By Lisa de Moraes
Thursday, January 27, 2005; Page C01

PBS was surprised to receive a letter from new Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, warning the public TV network against airing an upcoming episode of the kids show \"Postcards From Buster,\" because PBS had already informed her office it would not send the episode to its stations, programming co-chief John Wilson says.
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Spellings, who has been charged with the difficult task of fixing the nation's troubled public education system, took time out on her second day on the job to fire off a letter to PBS CEO Pat Mitchell expressing \"strong and very serious concerns\" about the \"Postcards From Buster\" episode. Specifically that, in the episode, called \"Sugartime!,\" the animated asthmatic little bunny visits Vermont and meets actual, real-live, not make-believe children there who have gay parents.
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In the episode that knotted Spellings's knickers, Buster goes to Vermont and meets children from two families, who show him how maple syrup and cheese are made.

At one of the homes, Buster is introduced to all of the children and to the two moms. One girl explains that one of the women is her \"stepmom,\" whom she says she loves a lot.

One of the women asks the kids to get some maple syrup and some cheese for dinner, and to stop by the other home to borrow a big lasagna pan. In the other home, Buster is introduced to the whole family, including two more moms. Then the kids head off to get the ingredients, and Buster learns where syrup and cheese come from.
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... 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.
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George_Eaglesfan:
But I do want to know what the lesbians were planning on making with syrup and cheese? Maybe Gator Jamie can help us out here. Is this some sort of secret lesbainic recipe? wink

BPT_336:
Considering what GatorJamie's claims she's been eating for Breakfast these days, I'm not sure I'm even old enough to know. eek!

BostonGirl and I were married in Stowe, Vermont, last summer

WGBH has moved the controversial Vermont episode of \"Postcards From Buster\" to tonight at 5:30 on Channel 2. It's in Lesbianese, with subtitles.

The series's mandate from the Department of Education - which provided $5 million in financial support for the show, 63 percent of its budget - is to highlight diversity. Covering 24 states, Buster has visited Hmong children as well as Mormons, Muslims and evangelical Christians.

\"One part of the culture we are exploring is family structures,\" Pierre Valette, an executive producer of the show, said, adding, \"We had not done a same-sex household and had our eyes open to that when we came across Karen Pike and her family. We really liked the kids. They worked well on camera. They were really connected to their community.\"

Farah Siddique also knows what it means to feel marginalized, and she is grateful to \"Postcards From Buster\" for helping her feel less so. Farah, 12, lives in a Chicago suburb with Pakistani and Filipino parents who are Muslim. In a telephone interview, she explained why she was happy to appear on \"Postcards From Buster,\" wearing her hijab (a head covering) and studying the Koran.

\"It was important to tell people about my religion and everything,\" she said. \"Some people think we're bad because of 9/11 or something, and I'm telling them we are not bad, we're not trying to hurt anyone or do anything wrong.\"

Asked what she thought about PBS's decision not to distribute the \"Buster\" episode about the children with two mothers, she said: \"We don't believe in that stuff. My opinion is that it is bad or wrong. My sister is 7, and she watches PBS Kids shows. I wouldn't want her to watch that kind of thing.\"

What if people said they wouldn't want to watch the episode about her because they don't like Muslims?

Without hesitation Farah replied: \"Wow, I hadn't thought about it like that. Can I change what I said? If people were judging me because of my religion I would get really sad. Now I think maybe they should show it.\"

WASHINGTON - The head of PBS has confirmed she will not seek reappointment and will step down when her term ends.

Her move has triggered calls for a change in the network's funding model, to make it safe from political interference.

Pat Mitchell was under fire for spending public money on a cartoon show, Postcards from Buster, that featured a real-life lesbian couple in one episode.

Shrek 2 is the latest animated film title to be \"outed\" by Christian fundamentalists in the United States. On its website, the Traditional Values Coalition is warning parents about the cross-dressing and transgender themes contained in the hit DreamWorks feature.

\"Shrek 2 is billed as harmless entertainment but contains subtle sexual messages,\" says the coalition, which describes itself as a grassroots interdenominational lobby with more than 43,000 member churches. \"Parents who are thinking about taking their children to see Shrek 2 may wish to consider the following.\"

The article then proceeds to describe one of the characters, an \"evil\" bartender (voiced by Larry King) who is a male-to-female transgender in transition and who expresses a sexual desire for Prince Charming.

In another identified scene, Shrek and Donkey need rescuing from a dungeon by Pinocchio and his nose, which is made to extend as an escape bridge by getting the wooden boy to lie about not wearing women's underwear.

canmark:
Don't these people have something better to do with their time?