The White House is responding to controversy to President Obama's planned back-to-school speech next Tuesday which Republican critics are calling "an effort to foist a political agenda on children."
The White House insisted that Mr. Obama's remarks will simply be an inspirational message to America's students but they revised language due to push-back from conservatives. An original suggestion that students write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president has now been changed to writing letters about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.
Critics wanted the White House to issue a text of the president's remarks before the speech. The White House plans to do just that on Monday, the day before the speech, so that parents can read it before their children hear it --the lack of advance knowledge of the text has been a primary complaint on the right.
That may not be enough. School districts in six states --Illinois (Obama's home state), Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin-- are "refusing" to show the president's speech to their students.
Other districts in at least one additional state, South Carolina, have announced they won't be screening the address, at least not live, partly "because the broadcast has not been previewed and overlaps classes and lunch" and officials were concerned about having to change schedules to accommodate the live presentation.
In some cases, if teachers do choose to show the recording, the district will be offering alternative activities for students whose parents don't want them to see it. A link to the speech will also be added to the district's website, and hard copies will be provided to students whose parents want to discuss it with them but don't have internet access.
Other districts in at least one additional state, South Carolina, have announced they won't be screening the address, at least not live, partly "because the broadcast has not been previewed and overlaps classes and lunch" and officials were concerned about having to change schedules to accommodate the live presentation.
In some cases, if teachers do choose to show the recording, the district will be offering alternative activities for students whose parents don't want them to see it. A link to the speech will also be added to the district's website, and hard copies will be provided to students whose parents want to discuss it with them but don't have internet access.
This is interesting as part of a catch-all idea when you take E-J Dionne's column into account. Dionne says the brouhaha that broke out at several of the various town meetings during the month of August were greatly exaggerated by the media who gave a megaphone to what he thinks is a relatively small number of people. Then you read about this apparent faux outrage over the president giving a speech to schools next week. There were incredible quotes from parents who don't want their kids to listen to the president. One guy in Texas said he's afraid the kid's gonna be indoctrinated in the socialist agenda.
First he came for your guns!Then he came for your health careNow it's the Obaminator and "The Indoctrination of the Children!" (Rated ADA for Angry Dumb Asses)
What does America really think? Is it the person who shouts the loudest who defines us or are we something other than we readily think we are?
P.S. -- It's probably worth remembering: 24 hour news stations have 24 hours of news to fill every day. Is that a message?
Comments
Has anybody seen that CREEPY HOLLWEIRD VIDEO where all the celebtards pledge to CHAIRMAN OBAMAO, that s**t is one of the most pathetic pieces of liberal/commie trash I've ever seen in my life.
Obama is learning as he is going. I don't need a President that asks for opinions on everything. He is so unskilled in his position and he proves it each and every day with his constant inability to think on his own. On the flip side he claims to ask for help and opinions and has his own agenda anyone. We have crooks in power, we have criminals like franks, and schermer in chargeof departments that stop investigations on them, we havea tax guy who did not pay takes, we have thechicago mob doing their thing, we have a nut job as a Speaker of the House and a Senate Majority leader who did absolutely nothing to speak up for his own home state as the President personally stopped people from booking meetings in Las Vegas. Reid has his own agenda, unqualifed Nancy Pelossi has her own agenda, and the rest of them feed off each other and they were all elected as if they were Rock Stars. We have nowhere to go now but up and the only true Change needed is to vote them all out of power.
Wait a minute. Our public schools, run by the government, are not allowing the President of the United States to be shown on on TV?
I can only shake my head in amazement. This is a President who thinks kids, education, and role models are important. Unlike President Bush, he hasn't been caught doing cocaine, invesitgated by the SEC nor are his daughters seen drunk in public.
Yet someone, somewhere, thinks it might not be a good idea for kids to watch him on TV? Our President who berates dead beat dads and tells young men to pull their baggy pants up?
I really don't know what to say. Must be something in the water.
We are badly split but not evenly. About 80% of Americans have split to the left and favor public health care and education. 10% are very very confused and 10% are way on the right lunatic fringe side. That side gets a lot of press.
The country is extremely split--the majority being conservative. The silent majority has woken up due to having a thug surrounded by commies in the White House with an agenda to destroy America. We have just begun to fight. Wait until the 2010 elections--50 to100 both Dems and Repubs will go.
Hey Mitchell: So which Republicans need to go?
YourMom says: The silent majority has woken up due to having a thug surrounded by commies in the White House with an agenda to destroy America. We have just begun to fight. Wait until the 2010 elections--50 to100 both Dems and Repubs will go.
We? Who the hell is we, the Glenn Beck Fear Brigade or the Tin Foil Hat Club? Don't mean to be insulting but that's how your post comes off. When people acted that mad during the Bush Administration, others suggested they leave the country. What happens if Obama wins reelection and Congress stays the same? How will your theory change?
NO CELEBTARDS says:
Has anybody seen that CREEPY HOLLWEIRD VIDEO where all the celebtards pledge to CHAIRMAN OBAMAO, that s**t is one of the most pathetic pieces of liberal/commie trash I've ever seen in my life.
Video was produced by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, as in private citizens. Has nothing to do with the administration.
This is a further example of the Right-Wing base shouting their slanderous lies. Sad thing is that many of their followers are trained to be sheep (Christian "shepherd to the flock" self-analogy) and subsequently accept blindly what their religious and media authorities say.
Read the following bolded portions by itself and the non-bolded portions by itself and then both together:
WE CHALLENGE our traditions
BECAUSE we believe
TRUTH without questioning
IS FALSE
Those in the far-Right are much like the left and the right portions of the above passage. The far-Left is much the same. They are in the margins, but are sensationalized by not only Fox News, but all news outlets in general. It's ratings baby!
When are these groups going to be held accountable for their slander and libel? It would be political suicide for the Obama camp to pursue it. The so-called media of Rush Limbaugh et al. will always hide behind their "entertainer status." Is it fr
Is it free-speech or free-slander?
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