Are you happy Donald Trump defunded PBS and NPR or do you like it when woke media lectures you?

[Douglas1180]

President Trump has just signed an executive order cutting all federal funding to PBS and NPR, accusing them of spreading "radical, woke propaganda" on the taxpayer's dime.

This move is part of a broader effort to challenge institutions perceived as promoting biased content.

Critics argue that these public broadcasters have long leaned into progressive narratives, often sidelining conservative viewpoints.

Take Bert and Ernie, for example. The Sesame Street show maintains that they are innocent roommates who teach children the value of "cooperation" and "kindness." They state, "Even though they identify as male characters , they remain puppets and do not have a sexual orientation."

So, yeah, it's perfectly Ok for your kids to watch a show about two guys who have lived together for decades, care about each other's feelings, and have no relationship beyond each other.

Bert and Ernie are gay

[OlderAndWiser]

I fully approve defunding PBS and NPR. PBS has done some good things but that is outweighed by its incessant political activism.

[DrPepper12]

Gonna harm rural USA American HARD. GOOD LUCK!!

[OlderAndWiser]

@DrPepper12 I doubt it.

[FunkyMonkee]

If they go woke, they deserve to go broke!!

[Screenwriter]

Geez. Puppets have no sexual orientation. They're just puppets and examples of friends. And they're funny. To put any agenda on them is absurd.

The real matter. PBS and NPR are great sources of information.

Does Trump watch Nature, NOVA, Point of View, Independent Lens, Masterpiece Theatre, Great Performances, PBS News Hour, Craft in America? Of course he doesn't. I do. There is enough variety in PBS programming to interest everyone.

He hears complaints from people who hear complaints from other people, most of whom don't watch PBS programs, most of which have nothing to do with "wokeness" but everything to do with art, music, history, nature, cooking, repairing and maintaining a home, sewing, politics, US and world cultures, as well as local-interest and political programming.

And the fact is Trump can't write an executive order defunding PBS and NPR. Their funding is insulated via Congress and Trump has no control over their CEO either. Can't fire them.

He's trying everything to see what sticks. This one won't work. And he's wrong to go after such a great and successful educational enterprise. Taught me about sewing, home repair, cooking, The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, Country Music, the African savannah...

He's wrong about this.

[Danzigdawson]

Freedom of press going down the drain and you're clapping like a retarded seal, of course, because you can't even begin to comprehend the implications of what's happening... so keep on drooling, staring at the sun, convinced that you geniuses are "winning" at anything 😄.

In the very late 19th century there was something called yellow journalism, which was sensationalistic crap completely devoid of facts, made only to sell as much newspapers as possible.

Now, you have orange journalism. Also crap devoid of facts, but made to sell trump.

Have you watched an oval office press conference lately? It's filled with (actual) fake news c*cksuckers all ass-licking trump and telling him how great and amazing he is. Of course, what they're actually saying is: "please, mein führer, I bow before your need of validation... don't take my press pass away".

nazi propaganda easily turned into trump propaganda.

Enjoy your fascist state!

[juliaanita]

yes yes yes! You said it well, Canada!

[Douglas1180]

Don't talk down on me like I'm some retard. Freedom of the press? We're talking about organizations that take tax payer money to brainwash people. It's funny how you're so triggered, but all you are doing is regurgitating what we've heard from 100k other liberals. Have you ever stopped to think, hey maybe I'm the brainwashed monkey? Did you watch too much Sesame Street? Get fondled by your uncle?

[Entertained_Adult]

@douglas1180 have you heard of taxpayer money at work in Canada being filmed? 5 people taking unsealed voting ballots from one voting station home (early "advance votes" as video was uploaded days before election). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTYUD7liTVQ

[Entertained_Adult]

If that's the case i have more respect for Canada, than if half of us are actually braindead enough to elect a corrupt banker.

[Danzigdawson]

@douglas1180 When you think like a complete moron, you get treated like you're a complete moron. Deal with it.

[Danzigdawson]

@Entertained_Adult What a complete load of horseshit. Only one problem: Canada is not the United States. Most people won't fall for that kind of made up bullshit up here. A majority of us still believe in logic, science and facts. That's why the conservatives lost.

[Danzigdawson]

@juliaanita Keep on fighting the criminal in chief! 🇺🇲🇨🇦

[Douglas1180]

@Danzigdawson I'm just trying to understand why you are so triggered. Your position is that it's Ok for children to be brainwashed into accepting homosexuality as acceptable behavior. Your position is that over half of the votes of the American people did not count and that Trump is a fascist. Your position is that cutting waste our of the government is somehow fascist. I'm trying to understand your position, but all you can do is regurgitate the thoughts and feelings you've been brainwashed to have by liberal meaning. I'm merely trying to understand why you are susceptible to this brainwashing. Are you gay? Transexual? Dependent on the government? Is there some reason you don't go to a church and make real friends instead of doom scrolling on TikTok all day? Why do you have these thoughts and feelings exactly?

[Entertained_Adult]

@douglas1180 "keep on fighting crime, by letting a career banker, epstein associate tell us how, and believing that a 'career politician' knows less about how to fix crime than a banker does."

[Danzigdawson]

@douglas1180 Homosexuality is normal human behavior, idiot. No one's indoctrinating children into being gay as it's not a choice: it's a sexual orientation. What you're experiencing is a good ole conservative-style moral panic. It always involve children and it always involve "immorality" and, more often than not, sexuality: Heavy metal in the 1980's, the satanic rituals panic, violence in video games, the rainbow parties in the early 2000's, etc.

[Douglas1180]

@Danzigdawson Is calling me an idiot normal human behavior, too? Why are you so pissed off? I bet you don't even understand why because you're so brainwashed. See, in America, we believe in freedom of thought. It's my right to choose what to think about homosexuals, and it's none of your concern what I think about it. The key here is free thinking, which obviously you're not capable of doing.

[Danzigdawson]

@douglas1180 You believe in freedom of thought and yet it's important for you to defund "homosexual" "woke" media because YOU don't think that it's normal human behavior, despite what others think.

That's pretty much why it's normal behavior to call you an idiot, because that's what you are. It's just a fact.

[Douglas1180]

@Danzigdawson So, if I took your tax money and used it for Christian programming, you'd be Ok with that?

[juliaanita]

:) :)

[Danzigdawson]

@douglas1180 It depends. If it's one of many different programs, providing a wide range of world views, that are being financed by the same hypothetical governmental program, then why not? Variety of opinions are always pertinent. Maybe it could make life more meaningful for some people, even if christian crap is harmful to society, in my opinion.

Of course, I'm talking about actual christianity and its core values of charity, acceptance, tolerance, love and pacifism, here. Not the bible belt's hate-filled devious crusade to dominate america.

[Danzigdawson]

@douglas1180 I meant the bible belt shit is harmful to society, along with everything that is not in the gospels. Jesus has never mentionned homosexuality (or sexuality itself, for that matter), let alone hinted that it was a bad thing. Core christians beliefs are the good stuff that christians never seem to adhere to.

[Douglas1180]

So you admit Christian content might be acceptable—as long as it aligns with what YOU think is an acceptable version of Christianity. So who is the fascist now?

You're not defending "a variety of worldviews"—you're defending your worldview, and dismissing others as "crap" or "harmful." And that’s exactly why public funding shouldn’t go to ideological programming, whether woke or religious.

If Christian programming needs to stand on its own two feet in the free market, so should NPR and CBS.

Freedom of thought doesn't mean forced taxpayer funding for indoctrination—whether it's rainbow flags or crucifixes. Let the people choose. That’s REAL diversity. That’s America.

[Danzigdawson]

@douglas1180 @douglas1180 My ideas about christianity are up for discussion. You asked for my opinion about the hypothetical funding of christian programming with taxpayers' money and that's what I gave you. That's it. It's a "what if", vague type of scenario. Am I the sole decider in that scenario or am I just one opinion amongst thousands of others? It's as hypothetical as could be and it was pretty clear from the start that you would use my answer, whatever it might be, to portray as being an hypocrite as if it mattered and made you look good by comparison.

But what we're talking about here is something that has happened in real life. Something that you're apparently celebrating: Trump has indeed cut PBS and NPR's funds because it was declared to be "radical woke propaganda" or whatever. That's not even close to being true, but it doesn't even matter because it's not up for discussion. It's done. It's actual censorship.

The pinnacle of examples that you have chosen to approve of this is Bert & Ernie: two male characters who live together in a children show. That all there is to it and that's reason enough for you to applaud blatant censorship and obscurantism.

[Entertained_Adult]

It isn't just a political bias propaganda. It is much stupider, more disgusting, perverted, and predatory: www.npr.org/.../valentines-day-relationships-gay-animals-nature

[goaded]

"Trump’s first 100 days show him dictating the terms of press coverage − following Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán’s playbook for media control" https://theconversation.com/trumps-first-100-days-show-him-dictating-the-terms-of-press-coverage-following-hungarian-strongman-viktor-orbans-playbook-for-media-control-254050

"Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stood before a captivated audience of conservative activists from the U. S. and laid out his vision for American politics.

The Western media, he declared at a May 2022 special meeting of the Conservative Political Action Committee in Budapest, are “the root of the problem.” The key to conservatives reclaiming power in the United States? “Have your own media.”

Orbán spoke from experience, having systematically reshaped Hungary’s political landscape since 2010, largely by reining in the independent press and replacing it with a loyal media apparatus. His advice, though at odds with democratic values, was warmly embraced by his American admirers, including conservative journalists, podcasters and political leaders."

[DrPepper12]

Are you SERIOUSLY sexualizing Sesame Street puppets?

The CPB - corporation for public broadcasting - is VITAL to rural America without satellites or cable as it's still over the air! Those local stations they support would close without support and no one would do local news, no one would implement the emergency broadcast system, no one would provide educational & family friendly programming.

Why are you so against it? They do an OUTSTANDING job doing what the marketplace can't or won't!!! WTAF?

[BonzoInBitburg]

NPR and PBS compete against for profit media and their funding gives it an unfair business advantage. It would be the same as the government deciding that people need to eat healthier and opened free restaurants that compete against for profit restaurants. I don't care what their politics are but their programming should be ad supported like all the media outlets. If the programming is worth watching, people will watch.

[goaded]

It's more like the government deciding that everyone should get postal deliveries.

[Danny_dan92]

To be fair I grew up in a different period of time. Throughout the 90’s and that’s when I watched pbs.




I distinctly remember the shows then, and comparing them to how they are now is a night and day difference.




When I was a kid I always viewed bert and ernnie as brothers or buddies. Not as lovers, not sure if that in particular is what we see now, however I’m sure they added new characters to the show that play more into the narrative of the lbgt community etc

[ProbablyClueless]

I'm not happy about it, but I recognize that it needed to be done. The reality is that both PBS and NPR are self-proclaimed left-wing media outfits. These are just two more examples for the ever-lengthening list of the government using NGOs to do things that would be illegal for the government to do itself.

[juliaanita]

Illegal? you mean like illegal rendition of people without due process to an El Salvadorean gulag?

[ProbablyClueless]

@juliaanita No, like something actually illegal. A non-resident's presence in the United States is considered a privilege, not a right.

[juliaanita]

and due process is a right, right?

[ProbablyClueless]

@juliaanita Not every government action invokes due process, but yes, due process is a right.

[Tamera952]

Well that’s a loaded question, …but yeah, both PBS & NPR are, and have been, valuable organizations contributing to the greater good, and defunding them, is of course is a bad look for Orange Turd and his toxic as*holeniss trying to shape a culture war, that he has already lost.

[Danny_dan92]

I will say I can definitely agree with this back when say I was a kid. I highly doubt there is no Mr. Rogers in today’s pbs.

I’ve seen little snippets of little kid shows these days and I don’t see the same amount of quality in shaping young kids to be better members of society

[NaultD]

It's like 1% of total funding from the government. Probably not enough to pay for the morning coffee amd donuts. It's more symbolic of a greater good then anything else.

It's a nothing burger as it can get but to show the don administration is just anti good and is out to do evil.

[OneViewpoint]

ah hates me them librul pedalfile peeples always talkin down to me like ahm stoopid. ah don't need no book lernin to be smart. an ah dont need no diploma to wave aroun to prove it neither. so whut iffin I caint reed a menu? I kin feed me n my kin. Gawd is on mah side. Mak Merica Grate Agin.

[juliaanita]

Ya them libruls! ah think iffen I make me up some of my own facts and iffun the prezdent oks it, theys as good as any to beeleeve.

[Lliam]

PBS has some good programming - culture, nature, etc.

But NPR is pure propaganda. It's pro-Democrat/liberal and anti-Republican/conservative.
But its news is exactly like all corporate media sources, pushing the official narrative on every issue. You will never learn anything from NPR other than what the ruling class wants you to believe. It's part of the echo chamber that creates the illusion of consensus that hypnotizes gullible people.

[katiesmuff]

One of the last things in this world that I care about is someone else's orientation. What people do should be the business of them and their families with the rest of us keeping our noses out of it.

[Douglas1180]

Do you really think that way? Or were you force fed lots of Sesame Street as a child?

[katiesmuff]

Yes I do believe that! They hurt nobody, live their own lives just want to be left alone. What did one ever do to harm you. You sound like middle aged man who's daughter or son changed teams and your pissed.

[midnightmoon05]

Our school were sent books about little Sam and Danny playing with dolls. And they are best friends. It’s a series for our first grade classes.
We as a grade trashed those books. Because our principal didn’t get to them.
When I told my secretary about this… she said they have thrown out others with same genre.
1st grade? This is not education… it’s indoctrination.

[Anonymous]

The thing you Muricans bitch over. Sesam street, really. I get why you live in a fucking cesspools where what you do best is hating on each other and murdering each other while being uneducated as fuck about everything in this world. You have a fucking issue that you are sexualising fucking puppets. And yes I use a lot of fucking in this reply but that's how fucking fucked I think your kind is.

[DrPepper12]

TY! Not all of us are like that!! Just 77 million FUCKING morons

[exitseven]

Yes, why should taxpayers have to fund this communist propaganda. ?

[tfan1]

I’m very happy because pbs took all the good shows they had off the air! Especially the British comedies!

[Surely]

If they were using taxpayer money to do one sided journalism. Then they deserve to have to support their own narrative. With their own money.

[MisterWack]

Can’t take it seriously with angry politician in-front of ‘muppets’ lmao

[MisterWack]

Edit: Didn’t know the caption added by the asker was, “Bert and Ernie are gay”.
Abraham Lincoln actually had a male friend he would share a room with, a bed with, and spending time with in close quarters so if that is enough to make you gay then sorry to break it to GOP Party of Lincoln, you are the party of GAY. At least according to this outlandish post.
Being a homosexual makes you gay, if they aren’t dating or having relations then they are not gay.
American football has men tackling & touching each other and forbids women from playing…. Wrestling is two men getting handsy until one dominates the other where they must tap out / submit…. See? Not gay. Right?

[DrPepper12]

Narrator: "In fact, the GOP was gay...

[MisterWack]

@DrPepper12 that is funny, like imagining a narrator simply going, “you’re gay” is funny to me lmao though I won’t insult the party platform here since there is a lot I could say politically about them which I’d rather say in a different question rather than weaponizing sexuality.
Again really funny, just not me is all.

[RedInnocent69]

As if anyone bitchingbsbout woke media ever watched an entire newscast, let alone on PBS or NPR

[DrPepper12]

Exactly!!!

[Dargil]

I see no reason in the modern age for the Federal government to spend taxpayer money on broadcast media. Should we support Infowars too?

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

Yes. Anything targeting small kids with BS I support being cut off.

[DrPepper12]

Well MAGA is out then!!

[Panthero80]

Bert and Ernie are roommates. I had a male roommate and am not gay. What's the big deal? It's like the idiotic fans who claim Kirk and Spock are gay lovers.

[midnightmoon05]

Yes. I’m fine with that.

[beefcakebradybatson]

I want Trump house organs lecturing me... NOT !!!

[beefcakebradybatson]

How' bout when Trump house organs propagandize you?

[Dongie]

I like seeing the liberal get scorched. ☄️🔥

[Bricealan]

@douglas1180 Glad to see it.

[fish5505_87]

No, I love the MAGA Cool-Aid!

[Pterodon]

I’m glad

[Heusus]

I'm not happy