from $214 million — from fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2013, according to data compiled by the National Educational Telecommunications Association.

At least four states — New Jersey, Virginia, New Hampshire and Florida — completely ditched funding for public broadcasting.

Missouri is going in a different direction. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon has recommended putting $800,000 into public broadcasting for fiscal year 2014 from the state’s tax on non-resident athletes and entertainers. That’s up from the current $100,000.

KCPT in Kansas City receives about $22,000 a year from Missouri, but that could increase to about $225,000 under Nixon’s proposal. KCPT has a budget of $7.2 million.

KCUR receives about $3,400 for arts reporting from the Missouri Arts Council and $50,000 more from the University of Missouri-Kansas City toward its $4.2 million budget.

Public radio advocates say it’s hard to characterize the debate over simply as conservative vs. liberal or Democrat vs. Republican.

“It’s a complicated story,” said Josh Stearns, public media campaign director for Free Press, a nonprofit group that examines how the media influence public policy. “In the same states where we’ve had Republican governors going after this funding, we’ve seen Republican lawmakers standing up vehemently to protect it.”

In places, for instance, such as Kansas.

The state has been trimming public broadcasting since 2009. After taking office in 2011, Brownback wanted to eliminate or further cut grants to public stations. Yet the Republican-controlled Legislature resisted and stopped the governor from cutting as deeply as he wanted.

One Republican who supported public broadcasting was Sen. Carolyn McGinn of Sedgwick, who until this year was chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee.

She questioned how the state could cut funding for an amenity that benefits the very rural areas where the governor is trying build population.

“The communities that are hurt the most are rural areas,” McGinn said. “If you don’t have cable TV, you can’t get any other kind of information or channels you might want to watch.”

One thing going for public broadcasting this year is its funding source. The governor wants to pay for it from gambling money instead of general tax dollars, which satisfies conservatives who don’t believe in sending tax dollars to public broadcasters.

Public broadcasting will get about $1 million from the state this year, down from about $1.5 million the year before.

NETA president Skip Hinton said there may have been occasions when politics drove cuts in public broadcasting. But most of the cuts, he said, reflected tough state finances.

Kansas lawmakers eye every spending decision in the context of income tax cuts projected to cause revenues to plummet more than $700 million in the next fiscal year.

Nevertheless, some Kansas public broadcasters still hear complaints inside and outside the Capitol about their perceived liberal inclinations.

“If that’s true, we need to look at what we’re doing and make sure we’re not leaning one way or the other and presenting it as close to the middle as we can,” said Mark McCain, general manager at KMUW in Wichita.

State Rep. Virgil Peck, a Tyro Republican, is among those Kansas lawmakers who oppose using general tax dollars for public broadcasting.

“They do have a political bent just like MSNBC, but that’s not the reason I oppose it,” Peck said. “Should we give money to Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh and all these others who are right-wing groups? No. If they can survive on their own, God bless them.”

But there are other conservatives who are more supportive of public broadcasting.

“I think it’s particularly important in rural communities that don’t have the same level of access to educational and cultural presentations in any format,” said state Rep. John Rubin, a Shawnee Republican. “I would rather look elsewhere to realize savings in the budget.”

 

(JRM COMMENT: Mr. DeGraaf. Isn’t the Republican Party the real dinosaur?)

The following article was written by Wichita Eagle Staff writer, Becci Tanner. It was published on February 10, 2013.

He was the man who mortally wounded President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin – and was perhaps one of the most colorful and certifiably insane figures to emerge in Kansas history.

Thomas “Boston” Corbett’s life was indeed complicated.

With recent popularity of the movie, “Lincoln” and its nomination for 12 Oscars, it seems fitting to look at the story of murder and mystery and how it eventually included Kansas connections.

Corbett was born in London in 1832. His family moved to New York in 1839, and as a boy, he learned how to be a hatter.

There is a theory that the mercury used in the hatter’s trade may have caused some of the Corbett’s mental problems as he aged. Some of the symptoms associated with mercury poisoning include irritability, exaggerated responses to stimulation, emotional instability, and fits of anger with violent often irrational behavior.

In 1858, Corbett had moved to Boston.

He had been married but his wife died during childbirth. And that’s when he turned to religion for solace.

Corbett became an evangelical Christian during a Boston revival and started growing his hair long to look more like Jesus. He changed his first name to Boston to celebrate his baptism.

He became an itinerant street corner preacher.

And when the 26-year-old Corbett was mocked and tempted by local prostitutes, he first studied the Bible (the 18th and 19th chapters of Matthew), before taking out a pair of scissors and castrating himself.

After performing the operation, Corbett then went to a prayer meeting, ate a hearty meal and then walked awhile before seeking medical attention.

Boston Corbett’s medical records from Massachusetts General Hospital indicate Corbett was hospitalized from July 16 through Aug. 15, 1858, where he recovered from his self-imposed injury.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Corbett enlisted first in the 12th New York Volunteers and then to Company L of the 16th New York Cavalry. In mid-1864, he was captured by Confederates and held five months in Andersonville, one of the deadliest prison camps of the war. He was eventually released but not before his fellow prisoners periodically complained about the loud prayers that came from his tent each evening.

When he was released, he was emaciated and suffered from scurvy, diarrhea and fever.

After spending three weeks in an Annapolis hospital recovering, he rejoined his regiment in Virginia.

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre.

The next day Corbett was selected with 26 other cavalrymen to pursue Booth.

On April 24, 1865, the soldiers cornered Booth in a Virginia tobacco barn. Federal officials wanted to take Booth to court.

A fire was set to the barn to flush Booth out. But as the president’s assassin moved inside the barn, a shot rang out and as the barn doors were opened, the soldiers found Booth dying of a wound to the neck.

Corbett claimed to have shot Booth through a crack in the barn boards, although people at the scene said it couldn’t have been him.

Corbett said he had seen Booth raise his pistol, and shot. Corbett was charged with disobeying orders but freed by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton who was quoted as saying, “The rebel is dead. The patriot lives.”

Corbett would later say, “Providence directed my hand.” And the nation’s media turned him into a hero. He was photographed by famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady.

He received more than $1,600 in reward money but then immediately was discharged from the Army.

In 1878, Corbett moved to Concordia following a mental breakdown. For a time, he lived in a dugout on 80 acres and kept to himself. Some said he lived in fear of being assassinated.

There were instances recorded by local newspapers that claim Corbett pulled his pistols threatening to kill local boys playing a baseball game, on the sheriff and when he was brought to court.

When acquaintances believed Corbett had been slighted recognition by the government for killing Booth, they found a job for him in Topeka.

In 1887, Corbett was appointed assistant doorkeeper of the Kansas House of Representatives in Topeka.

On Feb. 15, 1887, after a prayer, Corbett – believing the prayer had been mocked – pulled out his revolver and waved it. He was arrested, declared insane and sent to the Topeka Asylum for the Insane.

He escaped a year later, briefly visited a friend in Neodesha and was never heard from again.

A monument to Corbett stands near Concordia in a pasture.

An the Academy Award for best costume go to ….!

This scenario – the pope resigning – certainly calls for conspiracy theories to abound.

I can hear the ghost of Ronald Reagan saying, “There you go again! A pope resigns in the 1400′s and again in 2013. It’s a slippery slope, my friends. Next you know, with such a fast pace a this, we’ll have resignations here, and resignations there, and resignations everywhere. Where will it end?”

I hope the new pope will have a name befitting the attitudes of THE CHURCH.  Pope Sexist, Pope Pedophilius, Pope Innocents Beware-ious, Pope Semper Fi Medievalius.

I would like to see THE CHURCH appoint Ralph Lauren to design some new gowns.

I’d like the corporate headquaters of THE CHURCH move to Spain, there to take up residence in Gaudi’s,  basilica and expiatory of the Holy Family. To exemplify the humble approach to life and faith, THE CHURCH should be mindful having offical garb, and an official residence, that presents the seriousness believing in a pedophile and rapist sky creature, an innocent virginal victim and an illegitimate son.

Pope Bene is going to resign. Wow! An old Nazi with a conscience, after all. I suggest the next pope should be a Black lady with a divinity degree from Liberty University or Oral Roberts University. Another idea would be to break up the church and establish separate groups around the globe. The America Catholic Church doesn’t always seem in lock-step with the Vatican cabal.

The Grammy Awards: Adele looked like an over-stuffed chair with an atrocious slip cover. I never saw so many very unattractive gowns, on some otherwise attractive women, in all my life.

Time to rake some leaves. I would do, but the feral cats like to snuggle in the rustling leaves and watch the world go by. The gray cat is Mister Brisket. Brisket comes inside upon occasion. He is really friendly and loving.

The other cat won’t let me come with twenty feet before it runs off to hide. I haven’t name this cat. I don’t know if it is a boy or a girl.

From the Wichita eagle’s Letters to the Editor, February 8, 2013

STOP CARNAGE: President Obama said at a rally Monday that we need to stop the carnage of gun violence, that we need to control guns. Well, if you want to talk about carnage, what about abortion? About 1,000 abortions are performed per day. This is carnage. Do we hear from the president on this matter? Leroy H. Keiter, Colwich, KS

I am pro life. I don’t like abortion. However, I am also for the right of a woman to make choices for her own body, health and welfare. And when a medical problem arises that endangers both the pregnant woman ands the fetus, and only one can be saved, then which life am I in “pro” of? Awkward sentence construction, but the point is clear. One life can be saved. Which one do I declare should die?

More essential to this letter would be to ask Mr. Keiter where he gets his information? Dos he call millions of Americans each day to see if they have had an abortion that day, or plan to have one that day?

We have hospital records to help gather statistics on live births. We have a national census every ten years which might further aid In determining a fairly accurate estimate for the number of births over that period of time.

I’m not sure if we can get an accurate record of the number of abortions. I’m not sure if the Pro-Life folks count – or attempt to account for – miscarriages, D And C’s procedures, back alley/kitchen table illegal abortions, or any medications that can cause a woman to terminate pregnancy.

I understand the fervor of those pro-active groups that openly protest against abortion. I understand their zeal in claiming that there are millions of abortions. I just don’t know what kind f fact gathering they do. We have over 11,000 birth each day in America, somewhat upward of 4 million births a year. According to Mr. Keiter, we have about 365,000 abortions per year, an average of 20 abortions a day in each of our 50 states.

I think people such as Mr. Keiter, concerned as they are, make a lot of shit up.

I wonder if Mr. Keiter is one of those who would shut down abortion clinics that provide safe care to pregnant women in favor of a dirty table in the back room of a flop house?

I wonder if Mr. Keiter would have government reuse assistance to women in need of medical services that might provide assistance in helping a woman make an optional choice? I wonder what Mr. Keiter would say if his daughter or granddaughter was pregnant du to a rape, or if a medical test indicated that the fetus was likely to be born with a debilitating health condition? I wonder if Mr. Keiter might be a whacko like Scott Roeder, and determine that murdering someone such as Dr. George Tiller wasn’t a sin against his god, but rather something his sky fairy would applaud?

I wonder if this gentleman would be willing to forego medical treatment that would keep him alive? He is willing to dictate to a woman what her choice should be – save the child even if it endangers to woman’s health, even her very life.

No man can ever put himself in the same mindset as a woman when it comes to reproduction. I’ve known grown me to cry when passing a kidney stone through their urethra. I wonder if thy know what it would be like for a woman to pass a bowling ball sized critter? Mr. Keiter. Kindly go fuck yourself, the gag on your own ignorance.

The post office plans to drop Saturday delivery starting in August. They will probably still have mail sorters, and people to stuff post office boxes. They will still have package deliveries. After all, they will still have to compete against Fed X, and similar companies who will continue their weekend package deliveries.

Why is the post office in a financial mess? People don’t send as much mail these days. E-mail and text messaging is convenient, and cheaper o a per unit cost basis.

The Social Security folks have decided not to mail out retirement checks and disability checks. Retirees, and others getting federal assistance will have to have a bank account to receive their monthly checks. Banks, credit card companies, and some retailers, ask patrons to go ‘paper-less’ – even offering financial incentives to do so.

The post office will save some money in gasoline by reducing Saturday deliveries of regular mail. Staff numbers will probably be reduced. That can be accomplished through normal attrition or early retirement incentives. Some part-time and temporary employee positions can be eliminated. Over-time might well be reduced.

Here, though, is evidence of an individual with a grudge. This opinion was in today’s Wichita Eagle, and it shows how a person can’t see beyond their own narrow view point,

“The only ones against eliminating Saturday delivery are postal unions, which are the reason the Postal Service is broke. When you cannot fire incompetence, incompetence will prevail.”

1. Other persons are also against eliminating Saturday delivery.

2. There are many reasons why the Postal Service has lost money: Competition in services, the reduction in the quantity of mail because people rely on sending and receiving data through electronic mans, and big corporations urging people to opt for paperless statements. There was a time when people’s cancelled checks were returned to them, by the bank, with their monthly statement. Then for years, one would get only their monthly statement in the mail. Now even the monthly statement, in stead of being mailed, can be obtained on line.

3. Actually, being a member of a union does not mean one cannot be fired. There are processes for disciplining employees, even dismissing them. That may take time, but unions were historically organized for two basic reasons – to ensure professional/trained workers, and to have a means of negotiating with management. Before there were unions, we had sweat shops, child labor, no insurance or guarantees of any kind. A man could work for thirty years, lose a leg in an accident at work, lose his job and not be compensated in any manner – for the injury or the loss of a job.

I have never belonged to a union. Even as a teacher, I didn’t belong to a union. I don’t defend unions, not do I object to them. I don’t pretend that unions are perfect, but have seen abuses in those companies where the individual worker is at the mercy of management. There are pluses ad minuses in all endeavors, but the opinion stated above, in the paper, is obviously by someone who wants a single ‘baddie’ to be responsible for all the ills in the world. So sad to be that fucking ignorant!

America’s longest running war continues in Aghanistan. Cinese New Year was once more celebrated with firworks as it has been for 1400 years. We are busy trying to make the war in Afghanistan beat that record.

John and Ana Betar celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary on November 25, 2012. They have been declared America’s longest married couple. At 101 (John) and 97 (Ann) they  are an inspiration to many.

The Hug Lady, 72-year old Elizabeth Laird, is the official hug lady of Fort Hood, Texas. Bravo! Too often in arguing U. S. involvement in foreign affairs – from wars to peace keeping and security – it is the troops who get forgotten, or criticised, or besmirched. It is often the veteran who gets neglected upon return to civilian life.

After months of months, there is rain outside my window. I’m afraid to go outside. This is, after all, Kansas, and water melted the Wicked Witch, so it makes me wonder if I’ll melt should I get wet.

Phones are not dumb. End of discussion.

However, people who use them sometimes are dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb ………………………………………………………………..