President webcasts to all the schoolkids....

[Onkel Neal]

A stunned White House insisted the address, planned for Tuesday, and accompanying suggested lesson plans are meant simply to encourage students to study hard and stay in school.

"Thinking about my kids in school having to listen to that just really upsets me," a suburban Colorado mother, Shanneen Barron, told CNN affiliate KMGH-TV in Denver. "I'm an American. They are Americans, and I don't feel that's OK. I feel very scared to be in this country with our leadership right now."

Man up, Shanneen. It's the President, not the Terminator.

As mookie pointed out, the left went hysterical when Bush 1 did this, now the right is wetting their pants because Obama is going to do it. People, get a grip!

[Tchocky]

Shanneen?!?!

Is that a name?

[Task Force]

hmm... I think I will just sleep through this now... lol

[mookiemookie]

"Thinking about my kids in school having to listen to that just really upsets me"

The thought of the president telling kids to study hard and stay in school upsets her?

[AVGWarhawk]

Man up, Shanneen. It's the President, not the Terminator.

Sometimes I really begin to wonder about people. Some just really get to the edge for really no good reason at all. Obama has a radical approach and radical thoughts but man....he is not going to change the very face of the US in one night let alone 4 years.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

The thought of the president telling kids to study hard and stay in school upsets her?

It is beyond me Mookie. I do not understand it myself. Granted I'm not a Obama supporter I would have no issue with my kids talking with Obama. Hell, I would sit through it myself just for the fun of it so why not. Some people are just way out there.

[August]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

As mookie pointed out, the left went hysterical when Bush 1 did this, now the right is wetting their pants because Obama is going to do it. People, get a grip!

I think it's a sign that the gulf between left and right is widening. It keeps going like this and there will be another Civil war.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by August

I think it's a sign that the gulf between left and right is widening. It keeps going like this and there will be another Civil war.

I think you're right. I can easily see one incident at some townhall or demonstration becoming the catalyst for national riots and violence.

[Tchocky]

Civil war?

I really don't think so. There isn't a substantive differing of ideology. The really heated exchanges don't make any sense. All this Hitler/Nazi/commie stuff is paper-thin. There isn't enough heated difference of logical opinion to cause violence. The logical arguments are quieter, and the kerazy stuff is loud and quasi-violent.

Could be wrong, mind.

[AVGWarhawk]

A Civil War of words perhaps. I do not see it going much more than that.

[August]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I think you're right. I can easily see one incident at some townhall or demonstration becoming the catalyst for national riots and violence.

I don't know if we're at the proverbial straw yet but it's moving in that direction. The rhetoric on both sides is sounding more and more like during the 1850's.

[Safe-Keeper]

The US is strange. Army recruiters on campus, the JROTC doing a military routine with the flag before school performances, a daily pledge of allegiance to the flag and Republic for all school children (Edit: except those who don't want to, of course - don't wanna give the wrong impression here )...

...and it's a regular Presidential address that gets everyone up in arms about "political indoctrination"?

It's a Presidential address, one of many. Far as I recall, several Norwegian PM's have addressed children, and no one has raised an eyebrow so far. It's not as if he's going to make the speech all about how everyone has to vote for him come 2012.

Well they are...they have given them a project to do....pay off the trillion+ dollar debt created over the past few months.

I remember when I lived in the States. Bush was in command and the nation had no debt. It never rained, either, and there were no tigers. Then Obama came along and invented the Economic Crisis and Poverty and now everything is in shambles.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

a daily pledge of allegiance to the flag and Republic .

Actually none of them do anymore.

[Task Force]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Actually none of them do anymore.

some of the teachers throw a fit if we dont... but we realy dont care...

[CaptainHaplo]

Interesting discussion. Now I will chime in with my views, as well as an explanation of them.

Even in its "REVISED" form, I still have some reservations, due tin part to the proposed ADDITIONAL subject matter. Having reviewed the revised "additional material" from the Department of Education, its still concerning to see such material push pre-k to 6th graders to "discuss main ideas from the speech, such as citizenship, personal responsibility, and civic duty."

I totally agree with personal responsibility - but "citizenship" and "civic duty"? And I thought this was simply about working hard in school?
(Source: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf )
What "Civic Duty" does a 4 or 5 year old have? (Unless he wants to mention how much he - and other administrations of both parties have run the debt so big that the kids are going to have to pay for it... but I doubt that will be mentioned.)

The initial announcement that occured back in August (and I am trying to find a link to it again) stated that the President was also going to discuss some of the "educational reforms" he wants. To the kids? Why? They have no control over it, so bringing the issue to THEM makes no sense - unless they intend to use the kids as a way to assist in making such reforms (whatever they are) more palatable to the adults.

Now - its also rather telling that the initial material wanted children to write letters about what "they could do to help the president". Of course, after the rucus has been raised, that has been removed to "clarify" the intent. Uh-huh. Forgive me for being a little sceptical. I mean - help him do WHAT exactly. Funny that didn't get answered in the clarification. In addition, the documentation for older kids - grades 7-12, asks them to answer questions like "How does President Obama inspire me?". They are supposed to answer and discuss this in class - how many have the cahones to say "he doesn't"? C'mon - the question itself leads one to think that we are supposed to be overcome just because he spoke. The way its done, kids are EXPECTED to make it out like they are swept up by the wonderfulness of the CURRENT president. Sorry, I got an issue with that. He isn't the "dear leader" - and such ideals shouldn't be pushed on kids.

Even taking just that - one could say that the cause for concern is overblown.

So its important to remember the "educational reform" part. Why? Because what isn't getting any media attention is what the President is putting out later in the day.
(Source: http://www.ed.gov/news/events/advisory.html - bottom of the page)

The President will be featured in a 30 minute special on numerous channels at 8PM. The title?

"Get Schooled: You Have the Right"

Notice - yet another RIGHT everyone is supposed to have. This special will be the beginning of an initiative that - you guessed it - focuses on education reform.

Think its coincidence? Again - my scepticism kicks in. Now to be honest, I have agreed with some of the things I have heard from the President on such reform. But without seeing specifics, and they are conspicuous by their absence - along with a number of "inconsistent" statements by OB, I have to say this whole things sits wrong.