When you’re the President, and your last chance to save your failed Presidency is

trying to persuade people who really were born yesterday…….

Well… pack up your pajamas and head back to Chicago, it’s over dude.

We could go through the impeachment process but,…. We’ll tell you what.

Resign and we’ll pass the hat to get you a bus ticket.

Obama is a Socialist at best, a communist at worse. There is nothing that he has to say that I would find of any intrest. If my children were still in school, I would not allow them to go and listen to the man any more than I would let them listen to Karl Marx. One is a physician, one is a police officer, and one is a nurse. All of them are conservative capitalists. StormAZ100, send your children and let them listen to the man if you subscribe to his political philosophy. Insulting the people that don't approve of your President will not make him any more popular and it reveals you for the A$$ that you are.

You freaks didn't happen to watch Joe Scarborough this morning, did you?

He basically called you stupid.

No, I believe that he literally called you stupid.

What are you thinking...shows that you don't think

BeN4Real

Obama did the thinking, the country is now responding to his self-evident facts.

Good to see you BeN4real, I thought Acorn laid you off.

They totally and completely missed the point in this article, how convenient. How convenient that the liberals calling this "silly season" are missing the point as well.

The furor WAS NOT about the speech.

The furor was about the teaching materials released to be used with it.

Please crawl back under your rock, and take your tinfoil hat with you.

Those parents who don't want their children exposed to the president's speech, can keep them home in their trailors and give them shooting lessons. Maybe later in the day they can all practice spitting on the floor and hold belching contests.

God forbid the little dears should become educated, or...OMG... learn to think! Heck, if that happens they might become Democrats someday!

So StormAZ only you have the right to determine how children are educated? Do you not think it is bad when the level 1-5 essay questions was about "How you can help the President?"

That is just sic.

If the Preseident was going to do an Educationational video it would be, Do not do drugs et al, I would have been behind it. Instead they chose to phrase questions that should be general....not "How can I help America"...they used "How can I help the PRESIDENT".

That is wrong on too many levels.

BTW before you call hypocrisy, yesterday a Utah Schoolteacher was placed on suspension for airing a video that promoted political idealism, with hollywood actors.

The owner of the company Ashton Kutcher, the owner of his company? Rupert Murdoch, owner of fox news.

That is true hypocrisy.

LibiYou freaks didn't happen to watch Joe Scarborough this morning, did you?

He basically called you stupid.

No, I believe that he literally called you stupid. {"commentId":9254972,"threadId":"668382","contentId":"3227045","authorDomain":"libi"}2!#1.4 - Fri Sep 4, 2009 7:49 PM EDT
--------------------------------------------------------------

He did and I've seem them subsequently accuse him of being a Liberal - Joe Scarborough, a liberal! - thus in effect, proving his point!

This whole thing is completely laughable and in a way, it works into the President's hands because conservative outrage over this takes away from conservative outrage over health care and over actual substantive issues.

If I were Obama, I'd constantly try to find ways to make these people jump at every little trivial thing as a way to keep their focused diffused - they're like unhinged bulls who charge instinctively at any red coloured thing, so why not try to paint everything red so they're charge this way and that, never staying put long enough to make a meaningful impact on anything. It can't be much harder than keeping a young child with ADHD distracted.

You people have become an unfunny joke.

Craig: It has occurred to me that perhaps this Administration does bait the Far-Right.

Remember when Obama directed a comment towards Rush Limbaugh. Everyone thought that it was a wrong move, but it turned out to be a stroke of genius.

But the Far-Right has no one to blame but themselves for being so willing to take the bait.

Libi, you should be more worried that Liberals are the "majority" now and worry so much about what Conservatives do.

Kind of funny since conservatives when in power do not care about the Liberals.

Makes you wonder why the Liberals need something like this.

The "speechers" are the same as the "birthers" or the "death panelists". A group of sheep who grasp onto absurd right wing hysteria. they should be ignored. if they want to hold their children out from school, let them. call their bluff. most of these people don't have children anyway....they're the same bunch that went screaming at health care town halls. they really don't deserve all the attention. Their children will eventually realize that their parents are followers of a bizarre right wing political cult that existed from 2009 to about 2011, then died out because they never won any elections. I survived the 60's turmoil, their children will survive this. Eventually they will forgive their parents.

The Crazies are out in force

as someone said "The people who oppose this would oppose President Obama going to the bathroom."

So many other presidents have done exactly what Obama is doing; Regan, Bush; to now claim that it is bad is self serving, disingenuous.

And claiming Obama is socialist is like saying "I have a tin foil hat on and it is too tight!" - all you do is demonstrate how far gone you really are.

"Reality! What a Concept!" - Robin Williams

Ah Joe Mota shouldn't you be promoting your sick wife to save some more money on the taxpayer dime since you cannot supportrt her?

You have admitted several times that is what you want and could care less about everything else.

Suddenly you are a plitico?

More evil than Cheney and more useless than a receipt Joe Mota.

Hey, Storm, nice comments, NOT!

I love liberals and generalization of people who don't want their kids to hear what the president has to say. We're all barefoot, one tooth, banjo playing, white trash Republicans clinging to our guns and religion having belching, farting, and spitting contests, right? Wrong.

I am a parent who believes that the president should go about running the country and stay out of every aspect of people's lives. My husband and I will help our kids with their education and make sure that they graduate from high school. We will teach our children what the schools won't so they will learn the proper information not what is written in their text books. Our kids are already getting enough liberal indoctrination in the public school system as it is.

navynuke

From your previous posts I would say the black thing bugs you most. Too bad this is why people are leaving the Republican party.

What are you thinking is aother login used by navy...pathetic...uses another login to try to press his silly point.

So people are upset because the President of the United States of America wants to address American school children about the importance of education and staying in school. Republicans are upset because he using tax dollars to convey this message...What's the problem here? Is education now a socialist or communist idea? It's not like he's trying to push a majority religion down the proverbial impressionable throats of our kids. Oh that's right, that's the Republican party's job.

I have been out of school for a while and we were not allowed to read huck fin or tom sawyer in school nor could we read anything from uncle tom's cabin and that was in the 80's. I do not remember Regan speaking to schools all i remember is nancy and the just say no program.

Ron Reagan was saying this afternoon that his dad gave a televised speech to and for school kids in the 80's and ghbush did the same in 91..............so what is this silly argument about?

On the lighter side gwbush read My Pet Goat to students as NYC was being attacked. Does anyone remember the stupid look on his face? Now that is a memory that is scary.

I really do not remember Reagan giving any speech, but i went to private school maybe that is why we did not see them then again I doubt I would have given it a thought at that age. My child is in high school now and what we have been told that they will not be included.

you actually don't need much education. i know people with GEDs making much more than some of my PhD profs.

You think the furor over this is bad now? I just hope the President remembers to wear his flag pin, or some of these people will actually have strokes.

The spelling errors, syntax errors and poor conjugation are good examples why some of you right wing, ideologues should have learned to read, and gotten a better education! This is a free country where you can express your opinion. Please do your research, learn to think rationally and then make your points succinctly. Ignorance is a terrible affliction!

I live in a district where they opted not to televise the speech for our students.

I don't agree with much that Obama's doing or has done.

But, I'm not oposed to my children watching this speech.

Many of the local papers' blog sites have similar referencing to this one; that it is right wingers, conservatives, or racists that are against it.

Having lived here for many years now, I don't believe our district's motivations entail any of the above. They're not showing it for the same reason most kids that CHOOSE to be out of control, are.

Our school system is scared to say "boo" to anyone, for fear of lawsuits. They don't discipline children anymore for the same reasons. And, in some instances I've been privy to, reverse racism is alive and well.

So, if anything, our district WOULD show it just to prove they aren't racist against blacks. I believe it simply comes down to fear of peoples' propensity to sue over anything they can.

This same attitude is turning out young adults that have no respect and no fear of consequences... many young folk here think they can run our neighborhoods the same way they run their schools and homes.

They should televise this speech at our schools. They should discipline again. They should put the lawyers back in their places and not allow lawsuits every time a teacher tells a student to behave.

At least where I'm at, I'm certain this has nothing to do with race or politics....

This Radical Socialist some of you call "President" will stop at nothing to promote his Socialist Agenda and his ultimate goal of taking over the government. His " I Pledge Video " says it all with asking students to pledge to support " Barrack Obama" and his Homework assignment of " How I will work to support Obama" reminds me of some kind of Communist tactics. God help us all because this country has been taken over by Wackos!

What is socialist about encouraging children to study and work hard in school.   I cant seem to figure that one out yet.  And why all of a sudden is this a problem.  I wish my kids had gotten that kind of pep talk, instead they got "No Child Left Behind" and spent all their time memorizing for the tests, and not really learning.  

Un-common...

In your reference to the "I Pledge" video, you actually truly represented exactly what we as a country now have as a serious problem (including the fact that you haven't even seen the video). Yes, there are, out of 4 minutes and 18 seconds of celebrities saying what they are willing to do for the United State of America, less than five seconds of two statements, one pledging to be of service to Barack Obama, and one pledging to be a servant to "our President and all mankind".

So since you object to the entire video, here are more things you are also opposed to.

You are against any help to end hunger in America or making sure all senior citizens have access to health care.

You are against loving more or being a great mother or great father.

You are against helping children battling serious illnesses or finding a cure for Alzheimer's.

You are against people considering themselves Americans, rather than African-Americans, etc.

You are against bringing your own reusable bags to the store, or for that matter, reducing our use of non-biodegradable plastics or even water conservation in any way.

You are against Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America, and certainly against volunteering to work with children in need.

You are obviously against striving to grow and learn every day.

So it makes sense that you are definitely against not giving people the finger when you drive.

I'm glad you don't live in my community, since we do believe in service to others in our community, especially children, being great parents, helping the needy, and seeing ourselves as proud Americans, no matter what our race, ethnic heritage, religion, etc., and we have supported our Presidents even when we did not vote for them and even strongly disagreed with them.

I am not sorry you will be keeping your children home from school on Tuesday, because maybe, if we are lucky, the missing of a message from the President of the United States welcoming them to another opportunity to work hard and learn much, may cause them to be among the one out of every three students who will not graduate from high school, and those who do remember the hearing of such historical encouragement from ANY President will impact those children we will want as tomorrow's leaders.

Your values are not those of most people. I am sorry you are teaching your children such selfishness towards others, their own future children, you, when you become old, the country and environment they live in, and generally, anyone who doesn't see everything your way.

But don't worry too much. The rest of us with much more generous values will care for you all anyway.

I'm sure that NOW the message will be very innocuous. I don't think it started out that way (i.e. after this controversy started the White House removed a "bullet point" wanting kids to write letters to themselves stating how they will "help the president" To do WHAT, I don't know).

Because the public has (luckily) been watching, I'm sure it has now been changed to a very tame and generic speech.

the republican right has fallen off the edge....they resemble the Jim Jones cult more than a political party. this is the craziest thing yet. "death panels" was merely a hideous and ugly lie. the "speechers" are insane. the republican right has become the laughing stock of the civilized world. these people need therapy.

Joe why do love Obama so much? I'm just curious.

C'mon Joe Joe. Answer me. I can give you legitimate factual reasons why I don't like the guy based on his words vs his actions. But you just seem down with the man like i ain't never seen. I just want to know why.

colonel, I oppose Obama on several issues..

are you one of those "speecher" fanatics? or a death panelist or a birther? are you part of this insane cult that the republican right has become?

I don't give a $hit about any of that crap. I just don't like the way he has gone back on his word on so many of his "promises." To me it has become apparent that he was willing to promise the sky to people when he KNEW he had no intention of delivering. HeII, he almost had ME convinced by inauguration time.

People on here hate Bush, and then praise Obama for doing EXACTLY the same things. How in heII does that make sense. They say the Right is "crazy" and then say the GOP are childmolesters and the AntiChrist???!!!!

A black lady my wife works with ADMITTED she voted for him because he was black and that the African-Americans she knew voted for him to "make a statement." How should people feel when they hear stuff like that? I'm a racist because I don't like Obama, but it's O.K. to vote for him based solely on the color of his skin? Where's the logic?

colonel, he promised to try to get health care refrom enacted. he's working on it. he promised to reduce US involvement in Iraq to a support role and end the combat mission. he's doing that. he promised that his initial focus would be on trying to stabilize the economy. he did that and the economy is showing several signs of stabilizing. he also promised that it would take a long time for the economy to recover completely. he promised he'd try to work with "the other side" and did appoint republicans to his cabinet and other positions. Bipartisanship is a 2 way street and I've seen little evidence from republicans that they're interested in cooperating and a lot of evidence from republicans (death panel lies, misrepresentation of health care reform and the stimulus package) that they want to obstruct and score rhetorical points with their followers.

Your story about people voting for Obama based on race is disturbing and was probably a lot more widespread than I'd like to admit. Such is the state of our deeply divided nation.

Yes, he's trying to do those things BUT,

He promised "No lobbyists." He appointed 30 to high level cabinet positions. He promised "No earmarks." He signed a stimulus bill containing 9000 of them. He promised "Tax-cuts for 95% of Americans." That turned out to be $8 a week if you're lucky enough to be employeed. He promise to cut federal spending. Then signed a 3/4 trillion dollar bill almost immediately without anyone even reading what was in it, The effects of which HE said would definitely keep unemployment under 8%. Which is presently at 9.7% and rising (not counting the people who are no longer recieving benefits).

It's part "partisanship" and party affiliation, But frankly, I just feel the guy doesn't keep his word unless he's pressured to. He COMPLETELY mishandled the whole Health Care debate, because he 1. never gave any real details about what he wanted to do and 2. tried to move so blindingly fast he scared the crap out of a a citizenry that's still reeling from a failing economy and massive unemployment. He's a likable guy, but I just don't think he has what it takes to be in the most powerful position in the free, if not the entire, world.

I gotta go cut my grass.

colonel, I do wonder if you were as hard on GW (the Uniter) Bush with respect to promises. earmarks are a congressional bipartisan issue. As I recall, it was Pelosi who porked up the stimulus package (causing me to quit the democratic party in favor of being independent). Obama had to choose between campaign statements and pragmatism. pragmatism won out and he signed the bill. If you consider that an unforgiveable lie, so be it. The stimulus package included $280 billion in tax cuts to the middle class, so that's partial delivery at least. the stimulus package also extended unemployment insurance for millions. Are you one those who claims the stimulus package was $787 billion of pork?? Don't you think that's stretching the truth?

I don't recall Obama ever making an explicit promise on a specific unemployment rate, only that the aim of the stimulus package is to act as a brake on it, ie. keep it lower than had the stimulus not been enacted. If you have evidence that Obama promised a specific unemployment rate, I'd like to see it, in context. It might change my mind unless it's just a highly edited snow job.

I'd like to address some of the things you've said but I just don't have time. However, here is text taken directly from the the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Plan and the estimates of the Council Of Economic Advisors Romer-Berstein. Page 5:

The table shows that we expect the plan to more than meet the goal of creating or saving 3 million jobs by 2010Q4. There are two important points to note, however: First, the likely scale of employment loss is extremely large (this means the potential without the plan). The U.S. economy has already lost nearly 2.6 million jobs since the business cycle peak in December 2007. In the absence of stimulus,the economy could lose another 3 to 4 million more. Thus, we are working to counter a potential total job loss of at least 5 million. As Figure 1 shows, even with the large prototypical package, the unemployment rate in 2010Q4 is predicted to be approximately 7.0%, which is well below the approximately 8.8% that would result in the absence of a plan.

So in short what you have is a massive spending bill, paid for at tax-payer expense that didn't do what it was predicted to do. And continues to not do what it was predicted to do. Reason enough to scrap it I think.

1

colonel, I asked to evidence to support your claim that Obama lied about the unemployment rate. the language you supplied includes the appropriate caveats "expect", "likely", "predicted". A careful reader would realize these are not "promises" but rather estimates. You may not like the bill, but that does not make Obama a liar.

And there you go calling it a "spending" bill again. about 36% of the bill is TAX CUTS. do you not understand that tax cuts are not spending???

do you think that money to extend unemployment benefits is wasted?

do you think money to keep cops and teachers on the job is wasted?

do you think building bridges, highways, water systems and the like is wastefull spending?

do you think invading a middle eastern country under false pretenses at the cost of $2 tirllion to establish American style democracy is wasteful spending?

clatech, are you asserting that newspapers and other media outlets in the USA are state run? are you completely crazy?

clatech

I don't think the fact that the NBC media network, owed by GE, supported Obama for president. Rupert Murdoch's huge media empire did not. Media outlets of all kinds still have the freedom to support any candidate they choose in any election.

GE spent around $45,000 per day to lobby the administration for stimulus money to invest in green energy technology after the Obama administration passed regulations that sent GE stocks into the tank. The private health insurance companies are spending $1.4 million per day to defeat any health care regulations.

I see little difference between the MSNBC talking head using words such as you mentioned, especially when they were first used by people identifying themselves using these words initially. For example, the gentleman at one of the town hall meetings did identify himself as a "proud right-wing terrorist" and the official holding the meeting replied "God bless you, sir". Of course there were paid operatives. There were people at the rallies wearing Blue Cross shirts, who told reporters they were on company time and being paid. The "tea baggers" gave themselves that name.

On the other side, we have other media referring to the President, his cabinet members, his advisors, and members of Congress as Nazis, Hitler, communists, socialists, Marxists, baby-killers, etc.

I would say this is pretty typical of every election. So what's your point?

clatech

Your cutting and pasting skills are beyond reproach. However, before you attack me again, you might try reading the numerous times I have responded to this same post with a variety of different pieces of information, which I believe should suffice as an adequate defense of my post.

If you have nothing more to add but this same information over and over, there is simply nothing more I can do to correct some of your misstatements, which obviously makes any meaningful adult conversation on this or even on the main topic impossible with you.

If my children were still in school, I would not allow them to go and listen to the man any more than I would let them listen to Karl Marx

Well some places have an option for Opting out of Obama School Speech

Pragmatic:

What the teaching materials going to be after the speech?

Flu shots for H1N1.

Hey flag waver - you are sooo correct! G.W. Dummy was dripping stupid in class on 9/11 while looking like a deer in the headlights! Of course the GOP is afraid of a pro-education message from the leader of the free world as an attack on the Republican party because that might inspire more kids to graduate from high school and college resulting in fewer dropouts and a better educated electorate will further erode the Republican base! :)

Mid-Atlantic Mom Slow down, Obama has now committed treason. Obama, by his own

Action is no longer a role model;

By Obama's own actions he has committed the highest crime an elected official can commit

Against America.

It is not ok to go on with business as usual.

Please try to grasp this rather then going into blame and denial.

Van Jones works for Obama and as an Obama Czar (which is an appointment that is outside of the designation of the Constitution).

Obama is absolutely accountable for the conduct of his agents who are the Czars.

Van Jones has committed treason.

Obama’s administration has committed treason.

Van Jones saying “I am sorry” is not going to make it OK.

Firing Van Jones is not going to make it OK.

Obama, saying I really did not mean to commit treason is not going to make it OK.

Now is not the time for Obama to try to talk to people who really were born

Yesterday.

MA mom...If you are Christian do you not have propblem with Obama stance on abortion, stem cell research and his own words and bills put forth in Illinios to kill live born babies of botched abortions? Please, I have to hear this.

MA mom, P.S. the antichrist is intrusive big gov't and Obama is growing gov't larger by the hour.

What: You're have a mental illness. You have schizophrenia.

Bearsy: Most Christians don't have a problem with Obama's stance on abortion, stem cell research. Only the Far-Right don't understand the separation between politics and religion....which is why religion should be taxed like the money making industry that it is.

Libi, where do you get your facts????? Look it up. Don't let the facts get in the way of your opinion.

I'll say this in every single sub-thread, because MSN and the liberals seem to forget:

The furor was not about the speech.

The furor was about the teaching materials sent to accompany the speech.

You are such an idiot.

"By Obama's own actions he has committed the highest crime an elected official can commit, Obama’s administration has committed treason, Blah, blah blah."

Thanks again for deomstrating that everything appears to be treason and communism to a fascist!

"The furor was not about the speech." Riiiiight, that's why the GOP PC has decreed that Obama's speech shall be censored!

"The furor was about the teaching materials sent to accompany the speech." Which the GOP PC lies about as well, when they say the material included an excercise for students to write essays to themselves about "how they can help the president." They conviently excluded the last part of the sentence, which was "TO IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION."

Why, how dare the president violate the tenents of conservative political correctness and actually cause these young and maleable minds to think about how their education could be improved!

Dr Smith are you ignoring the portion that wanted 1-5 graders to write letters to themselves asking how they could help the presidency?

the 6-8 graders had a harder question of how to help the Administration.

Sorry, DrSmith, the liberals OWN political correctness.

Conservatives typically call a spade a spade and don't tiptoe around the issue.

BTW, the liberal media has twisted up this story so bad .... I have a friend who is a public school teacher, who showed me the original materials - not the fixed ones.

The "what can I do" sentence was the tip of the iceberg.

The new guide to the conservative poltically correct lexicon:

Treason: anything the president does which violates the tenents of conservative ideology.

Free Speech: Shouting down those with opposing views at town hall meetings, disrupting any opportunity for others to speak their minds, censoring the president from children.

Communism: Anything that does not appear to be unregulated capitalism.

I fogot, this one's for you

FACT: Anytime anecdotal statement starting with "I heard" or "I saw" without any supporting evidence.

So as a "Dr" you do not debate wether 1-5 graders were going to be asked what they can do for their PRESIDENT, you completely ignore the argument and go on a tangent.

Are you incapable of debate?

I believe that parents still have the right to determine who speaks to their children. The reason we are opposed to having Obama speak to our children is that this corrupt administration has shown itself to be made up of ultra liberals, radicals, racists, gays, terrorists, socialists and outright self-avowed communists. Do we really want our children exposed to the head of this radical gang? Do you need me to point out who is who in the above list? Let every parent decide what is best for their children.

"I believe that parents still have the right to determine who speaks to their children." - NO

Did you choose your child's teacher? Principal? Sunday school teacher? Grocer? Other people at the park?

This is one of those comments that is so obviously insane - it just says "I wear a tin foil hat"

NO, you do not in this life get to do that. We have a society, the president is the elected leader, and just because you don't agree with him on some things in no way makes this concept any less unpatriotic, unamerican. This is very much a "fascist" comment - that you and not society are in charge and society may not speak to your child. It is an insanity; and a form of child abuse, an indicator for other forms of child abuse (abusers frequently tell the children the same thing - do not tell anyone, do not listen to authority)

This is dangerous

------------

Dr Smith (Lost in Space reference?) - love the comments. You could easily expand 2.13 to include "deatyh panels", "death Books" and other silly rabid extremism of the right.

This is the silly season

Eriq, I could not disagree more with your statements. Perhaps you need to learn more about fascist before you throw around such comments. I do not have to listen to a broadcast by the President and nor do our children. It is not child abuse to shield children from the propaganda of a corrupt administration composed of racists, radicals, traitors, terrorists, homosexuals, tax cheats and criminals. Your arguments are dangerous.

Greek - no surprise that you disagree or that you can't figure this out. We are a society. If you want that kind of control go find yourself an abandoned / deserted island sopmewhere where you can live by yourself and treat your children as heinously as you wish.

And, no you don't understand fascism, I explained that but, as usual, there is a reading comprehension issue.

So you are claiming that children did not have to listen to Reagan's broadcasts, Both Bush's; etc. when it was a part of the school day? Good luck with that but it is a matter of public record.

You are dangerous; dangerous to your children and dangerous to societry. Your laundry list of people you hate speaks for itself and is evidence of a need for serious professional psychiatric help

The old guide to the liberal politically correct lexicon:

Treason: anything the president does which violates the tenants of liberal ideology.

Free Speech: Shouting down those with opposing views at town hall meetings, rallies, television interviews, etc., disrupting any opportunity for others to speak their minds by calling them names and loudly putting them down, criticizing the president in front of children.

Communism: Anything that does not appear to be beneficial to the Americans but instead controls even more aspects of our lives, especially our children's lives.

FACT: Anytime there is supporting evidence used with quotes or links, liberals won't believe it because that would be going against party lines.

Here is the original text of my post, which is post #2.12 above.

"BTW, the liberal media has twisted up this story so bad .... I have a friend who is a public school teacher, who showed me the original materials - not the fixed ones."

And here's the email I woke up to this morning:

"Subject: Obama
Name: Dan-898142
Email: nallll@hotmail.com

Message:
Sir, I have read what you said ''I have a friend who is a school teacher who showed me the whole uncensored clip of Obama's speech.'' Considering the Speech will be LIVE broadcast on WEDNESDAY, a whole FOUR days before your comment; I'd have to say you are @!$%# face lying. You are a disgrace, and a liar. God have mercy on your soul and hopefully your kids wont come out as retarded as you."

Where in my original post did I say I had seen the video?

Dan, I'll be taking whatever steps I need to take to make sure you do not have even blind access to contacting me directly with your uniformed lunacy.

And I have one last suggestion for you: Learn too read.

I believe that you are a rational person with the ability to think on your own without being a follower. Just because you support someone, it doesn't mean that you have to agree with EVERYTHING they say. I'm Catholic. I don't believe in abortion, but I did support Obama. When the candidates were campaigning I did my research and made a list. Were there some things that I agreed with McCain about? Sure, but there were more on the Obama side. I made my decision on research, not on one issue as many of you seem to be doing. Now that I look back on it, I guess I did put a great deal of emphasis on one issue, Sarah Palin.

Obama is not luring children to be communists, pervs, socialists, muslim, etc. The lies, deceit, and evilness being spewed by so-called Christian politicians is nauseating. I'm embarrassed to say I'm Christian.

And I'm embrassed for you also! Obviously you haven't seen the Barrack " I pledge" video that they want to show & have them pledge to support " Barrack Obama" to kids or; you are a Socialist yourself so that's why you can't see anything wrong! The only lies and deceit are coming out of the White House and the Congress right now! Get a grip before you are unable to even post your opinions on the Internet!

Un-Common

As you will see from my response to your previous post, you have never seen the "I Pledge" video, but I am sure you heard about it from the daughter of a friend of your second cousin's or something. To criticize things you have only heard about or read some blogger's comment about is truly not an admirable trait.

Second, you really are not paying attention at all. This topic is about a speech for which the text is not even available. It is distinctly not the same thing as showing a video that has been on the internet for a while now. Perhaps your children have already seen it. If so, I am sure it corrupted them beyond all redemption.

"speechers" are insane. the republican right is more like the Jim Jones cult than a political movement.

The "wisdom" of the left:

I have seen the AntiChrist, and it is the GOP!

Unbelievable !!! I bet if it was a white president, no one would have made a deal of this RACISTS !!!

"speechers" are insane. the republican right is more like the Jim Jones cult than a political movement.

Scary stuff. Sounds like somebody needs to take their meds.

joe mota

The town halls are ending. They needed something else to keep their blood pressure up. If it wasn't this, they would have found something else. The fringe on both sides does this nonsense every time their "side" loses an election.

The technology of today just allows them to be more visible and look larger and more important than they are. Unfortunately, I think this is our future, no matter which side wins from here on in. We are no longer "one nation, under God, indivisible", and sadly, I don't see how we will ever return to that.

PINCH, you are right, the fringe of whichever party is out of power cooks up absurd fantasies in their attempt to harm the president. The nuts have called for impeachment of every president since Nixon. The republican right has gone cult-like. They're every bit as misguided as the 20 year old anarchists in black hoodies.

Pinch. It's not necessarily just the "fringe" though. I simply don't like Obama because he has gone back on his word too many times. I can forgive it a couple of times based on political or public pressure, but he just can't seem to keep his word on anything.

And keep in mind, the left are also engaging in this as we speak. Look at how they've turned attacking Palin into some kind of blood sport. Plus, this is a touchy subject because it involves people's children. And it's being done while they're at school, not under their parent's supervision. That can tend to make some people react more emotionally than if it were done while they were at home where the parent had more control over the situation. PARTICULARLY in the divisive political climate we now have. And I think one of the MAIN reasons why the Right doesn't like a lot of this is because the left treats the whole things as a cult-of-personality, instead of focusing on policy issues.

You are right about one thing. This country is so polarized that we will probably never really be a country of Americans standing together anymore. But I can tell you, comparing Republicans to Jim Jones cultists and calling the GOP the "AntiChrist" ain't-a-helpin'.

colonel...Palin brought on the blood sport with "pals around with terrorists" and the rest of her inflamatory red meat rhetoric. I don't support anyone attacking her children.

and I'm not comparing republilcans to Jim Jones....the comparison is for the republican right...the followers of limbaugh and beck, the death panelists and birthers and speechers. these people have jumped into a pool of lies and hatred and don't even know it. the all agree with each other, so think these lies are truth....just like a cult.

clatech, did post your statement after all my comments? I'd like to know if you are suggesting that newspapers and other media in the USA are run by our government. the way your comment is written indicates that you do.

clatech

Since you feel free to cut and paste yours, I, who usually resist this, will repeat my answer.

I don't think the fact that the NBC media network, owed by GE, supported Obama for president. Rupert Murdoch's huge media empire did not. Media outlets of all kinds still have the freedom to support any candidate they choose in any election.

GE spent around $45,000 per day to lobby the administration for stimulus money to invest in green energy technology after the Obama administration passed regulations that sent GE stocks into the tank. The private health insurance companies are spending $1.4 million per day to defeat any health care regulations.

I see little difference between the MSNBC talking head using words such as you mentioned, especially when they were first used by people identifying themselves using these words initially. For example, the gentleman at one of the town hall meetings did identify himself as a "proud right-wing terrorist" and the official holding the meeting replied "God bless you, sir". Of course there were paid operatives. There were people at the rallies wearing Blue Cross shirts, who told reporters they were on company time and being paid. The "tea baggers" gave themselves that name.

On the other side, we have other media referring to the President, his cabinet members, his advisors, and members of Congress as Nazis, Hitler, communists, socialists, Marxists, baby-killers, etc.

I would say this is pretty typical of every election. So what's your point?

clatech

You might want to try addressing all the points I made, instead of just cherry-picking a few things here and there and stringing them to try to prove a point.

As I've already told you, GE received its grant for green technology research and development at the last minute and in response to the same RFP others applied for and received grants in response to (our community did). They waited so long because they were lobbying against Obama's proposed regulations on the energy business components they were already running, and they lost that battle. Their stocks tanked almost overnight, so they changed courses and won the next round.

Any other energy company could have done the same thing, and many did.

Try checking some dates on the Tea Party people. Their own websites used the term "tea baggers" before any media did, and MSNBC was not the first to cover them.

McCain appeared on all media outlets and was treated with the same dignity he always showed others. We don't know abut Palin because after her two rather disastrous interviews, she refused to give any others, even after continual invitations.

And you need to make up your mind how you are going to defend the guy at Hanger's meeting, since you contradict yourself.

You also might want to check a little more on Murdoch's hands-on operations of his media outlets, and where all of his funding comes from. It isn't from competitive grants, that's for sure.

Hey "What are you thinking" - your comments against the President sound pretty treasonous to me! Real Americans, Good Patriotic Americans support their president during times of national crises. You sure picked the right screen name - really what were you thinking? Not much apparently! :)

Both Bush's were horrible Presidents so do not reply with the blaming game.

Obama now faces the fact that his administration has committed treason.

Van Jones can not apologize and have everything be OK.

Obama cannot just fire Van Jones and have it be OK.

Obama is not a role model for children.

Obama has put in place a racist treasonous administration that must be prosecuted for this crime against the citizens’ of the United States of America.

Obama, his Czars, and Acorn need to go NOW!

What is Obama going to say “hey kids your should be like me and oh yea I will write to you from prison”.

Obama is going to tell the kids to "be like him" and get an education so that they don't have to life in poverty and ignorance.

The furor was not about the speech.

The furor was about the teaching materials sent to accompany the speech.

What are you thinking:
"What is Obama going to say "hey kids your should be like me and oh yea I will write to you from prison"."
--------------

Oh yeah, charges based on "treason" for instituting communism (as Karl Marx was well known to the fouding fathers, they stipulated in the constitution that "this shall not be a marxist/socialist/commie nation" - it's got to be in there somewhere!), wanting to insure uninsured kids (pay for it yourselves you lazy brats!), starting the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, hurting a police officer's feelings, impersonating an American citizen, killing Vince Foster, having his secret Acorn army burn churches and kill old people, and taking the nation's debt from zero to 100 trillion! oh and does anyone remember ever paying taxes before Obama became president? because I don't

How sad is it to think some people would actually take the above statment seriously? THAT's how crazy the political discourse has become.

As a conservative "I PLEDGE" to try and stop the take over of our great country.

Thanks for the link Jolie, (3.4) You tree hugging liberals are going to destroy us. Do you really think this great country can run on your ideas? You screamed about "the new ice age" in the 70's. Now you scream about the "global warming". Make up your friggen minds! Remember about 15 years ago when Ted Danson said the oceans would dry up in ten years if we didn't change our ways? I'm still waiting. And leave the children alone! Let them enjoy their lives. When they want to get involved in politics they will. Quit trying to force it on them at a young age. It is a nasty business.

POTUS??? Oh, you mean the President of the United States. Gee, you must really be smart and a liberal too.

Quit trying to force it on them at a young age. It is a nasty business.

JH that has already been done. During the elections my niece said that she wanted to vote for Obama, she was only 8 years old. I asked her why and she said "she didn't know, but that is what everyone else was saying to do". I told her that she has to think for herself and don't let anyone talk her into anything. I forgave her because she was only 8. Hopefully she will get smarter as time goes on.

who is trying to force what on whom?

All I hear in that is craziness gone rampant. Reagan, Bush Sr, and Jr also did this, why is it that when Obama does it you claim they are forcing something on children?

Where is the common sense?

They made speeches.

The did NOT send prior a teaching curriculum containing questionable directives for teachers to have children write essays about "what they could do for the president", asking how "they were inspired by the speech", directing teachers to post notable clips from past Obama speeches in the classroom, etc.

The curriculum was the issue, not the speech.

This article does not even mention the curriculum.

Pragmatic...

And you were the person Kennedy was trying to reach when he asked you to stop asking what your country could do for you and instead try asking what you could do for your country. But you probably distorted that into something ugly too.

After all, children should never be required to actually work hard and succeed in school.

Oh, by the way, you managed to conveniently leave the word "education" out of every reference you made to the "teaching curriculum" you commented on. You fail to realize that some people actually saw it - like a lot of educators it was sent to. You also fail to mention that this was a suggested way to integrate the educational message from the President, not a mandatory thing. Besides, with all time now devoted to teaching to a test that colleges completely disregard, there wouldn't be any time for any of this anyway. We don't even have government or civics classes or lessons in most places anymore, so you really didn't have a thing to worry about.

To eriq samson - I agree - the Republican radicals have lost any common sense about as badly as they now lose elections! All these LOSERS have now is their anger and the prospect of becoming a PERMANENT MINORITY! Every time another ignorant right-winger blows a gaasket on this blog and other sites it thoroughly cracks me up! ha ha, lol :)

Obama absolutely understands how serious Van Jones’s conduct is.

The actions of the Obama administration are insane and ludicrous and now criminal.

This is why people are reacting.

The furor was not about the speech.

The furor was about the teaching materials sent to accompany the speech.

Repeat a lie often enough, and right wingnuts actually think folks will believe it.

DrSmith, please go research Van Jones. Also let me know how willing you would be to let him watch your children, let alone change your water heater.

Quit ignoring things that have video, sound and written evidence.

And when the liberal media tells you something, you automatically believe it.

I've seen the materials. They were the issue, not the speech.

I see that once again the conservative politically correct crowd has degnerated into ad hominem attacks on the motives and assumed beleifs of others, as well as taking a campaign video about a pledge to support Obama out of context.

Linda Gold-881743I now think America has gone insane. This is the most ridiculous tempest in a teapot I have ever heard of. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Haven't you heard? Reality is subjective, the truth is whatever validates your beliefs and makes you feel better about yourself. Greed is moral, selfishness is selflessness, reality is fantasy, immaturity is maturity, kindness is cruelty, hatred is love, the wise are ignorant and the ignorant are wise.

There's no point in trying to deal with these people, so I say, try to have a laugh at their expense, that way, you'll be alive long after they've given themselves a rage/paranoia induced stroke or heart attack.

Dr Smith, it's what they thrive on. Lies are all the conservatives have left. Remember how they took a 40 second clip from a Reverend Wright sermon out of context to try and scare mainstream White Americans away from voting for Obama? I've seen right-wing nutjobs take two words out of an entire speech and fabricate their own realities from them! What's truly sad is that these people have children. Fearful and ignorant people should not be allowed to reproduce themselves, because it only ensures that fear and ignorance will continue to plague mankind forever. These people are not genuinely concerned about what educational materials will be given out to accompany the speech. They are not concerned that Obama is "indoctrinating their kids with Socialism, or Communism" because most conservative parents making this noise don't even know what those words mean. They are only concerned with their own, childish emotions against the President, still bitter that they lost and the President is Black. They are using their kids as a convenient guise to express their hatred of Obama.

THE CRIMES OF VAN JONES ("What are you thinking", GOP PC version)

(1) Called rethuglicans A-holes. OMG, how horrible. Let's all accuse him of treason, while we call democrats lazy, stupid, uneducated, welfare queens and slackers!

(2) Signed a petition asking for an immediate "inquiry into evidence that suggests high-level government officials may have deliberately allowed the September 11th attacks to occur." How horrible that americans might have differing views of the motivations of the Bush administration, just because they, lead by Dick Cheney, successfuly sheilded the administration from terrorism czar Richard Clarke's repeated warnings that non-citizens were attending flight schools while requesting to learn how to fly aircraft but not land them, and of increased "chatter" from suspected Al-Qaeda members, and denied him his repeated request for a meeting of the principals to discuss this matter, demoting Clarke and denying access to the principals, that's no reason to impugn the high lofty goals of the Bush administration! We need to immediately label this, as well as anyone else who understands that the Bush Administraton magically and convieniently for their agenda, came up with Saddam Hussein in the moments after 9/11, as "traitors" and "un-american". Otherwise people might actually begin to understand the deliberate lack of focus on terrorism and demotion of staff warning of imminent attacks in the first year of the Bush Administration!

http://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Enemies-Inside-Americas/dp/0743260457/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252119160&sr=8-1

(3) Oversaw Bay Area PoliceWatch while at the Ella Baker Center. How horrible. We know that only communists keep tabs on police misconduct and violence (except when it is in Wyoming or Arkansas). So, let's all call him a commie!

(4) We're still smarting from the ColorofChange leading a boycott of advertizers on the Glenn Beck show. Just who do these people think they are, exercising their right to boycoot businesses! That's so un-american (except when we do it!). And Van Jones founded ColorofChange. Let's get that negro!

(5) But here's the real kicker. He is also an accomplished environmental author, having been first African-American to pen an enviro book that hit the NY Times best-seller list. And we all know from our PC lexicon that all enviros are commies.

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Collar-Economy-Solution-Problems/dp/0061650765/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252121244&sr=1-1

THERFORE VAN JONES AND BARAK OBAMA, WE HEREBY INDICT YOU WITH TREASON. (Waaaaaaaaaaaah!)

DrSmith - How about when he said the white people are trying to kill the black people with their pollution? Do you call that reasonable speech?

did you know cheney wrote a book? So which do you believe the bull that Cheney pulled or his book?

It's only a teapot tempest to the people responsible for electing this corrupt administration. Why is Obama's popularity falling like the employment numbers? Could it be that people now are learning that change is about socialism, more taxes and less freedom? I would hate to think that I could not admit I had made a mistake in electing such a man to the highest position in the land.

Greek...

If there is anyone more than a few decades old who did not see that taxes were going to have to rise with everything going on in this country, they have been asleep. Every president for every election on record has tried to get elected on the "no new taxes" bandwagon, and not one of them has succeeded. So far, I don't expect this one will either, but right now, I do have more of my own money in my check, as do all of my colleagues all over the country, and nothing except cigarette taxes have gone up. That will change, as it has under every administration. So there is no news here.

As for the socialism part, I doubt you even know what that means. We have had socialistic programs all over this country since its founding.

And as for the freedom part, other than the fact that you can no longer travel to the Bahamas without a passport, what exactly are the freedoms you have lost in the last six months?

But in an attempt to stay on topic, how do you imagine the President will accomplish all this socialism, raising of taxes, and loss of freedoms in this short speech on Tuesday? Really, that is a serious question and I would love to know how he plans to do all that in a speech to children. (No, I don't really think you have an answer for me, so I won't bother waiting.)

Just a thought about less freedom, but where were you when the "Patriot Act" was passed. Did you think that was a good thing?

"What can I do to help President Obama" is almost like "Ask not what your Country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your Country."

Both are "commie propaganda" designed to try to get people to better themselves and their Country in the process.

Unlike Bush 43's "Every child should give $1.00 to Afghanistan" program.

You will never find an instance where a member of the GOP would want to better their Country....that would be Un-American.

" Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country".....proves my point. Kennedy was saying get off your but and work. read full transcript of speech.

No Libi Ask what you can do for America is a general question that would make children realize the entire scope of our country...Ask what you can do for your PRESIDENT is nothing but attempts to sway the children to influence their parents.

If it was so innocous why has the Administration backpedalled?

Do they not have the balls to stand up to the "minority" of America?

You should be asking yourself how such a small minority can change things when such liberals as yourself cannot pass anything?

Could it be that maybe you are wrong?

Jolie-884782Is he going to talk abot sex education as well? A subject he supported all his life. I really don't know if school should be passing out condoms to kids that young. What if a kindergarden swallowed it and died during his speech? A big lawsuit will follow, I guess.
----------------------------------

I got some anonymous chain mail today syaing Obummer is going to have Barney Frank make a video to teach kids that sodomy and other gay stuff and how it's okay! It's gotta be true - I've gotten plenty of emails for TrueAmericanPatriot16 and he's never wrong!

"I heard" "I saw" "I got" with no supporting evidence. The last refuge of fascist scoundrels enagaging in anonymous character assasination.

Admittedly Obama is trying to come off looking like Kennedy AFTER he was dead.

The speech to school children and the 'lesson plan' that goes with it has even been a subject of rejection for teachers AS WELL as parents. Given the obvious and undesireable socialist agenda the man totes around, our first reaction as parents is to put them BEHIND us when he walks by. Hell no, we do not want to expose him and his crackpot ideas to our children.

I imagine you libs would freak out at the idea of having a conservative instruct your children about the virtues of hard work, conservative living as well.

If there are any rational people left out there, please go and read for yourselves the educational materials being provided to accompany the speech:

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html

Nowhere are children asked "What can you do for your President?" The closest question to that is "What is the President asking me to do?" You know, as in stay in school and study hard.

But don't take my word for it, read for yourselves.

Education, it's the one right we have that many Americans don't value.

that's becuase they changed the questions after people actually read them and objected....see they never read anything so it surprised them when the american people did...lol....

doesn't matter what the questions are, the white house should NOT be preparing lesson plans for our children because there is notway it can be bipartisan because nO ONE in washington (dems or repubs) are bipartisan

Yes, they've changed the language that people objected to, and those same people are still ranting like three year olds. And you DO understand those are optional suggestions, not required lesson plans, right?

flbi...

The answer to your question is NO. Our teachers are so busy now trying to survive on practically minimum wages, lousy buildings, no curricula outside of getting those kids to either pass a mandated test or get classified as somehow deficient so their scores don't count, since funding is tied to those scores, they have no time to teach anything really of value anymore.

That is why so many people don't understand how legislation is made, and don't know the difference between a committee-proposed bill and a law, don't now the difference between a health care town rally and one on Second Amendment rights, don't know the difference between a campaign video by a bunch of celebrities and a live speech by the President of the United States, and yes, can't tell the difference between a bunch of suggested activities (which also come with every piece of software or any other type of materials they get for their classroom, as if they had the time for any of them) and a historic educational message to children by a President.

If any of these parents really believe that even one speech or the writing of an essay will completely change their children, then they are simply powerless, lousy parents. This is just a convenient way out for them - blame it on an optional essay.

actually, (and I'm sorry i don't have link to support but if you google some key words I'm sure you can find the wealth of studies out there) GOP are better educated and most liklely to read about opposing views. Have fun with that.

Libi you cannot be more wrong.

It is the ignorant and uneducated that mindlessly follow Obama looking for a hand-out.

What you seem to be afraid of is well informed people with well adjusted views who

love their children and never considered abortion as away to dodge responsibility.

Actually, if you would google instead of just lie, you would have found that, indeed, those with the lowest amount of education were more likely to vote for McCain in the last election, while those with the highest level tended more to support Obama.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/106381/obama-education-gap-extends-general-election.aspx

http://www.gallup.com/poll/109156/obama-retains-strength-among-highly-educated.aspx

Libi, it must suck being in the Majority. You know the majority that cannot pass anything because Liberals spend more time trying to out "liberal" everyone else.

Amazes me, you have the majority and even Liberals hate Liberals.

You blame the GoP a party of Conservatives, yet like wolves you turn on each other and blame the MINORITY, not your liberal insanity.

Last time I checked Liberals could pass anything they want. Oh wait, America is not Liberal. Welcome to the minority.

Yes, how dare the Democrats form a big tent poltical party that actualy includes liberals, moderates, and conservatives, and actualy have differing opinions.

The GOP continues to lose because, in it's political correctness, it has decided to become small tent purged all liberals, who are now part of the democratic party or independents.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/who-are-liberal-democrats-and.html

What the hell does Obama know about hard work, except to read it off his teleprompter. Give me a break. He might know a little about education that is still debatable yet.

Since when is arrogance a sign of intelligence? Hmmmm?

"What the hell does Obama know about hard work," blah blah blah. Are the right wingnuts really this ignorant? If so, they might start with Obama graduating magna cum laude from Harvard with a J.D. in constitutional law, and was president of the Harvard Law Review starting his first year. Couldn't possibly know anything about education either, having these accomplishments and attended one of the best high schools in the US.

And of course, we all know how well suited to public speaking George Bush was:

"I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2008

"We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." --Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm

DrSmith - Why did his wife say, just a few years ago, that she wished he'd get a job?
Anybody can attend a good school. That doesn't mean much. I know plenty of people who were professional students who never amounted to anything in their lives. President Obama has elevated himself above most of us but that doesn't make him better than anyone of us.

"What the hell does Obama know about hard work," blah blah blah. Are the right wingnuts really this ignorant? If so, they might start with Obama graduating magna cum laude from Harvard with a J.D. in constitutional law, and was president of the Harvard Law Review starting his first year. Couldn't possibly know anything about education either, having these accomplishments and attended one of the best high schools in the US.

And of course, we all know how well suited to public speaking George Bush was:

"I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2008

"We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." --Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm

Show one paper he wrote.

Matter of fact Harvard is not that hard nor is post graduate school. The real world is hard...the President has 0 experience with that.

Bush also attended Harvard. I guess you're right, it must not be that difficult.

dan

They need this because if they fall behind due to the testing under NCLB and the fact that it ties funding to the schools, they will be labelled in a way that will stay with them for their entire school career, so their scores won't count against the school. They will slip through the cracks and are far more likely to leave school before graduating.

If they are going to make it under this school-penalizing system, they need to be motivated from the very beginning.

dan

Precisely. They were not doing well from the beginning, but to keep enough money in the school to keep it open, and with no extra to help students who are struggling, these are our throw-away kids, and they are just passed along until they lose all motivation and then held until they are old enough to be tossed.

Dr. Smith - thanks for your posts to the links on education among McCain/Bail'in supporters versus Obama supporters! Facts like yours drive these radical right-wingers back into the darkness of ignorance and propaganda where they make their home - like turning on a bright light in a room full of roaches! :)

When Van Jones committed treason he is the one who has brought down Obama and it is understandable that you are in denial.

Thank you for proving my point.

Libi

You have no point.

Obama has committed treason in a country where due process proves the point.

We are at the beginning of what sounds like for you, the end of your illusions.

Libi, don't try to argue with the teabagger/birther/deather crowd about sanity. They've been living in their hermetically sealed politically correct environment far too long to even understand the true meaning of their words anymore, and have beomce completely irrational.

What are you thinking: does mommy know you are on the computer again???

What are you thinking, what are you SAYING? Your post is incoherent.

Do not mistake awareness of ignorance, it is only you that appears to be uninformed.

What...

A good educational place for you to start would be a reading of the Constitution. You will need that information so you will understand what the word "treason" means.

Then when you speak of Obama or Jones in that context, you won't sound so uneducated and might I add, a little paranoid (and yes, they do are both identify as black, and in the original founding documents, I guess that does make you right in those times where they would not really be considered true American "men"; I only mention that since I'm sure you will come across that and really get stuck on that part).

Thanks for making the point. The Constitution is the country not Obama. Obama and his administration have now committed treason. And Gibbs is complicit in the crime; of course his is going to try to marginalize any concern.

OK, what, you continually insult other's intellegence by proclaiming that the president committed treason. What is your evidence. Be specific. And no out of context you-tube videos, no "I heard" or "I saw," just actual evidence, in your own words.

Put up or shut up.

The silence of the right is defening!

Impeaching Obama will turn out to be the catalyst for largest government jobs program

in recorded history.

Go ACORN GO yes you can definitely spend that tax payer money.

the republican right gets loonier and loonier by the day... they are more of a cult than a political movement. more like the Manson family than the party of Lincoln.

joe mota

The current GOP is not the party Lincoln joined after the Whigs tossed him. At that time, the "Republicans" were the abolitionists. They were the "Democrats" of today. The current GOP would not have a leader who would sadly risk the very unity of the nation to enforce the idea that "all men are created equal".

PINCH... your characterization of Lincoln and the founding of the Republican party corresponds pretty well to "Team of Rivals", which has been my only reading on the topic. Goodwin's view on slavery was the Lincoln was driven more by pragmaticsm than ideology. His primary goal was to save the form of government that the founders of this nation created...Lincoln was, by most accounts, a brilliant politician whose insight into human behavior was astounding. He was also quite the storyteller and enjoyed long bouts of laughter. The current crop of republicans are storytellers, too, but their stories are not funny. more like horror stories.

joe...

I agree. Lincoln was definitely a pragmatist, and frankly, we need one now. We are in a heap of trouble here and have been failing for decades under both parties, while we thought we were the top of the heap. But the economy is global now, and other countries have quietly overtaken us in most areas. We missed that.

This is no time for ideology. We need actions now, and because this is a totally new situation, some solutions may not be the best, or may need re-doing, or whatever, just like some of Lincoln's were not perfect at the beginning. But a pragmatist has only one goal - to change the situation and make it better.

dan, that's an absurd statement, you're wasting everyone's time with that kind of meaningless drivel.

Obama has taken himself down.

The actions of the Obama administration are insane and ludicrous and now criminal.

This is why people are reacting.

Nobody is trying to be mean-spirited toward Obama; people are saying we are not going to let the band play on when Obama must be held accountable for the actions of his administration.

Thinking doesnt think, he she just throws accusations out without proof or logic. But of course, Obama haters don't need proof or logic.

Jim-553813

We are a nation of laws.

The crime has been committed, now we proceeded to due process where proof and logic prevail.

It is called Justice….. not shoot-from-the-hip arguing.

What crime???

Butterfly, you are correct that we are afraid of Obama speaking to our children. His administration is the most corrupt since Grant's. It is composed of ultra-liberals, radicals, racists, gays, socialists, outright communists, traitors and terrorists. Would you invite Van Jones into your home to lecture your children on government? How about letting Rev. Wright lecture your children on race relations? Maybe Hillary Clinton could discuss how to have a happy marriage? Or maybe Barny Frank could discuss sexual preferences? I believe that parents still have the right to determine who speaks to their children and about what. It is not Obama's prepared speech that we object to, it is Obama himself and what he stands for. I did not vote for him and I don't want him lecturing my children.

trying to discuss issues with the republican right is like talking to a coffee table. they are more of a cult than a political movement. Cults are held together by fanatical beliefs and uniformity of opinion whereas political movements are held together by ideas and diversity of opinion. the republican right is certainly behaving as a cult these days.

Butterfly

You are absolutely spot on. To think we can shield our children, in this day of modern technology, from everything we personally may not approve of, is to believe in the tooth fairy.

Children need to be raised with strong enough values to question, research, and learn as they grow. People who believe a speech, or an essay even, will "change" their children because it comes from a person they don't like, have not taught these kinds of values to their children. To keep them home is to protect them from that which is impossible to prevent. Don't they realize this will be all over their friends' computers, the topic of much conversation, critiqued endlessly on all media, etc.

If they have already failed their children this badly in terms of good parenting, this reaction if based strictly on fear. Intelligent parents do not use their own children to make political statements, and other than the aforementioned fear, is the only other reason to keep them home on that one day.

Yeah. Snicker. Remember when the ruthugs used to bash Clinton for "governing by polls." Now that we have a strong leader who doesn't go by polls, their so upset. Waaaaaaaaah!

DrSmith, don't you have something better to do? Your comments are so lame. Why don't you add something relevant to this discussion instead of making your absurd comments?

Why don't you stop spreading hatred?

You just don't get it, do you? It's not the message, it's the messenger. People in this country don't want a communist telling their children anything. He misled the people and lied his way into office. He's been found out, and the people aren't happy with him and don't want their children exposed to his rhetoric, regardless of the message. When Bush and Reagan talked to the school children, there were many socialists that did not want their children exposed to their rhetoric. They voiced their opinion. They were outnumbered. They still are.

Socialist, Communist, Fascist, the AntiChrist, a Nazi, a fascist, plus a dozen other handy little accusations. There is nothing that he has done to clearly demonstrate any of these labels. But of course, this doesn't matter does it. The hate is greater than the truth, the logic, or the rationality.

The furor was not about the speech.

The furor was about the teaching materials sent to accompany the speech.

Repeat a lie often enough. Oh, but they've seen the secret materials, and the black helicopters too!

The materials were not secret, they were in fact covered in another story right here on MSN two days ago. In which the White House admitted to them being "not artfully worded" prior to changing them.

It's right here on MSN, you won't need to look hard. Try under "education".

No, I won't link it for you. This is a teachable moment, wherein the loony liberal needs to actually find the truth himself before calling someone else a liar. Or, just look foolish. It's up to you.

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html

Here they are. Maybe both the loony liberals and the rabid right will actually read THEM, rather than just articles ABOUT them.

Those are the revised materials.

Here's the link to the original story, discussing the materials as the ORIGINAL source of the objections.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32673334/ns/politics-white_house/

I will not disagree, that once the materials people found objectionable had been revised, per the previous link, that people should have just calmed down.

The point, however, remains:

The furor was not about the speech itself.

The furor was about the materials.

Yes, those are the revised materials. The original question that ALL the news sources have incompletely quoted was: What can you do to help the President improve public education?" Conveniently, that's always left out of every news story. However, you're right. The language was changed, and yet people are STILL freaking out about something they obviously have no knowledge of whatsoever.

The furor WAS about the materials, but not any longer. Now it's just fearmongering from the reactionaries that have taken over the Republican party.

People don't trust this administration.

It's unfortunate, but the administration has done very little to encourage people to trust them.

I haven't trusted an administration since....wow, I don't think I can actually name one in my lifetime. I was two weeks old when Kennedy was assassinated. The first administration I was actually aware of in a meaningful way was Nixon's, and we all know how that turned out.

Yes, which site am I going to believe? The actual site that has the full text of the materials or the TV station site who is most concerned about ratings? Hummmm. Let me think!!!!

alan

You got it, state the facts and keep it simple!

Alan

Of course he is. Please read the job description for ANY president's press secretary. If he wasn't, he'd be fired.

We are showing signs that we have learned our lessons.

All that have suffered at the hands of past dictators, you did not die in vain.

And there you have it. The wingnuts long for the days of Joe McCarthy.

PS: For those of you who were home-schooled in the wingnut's hermetically sealed environment, Joe McCarthy was a red-baiter who made a name for himself in the US Senate in the mid-50's by accusing random folks, including top US scientists who enabled the success of the Manhattan Project, of being communists, ruining the careers of many inside and outside the government. Censured and disgraced in the senate after being exposed as a fraud, McCarthy died of alcoholism at age 48.

Don't forget his right hand man who was gay but McCarthy did everything to keep that quiet while publicly branding homosexuals as "Communists"!

Gilbo...

So far, almost everything and everybody has been labelled as a "communist" or "communistic plot" at some time, under administrations of both stripes. Unfortunately, the people using it don't even know what the word means, but it sounds nasty, and it gets by the obscenity censor, so out it comes whenever anyone is displeased.

I agree.. a third party though

Libi, as a fellow Independent, I have to disagree with you. We need MORE than two political parties in this country. We have that now, and all it leads to is gridlock. We need more viable political parties so that they are forced to cooperate to get things done by forming coalitions. I'm an Independent because I know that neither party represents my or any other average American's interests (except during an election year). The Democrats have, for the most part, repeatedly demonstrated their lack of fiscal responsibility with their belief that throwing money at a problem is the solution to everything. A lack of fiscal responsibility (ironically under a Republican government, traditionally the party OF fiscal responsibility) is what got us in this mess in the first place.

On the other hand, you have the "new" Republican party, spreading ignorance. lies and fear like manure in a cornfield. Their arrogance has become boundless, and they, too, have thrown fiscal responsibility to the wind. They are no longer the party of responsibility, they actually have the gall to call themselves "God's party."

Both parties are completely owned by corporate interests and have been for decades. Until we have some other VALID contenders, America will slip further and further away from its foundation as a Republic (NOT a Democracy, there is a difference) and into a corporatocracy.

flbi...

I have felt like we have been slipping further and further into a corporatocracy since the global economy first stated forming a couple of decades ago. It seems like most people really believed that since we had been the world leader in just about everything for so long, that we would just automatically remain that way, and we never stopped the private financial and manufacturing centers from quietly supporting the rise of competition from other countries. There are so many places now well ahead of us in a variety of areas.

I absolutely agree that both current political parties are equally responsible for this mess. I don't think that either result from the previous election would have made much of a difference, because we as a country do really seem to be in freefall now. Major changes HAVE to be made, and since this is an unprecedented set of circumstances for this country, some changes may work, some may need to be corrected mid-course, some may not work at all, some may make things worse, etc. And change is a scary thing for most people, especially since they are starting to realize that the "good old days" (whatever they envision those as) simply are not an option in the global economy.

The rules of the game really have been changing all around us, and I don't think enough people saw it happening. I also believe there has to be a "loyal opposition" party at all times, in order for this country to function at its best.

I think you may be right that like has happened in our history before, we may need to just stop trying to adjust the present party system and instead start seriously examining the formation of another party altogether. A lot of people have been talking about this, so I am not seeing it as a "kooky" idea anymore.

We need a party of people who understand that needed change is real, and although uncomfortable, is the only thing that will save this country as a viable contender in the new world order. We have lost so much time already I just hope we don't wait until our deficit position in this new reality is so low we can't make up for lost time.

"Both parties are completely owned by corporate interests and have been for decades. Until we have some other VALID contenders, America will slip further and further away from its foundation as a Republic (NOT a Democracy, there is a difference) and into a corporatocracy."

Now, this is something I can agree with. No wing nut, conspiracy, POTUS is trying to indoctrinate our kids etc. crap! We're well into Corporate rule. The age of accountability in politics has slowly passed, as we were all thrown little bones. Obama doesn't control anything, just as Bush didn't. IMHO, The Elite control them and the public. The WH is just the False front, the PR people for the Bosses. Someone has to keep us slaves in order. I can't believe how much energy some people put into meaningless crap! The energy should be directed at the Elite, Corporatists, the money brokers who control everything. Every single time I think of what's happening today, Pink Floyds' "Money" runs through my head.

Good post bikerchick!!

Teem...

Bravo. And while people are out looking for names to call each other and blame to place, the people really running this country into the ground and helping the other countries who have now petty much overtaken us in everything, including owning us and our jobs, are laughing all the way to the bank.

There is a network of communities who are grabbing every last dime they can get (I organized one of them), including stimulus money, and we are rebuilding our own communities back the way they should be, better schools, new green small businesses, taking ourselves off the grid, getting our local government under cpntrol, getting our non-profits up and running an actually doing something, kicking the butts of people sitting around waiting for checks and making them work, putting our medical system on EMR to cut costs and improve quality, starting a local public health option for those that really can't pay anything but are working, etc. Other counties are looking at us with envy, and even the state government is interested.

We were devestated by the recession, but we decided to use the feds only to recoup money that belongs to us anyway and rebuild the 2st century community, just like they have in other countries.

We don't all agree on everything, but we agree and are all willing to work for one thing - our own survival and prosperity. We don't have time for all this other nonsense.

I don't live in fear.

I don't belong to a political party.

And I don't revolve my life around fantasy.

Your big fear in life is Communism? You want to end Communism in this Country?

They end Medicare, Medicaid, VA programs, and Social Security. All "commie" programs that the Republicans voted against.

My family doesn't live off government programs. We're educated and have money.

I used to feel the need to help the poor and less fortunate, but I'm a changed person.

End all "communist" programs and end them now.

Libi, I'm confused. I think we are on same page. But I don't fear communism. Communism would never fly in this country. But it does concern me with radical/socialist/communists in govt.

bearsy

Why? What does it matter? Once upon a time, there was this same kind of fear because we elected a Catholic president, and the same kinds of things were said - we would all become beholden to the Pope. It didn't happen.

We have a wonderful country, but we have been losing our place as the leader in almost every area slowly over the last several decades, as the rest of the world has awakened around us. Our own financial and manufacturing centers have left, and neither party has tried to stop our decline.

I know that change is hard for most people, but if we keep trying to reclaim the "good old days" of the last century, we will have nothing left. We already don't own much of our own country. We lead in very little, and countries the size of one of our states are far ahead of us in many areas.

We have to unite as a country again, let go of the fear of change, and rebuild this country as literally as our forefathers built it in the first place - through hard work, everyone clearing one area at a time, one tree at a time.

Fighting verbally over labels with people we don't agree with isn't as useful as using the same air to actually do something constructive. Quarreling over silly disagreements we will never resolve in a country of 300+ people who will never all agree on anything isn't as constructive as trying to find the common ground we can work from.

I understand that these vines are great places to vent our frustrations, stress, and confusion, but we need to be using our best intelligence and thinking to solve problems, not create more. We need to become more discriminating about what really matters, and that is the new country we need to create. The one from the last century is gone, and we seem to be the only country that is not realizing that. This is not a game we can afford to lose, and we will not win bickering among ourselves.

No chuck... Look up Franklin Marshall Davis, Van Jones and John Holdren. And yes I do think Glenn beck has info that is easily verifiable and dead on. His opinion may be over the top at times. To prove I am not lap dog for GOP....Hannity is shill for repubs and Rush Limbaugh is not that well informed. But who do you feel I should get news from...Let me guess. Olbermann and Matthews.

One need only google any of those men bearsy mentioned to find the exact information Glenn Beck is publicizing, on dozens of sources beyond the FOX webpage.

ColorofChange has demanded, and gotten, advertisers boycott his show or they'll push for a boycott of their products.

Someone should explain to them that if they boycott Beck, they stand a pretty fair chance of being boycotted themselves.

I personally find Beck to be a shrill, over the top alarmist and only watch his show at 1AM if I have insomnia - I'm asleep by 1:15.

But this silencing of freedom of speech in this country by minority groups playing the race card has to stop.

"Why of cooooouuuuurrrrssssse," as Bill Buckley used to say. Boycotts are silencing freedom of speech, while shutting down anyone with opposing points of view by yelling over others is prefectly acceptible.

And black is white!

Why is it that the majority of liberal argument on these boards is:

Someone else did something stupid, we should be able to do something stupid too!!

You're a racist!

It's Bush's fault!!!

Where did I say that shouting someone down was okay? It's not okay.

That's not what my post was about, nor does it have anything to do with this aritcle or particular vine.

Pragmatic...

To get back on topic, if people actually believed as you do, they would have quietly kept their own children home on the first day of school and dealt with explaining to them why at home.

They would not have tried to pressure entire schools and school districts to deprive everyone in order to have a mass conformation to their point of view.

And this type of criticism applies equally to both sides on any issue. Nothing good for this country comes from the divisiveness and waste of time and energy we have all engaged in by the name-calling and blame gaming. Nothing constructive for the future comes from wistfully gluing one's eyes in the rearview mirror.

ray, an intelligent assessment.

Bush was there to learn about reading program not talk with children about what they can do to serve him. Thank God White House had enough sense to revise follow up work. And for the record if Bush was in a classroom pushing agenda I would be just as opposed.....not that I expect you to believe me. The difference is I'm not a party shill.

rgarret,

Just what is a communist, then? I see these words like " communist and socialism" bandied about, I'd sure would like to know, since you seem to know.

I am confused as to why people don't like socialism, as we have had bits and pieces of it since dirt. I mean, everytime a street gets covered in snow, I don't have to shovel it, the taxes we pay go for that. Similarly, I don't have to climb the pole to change the bulb in those street lamps. And, I think that the idea of Social Security is just great, it's just that the idiots who can't administer to it, that sucks.

So please explain to me what communism is, and if you could, apply it to Obama, since you say he is one. Thanks!!

Bearsy,

When you say, "I don't expect you to believe me," i just cringe. Why wouldn't I believe you? Are you being honest? Why do people pre-judge without knowing people?

Secondly, do you really believe that Bush, or any other President for that matter, personally hops on Air Force One to go and learn things from the kiddies? It was a photo op, and nothing more. Specifiaclly, had Bush paid attention in school instead of horsing around and taking drugs, he wouldn't have had to ask little kids about reading. Third, he would simply have sent peopns to find that out, anyway.

Frankly, I don't know what you mean by being a "party shill." Are you accusing me of being for a particular party? Well, actually, I am not either a democrap nor a republicker. I have long since learned to vote for causes and then settle for tweedle-dee or tweedle-dumb, as that's all who runs, anymore. Besides, my partying days are long over, all I can do is afford to pay taxes so that the republickers or the democraps can party on our dime.

The furor was not about the speech.

The furor was about the teaching materials sent to accompany the speech.

Many, many presidents have meed speeches to children, televised or otherwise and few people - if anyone - had a major problem with it.. This would have been no different, had it not been accompanied by those teaching materials.

Ray if we have to explain how this nut job is socialist with communist leanings because you actually havent noticed? Well, ... what can I say.

Everything looks like communism to a fascist, or a McCarthyite, as you have demonstrated yourself to be, rgarrett.

fred--

Leave it to someone else to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. Did I ask you, fred? "Well, what can I say?" Say nothing, mind your own business.

Actually, Prag, in the recent past, whenever a President has given a speech to school children, the opposite side has accused him of pushing his agenda. Democrats did it with Reagan, now Republicans are freaking out over Obama. BOTH parties are nothing but hypocritcal, corporate-owned tools.

ray where exactly were you on Sept 11? the US was not BOMBED, terrorists flew planes into buildings.

Ray

Please note what it says at the bottom when you post. This is a publicly viewable discussion. You do not have the right to tell anyone not to comment.

However, I have every right to ask a specific question of a specific person without having someone else amswer it, as well.

Is that a right like health care or a like a right to carry a gun to a health care debate? I get these rights so mixed up nowadays.

Amused, you ain't seen anything yet! Obama is destroying our country and you are helping him do it. Stop drinking the Obama kool aid and think for yourself. Many people are now realizing they made a mistake. See the latest poll numbers on Obama for yourself. Don't believe us conservative Bible-thumping Republicans. Why do you think his numbers are falling?

Greek...

Like so many in this country, you have not been paying attention either. This country did not start a decline in that last seven-eight months. We haven't owned a lot of it for years. We let our financial and manufacturing institutions go overseas. This happened under administrations of both parties.

We need to give up our dreams of returning to the "good old days" of the last century (whatever we envision those to be) and realize that the rest of the world has overtaken us in a most every area. While we are bickering among ourselves, others are working to build their countries, and we are tearing ours apart.

We would be in much the same situation no matter who won the last election, and if we don't start working together on the things we can agree on (in a nation of 300+ million, everyone will never agree on everything), and move forward with changes, some dramatic, which must be made if we are going to have a decent place in the new global economy, we will continue to fall. And we will go down calling each other names we can't even define and blaming each other for things we don't even understand.

They're not Conservatives, they are the Far-Right.

Conservatives were thrown out of the GOP during the last election.

Normal Republicans seem unable or unwilling to control the Far-Right.

They have no ability to analyze, even their own words. On a local conservative radio talk show, I have heard that "Obama Care" is just another example of how he is leading the federal government into increasingly "intruding on our personal lives." Then I hear tonight (on the same radio talk show) a suggestion that all girls should be "mandated" to have a vaccine when they become of menstruating age that has birth control in it. When they turn 18, they could be taken off the vaccine but if they have a child out of wedlock and cannot support the child, then they should have their tubes tied. Somehow, they did not see that as government intrusion?!!!!! I am dead serious. That is what was being discussed and the talk show host told the caller it wa a great idea!

sigh.... even I'm getting tired of this.

The furor was not about the speech.

The furor was about the teaching materials sent to accompany the speech.

Which were conveniently not even mentioned in this article.

Get the facts straights, and undestand: it wasn't just far-right loonies angry about this.

And, we are getting tired of you. It is not about the teaching materials and you know it. It is simply because it is Obama. If McCain had been elected and did the same thing, you would be praising how he is reaching out and trying to motivate kids to be better students.

Not if McCain had sent comparable materials, it wouldn't.

It wouldn't be okay at all.

The speech in and of itself probably wouldn't have been a big deal. It was the accompanying materials. If you don't believe that, there was an article right here on MSN two days ago discussing the materials. Find it yourself. It was nicely titled to appeal to the liberals, something along the lines of "Fl GOP: Obama pushing socialism in the classroom." No, I won't link it.

The materials are conveniently not even mentioned in this follow up article.

I've linked it several times. Here it is again:

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html

Everyone go READ for yourselves. And remember that these are SUGGESTED activities, not required. Also remember that the speech will be all over the internet afterward, so keeping your children home will not keep them from hearing the speech.

Fear and ignorance help no one. Parents should read these materials and decide for themselves what the "agenda" is. If you still want to keep you child home, then so be it, but at least you'll be making an INFORMED decision, not one based on propaganda from EITHER party.

And how many times do I have to say this:

Those are the revised materials.

I agree, the objectional materials were changed, people should probably just calm down about this.

But I also suggest that if the materials either had not existed in the first place, or had been more carefully thought out, the objections to the president speaking to school children would have been much much less than they were.

People are having a very hard time trusting this administration. Much of the mis-trust is justified, IMO, based soley on broken promises and sneaky legislative maneuvers.

Thank you for the site. I've read the materials; I find nothing offensive in them.

I, too, learned in school, when you make a statement be prepared to support it. Most of the rhetoric in these comments are unsupporable. Too bad! Such closed minds.

Gilbo...

But it is considered all right that we now have a state that mandates the teaching of the Bible in all public schools. I have read that book also, many times, and there are some things there that might be objectionable to a lot of people.

But that is okay, while asking students to listen to the President of the United States welcome them to a new year of school, encourage them to work and study hard, and stay in school, and then as an OPTION, write a private essay on how they can help the president improve education (and that was in the original materials) is not?

I don't think rgarret cares. Perhaps he is the reincarnation of McCarthy!

They don't actually understand what they're talking about.

rgarrett

So you are advocating that we need to return to that type of behavior in this country and continue with something like that while we fall further and further behind the rest of the world? With so much to be done to rebuild a country which has been declining for decades in every area, due to both parties, you think this is the most important problem we have to deal with - looking for "communists"?

Are you just trying to get out of doing any real work to rebuild this country?

I saw a documentary that showed the same mentality sweep through a segment of the country after the Brown v Board of Education decision.

But that was 55 years ago. How could so many people make so little progress after two generations?

They were probably in a school were they were not taught critical thinking. Look at the results of that. Fear and over reaction. Some parents did not learn how to think critically in school , and are afraid their childre or grand children may out think them, are disagree with their prejudices.

"But that was 55 years ago. How could so many people make so little progress after two generations?"

Have you seen the Bible Belt? Nothing changes there, especially the gene pool.

"They were probably in a school were they were not taught critical thinking. Look at the results of that. Fear and over reaction. Some parents did not learn how to think critically in school , and are afraid their childre or grand children may out think them, are disagree with their prejudices. "

They don't operate on logical/rationality, they operate on emotional and superstitution. What do you expect from a crowd that thinks any form of higher education is inherently elitist and mistrusts science to the point of doubting evolution, one of the most well supported scientific theories next to gravity?

In any event, I've been seeing more and more people figure these people out of late, which is an encouraging sign.

You know, I was just thinking. Back in the Civil Rights Era the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King gave inspirational speeches about unity among us Americans Black and White. There were many southern White racists who were so desperate to discredit anything King stood for, including racial equality, that they fabricated lies about him. One of those lies was that King was a Communist. See, in a racist's mind, anyone who stands for equality is a Communist, or these days a "Socialist." Those racist Whites back in the day definitely did not allow their children to listen to or watch any of Dr. King's speeches. They knew that if their children heard his message, their efforts to mold their children into proper bigots would have been all for naught. They knew King was not a Communist or an evil man, but he was Black and they weren't about to allow a Black man to speak positively to their children.

This conservative parent outrage over President Obama's speech is exactly the same thing today.

We have free public education in this country.

No one born after WWII should be as ignorant as the Far-Right.

Nothing is free.............

When you close your mind to learning and growing, to really listening to even those who disagree with you, and to doing your own independent research of all sides of an issue and drawing independent and personal conclusions, realizing that you will have to agree to disagree with others, but can still come together for the benefit of a country in really deep trouble, you become a part of the problem, not the solution.

I try not to blame the entire Republican party.

But they are responsible for their Far-Right fringe, and they have done very little to try to control it.

This isn't about politics any more. This is about moving ahead as a Nation.

Llibi, you are right, I know not all Republicans think the way some of these people are acting. Just like all Democrats don't think alike. The same way Whites, Blacks, Yellow , Brown people think don't alike. I guess I was stereotyping just like the ones I am complaining about. Thank you for being a voice of reason.

thetruth...

One comment you made is critical. There is a group of people in this country who fail to see that this country has been declining in every area for decades, and both parties are to blame.

The world has changed and we are a global economy now. Other countries realized that we are in a new century, and the "good old days", fifties or not, will never come back. Our financial and manufacturing institutions have betrayed us. We hardly own our own country. We fall further and further behind.

And we are arguing about a speech and an optional lesson plan?

If we lose the ability to look forwards rather than backwards, and realize how much we need to change this country to regain some standing in the world economy, even though we will never agree on many things, we will continue to fall as we waste our time and energy calling names and blaming each other, instead of finding common ground and rolling up our sleeves for some really hard work.

But thanks to Affirmative Action, is the great grades (that no one has seen) the same Obama would have gotten if he had been white. He probably would not eve been admitted to Harvard.

Lastly, looking at the Preseident's disasterous policies, is a Harvard Education really mena much?

This has nothing to do with being against education, and everything to do with being opposed to indoctrination in our schools.

The furor was not about the speech.

The furor was about the teaching materials sent to accompany the speech.

No, the furor was because it is Obama.

Opps.....the socialist gets snagged again.

Hey MSNBC, where's the news about the self proclaimed commie(s) appointed by bo?

ABC Nightly News devoted 0 seconds to the commie jones. I wonder why?

Libs just do not get it. Would not bother trying to expain it to them. If you forced them into grey uniforms complete with white shoes and had them all take a pill promptly at 8, they STILL would not get it. Give up.

Hey Jack R, that is because we don't care about the so called Commie, we are more interested in Health Care and Gay Rights. Isses that affect many more Americans than the so called Commie. Pick and issue that is important and support it, but enough of the divisive bull crap.

Queer...

That would involve actually getting out in the communities and working on real problems, instead of just complaining. That's the problem. The complainers are getting all the attention, calling names they can't define and making public issues out of private values.

It is easier than really trying to solve problems that are needed to save this country which is in a serious state of decline, and has been falling for decades, under both parties.

Working for common ground, realizing that 300+ people will never agree on everything, is too much like real work. It is easier to just sit back and wait for someone else to have an idea or actually do something and then just criticize.

Pinch,

I'm not sure I understand your point?

Queer...

I was just expounding on yours. People who just look for every little thing to complain about aren't doing anything to help solve real problems.

I was just pointing out that what most of these folks are doing can be done with hardly getting off the couch. The issues you raised that are the really important ones involve real thought and effort, and I think that is too much like work for the name-callers.

Thanks Pinch, I agree 100%.

clatech

Your misstatement concerning the "promise" of the 8% unemployment level has already been corrected by another poster responding to you yet again.

Well aren't you Mr. Red, White & Blue. Listen, Rich, just because he was elected President doesn't make him right, or wrong. It just makes him President. I respect the office of the presidency, but if I think the person in the office is wrong, and doing wrong things that are harmful to the country, I will not subject my children to it. It's thinking like yours that kept Hitler in power. If the President is wrong, and the people don't approve of what he's doing, and by the way, they don't, then you don't expose your children to it. That's called common sense. Oh, and he didn't get 70% of the vote, and even if he did, he sure as hell wouldn't get it now that the people figured him out.

RICH, you are a liar, he escaped with 52% of the vote, when a whole lot of conservatives looked at voting for J McCain or Barak Obama and just stayed home.

Sunshine, you can bet your last dollar all of the conservatives will be out in the next election, you can look for record conservative tirnouts for the next couple of years.

And you will not like what we do, we have always let you keep all of your little leech programs, that you grabbed while the Democratic Parasitical Party was in office, not this time, we're taking them back. Learn how to work, or learn how to eat dirt, take your pick.

Yes Ron. It makes him President.

How can you ever expect your children to exceed in life when they see and hear you insult and attack people that exceed? Do you understand the psychological implications of your actions?

The sad reality is that there are people in this country that hold their children back.

They are failures in life and they want their children to also be failures.

Jerry, That 52% was a higher percentage of the vote than what Bush had in both of his elections. I think you need to work on communicating and respecting people with whom you disagree.

The president's message is to work hard and stay in school. What's wrong with that? We should teach our children to respect the presidency, no matter which party he belongs to. Allowing a child to skip school for such a frivolous reason shows how much these people value education.

Well jump right on out there, hero. Your outnumbered and definitely out smarted.

No Sunshine you don't want it, you have no idea how much we would love the opportunity to defend ourselves aginst you, we are so sick of you.

Wait a minute Bartman.

There will be no war this time. The South is free to go.