PBS is primarily (85%) privately funded. It will continue to produce shows like Masterpiece, Nova, Frontline, and Sesame Street and people in places like Boston or Philadelphia will continue to benefit from them.

What public funding does is give viewers in poorer, more rural areas access to the same information that wealthy cities enjoy. It pays for access for people who don't have it.

By opting out, Arkansas public broadcasting saves 2.5 million dollars in dues, sure. But it loses access to about $300 million dollars in privately funded programming annually.

That's not even vaguely what I said, so it's unclear if this is some kind of language issue or the result of a disability, but I'm just feeling worse and worse for you. You somehow believe the cold war was about communism?

I'd say Microsoft won that war, and everyone else lost.

Well, I'll have to admit, I didn't have "learning that someone on Slashdot believes that the Cold War was a myth" on my bingo card for today.

Seriously, the idea that we know all the practically important physics there is is the kind of thing only somebody who's never done science or engineering would believe.

Wow, I had no idea you were dumb enough to fall for the Red Scare.

Sounds like some good learnin', but Republicans, "Conservatives" and MAGA don't really want a well-rounded, well-educated electorate who can think for themselves, especially if it would disadvantage those in charge.

You seem to be confusing "wanting to get rid of communists" with "wanting their countries to be poor and dangerous".

Industrial R&D is important, but it is in a distrant third place with respect to importance to US scientific leadership after (1) Universities operating with federal grants and (2) Federal research institutions.

It's hard to convince politicians with a zero sum mentality that the kind of public research that benefits humanity also benefits US competitiveness. The mindset shows in launching a new citizenship program for anyone who pays a million bucks while at the same time discouraging foreign graduate students from attending universtiy in the US or even continuing their university careers here. On average each talented graduate student admitted to the US to attend and elite university does way more than someone who could just buy their way in.

The supremacy clause applies to LAWS. Congress declined to enact such a law.

Yes, it belongs to Congress, not the President. Executive orders are literally orders given by the President to the executive branch of the federal government.

So the effectiveness of an executive order is very questionable in this case. If a state passes a law, what's the executive order going to do? Send the Army to invade? What could go wrong?

Over the next quarter or five-ten years? 'Cause U.S. companies only really seem to care about the former, while the Chinese seem to care more about the latter.

To be fair, they don't all hoard all of it; some buy really, really expensive yachts - and slightly less expensive backup yachts for those yachts - or media companies, like TikTok and Paramount, a Nth back-up mansion, or donate money to the President for favors, etc...

Don't worry, all the cuts and changes by RFK, Jr. will even things out. /s

It's quite amusing that some troll follows me around modding down any comments where I suggest humans should cooperate with one another. They are literally proving my point by moving things backwards with their solitary cowardice.