Oh, the hypocrisy: you all know by now (I assume) that PBS has yanked an episode of “Postcards with Buster” from the air because it features a segment with kids who have lesbian moms, who prepare a meal and show how syrup and cheese are made. The Department of Education was a little… upset by this. The thing is, we all know why — they’re bigots, just like almost everyone else in the Bush administration. But they’re compassionate bigots, who, while they hate gay people, would never actually say anything mean, of course. The new Education secretary Margaret Spellings sent a letter to PBS demanding that the show be pulled, carefully hiding her bigotry with vague language.
“We believe the ‘Sugartime!’ episode does not come within these purposes or within the intent of Congress and would undermine the overall objective of the Ready-To-Learn program — to produce programming that reaches as many children and families as possible,” Spellings wrote.
Why, you might wonder, given that preschoolers who watch the episode learn how maple syrup and cheese are made, not to mention useful English-language phrases (the series is also designed to help children for whom English is a second language).
Because, Spellings explained in her letter, “many parents would not want their young children exposed to the life-styles portrayed in this episode.” She did not say how many is “many,” or cite a source for that information.
So, get this:
An Education Department spokeswoman responded in a statement: “The episode is inappropriate for preschoolers. We are funding an education program for preschoolers, and one would be hard-pressed to explain how this serves as educational material for preschoolers. It’s up to parents to decide for their children, not the government in a taxpayer-funded video for preschoolers.”
“It’s up to parents to decide for their children.” Well, how do you reconcile that statement with the fact that Spellings wrote to PBS and told them not to air it?
Kind of pre-empts the ability of parents to make that decision, doesn’t it?
It’s astonishing to me, the way that conservatives — who purport to be for less government and more personal freedom — instead stand for so much government censorship and regulation, at least, when it comes to groups of people they hate. What a bunch of hate-filled, bigoted, self-important, selfish, money-grubbing, fascist, anti-freedom asses they are.
By the way, WGBH Boston is going to air the episode in defiance of the administration, and is urging other public broadcasters to do the same. Bravo! Of course, they’re in Massachusetts, which has so obviously become a sinkhole of depravity since same-sex marriage was legalized there — all the straight marriages are suffering terrible fates and men are having sex with dogs in the streets, just as the conservatives predicted.
Update: KQED in San Francisco will also air the show. Another city of depravity.
