Thoughts on PBS...

We don't get cable in the JohnMcG household, so we have five or six TV options, one of which is the local PBS station.

Currently, they're in pledge drive mode.

A few observations on this:

• It seems like these come around more often then they used to.
  
• It also seems like we sit through a lot of things that sure look like commercials. But they don't break into the kids programming anymore, so that's nice.
  
• I seem to remember that the pledge period was like sweeps months for the networks -- they trotted out their best programming. Not, it seems the relationship between the performances and PBS is more, er, bidirectional. In other words, it seems like the artists being featured are keeping their careers alive by being on PBS. So we get Dennis DeKamp, the Moody Blues, the "source energy" guy, Johnny Mathis and lots of Susie Orman. The artists get exposure, PBS gets some tickets to give away to members.
  
• On a non-pledge drive related note, I have noticed that Bill Moyers is the abolute master of booking someone to say a certain thing, and then acting surprised when he says it. He'll be interviewing the author of a book called, "The President is a liar," and during the interview, Moyers will act shoced and ask, "so you're saying that the president has been lying to the American people??" Always a treat.