Buster the bunny pops on his backpack, visits lesbian family and starts ro

[emad]

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Friday January 28, 2005
The Guardian

To the untrained eye, Buster is just a bunny, an innocuous cartoon character on American educational television. Each week the animated rabbit puts on his red backpack and trainers to visit a slice of real America - dropping in on a native Indian reservation in Wyoming, or maybe a Hispanic family in Los Angeles and sending a video postcard of the event to his friends.

The series, designed to show the diversity of the modern family to primary school children, is produced with $100m (£53m) of federal funding by the public television network PBS. It has a mandate to promote tolerance.

But then, Buster Baxter visited a farm in Vermont to learn about harvesting maple syrup. His hosts on Sugartime! were a lesbian couple and their children. Although the parents remained in the background - as they do during all of Buster's travels - their very appearance on children's TV was too much for the education secretary, Margaret Spelling.

Ms Spelling wrote to the president of PBS this week, saying: "Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1400470,00.html

[beam me up scottie]

1. Thanks to yet another one of *'s stunningly inadequate

appointees, we are again the laughingstock of the world.

[emad]

2. Karl Rove's Hollywood epic blockbuster script seems to be

going belly-up.

[beam me up scottie]

6. Someone someday should write a script about this

administration.
Except nobody would believe it.
Talk about legendary arrogance and stupidity...

[cali]

3. More importantly

real damage is being done. Spelling is sending a loud and clear message: gay and lesbian famillies are not 'real' familes. She legitimizes the continuing harrassment of children from these families and the pervasive and growing homophobia in this country. Vermont is proof positive that a state that protects all families and all people quickly becomes more tolerant. In 2000 exit polls showed that only 49% of the people favored civil unions or gay marriage. In 2004 nearly 80% approved. We can teach tolerance through education and legislation. This administration is teaching the opposite.

[beam me up scottie]

5. You said it, sister.

VERY homesick native Vermonter here.
:hi:

And by the way, someone tell emperor chimp I want a refund of every one of my tax dollars that has been used to foster intolerance and bigotry. Oh and please include my taxes paid to kentucky for same. (too bad they won't listen, otherwise a HUGE refund check would be in my future)

[gorbal]

11. This just isn't fair

Half the shows on PBS are conservative news and commentary. I don't particularily wan't to pay for that but I will if the other programming is quality and diversified.

[cbear70]

4. moral majority

This was on GMA this morning and had their message boards lit up. I was enraged by the spokesperson for the dept of education who said that the Moral Majority has spoken and will not tolerate this sort of promotion of the homosexual agenda. I could not believe it. I am so mad that this agenda is doing more to promote hate and intolerance than anything else. Its a cartoon.. most kids would have just enjoyed it. I do not believe they were pushing an agenda. I do not believe this moral majority, mandate crap and am sick of it. I will just keep trying to teach my kids not to hate and to accept everyone equally...

I am just so upset over this. It feel less and less like america every day. I keep hoping that this is a nightmare and I will wake up but damn it hasn't happened yet.

[newyawker99]

7. Hi cbear70!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Hollowkatt]

9. you won't wake up

However, you could take my approach. Walk tall and carry a huge f*cking stick :D
The fundies and theofacists get scared when people do that :D

[KnowerOfLogic]

8. Many parents would not want their kids exposed to hate and bigotry.

These bigots need to be called on this crap, EVERY SINGLE TIME.

[gorbal]

10. Give PBS some feedback

Tell PBS what you think and ask your local affiliate to purchase the show-

http://www.pbs.org/aboutsite/aboutsite_feedback.html

We need to make a louder noise than the conservatives-the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If we just let this one go, who knows what they will do next.

[msgadget]

12. PBS responded to this

on NPR and Wayne Goodwin, the COO, said they pulled it the day they received the letter but not because of the letter from Spelling.

He went on to say they didn't explore the alternate lifestyle of the 2-mommy family as fully as they had, say, the Muslim family Buster also visited among other things.

Here's a link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4466916|Education Secretary in Flap Over PBS Bunny>