I can't let go of this ...... this whole thing about the upset over Obama talking to school kids

[Stinky The Clown]

I initially took it as just more Michelle Bachmann style craziness. But it isn't. This shit RESONATES with the the HATERS in this country. I simply can't wrap my head around parents "protecting" their kids from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED FUCKING STATES.

THE FUCKING PRESIDENT.

Now some want to see his speech ahead of time.

WHAAAAT?????

I can't wrap my head around this because I considered it as a parent and as a former schoolkid and now, as an old guy.

But I think I missed the point.

I think this isn't about politics or his message. I think it is about his race.

The Right Wing Hate Machine is really, REALLY connecting with the hateful, angry white people who make up far too many of our citizens.

No one seems to want to talk about this. And I'll admit that I can only say this is my personal view. But DAMMIT.

Protecting kids from the President?

Oh My Gawd.

[Horse with no Name]

1. I am livid about it

It IS about race. Make no mistake.

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. Racism pure and simple. n/t

[ThomCat]

21. Blatant Racism.

:grr:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. K&R, of course -

Isn't it an honor to have the President of the United States address our school children? Isn't it exciting for the kids to have the PRESIDENT talking JUST TO THEM?

The hatred in this country is growing and spreading and, like a vile mold or a deadly bacterium, it's contaminating everything it encounters.

This one is beyond the pale.

He's the fucking PRESIDENT, and yet these bigots feel perfectly free to show disrespect to him and to the office.

Nice lessons they're teaching the children.

I could cry, Stinky. Remember January 20, 2009, when we were all filled with hope and thought, maybe, that something had been gained?

We were wrong. We were so wrong........................

[whosinpower]

15. You weren't wrong!

But - now the hard part comes. America talked the talk....and finally, triumphantly voted for the first black president of the United States in history. Now is the time to walk the talk. Call them out on it. Boldly. Never allow their fear and loathing to overtake your hope.

That is what drives them - fear and loathing.

Strike back with support. I applaud the president of the United States addressing our students, our future. He cares enough about their future to talk to them about it. I am not afraid to allow my son/daughter/child listen to what our president has to say. And here is the really important thing....I TRUST my child to listen to what he has to say and accept or reject it as they see fit.

[liberalmuse]

4. It's time to start getting these people help.

They are certifiable. I was glancing on DU during work today and could not believe what I was reading about the wingnut fuckery over Obama's speech to school kids. It's incredible. I've had enough of these petty, stupid, batshit adults behaving like thuggish cry babies. My gawd.

[rateyes]

11. Many of them are beyond certifiable...

they are CERTIFIED. They have the papers.

[Kalyke]

82. Yeah, but do they have certificates of live birth?

:rofl:

[madeline_con]

32. Fuck 'em! They don't want government health care.

If they can't pay, let them stay batshit crazy! :bounce:

[MrModerate]

5. And the notion that "If Bush did it the left'd be up in arms . . ."

Is stupid beyond imagining. If Bush did it, the only concern would be whether he'd make an ass of himself or not.

'Licans ain't got nuthin' *but* hate. And hate is chasing out rational thought, so they're unlikely to come up with anything. Make's 'em dangerous. Very dangerous.

[madeline_con]

33. "...whether he'd make an ass of himself or not." That would be a given. n/t

[bluestateguy]

6. I take patriotism very seriously

And that means supporting our president, our leader and our Commander in Chief in a time of war, when we have troops in the field.

At least that's what I was told by certain people for the last 8 years.

[FrenchieCat]

7. This burns me up so badly.....

To make this Role Model into a "Suspicious" figure is just to hard for me to bear!

Now the haters are being allowed the kids to be hurt some more. First they hock their inheritance for tax cuts and a unjust war, the they deny them health care, now this! :cry:

[lildreamer316]

8. It's ludicrous and infuriating.

I can barely believe it myself. I'm pretty much at a loss for words.

[Greenpeach]

9. It's all about race...

Every single trumped up thing they come up with, no matter what they say, is always, always, every time, about race. The long standing hatred of ignorant, bigoted, white "trash"(that's what they are, no matter how affluent)is where every bit of this is coming from.

[rzemanfl]

10. Fuck it. Obama should just read the kids "My Pet Goat" and

sign off. Did one single parent protest the unelected "pResident" being in that Sarasota classroom on 9/11?

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. +1

:spray:

[WheelWalker]

25. +1

:kick:

[Chemisse]

12. I am so angry.

Why aren't the Democrats supporting Obama at times like these? Why don't they make public comments, grab hold of the news? Why is it that all we hear is the clamor of the racist right wing?

Having all this shit out there not being refuted really allows it to get traction with the mainstream pubic.

[alarimer]

13. Nobody complained when George H.W. Bush did this in 1989 over some anti-drug bullshit.

But because Obama is a "liberal", he must be brainwashing the little darlings.

No, this is more evidence of how stupid and fucked up the discourse in this country has become.

[PassingFair]

14. Depends on the subject....

If Bush was scaring my kids with bullshit
about Muslins at the border, and why we had
to blow up Iraq to defend ourselves, I'd
have a problem with it.

What is the Pres going to SAY to them?

[TxRider]

49. Exactly

As long as it's an appropriate subject it's always great for the president to talk to kids.

I'll reserve judgment until I here what he says, as I would with any president.

If it were me I would center on trying to change the culture of stupidity we've grown and try to get kids to place a higher value on education.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

16. Sadly, I see these children growing up to feel they were used.

To miss an opportunity to be spoken to by a sitting U.S. President in class, a moment they'd remember all their lives. A moment taken away by parents locked in a sad ideology.

Things like this can be the root cause of rifts in families that last for years. Sometimes forever.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

19. Sadly, what it does

is teach the children that it's acceptable to hate black people.

Yeah, it's that simple.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

30. And how to veil it.

Thinly and poorly.

[Uzybone]

17. even on DU a few are suspicious

this craziness has inflicted a large portion of our society.

You are right its not about politics, its fear of the black man in the WH.

[drm604]

95. I'm suspicious of those suspicious few.

I suspect that they live under bridges and occasionally receive pizza deliveries.

[madrchsod]

20. the guy is a young educated man with two grade school daughters

he`s not talking to the parents he`s talking to the kids.

i`ve caught some shit here at du for thinking it`s bullshit...

[titoresque]

22. And just think, we're not even a year

in to the new administration. What's next?!
My Mother-in-law who just LOVED anything red,white,and blue when Bush was in office, is now unloading all her patriotic stuff on me.....she say's she just has too much...and she talks about buying a cow and chickens because the sky is falling, and "it's never been worse in this country". I seriously thought these people (my inlaws) were hard to take when Bush was in office.....atleast then they kept there fucking mouths shut. :banghead:

[midnight armadillo]

74. What do you think is next???

The insane right wing will not be satisfied until Obama is no longer president. Judging by the encouragement from the GOP elite towards the people bringing guns to Obama's speeches, the right wing will be happy if he's no longer president by any means.

[Window]

23. This is sick and it has to stop. He's the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES for

heavens sake.

Does he have to sign an executive order to speak to school children?

What the fuck is wrong with these people? Why is it even allowed to happen?

All rhetorical.

Shit.

Edited to add: Racist motherfuckers determined the keep the halfrican in his place. God I hate these people with a passion.

There. I feel a little better. Not much though.

[KarenS]

24. I feel so disgusted and angry and incredulous over this,,,,,

this and other things,,, there's so much,,,,, too much,,,,

you know,,, I thought that when Obama won that things would begin to "right" themselves. But I was obviously wrong.

I'm with you on this,,,, WHAAAAT????

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

26. Standing ovation for you!

:applause:

[Ron Green]

27. Part of it is Clinton's fault, and certainly Bush's.

When Big Dog got a BJ in the WH, the prestige of the office of the President took a pretty good hit. Playing the sax and hanging out on SNL was great for bonding with a hipper crowd, but there was also a price to pay.

G. W. Bush, of course, just about ruined the whole idea of respect for the office; the only people buying into the idea of a dignified Bush White House were mindless Freepers, religio-crazies and other mouth breathers without a clue.

Barack Obama is a hip guy, cool under pressure and smart as a whip. He's also black, which is of course the real reason all this ridiculous shit is coming from the racist mob. My point, though, is that it's somehow become OK to think of the President of the United States as just another guy. And that didn't happen this year.


edit for tpyo

[Truth2Tell]

65. You win the award

for the most gratuitous Clinton bashing of the day on DU. Made me laugh. Congratulations.

[Ron Green]

79. "Clinton bashing?" Not really a bash, but an observation that casual style

brings danger even as it connects a leader with people in new ways. It's undeniable that Clinton's easy manner and informality, as well as his dalliances, worked against one Presidential image while enhancing another.

[Beartracks]

101. It's probably racist for some...

... but I think ANY Democrat elected in 2008 would be suffering through this total lack of respect. It just gets down to the widespread BELIEF -- not an opinion, but a BELIEF -- among these people that Democrats are evil, power-hungry, ant-American, godless, wussies who actually seek to destroy this country for fun and "power."

Would be funny if it weren't so sad and scary that enormous amounts of American energy are being wasted in irrational fear and hate.

[unblock]

28. it's about hate, but not (necessarily) about race: they'd do this if hillary were president too

remember all the ridiculous crap they threw at bill clinton, who survived only because he had perhaps a once-in-a-century level of genius for managing his own political popularity.

well, the right-wing has only gotten worse and worse since then.

frankly, i think they'd be throwing all this at hillary or any other democrat. even if white, male, protestant, and conservative. THESE PEOPLE ARE AT WAR AND THEY VIEW THE ENTIRE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AS THE ENEMY. why on earth would people who think like that show any respect for the president, even if he were white?

[Stinky The Clown]

35. You lead this off in a whole other direction ......

..... one that I long ago followed in my own mind.

Newt Gingrich and Rushbo caused this to happen. Rushbo played to the hatred in people's hearts and Gingrich coarsened the tone in Washington to the point politics became a blood sport.

Today we are simply seeing a point on the natural progression of this. The worst is yet to come. And for that you may have to turn your clock back 40 years or a bit more.











It

Takes

Just

One

[unblock]

52. a scary direction, indeed.

but would our nation today even mourn an assassinated figure the way we mourned them in the '60s?

or maybe that's the shock it would take to wake america up to where this sick love affair with hate is taking us.

[Doctor_J]

57. Hopefully, if anything happens to Obama,

the next day we will wreak hell on earth to the hate radio crowd - biblical-level stuff

[Voice for Peace]

29. some kids will see it, and some won't see it.

the ones who see it will probably be hopeful and inspired.
the ones who didn't see it may wonder about it.

[Qutzupalotl]

31. "Hey kids, did you know you can download the president's speech if your

hypercontrolling authoritarian wingnut fuckwad parents are too uptight to let you watch it? C'mon, everybody's watching it. You KNOW it's gotta be cool if your PARENTS don't want you to see it!"

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

34. People here would have done exactly the same thing if Bush were doing it. n/t

[Doctor_J]

56. Shut up, you stupid freeper

No one protested when Bush read to the FL kids while the country was under attack.

Go back to Rushland.

[lukasahero]

73. Redacted

ETA because I had the wrong Bush.

My apologies.

[drm604]

96. Bullshit.

Absolute, unequivocal bullshit. There may have been one or two individuals who would have reacted that way but certainly nothing like what we're seeing now, and certainly not in the general population.

[Lorien]

113. Bush I did do it

and the Left didn't have a temper tantrum over it, nor did they have a problem with Bush II reading "The Pet Goat" to the kiddies.

[Xicano]

36. I am not so sure its only about race

I think the county has become so polarized by the 'uniter' that Obama's race doesn't matter. His being black may add to the hate from some on the right, but, I don't think its the cause.

Our country is sick and to be honest I think intentionally so. I think the money powers through their bought and paid for politicians and news media purposely manipulate us to divide and conquer. Look at the shit they pass. They pass laws giving them more and more wealth and power and us less. Less power, less wealth, less freedom, less privacy, etc. They even pass laws giving corporate powers the right to ignore the sovereign right of nations to restrict corporate activities deemed against public or environmental interests.

Look at all the shit Bush got passed that flies in the face of republican ideology, but, and to our amazement, with full support from the republican base. We watched as the republican based backed, gave excuses for and supported laws against state's rights, warrantless wire taps, warrantless searches & seizures, expanding the size and power of government. So much of it in stark contrast with republican ideology. But through manipulation and playing on tribalism the republican base supported all this shit Bush did.

Now we Democrats support or give excuses for Obama's environmental wrecking allowance of off shore drilling. We give excuses for Obama going back on his word about FISA and NAFTA. We give excuses for Obama in bailing out the political enemies of liberals 'The Money Powers' on Wall Street. We now give excuses for not bringing all of our troops home now. Some even support censoring free speech as well as other shit.

And the beat goes on and on and on and on thanks to divide and conquer.

[DevonRex]

37. I don't know why some folks here would be upset by it. They're calling for a different president

in 2012. What's the difference?

[Stinky The Clown]

40. That's bullshit

And pretty off base.

One can disagree with Obama on EVERYTHING and still not be concerned about his race.

[DevonRex]

42. It's not off base at all. The same people who are calling for him to be defeated in a 2012

primary are suddenly all concerned about how the RWers are treating him?

Well, I call bullshit on that.

[Stinky The Clown]

44. **I'm** concerned about the incitement of open racism in America.

And you replied in **my** thread. To **my** thoughts.

Hence my call of bullshit. You got issues with 2012, start a thread about it.

[OneGrassRoot]

38. Is it an age thing?

For those here who also don't like the idea of POTUS speaking to kids, I wonder how old they are? Is there an inherent lack of respect for the Office of POTUS in those under 30 perhaps?

I'm 46, and even if it were Bush making a back-to-school speech to the kids -- not a policy speech or leading a prayer -- I'd be pitching a fit if people were trying to block it. I can't imagine trying to block such a thing. A speech about EDUCATION. To students. By POTUS.

It just dawned on me, for those here at DU who don't think this speech is a good idea, I wonder how old they are?

[Iris]

46. not sure about the age thing, but I agree that if Bush were giving a speech about education

to school children, brainwashing would not enter my mind. I'd be skeptical, but that's about it.

[Canuckistanian]

39. I'd be grateful

if some could find someone OTHER THAN PASTY WHITE PEOPLE who object to this speech.

JUST ONE. (And I bet Michael Steele is silent on this).

[spanone]

41. what has this country become? i'ts frightening.

[HughBeaumont]

75. This country was already LIKE that.

It's just now rearing it's ugly, stupid, caustic head now that the President isn't a white male.

[knixphan]

43. Racism. Dinosaurs.

[spanone]

45. my local teevee news led with the local story of this.

they showed wingnut fucking parents who were outraged that their kids will come home and tell them how to vote.

some counties are opting out of allowing the kids to hear the President

some are sending home permission slips to hear the speech

this is one motherfucked up country

[Iris]

47. you said it. And, jeez, so what if your kid tells you how to vote. Do you just do whatever your

kid tells you to do? dimwits.

[kalli007]

50. Hell they probably

already tell them how to dress, cook, drive, act etc etc.....what's the big damn deal?

[Creena]

54. Such Bullshit!

In 1996, my 5th Grade teacher did an election project where half the class was assigned to Clinton and the other to Dole. I drew the Dole stick. My mom is completely against conservative ideals, however never once did she whine about helping me with "Dole's election." She assisted me in writing letters, gathering information, and sending mailings (not to real people, mind you).

What are they afraid of? Their kids might not grow to be carbon copies? Oh, the horror!

[scheming daemons]

48. All the more reason that we should have the President's back a little bit more...

dontcha think?



Maybe not tear into him for every little utterance or lack thereof.

[woo me with science]

51. I think it's ridiculous, but I also have a sneaking suspicion

that many here would be expressing the outrage if this were GWB giving the talk.

"Is you learning? Study hard. So you can grow up and put food on your family."

[drm604]

97. I don't know where people get these "sneaking suspicions",

but it's simply not true. In my whole life I have NEVER seen such an uproar, from either party, about any President speaking to school children.

What we're seeing here is off the map - practically twilight zone - nonsense.

[Meshuga]

53. I also think it is about race

I have never heard of such a thing where it was such a big deal when a president wanted to visit/address kids. And policy is not even the theme. Angry white people cannot accept the fact that they have an African American president and they want to keep him away from their kids. You know, God forbid if the kids get a favorable view of the president!

[Doctor_J]

55. Get ready Stinky

Pretty soon we will have had enough, and will take this country back from the haters, beginning with their leaders - hate radio, Big Media, and the nuts like Bachmann. I have a really good feeling that it's coming soon. Just be ready to pitch in and do your part.

[nadinbrzezinski]

58. You got it

for the pure white KKK types, they are protecting the little tykes from the Negro...

Yes I typed the word for its full effect.

Actually the half race

You put your finger on it.

It is race,

Pure and fucking simple

On the bright side they are becoming a minority, which is rich in its own way.

[elleng]

59. Stinky, its not about race or any individual thing.

They are showing their muscle. They have it, and will continue to use it.

I honestly think now there's no hope for democracy here. $ controls everything, and will continue to do so, forever.

[FiveGoodMen]

89. "$ controls everything"

That's why we needed progressive taxation.

So that too much money couldn't accumulate in too few hands.

[AuntPatsy]

60. With the media only too willing to lend these asinine swines a voice they effectively

have what they crave....the people fighting each other missing where the real fights need be..sick just sick..

[BattyDem]

61. What pisses me off the most is that some school districts are accomodating the hate!

:wtf:

A PUBLIC school should not be giving parents the option to censor the POTUS. In fact, they should be doing everything they can to encourage children to take an interest in our democracy, our government and our president. If parents want to be hateful bigots, that's their right .... but the school should not be supporting that behavior. :grr:

[windoe]

62. Most kids love Obama

because of his character. This is a threat to racist parents trying to pass on their worldview!!

Now kids will really want to see the speech, now that it's forbidden-

[ClayZ]

63. I am so mad about it I could spit fire.

I could not believe my ears. This BS is so damn stupid and mean! I feel sorry for children who have parents like that. OMG


Shame on these people for their bigotry and hatred.

[cling2reality]

68. help me compose a response

I live in a 90% bigoted white county and the RW nut machines control everything.
This is the letter I received today from my kid's school principal:

"Our school will not participate in the live broadcast at noon eastern time because it will take away from the academic activities that are so important for our students at that time of day. I am not interested in or willing to use school time to support any political agenda, but I am always interested in helping students understand the importance of setting academic goals and creating a focus on doing one’s best to earn the best education available. I am planning to view the speech during the live broadcast to insure the message is consistent with our focus as a school. Providing the message is consistent with encouraging students to set academic goals and work hard in school, we will broadcast the speech during our flex period which begins at 2:00 p.m. at the end of the school day."

So the principal is either furthering his own political agenda by CENSORING the POTUS or has been cowed by uninformed toothless hillbillies who are concerned about "exposing" their children to an educated black man. I am outraged at this. Since when did one person get to "review" the POTUS speech to determine it's suitability for an entire school.
Maybe those of you who are as upset as I about this can channel some of your anger into helping me compose a response to this principal. (the toughest part will be not using the words "narrow minded mouth breathing cretin fucking idiots" more than once)
Look forward to your responses.

[ClayZ]

69. To whom it may concern.

You are no longer even trying to live to live in a DEMOCRATIC society. If you can not broadcast a message to the school children from the President, you do the children a grave disservice.

As for our family, we are greatly disappointed by your decision. Any academic goals, in our opinion, would include the children knowing respect for the office of President of the United States of America.

President Obama was elected by a Majority of the people of this country. Contrary to what you may think, he is the President of all the people, including our children. The HISTORY of our country includes the fact that we elected our first African American Bi-racial President. This fact is celebrated by the MAJORITY of the people who call themselves CITIZENS. People who are afraid of our President speaking to the children of this nation are obviously under-educated. You decision implies that you want to continue this trend?

Should we be fortunate enough to have a Presidential Scholar or two, among the children at our school, I hope he or she will be writing a paper on BIGOTRY and how it kept a nation divided in a time when we should be solving problems that affect the people of our country.

Shame on you for this decision. A house divided......


Not only will we be showing the children what they missed by your decision, we will be telling them the reason we believe you decided to NOT show them.


I hope families all over this great nation insist that their children not be deprived of their message from the president. I hope many progressive parents attend and CELEBRATE President Obamas message to the CHILDREN.

Sincerely,

xxxxxx





On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

[cling2reality]

78. ok, i was polite but firm

I decided to restrain myself and temper my venom because I did not want to be a simple reflection of the tea baggin nuts we all despise so much. To insure my message was read I tried to be polite but firm with my letter to school board members in my small town. What do you think?

Dear XXX School Board of Trustees,

First, let me say I appreciate the XXX school system and believe strongly in the positive education which my children are receiving. I also know that the staff is dedicated and works very hard to insure each child achieves their highest potential.
However, I must express my anger with the position taken by the XXXX school system regarding the speech by President Obama to school children scheduled for September 8th, 2009. This is a historic occasion as it is my understanding that a sitting President has not addressed school children live since President Bush did it in 1991.
The address is non-partisan and simply a positive message to kids about the importance of education, staying in school, and taking responsibility for your own future. Surely no one can have a problem with that.
Of course, those who did not vote for this President have cranked up the “manufactured outrage” machine fueled by some type of blind hatred which they use to attempt to discredit all of his actions. The media echo chamber then repeats the word “controversy” incessantly creating a non-fact based mirage which causes narrow minded individuals to then parrot the responses they have heard without individual thought process. Apparently, these individuals have influenced your decisions and you have chosen to take the easy way out by capitulating to this vocal minority.

I assume the concept of “I am not interested in or willing to use school time to support any political agenda” expressed in Principal XXXXX’s letter is the official position of the school system. This is an absurd concept. By not allowing children to participate in a nationwide speech by a sitting President of the United States you are absolutely using your position and school time to act as an arbiter who has weighed in on the side of those who have objected to the speech on political grounds.
Therefore, you are either imposing your personal views or those of persons from one end of the political spectrum on the these children. By disregarding the historic address your position becomes that what the President of the United States says is not relevant to the XXXX school system if the President is a Democrat. Regardless of any attempt to claim otherwise, the School corporation is taking a political stand.

Let me be clear, I did not vote for President Bush and disagreed with a lot of his policies yet he was still President of the United States for the previous eight years. Had he wished to address school children about the same topics which President Obama is doing there would have been no objection from me. We teach the rule of law and accepting democratic election results in civics class. To now advocate a different ideal by demonstrating that it is appropriate to disregard a President if you disagree with his policies is outrageous.

Additionally, his letter outlines his plans to view the speech and determine it’s appropriateness for the children. This can be called nothing other than censorship. These actions are really the ultimate in hyper sensitive political correctness. It appears that the XXXX School system has chosen to operate from a position of weakness and pacify those who are have expressed ridiculous unjustified hysteria about the President “indoctrinating” their children.
I remember a time when those involved in education were defenders of the freedom of speech and operated above this petty political nonsense.
I wish the XXXX school system which excels in every other area would demonstrate the same courage and fortitude when it comes to absurdities such as this.

Sincerely,

XXXXX

[renate]

90. nicely done

A well-crafted letter disagreeing with the principal might not make him do anything more than stick his fingers in his ears and go "la la la I can't hear you," but at least you did a great job of registering your feelings and maybe he won't be so quick to make stupid unilateral decisions next time. And the school board members (who run for elections, I assume?) now know that not everybody supports the way he combined partisan politics with his job as an educator.

:applause:

[newtothegame]

64. It may be, but I also think this is the easy and politically convenient way out.

We can just call them racists, and that's that. End of discussion. But what exactly does that accomplish? How does that further our cause? Let's use our heads a little bit more than coming up with the stereotypical response of calling someone "racist" to end a debate.

[DCKit]

66. Fine. They're mentally challenged and insane. Happy? n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

70. On the other hand, one must know the problem before one can address it.

[Blue_In_AK]

87. As my dad used to say

if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

[newtothegame]

88. Fair enough. If you want to pull out your 'racism' trump card to end the debate, have at it hoss.

Glad you're happy with the status quo.

[Blue_In_AK]

92. If Bill Clinton were to have given a speech to school children

on the importance of education do you think there would have been quite so much outrage? I know Clinton was hated by the right, but I just don't think they would have gotten quite this bent out of shape if it were he doing what Obama is trying to do.

I'm not saying racism is the whole reason for the opposition, but it certainly seems to be a component part.

[orleans]

67. so what exactly is obama planning? (seriously)

a speech during the morning or afternoon? is it specifically for children? i haven't heard.

[ginnyinWI]

71. I blame the media

If these people didn't listen to their backward notions get validated on the radio every single day they wouldn't go as far as raising a protest. Traditional respect for the office of the President means nothing to them. It's really sad.

[lukasahero]

72. Right there with you

I am flabbergasted over this and came to the same conclusion last night: it's his race, pure and simple.

There are times when the people in this country make me sick. This is one of those times.

[kentuck]

76. Unbelievable!

That people would dare to be so outwardly stupid.

[Gman2]

77. It's time to start calling people idiots, and biting their fingers off when they punch.

[ismnotwasm]

80. You got it

Racism; the New elephant in the living room.

[kath]

81. I can't wrap my head around it either, Stinky.

It's really freaking me out.

Really wish I could leave the country - I'm afraid it's too far gone at this point.

[yellerpup]

83. They are 'protecting' kids from this President

because of his skin color. The most racist people seem to be under the impression that everyone is a closet racist but just doesn't have the guts to show it. Disgusting. K&R :kick:

[mike_c]

84. I think it's less about race than about culture war...

...and it is high time we admit that it IS a culture war.

[imdjh]

85. The see it ahead of time thing is triggering a memory. I can't get it quite yet.

It wasn't too long ago, that someone, perhaps the major broadcasters, did something really tacky, like put a time delay into some function in case some black guy accidentally said Motherfucker or something.

I'm about to go clean toilets, so it will doubtlessly come to me then.

[Blue_In_AK]

86. Here is my comment to an Anchorage Daily News article

about this in today's paper: http://www.adn.com/news/education/story/921752.html

The disrespect being shown toward the president of the United States in this matter is appalling. I was no big fan of George Bush's by any means, but if he had chosen to present an address to my children urging them to stay in school and study hard I would have applauded him for encouraging them. This irrational fear of our democratically elected president, not only in this case but in the whole health care debate and other important issues facing our nation, raises serious questions in my mind. Is it simply because President Obama is a Democrat? Would there have been such an outcry if Bill Clinton had addressed school children? Or is it something "darker," more sinister, perhaps the color of the president's skin? If you are so vocally and angrily opposing the president when all he is doing is talking to school children about the importance of a good education, you need to seriously examine your heart and your motives.

I have nine recommends in half an hour. I'm happy to see not all of Anchorage are redneck racists.

[DearAbby]

91. It appears Socialist Commies

want their children to stay in school and get good grades. :eyes: I don't believe what I am seeing here. Unmasked Racism, it is all this is.

[timtom]

93. In order to understand it a little better...

just swap presidents.

Now consider if it were Bush addressing the school kids.

[Blue_In_AK]

94. I can't speak for everyone,

but if Bush had given a speech to school kids encouraging them to stay in school and get a good education, I would have said "Great, he's doing something right for a change."

[noamnety]

98. That's not how it went down when bush sr did exactly that.

The democrats soundly denounced him for misusing his position to push a "paid political advertisement" at captive school children.

[Blue_In_AK]

99. I was a Democrat then and I didn't soundly denounce,

but as I said, I don't speak for everybody.

[noamnety]

107. The democrats in office denounced it.

Sorry, I didn't mean every democrat at our level.

[drm604]

100. Do you have a cite for that?

What was the speech about? Were hysterical parents insisting on the right to pull their children from school that day? I don't recall anything like that but it was a while ago.

[noamnety]

102. There wasn't the grass roots activism against it

because the internet wasn't what it is today, so I doubt parents were reacting in the same way. The democratic leadership, however, was much opposed to it on principle (rather than objections to specific content):

"The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students." - 1991 House Majority leader, Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.)

"Rep. Martin Frost (D-Tex.) said that if Bush feels obliged to use government funds to hire outside consultants "to make him look good," then he should fire some of the public relations experts on the White House payroll. "Then the president might be more sympathetic to unemployment benefits," Frost said, referring to Bush's threat to veto legislation to extend benefits.""

The cite is the Washington Post, 1991 (preview is free, full article unfortunately you have to pay for)

http://tiny.cc/XVe6L

[drm604]

104. But it's not the same thing.

And you can't just claim that it would be the same thing if not for the lack of an internet. That's simply a matter of opinion and nothing more.

[noamnety]

105. I'm not clear on how it's different.

Democrats oppose a republican president using his position to insert himself as a benevolent speaker into all public school classrooms.

Republicans oppose a democratic president using his position to insert himself as a benevolent speaker into all public school classrooms.

It looks very similar to me, and I (opinion warning) suspect the outcry over that is why Clinton never tried it - he couldn't very well address all the school kids when we had just denounced his predecessor for doing the same thing.

Do you really think without the widespread use of the internet, the opposition (or even awareness) of Obama's speech would be at the same level that it is now?

[drm604]

112. I'm not sure what's not clear.

Democrats oppose a republican president using his position to insert himself as a benevolent speaker into all public school classrooms.
Republicans oppose a democratic president using his position to insert himself as a benevolent speaker into all public school classrooms.

You're leaving some things out.

Some Democratic politicians spoke out against it because, they claimed, it was a paid political announcement. Their opposition was pure politics and, in my opinion, unjustified.

Many parents (of whatever party, but probably mostly Republicans) are upset because they believe they believe that the President is going to attempt to push some insidious agenda on their children and demand that they be given the right to remove their children from school on that day. Some school administrators cave in to that pressure, and some refuse to show it all together.

You don't see the difference between a few politicians acting (wrongly) like politicians and parents freaking out over imagined but totally unsubstantiated fears about the possible subversion of their children?

Do you really think without the widespread use of the internet, the opposition (or even areness) of Obama's speech would be at the same level that it is now?

No, I don't, and I never claimed that I did.

[Lorien]

114. His speeches were played routinely in schools and his father addressed

school kids, as did Reagan. WE didn't throw a temper tantrum about any of it.

[cherokeeprogressive]

119. Bush wasn't black. n/t

[spedtr90]

103. I've been a teacher for over 30 years....

and cannot believe the letter sent today to teachers at my district. Yesterday we were told when the speech was, and it was our choice if our students would watch it. Either way was fine. Today we get a letter saying,

..."there are more concerns being voiced regarding messages that are embedded within this upcoming message to our students from President Obama. Currently, a real problem exists in that school officials and staff have not had a chance to view it."

It will be taped to possibly be shown later...."Therefore, once this message has been viewed by staff to ensure it is to ensure it is to ensure it is appropriate and does not contain policy level messages, then staff can plan to use it in the future when they feel it is an appropriate part of a lesson to encourage their students. Using this procedure also helps mitigate undue pressure placed upon teaching and school staff."

This did not happen with the speeches by Reagan and Bush Sr.

We are supposed to have the kids watch "Channel One", the 12 minute daily news program full of ads, including for the military. No one previews this. Maybe we have to stop...the kids might listen to the President!!!! (But then those recruitment ads are certainly necessary...)

The worst thing is the message this gives to students: The President wanted to speak to you today, but we don't know if he will say something inappropriate, and we need to protect you from him and the bad things he may say. We don't trust the President, and neither should you.

I think the speech and the insanity surrounding it will make a great lesson in censorship, propaganda, and freedom of speech.

[noamnety]

106. I don't think anyone should implicitly trust any politician.

I'd rather have schools teach some mistrust of any president than have them teach blind faith - I think the faith put in Bush was wildly inappropriate. I like the idea of modeling "trust but verify."

I do think your school's being hypocritical though if they are allowing Channel One in your school. I'm fortunate in that I'm at a school that's never supported Channel One for exactly the reasons you outlined. We view that as indoctrination and marketing to a captive audience.

[spedtr90]

109. it's not about implicit trust

It's about respect for the President. The message can be discussed and opinions will be made. This is not, and I am not advocating it be,a mandatory activity for schools. But since when is a speech by a president screened for appropriate content, especially when the purpose is to motivate kids to stay in school? What bothers me is the language used to hint at some sinister purpose.
We were encouraged to watch at least some of the inauguration. There's a speech you would expect to define policy. That was OK. So what is different now?

If George W. Bush was doing the same thing there would not have been any issue. It would be teacher choice depending on each teacher's schedule and class content. I actually think we'd be encouraged to watch, and for a message about staying in school I'd turn it on because it may get the attention of some at-risk students.

W's speech may even have lead to a grammar lesson. Maybe it should have been screened - those OBGYN's not being able to share their love.....I wouldn't want to try and explain that. I had enough to handle with junior high kids who turned and looked at me with shock and confusion after Biden kissed his son at the inauguration.

[noamnety]

110. This isn't accurate:

"If George W. Bush was doing the same thing there would not have been any issue."

When bush sr. did this, in fact there was an issue. I suspect that's why he only did it one year, and it hasn't been done again in nearly two decades. Now we've collectively forgotten that, it appears.

"It's about respect for the President." Have you always respected the President? I didn't for the last 8 years. If we start saying it should be shown because we should be teaching students to "respect the president" that gets into a point of political indoctrination that I would oppose, and I'm sure many others would as well.

[spedtr90]

111. Ther would be no issue...

in my school.

Have I respected the President? Well, I didn't call him names, tell kids he was the antichrist or Hitler, or pray for him to be killed. Democrats still stood when he addressed Congress. I didn't respect what he stood for, what he said, his lies, his stupidity. Are we all supposed to pack a gun, spew hate, and act like idiots? I'm all for disagreement in policy. I just don't think respect on a human level has to go out the window. I helped vote him out. That's how it works.

[UpInArms]

108. If the President wanting to speak to the students was George W. Bush - how would you react? n/t

[Lorien]

115. W. visited schools routinely. Reagan and Bush sr. gave addresses to students

there were no outcries from the Left, so there is your answer.

[UpInArms]

120. okay -

so there is the answer - why did the left not think that was wrong or why does the right think that was okay and this is wrong?

[Lorien]

121. They were white with Anglo names

He's biracial with a Muslim name. Plus, hate talk radio has convinced the RW sheep that every Democrat is pure evil and everything we say, think or believe in is to be opposed-even if they agree with us.

[MasonJar]

116. Of course the president of the USA should be able to give a talk to the school

children, especially one who knows how to speak in fluent sentences. I might have objected to W doing it. The old "Is our children learning" guy!!!!

[Fire1]

117. Stinky, you are SO late. Black Dems knew this from jump. n/t

:hi:

[LWolf]

118. I see multiple sides to this issue.

I'm a teacher.

And a parent, and a grandparent.

If I thought my grandson's school was going to use instructional time to make him view/listen to GWB, I would not only have wanted to know what was in the speech ahead of time, I would have wanted to know exactly what the teaches was going to do with the speech in the classroom.

As a teacher, I don't want propaganda in the classroom, from any perspective, directed TO my students. I can, and do, use propaganda; I'm supposed to teach them to recognize it. Analyzing a politician's speech for propaganda would be an appropriate classroom activity. Of course, I'm teaching 6th-8th graders. It may not be equally appropriate for primary kids.

As a teacher, I also would rather either have a copy of the speech ahead of time, or listen to the speech first to decide whether or not to use it in the classroom.

That's exactly what I plan to do. He's speaking at what will be 9:00 am on the first day of school here in my district on the west coast. School doesn't even start until 9:15. We don't even know our students. We have to meet and greet, get them seated and settled in, and have all those discussions and practices about supplies, procedures, etc.. Most of the teachers on my campus voted for Obama last November, but none of them are showing the speech live.

I'll download it and watch it when I get home that night, and then decide how it best fits, and when and if to use it.

It's probable that I WILL use it; a speech about working hard in school is appropriate for the beginning of the year, and my classes start the year with a unit on civics.

I've heard 2 parents out of a whole crowd of them (yesterday was "meet the teacher"/open house for the school) object. They didn't object to the message, but they claimed that part of the speech will encourage children to "help the president with his agenda." That's the part they objected to.

I don't know if that's true or not. I put in 10 hours Monday-Wednesday, 12 hours yesterday, and another 10 hours today. Without any breaks other than running down the hall to the bathroom when necessary. I ate lunch during meetings. I'm tired, and I have to many things to do this weekend to be ready for the first day and week of school next week to add anything else to my plate.