New education secretary asserts her homophobia

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has denounced PBS for spending public money on a cartoon with lesbian characters. The yet-unaired episode of "Postcards from Buster'' shows Buster (an animated bunny) on a trip to Vermont—a state that recognizes same-sex civil unions. The episode, called "Sugartime!", focuses on farm life and maple sugaring but happens to include two lesbian couples.

Spellings said the "Sugartime!'' episode does not fulfill the intent Congress had in mind for programming. By law, she said, any funded shows must give top attention to "research-based educational objectives, content, and materials.''

Lea Sloan, vice president of media relations at PBS, responded: "The fact that there is a family structure that is objectionable to the Department of Education is not at all the focus of the show, nor is it addressed in the show." However, Sloan also said, "The department's concerns align very closely with PBS' concerns, and for that reason, it was decided that PBS will not be providing the episode.''

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