My childhood heroes stand up for public broadcasting

Any time the extreme right undeservedly gains political power, they usually attempt to close down public broadcasting. Typically it boils down to right-wingers' disgust at the refusal by PBS and NPR to report things the way they want them reported.

It's rather ironic, because it was a right-wing Congress that gave a government bailout to talk radio in 1996. And during the 2000s, a Bush-stacked Corporation for Public Broadcasting got right-wing documentaries aired on PBS.

But now some of the heroes to America's preschoolers are coming to the rescue. 'Sesame Street' actors Emilio Delgado (Luis), Roscoe Orman (Gordon), Alan Muraoka (Alan), Alison Bartlett O'Reilly (Gina), and Bob McGrath (Bob) are on hand in D.C. to protest against defunding of public broadcasting. They've teamed up with labor and other activists to bring petitions to legislators in an effort to halt the Far Right's war against public TV and radio.

I grew up watching Gordon, Luis, and Bob. They've been on the ol' Ses as long as I can remember. It's amazing to see that they still have the energy to go to Washington and stand up for us, considering that I'm practically in the Geritol demographic myself now. (Orman, Delgado, and McGrath are 66, 70, and 78, respectively.)

The congressional crusade against PBS underscores a larger point: The Republicans are completely unfit to run things. They can't claim they're being budget hawks, after they wasted all that money on the Iraq War. Nope, it's about politics and control.

(Source: http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=635748)