The Armstrong Williams NewsHour

HERE'S the difference between this year's battle over public broadcasting and the one that blew up in Newt Gingrich's face a decade ago: this one isn't really about the survival of public broadcasting. So don't be distracted by any premature obituaries for Big Bird. Far from being an endangered species, he's the ornithological equivalent of a red herring.

Let's not forget that Laura Bush has made a fetish of glomming onto popular "Sesame Street" characters in photo-ops. Polls consistently attest to the popular support for public broadcasting, while Congress is in a race to the bottom with Michael Jackson. Big Bird will once again smite the politicians - as long as he isn't caught consorting with lesbians.

That doesn't mean the right's new assault on public broadcasting is toothless, far from it. But this time the game is far more insidious and ingenious. The intent is not to kill off PBS and NPR but to castrate them by quietly annexing their news and public affairs operations to the larger state propaganda machine that the Bush White House has been steadily constructing at taxpayers' expense. If you liked the fake government news videos that ended up on local stations - or thrilled to the "journalism" of Armstrong Williams and other columnists who were covertly paid to promote administration policies - you'll love the brave new world this crowd envisions for public TV and radio.

There's only one obstacle standing in the way of the coup. Like Richard Nixon, another president who tried to subvert public broadcasting in his war to silence critical news media, our current president may be letting hubris get the best of him. His minions are giving any investigative reporters left in Washington a fresh incentive to follow the money.

Mr. Mann was hardly chosen by chance to assemble what smells like the rough draft of a blacklist. He long worked for a right-wing outfit called the National Journalism Center, whose director, M. Stanton Evans, is writing his own Ann Coulteresque book to ameliorate the reputation of Joe McCarthy.

As if the Venona project didn't vindicate Joe McCarthy. I like to hear Rich squeal like a stuck pig. You the gov't is doing something right.

Here's the right wing programming on LA's KCET tonight:

P.O.V. Saturday, June 25, 9:00pm

The Education of Shelby Knox. 'The Education of Shelby Knox' follows an intense, engaging Lubbock, Texas, teen as she campaigns over three years for sex education in Lubbock's public schools.

P.O.V. Saturday, June 25, 10:30pm

Georgie Girl Born George Beyer, one-time prostitute-turned-politician Georgina Beyer was elected to New Zealand's Parliament in 1999, becoming the world's first transsexual to hold a national office. A mostly white, conservative, rural constituency voted this former sex worker of Maori descent into office. Chronicling Georgina's transformations from farm boy to celebrated cabaret diva to grassroots community leader, Annie Goldson and Peter Wells 'Georgie Girl' couples interviews and images of Beyer's nightclub and film performances with footage showing a day in the life of this New Zealand Member of Parliament. The film presents a remarkable account of Beyer's precedent-setting accomplishment, revealing her intelligence, charisma and humor. In Stereo (CC)

Independent Lens Saturday, June 25, 11:30pm

The Amasong Chorus: Singing Out When lesbian music student Kristina Boerger moved to a small Illinois college town, she did not find a ready-made community. So she created one, doing what she loved best — choral singing. As Boerger's lesbian-feminist choir evolves from a rag-tag crew into a nationally recognized, award-winning ensemble, the film shows how one person's spirit and dedication can help transform a community. Produced by Jay Rosenstein. Co-presentaton with WILL Urbana. In Stereo (CC)

So sit the family down and watch another informative evening of RightWing TV, paid for by you, the taxpayers.

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