oldguycrusty<p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@charlotteclymer" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>charlotteclymer</span></a></span> </p><p>This. <br><a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fascism</span></a> is here. Now. </p><p>This is what <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Totalitarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Totalitarianism</span></a> looks like. </p><p>This is <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Autocracy</span></a> using <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/capitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>capitalism</span></a> to silence discourse because <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Oligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Oligarchy</span></a> fears an informed <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/CivilSociety" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CivilSociety</span></a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Kleptocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Kleptocracy</span></a> wants you to be <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/ignorant" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ignorant</span></a> and <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/intimidated" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>intimidated</span></a> and <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/miserable" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>miserable</span></a>. They want you isolated.</p><p>The <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Nazi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Nazi</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/ChristoFascists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ChristoFascists</span></a> are terrified of <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/laughter" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>laughter</span></a> at their own expense because they are incapable of self awareness.</p><p>This is what the fall of <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/American" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>American</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Democracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Democracy</span></a> looks like.</p>
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#autocracy
51 posts · 14 participants · 4 posts today
Max Gross<p>Australia's servile position as a base for the US military sets us up for war with China to protect US interests: from B52 bombers and US troops in Northern Australia to US nuclear submarines in Perth. <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/China" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>China</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Australia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Australia</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/auspol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>auspol</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/USA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USA</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Epstein" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Epstein</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Vance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Vance</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Thiel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Thiel</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/TechBros" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TechBros</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/TrumpCrimeFamily" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TrumpCrimeFamily</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Treason" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Treason</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/BatshitCrazy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BatshitCrazy</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/MAGA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MAGA</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Obscurantism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Obscurantism</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/ChristoFascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ChristoFascism</span></a> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-24/north-australia-nt-us-defence-expansion-china-tensions-concerns/104376384" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">abc.net.au/news/2024-09-24/nor</span><span class="invisible">th-australia-nt-us-defence-expansion-china-tensions-concerns/104376384</span></a></p>
DrALJONES<p>The billionaires called it an "excess of democracy", & they worked out how to defeat it:</p><p>THE PLAN</p><p>In 1975, Samuel P. Huntington said the "excess of democracy" was caused by mass education in the 1960s.</p><p>It followed that education had to be de-democratised. Along with the media.</p><p><a href="https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/an-excess-of-democracy-how-corporations-killed-the-campus,15165" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">independentaustralia.net/polit</span><span class="invisible">ics/politics-display/an-excess-of-democracy-how-corporations-killed-the-campus,15165</span></a> </p><p>HOW IT'S GOING</p><p>2025: SCOTUS complies:</p><p><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2025/7/15/headlines/scotus_greenlights_dismantling_of_education_department_unleashing_untold_harm" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">democracynow.org/2025/7/15/hea</span><span class="invisible">dlines/scotus_greenlights_dismantling_of_education_department_unleashing_untold_harm</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Plutocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Plutocracy</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TrilateralCommission" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TrilateralCommission</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USPol</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/PowellMemo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PowellMemo</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/EuroPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EuroPol</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Education</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Racism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Racism</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Autocracy</span></a> .</p>
Max Gross<p>Despite all the RWNJ sword-rattling, most countries do NOT officially recognise Taiwan as a sovereign state, and that includes the USA and Australia. <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/China" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>China</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Australia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Australia</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/auspol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>auspol</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/USA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USA</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Epstein" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Epstein</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Vance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Vance</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Thiel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Thiel</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/TechBros" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TechBros</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/TrumpCrimeFamily" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TrumpCrimeFamily</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Treason" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Treason</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/BatshitCrazy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BatshitCrazy</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/MAGA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MAGA</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/Obscurantism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Obscurantism</span></a> <a href="https://theblower.au/tags/ChristoFascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ChristoFascism</span></a> <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-that-recognize-taiwan" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">worldpopulationreview.com/coun</span><span class="invisible">try-rankings/countries-that-recognize-taiwan</span></a></p>
aburtch<p>Every CEO ever…</p><p><a href="https://triangletoot.party/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> applauded <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/CBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CBS</span></a>’ decision to end “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Colbert" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Colbert</span></a> has led the late-night network competition for years. CBS has said “<a href="https://masto.ai/tags/LateShow" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LateShow</span></a>” was canceled for financial reasons, not for its <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/content" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>content</span></a>. But the timing—3 days after Colbert criticized a settlement between Trump & <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Paramount" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Paramount</span></a> as the CBS parent company seeks approval for a merger—led senators to publicly question the motives of the cancellation.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a> <br><a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-7-18-2025#00000198-1e16-dba9-adfd-5e3f38390000" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">apnews.com/live/donald-trump-n</span><span class="invisible">ews-updates-7-18-2025#00000198-1e16-dba9-adfd-5e3f38390000</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>Bill Goodman, a former longtime host of “Kentucky Tonight” on KET-TV, which broadcasts statewide from Lexington, recalled watching a recent episode of his old show that devoted nearly an entire hour to an in-depth conversation about <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Medicaid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Medicaid</span></a> cuts. The guests engaged in reasoned & intricate arguments from opposite sides of the national debate.</p><p>“You don’t find that on commercial television,” he said.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicMedia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicMedia</span></a> supporters say the commercial forces that made television a “vast wasteland” still exist in an era of <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/socialmedia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>socialmedia</span></a> algorithms that reward <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/content" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>content</span></a> that attracts the most likes & shares. That’s rarely the hyperlocal issues or deep policy discussions that are the bread & butter of local public television & radio stations, which have their own locally produced programs that run alongside the national shows of <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PBS</span></a> & <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NPR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NPR</span></a>.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>The explosion in <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/media" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>media</span></a> sources is what Capitol Hill <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> & their allies point to in justifying this year’s rescission package.</p><p>“With cellphones & internet & all that, I think the ability of people almost any part of the country to access all kinds of information sources is, you know, greater than it’s ever been,” Jeff Miron, a VP of Cato Institute, a libertarian research group, said this week—on none other than <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NPR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NPR</span></a>.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>“He was unpleasantly surprised that a lot of conservative politicians from red states resisted,” said Steve Oney, the author of “On Air,” a book on the history of <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NPR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NPR</span></a>. “In their communities, their <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicRadio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicRadio</span></a> & <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicTelevision" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicTelevision</span></a> stations were seen as assets.”</p><p>Now, though, Oney said, “people get their news from anywhere they want, so there’s not the critical-mass support back in red-state America for <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a>.”</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>But in the years that followed, the strength of local <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicTelevision" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicTelevision</span></a> & <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicRadio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicRadio</span></a> stations in conservative states was often what saved the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/federal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>federal</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/funding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>funding</span></a>.</p><p>In 1995, <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NewtGingrich" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NewtGingrich</span></a>, then the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/House" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>House</span></a> speaker, made one of the most aggressive moves since <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Nixon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Nixon</span></a> to “zero out” federal support for <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicMedia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicMedia</span></a> before he found it politically untenable.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>Nixon’s admin didn’t follow through. Instead, it toggled between pressure on the independent Corporation for <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> to do its bidding & a plan to push more of its budget down to local stations — which, <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Nixon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Nixon</span></a> aides believed, tended to have more conservative management than the national <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/networks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>networks</span></a> run out of New York & Washington.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>His speech was followed by an influential study on “<a href="https://masto.ai/tags/EducationalTelevision" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EducationalTelevision</span></a>” from the Carnegie Corporation. It concluded that the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/FederalGovernment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FederalGovernment</span></a> should finance a system of stations to produce programming that was “of human interest & importance” without regard for the free-market incentives of ratings or ad revenue. The Johnson admin then did just that, in line with its <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/GreatSociety" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GreatSociety</span></a> program.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>Its creation was spurred along by the declaration of Newton N. Minow, chairman of the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/FCC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FCC</span></a> during the Kennedy admin, that the competition for ratings & ad dollars had turned TV into a “vast wasteland” of “game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood & thunder.” He beseeched broadcasters to “make a conscientious, good-faith effort to serve the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicInterest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicInterest</span></a>” with higher-quality fare.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>But the willingness of congressional <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> to vote for a complete cutoff of federal money to <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> also says a lot about sweeping changes in <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/media" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>media</span></a>, & views of mainstream <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/journalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>journalism</span></a>, since <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Congress" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Congress</span></a> passed the 1967 <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/law" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>law</span></a> that led to the creation of <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PBS</span></a> & <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NPR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NPR</span></a>.</p><p>The ascendant ideology of the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> era is the opposite of the one that spawned the modern public broadcasting system.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>Markey argued that <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a>’s moves against <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PBS</span></a> & <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NPR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NPR</span></a> were part of the admin’s larger campaign to undermine mainstream <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/journalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>journalism</span></a>. It is in line, he said, with Trump’s lawsuits against the major broadcast <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/networks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>networks</span></a> & suggestions that the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/FCC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FCC</span></a> might punish their stations over accusations of *liberal bias*.</p><p>“It’s all part of a plan to intimidate & control the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/media" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>media</span></a> & how they cover his presidency,” he said.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a>’s threat to support primary challenges against any <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> who might try to block the cuts all but guaranteed they would go through this time.</p><p>“Republicans who supported public <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/media" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>media</span></a> for their entire careers are voting to kill it, & there is only one reason: Donald Trump,” said Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, who has been at the center of efforts to protect <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicMedia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicMedia</span></a> for decades. “When Trump sets a loyalty test today, Republicans fall in line.”</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NPR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NPR</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PBS</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>Some were afraid of being accused of avicide (for “killing Big Bird” of “Sesame Street”), while others appreciated their local public stations (& the airtime they personally received) —always stopping the party short of turning their threats against <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PBS</span></a> & <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NPR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NPR</span></a> into <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/law" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>law</span></a>.</p><p>That they have finally been able to do it now, voting on Friday to claw back $1.1 billion in public broadcasting funds, on one level speaks to the power of <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a>.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>Conservatives Get the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PBS</span></a> & <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/NPR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NPR</span></a> Cuts They’ve Wanted for Decades</p><p>The cuts speak to <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a>’s grip on his party but also to the sweeping changes in <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/media" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>media</span></a>.</p><p>They tried under Ronald Reagan & George H.W. Bush & George W. Bush. Newt Gingrich gave it a go when he controlled the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/House" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>House</span></a>, & Bob Dole did, too, when he held power in the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Senate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Senate</span></a>.</p><p>But for 5 decades, <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> failed time & again to choke off <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/federal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>federal</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/funding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>funding</span></a> for <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/PublicBroadcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PublicBroadcasting</span></a>.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a> <br><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/business/media/npr-pbs-funding-cuts-republicans.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">nytimes.com/2025/07/18/busines</span><span class="invisible">s/media/npr-pbs-funding-cuts-republicans.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Bolsonaro" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Bolsonaro</span></a> Ordered to Wear Ankle Monitor Before Trial</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Brazil" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Brazil</span></a>’s Supreme Court ordered <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/JairBolsonaro" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>JairBolsonaro</span></a>, the former president, to stay home most hours, defying <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a>’s demands that charges against Bolsonaro be dropped [why wouldn’t they ignore Trump? He has no say in how they run their country!]</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/law" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>law</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/geopolitics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geopolitics</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/coup" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>coup</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/insurrection" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>insurrection</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/autocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autocracy</span></a> <br><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/world/americas/brazil-president-bolsonaro-ankle-monitor.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">nytimes.com/2025/07/18/world/a</span><span class="invisible">mericas/brazil-president-bolsonaro-ankle-monitor.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare</span></a></p>
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