Letter of the Day Is “S” for “Suckers” — Americans Paying $20 Million for “Sesame Street” TV Show in Pakistan
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on April 10, 2011
Sesame Street will soon be coming to Pakistan, where Islamic terrorists are popped out with regularity like roasted ballpark peanuts from a salty shell. And, yep, we’re all paying for it.
Were the results of the 2010 elections, the shellacking of wasteful, spendthrift Democrats and RINOS, just a fading bad dream to these weasels? What part of “we’re dead broke and we’re plunging into a financial hell hole” do they simply not comprehend? Congress thinks we don’t waste taxpayers’ money on enough “but, think of the children!” expenditures here in America, so now we must use the MONEY WE’VE BORROWED FROM CHINA to capriciously fund a kids’ TV program in Pakistan.
Why on Earth are we paying for this program and not PBS, not a private donor, not Pakistan? I don’t see any of the “you’re not taxed enough” millionaire liberals like Michael Moore or Stephen King or Bill Gates or Warren Buffet stepping up and shelling out a few mill from their super-fat, undertaxed wallets for this bloody nonsense.
From BBC, US to fund $20m remake of Sesame Street for Pakistan:
The United States is funding a Pakistani remake of the popular TV children’s show Sesame Street.
In a new effort to win hearts and minds in Pakistan, USAID – the development arm of the US government – is donating $20m (£12m) to the country to create a local Urdu version of the show.
The project aims to boost education in Pakistan, where many children have no access to regular schooling.
The show is to be filmed in Lahore and aired later in the year.
“The programme is part of a series of ventures that is aimed at developing the educational infrastructure in the country,” Virginia Morgan, a spokesperson for USAID, told the BBC.
“Education is one of the vital sectors that need help in Pakistan.”
The show will be set in a village in Pakistan – rather than the streets of New York – with roadside tea shop and residents sitting on their verandas.
The remake will star a puppet called Rani, the six-year-old daughter of a peasant farmer, with pigtails and a school uniform, according to Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
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Targeting five to nine year olds, the series will run on Pakistan national TV and regional language channels.
Sesame Street is not entirely alien to Pakistani audiences – the original version ran on local TV during the 1990s.
But it could only be understood across the limited, Westernised section of Pakistani society.
For the record — only 21.4 out of every 1,000 people even have a television set in Pakistan. That’s less than 3 percent. Radio ownership is somewhat higher: 9.3 percent.
From Another Black Conservative:
It seems like the prevailing attitude in Washington is so long as money is flowing in, they will continue to spend regardless of where the money comes from. This is exactly why Washington has a spending problem and not a revenue problem.
The best thing that could happen for America in 2012 would be to elect the cheapest tightwad we can find for President. Someone who would be outraged over $50 for bathroom tissue and veto every wasteful project in sight. Oh Lord, where is that man or woman?
From The Daily Caller, $20 million USAID grant goes to produce Pakistani Sesame Street:
As American politicians debate the possible de-funding of American public broadcasting, the U.S. government is spending big bucks to bolster entertainment in foreign countries.
USAID has dedicated $20 million to remake “Sesame Street” for Pakistani children. The four-year series will feature 78 episodes in Urdu and 56 in other local languages. The show, called “SimSim Humara,” will be set in a bustling village.
According to a report in The Guardian, the show aims to have “strong female characters and carry an implicit message of tolerance but will feature no pro-American propaganda or overt challenge to hardline religious sentiment.”
The Guardian reports that civilian foreign aid to Pakistan is at $1.5 billion a year, having been tripled by the Obama administration.
From Doug Powers @ Michelle Malkin’s place, The Spending Cut That Got Away: $20 Million for Sesame Street… in Pakistan?
Those of you who were worried that Congress and the president got way too overzealous with their spending cuts yesterday can rest easy. As you’re about to discover, absolutely essential spending remains intact and fully funded.
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The Guardian reports that the American taxpayer supported Pakistan version of Sesame Street will carry an implicit message of tolerance but will feature absolutely no pro-American propaganda. So it’ll be pretty much like the US version of Sesame Street.
Only 576 days until the 2012 elections, patriots…
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“The programme is part of a series of ventures that is aimed at developing the educational infrastructure in the country,” Virginia Morgan, a spokesperson for USAID, told the BBC.
“Education is one of the vital sectors that need help in Pakistan.
So, how do you feel about the $2 BILLION spent on military aid?
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The best thing that could happen for America in 2012 would be to elect the cheapest tightwad we can find for President. Someone who would be outraged over $50 for bathroom tissue and veto every wasteful project in sight. Oh Lord, where is that man or woman?
I loved this! Definitely not The Donald. He’ll have the White House covered in gold leaf.
If we’re going to keep giving billions to other countries, I’d rather it all go to Dafur and the Congo. Most definitely not to nations where a growing number of Islamic radicals want all Americans dead. However, why are we giving anyone any money for a TV show (in a nation where only 21.4 out of every 1,000 even have a television set) when we’re borrowing billions from China? Maybe China should pay for Pakistan’s Sesame Street instead. Since the show won’t showcase anything positive about the United States anyway, why not? Some Communist Chinese propaganda and suppression of free speech mixed in with oppressive sharia law and jihadist teachings could be… interesting.
J/K