Big Bird? More like big government. And don't even start trying to list all the hidden innuendo jam packed in Tickle Me Elmo.
And that's not Oscar the Grouch speaking; it's the very expert opinion of lawyer and author Ben Shapiro, whose new book "Primetime Propaganda," takes on what he alleges is Hollywood's liberal bias.
Shapiro, a syndicated columnist whose books include "Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future," asserts in his new tome that there is an inherent and very intentional effort by entertainment industry leaders to "shape America in their own leftist image," as he told the UK's Independent.
Chief amongst Shapiro's alleged liberal offenders is Sesame Street, the Jim Henson-created educational show carried on PBS, the public network with few conservative fans or defenders.
Citing interviews with one of the show's creators, early episodes of the show featuring hippies and racial reconciliation and, more recently, incidents such as 2009's "Pox News" controversy, Shapiro writes that "Sesame Street tried to tackle divorce, tackled 'peaceful conflict resolution' in the aftermath of 9/11 and had Neil Patrick Harris on the show playing the subtly-named 'fairy shoeperson.'"
Patrick Harris, to Shapiro's chagrin, is gay. And, even scarier, Cookie Monster says cookies are only a sometimes food now; the venerable sweets machine has added fruits and vegetables to his diet, indicating a major liberal plot.
Interestingly, the book comes seven years after then-President Bush appointed two big political donors, Cheryl Halpern and Gay Hart Gaines, to the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which began creating a slew of programming with a more conservative tone intended for PBS.
Shapiro also attacks venerable 80's institutional "Macgyver" (who escaped the criticism on a paperclip and floss zipline) and "Happy Days," among other shows. For more, click over to The Independent.