COULDN'T HAPPEN TO A MORE HUMBLE BUNCH OF GUYS – AT 9:32 A.M. ET:  Everywhere George Soros goes, he spreads a little misery.  There really should be a musical based on him, or at least a song, like "Georgie, the Red-thinking Money Trader."  I love the tune already.  I wish Perry Como were alive.

But now a Soros "gift" may cause real grief for the recipient, especially as that recipient is National Public Radio.  Republicans have NPR in their sights, and I hope their sights are accurate.  From The Politico:

National Public Radio is facing the most serious threat to the "public" part of its identity since Newt Gingrich’s days as speaker, thanks to a resurgent, tea-party-inspired Republican House with budget cuts on its mind and recent stumbles that have left the broadcaster vulnerable to its ideological critics on the right.

By far the greatest and most galvanizing of these issues was the firing of Juan Williams. But some Republicans also are seething over NPR’s announcement of a $1.8 million grant from the Open Society Foundations, founded by financier George Soros, just a few days before Williams was fired.

Republicans, such as Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Reps. Darrell Issa of California and Eric Cantor of Virginia — as well as conservative commentators, such as Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck — have cited the grant in their calls to strip federal funding from NPR.

Budget hawks like Cantor say the grant proves NPR doesn’t need to rely on government money. But the culture warriors, like DeMint and Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), go much further — arguing that NPR’s acceptance of the grant is proof of a leftist agenda.

COMMENT:  I am shocked, shocked, that anyone would think NPR has a leftist agenda.  But it does.  At a time of economic stress, there's a real question as to whether NPR should receive federal funds at all.  Its acceptance of a gift from the agenda-driven Soros makes it clear that NPR has other means of financing.  The federal government might consider availing itself of the opportunity to opt out.  The money is better spent elsewhere.

December 13, 2010