June 14, 2005

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to...

Congress is threatening, this time for real, to pull all public funding from PBS and NPR. Without PBS America would not have Baseball, Jazz, or The Civil War. Without NPR America would have no Fresh Air. Can you imagine a world where Sesame Street, Car Talk, and Talk of the Nation are mere memories? Can you envision a world where educational children's television consists of Dragonball-Z and Rugrats? OK, so maybe we could dump Teletubbies and Antiques Roadshow, but keep the guy who used to paint the nature scenery oil paintings in three minutes. That was wicked.

I donate to NPR and PBS because I think the programming is interesting and educational. Commercial channels pander to the lowest common denominator--history shows are only about battles, human interest stories are about celebrities and athletes, news is cookie-cutter filler the same from one station to the next. NPR has a show called "All Things Considered"--perhaps Fox News will replace it with "A Few Things As Spun By Republicans." Not quite the same ring.

PBS and NPR should be considered national treasures, not expendable budget items. Sign the petition to save these national treasures now.

Read more here.

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street

Come and play
Everything's A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

It's a magic carpet ride
Every door will open wide
To Happy people like you--
Happy people like
What a beautiful

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame street...

How to get to Sesame Street

How to get to...

1 comment:

bluesugarpoet said...

Yeah - I love that "Happy Trees" guy! And let's not forget Prairie Home Companion! Talk about NCLB...PBS has been an integral part for helping new language learners learn English. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say, "I learned English from watching Sesame Street."