Education secretary overwhelmed by antigay support

After Education secretary Margaret Spellings complained to PBS in January about an episode of a children's TV show that included two families headed by lesbian couples, she received nearly 200,000 e-mails, letters, and postcards in response to the controversy, according to USA Today. The Bush appointee heard from 197,610 people, and 81% supported her position, according to figures released by the Education Department. But most of the responses came from the antigay American Family Association, which sent 157,537 messages. The Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, generated 36,233 responses. In addition, one letter was signed by 35 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, while another was signed by 64 members of the Vermont legislature. Meanwhile, the show in question, Postcards From Buster, "probably won't qualify for the next five-year round of funding because the grant now focuses on reading," Nina Rees, the Education Department assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement, told the paper.