Posted on 01/26/2005 10:23:20 PM PST by kattracks
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has asked the Public Broadcasting Service to refund taxpayer dollars used to create and distribute an episode of a cartoon program that features lesbian parents, saying the subject matter was inappropriate and undermines the show's effort to promote literacy.
The "PBS for Kids" episode of its popular "Postcards From Buster" program, originally scheduled to air Feb. 2 in classrooms across the country, had been pulled for review after some affiliates of PBS complained about its content. It was produced with Education Department grant money from a literacy initiative.In a letter to PBS President and Chief Executive Officer Pat Mitchell, Mrs. Spellings insisted that all references to Education Department funding and sponsorship be deleted from the program credits and "any materials about the program," such as teacher guides and student workbooks.
"Congress' and the department's purpose in funding this programming certainly was not to introduce this kind of subject matter to children, particularly through the powerful and intimate medium of television," Mrs. Spellings wrote in a letter sent Tuesday.
PBS Chief Operating Officer Wayne Godwin yesterday said that the public television system already had decided not to provide the episode to member stations and that the Education Department's financial contribution to the episode "will be used to fund the production of a replacement show."[snip]
Religious and pro-family groups have complained about children's TV programming and videos that promote tolerance of homosexuality.
"What's at stake is the forced normalization of homosexuality in the public schools," said Tom Minnery, vice president of government and public policy at Focus on the Family in Colorado.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Time for PBS to be defunded.
Let them sell their garbage if the marketplace will support it.
The backlash begins... Gavin Newsome, the ACLU, now PBS. People DO have their limits.
With all the flak over Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher getting funding to promote government issues it's seems only right that funding to PBS be discontinued under the same guidelines. Will it happen? Never. The Republicans don't want to upset the flaming liberals.
ping
Yucko! Using an Arthur character for homo training is awful. Nothing is safe on tv anymore.
The RNC just loves to fund PBS
Homosexual Agenda Ping + High Time to eliminate all money to PBS, NEA, NPR, and anything else connected with education, schools, arts, and similar other indoctrination methods. So our tax money goes towards promoting crap that many (most?) Americans consider wrong, untrue, immoral and against their philosophy or religion, but that which many or most Americans agree with can't be funded. What gives? Just let us keep more of our own money and we'll fund what we want to fund.
Let schools be locally funded. Why does fed tax money have to fund local schools? No reason at all. Some people might whine, "Well, some places are poorer than others".
Yup, and some people are taller, smarter, shorter, handsomer, dumber, etc than others.
As for PBS etc, it's sickening that the gov't gives them money. When, Oh When will Republicans start acting like conservatives?
Let me and DirtyHarryY2K know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
New lyrics for the "Barney" theme (think "Barney" Frank)
I love him, he loves me
We're as queer as queer can be
We are here, we are queer and we're not going away
Let's tell all the kids
Barney's gay
Mississippi Public Broadcasting has already reported that they had no intentions of playing that show. I hope other public networks follow.
Do you think asking for the money is going to shock a few PBS folks? Time to tell congress that Mrs. Kroch has given PBS 100 million and that they have matched that with other fundraisers - the tax payer can cut back via govenrment funding.
The FCC should fine them.
With the proliferation of cable channels, why do we need tax-funded TV programs?
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