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Education secretary condemns public show with gay characters
Associated Press

Posted on 01/28/2005 9:53:17 AM PST by Mr.Pinette

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's new education secretary denounced PBS on Tuesday for spending public money on a cartoon with lesbian characters, saying many parents would not want children exposed to such lifestyles.

The not-yet-aired episode of "Postcards From Buster" shows the title character, an animated bunny named Buster, on a trip to Vermont -- a state known for recognizing same-sex civil unions. The episode features two lesbian couples, although the focus is on farm life and maple sugaring.

A PBS spokesman said late Tuesday that the nonprofit network has decided not to distribute the episode, called "Sugartime!," to its 349 stations. She said the Education Department's objections were not a factor in that decision.

"Ultimately, our decision was based on the fact that we recognize this is a sensitive issue, and we wanted to make sure that parents had an opportunity to introduce this subject to their children in their own time," said Lea Sloan, vice president of media relations at PBS.

However, the Boston public television station that produces the show, WGBH, does plan to make the "Sugartime!" episode available to other stations. WGBH also plans to air the episode on March 23, Sloan said.

PBS gets money for the "Postcards from Buster" series through the federal Ready-To-Learn program, one aimed at helping young children learn through television.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said the "Sugartime!" episode does not fulfill the intent Congress had in mind for programming. By law, she said, any funded shows must give top attention to "research-based educational objectives, content and materials."

"Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode," Spellings wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to Pat Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of PBS.

"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."

She asked PBS to consider refunding the money it spent on the episode.

Three requests

With her letter, Spellings has made criticism of the publicly funded program's depiction of the gay lifestyle one of her first acts as secretary. She began on Monday, replacing Rod Paige as President Bush's education chief.

Spellings issued three requests to PBS.

She asked that her department's seal or any statement linking the department to the show be removed. She asked PBS to notify its member stations of the nature of the show so they could review it before airing it. And she asked for the refund "in the interest of avoiding embroiling the Ready-To-Learn program in a controversy that will only hurt" it.

In closing, she warned: "You can be assured that in the future the department will be more clear as to its expectations for any future programming that it funds."

The department has awarded nearly $100 million to PBS through the program over the last five years in a contract that expires in September, said department spokesman Susan Aspey. That money went to the production of "Postcards From Buster" and another animated children's show, and to promotion of those shows in local communities, she said.

The show about Buster also gets funding from other sources.

In the show, Buster carries a digital video camera and explores regions, activities and people of different backgrounds and religions.

On the episode in question, "The fact that there is a family structure that is objectionable to the Department of Education is not at all the focus of the show, nor is it addressed in the show," said Sloan of PBS.

But she also said: "The department's concerns align very closely with PBS' concerns, and for that reason, it was decided that PBS will not be providing the episode." Stations will receive a new episode, she said.


TOPICS: Government
KEYWORDS: homosexualagenda; pspl
About time they started cracking down.
1 posted on 01/28/2005 9:53:17 AM PST by Mr.Pinette
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To: Mr.Pinette

I'm going to like this lady.


2 posted on 01/28/2005 9:55:24 AM PST by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Legislatures are so outdated. If you want real political victory, take your issue to court.)
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

Me too. I already emailed her and thanked her.


3 posted on 01/28/2005 10:01:36 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: kjenerette

...reading


4 posted on 01/28/2005 10:06:45 AM PST by Van Jenerette (US Army Infantry - 1967-1991 OCS - Hall of Fame, Ft. Benning)
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To: kenth; CatoRenasci; Marie; PureSolace; Congressman Billybob; P.O.E.; cupcakes; Amelia; Diana; ...

5 posted on 01/28/2005 10:15:58 AM PST by Born Conservative (Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself." - Richard Nixon)
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To: .30Carbine

ping


6 posted on 01/28/2005 10:19:23 AM PST by TigersEye (Intellectuals only exist if you think they do.)
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To: Born Conservative
Here's a picture from the actual episode...
7 posted on 01/28/2005 10:21:44 AM PST by Avalon66
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To: Mr.Pinette

A spin off from the Arthur show. (http://pbskids.org/arthur/)

Buster

8 posted on 01/28/2005 10:23:46 AM PST by Incorrigible (immanentizing the eschaton)
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To: Mr.Pinette
A PBS spokesman said late Tuesday that the nonprofit network has decided not to distribute the episode, called "Sugartime!," to its 349 stations. She said the Education Department's objections were not a factor in that decision.

Yeah, right!

9 posted on 01/28/2005 10:25:34 AM PST by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all things that need to be done need to be done by the government.)
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To: Avalon66

Where'd they steal all those kids?


10 posted on 01/28/2005 10:26:19 AM PST by kenth (my dog ate my tagline)
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past
About time the fed gov stops subsidizing public television because taxpayers money goes to putting trash like this on the air..
11 posted on 01/28/2005 10:27:05 AM PST by aspiring.hillbilly
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To: Mr.Pinette

Post cards from Buster is a spinoff program from the Arthur animated show. It features animation with live action, as Buster shows off (live action) home movies of his various trips to Arthur. The original Arthur series, based on the books, never seemed very educational to me at all, (standard tripe, be nice to others who are different, getting lost in the mall, learn to share, etc.,) yet it comes from our tax dollars. The shows appear to be geared towards the preschool set, (3 to 5 year olds). I do, however, think that this is further evidence that there exists a coordinated agenda of organized indoctrination of the homosexual lifestyle directed towards our youngest.


12 posted on 01/28/2005 10:31:08 AM PST by sportutegrl
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To: Mr.Pinette

Yeah, "Suagartime," all right.


13 posted on 01/28/2005 10:32:47 AM PST by Conservatrix ("He's a barf." --- Sophia T., Age 4, on John Sawed-Off Baldrick "I have a cunning plan" Kerry)
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To: Mr.Pinette

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1330237/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328789/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328602/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/search?s=education+secretary&ok=Search&q=quick&m=exact&o=time


14 posted on 01/28/2005 10:35:58 AM PST by upchuck ("If our nation be destroyed, it would be from the judiciary." ~ Thomas Jefferson)
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