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Most everyone has seen the latest video of schoolchildren being brainwashed with Obama propaganda.  It\’s not so much that they are singing about a President.  In fact talking a President as an upstanding decent guy and what he\’s doing is an important part of civics, and subject that should be taught more often in school.

The problem lies in the details.  These are second graders, whose ability to discern propaganda from a legitimate civics lessons is less than fully developed.  Not to mention this isn\’t a normal civics lesson.  With phrases like \”Jesus loves the little children\”, except using Obama in place of Jesus.  Or even the \”All are equal in his sight\”, with \”in his sight\” being almost exclusively used in a religious context, referring to an omniscient being. The problem is the religious worship of a simple man, that has blown into a full blown personality cult.  That\’s offensive to a lot of people because personality cults always have an unhappy ending.  Well known examples including Adolf Hitler, Kim Jong-Il, Charles Manson and David Koresh.

So people are rightly upset and voicing their displeasure, and it was only a matter of time before the school district responded.  They have…

Response to Unauthorized Video of Class Activity
September 24, 2009

Today we became aware of a video that was placed on the internet which has been reported in the media. The video is of a class of students singing a song about President Obama. The activity took place during Black History Month in 2009, which is recognized each February to honor the contributions of African Americans to our country. Our curriculum studies, honors and recognizes those who serve our country. The recording and distribution of the class activity were unauthorized.

Yeah, the problem is not brainwashing children.  It\’s not the deity worship of a political figure.  It\’s not the forcing of a personality cult upon children.  No the problem is that it was videotaped and distributed!!!

What is it about liberals getting caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar?  Just like ACORN before them, when caught doing an outrageous act, their response is not to apologize and promise to change, it\’s to attack the messenger.  How dare you let people know how offensive we are!??!?

So much for transparency being a liberal virtue.

For some reason after I graduated college and got a good job, I decided that it might make sense to go back to grad school and go for my Masters, which I finally completed after two years.  I learned a lot of various concepts during that time, but probably the thing that sticks with me most is that college makes you stupid.  Perfect example of what I\’m talking about:

So Obama gives his speech to our nation\’s school children today, for those that aren\’t being kept home.  From the start I think people reacted in a rather knee-jerk fashion as soon as it was announced.  The initial materials released had both pros and cons regardless of your point of view and could have supported a speech that was everything from propaganda to a civics lesson.  I think everyone\’s reaction, on both sides, were a little premature and probably should have been left unsaid.

There is nothing wrong with a President addressing school children.  In fact, it\’s a good thing, as civics is a subject that too often is ignored in our school system.  It\’s a subject that was often taught at home by example, but in a society of low voting rates and short attention spans, it\’s no surprise that civics is less than properly addressed.  So the President addressing school children is a good thing, and it\’s something almost all Presidents in the media age have done, including Reagan.

The problem lies in the ease with which this can be abused.  It\’s easy to propagandize this outlet and abuse of it, can have harsh consequences public opinion-wise.  However, Obama\’s remarks could hardly be construed as anything but an honest straightforward attempt to inspire and guide our school children.  There is absolutely no attempt at propaganda and the only trace of partisanship is by those that would use it to promote their ends or criticize it to justify theirs.

About the only thing negative one could say about the speech is the White House once again handled it in it\’s standard inept manner.  Their study pack included questions about how students could help the President, which could lead one to assume that the guide was to promote the President\’s agenda.  Had the study pack not been included, there would have been no reason to suspect the speech had anything but innocent straightforward intentions.  Their handling of the aftermath and criticism of the speech smacks of amateur hour once again.

It\’s not Obama\’s speeches that one should fear, it\’s the inept nature with which his administration handles everything they touch.

Some of the worst ideas started with the best intentions.  This probably ranks up there somewhere:

A buck-a-day — that\’s the incentive being offered to young girls to keep them from getting pregnant.

The group College-Bound Sisters was founded at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro by Hazel Brown, a maternity nurse who thought too many teens were having babies.

Brown said she hopes the program, which pays $1 each day to 12-to-18-year-old girls, will keep them from getting pregnant. In addition to remaining pregnancy-free, the girls must also attend weekly meetings.

So they\’re paying you NOT to get pregnant.  Okay I understand teen pregnancy is a problem and regretable, but is bribery really the answer??  And besides this sort of reminds me of that Chris Rock joke:

[People] always want credit for some shit they supposed to do. A [person] will brag about some shit a normal man just does. A [person] will say some shit like, \”I take care of my kids.\” You\’re supposed to, you dumb motherfucker! What kind of ignorant shit is that? \”I ain\’t never been to jail!\” What do you want, a cookie?! You\’re not supposed to go to jail, you low-expectation-having motherfucker!

You didn\’t get pregnant.  Congrats you\’re not supposed to.  Condition our kids to expect reimbursement for stuff they are already supposed to do seems like a bad foundation on building a responsible adult.  What\’s next, free soda for not committing arson??  Sure setting a good precedent for what they can expect in adulthood huh?

But it gets better.

Under the program, $7 is deposited into an interest-bearing college fund that the girls can collect once they graduate high school.

If a girl drops out or gets pregnant, her money is divided among the other girls still in the program.

So now they have incentive to screw each over too.  I have a feeling these kids are going to grow into very healthy well-adjusted adults.

During the campaign, Obama promised to \”fund what works\” when it comes to education, regardless of whether the idea was a \”Republican\” or Democrat\” idea.  He\’s already broken that relatively simple guideline by letting Congress eliminate a $18 million voucher program (out of a $3.6 trillion budget) that allows Washington DC kids to get out of poor performing schools and attend decent schools instead.

Despite reports from his own Department of Education (DOE) indicating that the program is working and the kids are showing great improvements, the DOE has indicated the program will be cut.  This is not making parents very happy….many of which were Obama supporters, as you\’ll see below:

The Obama administration is now indicating, after public outcry, that they will try to save the program for CURRENT participants only.

So even thought it\’s working, you still plan to kill it.

So even though you promised to fund what works, and it\’s working, you still plan to kill it.

So even though you\’re giving billions to failing banks, you won\’t give $18 million to kids who are improving.

So even though you promised to look past the partisanship, since it\’s a voucher program (conservative idea), you\’re going to kill it.

Again, this might be Change, but it certainly doesn\’t inspire Hope.

I want you to read through the following story.  I\’ve intentionally removed some identifying information from the story to make a point later on.

Parents of **** marching band members expressed outrage over the school\’s handling of a hazing investigation in dozens of e-mails to administrators, according to records released Monday.

The parents threatened to withhold donations, sought refunds for football tickets and even vowed to seek the firing of **** who led the probe, the e-mails show.

The parents said they were angry **** suspended the entire 300-member marching band while investigating allegations against a small minority of its members.

Several said they doubted **** sports teams would be suspended if some of their members committed misconduct and questioned why administrators allow students to yell crude chants at games but crack down on the band.

A few said they worried the publicity surrounding the investigation would damage the reputations of their children and make it harder for them to get jobs after they graduate.

\”In this case, the rush to \’make a statement\’ has trumped common sense,\” one parent wrote on Oct. 8. \”In the process, completely innocent members of the band have been branded as drunks, miscreants and sexual deviants.\”

Berquam detailed some of the allegations in a letter to the band\’s parents in early October and notified them of the school\’s investigation. The letter unleashed a torrent of angry responses from band parents to ****, who led the investigation.

Parents of one band member wrote on Oct. 7 about how proud they were of their daughter for earning a spot in the band through years of hard work.

\”Imagine our anger and disappointment in learning that this dedicated group of students has been singled out (by the ****) for immoral and illegal actions!\” they wrote. \”These many young people have obeyed the rules, and worked too hard, dedicated too much of their time, and sacrificed too much to deserve this slanderous treatment!\”

Some parents criticized **** for not releasing enough information while others said it released too much.

One parent said he was so furious he was looking into legal action against the school.

Got all that??

Now reading through that who figures this is describing a public high school somewhere?  Raise your hands.

Now that I got you raising your hands all by yourself at a computer like a moron, enough question time.

Decay of society in 3…

2…

1…

The school in question is the University of Wisconsin and the administrator is the Dean of Students.

These band members were \”adults\”….yet there is not a single cae of an outraged students.  The story is instead about how parents are outraged and pissed off and taking action.

It\’s bad enough that parents who coddle their children well into adulthood, it\’s worse that it\’s so common place that an entire article came be written featuring helicopter parents and nobody blinks.

OK so I\’m sure most people have already heard about the \”Heterosexual Questionnaire\” that was given to a bunch of High School kids. Reading through the survey, you almost want them to just get to the point and say \”Dude, just try it…everyone is doing it. How do you know you won\’t like it? Just try it! Do it!!!\”

Either way it\’s a pretty messed up survey. Although it\’s one I almost wish I had been given. It would be just one more chance for my smartass mouth (or fingers) to get me in trouble.

1) What do you think caused your heterosexuality

Probably the fact that I find women attractive. I think that\’s a pretty defining characteristic.

2) When did you decide you were heterosexual?

Well I\’m not really sure I sat down and decided on it. There wasn\’t a town debate that I\’m aware of. If I had to pinpoint the time I\’d say when I was in my early teens and I hit puberty and merely the sight of an attractive woman induced temporary insanity.

3) Could it be that your heterosexuality is just a phase?

Well since the temporary insanity I referred to in the above question, continues to this day, I\’m guessing no. But I\’ll let you know if it clears up.

4) To whom have you disclosed your heterosexuality? How did they react?

Hmmm, I think I mentioned it to the woman I\’m dating. She was pretty supportive of it.

5) If you have never slept with someone of your same gender, then how do you know you wouldn\’t prefer it?

Probably because being in the locker room with other guys doesn\’t induce temporary insanity. Besides, if those parts got me excited why would I even leave the house??

6) Is it likely that you just haven\’t met the right same gender partner yet?

I\’m still working on the perfect opposite gender partner right now (in the process of an extended interview at the moment), one step at a time.

7) Why do you flaunt your lifestyle with wedding rings, photos at work and talk of your heterosexual escapades?

Well I call it general conversation. Besides, it beats talking about the weather and/or politics. I guess if you are that interested in my lifestyle, I can tell you. So last weekend, we got together and ….

[EDITORS NOTE : The rest of this response has been editted in favor of keeping a PG-13 rating.]

8) Your heterosexuality doesn\’t offend me as long as you don\’t try to come on to me but why do so many heterosexuals try to seduce others to their orientation?

I\’m not sure we\’re really trying to seduce you to our orientation, as much as we\’re just trying to seduce you. You see, in short men are pigs, and women are….well some form of cat, I think.

9) Considering the battering, abuse and divorce rate associated with heterosexual coupling, why would you want to enter into that kind of relationship?

Because I\’m fairly certain the same thing happens to homosexuals. In fact I know it does. Watch a few episodes of COPS and you\’ll find some domestic situations between gay couples. I know there are more cases of heterosexuals doing it…but there are also more heterosexuals.

10) Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex?

Because it\’s fun.

Your latest example of why our school system is in trouble comes from San Bernardino, California (emphasis mine):

Incorporating Ebonics into a new school policy that targets black students, the lowest-achieving group in the San Bernardino City Unified School District, may provide students a more well-rounded curriculum, said a local sociologist.

The goal of the district’s policy is to improve black students’ academic performance by keeping them interested in school. Compared with other racial groups in the district, black students go to college the least and have the most dropouts and suspensions.

So does that mean that we should teach nerds and geeks in leet-speak?? Or how about we explain Physics to athletes by drawing Xs and Os on a chalkboard with lots of arrows connecting them??

But we’re trying to keep them interested you say?? Well hell, why stop there?? As long as you are just making shit up, let’s go wild with it. Offer courses on the best video game cheat codes. How about a daily class on the latest sexual antics of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, J Lo, . Maybe the best way to roll a joint should be taught?? Or perhaps lets educate them on how best to pimp out their ride?

You wanna teach life experience? How about a freshman course on the best way to unhook a bra using one hand?? Or how to cheat on their taxes??

Just because you want to be intellectually lazy and claim you need to offer ebonics classes to keep the kids interested, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

Far be if from me to take lessons from other countries. But I got a wild idea. Let’s take a cue from places like India, Korea, China, Japan, etc and concentrate on teaching crazy out-of-the-norm subjects like Math, Reading, Chemistry, Physics, etc. in a language they will have to use in the real world.

Schools who receive federal funds have been ordered to observe Constitution Day.

The Education Department outlined Tuesday how it plans to enforce a little-known provision that Congress passed in 2004: Every school and college that receives federal money must teach about the Constitution on Sept. 17, the day the document was adopted in 1787.

At first one could interpret this as a ray of hope for our country. But as one of my readers emaled me:

thought I would pass this along – I wonder how long it will be before the liberals destroy this one too? Watch for them turn it into a diversity event.

I\’m afraid he\’s far too right in his interpretation. If you read the regulation itself, to call it vague and open to interpretation would be generous.

Basically it just repeatedly states:

[e]ach educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution.

Nowhere does it state anywhere what type of educational material. My guess it that in the Berkleys of the world, they\’ll be teaching how the Founding Father were evil rich white gun-owning slave owners.

And we\’ll hear about how the Constitution guarantees us the right to an abortion or whatever the lefty agenda is for that week.

We\’ll be taught the shortcomings of the Constitution and how it\’s a \”living document\”.

We\’ll be taught how \”the people\” in the Second Amendment refers to the states even though every other reference to \”the people\” means individuals.

I give it two years before Constitution Day is turned into a mockery by the left.

I get absolutely no say in what our shitty education system is teaching them:

And if I do try to put in my two cents….I can get arrested.

I think pretty much any sane person would agree that the biggest factor in how your kids turn out is how involved the parents are in the child\’s life. So why on earth would we punish and discourage parents from being involved in their child\’s education. Just whose responsibility is it to raise this child anyway.

Oh that\’s right…I forgot, this is now the United Nanny States of America.

My bad…