My friend "Red"

I'm writing to you today on behalf of a dear friend of mine. He's furry, red, good with children, and can often be seen hanging out with a cranky garbage can, a very tall yellow feathered fellow, and a spooky accountant who sleeps for most of the day.

You see, my friend (let's call him Red) is a government employee. He, like hundreds of thousands of his fellow civil servants, has spent a lot of time since January worrying if his job, or even department, would still exist a week from now. He has watched as his friends at the Department of Education, USAID, and dozens of other government agencies had to pack up their desks.

Unfortunately, the GOP budget-machete hit a little too close for his comfort last week.

Red works with the wonderful journalists and writers at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the parent organization for PBS, NPR, and other public media, an organization which saw $1.1 billion cut from its budget by Republicans last week.

For over 50 years, Red and his colleagues- the green guy who lives in a trash can, the accountant with the weirdly pointy teeth, and many many others have worked tirelessly to educate America's children. All of that time and effort apparently means nothing to the Republicans who voted for this bill.

I'm sure you know who I'm talking about by now. But all jokes aside, there are real dangers to this latest package of cuts.

NPR serves every part of this country, including the rural and tribal communities who don't have access to private broadcasts, acting as news, weather, and entertainment all rolled into one. When disasters like storms and earthquakes hit, public broadcasts are often the only way to reach these communities with vital evacuation and rescue information.

My friend can't swear, but I can. What the HELL is the point of cutting this funding?!

They'll call it "cost-cutting" or "fiscal responsibility", but I'll tell you what it really is: a raw deal. These cuts hurt millions of Americans, but they're in line with the President's agenda of making life worse for all of us while he and his buddies get richer than we can imagine.

We're coming up on our end-of-month fundraising deadline. We have a real opportunity in the midterm elections to take back the House and throw a wrench into the GOP's worst plans. To do that, we're going to need all the help we can get. If you can, make a contribution to our campaign before the deadline and help us get the country back on track.

Sweeping the clouds away,

Jim McGovern