Everyday, I listen to NPR at work. Everyday, I hear about 20, 30, 70, 2, 9, or 1 more person (people) blown up in Iraq. How many more are blown up that I do not hear about? Is there a running death tally for Iraqis? What about the countless other conflicts throughout the world? Death is a natural stage in life. But are we to believe that this war is "natural," necessary?
At the same time, what will I do to stop it? Write this thread? Play the victim and cry "unfair?" Be complacent that I am not being blown up and forget about it? Feel guilty? Giving money to a cause has never been a solution for me because I don't really have much money. Sign up on Moveon.org and sign their petitions, does that even help?

I wouldn't usually write something like this, but I am going crazy listening to all of this death everyday.

How do you all cope with hearing these things everyday? Is there anything you do, even if it is a drop in the ocean, to ameliorate this issue, or at least make yourself feel better about it?

yep.

i had to stop listening to npr cold turkey. six months ago.

only now am i allowing myself to listen sometimes...but only in the car.

Hmmmm. You know Congress is set to vote this week on a measure that will cut 1/2 the federal funding from NPR stations so unless you are listening to one of the bigger ones like wnyc......someone may be turning NPR off for you.

don't get me wrong. i'm still a member.

just listening to NPR doesn't do a whole lot to save it....
support your local stations by pledging!

npr has always been one of the most objective news sources.
it is now under new leadership that apparently is going to make a conscious effort to attract a more conservative audience.
how does this initiative correlated w/ their objectivity?

I joined the local NPR station as soon as I arrived in town. I've been an PR member for 12 years.

But I'm listening to them less and less. As you say, wisof, the news is just so bad, it depresses me too much. The morning NPR played excerpts from the Tom Delay Grand Ass-Kissing party that happened a few weeks ago, where some pitiful singer appropriated "If I Had a Hammer" and changed the lyrics to praise "The Hammer" Delay, and his minister stood up and raved about what a good-doing, god-fearing man Delay is for chrissake-----I about puked in my car.

Also, didn't NPR just get a huge gift from Mrs. Kroc, the widow of Ray, a year ago? It seems to me that would have allowed them to take more risks with their programming and reporting. Instead it seems to me they've become more conservative.

Jeez, just writing this is depressing me. I can't deal with it.

Yes, my gf and I are members, so we try and support NPR when we can. And, that is correct, funding for the station is about to be voted on by congress. All pretty depressing, I agree Liberty Bell.

Never have the lyrics to "A Day In The Life" made so much sense to me:

I read the news today oh, boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh and
I saw the photograph

He blew his mind out in a car
He didn’t notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They’d seen his face before,
Nobody was really sure if he was from the house of lords.

I saw a film today oh, boy
The english army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had a look
Having read the book,
I’d love to turn you on...

Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.

Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream

Ah

I read the news today oh boy
Four thousand holes in blackburn, lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all,
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the albert hall.
I’d love to turn you on...

-----

Congress already voted and passed the bill to cut all funding to the CPB (that's both PBS and NPR) by 45%.

A house commitee voted to make the cuts. It still needs to pass the full house and then the senate. The house of representatives Vote will be this week. So there is still hope. Writing to local congressman is the best thing that you can do at this point. A number of groups including moveon.org have petitions going as well.

awesome! that is just f'in great! I can live without Car Talk, but This American Life? Shit, I even like Garrison!

Actually, the House Appropriations Subcommittee has only voted on the proposal to cut funding which the House will vote on this Wednsday June 22.

Apparantly it's o.k. to spend $180,000,000,000 on the war but the government can't afford $220 million for public radio.

sign the online petition to tell congress to keep funding NPR at:
moveon.org

They started with trying to get 500,000 signatures. At my last check, they decided to try for 1 million, and were at 915,108.

yes, I got that petition this morning, and signed it . . .

"Apparantly it's o.k. to spend $180,000,000,000 on the war but the government can't afford $220 million for public radio."

my thoughts exactly.

its all because of that rabbit that visited the lesbian mothers. talk about your moral decay.

HOLY SHIT! ! ! IT’S TRUE THIS TIME

I’ve been getting this spam for years – the one about funding cuts for NPR – so just to dispel this rumor I checked my favorite source www.snopes.com and it would seem that this time it’s true!

Read about it here at Snopes
SNOPES

and here for the move one petition
www.moveon.org

What worries me is that because this was an urban legend for so long, many who care will dismiss it as such - please spread the word, I can't live without This American Life!

the republicans must consider NPR a set above other liberal left wing radio stations like air america. or perhaps they thought when ray crocks widow dumped MdD$$$$ at it, that was all they need.

i no longer can listen to air america and have pulled my name off of antiwar list serves. after actively protesting the war for a 18 months, the election really told me how ambivilant the US is about everything.

if you think listening to npr is depressing, join a list serve - get +/-10-15 emails a day wanting to get together to bake cookies and pass out flyers or carry a banner on an expressway overpass. there are people who are really trying but i could no longer at this point in time in my life. the bushies have done a great job surpressing the masses and controls the press to the highest level.

the only thing that will stop the war at this point in time is the draft. bring back the draft i say! then people will give a shit.

I listened to air america for about a week. then I realized that Randy actually says nothing. I found that most people on air america are annoying to listen to and are not really saying all of that much. I was pretty dissapointed at air america. I'd rather just listen to npr and have a little more objectivity.

While I appreciate the thorough and consistent job NPR has done covering news events, particularly when compared to the cable networks, I still can’t bring myself to become a member and I can see why it has become a target of conservative ire. Even from the other side of things (I’d consider myself extremely liberal on most issues), NPR has a decidedly white, middle aged, northeastern, uptight, upper-middle class elitist air to most of it’s non-news stories and programming. I’d hate to see the conservatives come in and turn it into the next fox news, but something’s gotta give. Other than Marketplace, and This American Life, most NPR shows are just plain too boring.

overall I enjoy NPR but it in the conspiratorial vein i have a beef with govt. sponcered news, why is it so hard to come up with an objective news network that has commercial sponsership?

Did a search, found this thread, had to share......

I *heart* NPR. I can't get enough of it lately. More so than usual. Right now I am listening to Science Friday and what would happen to you if you got sucked into a black hole! It's called "spaghettification". How cool is that?!?

Also, if you saw Borat, or didn't and was curious about it, I heard an interview yesterday at lunch on Fresh Air with Sacha Baron Cohen.....as himself! It's the first time I've ever heard the guy's real voice, in any kind of interview. He talks about all of his characters and scenes from the movie, as well. It's a really fantastic interview:

Fresh Air with Borat

Back to space now....

I *heart* Liz Copeland (WDET).

The interview with Sasha Baron Cohen on Fresh Air was great. I was afraid Terry Gross would tear him a new one, but it was pretty good . . .

word, that was incredible to hear SBC as himself.

i hardly ever listen to npr anymore. the new morning news format makes me wretch.i recommend this..thisishell its funny, intelligent, great guests, and even a hangover cure...

if you think NPR depresses you, consider listening to Pacifica radio, NPR's far left counterpart: After an hour of Pacifica news, you'll believe the apocalypse has arrived.

i like NPR except that sometimes it sounds like NPR's news department makes its presenters take diction courses. everyone talks so SLOW and measured-like, and it would be great to hear an accent from south of the mason-dixon line every once in a while. it bleeds down to even the austin affiliate, where you can go weeks without hearing anyone who doesn't sound like they emigrated to austin from new york. if they wanted me to give money, they'd say "y'all" more often.

then again, my favorites on NPR are car talk (with two really fast-talking guys with bahstan accents) and this american life, with ira "my voice could shatter" glass.

the only guy you should be listening to

I have been listening to KCRW ever since I moved out to LA. They actually play music in the morning so you can somewhat get away from the new for a few hours. The music is usually top notch but you have to put up with bloody Brit DJ (just kidding). But this thread has made me realize how jaded I have become towards the war. The reports do not phase me anymore. Thats a scary conclusion to come to.

Rush?!! How could anyone feel they are morally above anyone when they are writing their own perscriptions?

morning edition just plain sucks. i never here any news on there. this morning while i was shaving dressing etc. the stories were "whats the best hot chocolate at some ski resort" with cute kids saying things like "its more gooder" and some report about consumer electronics convention. oh yeah and a daily dose of ied's.

Let me begin by saying I watch several PBS-TV shows and listen to public radio, only the classical and jazz stuff and not news.

Now, not to kill the NPR love fest, but I support congress cutting the funding. My reason being is that if people like you or I are listening, there is a market for their content. Add some ads for revenue and yours and my tax dollars don't need to support it one bit.

That said, I'm not a tin hat wearing consiracy guy thinking the big bad private owners will give the content any more of a slant than it currently has.

Now arguing over the money spent in Iraq is a completely different and unrelated thing. I'm not for spending billions there, but the comparison to NPR doesn't make sense..

if i had to listen to privately produced ads on npr i'd stop listening. i don't listen to commercial radio primarily because of the shrill in-your-ear-ness of these ads.

of course, even the underwriting messages on npr have gotten more ad-like and annoying over the last 5 yrs or so.