Bunny Flap: PBS Yanks Cartoon Featuring Lesbian Couples
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Morning Editor
January 27, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - A homosexual advocacy group says President Bush's new education secretary is promoting ignorance about families headed by same-sex couples. The education secretary says PBS is going too far in featuring same-sex couples in kids' cartoons.
The flap involves a "PBS for Kids" cartoon called "Postcards From Buster." An upcoming episode, called "Sugartime!", has Buster the cartoon bunny traveling to Vermont at maple sugar time, where he meets the (real-life) children of two (real-life) lesbian couples.
According to press reports, the episode focuses on farming.
But after some PBS affiliates complained, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings agreed that the episode was inappropriate for kids. Press reports on Thursday said she has asked PBS to refund taxpayer dollars that were spent on the "Sugarland!" episode.
(Funding for the "Postcards from Buster" cartoon program is provided by a literacy grant from the U.S. Department of Education.)
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) condemned Spellings for trying to prevent government-funded programs from presenting "inclusive images of same-sex families."
"For the Department of Education to try to prevent television programs from depicting gays and lesbians should raise serious concerns for all Americans," said GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry in a press release.
"Secretary Spellings' attempt to create and enforce a policy of invisibility for gay and lesbian families is a profoundly offensive display of intolerance, one that imposes on our children an agenda of ignorance under the guise of 'education.'"
Likewise, the National Stonewall Democrats issued a statement accusing the Bush administration of trying to censor and hide "gay families."
"Our families are the normal neighbors of millions of fellow Americans," said Dave Noble, NSD executive director. "Yet, in an episode that does not even mention gay issues, the portrayal of an actual family is viewed as a shameful threat by this White House.
He accused the Bush administration of trying to "segregate our families" in law and in the public mind as well.
PBS has decided not distribute the "Sugartime!" episode, but WGBH, the Boston public television station that produces "Postcards from Buster," said it would air "Sugartime!" and make the episode available to other PBS stations that want to air it.
In a letter to the PBS president, Spelling reportedly wrote, "Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode."
She added that Congress and the Education Department never intended to fund programs that "introduce this kind of subject matter to children, particularly through the powerful and intimate medium of television."
The Associated Press quoted Lea Sloan, the vice president of PBS media relations, as saying the network pulled the program because "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."
cnsnews.com
National : PBS says Yes to Gay Cartoon. Ed Secretary says No.
Posted by Master on 2005/1/28 3:46:13
Seven years after ABC aired its controversial "coming out" episode of "Ellen," homosexuality appears to be breaking new ground again -- this time in cartoons.
The producers of the PBS children's show "Postcards from Buster" have filmed an episode in which Buster -- a cartoon bunny who travels the U.S. meeting real people -- visits a lesbian couple in Vermont. A little girl introduces Buster to "my mom and Gillian" before everyone sits down for dinner, USA Today reported. Although PBS has since said it will not air the episode, the producer -- WGBH in Boston -- says it will provide the episode to stations that want it.
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theconservativevoice.com
CWA Applauds Education Secretary Spellings for Busting 'Buster'; Group Urges Constituents to Voice Support for Her Action Against PBS
Contact: Rebecca S. Jones of Concerned Women for America, 202-488-7000 ext. 126
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Concerned Women for America (CWA) applauds Department of Education (DOE) Secretary Margaret Spellings for her bold move during her first week in office to admonish the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for using federal money to create an episode of Postcards from Buster that promotes homosexuality.
In a letter to Pat Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of PBS, Secretary Spellings wrote: "Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode."
"For years, PBS has been slipping pro-homosexual messages into its programming," said Robert Knight, director of CWA's Culture & Family Institute. "And the federal bureaucracy and their client, the education establishment, have done their share to destroy children's innocence using the cover of 'diversity.' Along comes Secretary Spellings, who takes action as a servant of the people instead of a timid, go-along bureaucrat. Good for her."
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earnedmedia.org
Spellings wants PBS money back
By George Archibald
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
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.
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washingtontimes.com
In The News : The New American Last Updated: Jan 29th, 2005 - 07:27:15
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PBS Promotes Homosexuality
by John F. McManus
January 28, 2005
The Public Broadcasting System uses public money to create a children’s program depicting lesbian characters enjoying a trip to Vermont, a state that recognizes same-sex unions.
Only two days after settling into her new post, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings denounced the Public Broadcasting System on January 25 for spending public money to create a children’s program depicting lesbian characters enjoying a trip to Vermont, a state that recognizes same-sex civil unions. In a letter sent to PBS president Pat Mitchell, Spellings stated: “Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode.”
PBS vice president Lea Sloan responded by indicating that the network decided not to distribute the “Sugartime” episode in the “Postcards From Buster” series, but only temporarily. Recognizing that “this is a sensitive issue,” Sloan added: “we wanted to make sure that parents had an opportunity to introduce this subject to their children in their own time.” In other words, all parents should indeed “introduce” their children to homosexuality. Produced by the Boston PBS station, “Sugartime” will be sent to the 349 PBS stations and aired in Boston on March 23.
The Associated Press noted that the Department of Education’s “Ready-to-Learn” program has awarded nearly $100 million to PBS over the past five years. The funding is supposed to assist the network in helping young children learn through television. Spellings said that the “Sugartime” episode does not fulfill the intent Congress had in mind. She issued three requests (not demands) to the network: remove the department’s seal from the show; notify member stations about its content; and refund the “Ready-to-Learn” funds used to produce it.
thenewamerican.com |
