Where have you gone, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird?In a more innocent time, the hallowed puppets of Sesame Street were recurring characters in congressional debates about public broadcasting. They served a vital and somewhat quaint Kabuki function: Whenever a politician questioned whether PBS or NPR should continue to receive government funding, public broadcast advocates predictably trotted out their furry or feathered friends to disarm the bullies and remind everyone how beloved these iconic creatures are. Especially by kids. Remember the kids!Sadly, Messrs. Elmo, Monster, and Bird were nowhere to be seen on Capitol Hill today. They would not have fit in, anyway, as the proceedings in a crowded basement-level hearing room of the Capitol Visitor Center were not sweet, accepting, or the least bit neighborly.[Tom Junod: My friend Mr. Rogers]Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, had invited the head of PBS, Paula Kerger, and of NPR, Katherine Maher,… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.
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