College_geek
Woman on Top
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2003
- Posts
- 10,759
Well, that's basically the message I got from the secretary of education when I read this article. What ever happened to preaching for acceptance of others? What ever happened to celebrating our differences? Oh I know, it applies to everyone except for homosexuals. 
This really pissed me off this afternoon:
Education secretary blasts children's show
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Public TV stations that don't mind an animated bunny breaking bread with a same-sex couple have the option of airing a show that the U.S. secretary of education finds objectionable.
The as-yet-unaired episode of Postcards from Buster, an animated children's travelogue, takes place in Vermont, which recognizes same-sex civil unions. Buster, a bunny who also appears in PBS' long-running Arthur series, meets real children and sends "video postcards" back home. In the Vermont episode, a girl introduces Buster to "my mom and Gillian," and the group sits down to dinner.
PBS, which receives a federal literacy grant to produce the show, pulled it Tuesday amid criticism from Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, who blasted it for featuring lesbian parents. But the show's creator, Boston station WGBH, will air it anyway and can provide the show to other PBS stations. A WGBH spokeswoman said Wednesday that a dozen stations have asked to take a look and decide for themselves.
Spellings, a former White House domestic adviser whose first day as education secretary was Monday, wrote PBS president Pat Mitchell on Tuesday with "strong and very serious concerns."
She says the episode strays from the intent of the government program designed to prepare preschoolers for school: "Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in this episode."
Spellings was applauded by James Dobson's Focus on the Family, which has criticized the use of the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon character in a video it says promotes homosexuality.
Karen Pike, one of the Vermont mothers, called the objections "disgusting." The show is "trying to show that kids are kids and that there are many kinds of families," says Pike, 42, a photographer who has done freelance work for USA TODAY.
Spellings also asks that PBS "strongly consider" refunding the federal money used for the episode. John Wilson, PBS's senior vice president for programming, says PBS will not refund the money but will shoot another episode.
Wilson says PBS officials already had decided to pull the episode before Spellings' letter arrived. The mention of same-sex parents, while "pure backdrop," was obscuring "what we had hoped would be a wonderful story about sugaring in Vermont," he says.
Asked how Buster reacted to the two moms, Wilson replied: "Buster is a very tolerant and accepting rabbit, and he sort of took it at face value."
This really pissed me off this afternoon:Education secretary blasts children's show
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Public TV stations that don't mind an animated bunny breaking bread with a same-sex couple have the option of airing a show that the U.S. secretary of education finds objectionable.
The as-yet-unaired episode of Postcards from Buster, an animated children's travelogue, takes place in Vermont, which recognizes same-sex civil unions. Buster, a bunny who also appears in PBS' long-running Arthur series, meets real children and sends "video postcards" back home. In the Vermont episode, a girl introduces Buster to "my mom and Gillian," and the group sits down to dinner.
PBS, which receives a federal literacy grant to produce the show, pulled it Tuesday amid criticism from Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, who blasted it for featuring lesbian parents. But the show's creator, Boston station WGBH, will air it anyway and can provide the show to other PBS stations. A WGBH spokeswoman said Wednesday that a dozen stations have asked to take a look and decide for themselves.
Spellings, a former White House domestic adviser whose first day as education secretary was Monday, wrote PBS president Pat Mitchell on Tuesday with "strong and very serious concerns."
She says the episode strays from the intent of the government program designed to prepare preschoolers for school: "Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in this episode."
Spellings was applauded by James Dobson's Focus on the Family, which has criticized the use of the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon character in a video it says promotes homosexuality.
Karen Pike, one of the Vermont mothers, called the objections "disgusting." The show is "trying to show that kids are kids and that there are many kinds of families," says Pike, 42, a photographer who has done freelance work for USA TODAY.
Spellings also asks that PBS "strongly consider" refunding the federal money used for the episode. John Wilson, PBS's senior vice president for programming, says PBS will not refund the money but will shoot another episode.
Wilson says PBS officials already had decided to pull the episode before Spellings' letter arrived. The mention of same-sex parents, while "pure backdrop," was obscuring "what we had hoped would be a wonderful story about sugaring in Vermont," he says.
Asked how Buster reacted to the two moms, Wilson replied: "Buster is a very tolerant and accepting rabbit, and he sort of took it at face value."
