[Blarg]

I just read that too, and it was yet another eye-roller for our brittle, PC times. Not liking Oscar and Cookie Monster, much less finding them harmful, is about as absurd as it gets. And the new Elmo-type stuff is smarmy, btw. Give me a good ole ravenous cookie-monster, who isn't quite in control of himself, any day. And a good ole REALLY grouchy Oscar the Grouch.

I also don't believe that death or most of the hard parts of life should be hidden for kids. They should be treated as the normal parts of life that they are, so kids don't turn them even more monstrous in their imaginations and wind up even less psychologically prepared for them. We don't have to introduce them to absolutely everything and in the worst ways possible, but when you start worrying about even good-natured puppets -- so good-natured that even the monsters are fun and you want them for pals -- being bad influences, you're getting too precious and brittle to live. I'm far more uncomfortable with over-protective parenting than of letting kids know that they live in a lively, sometimes difficult world.

P.S.: Monsterpiece Theater was funny!