All Things Amended

Joe Doakes from Como Park writes:

Remember 4 years ago, when the Minnesota Constitution was amended to provide dedicated funding for clean water and stuff?

Guess who gets that funding?

From their website:

“Minnesota Public Radio is the state’s largest cultural organization.”

Well, if “Liberal” is a culture, that’s certainly true. Do we need to spend tax dollars to preserve Liberalism? Isn’t it doing well enough on its own?

Joe Doakes

Como Park

No, MPR’s certainly got their hooks into the regional money system.

I’m just remembering all the articles this past week from learned “progressive”-leaning political scientists who said “government by amendment isn’t governing”, and wondering where they all were four years ago?

13 thoughts on “All Things Amended

  1. “Do we need to spend tax dollars to preserve liberalism?”

    Redundant. Self-evident. What’s the point? If it’s state dollars, it is, by definition, supporting liberalism. The state is the prime advocate for, and the recipient of, liberal largesse. It is its own reason for being. MPR is merely the mouth of the 800-pound gorilla.

  2. I agree with Doc. Tell the state it’s a show denigrating God and attacking the religious right. Do a demo tape with Angry Clown in order to show your sincerity. Once you get the money, we can shove him in a closet. You’ll get funding for years before they can come up with a means of closing the spigot.

  3. Well, MPR lobbied hard to pass the amendment, they should get some of it. I still listen to them in order to fully understand the liberal slant. Their absolute shame is to take the money after they lobbied hard to see the amendment pass. It’s disgusting really. I used to be a proud, dues paying member of MPR but as I watched them hustle for the government dole even before the amendment, I figured that my direct check only meant more lobbying power for them to get more of my tax dollar. Something seemed awry, n’est pas?

  4. Mitch, I agree with what you have said in the past about MPR’s Bob Collins. I have met the man and I like him, but today he has made me a bit grumpy.

    Bob and the MPR staff have no compunction about labeling people who refuse to tow the alarmist line on climate change as “Deniers”. I told them it was a derogatory term that I and many others find offensive – but they still use liberally..

    You have to wonder about their stylebook and code of ethics. I am sure that both have strong things to say about terms used to denigrate Blacks, Women, Gays, Native Americans, Hispanics and Asians…. so why is it acceptable to equate people who disagree on Climate Science with Holocaust Deniers?

    In other words, why are liberals so illiberal.

    Mitch, you should got them both barrels on this one (metaphorically speaking of course).

  5. I was surprised to find out that “TC Pride” also gets state funding. The Legacy Amendment is an excuse to force us to pay for crap that we would never even think of paying for.

  6. “progressive”-leaning political scientists who said “government by amendment isn’t governing”

    Run that thru the newspeak translator: “&@#$ing evil Republicans thwarting our agenda…”

  7. I used to be a proud, dues paying member of MPR

    When conservative talk occasionally gets boring, I listen to MPR for the music. The second they start talking about ANYTHING [1] – especially their pledge drive, which ended today, THANK GOD – I change it back to conservative talk. I was a music (piano) major in college and I DO appreciate having a classical station that plays a good amount of piano. I decided today that if I ever am allowed to stop paying them involuntarily, then I’ll consider paying them voluntarily. Not before. Not one dime before.

    [1] I am horribly embarrassed and incredibly shameful that I feel this way, but Garrison Keillor’s “The Writer’s Almanac” at 6:15ish every evening is often FASCINATING. It sucks me in.

  8. No need to be ashamed, I often listen to “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me” and “A Prairie Home Companion” on the Weekend. They’re both pretty funny shows and I grew up listening to the News from Lake Woebegone. So long as Keillor stays on his meds and off the politics, he’s a pretty funny entertainer.

  9. Chanelling AssClown: “AngryClown refuses to be shoved back into the closet. I’m out and I’m proud so you kooks are just going to have to learn to appreciate fat, hairy guys wearing assless chaps, funny shoes and red noses.”

  10. Bill C, I find it amazing that there aren’t more MPR related crashes on the road, they are sooooooo boring. I also find it funny when liberals say, “MPR/NPR is so much better than regular radio, we don’t have to listen to icky commericals from evil businesses” but honestly I could stand listening to commercials all day than their damn beg-a-thons and constant reminding you of how you should support them financially worked into nearly every fucking segment (of the 3 I’ve listened to in the last 10 or so years). I really hope that their funding starts drying up soon, and their donations too.

  11. Originally the “Legacy Amendment” was promoted in order to guarantee funding to secure and protect MN traditions of hunting, trapping, fishing, and such. I think the idea was that those interests (including the DNR) wouldn’t have to battle as hard for operating funds each budget cycle, and could longer term plan their programs to maintain clean air, water, and land conservation. Getting an amendment on the ballot never went anywhere because among other reasons the Metrocrats weren’t getting their pound of flesh out of the deal. So it was proposed giving some portion to the “arts and culture types” to get Pogo Stick Pogemiller and Big Mac Kelliher to support the effort. Dangerous bedfellows to say the least, at the end of the day what people thought they were getting from the amendment was quite different from what they ended up with. At the end of the day you get 33% for Outdoor Heritage, 33% for Clean Water, 19.75% for ARTS & CULTURE, and 14.25% for Parks & Trails. It’s interesting to see where the money really ends up: http://www.legacy.leg.mn/about-funds.

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