Oh, He's Out There, Alright
Representative Ralph Regula (R, Ohio), quoted in a Boston Globe article about proposed cuts to Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding, regarding PBS and NPR supporters:
"They've got a bigger megaphone than I do," he said. "They'll trot out Elmo and Mickey Mouse and Lord knows who else, and I'll be out there kind of by myself."
What we'll be trotting out is certainly not Mickey Mouse (who's a registered trademark, I believe, among other things, of the Walt Disney Company), but the programming we depend upon—and support with both our tax dollars and regular donations—such as Morning Edition, NewsHour, Between the Lions, and yes, the show that my son refers to as "Elmo".
You can have your tax cut back—really! I never asked for one anyway—if it means we can't pay for Sesame Street. Somehow, however, I don't think that's the case. It's hard to believe that CPB is the reason for our huge federal deficits, and that it's really a choice between "giving a little more money to handicapped children versus providing appropriations for public broadcasting." It's about not even making a drop in the bucket when it comes to reducing the size of government while taking out what you perceive to be a bastion of liberal bias. Dorkwad.