This weekend, I wrote a column on the continuing controversy at NPR and the bias detailed in a recent bombshell essay by respected editor Uri Berliner. The company has long been criticized for its partisan coverage, including running debunked stories. Now NPR CEO Katherine Maher has responded and appeared to confirm that the publicly supported media company has no intention to bring greater balance to its coverage or editorial staff.
Berliner detailed the complete exclusion of any Republicans among the editors of NPR’s Washington office and various examples of raw bias in favor of Democratic narratives and claims.
Maher responded to none of these specific points in substance. Instead, she attacks Berliner as “profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning” to his colleagues by calling out the company for its political bias.
In a memo Friday, Maher told the staff that Berliner attacked not only “the quality of our editorial process and the integrity of our journalists” but “our people on the basis of who we are.”
In dismissing the criticism of bias, Maher adopted a spin common on law faculties where Republicans and conservatives have been largely purged. When confronted on the lack of ideological diversity, faculty often express disbelief that anyone would assume that they are biased simply because they continue to effectively bar republicans, libertarians, or conservatives.
Many also insist that there are more important forms of diversity than ideological or political perspectives. The result is the faculties today largely stretch from the left to the far left in terms of diversity.
Maher offered a similar spin while suggesting (falsely) that Berliner was somehow opposed to a diverse workplace:
“It is deeply simplistic to assert that the diversity of America can be reduced to any particular set of beliefs, and faulty reasoning to infer that identity is determinative of one’s thoughts or political leanings. Each of our colleagues are here because they are excellent, accomplished professionals with an intense commitment to our work: we are stronger because of the work we do together, and we owe each other our utmost respect. We fulfill our mission best when we look and sound like the country we serve.”
Maher’s response was hardly surprising. She was a controversial hire at NPR. Many had hoped that NPR would seek a CEO who could steer the company away from its partisan and activistic trend. The prospect could have brought moderates and conservatives back into NPR’s listening audience. Maher, however, was part of that trend.
Shannon Thaler at the New York Post reassembled Maher’s deleted postings including a 2018 declaration that “Donald Trump is a racist” and a variety of race-based commentary. That included a statement that appeared to excuse looting.
She is also quoted for saying that “white silence is complicity.” She has described her own “hysteric white woman voice.” She further stated: “I was taught to do it. I’ve done it. It’s a disturbing recognition. While I don’t recall ever using it to deliberately expose another person to immediate physical harm on my own cognizance, it’s not impossible. That is whiteness.”
She further stated “I grew up feeling superior (hah, how white of me) because I was from New England and my part of the country didn’t have slaves, or so I’d been taught.”
In her latest message, Maher refers to the unique (and controversial) status of being a state-supported media outlet. She noted “We recognize that this work is a public trust, one established by Congress more than 50 years ago with the creation of the public broadcasting system. In order to hold that trust, we owe it our continued, rigorous accountability.”
Yet, she made it clear that both she and NPR will not change or alter the course of the company. Despite a falling audience (that is now composed of almost 70 percent self-identified liberals), Maher made clear that she sees no problem in its exclusion of Republicans as editors or its slanted coverage. Reducing the size and diversity of your audience can be a good thing for editors or reporters if you have the government supporting your budget. You can then play to your smaller audience without any push back on coverage or accuracy.
As discussed in this weekend’s column, the question is why the public should finance this one media outlet over any of its competitors. NPR’s take on the news is largely the same as MSNBC or CNN. That is within its editorial judgment and NPR has every right to slant coverage like many news outlets today from the left or the right. Personally, I wish it would have retained a modicum of balance because I have been a fan of some of its shows. Yet, the media market has changed with consumer demands in favor of more opinion in coverage.
However, unlike those other outlets, NPR is being funded by tax dollars. While dismissing concerns over the exclusion of conservative or dissenting viewpoints, Maher suggests that NPR is still fulfilling its “public trust” with its largely one-sided reporting.
In the end, the real question is not the bias of NPR but the fundamental question of why we should be subsidizing any media outlet. NPR has long held a curious position as America’s de facto state media outlet (with Voice of America). The recent controversy should allow us to have a meaningful debate over the need and danger of a state-funded media.
This column appeared on Fox.com
Zerohedge ran an article on this, and the phrase “New NPR CEO seems to have many symptoms of the Cluster B Longhouse psychopathology. Antagonistic, performative, accusatory, & frankly delusional. Pronouns in bio. Unstable.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/person-crazy-racist-new-npr-ceo-exposed-woke-activist
I know about Cluster B. but I had never heard the “Longhouse” part. So, I surfed around and found this:
“Some right-wing critics have taken to calling this strange new state of affairs “the Longhouse,” a matriarchal form of society that privileges the values of care, concern, and feminine social strategies. In an essay for First Things, the pseudonymous writer Lomez explains that women now outnumber men in professional-managerial roles and vastly outnumber them in human resources and compliance, which exert outsize influence on professional and cultural norms.
The Left has touted the Longhouse for years. In her presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton confidently declared that “the future is female.” And in a much-discussed 2010 essay for The Atlantic, Hanna Rosin christened this change “The End of Men.”
But while some celebrate this shift, our “female future” has a darker side. Contrary to the messages one gets from elites, biological sex differences are real, and a societal imbalance between the two has negative effects for everyone. Taken too far, overly feminized leadership produces exactly the kind of Cluster B society we observe today: one in which identity is rewarded over merit, victimhood is prized over competence, and antisocial behavior goes unchecked. Moral narcissism becomes the coin of the realm, and political conflicts are settled through blackmail and manipulation.
If we are to find a way out, we must understand the peculiar logic and rationality of the Cluster B society. We must learn how to counter emotional falsification and how to say “no” with a renewed voice of authority. We must find a way to restore balance, order, discipline, sanity. If we do not, we will resign ourselves to a world gone mad. The spontaneous life and beauty that are the fruits of a more balanced society will be snuffed out by grim commissars administering a Cluster B pathocracy. Our self-governing regime would be over. ”
https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-cluster-b-society
The future is what works.
One of the major problems with the left is that with few exceptions successful change over time BUILDS upon the values of the past.
While that does NOT mean preserving problematic values like slavery, it does mean that the past is the foundation for the future.
In psychology half a century ago I learned Maslow’s heiracrchy of needs. This was a theory of psychology – but it applies broadly to most everything.
We have safer workplaces today – BECAUSE we have over time dramatically increased our standard of living and we can afford them.
Today more money is made in blue states than Red – despite the fact that it is red states that provide the food and raw material and really nearly everything that is critical.
That is NOT an anomally – Red states deliver necescities, Blue states deliver luxuries.
We always pay more for luxuries.
With high levels of growth what is a luxury today – will become a necescity in the future AND its cost will drop dramatically.
That is how economic growth works. With fe exceptions we pay LESS for everything today than we did 100 years ago or 50 years ago.
WE spend LESS of our effort and core fundimental needs and more on luxuries.
Most everything the left is fixated on today is a Luxury value.
I would note this is NOT new – Cars and electricity used to be luxuries.
Our values as a society WILL change. And we MAY adopt some of the values the left is trying to force on us.
But the most fundimental problem with the left is that they are willing to destroy substantial portions of what is today necessicites in order to force the adoption of their new luxury values.
We can have more diversity, we can value caring more, we can add many of the values the left is pushing.
But we can not do so by force.
And we can not do so at the expense of underlying values that have gone from luxuries to necescities.
As I said before – Blue states are a very large portion of US GDP.
But if there is no food, no cars, no houses
The necescities of life are dirt cheap, because we produce them efficiently and because even though we think about them less, as we have changed over hundreds of years as we have adopted new values, as we have lost sight of how important food as an example is – because it is abundant and cheap, What we have NOT done as we adopted new values is
DESTROYED THE OLD.
If the lefts efforts to change our values undermine our ability to produce the very high standard of living necessary to support those values the left has decided are important, we will quickly face a choice between left wing luxury values, and fundamental values like food, shelter safety.
It does not matter what the left seeks to change, if that change undermines our ability to sustain our standard of living – it will fail.
This is inevitable, it does not require Trump supporters, or civil war or insurrection.
The left can change absolutely everything about this country – but ONLY if that change works. If that change leaves us all better off than before.
Not better by in the opinion of those on the left who are focing change on us.
But better in the eyes of ordinary americans
“Maher told the staff that Berliner attacked not only “the quality of our editorial process and the integrity of our journalists” but “our people on the basis of who we are.”…”
April Fools was two weeks ago..
F.Y.I. Tickler:
Master Calendar of Trump Court Dates: Criminal and Civil Cases
https://www.justsecurity.org/88039/trumps-legal-and-political-calendar-all-the-dates-you-need-to-know/
-TRA
Why Most Journalists Are Liberal
I don’t want my news from Bernie Bros. But most good journalists lean liberal for logical reasons.
Journalists are writers. And good writers are creative talents. It takes creativity to describe a news event in terms that keep readers reading.
And big league journalists tend to be well-educated. They live in big cities and travel frequently.
Urban professionals, accustomed to visiting other worldclass cities, are going to see the world from a more liberal perspective.
Big league journalists are unlikely to share the views of small town evangelicals.
What’s more, a journalist’s opinion wouldn’t mean much if he or she lived in small town and rarely ever traveled.
A small town journalist, who never gets around, would be disconnected from the larger world.
So ‘yes’, educated, creative professionals, based in worldclass cities, are not on the same wavelength as folks in Oklahoma. But logically we wouldn’t get our news from Oklahoma City.
So all they need to do is disclaim every program with “big city liberals reporting news for a big city liberal audience”.
That is ridiculous and accurate at the same time. Educated and well travelled elite have more interesting things to write about than subjects that affect us small town paycheck to paycheck hicks. Things like the rising cost of food and gas and energy costs may not affect the educated and well travelled. The border crisis may be too far gone to reverse, but who cares? Well I pay taxes that support NPR so I should be represented….
Not all well educated, well traveled and creative people are liberals. I happen to be all three and am a moderate to conservative from the midwest. I find your comments ignorant. People like you are the reason the left need to abandon the use of the word “liberal.” It no longer is applicable for the very intolerant and small minded group.
I happen to be all three as well. A lifelong Independent voter, now Trump supporting MAGA extremist, originally from the midwest, now living just outside the belly of the beast, Washington, DC. So yeah, they are not liberals, they are intolerant, elitist authoritarians, and card carrying communists like Bernie, Barack, and their many fellow comrades in the Democrat Party.
They aren’t well educated. Where do you get that from?
SOME TIME AGO I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING FROM A PROMINENT MEDICAL
PERSON IN MY AREA. IT SUMMARIZES MY SITUATION TO A TEE:
P. S. I consider writing letters to the editors of the NYT, like discussing vaccines
safety with the CDC–a complete waste of time. They long ago stopped worrying
about reporting the truth. It is all about an agenda. Three years ago, I stopped
my subscription to the NYT and stopped listening/subscribing to NPR when I
found they were lying about things about which I knew. How can I trust them
on anything else?
John Howard Wilhelm, Ann Arbor, MI
We are getting what we paid for! The propaganda arm of the DNC is running at full tilt and we will be paying for it, we will suffer for their efforts to control the messages directed towards the voters as the lies expand and spread just saying Biden is competent their biggest issue!
“It’s the [communist party], stupid!”
– James Carville
__________________
America began its transition to communism under “Crazy Abe” Lincoln.
“Crazy Abe” threw the baby out with the bathwater; he threw the Constitution out with reprehensible slavery.
Carpe Diem: The Progressives (i.e. a ruse for communists) seized the day and never let go.
The singular goal of the communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs, AINOs) in America today is to perpetuate communism in America indefinitely.
Yeah Pravda didn’t have to care about what the audience thought of their message either.
I have in the long past enjoyed listening to NPR. More recently when I have the opportunity, I am rather unhappily shocked at the blatant biased advocacy “journalism” offered even for some topics as seemingly bland as adoption. I agree with Uri Berliner’s statement that NPR’s largest issue is “the absence of viewpoint diversity.”
I find it fascinating that at no point In Katherine Maher’s apologia letter did she delineate a mission for NPR that sets it apart from the plethora of commercial news organizations. Surely NPR must know that they need to identify a niche market underserved by existing media. The changing demographics of the listeners documented by Uri Berliner is remarkable and shockingly not considered an issue by CEO Katherine Maher.
It is pretty clear that Uri Berliner’s essay is a result of NPR management not listening to many prior attempts. Since Katherine Maher is a new CEO, I would have thought that this would be a great opportunity for her to declare that, “Things are worse than I had thought so we are going to have to do some real soul-searching to earn back the trust of the American taxpaying public.” After all, the missed stories that Uri Berliner identifies happened on some else’s watch. Unfortunately, it is circle the wagons time at NPR.
This contretemps is revealing in part for the talking past each other. Katherine Maher states, “It is deeply simplistic to assert that the diversity of America can be reduced to any particular set of beliefs, and faulty reasoning to infer that identity is determinative of one’s thoughts or political leanings.” Well that is pretty good but it doesn’t really address Uri Berliner’s charge that identity affinity groups have an outsized influence, “The current contract, in a section on DEI, requires NPR management to “keep up to date with current language and style guidance from journalism affinity groups” and to inform employees if language differs from the diktats of those groups. In such a case, the dispute could go before the DEI Accountability Committee.”
One of the strengths of the US is an socioeconomic environment encouraging creative destruction. Now is the time to enact some destruction.
NPR is a metaphor of what happens to a justice system when Affirmative Action judges bring their grudges to court with them.
NPR is a relic that needs to go. It was designed for an emerging middle classing of television. If you were lucky you had three stations.
NPR’s mission was to bring arts and high brow entertainment for those not satisfied with Dragnet, Car 54 Where are you, and the Ed Sullivan show.
We’re talking opera, plays, and cachin Sputnick’s beeps on a AM radio tuned to NPR as well as the first stereo broadcast of sound effects using two radios on two different stations as a guy with clunky shoes walked from one radio to the other. Don’t laugh. It was cutting edge stuff then!
Now we are all growd up and their mission is obsolete, and so are they.
NPR, the Communications Act of 1934, and the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 are all clear unconstitutional violations of American freedom, free enterprise, free markets, Article 1, Section 8, and the 5th Amendment right to private property.
Well, NPR, it certainly appears white superiority was true by the looks of the place now. 😉
Jonathan: Speaker Mike Johnson flew to Mar-a-Lago on Friday to kiss the ring of DJT and get his blessing. Mike flew back to Washington where he faces total chaos in the House and threats by MTG to oust him. So what exactly have the MAGA Republicans in the House accomplished this session? Not much. No aid for Ukraine, No re-authorization of FISA. But they have done a lot of other stuff important to the American people. Here’s a sampling:
–Since February the MAGA crowd in the House has been pushing to pass a resolution to declare that DJT “did not engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States” on Jan. 6, 2021. The resolution carries no legal authority–mostly symbolic to show MAGA support for DJT. Polls show most Americans are opposed to the resolution.
–Then, the MAGA House is also hard at work on bills they think will appeal to voters. In response to the CPSC proposals on household appliances, the House Rules Committee is considering the following bills:
1. Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act
2. Liberty in Laundry Act
3. Clothes Dryers Reliability Act
4. Refrigerator Freedom Act
5. Affordable Air Conditioning Act
6. Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act
Now I like the “Liberty in Laundry Act”. Has a ring to it that should appeal to voters. Right? Or maybe not. To quote the title of your column the 6 above bills are really “profoundly disrespectful” of what the American really want. Polls show that Americans want the House to address other important issues like affordable health care and housing, climate change, mass gun violence, etc. They aren’t interested in protecting their laundry rooms! But for the MAGA Republicans in the House these important issues are not on their agenda. So what do we see? Mike Johnson flying off to get DJT’s blessing–the guy, who is not even in office, but calls the tune and sets the agenda for the House. Haven’t seen that kind of dysfunction in all my years!
Does anyone read this communist (liberal, progressive, socialist, democrat, RINO, AINO) tripe?
The next thing this charlatan will profess is that 10 million Mexicans, Africans, Haitians, and Central and South Americans really, really, really neeeeeeed fake and fraudulent “asylum” because those stinking heartless, fascist “capitalists” at home are after them.
Everything these anti-American communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs, AINOs) do is counterintuitive for free and self-reliant actual Americans, antithetical, illicit, and unconstitutional.
Republicans are nearing a majority of Hispanic voters.
We can debate lots of things about the 10m illegal immigrants in this country.
Some are dangerous criminals. Most are not.
Most actually are fleeing failed left wing nut countries.
The democrat strategy to ensure a permanent majority is backfiring.
It is highly unlikely that most of the 10M illegals that entered the US in the past 3 years are leaving.
It is also likely that their children who will be able to vote – will not be voting democrat.
You truly have no idea about the dysfunction and desperation inside the Democrat Party do you? It is the party of Law-fare and election interference.
Nor do you understand the impact of Biden’s Constitution-trampling, utterly destructive, anti-American leftist policies. Let alone the mess of corruption, lawlessness, incompetence and viciousness that is Joe Biden.
Nor his entire disgrace of a weaponized administration with his lawless out of control DOJ.
Oh no, that co-equal branch called the Supreme Court won’t even stop Biden – he told us so.
Democrat run cities are war zones.
The country is being over run by Biden’s border invasion.
Schools are nothing more than leftist indoctrination centers.
How many war fronts has Biden dragged the U.S. into?
Biden has now lit the Middle East on fire.
Who is there in the White House to answer the 3am phone calls? Is it Dr. Jill?
You truly have no idea about the dysfunction and desperation inside the Democrat Party do you?
Most people prefer to have lives steeped in dysfunction and desperation. These disordered traits provide them comfort much like addicts. In fact most Americans would benefit from adopting the 12 Steps of AA.
Dysfunction and desperation are running fairly high in America today hence the increasing incidence of comorbid conditions, anxiety, depression, suicidality and loneliness. Alas one needs to hit rock bottom before admitting their dysfunction and desperation. In fact some never do, e.g. I have known a few cancer patients cling to a lit cigarette on their death bed
America is in bad shape. Get fit. Lose the dysfunction. Make a “searching and fearless moral inventory”, then make the necessary changes. There is still time America.
☠️Memento mori☠️
The Twelve Steps
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
https://www.aa.org/the-twelve-steps
“e.g. I have known a few cancer patients cling to a lit cigarette on their death bed.”
IMO, if you are at the end of the road and a cigarette is something you want, then go ahead, light up and enjoy it. My mom and I used to buy packs of cigs and bring them to old “friends” in nursing homes who had no families looking after them. They were told by staff that they couldn’t have their smokes because they were bad for them. My mom said if that is the one thing they wanted that they might actually enjoy in their miserable lonely nursing home existence, then by golly, we would bring them some cigs and take them out to the patio to have a smoke and share some small talk about the weather. It meant the world to those lonely old men on their “deathbeds.” I will never forget that lesson.
Your mom was an idiot and so are you
No aid for Ukraine, no re-authorization of FISA are exactly the “stuff important to the American people.”
But it won’t last long. The uni-party will get what it wants: Ukraine will get funded, FISA will get reauthorized. Two things the American people DO NOT WANT. Nor should you, Dennis, if you understood anything at all besides Trump derangement.
does Dennis have any friends who could go check on him? his TDS is out of control. this is a post about NPR, but Dennis doesn’t seem to understand that.
” No aid for Ukraine”
Good, if you wish to help Ukraine – you are free to do so.
I wish Ukraine well. But it is not in the US interest to spend or blood and treasure on every conflict and every despot in the world.
It is self evident that Russia even if they manage to conquer all of Ukraine will be suffiociently economically and otherwaise damaged by the war that it will take a generation before they can threaten a neighbor.
Put simply Russia is a paper Tiger and they are EUROPES problem.
Fundimentally the same is true today of the Mideast.
The US no longer needs anything from Russia, Ukraine, Europe or the Mideast.
None of these places are in our national interests.
Vivek gopt it right when asked about Tiawan – The US will go to war to defend Taiwan from China if China attacks today.
We will do so because Taiwan is critical to the US today.
But we are also working to change things such that Taiwan is NOT critical tot he US in the future – just as we have changed our energy production so that the mideast is not necescary – and therefore we need not fight there.
“No re-authorization of FISA.”
It is my understanding they kicked the can for 2 years.
Frankly the entirety fo the patriot act should be scrapped. It has proven a vile mess.
That anyone – left or right thinks it should endure is disturbing.
Try explaining why FISA is necescary ? We did without it for most of US history.
Government can get a warant when it wants to spy on americans.
“Since February the MAGA crowd in the House has been pushing to pass a resolution to declare that DJT “did not engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States” on Jan. 6, 2021. The resolution carries no legal authority–mostly symbolic to show MAGA support for DJT. Polls show most Americans are opposed to the resolution.”
Fully support such a resolution.
But they should go further.
They shoudl repeal the impeachments of Trump.
Is this mostly symbolic – absolutely – SO WHAT ?
Trump’s impeachments were symbolic. Bad symbolism, and bad for the country.
“1. Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act”
Good
“2. Liberty in Laundry Act”
Good
“3. Clothes Dryers Reliability Act”
Good
“4. Refrigerator Freedom Act”
Good
“5. Affordable Air Conditioning Act”
Good
“6. Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act”
Good
But better would just be something like REIGNS – requiring every regulation issued by the exedcutive to pass an up down vote in the house and senate.
” bills are really “profoundly disrespectful” of what the American really want.”
” like affordable health care”
I though Obama addressed that ? Are you saying that ObamaCare has been a failure ?
“housing”
Democrats addressed that over and over – and the net effect has been price INCREASES.
“climate change”
Nah. People talk about it, nobody actually wants anything done about it.
The left has been ranting hysterically for decades – we are 25 years past the “end of the world” and the world is still fine.
Can you name a SINGLE malthusian end of the world claim of the left that has EVER proven true ?
Even Malthus recanted.
“mass gun violence”
I beleive it was yesterday they had a mass stabbing in Austrailia – how did that “gun control” work.
The FACT is that rates of violence accross the world have more to do with race and class and the state of the economy than with guns.
In the US the data shows that areas with higher rates of legal gun ownership have lower rates of crime.
“They aren’t interested in protecting their laundry rooms!”
I guess we will see in November.
When my parents bought their first dishwasher it cost a couple of hundred dollars and got dishes clean in 15 minutes.
We could start a load after dinner and put the clean dishes aware shortly after all the leftovers were put in the fridge.
My wife recently bought one of the better dishwashers made – because the past 4 dishwashers did not get the dishes clean, and were constantly breaking down. This new dishwasher cost more than my used audi, and takes 3 hours to get the dishes clean.
I think you will find that LOTS of women ar enot that happy with
dishwashers that do not get the dishes clean.
With washing machines that do not get the clothes clean.
With idiots who want to take away their gas stoves.
Donald Trump is the head of the republican party.
He is also the republican presidential candidate
With excellent odds of being the next president.
Conversely Joe Biden is demented and his administration is run by moronic children who are screwing up by the numbers.
3 months ago the Fed announced they hoped to lower interest rates later in the year. Many were betting on several interest rate cuts this year. If you want the economy to actuall work, if you want healthcare and housing to be affordable – you need to reduce the cost of investment – that means lowering interest rates.
But Biden has so F#$K’d up that lowering interest rates – even TALKING about lowering interest rates brings inflation back.
Raising interest rates has brought inflation from very painful levels to merely mean levels.
Inflation is the most regressive form of taxation there is. It is hardest on the poor, and middle class.
But we have seen just the talk about interest rate cuts leading to small increases in inflation for each of the past 3 months.
It should be self evident to anyone with a clue about economics – that Biden will be lucky to avoid a recession between now and the election.
There is a very high probability that there is one in the offing – either near or shortly after the election.
The FED has tried to reign in inflation without causing a recession – something that has never been done.
They have failed.
I really hope that we can lower interest rates increase growth and decrease inflation – and I would be happy if “Bidenomics” actually works.
But the Fact is that so called “Trickle down” “Vodoo” economics – works.
While the economics of the left DOES not.
Biden inherited a strong and growing economy and he has made a mess.
Obama was elected at the bottom of a recession – he should have seen a could of years of 7% growth.
Instead Growth opver 8 years of Obama was 1.48%/year Only europe has worse growth.
But then again the goal of the left is to make the US into their fantasy version of Europe.
You rant about healthcare and housing costs.
Those are YOUR failures.
Do you reject Biden?
And all his policies?
And all his empty promises?
You say no one cares about these things – yet Canada tried to subsidize people to replace home oil boilers with heat pumps.
In all of canada – 60 people took advantage of the program.
England tried something similar – but much like Biden by force rather than subsidy. They were forced to repeal the new regulations do to the public backlash.
People are getting really tired of Climate nazi’s.
Both antartic and Arctic sea ice have remained within the same narrow summer/winter extents for so long as we have records. There are years when the ice is low, and years when it is high. But there is no trend of declining sea ice. In fact every couple of years new records are set in one month or another. Of course the same is also true in reverse. But that is the point. The poles are behaving pretty much as they always have.
In the news scientists found that the antartic Ice shelf CAN change dramatically and rapidly – Ice cores show a massive loss of antartic ice – 8,000 years ago – long before humans could have had any impact.
A paper by Dr., Roy Spensor – one of the top scientists involved in measuring global earth tempoeratures using satelites. published a paper showing that the variation in temperatures since 1979 are LESS than the error in measuring those temperatures. That means that the purported evidence of rising temperatures is trying to suss out significance from noise.
Increasingly ordinary people are getting angry with climate protestors – Even in Europe.
They want to be able to get to work, make deliberies, view art in museums, go about their lives.
They do not want climate nazi’s gluing themselves to everything or blocking streets.
It is probably true that a majority of people pay lip service to climate change.
But the FACT is that they have become inured to the hysteria.
They do not really beleive any more – if they ever did, that we face imminent catastrophe – because we don’t.
Left wing nut jobs do not help prominent left wing politicians have more recently blames climate change for earthquakes, and for the solar eclipse. Oddly there probably IS a relationship between climate and earthquakes – a major factor in BOTH is the activity levels of the sun.
We are currently near the peak of Solar Cycle 25. The typical peak number of sunspots is just under 200. The current peak will be just under 125. This is because the sun is at the nadir or a 200+ year cycle. Unusually the center of gravity of the solar system is currently inside the sun.
It is a common fallacy that the earth and other planets orbit the sun. That is false Everything orbits the center of gravity of the solar system.
That is nearly always CLOSE to the sun – the orbit of the sun is quite small, but depending on the alignment of the planets periodically the center of the solar system is actually inside the sun.
The closer the center of gravity of the solar system is to the center of the sun the weaker tides are on the sun and the less volatile the sun is.
We are currently in a quiet period. This ALSO effects the earth. The gravitational effects of the sun change depending on the relationship of the sun to the earth to the center of the solar system. This not only effects ocean tides, it also effects the tides within the mantle of the earth, and that alters the frequency of earthquakes and volcanoes.
You say this left wing nonsense is popular. But it is not.
In recent polling in the state of Washington – a BLUE State.
77% supported an initiative to protect natural gas use – stoves, appliances, heat.
People polled 2:1 in favor of repealing Washington’s Cap and Trade Climate law.
They even polled heavily opposing the states mandated long term care law.
And this is a DEEP blue state.
“DIWORSIFICATION”
“Distrust diversifications, which usually turn out to be diworseifications.”
– Peter Lynch, One Up On Wall Street, 1989
Don’t fool yourselves – this is NOT a failure. This is what Democrat/Left Victory looks like. You have a leader of an organization who is so clueless (and probably stupid), that she probably has no clue that she is living in a bubble, and that her “management” ability sucks. Because good management does not chase off half its customer base. As a result, revenues suffer, and net profits are reduced, and people who work there make less than they might make at a healthy company.
It is covered up by the free money sent their way and by the fact that donations to NPR are tax-deductible.
The tax deduction part is what needs to end. That would expose NPR to REALITY.
Reportedly, only 10% actually pay taxes. The top 1% pay 90% of taxes and the next 9% pay the rest. Only 10% of earners hit the $100K/yr club, the middle class has been wiped out. So who is really paying for that nonsense?
Traveler said: “Reportedly, only 10% actually pay taxes.”
Analyses of “who pays taxes” are nearly always restricted to income tax. Who does not pay sales tax? Who does not buy goods from a company headed by a CEO who makes at least 100K/yr and therefore pays high income tax? That salary. including tax, is included in the cost of goods, is it not? So customers “pay income tax” when they buy those goods. There is no shortage of other examples, but I’ll stop there. Funding of the Federal government is nothing but a gigantic shell game. Who pays? We all do (excepting a comparative few who are purely parasites). Most State governments do their very best to emulate the Federal practices.
Federal Income Tax
That’s a steaming pile of No. 2, number 6.
CGS does not include the CEO income tax. Sales tax goes to State not to the Fed. The earners on the private side are carrying the burden while our Federal government can’t balance a budget or operate in the black. The whole concept of taxation was to fund and operate a fiscally responsible government, not one that has burdened its citizens with $38T in debt and a $2T annual deficit.
In my state the sales tax – which is too high is 6% – many states have no sales tax.
My income taxes are 35%. More that 5 times higher.
Only about 5o% of what I buy is subject ot sales tax – so the effective rate is 3% – that is 1/11th my income tax rate.
I doubt there is a business int he country that pays less in FICA and HI Matching taxes than it does for the salaries and compensation for the top brass of the company.
Regardless the 100K+ CEOs income taxes are paid by the CEO – not the business.
While the FICA and HI matching taxes are paid by the company – and therefore the consumer.
And actually NO most states DO Not emulate federal practices.
Many states have no income tax, most states have low income tax rates.
There is no federal sales tax and no federal property tax.
While not perfect, outside the “peoples republics”
like NY and CA – state and local governments deliver nearly all the services that we associate with government, for a tiny portion of our total tax bill.
“57% of U.S. households paid no federal income tax last year, [2021].”
– CNBC
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“[All] Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;….”
– Article 1, Section 8
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“…[Congress] are not to lay taxes ad libitum for any purpose they please;…”
“The laying of taxes is the power, and the general welfare the purpose for which the power is to be exercised. They [Congress] are not to lay taxes ad libitum for any purpose they please; but only to pay the debts or provide for the welfare of the Union. In like manner, they are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare [i.e. security and basic infrastructure] but only to lay taxes for that purpose.”
– Thomas Jefferson
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Taxation must be equal, according to America’s Founders and Framers.
The progressive income tax of the progressives progressing toward communism is pure communism.
The constitutional amendment process was not intended to destroy the Constitution and America, which is what the communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs, AINOs) in America have done.
The 16th Amendment is pure communism and must be abolished, abrogated, extirpated, and annihilated, as must be the unconstitutional Federal Reserve Act of the same year.
Real President Donald J. Trump must go full Lincolnesque, impose marital law, suspend habeas corpus due to the ongoing communist Obama Coup D’etat in America, and reset and replace America back onto its Constitution and Bill of Rights. Period. Full stop.
The 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Amendments have not only injured, but destroyed the Constitution.
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“…amendments desired, of such a nature as will not INJURE the constitution,…”
“And if there are amendments desired, of such a nature as will not injure the constitution, and they can be engrafted so as to give satisfaction to the doubting part of our fellow citizens; the friends of the federal government will evince that spirit of deference and concession for which they have hitherto been distinguished.”
– James Madison, 1789
Throw in the tax funded paychecks to the equation and then you realize the burden that those that create private commerce, a taxable dollar versus a taxed tax dollar. It’s robbery and theft, the whole thing is a scam that allows the cancer to grow.
The singular American failure is the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court.
~85% of the government is unconstitutional; most departments and programs are unconstitutional.
“It is deeply simplistic to assert that the diversity of America can be reduced to any particular set of beliefs, and faulty reasoning to infer that identity is determinative of one’s thoughts or political leanings.”
Yet this is the exact reasoning used to say that ‘White Male’ is bad and diversity is needed.
The American Founders and Framers deliberated and rationally required homogeneity in America within the year of the adoption of the Constitution through the ratification of the Naturalization Act of 1790.
Immigrants must have been “free white persons” for the benefit of America, in the opinion of its Founders.
The Naturalization Acts of 1790, 1795, 1798, and 1802 (four iterations for clarity and emphasis) persisted for 75 years until Lincoln’s unconstitutional “Reign of Terror” and have never been licitly and constitutionally abrogated.
Every act of Lincoln and his successors subsequent to Lincoln’s illegal denial of fully constitutional secession remains illicit and unconstitutional, including the “Reconstruction Amendments” of Karl Marx’s thesis.
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“They consider…that it fell to…Abraham Lincoln,…to lead his country through…the RECONSTRUCTION of a social world.”
– Karl Marx Letter to Abraham Lincoln, 1865
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“Asylum” immigration is a massive counterintuitive fraud and clearly a sham perpetrated by communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs, AINOs) to deceive and defraud America, increase democrat voters, and to “replace” the population of America, an ideation of Obama.
10 foreign citizens may deserve temporary asylum.
If 10 million Mexican, Haitian, Central, and South Americans actually require “asylum,” a country-of-origin solution is required.
Been on Lake Woe Be Gone too long.
More taxation without representation. We need to stop funding NPR!!!
AMERICA MUST BE DONE WITH NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is a direct and mortal enemy of the American thesis of Freedom and Self-Reliance, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, actual Americans, and America.
NPR is a sham.
NPR is distinctly not any form or rendition of a patriotic NATIONAL radio of America.
NPR falsely exists under and deleteriously promotes the principles of the Communist Manifesto.
Taxpayer funding for NPR is unconstitutional.
Congress has the power to tax ONLY for debt, defense, and general Welfare (i.e. security and basic infrastructure).
Congress has no power to tax for, fund, operate, or function directly or indirectly as a free market enterprise or any aspect or facet of the free market free press.
Governmental broadcasting and publication are brainwashing, propaganda, and indoctrination, used with great effect in communist countries and, through NPR, in America.
Congress has the power to regulate ONLY the value of money, commerce among the States to preclude bias by one over another, and land and naval Forces.
Period. Full Stop. Read it below.
The Communications Act of 1934 and the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 were and remain flagrantly unconstitutional, enjoying no legal or constitutional basis while abridging and denying the 1st Amendment freedom of the press and the 5th Amendment right to private property of NPR’s competitors.
NPR must have been immediately struck down by the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court, five decades ago, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) earlier.
To the absent, subjective, partial, and biased communist Supreme Court, READ IT.
You traitors are “adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort,” per Article 3, Section 3.
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Article 1, Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;—And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
National Propaganda Radio
Soon to be
National Socialist Radio
NPR lost its way decades ago.
From article: “Berliner attacked…our people on the basis of who we are.” We have know who and what you (NPR) are and have known for a long, long time. After donating to NPR because I liked the Jazz program “Eric in the Evening”, I got a letter signed by Ted Kennedy asking for money for more ‘gun control’. Not only did I detest Ted Kennedy but more laws will not stop violent people with guns! In a letter to NPR, I told them to take me off their mailing list for the reasons stated above.