Press "Enter" to skip to content

Trump Hates Public Broadcasting, State Basketball

O'Gorman takes the shot against Lincoln—Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting. ©2017 SDPB.
O’Gorman takes the shot against Lincoln—Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting. ©2017 SDPB.

I will spend none of this weekend watching any basketball games.

However, for you South Dakotans who are watching basketball, who broadcasts every game from every state tournament? South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

Who provides 21% of South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s Budget? The Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Who wants to eliminate all $455 million of federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting? Donald Trump.

Who thus hates South Dakota State Basketball Tournaments? Donald Trump.

Trump’s public broadcasting cut also hits tribal broadcasters particularly hard. Trump doesn’t like Indians much, either… unless they have oil his rich pals can raid. But in King Donald “Bizarro Andrew Jackson” Trump’s world, we are all Indians to be silenced and exploited.

13 Comments

  1. mike from iowa 2017-03-18 10:18

    As Field Negro sez-Jackson had better hair.

  2. Wade Brandis 2017-03-18 20:57

    I’ll admit, I should watch more public broadcasting than I do now, but perhaps I might after I add my name to the petition that NPR has setup, called Protect My Public Media.

    Here’s a thought… Non-commercial religious broadcasters such as VCY America have been known to buy failing radio stations, public or commercial. There was the recent sale of WNKU in Kentucky. Citing budget cuts, Northern Kentucky University decided to sell, and Bible Broadcasting Network was the buyer. Many of WNKU’s long time supporters were upset at the news. If the CPB is cut, these Christian networks could see those cuts as a chance to start a buying spree of failing NPR stations and replace real public radio programming with satellite-fed Conservative talk and preaching.

    They tried such a thing before. In 2003, Christian broadcasters bid on thousands of translator licenses to try and spread their programming that way. A translator is a low powered station meant to relay programming from another station, usually in areas with reception issues. Commercial broadcasters can’t directly feed these translators through microwave or satellite, but non-commercial broadcasters are exempt from this rule, being able to program the translators thousands of miles away from their headquarters.

    As for sports, I recall when KELO-TV broadcast the State sports like football and basketball before moving to SDPB in the early 2000s. Those sports would likely move back to a commercial station, but KELO doesn’t have the extensive reach as SDPB does.

  3. grudznick 2017-03-18 21:25

    Mr. H, some of those young men and ladies are the best math doers in the whole state! And they are taller than most and unclumsy. We would do well to watch them, me the once-lumbering-oaf and you the darting hyperactive point guard.

  4. Adam 2017-03-19 13:24

    I hope the white South Dakotans will suffer the most. Since I don’t like basketball, have blistering fast city boy internet speed, and have gravitated over to CNN in the last few months – I no longer need SD public broadcasting for anything. I remember very well the days when I relied on them – I love what they do, but we got Trump now so if you can’t afford cable you shouldn’t have access to news or any other quality programming.

    I was sitting at a Roulette table last night up in Deadwood and had to listen to an old hag complain about what a liar Obama is – even though we got Trump now. All I could do was take comfort in that she won’t be voting for much longer and how mushy messes of brain tissue is the main reason most of SD is just as dumb as that poor stupid lady last night.

    If a Trumper thinks Obama was the big liar, holy Jesus are they insane.

  5. Adam 2017-03-19 13:30

    “Trump tells the truth compared to Obama” just made me just to want beat some sense into that lady. Screw it though – she ain’t worth it.

    Trump’s gonna help get rid of old people. It will help Democrats in SD. Just the facts.

  6. OldSarg 2017-03-20 06:05

    To be honest; why should the tax payer be forced to surrender their hard earned money to support NPR which promotes taking the money we would like to provide to our families? If you want to donate to NPR go ahead. I would prefer to help my son in school, my niece pay her rent, my mom buy her prescriptions and my wife be able to stop working but I can’t do those things because NPR is blowing our tax dollars on 15 year old programs such as the “car guys”, telling us Sunday mornings that devil’s worship is dignified, Trump is lying about being monitored by security services that released transcripts of General Flynn and treating the working class like ignorant fools. I’m done with it. . . Buy a young soldier some body armor who’s fighting Obama’s 31illicit wars.

  7. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2017-03-20 06:54

    “hard earned money”—ah, the ever-present trope used to avoid talking about real costs and benefits. For $1.35 per American, we get 24/7 news and entertainment on air and online, plus, in South Dakota, the only broadcast refuge from the constant shouting of corporate America. I get my $1.35 worth from one day of listening to The Current on MPR. Money well spent.

    NPR is ending Car Talk in September. There are many other national and local programs available.

  8. OldSarg 2017-03-21 06:10

    “$1.35 per American” for ONE DAY? I hope NOT! That would swallow $177 Billion per year. I think you meant $1.35/year/American, or $486 Million a year. Even at that cost you could provide health care coverage for almost 1 Million Americans each and every year. I would think, given a choice, if a waitress/waiter were to choose between their tax dollars paying for health care for a year or listening to a radio program when we are being drowned by media every day, they would choose the health care over “wait, wait. don’t tell me”. . . Maybe in the days before TV, cell phones and internet NPR could have brought value to rural America but those days are long ago. Yes, I understand their are some “art” worthy programs but visit Kadoka and ask the local store clerk which they would choose: NPR or money to provide for their family.

  9. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2017-03-21 08:23

    Yes, $1.35 per year. I said that I consider one day of The Current worth that amount; I did not advocate taxing us all at that amount; I’m only pointing out the incredible value we get for that investment.

    “provide for their family”—that’s already taken care of. We all get the personal exemptions and standard deduction as an acknowledgment that we should get to provide the basics for our families before paying any taxes. The argument that we have to make a choice between groceries and CPB is bogus: we never face that choice.

  10. Adam 2017-03-21 13:12

    “visit Kadoka and ask the local store clerk which they would choose: NPR or money to provide for their family.”

    I would rather: visit Kadoka and ask the store clerk which they would choose: money for their family or huge tax cuts for the wealthy.

Comments are closed.