PBS, NEA, AmeriCorps on the chopping block in Trump’s first budget

Hotair ^ | 02/18/2017 | John Sexton

[poconopundit]

You know, it's a shame that public-funded broadcasting has a bad name.  But they brought ruin to themselves -- not just through partisan politics -- but through failure to produce programs of enduring value.

My wife gets the Japanese NHK public TV network on Dish and it's filled with many marvelous programs that I enjoy even though I don't speak Japanese.

NHK works to strengthen the country moral fiber and unify the country whereas PBS doesn't do nearly enough to elevate our national life.

A great example of what can be done in America is the Taiga Drama series, an annual mega-drama that spans 50 episodes -- 45 minutes per week (no commercial interruption).

Each Taiga Drama is a melodrama featuring an era in Japanese history (usually the samurai period).  Each Drama is centered around one man or one woman who was an important figure, or someone related to an important figure.

The word "Taiga" in Taiga Drama means "Great River" in the sense that a person's life can be considered a long river of experience.

The production values and musical score are always standouts in these Dramas.

Imagine if 100 of Hollywood's top actors got together every year to produce -- not a politically charged film -- but a morality play that reinforces the national values of loyalty, dedication, chivalry, loyalty, family, and sacrifice.

The closest thing to this in America was the series on the Civil War many years ago.

And the actors in the Taiga Drama span all ages.  Kid actors are prominent in the first two or three episodes of each year's drama (5-minute YouTube example)

Then actors in their 20s and 30s dominate the rest of the episodes -- and many of these actors are stunningly handsome dressed in the costumes of the period.

Senior actors are also prominent, and many of them were stars in previous Dramas spanning 30 years.

---

So I spent some time with this description because it's a model for what great public programming can be.  We can only hope that the MAGA movement will inspire similar heights of national art in America.

[ronnie raygun]

FINALLY! GOOD! let them fend for themselves,”want to spew your puke freely”, insult Christianity with you jesus on a cross in a glass of piss? would you dare do this to islam? Academia should be next defund all the universities and let them fend for themsselves

[wardaddy]

Winning!

[newnhdad]

But what about Big Bird? Why do they hate children so much?

[Liz]

NHK is one of my fave channels.....the range of programming is spectacular.

Nothing lightweight like US TV.

[Drango]

Take the first step. Then the second, third...

[wally_bert]

Is there an english sub-titled version?

[csvset]

We cut cable 6 years ago. We found Asian dramas and watch Korean, Chinese and Japanese television shows. Hard to take the junk spewn out from WhollyWeird, which I don’t miss at all.

[glorgau]

The real problem is that these cuts, which together amount to $2.5 billion a year, won’t put a real dent in our growing debt.

Couple a billion here and a couple of billion there and pretty soon it adds up to real money.

[ontap]

He needs to end to funding of the arts too!!!

[trebb]

A dent here, a dent there, pretty soon you're talkin' real money.

Yep - they carp that it's only 2.5 billion of a 4 trillion budget - I bet there's at least 400 other potential savings to match that could make a whole trillion difference....

[mad_as_he$$]

“The real problem is that these cuts, which together amount to $2.5 billion a year, won’t put a real dent in our growing debt.”

So? I don’t want my tax money spent on anti-American programs. Period end of story. PBS is full of leftist politics and insane positions on the issues. Don’t get my going on the NEA.

[petro45acp]

BRAVO

MAGA

Been looking forward to the day when unnecessary agencies, with authority/sway over day to day activities and no Constitutional reason for exixtence, would begin to disappear.
Keep the pressure on
KYPD

[BRL]

I can finally die and go to heaven

[bert]

The funds taken out of the budget for PBS, NEA, NeH etc will be repurposed for the dilapidated military

We need aircraft maintenance, not piss in a jar

[bert]

Republican governors can banish NPR on state owned radio stations. Virtually all NPR broadcasts are made over state owned radio stations

[Tucker39]

The libs wail that without gubmint funds, Big Bird & Miss Piggy will not survive. I believe licensing and sales of those PBS props can support PBS. The gubmint Million$ goes for $$$alaries for the fatcats who run PBS. Ditto the others.

[poconopundit]

Yes, all the Taiga Dramas NHK runs also have an English subtitles version. Not sure how to find it, but they are telecast about 2 months after the Japanese-only version.

csvset, yes, we also subscribe only to NHK, no other cable stations.

[who knows what evil?]

If rich libs want this stuff, they can pay for it.

Word.

[odawg]

“Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize Leftwing bias and opinion.”

I have never been able to understand how PBS, taxpayer subsidized, is allowed to do that, or would want to do that. There are a few things I watch on PBS — Nova, This Old House, some British shows, etc. The news is all Leftist propaganda and unwatchable.

I noticed a few weeks ago they were running ads about “one world” or something like that. I didn’t watch long enough to see what that was about.