Court reaffirms CPB's independence

[ok walters]

Lemme answer/clear up/clarify some things.

WE cover all that counts and then some.. there is extremely little to no population outside the towns. We have signals runnign 25-50 watts form 2nd story roofs of buildings that cover all that matters.

I understand that there is nothing outside of the towns and your system is the best way to deliver FM radio to those areas. I would imagine it is a pretty interesting system feeding those remote repeaters.

Cell phone service is non existant in some villages, 2g in others, wireless emergency alerts are voluntary and do not work over 2 g networks.

So there is no telephone service at all in some of these towns? If so, why isn't two way communication a priority?

Some people dont have, dont want, dont need internet.
To upgrade all the villages to at least 3g from 2g or give 3g to people who dont have it cost and give them starlink would cost WAY WAY more then that CPB funding..10x PLUS.
And none of that would provide the local info that +KSKO.. in particular local observations/discussions of weather trends,being bale to analyze information and provide interpretation of it.

Incorrect - not even close really. In the 2020 census, McGrath had 301 residents living in 112 households, or almost 3 people per household. This would give us 400 households in the entire coverage area. Basic Residential 150 kbs Starlink is $80 per month for unlimited non-priority data, and the equipment is currently free with a 12 month commitment. With no discount for buying 400 at one time and on a government bid, and no allowance for not everybody wanting it, and no allowance for people already paying for it saving money, it would cost $384,000 per year to provide every household, in town and not, with individual Starlink service, or about 4-5 times what the CPB gives you. Two way everything - audio and video - and every radio station that streams - including the public radio stations and NPR everyone seems to like so much. The critical local programming from KSKO could be delivered right through that Starlink connection - keep the transmitters if you want but they and their expense could be eliminated over time if everyone that wanted it had internet service.

 

[ok walters]

Essential services like education and health care and managing streets and traffic lights are better served by the government, but with extreme oversight. But if you look at Mexico, where there is universal health care,, those wishing to pick their own providers and private hospitals pay vastly less than in the U.S.

We don't want Canadian or British health care, where you can die waiting for an appointment. There are a half dozen neighbors on my street who have second homes here and they pay for U.S. insurance so they can get all their care done here, so bad is the service in Canada. Canadian hospitals are not like what we see in "Transplant" (a well told story, by the way).

In other words, the free care in Canada is so bad that it makes sense to pay for it elsewhere.

 

[umfan]

While some folks may lose jobs after this which is always sad, the sun will still rise in the morning and people will still be able find left centered, moderate, or right centered programming somewhere else on the radio dial or online. Let's stop this silly notion that NPR is the only unbiased source of truth in our country or the rest of the world.

Well stated.

 

[umfan]

What we know is that on average, only about 7% of people who listen to public radio actually subscribe.

That says much about how much it was really valued by those it purported to serve.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I understand that there is nothing outside of the towns and your system is the best way to deliver FM radio to those areas. I would imagine it is a pretty interesting system feeding those remote repeaters.

So there is no telephone service at all in some of these towns? If so, why isn't two way communication a priority?

Incorrect - not even close really. In the 2020 census, McGrath had 301 residents living in 112 households, or almost 3 people per household. This would give us 400 households in the entire coverage area. Basic Residential 150 kbs Starlink is $80 per month for unlimited non-priority data, and the equipment is currently free with a 12 month commitment. With no discount for buying 400 at one time and on a government bid, and no allowance for not everybody wanting it, and no allowance for people already paying for it saving money, it would cost $384,000 per year to provide every household, in town and not, with individual Starlink service, or about 4-5 times what the CPB gives you. Two way everything - audio and video - and every radio station that streams - including the public radio stations and NPR everyone seems to like so much. The critical local programming from KSKO could be delivered right through that Starlink connection - keep the transmitters if you want but they and their expense could be eliminated over time if everyone that wanted it had internet service.

I never said landlines werent available, but they can be problem prone liek the regular failures of cell phone service. Cell phone service, in the villages that have it, is hwoever even dicier then landlines, for whatever reason. Its all satellite backhaul. You brought up improved telephone service and cell phones is where its really needed, improvement that is.

Some people out here don't want or need internet........and we dont have to provide tech support to them, to listen...... theyd be coming to us when they have a starlink problem because theres no number to call

as antiquated as you think radio it, it is the best msot reliable option out here to serve people. even the people who have internet out here, listen on the radio, they dont stream it.

Why should ksko supply everyone with internet and starlink?

This has worked just fine as it is for 44 years

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I hear good things about the UK system from friends in England, too. One has just undergone several rounds of treatment for cancer, has nothing but praise for his doctors and is doing very well. All anecdotal, just like David's, but David is predisposed to pooh-pooh (not poo poo; that's excrement) anything associated with the corrupt Latin American regimes he's worked and lived under.

oops, wrong kind of poo pooh.. lol

Are there issues form time to time with the UK and Canada health care system? Sure, but nowhere near the collosal screwing with a splintered paddle and no lube we deal with all the time.

Heck, its free or low cost in australia, they even have countrywide medivacs there that are.. free. (at least thjats the way they made it seem with the RDS)

 

[umfan]

We'll see how the courts view that.

How they view what? Congress duly passed, and the President signed a bill into law eliminating CPB funding. The judiciary cannot compel Congress to appropriate money.

There's not going to be any court decision reversing this, it is done.

 

[101tm]

There's not going to be any court decision reversing this, it is done.

Thankfully.

 

[Delete My Account]

I know plenty of Canadians and UK residents and the little secret about it that people criticizing it don't mention is that those complaining about "delays" in care or seeking it out of pocket in other countries are doing non-emergency or non-essential care. The working class people I know in those countries get their essentials taken care of and aren't thrown into bankruptcy or in life-long debt should an emergency happen.

Are those systems perfect? No. Do they work for the average person, who isn't a second home owner? They do. And that's the majority of people.Paying for essential medical care shouldn't be its own catastrophic life event. And let's not even get into how much money is saved by preventative care.

And corrupt and incompetent is just as prevalent in the private sector as in the government. I've never bought this "government as uniquely evil" construct in a nation where myself or any other person of age could run for elected office. Our government is as good (and as bad) as the voters themselves.

 

[Delete My Account]

How they view what? Congress duly passed, and the President signed a bill into law eliminating CPB funding. The judiciary cannot compel Congress to appropriate money.

There's not going to be any court decision reversing this, it is done.

And you think, given the relaxed restrictions on executive power that the next administration can't undo it?

 

[gr8oldies]

Health care? OK, waiting for an appointment might be annoying, but at least treatment for a serious disease or injury won't bankrupt you in countries with nationalized medicine, unlike in the U.S., where billion-dollar corporations compete for the privilege of fighting you for every penny of coverage you beg them for, then increase premiums every year.

But if we don't owe a hospital $100,000, are we even American?

 

[gr8oldies]

I know plenty of Canadians and UK residents and the little secret about it that people criticizing it don't mention is that those complaining about "delays" in care or seeking it out of pocket in other countries are doing non-emergency or non-essential care. The working class people I know in those countries get their essentials taken care of and aren't thrown into bankruptcy or in life-long debt should an emergency happen.

Are those systems perfect? No. Do they work for the average person, who isn't a second home owner? They do. And that's the majority of people.Paying for essential medical care shouldn't be its own catastrophic life event. And let's not even get into how much money is saved by preventative care.

And corrupt and incompetent is just as prevalent in the private sector as in the government. I've never bought this "government as uniquely evil" construct in a nation where myself or any other person of age could run for elected office. Our government is as good (and as bad) as the voters themselves.

Everything being privatized means corporations can raise prices at will, and since consumer protections of any kind is Communism, that's just the way it is.

 

[gr8oldies]

In other words, the free care in Canada is so bad that it makes sense to pay for it elsewhere.

We LOVE medical bankruptcy!

 

[cc333]

And you think, given the relaxed restrictions on executive power that the next administration can't undo it?

If there is a next administration.

It has always been a forgone conclusion that there will be someone after the person in office now, who will step down at 12 noon on 1/20/2029 after their successor was duly and fairly elected, but we can't take that for granted with what has been going on (teasing about a third term, etc).

c

 

[ok walters]

We LOVE medical bankruptcy!

You get what you pay for. Free care is exactly that.

 

[ok walters]

But if we don't owe a hospital $100,000, are we even American?

Obamacare is basically guaranteed low cost or free health insurance that has been available for more than 10 years - funded by the government. If you owe $100,000 to a hospital when that is available, then we either have a personal responsibility issue or a very sick individual despite hundreds of thousands in care or both.

 

[gr8oldies]

Obamacare is basically guaranteed low cost or free health insurance that has been available for more than 10 years - funded by the government. If you owe $100,000 to a hospital when that is available, then we either have a personal responsibility issue or a very sick individual despite hundreds of thousands in care or both.

Which Republicans want to do away with. Of course if my kid gets cancer it's only because I insufficiently used my almighty bootstraps.

 

[ok walters]

Which Republicans want to do away with. Of course if my kid gets cancer it's only because I insufficiently used my almighty bootstraps.

It is available now and has been for over ten years. If you went without insurance it was by choice.

 

[KeithE4]

Obamacare is basically guaranteed low cost or free health insurance that has been available for more than 10 years - funded by the government. If you owe $100,000 to a hospital when that is available, then we either have a personal responsibility issue or a very sick individual despite hundreds of thousands in care or both.

I don't know if it's gone down in recent years, but between 2017, when I took Social Security at 62, and 2020, when I turned 65 and got on Medicare, I was paying over $300/month for Obamacare just to pay cash for the first $7000. Fortunately, I didn't need it for anything other than COVID shots.

 

[ok walters]

I never said landlines werent available, but they can be problem prone liek the regular failures of cell phone service. Cell phone service, in the villages that have it, is hwoever even dicier then landlines, for whatever reason. Its all satellite backhaul. You brought up improved telephone service and cell phones is where its really needed, improvement that is.

Starlink does that among other things.

Some people out here don't want or need internet........and we dont have to provide tech support to them, to listen...... theyd be coming to us when they have a starlink problem because theres no number to call

The "people are too dumb" argument. Don't improve their lives because they aren't smart enough to handle it.

as antiquated as you think radio it, it is the best msot reliable option out here to serve people. even the people who have internet out here, listen on the radio, they dont stream it.

But they could stream it if they had internet

Why should ksko supply everyone with internet and starlink?

This has worked just fine as it is for 44 years

Not sure how KSKO would be supplying anyone with anything, as we are comparing using the CPB funds for KSKO against what we could fund if it all went toward internet. I would bet it would end up being about twice as much, once discounts, people who don't want it, and local hot spot usage are included. Payphones and pagers worked fine for 44 years too - how many are left now?