Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (right) has a bizarre excuse to cut funding for the state’s PBS television station. It’s all over Clifford the Dog, a cartoon he says “indoctrinates children”. I’m going to go out on a limb here to suggest the Republicans are going too far. Maybe they’ve run out of books to ban.
LGBTQ Nation Reports:
Stitt shocked many when he recently vetoed HB 2820, a routine bill that would have approved funding for the Oklahoma Education Television Authority (OETA) – which broadcasts PBS in the state – until 2026.
“I don’t think the people of Oklahom want to use their tax money to indoctrinate children,” Stitt said at a press conference. “And some of the things that they show, it sexualizes our kids too much. There are parents advocating for children’s transition on PBS being played. There are LGBTQIA2S+ voices that are uplifting.”
He curiously called it “an outdated system” that “had its place in 1957”.
“If you want to watch this, that’s fine, but why am I using taxpayers’ money to support this?” he said. “I don’t think we need that, and I’m happy to veto this bill.”
They’re angry because it’s an inclusive cartoon. OTOH, Republicans are still crazy.
Later, a spokeswoman for Stitt provided examples of this LGBTQ+ “indoctrination” to Tulsa World. She explained that OETA had implemented Pride Month programming for the past few years and also mentioned a PBS Newshour segment in which the parents of a trans child spoke about the benefits of gender-affirming care. . She also denounced episodes of two children’s cartoons (Work it out Wombats! and Clifford the Big Red Dog) that included lesbian characters.
Ken Busby, a board member of the nonprofit Friends of OETA, said Stitt’s veto puts the state’s security systems at risk because OETA runs many of them.
“Tornado warnings, Amber alerts, that sort of thing,” he said. “They come from our broadcast towers, which are scattered across the state.”
He continued to mock Stitt.
“I have a device called a remote, and I can turn it off,” he added. “I can change the channel. I can go read a book. I can go do something else. I can go play Frisbee.”
Imagine that.
#Indoctrinate #kids #GOP #government #angry #Clifford #dog
