You have a point, Bob, and you too, Pat... I wasn't actually thinking of Mac -- because I agree whole-heartedly with your praise of him -- but apologies to him as well. If he was offended, I am sorry... but I doubt he was.

No, I am very sorry that I let some of my disgusted feelings from other areas spill over, and I did lump people together. It was that video -- that unfair, destructive racist piece of work, that seemed to collect all the nasty cliches of the last few years and shove them all in our faces -- in the service of "humor." I am a devotee of satire and parody, but this sort of nasty stuff, IMO, is just purely destructive. And don't let anybody tell you it's not fundamentally racist, as Jimmy Carter recently suggested. The video starts with a dust bowl photo of a starving white family, and quickly cuts to a beautiful steaming plate of ... soul food. The message is thinly disguised but clear. In the words of David Duke from a few years ago: "Wake up white people." This, IMO, is completely irresponsible, being fed at the top by corporate money and political ambition and greed, angling toward the fall elections. Oh, I know, the guy who made the video was probably fueled by resentment that he had lost his job, but we have no idea why that was. It seems a little silly -- even dumb -- to blame Obama. And that's just the first ten seconds. I was waiting for the crosses on the lawn. It was honestly disappointing to see Mac support that video. And remembering your extremely nasty and completely unnecessary rant against global warming a short while ago, yes, I had you in mind -- not to mention Peter Green. (Insert smiley here.)

I agree with Pat Marr... nothing can ever be completely unbiased. But I would like to think that the actual purpose of tax dollars is to provide a relatively sane and balanced forum for seeking reconciliation and the truth, and I honestly think that NPR/PBS strives to do that, and succeeds pretty well, despite what you think. I don't really understand, beyond providing news, what you think their "agenda" might be, but you sound very sure of yourself. Maybe you can explain it in a private message. They are not MSNBC (or FOXNews), and I do find it personally offensive to pretend that they are because I have indeed given them some personal funds over the years.

One other point. Right now, feelings are high, polarization is rampant, and people are leaving office, throwing up their hands in disgust about what is going on. I keep imagining that Obama is gonna just quit, saying, "I can't deal with this sh*t, I'm goin' back to Chicago." The government seems paralyzed and there's plenty of blame to go around. Let's not fight. I remember how unpleasant this forum got during the 2008 election cycle, and I would hate for that to happen again.

This place is for music, very valuable to me, and all of us, and when these flaming things occur it just turns people off. I know I am gonna give it a rest for awhile. Along the same lines, I am struggling NOT to listen to news lately. It's all just too discouraging. Boogie on. Now, I have to get back to work.... Obama hasn't yet stolen my job.

Although I will not be able to give up Jon Stewart, I know.

Brad -- My FAWM