Hate Radio Host: Teachers Unions Are ‘Much More Dangerous’ Than Al Qaeda

[RedEarth]

Last night on Fox News’s Hannity and Colmes, right-wing radio host Neal Boortz claimed that teachers unions are “destroying a generation” and are “much more dangerous than al Qaeda.” He stated, “Look, Al Qaeda, they could bring in a nuke into this country and kill 100,000 people with a well-placed nuke somewhere. Ok. We would recover from that. It would be a terrible tragedy, but the teachers unions in this country can destroy a generation.” Sean Hannity agreed, noting, “They are ruining our school system.”

Transcript:

SEAN HANNITY: Alright, let me ask you. Because, you — when you said about the Department of Education — you want to abolish it — when you said that the teachers unions is more dangerous to this country in the long term –

NEAL BOORTZ: In the long term, yeah.

HANNITY: Than al Qaeda.

BOORTZ: Right. Look, Al Qaeda, they could bring in a nuke into this country and kill 100,000 people with a well-placed nuke somewhere. Ok. We would recover from that. It would be a terrible tragedy, but the teachers unions in this country can destroy a generation.

HANNITY: They are.

BOORTZ: Well, they are destroying a generation.

HANNITY: They are ruining our school system.

BOORTZ: They’re much more dangerous. We worry about al Qaeda and we should. But at the same time let’s not let the teachers union skate.

HANNITY: They destroyed our school system, and we don’t do anything. The parents — why there aren’t people rising up against it is unbelievable.

....if you actually feel like watching these replusive a......... then you can watch it here......

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/20/boortz-teachers-terrorists/

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Didn't one of the Bushetals call them terrorists in a speech?

Seem to remember something about that...

[zbdent]

6. Rod Paige

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Paige

Called the NEA a "terrorist organization"

[Norquist Nemesis]

8. THAT'S the one!

Thanks!

[WinkyDink]

24. From Texas, of course.

[DaveJ]

2. Excuse my ignorance

What precisely are teachers unions doing that's so bad, or is it just that teachers have any union at all that's bothering them?

[Hippo_Tron]

44. There's some validity to the argument that schools are unable to fire bad teachers

Because of teachers' unions. My response would be that we need to raise teacher pay so that we're not hiring bad teachers in the first place.

Secondly, the vast majority of teachers are good and the only reason that we have a few bad ones is because there aren't enough good ones.

[screembloodymurder]

47. The far right is out to dismantle public education.

Imagine, killing two birds with one stone: unions and public education. They've been having wet dreams about this since 2000.

[MindPilot]

3. If teacher's unions have so much power, why aren't teachers paid more?

Apparently it's all part of the secret liberal plan to implement the gay agenda.

[Goblinmonger]

13. SSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

You aren't supposed to talk about that.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Yeah, teachers are destroying a generation in the best case

scenario, provided that they are teaching the kids how to think critically and to effectively question authority rather than become believers of whatever information is fed to them. We need more teachers independent of any entity dictating to them that kids become Proles.

[madrchsod]

5. this shit has been going on for years...

every generation of right wing bullshit artist bring this shit up and get all the dumb fucks all twisted out of shape.

[skipos]

33. What is the significance of your signature? nt

[senseandsensibility]

7. A high level * "education" official

I believe his name was Rod Paige,(correct me if I'm wrong; he was very high in the administration) called teachers terrorists just a few years ago. Lil former teacher Laura had nothing to say about that.

[Supersedeas]

21. Yes, that was Paige.

[AnnInLa]

9. As a proud member of the NEA

and the LAE (retired), I hope the terrorists drop a bomb on his head.

Public education (the great equalizer) and teachers have been political footballs for years and years. How many politicians have called themselves the Education Pres, or the Education Governor, or senator or whatever?

If you can read this post, thank a teacher.

[Lisa]

20. and those nauseating little asides made by W

... to the press, about how he "spent every night with a teacher". Gag! Coming from a man who opposes everything that accessible public education represents ... I can only hope that Bush's administration is showcased from now on whenever teachers are called upon to explain "pandering" and "hypocrisy" in their classrooms.

[Clark2008]

27. While I agree with everything you said, I want to thank my Mom,

not a teacher, for teaching me to read.

I could read well before I entered school.

:hi:

[sakabatou]

10. ::angry face::

[roody]

11. They want to go back to the good old days.

Unmarried women taught school for little pay until they married. Then they were no longer allowed to teach school.

[screembloodymurder]

49. Yes, and blacks were slaves -

and uneducated.

[AX10]

12. Right Wing commentators are more dangerous than Al Qaeda!

[CBGLuthier]

14. Was Steve Jobs there too

He said almost the same thing, just in a more polite and less alarmist way the other day with his buddy Michael Dell.

And while of course I do not blame teacher unions it IS TRUE that the problems with our failing school system are much more of a threat than Al Queda.

The problem to me is just plain and simply a lack of funding, overcrowding, the occasional bad teacher, too many administrators, and lunatics who play politics with education.

[Jonathan50]

15. The major problem with education in the USA is the parents

Education begins at home. If the child is unprepared to take advantage of the educational opportunities offered at school then no amount of teacher training or effort is going to make much difference.

You can go into even high income homes these days and find not a book or even magazine in sight. But you can rest assured that the television set will have the largest screen and be of the latest model available.

My father started teaching me to read when I was four years old, before I was six I could read Reader's Digest and make reasonable sense of the articles.

When I first went to school the teachers were actually angry with my father for teaching me how to read. My father said he thought it was because it made them look bad. Keep in mind that this happened in the mid 50s and not recently.

[LeftyMom]

26. This is a good point

Unless there is something wrong with the child, there's no good reason they shouldn't be reading before they ever get to school. By giving people the idea that teaching children is a special skill and requires years of training (for the most part the training is in the much more difficult skill of teaching them three dozen at a time,) we've put ourselves in a situation where we've taken a lot of power and self-perception of competence away from parents. If you know how to do something, you can figure out how to pass that information along to your kids or just about anybody else. It's not magic, it's just a new skill, and if you're a parent you've built up a larger body of knowledge about how to teach your kid than any other human being except maybe their eventual spouse will ever acquire. So use it, you'll be doing your child a great favor and you'll probably both have a great time at it.

[shadowknows69]

16. Yeah my mom has been carrying around a dirty bomb for 30 years

just waiting for that opportunity to wipe out her art class. "You won't be throwing clay in this room again for at least 100 years!!" Screamed the insane little old schoolteacher.

[Atman]

17. These are horrible, terrible, bad people.

Can you imagine the 24/7 outrage, and maybe even hearings, which would be taking place if any democratic party mouthpiece made such a statement about Falwell's front group, or Halliburton? It's okay to kill 100,000 people, but oh you teachers????? WTF? Why are these people still allowed on the air?

.

[FiveGoodMen]

43. Seriously, why are these MFers still breathing?

[walldude]

18. Wow... sounds just like some DU'ers

I've had to hide a few anti-teacher threads to avoid :puke:

[corkhead]

19. Late breaking bulletin: Hate radio hosts are more dangerous than teachers unions

[Iris]

22. yikes! I head Thom Hartman talking about this but thought it was some

crap from years ago.

These people are waging their own war on enlightenment.

[KamaAina]

23. So it was unionized teachers that flew planes into the WTC?

And the Pentagon? :eyes:

See how clever these diabolical teachers are! They've gotten us to blame everything on the radical Muslims! Meanwhile, every day, at every airport in the U.S., teachers are boarding planes without having to do anything more than take off their shoes! :scared:

:sarcasm:

edit: spelling. Subconscious rebellion against the evil teacher conspiracy, I guess. :P

[stevedeshazer]

25. Two of the stupidest assholes on our planet

Notice how these two nuts have absolutely nothing to say that is relevant.

They just make stuff up.

[Iris]

28. yes, and I always find it ironic that Boortz hates the gov't, unions, etc. so much

yet he worked in a post office while he was in law school.

[checks-n-balances]

32. Yeah & WTF, Boortz is from GA where there is no teacher's union

It's a "right-to-work" state. He's full of hot air, among other things. What a pompous, hypocritical asshole windbag!

[Iris]

45. yes, and you see what wonders that's done for GA's educational programs!

[cain_7777]

29. Our school system is already ruined by the RW Fundies trying to brainwash with religion

[ComerPerro]

30. that's because RWers are libertarian idiots who worship private schools and home-schooling

and, quite frankly, home-schooling is a joke.

[mitchum]

31. Well, if a FAILED lawyer and a DROPOUT say it...

it must true.
I'll be glad when both those motherfuckers are food for worms

[wilt the stilt]

36. I was a Dictaphone salesman

and I called on Boortz once. He was a two bit lawyer who couldn't even afford his own office. He was in a shared office. He is a guy who couldn't cut it in a profession that demanded professionalism. The only thing he has done fairly well is talk radio. I believe if he was in another city up north he wouldn't have made it on radio. He is a blatant racist and that is part of his appeal.He was on before he was a lawyer

[mitchum]

42. Just as I suspected.

Thanks for the confirmation, wilt :)

[Liberal In Texas]

34. Yeah, unions ruin everything...that 6 day work week for example.

Now employers are obliged to give workers TWO WHOLE DAYS off!

[VOX]

35. And child labor! How can business turn monster profits without kids on the line?

Other than outsourcing to overseas sweatshops, that is. :mad:

[Liberal In Texas]

38. Next thing you know they'll be wanting PAID VACATIONS!

Only big time managers get that kind of perk. Who do they think they are?

[JVS]

40. And that costs minumum wage earners $160/month, those heartless bastards!

:sarcasm:

[bullwinkle428]

37. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs made recent comments bashing teachers' unions as well -

Limpball's praise of the comments just make it that much worse. Et tu, Steve??

http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/12698/

[JVS]

39. NATIONAL TEACHERS' STRIKE!

cripple the system!

[Rex]

41. At one time there were actual Boortz defenders here on DU.

I've always said the guy is a total moran. I bet that was a real circlejerk interview! :rofl:

[BreweryYardRat]

46. My teeth are grinding.

Boortz needs to grow a brain stem.

[Moloch]

48. I'm so glad

boortz is contstanting being given a forum to express his vitriol. The more of him and coultier that the average person sees, the more they will see how incredibly out of touch republicans are.