Nah just sell him to Nickelodeon or some other profitable venture. Get rid of PBS

Man I bet Perdue would pay a fortune for him. I wonder if Big Bird tastes like chicken

If you sell him to a for-profit sesame street will turn into a reality show. You'll have Big bird sleeping with Maria, Oscar the grouch getting into fights on a boardwalk and elmo visiting a tanning bed.

and make yet another ugly overpriced dress for his overprivileged wife to wear

I like big bird I hope Romney loses so the kids can continue to watch their shows on PBS. I can't believe the flip-flops that Romney does and the lies he tells.

Big Bird gives RobMe the bird.

Why is it that the Republicans always wanta to cit PBS???? Why do they always give big tax breaks to the rich?...........because they are NUTS

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9

Thank you Earnest, I completely agree with you!

BS ALERT ...

Romney never said any such thing. He addressed a cut to PBS subsidies and that was it!

Too many Parents use big bird as a babysitter. Parents should spend every waking hour teaching, reading & playing with their children.
- Maria & Elmo are not parents & should not be the only teachers for preschoolers. Too poor to purchase books? Go to the library!

Earnest you nailed it! While my son was not a Sesame Street fan, I still think eliminating this programming could be a bad idea. The crap tv that they call educational for our children is a joke.

Let the damned kids be kids for a while!!!

This crop is babysitting for lazy parents.

I'm tired of being taxed to support leftist indoctrination "educational" TV when the Muppets make bazillions of dollars in profits (in the free market selling toys, etc.)

Big Bird and his gay, socialism promoting Muppet colleagues are lazy welfare scam artists, and I'm tired of paying for them.

Earnest, you are being silly. Think about what you just said! Do you honestly believe that PBS cartoons have anything to do with early childhood education? If the future of our children depends on BigBird teaching us how to read and count, then we are much worse off than we thought. Oh - and who owns Elmo? Someone is making tons of money off of that little monster, and sesame place at fifty bucks a pop for admission... I really don't think they will go away if PBS loses govt funding. The same shows will be picked up by other networks. Rest at ease. Big Bird will be fine.

Thank u earnest! @ just plain mary, really? Do u even have kids?? Not everyone can afford cable, and pbs is a GREAT program for kids! and not everyone has time to sit around all day teaching thier kids, god knows we would love to, but its completly unrealistic in todays world.

Romney's state? You do realize that Romney does not run the state he claims as his state don't you? Also, in case you haven't heard... Romney does not and has not ever been a teacher, you know those people who actually play a major role in a childs education.

Earnest: are you saying that only teachers should be allowed to say or do ANYTHING with education? That the only way someone knows anything about education is if they were a teacher?

I don't know what kind of parent you are or were, but educated parents who are their children's first teachers actually choose educational shows for their children and watch with their children. All TV is not bad and a show like Sesame Street is outstanding for pre-school children.

Earnest, I think it's time you stopped watching Big Bird and join the educated and informed. Romney clearly stated that he would only cut programs that were NOT passing the litmus test!!! Romney also stated and states that he would work across party lines to make such decisions. Your man, Obama, has never engaged, with any sincerity, the Republicans on any issue. What's his on-the-record statement, "...my way or the highway..."?

That's what the socialists want ... I can't remember right now if it was Lenin or Hitler, but one of them said something to the effect "give me your children for w fe years when they're young and they'll be good socialists forever."

Most teachers. (Not all, but most) are socialists, because THEY'VE web indoctrinated in our public "education" system and our left dominated universities.

I was just going to post this. PBS is such a tiny budget item big picture. One thing I do not understand is Romney's unwillingness to address the military budget in a RESPONSIBLE way. We simply fight wars differently today then yesterday. The extremely expensive doctrine of two traditional simultaneous "fronts" just isn't in play anymore. The threats that face us today are different. We can defend ourselves without the ultra expensive military budget of the past. I'm not talking about cutting soldier pay or benefits.

This also begs the fundamental question. Are we still the police force of the world? Do we need to be.

Agree with the Atlantic Ocean point and the ridiculous amount of impact it would not have on the budget, is in fact laughable. The whole PBS thing for the Republicans is all about partisan politics, which is a shame as PBS offers something for just about everyone and the combination of private donations and taxpayer subsidies is a great example of how Americans works together for the greater good.

Actually Ron besides paying our debts defense spending is the only thing our constitution allows the federal government to spend money on. Of course the constitution has been twisted ,torn apart and ignored so much during the last 50 years or so that i guess it really doesnt matter if we have any more presidents like Obama we may as well just use it for toilet paper.

After reading your comment, that sounds like a great idea. In fact, you should format your entire computer.

Start defunding somewhere! PBS has great shows & will have no problem getting sponsors.

But it is a start.

Why should Romney know how your feel??? Why don't you get off your duff and feel like Romney??? Lazy is not a career! But, maybe that's your upbringing. So, yeah Obama is who you should stay with.

You mean you make 13 million Jim? Nevermind I will not comment any further.

The federal government must help but the ultimate responsability of education falls on the states so talk to your governor.

Hey Earnest, obviously you lack an education. Without a strong military how long do you think this country would exist? Oh wait, you're thinking that educated people would be able to handle imprisonment when we're defeated?

How's that working out in China? Maybe you think Russia offers their citizens a better way of life. Cuba too. Or, are you saying that all of their citizens are idiots...

No, ultimately parents have the primary responsibility for their children's education, not the state.
If money were the solution to our educational crisis, then we would have the best public education system in the world. Here, just on the local level we pay about $11,000 per child, per year, yet the US is #16 in the world in Science and Math??? The mountains and beaches are filled with 60 year-old retired school administrator's second homes and you want to take more of my earnings? I don't have a second vacation home, why should they?

Jim Shu, Where in my comments did I say the U.S. shouldn't have a strong military? Cutting the waste has nothing to do with building a strong and effective military.

Are you aware that 22 years ago Congress passed the Chief Financial Officer Act of 1990 that required the DoD to pass an audit. Are you aware of the fact that Congress has never even bothered to require the DoD to comply with that law? Do you understand how great the potential is of there being billions of dollars wasted?

Are you aware of the fact that while the Pentagon overspent $8 billion (almost half of NASA's budget) on failing information and technology programs?... Do the math, that more than 15,000 active-duty troop

Are you aware that Leon Panetta said, "Auditable financial statements are needed to facilitate decision-making, to comply with the law and to reassure the public that we are good stewards of their funds."

Members of Congress need to stop using national defense as a jobs program and ignoring fiscal sanity, because without a clear picture of how the money is spent they cannot prioritize critical missions or eliminate waste.

It is long past time for Congress to make sure the DoD is doing what they are suppose to do, which is protect the country, not their personal careers.

Ah yes getting to the heart of the important issues that face the country. How attractive his wife is, and accusing him of abusing his dog thirty years ago... Didn't Obama eat a dog once?

Geez ... You REALLY get a feel for how DESPERATE the Democrats are - reading comments like this - after that debacle last night, eh?

Heard Joe Klein, staunch Democrat political commentator for Time, On Morning Joe today say he thought The President preformed like he was "over-medicated" last night! Yikes ...

By all information, Romney's dog was not harmed in any way (and,ay have enjoyed the ride).

Obama on the other hand ATE dogs.

I'd sure rather be Romney's dog than Obama's ...

Finally, someone who actually listened to the whole debate and followed exactly what was being said. It was an example of making decisions based on priority. Isn't it more important to be a self-sustaining country? Do we really want to be indebted to China?

The only thing he has done was pushed for healthy school lunches and passed more EPA laws, which the republicians want to dismantle anyway. As for fixing real issues with the country, not a single thing he has done except lead more people to the unemployment line. Oh yeah somehow since obama is in office we put fuel in our car laced with a corn product too, that really kills your gas mileage and cars performance.

@Lynn, I don't like either one and therefore will not vote. When a country comes to voting for the "lesser of two evils", that said country is in a very sad state.

So wait... you are trying to tell me that the CEO of PBS is opposed to PBS not receiving Federal money?!?! I never would have thought that was the case!

Clearly the CEO of PBS is the most unbiased source to turn to when discussing funding for PBS.

I could be mistaken but didnt Obama have a democrac controlled house and senate his first two years in office and still got nothing done.

Excellent point, ron!!

add charlie rose, tavis smiley and gwen ifill to the list. you would think that a publically funded station would have some balance to theoir programming

Ah, Bill Moyers. Fine man he is. Do you know his history? He "saved" the nation from the evil Barry Goldwater who would have us embroiled in wars in the far east and other places. Helped get the 3rd. worse president elected so we could get embroiled in wars and also head down the path of fiscal insanity called the great society. Let's hope he gets cut - preferably around the neck region.

I agree with you Anthony. PBS is such a small thing in the grand scheme of this. Have any of you watched Sesame Street or PBS lately? It is filled with so much liberalism and 'political correctness' cutting the funds might be a good idea. There are other things your little kids can be doing besides sitting in front of the TV.

I agree with you chandler, lets see first cookie monster had to give up cookies, then bert and earnie were gay so they no longer live together. Are we really losing alot taking that from our children. Sesame street is no longer what it was. Yes on the pbs sprout channel they have more shows, however so does nick jr., disney jr and any other channels for the kids. Read to the kids or get them one of the v-tech games, they will learn more from them.

Personally my kids never watched PBS and they are 8 and 9 doing well academically in school. Sometimes at home we watched nick jr, which was noggin then but for the most part it was either the digital music channels or the stereo on at home and they both love music now too.

PBS is program that benefits the poor? Really? Cable is expensive--how can they afford it? Oh wait--you must be talking about the poor that have their nails and hair done every week, the Coach purses, designer clothing, $200 sneakers, iphones and food stamps.

Chandler, PBS is free over-the-air broadcasting. It's channel 21-1 in Philly, through WHYY.

Mitt Romney's PERFORMANCE was very good, and I believe he was coached extremely effectively. He stayed on general point, he regurgitated Rebpublican Right ideaology very well. The President looked tired, annoyed, and, in my opionion should have taken the same strategy as the Mitt. Instead he became too detailed in his responses. Mitt fans got what they have been waiting for - a pep rally with little substance from their candidate. I found Mitt's comments regarding PBS funding interesting....seems the Republican agenda is to kill anything that offers a balance in information, supports the middle class, and brings light to issues. Overall, the Republican view of the middle class is the group who will pick up the tab for upper income indiscretions. Also, we need renewables and to lessen our dependence on oil going forward. The jobs which Mitt claims will be created by harvesting North American oil and coal will be short lived and flash in the pan - hardly contributing to much of anything other than an oil rush with a short swell in local economies. We need to develop US sustainability on every front, and what the Repubs want to do is maximize profits at the expense of the environment and middle class. True....Mittens had little to nothing to do with Massachusett's educational standings. Funny too, Mitt wants to repeal his own health care plan. Where did he get the $2,000 ish figure claims on what Obamacare will cost the middle class family? Anybody?

What I took away was that while Romney was certainly the more entertaining of the two, he was mostly just forcefully reiterating the same vague or often-debunked talking points that Obama dismissed concisely - "It's math. It's arithmetic.'' and "Is the reason that Gov. Romney is keeping all these plans to replace secret, because they are too good?”

We already know Romney's plan has little in the way of actual specifics and that loopholes alone can't come close to paying for a 20% across-the-board tax drop, we already know that a voucher system establishes a healthcare cost baseline instead of setting the standard for coverage, we already know that Medicare Advantage is an unnecessary and redundant privatization, etc.

It is a fiction that lowering the tax burden on the 1000-employee 'small' retail businesses is going to turn into US jobs as long as the vast majority of our goods are imported and manufactured at a fraction of domestic wages.

I lol'ed.

Sesame Street isn't the point, though - it's that ad-supported reporting and programming in inherently compromised by being beholden to their money. We created public media outlets to create content that could survive without having to be profitable. Some important ideas don't sell merchandise and ad slots. Regardless, if you want to stop paying for PBS you need to address it on a State level - State taxes are a much larger portion their overall funding than Federal.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oc6qnYTBz18/TkKr3NEWNCI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/SF1F5yJyf_w/s320/pbs-funding.jpg

Your right Melisa, the programs would continue. Here is the thing, they would continue with commercials. I think it is kind of nice for toddlers to not be constantly bombarded with ads for fast food and toys- Lord knows they will be before long.

Well said Amend. I don't get the PBS-leftist connection either. It's as interesting to me as the republican-Jesus connection!

It's funny that they don't publicize that the Kerrys' tax rate was lower than the Romneys'!

@careless fills- why would Kerry's tax rate be relevant? He isn't running for office, nor is he proposing greater tax cuts for for the affluent. If you're implying that those who critique Romney's tax rate should also critique Kerry's, then we agree.

Welcome to the Dark Ages.

Mr Revere, is not culture and education worth anything to you? PBS and other govt supported arts programs contribute to the quality of life for all. Surely we can find the money elsewhere, perhaps PA has some money leftover from their failed voter suppression efforts.

Paul, get back on your horse and keep riding far away from here. My assessment is that you are so ignorant, so much so that to point anything out to you or anger you with facts would be cruel.

Like a breath of fresh air. The fact is that if we were not working four or more months of the year to support our Crazy Uncle Sam, there would be plenty of disposable dollars left in our pockest to fund the necessary and important work of supporting each other and these types of organizations. Just like it was done, very sucessfully, only a short time ago. In allowing the federal government to grow as it has over the past eighty years, and allowing our freedom to be compromised as it has over the last eleven years, we have robbed ourselves of our roots. With each passing week, right in the middle of town, Lady Liberty hikes up her skirt yet again and prepares Herself for another round of sodomy, accompanied by cheers from the brain dead voters, at the hands of the "leaders" we elect to protect us. What a sham we have become. A shadow of glory, two generations removed, spending billions to bring democracy to the world by arm twisting while promoting tyranny, wrapped in the flag, here at home.

Michael, You are right about the animal abuse. Anyone that owns a dog knows exactly why that dog ended up with diarrhea and had to be hosed down at the gas station and it had nothing to do with what the dog ate. One can only imagine how horrible and loud the sound must have been in that create for that poor dog. At least the dog was smart enough to finally run away. I hope the pup found a better owner. By the way have we ever heard either of the Romney's mention the dogs name when addressing this horrible story? That too says something about their character.

That being said, I don't really think that attacking someone on their looks is really necessary even if they are vying for the title of First Lady.

PBS should remain viewer-supported and refuse government funding. We'd have a better chance at hearing the news covered from the angle of the people, not the way corporate-funded bureaucrats would have us hear it (from every TV news outlet btw) including public-broadcasting. Return PBS to it's roots - the people.

It's always about the money, especially when much of what the department of defense does, makes us less safe here at home.

Right -
or the military bases that are being built over there...when we need so much done here at home!

Exactly why Gary Johnson was excluded. And why Ron Paul was shut out of media coverage.

Sharpie, now your thinking. The biggest hurdle is that the two party system is in control of the debate rules, even to the point of excluding individuals by name, also the current 15% rule. This will take much research and funding to correct, however, is a great strategy. Another is more participation in mid term elelections to vote in third party sympathizers. It's not just the Libertarian party being excluded, it's any other choice. Congress is the key as the watchdog of Liberty.

As long as corporate money controls our government we will never have a free system. Until major figures like Obama reject PAC and lobbyist money as the bribery it is, we are never going to have a substantive debate, a transparent government, or a true voice for the people. This blight has spread to the electorate, too - the corporate-created, corporate-funded, pro-corporate 'grassroots' nonsense like the Tea Party is going to take a hell of a lot of concerted effort from both sides of the aisle, as well as third parties, to shake off a the vastly disproportionate power over our Democracy that the super-wealthy have in this country.

Morgan said:
"As long as corporate money controls our government we will never have a free system."

Since this is a comment section on an article about Big Bird I thought you were coming down on that fowl 1%'er who is on the corporate welfare dole... :-D

And you're crack about the Tea Party - I can state unequivocally that our Lehigh Valley Tea Party is NOT all the things you stated. I'm surprised you would make such a sweeping generalization. We were started by fed-up locals, there is no large corporate funding (I looked in the budget!), and if you would show up at one of our meetings you would find a bunch of your neighbors concerned about the deteriorating state of affairs and the future being left to their children and grandchidren.

Wayne, you don't have to take my word for it - it's well documented from a wide variety of angles. Even if your local group is not directly given money by Americans for Prosperity and their associates, they fund the talk shows that inform you, organize your largest rallies, lobby in your name, and fund the candidates that depend on your vote and act as your voice.

No reasonable person anywhere isn't concerned about the state of affairs and the future that will be left to our children and grandchildren - I just don't understand how the same corporations that moved manufacturing jobs overseas, resist all regulations in regard to the safety of our food, medicine and our environment are the ones who should be beneficiaries of our political action or trusted as the caretakers of the future. Funneling power over our government through corporate interests with ever-eroding regulations and restrictions - Citizen's United is just one of many examples - is the absolute worst direction to push this country in for every single person that isn't at the financial apex of our economy.

The fundamental nature of profit is that you end up with more money than you had before - that money comes from someone else; in proportion, wealth necessitates poverty. A freely elected government is the only balancing force the non-wealthy have, and it is vital to preserve that balance. Non-profit outlets like PBS are a very small part of that.

Oh my, I guess it must be very comforting to "know" that the people who have an opposing point of view from your's must be informed, organized, and led to rallies by what must seem to you as the "dark side"...

You said:
"The fundamental nature of profit is that you end up with more money than you had before - that money comes from someone else; in proportion, wealth necessitates poverty."

I'm... almost speechless.
"wealth necessitates poverty"
Really?
No wonder you think so poorly of us.

Does Big Bird's wealth necessitate poverty?
Well, one revenue stream BB receives is taken from one person (the taxpayer) who does not necessarily benefit from BB's services. So in that sense a person is made poorer by BB's wealth.

But during the course of normal commerce, how does wealth necessitate poverty? If a baker becomes wealthy by making delicious goods who has he caused to be poor?

All I can say is that we must come from two different worlds. There isn't enough time or space to fill up these tiny text boxes to correct a view of economics so simplistically wrong-headed to cause you to utter the phrase "wealth necessitates poverty."

Yes, it's the Green Party and the Justice Party too in addition to Libertarian, and there are probably others. But, why should it be legal to exclude legitimate candidates or parties from the debates? Why don't lawyers and judges step up and demand justice? Perhaps, another format should be investigated for more open debates than the ones currently offered. All laws can be changed esp. when justice is being denied.

Wayne, if you can't see how one person's gain demands another person's loss, I don't know what to tell you to advance this conversation. There's a subtle difference between 'simplistic' and 'rudimentary.' It's not about the baker and his customer - that's a basic value exchange - it's about who makes the baker's flour and whether or not the flour-maker can afford that same baker's delicious goods. It's about whether our national wealth is systemic or isolated. If wealth does not necessitate poverty, please explain to me how profit is possible without, at some level, a negative result unless an amount equal to that profit is reinvested - voluntary or legally - back into the economy at a root level. You don't need to explain it all in a Patch-length post, I'll gladly read any relevant links you might provide!

And, no, it's not comforting at all - it's shocking and disconcerting. I'm not trying to vilify, simplify or compartmentalize you, I'm hoping to illuminate the results and basis of your cause. Liberals want to eliminate the national debt, foster a healthy workforce and eradicate domestic poverty and unemployment, too - I'd like to think our political discourse takes that all as a given.

"It's not about the baker and his customer - that's a basic value exchange - it's about who makes the baker's flour and whether or not the flour-maker can afford that same baker's delicious goods."
Ok, I actually do work for (not at) a bakery but hardly ever buy fresh goods directly from the bakery - supermarket is cheaper. I am also involved in the manufacture of parts for a wide variety of uses. If I make something necessary for the yacht industry but am unable to buy one or even afford a "3 hour tour" has the billionaire yacht magnate caused me to be poorer? I can't imagine how, we made a profit making his parts and that helps my paycheck.
If I must be able to afford all the end products that my labor has contributed to... then I guess I should be a millionaire!
Even if we refuse to go down that "reductio ad absurdum" route we are left with this "leveling" that your philosophy seems to demand. A third party setting of prices, profits, and wages?
I shared your "wealth necessitates poverty" posting with some other people. Here is a response I received:
---
However it is not better economics but righteousness that exalteth a people.
It's not "all about" money, or economics, ultimately. It is better to be poor and free than to "share prosperity" at the expense of liberty.
---
I would add that my prayer is that I would not look covetously at the wealthy person's belongings with envy, nor desire that the government redistributes (steal) his wealth for my benefit.

We can take it to as absurd of a reduction as you'd like, but there's simply no getting around gain and loss being inversely proportional at a fundamental level. And I'm not saying that the maker of every yacht cog should be given a yacht, but that they should earn enough to afford the cog itself with the labor it took to make it. The billionaire yacht magnate's refusal to pay the cost of the cog's manufacturing drives down the value of the cog maker's labor until they can't afford the very cogs they make. Ideally, the price of that cog is set not by a third party, but by the cog maker himself - unfortunately, in reality, the billionaire can trump that entirely by leveraging the investors of the cog company to meet his price, or by leaving the economy entirely for outside labor. The long-term result of that, as we're seeing in US today, is awfully close to Plutocratic rule.

As to your response, that really gets at what (I assume to be) a core difference - I completely reject the concept of money as private property. In a government by the people, federal currency is of the people. It functions only in circulation - if its not circulating by choice, it needs to be circulated by regulation; it's not a thing you own, it's a shared system of currency exchange.

There is no true liberty that comes at the expense of others, nor righteousness in their oppression.

Morgan, again you make another statement that just staggers me...

"I completely reject the concept of money as private property."

Yes, I'd say that's a core difference.

So it turns out that my Tea Party 'grassroots' nonsense of believing my money is *my money* is radical and has to be explained to you for your satisfaction while your concept of money is not?

This is what the election is about, isn't it? Whose money is it?

I thought it might be a point we would differ on! I'm not asking you to explain anything, to my satisfaction or not. I'll be happy to elaborate further on the nature of currency, though, if you wanted to hear it. 'Your money' is not exactly yours - it's a Federal Reserve Note, and it only holds value because it is guaranteed by government obligation which is, in turn, dependent on the greater financial infrastructure of this country that needs every single dollar, spent by both the rich and the poor, being circulated through transactions. Money itself is a systemically dependent abstraction. I don't think that's a radical position, especially if we're talking about fiat currency. Maybe it is?

That's not the nonsense part I was talking about with the Tea Party. I was referring to, generally, the notion that it's a 'grassroots' group despite the huge support and guiding hands of Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, think tanks and lobbyists funded by the companies that benefit the most from decreased regulation of limiting outsourcing, safety regulations and environmental damage, and who were the beneficiaries of the execrable Citizen's United.

Obviously, you know your local group far better than I do, and if I'm mischaracterizing them as being the voting block for corporations and special interests, then I will gladly rescind that blanket statement. What I have read and seen, though, indicates otherwise, at least on a national level.

And, yes, I suppose that the concept of 'whose money is it' has been central to the modern political discussion, and this election in particular. Or, rather, 'who built it,' I suppose? This whole awesome American experience is, and has long been, a social collaboration, and we have long been engaged in a broad egalitarian mission to raise the baseline standard of living in this country for all citizens - to 'promote the general Welfare' is part of our guiding concept. I don't want what the wealthy have, I want our wealthiest to invest their money back into the country, and, in some fashion, that is going to involve them being less proportionately wealthy - It doesn't have to be through taxes, if I had my choice it would be through actually paying American wages to manufacturers of things sold in America.

In reply to Morgan's request for a link 'splaining things...

This is a short video (4 minutes) about gov't being used to subsidize and "pick winners". It is a comparison of OWS and TP goals.
http://youtu.be/fsn3uzydr8k

If you desire info on economics I've always found the resources at http://www.fee.org/ helpful. The sidebar links to I,Pencil and Economics in One Lesson are fundamental.

I'll check those out - thanks, Wayne! Also, thanks for talking with me about this stuff in general - I have found it thought provoking.

Not everything worth saying is also profitable. There may not be a legal need, or a fiscal need, but there's certainly a social need for free children's education, high-level science presentations, and potentially-controversial well-researched documentaries.

Don't recall government spending coming down the last time a Republican was in the presidential office. And, please let's not forget that it was a Republican president that bailed out the banksters.

Get third party candidates a voice on the debates. Demand justice.

co2 - I agree, tax revenue should not go to corporations unless a product is being bought for a legitimate need. Whether it's a large or small amount should not matter.

@kannan - Your first two items are too silly to reply to, your third item shows the depth of your ignorance of reality. The high price of gas is directly linked to the lack of value in the dollar. The never ending printing of money is the cause and the resulting inflation is the "tax" that everyone pays for Obama's spending habits. No matter who wins this election this country will be paying for the unbridaled spending by Obama and Congress.