Can We Listen to Rush?

The question was...."Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?"

Colin Powell then asked "Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"

Powell went off into a deep discussion on CNN...trying to figure the path of the Republican party for the future. I read through most of the commentary. Then I went off to ponder a while on this wisdom or advice. Eventually I came to the same point that I reached five years ago....about ten minutes of Rush is about all I really can take per day.

Oh, I can see some of the Rush wisdom and understand the necessity of Rush existing. Frankly, a large segment of society see Rush as the alternate to NPR, ABC, CNN, CBS, MSNBC, and CBS. The Obama magnet? Perhaps the General doesn't grasp this deal....but it only works as long as you find trust in Obama. When the perception is lessened....this magnet weakens....and this enchantment isn't worth discussing.

If folks want to dump Rush....quiet simply....they will do it on their own accord....just like I did, without any encouragement from anyone. So far, it is a small and insignificant trend. And I have doubts that this will change. Life without Rush? Not yet.

Just $60 Million?

Today....a deal was worked out in Poznan, Poland....for the poor countries to get money to fight climate change. The kindly folks at the U.N. climate conference apparently smiled as they figured that some folks might need "cash" to help adapt to increasingly severe droughts, floods and other effects of global warming. This entire effort involves around $60 million which would be released within months, according to delegates and environmentalists.

So $60 million. So we are talking about three Manny Ramiriz-type players for one season....right? Even with that, the Yankees can’t guarantee a World Series. So these idiots.....Al Gore, John Kerry, and some Banana-Republic folks think that will achieve anything?

By the time you hire twelve PHD dudes to write up your requirements, have a meeting or two in Paris, and have a fancy party where 200 “environmental-real-people” meet and sip expensive French wine....then the $60 million is pretty much milked up.

Ask Al and John for a listing of what the money was spent on.....twelve months from now...and watch them grin ear to ear. This is how stupid the entire game is....they can’t even keep from grinning when you catch them acting bogus.

The amusing thing is that we were willing to give Ford, GM and Chrysler $15 BILLION....just to be loser car companies and keep American jobs on the line.

Simply The Truth

I saw this today, and its basically correct....although sarcastically spoken. They will get your money by hook or crook.....even if you didn't give a damn for Ford, Chrysler or GM. This is the humorous part of this mess.

Based on the actions yesterday....both GM and Chrysler are working on bankruptcy action. The UAW guys are starting to chat quietly within their circles. If both go the final step......the UAW and their union members are screwed. Both GM and Chrysler can sit for months with no work being done.....with the union guys steaming that the only deal left is Ford who survived intact.

I'm suspecting that this might be a fascinating period of economic misfortune. For fifty years, the UAW guys held the upper hand....and we are about to watch their vessel strike a iceberg. Whether they sink entirely or barely survive.....is up to how much they really want to "live". My guess is that they will prefer the sinking experience....more than survival.

The best came late today, when UAW members blasted the Republicans for "sinking" their chances. For ten years, people have been suggesting that the car companies were barely functioning....with incompetent leadership....poorly received cars...and highly paid union workers. No one wanted to fix anything.....just keep riding this as far as it would go.....and so here we are.

Hollywood NPR?

In case you missed it or it just didn't stand out.....the kindly folks over at NPR have a pretty keen pay scale situation. The managing editor Barbara Rehm? She makes $383,139.

The host for All Things Considered.....Robert Siegel.....gets paid $350,288.

One of our favorite folks.....for Morning Edition....Renee Montagne makes $332,160.

The Morning Edition host.....Steve Inskeep....makes $331,242 5.

Finally.....NPR afternoon programming director Richard L. Harris....makes roughly $190,ooo.

I sat there for a while.....pondering this. Then I started to ask myself why any idiot would pay someone that far off the payscale of "normalcy"?

This is state-run radio.....not some fancy network that runs chicken or booze commercials. The entire network ought to be run out of Dayton, Ohio.....and no one should make more than $120k a year max. I'm trying to figure some logic to this....but there really isn't any.

For those "journalists" who want to correct me and hint that these are professionals and deserve this type of pay.....listen, buddy.....if you want big money....go over to NBC or MSNBC. State-run NPR...is not a place for "stars". If you care to argue that NPR is a major network....no, its a state-run radio operation that used to be a place that pumped out culture and arts to the American heartland. Somewhere over the past twenty-five years....they lost their compass and became this mega-network of pretenders. They'd like to be a real network like MSNBC.....but face it.....they simply aren't in that league.

This entire game of paying top dollar? End it. You can't convince me any of these people are worth $150k or more. There simply isn't any logic to it.

So I'm going to offer NPR another method of saving money and cutting the budget. Pack up and move the entire central staff to Dayton, Ohio. For those who won't move.....let them go. Let folks learn right away that Dayton is the heartland and you can buy a real house for less than $180k. The crew can have breakfast each day over at the IHOP, and talk heartland trash talk in the afternoons.....before they run off to have a beer over at the local sportsbar.

For the bloody NPR pro's who'd like to clobber me....go for it. Get one thing straight......I'd take your job in a heartbeat, and work for less than $60k a year.....and probably bring the heartland to its knees.....weeping and laughing at the same time. Slanted stories? Well.....I don't really give much of a damn for such behavior, so I'm guessing I won't win any special favors. I'm guessing I won't be called in.