Bye-Bye Big Birdy?

Will Big Bird join the dodo on the list of extinct flightless birds? Probably not, but look for people to start crying "Fowl!" when they learn that PBS may lose some of its federal funding:

House Panel Cuts Public Broadcasting

WASHINGTON - Public television stations and National Public Radio would lose 25 percent of their funding next year under a bill cleared by a House committee Thursday night, although some of their funding for future years would be restored.

The moves came as the House Appropriations panel approved a tightly drawn spending bill for labor, health and education programs. For the first time since the early days of GOP control of Congress 10 years ago, the measure, taken as a whole, makes actual cuts to the programs funded by the bill.

The bill is perhaps the most controversial spending bill that passes Congress each year, and Senate GOP moderates have traditionally forced more money into it. Tight budget times, however, promise to make that difficult this time around.

It's about time someone decided to start trimming the fat from the sacred cow that is public television. Let them compete in the free market with every other purveyor of putrefied programming. If there really is a demand for shows like Sesame Street and Eastenders, then people will be willing to pay for them--or at least be willing to sit through a few commercials.