Sesame Street has always been a wonderful institution.

Anyone who is of a certain age knows the classic Sesame Street songs, characters, animations, and scenes.  It is wonderful nostalgia for us to think about it and the impact it had on our youth.  Its diligent attention to serving all populations of children, addressing issues many face (death, incarceration, physical disabilities, race) has made it a cultural bedrock for childhood education. With the massive increase in the number of children's networks, I'm deeply saddened to say that the show will not have the same impact on my kids as it did for me.  We had it in our house briefly, but it didn't last long.

That said, I know it does still resonate strongly with many children and their families.  Today, 60 Minutes did a piece on Sesame Street's new Muppet character, a child named Julia who lives with autism.  I absolutely love the notion of introducing a character with a developmental disability to help teach children that those who live with these disabilities are just as worthy of love and attention as they are.  Kudos to the Sesame Workshop for doing this!

I encourage you to look up the 60 Minutes piece, but here is a small sample of Julia:

So this story comes right on the heels of the Big Bad Buffoon Budget Blast that we got the other day which kills all federal funding to the National Endowment for the Arts and PBS.  Sesame Street has always prided itself on thoroughly researching issues like autism and how to properly teach "typical" children (the term used for my kids who were in developmental disability preschool classes as kids without disabilities).  The show's research goes back to it's inception almost fifty years ago when it was first developing the notion of educational children's television.  It has been proven time and again that IT DOES WORK, no matter what 45 and Dick, I mean Mick, Mullvaney want us to believe. Show us your provable research that PBS does no good, and I bet anything the staff at Sesame Workshop will show you at least three times as much research proving it does.

I'll end with this copy-and-share opportunity:

Immediately after the election Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller explained that Melania would be staying in New York because there was "obviously a sensitivity to pulling out a 10-year-old in the middle of the school year".
We have since learned that the cost of security for Melania and Barron to remain at Trump Tower is $183 million/year. There is also no indication that they will actually move to DC this summer. So in essence the Federal government is giving the Trump family a $183 million annual voucher so Barron can attend the elite private prep school of his choice.
Meanwhile, we learned last night that Trump's budget would completely eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA, with an annual budget of only $148 million, is able to provide seed money for arts programming in literally every Congressional district in the country.
So, on the one hand you have a $183 million school voucher for a single 10-year-old at an elite private school. On the other hand you have a program that impacts arts and cultural programming throughout the entire nation.
NOT NORMAL. #Resist

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BROADWAY LEADING LADIES BRACKET CHALLENGE

 ELAINE STRITCH MEMORIAL BRACKET

#1 Angela Lansbury v. #16 Stephanie J. Block

#8 Christine Ebersole v. #9 Debra Monk

#4 Tyne Daly v. #13 Megan Hilty

#5 Faith Prince v. #12 Jessie Mueller