Scribblings

Why NPR needs and should exist

Yes, I am a diehard public broadcasting fan. Have been since the first day it was heard in Barrow back in the early 70s. Until then, if you wanted to listen to the radio, you went out to the end of Fresh Water Lake road and tried desperately to tune in AFRN out of the Fairbanks area. If you were very, very lucky, you heard the scratchy sounds of a song playing in the distance. It was not until public broadcasting became a reality that those trips became unnecessary.

Beyond that, I have always, ALWAYS, found the reporting to actually be fair and balanced, despite the wounded cries of the racists, homophobics and generally hateful people to what real news from real reporters sounds like. And if you have ever heard Mary Louise Kelly, you know that it doesn’t get more incisive, respectful, intelligent and informed than her interviews.

It is clear that neither Trump nor Pompeo would know those qualities if they were fried in chicken and served to them by the colonel himself. This is because neither of these two men is even slightly capable of imagining someone who is actually qualified to do their job and to be doing it well. They are more accustomed to sycophants getting a job because they suck ass the best. And no one’s ass gets sucked more than Trump’s. That’s because the people getting rich off this dangerous idiot and his family are not about to pull the plug on the cash cow.

So I’m guessing the reason that Pompeo and Trump have gone so crazy over this is that they are frightened by a bright, intelligent, prepared reporter asking them the truth and refusing to take anything less. That’s what NPR does for us every day with it’s staff of actually qualified for their jobs correspondents, reporters and hosts.

I can understand why Trump and Pompeo would not want to encourage this. They would both be out of jobs if that’s how their positions were actually filled.