Joanna Sugden reports that the Pentagon has deployed a new force on the home front:
The Pentagon yesterday recognized characters from "Sesame Street" for helping children in military families cope when their parents are deployed.A study by Purdue University's Military Family Research Institute found that eight out of 10 parents who watched a "Sesame Street" video about deployment with their child were more comfortable preparing children to cope with their parent's overseas service. ...
The "Sesame Street" video, which made its debut in July, features the character Elmo preparing for his father's long absence, and children and parents of military families discussing deployment.
Miss Sugden this week began an internship with The Washington Times. A graduate of England's Oxford University, Miss Sugden brings to her work a skill rare among American reporters: shorthand. Writing shorthand, she says is considered a prerequisite to becoming a newspaper reporter in Britain. Reporters in the States make do with scrawled notes or tape recordings.
Spelling is another difference between us colonists and our English cousins. Over there, it's "recognised" (with an "s" instead of a "z") and "programme."
-- Robert Stacy McCain, assistant national editor, The Washington Times
