PT 141 or Why I Hate NPR News

Why in God's name do I still turn on NPR every blue moon? I ask myself this question all the time. Neoliberal Propaganda Radio, that's how I've referred to it for many years. The fact that a crapload of McMoney has just insured it's spot on the hit parade of the radio dials of wanna be progressives for years to come only makes matters worse. Did I recently read that that idoit Andy Rooney made some list of America's most sexy men? Well, I hope women who whine, complain and bitch are given such status these days cause I'm quickly joining his ranks. Dare I say these NPR junkies are probably the same poor saps who believed that Howard Dean was the new savior of the Democratic party, despite the fact that he did not have a "real" progressive credential before the year 2002. Hey, what difference does that make in the United States? It's not like we've ever indicated a propensity to learn from our mistakes. Okay, nobody much expects Democrats to be progressive anyway but it was a pretty zippy little critique, no?

So what's my latest beef w/ the Holy Grail of public radio, you ask? All things considered (bad pun, I admit), it's relatively minor considering most of the either mindless or corporate tool-jockey content one is usually privy to. It was this evening's report on a report on a new sexual stimulant called PT 141 that has apparently been useful in getting female rats to be a little more accommodating to their male counterparts. It seems some "expert" in neurobiology has figured out that for us girls (and no doubt a few boys too), the turn on is all in the brain. Gee whiz, dude. How many research dollars and hours spent toiling away in the lab did it take you to figure that out? Musical Goddess, Lucinda Williams penned and recorded a beautiful song once called "There's Something About What Happens When We Talk". It's a killer song and is wickedly wise. She's the daughter of a poet, need I say more? Call me old-fashioned but there is nothing as sexy as a really good conversation so, indeed, the turn on is all in the brain. Dr. Science and his associates could have saved themselves a whole bunch of money and picked up Lucinda's record or, better yet, they could have paid me for my opinion. I'm still looking for a job or for someone to take me a little bit seriously, every once and awhile.