Newt Goes Gunnin' for PBS' Sesame Street
SATIRICUS
CNN's Inside Politics reporter Robert Novak reported Thursday, June 25 that
House Speaker Newt Gingrich would be going on a self-promotional tour during
his break from Congress during which he would begin his own tepidly
watered-down version of a"Just Say No to Smoking" campaign for teens.
Novak also alleged that Gingrich was planning to take on PBS' Sesame Street
over either a human or Muppet character chompin' on a cigar in one scene or
other from an episode of the 30-year-old ongoing children's series.
So expect Newt Gingrich to out-grouch Oscar the Grouch over that alleged
cigar-chompin' character in a scene from a Sesame Street episode.
Just remember, last Friday, June 19, Newt Gingrich's press aide promised
ice cream to a bunch of children whom he had rounded up to pose with Newt
Gingrich for a photo opportunity, supposedly depicting Newt educating them
about the evils of smoking. Only both he and Gingrich welched on that promise,
making a little girl cry and the other children protest in outrage. Worst of
all, Newt Gingrich was either too cheap or too callous --- or both --- to even
have his press aide go pick up some ice cream or treat the kids to ice cream at
a nearby ice-cream parlor.
Now the mean old Gingrinch is gunnin' for PBS' Sesame Street.
And frankly, I can't say I'm the least bit surprised.
--- SATIRICUS REX
Joshua Halpern
SATIRICUS <sati...@aol.com> wrote:
SNIP...
: all, Newt Gingrich was either too cheap or too callous --- or both --- to even
: have his press aide go pick up some ice cream or treat the kids to ice cream at
: a nearby ice-cream parlor.
THERE IS NO NEARBY ICE-CREAM PALOR DAMNIT!!!!!! (I live on Capital
Hill and I WANT one!!!)
josh halpern
SATIRICUS
SATIRICUS REX: "CNN's Inside Politics reporter Robert Novak reported Thursday,
June 25 that House Speaker Newt Gingrich would be going on a self-promotional
tour during his break from Congress during which he would begin his own tepidly
watered-down version of a 'Just Say No to Smoking' campaign for teens.
"Novak also alleged that Gingrich was planning to take on PBS' Sesame
Street
over either a human or Muppet character chompin' on a cigar in one scene or
other from an episode of the 30-year-old ongoing children's series.
"So expect Newt Gingrich to out-grouch Oscar the Grouch over that alleged
cigar-chompin' character in a scene from a Sesame Street episode.
"Just remember, last Friday, June 19, Newt Gingrich's press aide promised
ice cream to a bunch of children whom he had rounded up to pose with Newt
Gingrich for a photo opportunity, supposedly depicting Newt educating them
about the evils of smoking. Only both he and Gingrich welched on that promise,
making a little girl cry and the other children protest in outrage. Worst of
all, Newt Gingrich was either too cheap or too callous --- or both --- to even
have his press aide go pick up some ice cream or treat the kids to ice cream at
a nearby ice-cream parlor."
Excerpt from the Friday, June 19, 1998 United Press International News story:
NEWT GINGRICH WELCHES ON ICE-CREAM PROMISE CAUSING CHILDREN TO PROTEST AND CRY
WASHINGTON --- Two days after tobacco legislation died in the Senate,
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., spoke outside the Capitol in Washington,
Friday, June 19, 1998, saying the Republicans in the House would soon unveil a
separate, slimmed-down bill to curtail teen smoking.
Gingrich, accompanied by some of the young people he wants to protect,
added that he believed President Clinton would sign his streamlined version of
a tobacco bill.
To illustrate the Republican commitment to children, Gingrich's press aide
rounded up several dozen youngsters who were touring the Capitol, and persuaded
them to pose behind Gingrich at the outdoor press conference.
Children are a traditional backdrop at the Democrats' anti-tobacco news
events.
But after Gingrich's brief remarks, the staffer was forced to admit he had
no ice cream.
The children protested loudly, and even though Gingrich signed autographs
for everyone and offered to let them into his office to see his Tyranosaurus
Rex skull, at least one little girl burst into tears.
_________________________________________________
SATIRICUS REX: "Now the mean old Gingrinch is gunnin' for PBS' Sesame Street.
And frankly, I can't say I'm the least bit surprised."
Josh Halpern (j...@IDT.NET): "THERE IS NO NEARBY ICE-CREAM PALOR DAMNIT!!!!!! (I
live on Capital Hill and I WANT one!!!)"
Your sorry apologism for Newt's welching on his ice cream promise is SO
TELLING!
Any senator or congressman worth his salt would have ordered his press aide
to send out for ice cream PRONTO! After all, whether he had to get it from a
grocery store or a convenience store, a promise is a promise is a promise to a
kid. That Gingrich exploited those children for a self-serving photo op was
outrageous enough BUT for him to done nothing to genuinely rectify the
situation and welched on them for something as cheap (to a congressman) as ice
cream is the epitome of callousness and depravity, espeically since those
children had been thinking about and salivating for ice cream all during that
long photo-op shoot.
And shame on you too for defending such indefensibly bad behavior on Newt's
part!
-- SATIRICUS REX ?:^)
"IN VITAMEATAVEGAMIN EST VINO MIRABILIS!" -- SATIRICUS REX, The
Vitameatavegamin of Politics
Stan Rothwell
You OBVIOUSLY have too much time on your hands...
SATIRICUS
Stan Rothwell (roth...@ix.netcom.com): "You OBVIOUSLY have too much time on
your hands."
Better to have too much time on your hands than to have too little (or none
at all) ice cream on hand after making a promise to a group of kids that you're
gonna feed 'em ice cream right after they pose with you for a photograph to be
used in the newspapers, magazines, etc.
After all, with too much time on your hands, you can afford to take the time
to either send out for ice cream or go fetch it yourself and no welch on your
ice cream promise to the kids like Newt Gingrich did.
SATIRICUS
Boy, if he goes through with his plans to attack Sesame Street in the coming
weeks (as CNN's Robert Novak reported he would), then Newt Gingrich risks
provoking the outrage of none other than former First Lady Barbara Bush herself
whose own Sesame Street-inspired painting is now on a national tour with many
others!
> Tuesday, June 30, 1998 Press Release from The Children's Television Workship,
producers of "Sesame Street":
SESAME STREET's Art From the Fuzzy and Famous Hits the Road With a National,
12-City, Celebrity Art Tour Mounted In Celebration of Children's Television
Workshop's 30th Year
NEW YORK, and TROY, Mich., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Television
Workshop (CTW), as part of its 30th celebration, presents Sesame Street's ART
FROM THE FUZZY AND FAMOUS, a one-of-a-kind celebrity art exhibit that will
traverse the nation on a nine month, 12-city tour exclusively sponsored by
Kmart. Celebrity guests, cast and Muppet creators, plus special friends of the
landmark show including Rosie O'Donnell, Tony Bennett, Mary Chapin Carpenter,
Itzhak Perlman, and former First Lady Barbara Bush, have created personal works
of art that capture their individual memories of Sesame Street. The tour will
launch on July 14, 1998 in Los Angeles and will continue on to San Francisco
and Seattle before heading east to Minneapolis, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit,
Houston, Washington D.C., Miami, Philadelphia, and New York (complete venue
list below).
After nine months on the road, the exhibit's final destination is Sotheby's
in March 1999. The prestigious auction house will be the site of a gala
charity auction of the artwork, with proceeds benefiting three nationally
recognized children's charities: The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS
Foundation, The National Black Child Development Institute and Reading is
Fundamental.
The inspiration behind Sesame Street's ART FROM THE FUZZY AND FAMOUS
exhibition was Children's Television Workshop's desire to thank the millions of
children and their families who have supported Sesame Street throughout the
years. Celebrity guests, cast and Muppet creators, plus special friends of the
show were asked to contribute a personal piece of art based on what Sesame
Street meant to them. Within days, artwork began arriving resulting in an
eclectic collection of more than 50 pieces.
"It is extremely gratifying to see that Sesame Street has touched people in
such a way that they felt inspired to participate in our celebration," says
Allyson Kossow-Felix, Vice President Marketing and Communications for
Children's Television Workshop. "We are amazed at the diversity of the artwork
we have received, everything from paintings and drawings to lithographs,
animation cells, even a quilt. We truly have a wonderful exhibit for our 30th
anniversary and we hope families will enjoy it when it arrives in their city."
Helping make the traveling art tour possible is Kmart, the official sponsor
of Sesame Street's ART FROM THE FUZZY AND FAMOUS. "We are very proud of our
partnership with CTW and Sesame Street," says Lorna Nagler, Kmart's Infants,
Toddlers and Children's Wear Divisional Vice-President. "Many of us learned
our ABC's and 1-2-3's while watching Big Bird, and now our children giggle
along with Elmo. We know our customers feel the same affection for Sesame
Street so we are thrilled to offer them this fun and unique exhibit as another
way to experience their favorite characters."
CTW hired Frances Ingersoll, a consultant to Sotheby's who most recently
spent 4-1/2 years as their animation specialist, as the exhibit's curator.
Ingersoll's charge was to create an environment that could work in both
non-traditional and conventional gallery spaces.
In addition to incorporating actual set pieces from Sesame Street,Ingersoll
has designed a display template for works ranging from an original Tony Bennett
lithograph to a six-by-six foot, 25-square quilt by the Jim Henson Workshop in
New York, Kevin Kline's giggly watercolor of Cookie Monster, a William Wegman
photograph with his favorite canines Batty & Crooky, paper tube collages by
gospel singer Odetta, a whimsical clock with Oscar, Big Bird and her friends
from the "Street" by 8-year-old former cast member, Lexine Bondoc, to a "P is
for Pear" oil painting by Carly Simon.
On Tuesday, July 7, a 48-foot 18-wheeler will depart from Children's
Television Workshop's New York headquarters bound for the first tour
destination, a 2-week exhibition in Los Angeles. The rig will feature a
custom-designed, scotch-print wrapped trailer created by Duggal Color Projects
Inc. sporting the lovable faces of Ernie, Big Bird, Elmo, The Count among
others.
Each of the more than 50 pieces of art have been custom framed by the Gould
Family of the Bethlehem Gallery in New Windsor, NY. Both Duggal Color Projects
Inc. and the Bethlehem Gallery donated portions of their fee in support of the
30th celebration.
Children's Television Workshop (CTW) is a not-for-profit company using
media to educate and delight children and families worldwide. Its expertise
encompasses television, online, CD-ROM, print, product licensing, publishing,
film, and community outreach. Best known as the creators of Sesame Street --
approaching its 30th season on PBS -- CTW programming has been enjoyed in more
than 140 countries, including 19 indigenous co-productions reflecting local
languages, customs and educational needs.
The CTW (Children's Television Workshop) and Nickelodeon recently launched
NOGGIN, an education cable network for children. CTW's television titles: Big
Bag, The New Ghostwriter Mysteries, Ghostwriter, CRO, DragonTales & Show and
Tell Me (in development), 3-2-1 Contact, Square One TV, Encyclopedia and The
Electric Company. CTW magazines: Sesame Street Magazine, Sesame Street
Parents, Kid City, Contact Kids and Padres de Sesame Street, and Children's
Television Workshop Online: www.ctw.org.
Check out Children's Television Workshop Online: www.ctw.org for more
information.
Tour Schedule of
"SESAME STREET: ART FROM THE FUZZY AND FAMOUS"
July 14 - 26, 1998 Los Angeles Every Picture Tells A Story
July 29 - Aug 16, 1998 San Francisco International Children's Art Museum
Aug. 21- Sept 3, 1998 Seattle Pacific Science Museum
Sept. 10 - 23, 1998 Chicago Museum of Broadcast Communications
Sept, 27 - Oct. 10, 1998 St. Paul Minnesota Children's Museum
Oct. 15-Nov. 3 1998 Dallas African American Museum
Nov. 7-Nov. 28, 1998 Houston Children's Museum of Houston
Dec. 3- Dec. 10, 1998 Detroit (To Be Announced)
Dec. 13- Jan. 3, 1999 Washington, D.C. Capitol Children's Museum
Jan. 9- 21, 1999 Miami (To Be Announced)
Jan. 27- Feb. 8, 1999 Philadelphia Please Touch Museum
Feb. 12-TBD New York Donell Library Center
Early March 1999 New York Sotheby's Auction
____________________________________________________
SATIRICUS
_________________________________________________
> SATIRICUS REX: "Your sorry apologism for Newt's welching on his ice cream
promise is SO TELLING! Any senator or congressman worth his salt would have
ordered his press aide to send out for ice cream PRONTO! After all, whether he
had to get it from a grocery store or a convenience store, a promise is a
promise is a promise to a kid. That Gingrich exploited those children for a
self-serving photo op was outrageous enough BUT for him to done nothing to
genuinely rectify the situation and welched on them for something as cheap (to
a congressman) as ice cream is the epitome of callousness and depravity,
espeically since those children had been thinking about and salivating for ice
cream all during that long photo-op shoot. And shame on you too for defending
such indefensibly bad behavior on Newt's part!"
Stan Rothwell (roth...@ix.netcom.com): "You OBVIOUSLY have too much time on
your hands."
SATIRICUS REX: "Better to have too much time on your hands than to have too
little (or none at all) ice cream on hand after making a promise to a group of
kids that you're gonna feed 'em ice cream right after they pose with you for a
photograph to be used in the newspapers, magazines, etc. After all, with too
much time on your hands, you can afford to take the time to either send out for
ice cream or go fetch it yourself and no welch on your ice cream promise to the
kids like Newt Gingrich did."
U P D A T E
What CNN's Robert Novak predicted back on Thursday, June 25 has been
substantiated by a news story about Republican House Majority Leader Dick
Armey's unfamiliarity with the Muppets!
Excerpt from the Friday, July 10, 1998 Houston Chronicle news story:
DICK ARMEY VS. MISS PIGGY
House Majority Leader Dick Armey may know the difference between a flat and
a graduated income tax, but he can't tell Kermit the Frog from Miss Piggy.
During a recent meeting of House GOP leaders, Speaker Newt Gingrich
complained that there was so much smoking in films these days that even a
Muppet has been seen puffing a cigar. Asked a perplexed Armey: "What's a
Muppet?"
It does seem odd that not one of the world-famous characters has penetrated
the Texas Republican leader's consciousness. His spokeswoman summed up: "When
Miss Piggy sings country music, Dick Armey will know who she is."
_______________________________________________
Now the difference here, folks, is that Newt raised the issue of Sesame
Street and the Muppets *behind closed doors* in a private Republican meeting.
And yet, by doing so, Newt has inadvertently let the cat out of the bag since
the Armey story has come to light.
Boy, if Newt does goes through with his plans to attack Sesame Street in the
coming
weeks, then Newt Gingrich still risks provoking the outrage of none other than
former First Lady Barbara Bush herself whose own Sesame Street-inspired
painting is now on a national tour with many others! And knowing that her
eldest son, George, Jr., has aspirations to run for the White House, I wouldn't
be the least surprised to see Barbara Bush take on Newt in order to attack his
credibility and neutralize him like Millie the Bush's dog shaking a rag doll in
her mouth. : )
Here's more about where you can view Mrs. Bush Sesame Street painting: