Some people around the country are raising concerns about a presentation that the President is going to make to schoolchildren. The speech is to urge kids to stay in school and to work hard at their studies. Some conservative activists and Republican operatives are trying to portray that as some sort of insidious brainwashing to corrupt our youth.
I think this episode illustrates what Congressman Frank said at the forum in Dartmouth a few weeks ago. It is difficult to be ready to respond to these assertions because you can't reasonably anticipate them. Who would have thought that voluntary end of life discussion with your doctor would turn into "death panels". Likewise, how do you prepare to answer charges that urging kids to do well in school translates to creeping socialism. I think you can't prepare.
That said, I think that tristero over at Hullaballo has a correctly calibrated response in this quote,
"Highly-paid Republican operatives are behind the ludicrous accusation that the President of the United States intends to indoctrinate America's children in socialism when he talks to them on Tuesday about the importance of working hard in school. In their ridiculous efforts to bamboozle Americans, Republicans once again are perpetuating the dangerously divisive and unserious politics of the last Republican presidency, a presidency marked by a nearly perfect storm of disasters - from an unnecessary war in Iraq to a financial meltdown to the Republican administration's thoroughly incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina. "The Department of Education response ...
...was more subdued,
“This isn’t a policy speech,” said Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. “It’s designed to encourage kids to stay in school. The choice on whether to show the speech to students is entirely in the hands of each school. This is absolutely voluntary.”
Tristero has treated the fake controversy as it should be treated. with contempt. I guess the Education Department thinks they are dealing with valid concerns or serious people. They are not. This is a completely contemptible effort by conservatives and Republicans to spread fear and question the legitimacy of our institutions. Beyond sad that they are reduced to ever more hideous and disgusting ploys to try to inspire fear in people rather than work together to better the country.
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47 comments:
Yeah, Obama is doing so much better! Not!
Wait until the 2010 election. There will yet again be a change of the guard. The American people are finally waking up.
I guess it is the republican right that makes these radical Obama Czars say the most ridiculous things. Van Jones has consistently leaned on racially charged language, pointing the finger at "white polluters and the white environmentalists" for "steering poison" to minority communities, as he makes the case for lifting up low-income and minority communities with better environmental policy. A declared "communist" during the 1990s, Jones once associated with a group that looked to Mao Zedong as an inspiration.
You've got to be kidding!... and this guy is in charge of $30 Billion dollars of the stimulus money. He has got to go. It is just another indication that Obama is over his head and can not hold an executive position which was the concern prior to the election.
Those critics of the President of the United States of America are just anti-patriotic. It's un-American, really. They must hate their country. (Just taking a page from their own playbook.)
By the way, were was George W. when the 9-11 attacks happened? Oh yeah, talking with schoolchildren.
Bill, have you seen the 'I pledge' video produced for Pres. Obama by Oprah Winfrey's 'Harpo Productions'? It's the one where all these hollywood phonies 'Pledge' to do good things like give up their gas guzzlers for hybrids, turn off their lights -this from Puff Daddy or Diddy whose 20,000 s.f. house is more than 10 times the size of most Americans- etc... It ends with one of those phonies stating he 'Pledges To President OBAMA' followed by a slow bleed into the now classic image of a benificient Obama beaming skyward. If the speech the President is giving is anything like that garbage I can understand the reluctance of some parents who do not want their children exposed to still more Obama adoration.
If he really cared about the children he would not be saddling their generation with mountains of debt.
Um Doug Roscoe - he was invited to read a book to school kids. He did not have his image beamed to every schoolroom in the country. Can you imagine the outcry if he did.
Here's the link to the 'I pledge' video for those interested in making their own determination:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwG5MhVGQ6k
O-o-o-o-o-o, communist boogey men! (Beware the Islamofascistcommiegayterristas)
And dark skinned to boot.
O-o-o-o-o-o, Oprah is encouraging energy conservation. (Real conservatives stay beholden to oil sheik overlords, don't cha know)
And she's dark skinned to boot.
O-o-o-o-o-o, Deficits! (Must be the 6 month old policies of the President causing that. Not the eight years of mismanagement, tax cuts for the wealthy, wars that never end, drug benefit that isn't paid for, etc,etc)
Did I mention the President is dark skinned? See anything in common with Obama, Winfrey, and Jones?
Fear is all you got. It's a losing hand. No ideas for a better America, just fear. Pathetic.
My oh my anon 1:56 - quick to pull the race card are'nt we? The color of one's skin has nothing to do with my concerns about what is going on here - it seems to be your's however. What a shame.
Mr. Jones called himself a communist - nobody put that label on him but himself. Mr. Jones stated that the 'white man' polluted and on and on. Those are his words and his characterizations and his racism not mine.
How can there be constructive dialogue when any critique of the president or his policies immediately gets labeled as rascist?
What is wrong with the President speaking with kids about the importance of education. Seems to me President Obama will be critisized by the GOP over absolutely everything.
Ray, originally the President's speech went beyond simply talking about the importance of education. He intended to ask students to pledge to support the president. To me the inclusion of this piece would cause concern as it suggests blind allegiance to the president and all of his programs and ideals. That should not be part of a speech given to school children. The WH now says that will not be part of the speech it will be specifically on the importance of education. If true I would agree there is no problem with the Pres speaking to the schools.
Look at the looting of the American public that occurs every time the Republicans can do it. Savings and Loans - looted - taxpayer bailout
Junk Bonds -looted- taxpayer bailout
Chrysler and GM - looted - taxpayer bailout
Energy and Enron - looted - rate payer ripoff
General Wall Street ripoffs AIG, mortgages, etc- looted -taxpayers on the hook again.
Medical insurance -looting still in progress -we pay twice as much as other countries and get less.
Republican response-Arrrgh mateys there's a fat sum to be had here yet! Pay no attention to loot being carried off.
Look out! Commies, black folks, immigrants!
O-o-o-o-o, NO-o-o-o-o,we don't want our children to be lectured about civic engagement. It might lead them to a social conscience.
Pillage, that's the life! Carry off all you can.
Go and read this http://www.bluemassgroup.com/diary/16749/once-upon-a-time-in-america. What does he say that's not true?
"The day the duly elected President of the United States is unwelcome in our nation's classrooms because he either has nothing of value to offer our children or cannot be trusted to deliver the message he states he intends to deliver is the day this nation has wandered so far from its ideals that thoughtful people should be seriously concerned."
Bill - quote whomeever you want - the WH house themselves stated they changed the message. It is saying something that after 6 short months the president has engendered so much mis-trust in so many people. Why is that I wonder? I am not a highly paid republican operative. I am not even a republican and have voted D more than any other party in my lifetime.
To the other poster - it was a Democrat that bailed out GM and sold Chrylser, it was Democrats that participated in the Fannie Mae Freddie Mac debacle. Its our favorite dem Barney who now says its nasty banks that gave people loans they could not afford to pay while 6 years ago it was the same democrat that said banks were discriminating against minorities because they would not give loans to those same people.
Sell your fiction to someone else.
The conservatives think we should have more religion in schools but less of the president?...hmmm hypocritical i think
Good point, anonymous! We wouldn't want any indoctrination going on in our schools, like Christian prayer.
I mean it's not like we rely on government to guarantee the safety of our food and drugs, provide highways and airports, educate our children, defend the country, or other important stuff since we all know government is bad and can't do anything right.
No, no it's a pirate's life for you. Take all you can and never mind the rest.
The lengths you libs will go to connect dis-jointed pieces of information to try and make some point is really fascinating.
The lengths you libs will go to connect dis-jointed pieces of information to try and make some point is really fascinating.
Prayers been outlawed from schools for years-where does this stuff come from? Let me teach my kids the value of education, I do not need Obama or any president to tell my kids this stuff - it's my job. I do not need the government to intervene in still more aspects of my and my family's lives.
intervene...do you mean like Republicans want to reach into our homes and tell us what is good for our children to watch, gay marriage is bad, GOP stay OUT of my 4 WALLS of my house...what goes on in my house is my business as long as i am not endangering anybody ...STAY OUT of my PRIVATE LIFE...GOP says Democrats are for government intervention,...when all they do is tells us what can happen inside MY PROPERTY!
Less government is better Democrat or republican. You folks seem very quick to pull the race card and the republican card out when none of my posts reference either. Is it possible to stick to the subject or is the only recourse to change it?
If we're going to have a successful democratic society, we have to have a well educated and healthy citizenry".
- - Thomas Jefferson
Well, we seem to have the healthy part covered for 85% of the population..... :)
There is nothing wrong with our president speaking to school children. From the very first day that Obama was elected, the 'right wingers' have been bad mouthing him. It is so pathetic! They began their attack on day one!
Let's try to come together for the good of ALL Americans. All school children should be taught to show respect for our president and should be encouraged to stay in school. What kind of message are you showing your children?? Respectful, and yes you can disagree, but teaching respect of adults and our president is a no-brainer!
I cannot 'come together' when I do not agree with many of the core principals the president espouses. Yes I can respect him and the office but 'coming together' would mean I abandon my own principles which I am not willing to do for any person.
You don't have to abandon anything! I'm sure there are a lot of things that you and Obama have in common. (I know it's hard to think, but) Agree on those things and disagree on the things you disagree on in a respectful manner. I was taught in pre-school that name calling does not solve a problem. I do not refer to Republicans as 'wing nuts',or right wingers, etc. They are Americans who happen to have a different opinion on some issues. We are all in this together folks, like it or not! I agree that Americans need to work together and meet in the middle to help solve some of our problems.
Good explanation of YOUR position anon 9:02, at least you are honest as it appears it's all about YOU.
For those who oppose the healthcare bills, I assume you know someone on or are on medicare yourself, with that in mind, I would propose medicare for all, not just 65 and older. The satisfaction rating for medicare is over 70%, we all know who and what is covered, just expand medicare to everyone to buy into.
Hmm anon 9:42 - perhaps I am mistaken but are'nt one's own opinion's generally one's own? An opinion is just that one's own personal view so it stands to reason when expressing that opinion it is about me. No name calling, no nasty characterizations just an opinion.
I still fail to grasp why the concept of religion in schools is being used as a defense in this case. There has been no prominent figure, republican or otherwise, that has espoused any such thing for years let alone the president so why is that even rrelevant to the discussion?
Ray, with your argument then, we should leave health care alone since 85% of our population is happy with things the way they are.
Thanks Ray.
After being drunk with power for 30years the "Righties" now find themselves on the outside looking in. What scares them the most is that the "lefties" will now conduct themselves like they did while in power. Example calling to session congress at 3 in the morning to pass legislation while everyone else is sleeping. Or calling President Bush bask to DC from his 300th day on the ranch, did i mention that "W" set a record for the most days on vacation while prez, to pass into law the biggest invasion of personnel rights ever. Remember the Terry Schiavo story? I can still remember Bill "Douchebag" Frist talking on TV about how he looked into her eyes and saw that she was still with us, and that he was a Doctor and that qualified him to make that call. Well imagine my surprise when the autopsy report came out after her passing on that she was BRAINDEAD and had been since her accident. Someone needs to pull that quacks liscence quick! The list of absurd actions and lack of governing conducted by the Republican Party since the Election of the "Gipper" are to numerous to count. Let me make this clear for all the Repubs out there, you guys had 30 years to ram your agenda down our throats and now that the bill is due on the credit card the the "Gipper" pulled out you suddenly want to blame Obama your joking,RIGHT??. That only tells me one thing your all STUPID!!! Your lack of knowledge of the history our country and especially your inability to accept blame for this greatest of all debacles speaks volumes as to how out of touch you all are.
Now accept this,YOU LOST!!! So SHUT UP!!! The Dems have the wheel now and you have no one to blame but yourselves....
I'm a self described centrist. I believe that every American should have the right, to be right. As a free American, I choose to be me. During a time at war, I chose to enter the military service. While doing so, I was provided with housing, meals, medical care, and clothing. I was trained to kill, or be killed. To protect a country, I didn't know or understand. I was good at killing. With no sign of physical scar/injury, I returned home ( U.S.A. ) to find a country torn by political devision.
In my centrist mind, and long before Perez W. was elected, the U.S. Senate filed a resolution, authorizing the American President, to remove Saddam H. from power. Another race to war. Here we go again. No, W.M.D. but plenty of I.E.D. Now we have a Perez H. who is taking us into a battle of continued war, death and destruction. When will we ever learn??
What has this to do with national health care; everything!
If we can spend billions of dollars, fighting wars, we can spend as much money as needed to provide health care for every member of our population.
Amend the constitution, by allowing states to vote, on national health care. Period!
Now, I need to take my P.T.S. Medication.
The history of employer based health coverage goes back to the WW2 era, when wages in all industries were capped. So in order to entice highly qualified workers,industry and union leaders offered ,paid vacations,sick days and health insurance. NOW it seems that employers are trying to cut costs, they have cut wages, or at least not given a raise, next on the chopping block COULD BE your INSURANCE. NOTHING is stopping your boss or CEO in the name of the bottom line and maximum profitability and to keep the stock holders happy from withdrawing your health insurance completely. In the beginning insurance was covered 100% by the employer, now it is down to 50% in most cases..I see a trend.
Anon 1:42 - now that you've gotten that load of hatred off your chestreat -you're done calling people names for a bit - no?
Let me remind you that there is a great number of people that align themselves with neither the left or right. They are independents - I count myself among them. As such antics by either party are not to my liking. Currently the 'lefties' are those in power yet it seems even the more central 'lefties' do not subscribe to the very liberal policies our president is trying to force feed the country. Are these, your fellow democrats' stupid too?
Just asking.
I take back my last post - apparently Van Jones has resigned. What a shame.
Good luck Van! One Czar down and 35 to go!
Anyone recall who started the CZAR craze???
"President Obama is not the first president to use Czars, the idea goes back to President Nixon, a “progressive” Republican. (I use progressive as a reference to statists in either party whose preference is for all encompassing federal action) Nixon’s Energy Czar eventually morphed into the Department of Energy and initial plans for a Pollution Czar, instead became the Environmental Protection Agency. The most well known Czar is the “drug czar”, the infamous coordinator of national drug control policy, the drug war."
The last sentence read Ronald Reagan and his failed policy of the "War on Drugs"
And now of course the Repubs cry about it. What Hypocits!! Whiners!! Lost Fools!!!
Let's See, "Do As Is Say, Not As I DO!! The Republican party is a "Crazy Ship Of Fools"
I don't mind czars per se, its when they are rascit and communists that bothers me.
Ray, if you are going to try to give history lessons, please look at the whole picture and not just what serves your purpose. The reason employers offered so much to their employees was because the US was experiencing a manufacturing boom. Employers couldn't get enough help because we were producing so much. Therefore incentives were created. Now fast forward. What is this country producing? We are importing our manufactured goods and technology. There is not enough work in this country for everyone who wants a job so employers have an abundant work force. You do not offer incentives to employees when there is no need to do so.
I will not comment here about who is to blame for this. I think there are many layers of responsibility. Just wanted to expand on your post.
By the way, I think everyone here knows where Cuba is.
Like I said Employer based health insurance could be phased out if corporations keep trying to cut costs to ultimately increase profits for their stockholders. Then what are you going to do? you can not afford to buy your own insurance,it's too expensive and the wages of the middle class has been so stagnant over the past thirty years, the majority of American middle class worker would untimately go without health insurance. This is all due to Reaganomics and the "trickle down" theory that NEVER worked.
LAYERS!!! LAYERS!! No Layers,just Greed!! Supported by and condoned by Reagan and the Republican party along with the hoodwinked Reagan Democrats. It is quite simple, don't try to make more complicated than it is. Typical Repub move make it sound difficult so they just throw up their hands and forget about it. Not anymore, with 16% unemployment everyone's paying attention and learning at an alarming rate. The Repubs are just burying themselves deeper and deeper with all these stupid actions of theirs since Obama got elected. Teabaggers, Townhall Meetings, Now the School stuff ridiculous all of it. The last 30 years have been run by the Repubs and now everyone is waking up to how we got screwed by that so called Conservative message. The RNC is done put a fork in it.
16% unemployment? It's high by any standard but not 16%. I beleiev nationally it is now @ 9.7% the highest since 1983 and gee we are under a democrat president and congress and it's going the wrong way. This area has always had higher than normal unemployment and guess what? Ruled by democrats for ages and ages.. Those dems really know how to help out the little guy!
Ray, I do not understand your message. You continue to state the same thing over and over again, to what purpose? You are not going to change corporate America by running for office in Dartmouth so why all the rhetoric? You refuse to listen to any views but your own and repeat yourself over and over again whenever someone asks a question or challenges your view. Are you here for debate or to run for office? For someone who claims not to be like most politicians, you certainly sound like one.
What did I repeat? Was it my position on an issue? What seems to be the problem with that? I will not compromise my core principles...bottom line. I have no intentions of running for a town office at this time, I hold the chairman position in the Democratic Party here in Dartmouth and I have been working with my committee these past few months to strengthen our party here in town,which is my job as chairman, as well as fund and campaign for our party's candidates.
If a candidate for a town office has the same priciples as myself and my committee, We will campaign and fundraise for them. We work at the local level mostly and support our larger State and national party as well.
doesnt Ray already hold an elected position in the Town as Chairman of the Democratic party? look at what he accomplished with Barney Frank. He made Dartmouth the political center of the country. Major News Stations like CNN,CSPAN,FOX NEWS. People all over the country were talking about Dartmouth. EVEN JON STEWART ON COMEDY CENTRAL!! ray..dont let some of these people in here aggrevate you,thats all they want to do is start problem. They are SH*T stirrers. They add nothing to a conversation and cut people down,even when they are doing good by the Town. These people have probably never offered an ounce of sweat in donated time and effort for our Town. keep your head up Ray, your doing fine
Unfortunately, it didn't portray Dartmouth in any good light, but that was more the fault of the LaRouche crowd than any Dartmouth resident.
Mr. Frank was less than civil and professional himself, though, and he did his share of baiting and egging people on. By now, with all his time in politics, you'd think he'd have a little more class and have learned "Tact in the Face of Hostility 101."
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