Locator: 48756APPLE.
2.35 billion active Apple devices worldwide.
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The Book Page
Operation Paperclip: The Secret intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America, Annie Jacobson, c. 2014, 940.54 JAC. Grapevine, TX, library, August 1, 2025.
- 1945: temporary
- 1946: permanent
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PBS
Updates
August 2, 2025: this whole CPB / PBS / NPR story gets curiouser and curiouser. PBS and NPR aren't going anywhere. Link here.
Only CPB is shutting down. Which accounted for only 1% of total "public broadcast" funding by the US government. Exactly what was CPB doing? I have my hunch(es).
CPB doesn't own any PBS / NPR outlets -- they are locally own and managed. A few/some/many/most are doing quite well financially. Some are doing so well, they are saying they will help cover costs for PBS / NPR stations that might be struggling financially.
We'll never know the true financial truth. But it speaks volumes when our local NPR stations here in north Texas, the DFW metroplex, tells us that our donations will also go to struggling PBS / NPR stations in other parts of the country. The big question, why did George Soros step up?
Original Post
For the very, very few Americans that actually watch content on PBS, this must come as quite a surprise: that PBS could not survive without federal government financial support. Link here.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting said Friday it would begin winding down its operations after its funding was eliminated by the Trump administration and Congress.
The CPB is a private nonprofit founded in 1967 that serves as a steward of funding for public media. It provides funds to 1,500 local public radio and television stations as well as PBS and NPR. It employs about 100 people.
President Trump signed an executive order in May instructing the organization to cease federal funding for PBS and NPR. In June, the House approved a White House request to claw back $1.1 billion in already appointed federal funds from the CPB. The Senate Appropriations Committee's 2026 appropriations bill eliminated funding for the CPB for the first time in over 50 years.
So, deeper.
First, this screenshot: superficially the numbers don't make sense ... $535 million; $1.1 billion; $9 billion.
So what is it? $535 million? $1.1 billion? $9 billion?
Here's what NPR is reporting, link here:
So, there it is. A paltry $535 million annually to sustain "public broadcasting."
What's with the $1.1 billion and then the $9 billion?
Particularly the $9 billion, the screenshot: why in the world is NPR conflating (is that the right word), PBS (CPB) with foreign aid. I guess $9 billion gives the story more gravitas.
But now the $1.1 billion makes sense; that's for two years, and so $535 million annually.
Are you telling me something "so important" as CPB/NPR/PBS costing $500 million annually can't be made up by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, et al? Oh, give me a break.
But what's the "real, overall budget" for CPB/NPR/PBS -- I'm sure we'll never get the real numbers, but we can start here:
Finally, some better answers:
So, CPB / NPR / PBS gets somewhere between 1% and 15% of its funding from the federal government based on whether we are talking about "corporate" headquarters or "member stations."
I assume much/most of the PBS costs are associated with buying content from producers, many/much/most of whom were from Britain. Certainly other streaming networks -- Network, MAX (HBO), Apple TV+, Peacock, Hulu/Disney, to just name a few-- would be more than happy to pick up some of that content, and for them, one would think that $535 is a pittance. After all, CBS was losing $40 million a year on Stephen Colbert.
Tonight, I'm watching movies on TCM -- commercial free -- how can TCM do it when PBS can't. Fundign for TCM:
With regard to PBS, something simply does not make sense. Somehow we're not getting the full story. Was PBS a scam all along?
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Bonus Book Page
Dietrich & Riefenstahl: Hollywood, Berlin and a Century in Two Lives, Karin Wieland, translated by Shelley Frisch, c. 2011. 791.43 WIE, Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX.
What an incredible find. It's a bit hard to follow because of two biographies written in one book and it's a translated version which may also contribute to the difficulty.
In the wiki entry on Dietrich, Riefenstahl is not mentioned, nor is Marlene Dietrich mentioned in the wiki entry of Riefenstahl.
Notes, if any, here.
Other reviews of books about these two:
- The New Yorker, October 12, 2015.
- The Guardian, October 24, 2015.
- Mike's Take On The Movies, April 24, 2017.
