This Obama Speech Controversy is Just Freakin' Great
Obama: "Stay in school."
Reactionaries: "INDOCTRINATION!"
It really has been a fascinating thing to watch this week, the kerfuffle over Obama's planned back-to-school speech on Tuesday. Never mind that this has happened before, with Reagan and both Presidents Bush; clearly, it's different this time because of health care or the war in Afghanistan or Reverend Wright or something.
I didn't think of this crap as anything more than an oddity until I heard that our district office was being bombarded with phone calls demanding that the schools not show the speech, with parents threatening to hold their kids out that day if they didn't get assurances. That anyone would pick up the phone over this is stupid enough, but my district is in the middle of a financial crisis anyhow, and Tuesday is our first count day for the state. If we have any quantity of kids stay home, our budget situation gets that much worse. Hoo-frickin-ray.
More from Sound Politics here, a particularly disappointing post because I thought Pudge was actually starting to develop some sense when he refuted the Birther issue, but right back off the rails he's gone. Video from MSNBC via Daily Kos here, with John Harwood saying some people are too stupid to have kids. Jim's take on what's going on in the Olympia School District here, and Charles Mudede of The Stranger explores the racial aspects over here.
And for the NSFW hard-left take, try Wonkette here and here. The Digg thread is pretty good, too.
What's maybe the most disappointing about this whole episode is that this is the most attention that anything Obama's done regarding education has gotten. I watch most of the news shows, and the only mention I've seen on any of them about Race to the Top was in the August 28th episode of The McLaughlin Group, where they actually gave it quite a bit of time.
There's an awful lot to watch right now.
Update (9/6): I love this commentary from the Orlando Sentinel.
Update 2: Kos says the polling shows most people support the speech.
Update 3: A good article from the LA Times.
Read more here, if any.
Reactionaries: "INDOCTRINATION!"
It really has been a fascinating thing to watch this week, the kerfuffle over Obama's planned back-to-school speech on Tuesday. Never mind that this has happened before, with Reagan and both Presidents Bush; clearly, it's different this time because of health care or the war in Afghanistan or Reverend Wright or something.
I didn't think of this crap as anything more than an oddity until I heard that our district office was being bombarded with phone calls demanding that the schools not show the speech, with parents threatening to hold their kids out that day if they didn't get assurances. That anyone would pick up the phone over this is stupid enough, but my district is in the middle of a financial crisis anyhow, and Tuesday is our first count day for the state. If we have any quantity of kids stay home, our budget situation gets that much worse. Hoo-frickin-ray.
More from Sound Politics here, a particularly disappointing post because I thought Pudge was actually starting to develop some sense when he refuted the Birther issue, but right back off the rails he's gone. Video from MSNBC via Daily Kos here, with John Harwood saying some people are too stupid to have kids. Jim's take on what's going on in the Olympia School District here, and Charles Mudede of The Stranger explores the racial aspects over here.
And for the NSFW hard-left take, try Wonkette here and here. The Digg thread is pretty good, too.
What's maybe the most disappointing about this whole episode is that this is the most attention that anything Obama's done regarding education has gotten. I watch most of the news shows, and the only mention I've seen on any of them about Race to the Top was in the August 28th episode of The McLaughlin Group, where they actually gave it quite a bit of time.
There's an awful lot to watch right now.
Update (9/6): I love this commentary from the Orlando Sentinel.
Update 2: Kos says the polling shows most people support the speech.
Update 3: A good article from the LA Times.
Labels: 5/17, Barack Obama, Daily Kos, McLaughlin Group, Reagan, school policy, speeches, Stranger, Wonkette
Read more here, if any.
posted by Ryan at 11:29 PM
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