OPB Supports Foi Gras!!! Please call them to tell them what you think about that.

While they do not answer their phones on the weekends, you can nevertheless leave a message now.

Even better, I think their pledge drive is coming up. If I'm not mistaken, it's right after KBOO's, which is currently on-going.

Rick Steves is definitely not a "classist ass". According to his travel philosophy that is published in all of his books: "Our Earth is home to nearly 6 billion equally important people...Regrettably, there are forces in our society that want you dumbed down for their convenience". (This sounds a lot like what one would read on indymedia to me.)

While I don't think that he should be nominated for sainthood or anything, Mr. Steves is waaaaay more like the typical indymedia reader in his viewpoints than he is like the typical American. He has donated $1 million to provide housing for homeless mothers and their children. He is extremely supportive of the rights of the individual and discussions involving different viewpoints. He is not a "classist ass" by any stretch of the imagination. Check out this link:  http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/activism/pathways.htm

In addition, because OPB has a television show that features about 3 minutes of footage regarding foie gras and the gavage, doesn't mean that "OPB Supports Foi (sic) gras". They are broadcasting a show that has a brief segment on it. OPB also shows "Charlie Rose", which features a wide range of guests. If Mr. Rose has Warren Buffet on his show does OPB support investing in the stock market? If Mr. Rose has the Dali Lama, does OPB support Tibetan independence? OPB has Motorweek. I suppose that they support driving a Porsche. Oh wait, OPB also has "Grannies on Safari", so I suppose that OPB supports elderly tourism as well. OPB has "Oregon Art Beat", so they support making clay pots.

OPB has the right to broadcast whatever they want. If you want to not donate to OPB because they had this show on, feel free, but without OPB, our culture and collective knowledge and understanding would be worse off.

Rick Steves not classist??? Have you ever watched his show???

The man spends his time bouncing around trendy resorts and five star hotels in Europe, sampling "delicacies" like foie gras, caviar, and other grossly over-priced status plugs. He rides around in limos and samples "cuisine" rather than food. To make it even better, he recommends his trendy little destinations to his viewers, as if we were all the sort of ritzy folk who would eat caviar at $400 an ounce and foie gras at the cost of our souls.

Oh. Does he give tax-deductible charity money to homeless people now and then too? Well, how perfectly marvelous. Let them eat cake.

And OPB running ads and then airing a show in which Rick Steves "savors the delicacy of foie gras" is most certainly supporting cruelty against animals.

If Rick interviewed someone who said foie gras was cool, and then asked pointed questions suggesting otherwise, the comparison to Charlie Rose would be closer. But while we're on that subject, yes, Charlie Rose is classist too. How many times has he ever interviewed a homeless woman or man? A radical? Rose is simply PBS in microcosm: Wealthy people are given favor over poor people, white people are given favor over people of color, men are given favor over women. So yes, the fact that Rose is more likely to interview Warren Buffet than Israel Bayer does speak volumes. As does the fact that Rick Steves is more likely to eat foie gras in Dordogne than vegan quinoa in the Park Blocks.

I know, a lot of liberals find PBS to be sacred. They don't want to hear that there is nearly as much corporate corruption and greed and classism there as anywhere. But one has only to watch an episode of McLaughlin Group to get the picture. They have a panel of vicious, right wing, flaming fascists on there pretending to represent "both sides" of a multi-faceted political spectrum. They call their approach "balanced." The couch is heavily weighted in the direction of the status quo and the interests of the elite, though. On one side, we have zealous, half-crazed, mouth-foaming terrorist, racist, evangelist, and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan. On the other side of their abbreviated spectrum, we have weak-willed, slow-witted, boring, middle of the road Eleanor Clift allegedly representing "the left." The left??? What left? Certainly not the radical left. Between the two of them, we have a smattering of wealthy white guys pretending to be neutral but really all leaning and falling right. This is the true face of PBS. Yes, every now and then it's illuminated by a show that is different, cool, and ground-breaking. (Bill Moyers springs to mind.) But for the most part, it's corporate media light. Don't be blind to that.

I watch PBS from time to time, but let's face it: Plugging Rick Steve's jaunt over to a foie gras factory is just wrong. They should know it. I'm planning on calling during their pledge drive to let them know.

The Kenny Giambalvos (chef-BlueHour) of this world are going to serve Foie Gras along side bacon wrapped sea scallops (not-joking) as long as mentally warped mortals on this Earth are demanding to be served that junk.

I assume the Bruce Careys (owner-BlueHour) of this world are going to drop relatively hefty sums of their "easy come" duckets to cover what their asses have made. The pseudo-elite might attempt propagandizing the Portland public through; where else? Public Access!, not privy to the insight that the demographic who watch(ed) nature and science programs on OPB are mostly aware that Foie Gras is made of a tortured, force fed waterfowl's liver. They already took a side on the issue: "We're totally appalled & outraged."

The Portland Activist Webwork is not letting this one slip through. The phones will ring and the inbox overload will take days to scour for any supportive sentiments, let alone contributions.

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