Poll: Do you want to save PBS or do you not care?

[DynaFlowHum]

Really don't care. Their programing is old and stale and I don't believe the government should own a TV station in the first place.

[Zaza]

Government funds are a very small part of PBS funding. Big Bird will survive without federal funds. Public Broadcasting survived long before the federal government.

[RitchWilliams]

PBS has definitely outlived its usefulness. With the 800 cable channels we have out there, the many community channels, there is something out there for every one and every need. There's no reason for a government sponsored channel.

[Harry]

What is PBS?

[whoyeah]

Sesame Street was brought to you today by the letter P (for poverty)


She's got pink hair, she's terribly cute and she's hungry. In a bid to reflect the harsh realities of recession-era America, the makers of the nation's favourite children's TV show have introduced a new puppet. Her name is Lily and her chief character trait is that she lives on the breadline.


The so-called "hungry Muppet" was introduced to viewers on a special episode of the programme aimed at educating the public about the growing proportion of US families suffering from what sociologists term "food insecurity."

And Conservatives are quite upset...

Thanks to the polarised state of US politics, there are few public gestures that don't provoke at least some controversy, however. And Lily has been criticised by right-leaning commentators who believe that she represents an effort to brainwash the nation's youth about the perils of unchecked capitalism.

"Why is Lily a class, a group?" asked Eric Bolling, a commentator for Fox News. "Do we single out the black Muppet? Or the Hispanic Muppet? Why do we need to single out the hungry Muppet?"

The Blaze, a blog that is very popular with American conservatives, was more succinct about the programme's new star. "Uh-oh," it announced. "It's time to redistribute the Cookie Monster's cookies!"

Lily doesn't understand why Mr. Romney wants to take away her food.

[adeline]

DO you want your money going to support a tv and radio station? If I could choose between spending my money on wars that cannot be won, corporate bailouts, stimulus programs, and the like, or spending less than 1% on PBS, I would choose funding PBS. It amazes me how upset people have become to the idea of not funding a tv station, but say very little about losing over 2000 American lives in Afghanistan.