Thoughts & Commentary on the Obama Administration

[Centurion1]

The problem is why children should be forced to watch. they also have to do activities like learn his "famous quotes", for a man no one knew about before a few years ago that is pretty ego-centric.

[Strike For The South]

The problem is why children should be forced to watch. they also have to do activities like learn his "famous quotes", for a man no one knew about before a few years ago that is pretty ego-centric.

I distincly remember watching Bush and Clinton speak in my classrooms. I turned out to be a fully functioning adult.

Mountain meet mole hill

[Banquo's Ghost]

The problem is why children should be forced to watch. they also have to do activities like learn his "famous quotes", for a man no one knew about before a few years ago that is pretty ego-centric.

I recall that President Bush was busily mind-manipulating children on the morning of 9-11 by reading "The Pet Goat", a propaganda tract about vigilantism in the cloven hooved (and a clear reference to the economic wealth of backwater Islam). Clearly, this was to soften them up for the war in Iraq. Osama bin Laden later pointed out that the president's diversion of impressionable young minds allowed the hijackers more time to carry out their mission, thus proving the Truthers completely and irrevocably right, the more so because OBL now owns little but goats.

There, all three themes of the recent thread brought together. Anyone notice a touch of common absurdity?

[Louis VI the Fat]

The full text of the US president's back-to-school address, as released in advance by the White House.

Hello everyone, how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Barack Obama school speech in full


Hello everyone, how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.
I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfil your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that if you quit on school you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighbourhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer hundreds of extra hours to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighbourhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health centre; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honours and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you, you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counsellor and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.



With apolgies to the moderators. I know I run the risk of being instagibbed for such quoting such seditious, poisenous filth. But I must insist I only repeated it here for educational purposes. In no way, shape or form do I condone the President of the United States indoctrinating innocent children with this terror-communist personality cult.

[Banquo's Ghost]

It's shot through with subliminal codes on public health, foreigners and revolution. If only we could discover the secret trigger word that will send the zombie children hordes into action.

You are SO banned.

[Banquo's Ghost]

More seriously, The Economist has an interesting article on whether seeking bipartisan legislation is actually dead in the water.

And yet in the Washington think-tanks the passing of Ted Kennedy has revived a different debate. Is bipartisanship still feasible in today’s America? Is it even desirable? Pietro Nivola, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has doubts on both counts. Grand bargains are harder in an age when both parties, but especially the Republicans, have become more ideological and cohesive. Congress no longer contains legions of conservative Democrats from the South or moderate Republicans from the north-east willing to make common cause—or laws. The gerrymandering of electoral districts has slashed the number of swing seats, forcing candidates to nurture their wild-eyed base, rather than reach out to moderates, to win their primaries. Religious polarisation has sharpened the gap between the parties, sucking believers into the Republican camp and driving the secular to the Democrats.

This relates to my perception that the president actually lacks the courage to stand forward on his platform. He got a mandate, and he has the votes in Congress. The USA now has a real party system. Since the GOP confine themselves to hysterical opposition, surely he should drive his agenda through - and sink or swim at the polls in four years.

Given the nature of the attacks on his policies and personality, the real change he should bring is to drop the fig-leaf of "consensus" and do what he promised the electorate. Let the Republicans repeal it if they ever regain power and feel the need so to do (which is rare over this side of the pond - such legislation always proves to be a good way of blaming the opposition for a decade).

[Adrian II]

The full text of the US president's back-to-school address, as released in advance by the White House.

This is worse than some of the sources Fragony uses. Do we really have to read this neonazi filth about children having to educate themselves? Kids should believe in themselves and in their country.. yeah right. Osama bin Laden couldnt have said it better!

[Crazed Rabbit]

Anyway, this is a sort of NotW item, but it's political so here it is:
DNC Promises to "Rain Hellfire" Down On Opponents

The increasingly aggressive Democratic National Committee on Friday launched a new “Call ’Em Out” website targeting prominent Republicans for statements they have made about President Barack Obama’s health reform plans.

“Help debunk the outrageous lies and misinformation about health reform,” the site says.

DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said: “The message to opponents of change who would lie or misrepresent the truth should be clear. We are going to respond forcefully and consistently with the facts, and you will no longer be able to peddle your lies with impunity. Through tools like 'Call 'Em Out,' you will be met with a rain of hellfire from supporters armed with the facts and you will be held to account.”

Gee guys, a bit too serious maybe?

CR

[Louis VI the Fat]

DNC Promises to "Rain Hellfire" Down On Opponents

If this were a GOP quote, I'd make a lenghty post deconstructing the Christian subtext and how this is destroying America's freedom into a Christian fundamentalist theocracy.

However, since it's not, I'll suffice with saying that it's about bloody time too that the Democrats fought back.



Reading the GOP's commentary on healthcare reform made me feel like I'm Tribesman glancing over Fragony's posts: the biggest load of bollox I've read in my life.

[Monk]

If this were a GOP quote, I'd make a lenghty post deconstructing the Christian subtext and how this is destroying America's freedom into a Christian fundamentalist theocracy.

However, since it's not, I'll suffice with saying that it's about bloody time too that the Democrats fought back.

The DNC has been getting fairly active in the last few weeks. I've gotten at least thee calls from them, all asking for money to "debunk republican lies". I can only assume some of that fundraiser $$ went toward this site, course they did stop calling when I told them I was poor and most of my money goes to classes.

Still, I really wouldn't be surprised if there was more of this sorta thing in the coming weeks.

[Gregoshi]

Hats off to Tribes and Frag for their spot on reenactment of Republican/Democrat bickering. Well done!!

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Massive anti-spending rally in Washington.

[tibilicus]

Massive anti-spending rally in Washington.

Fascinating. So many people in one place with so little idea how world politics work. They are aware that for a free market economy to not collapse business's have to be kept afloat? Saying that they're probably also oblivious to the fact that every single western government has adopted the same strategy? Why? Because it works. The financial collapse could of been so much worse but luckily it wasn't. I dread to think what would of happened if we had a McCain administration..

Article also offers an interesting insight into just how large the proportion of the electorate is within America who still live in their own little world..

[Tribesman]

Saturday's demonstrators spanned the spectrum of conservative anger at Obama, including opponents of his tax, spending and health-care plans and protesters who question his U.S. citizenship and compare his administration to the Nazi regime.

So in other words a lot of wingnuts.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

So in other words a lot of wingnuts.

Not really. According to the NRO, there were precisely two birther signs (that the author saw). Many more communist signs, of course, but surely you remember the protests comparing Bush to a Nazi?

[Lemur]

According to the NRO, there were precisely two birther signs (that the author saw).

How would you classify this one?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

How would you classify this one?

Depends how she meant it really. It could be:

1) Birther
2) Racist
3) Half-true
4) A jibe at someone
5) An attempt at humour

Either way, she seems to have forgotten a word.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Fascinating. So many people in one place with so little idea how world politics work. They are aware that for a free market economy to not collapse business's have to be kept afloat?

Businesses don't need to receive government bailouts to stay in business.

Saying that they're probably also oblivious to the fact that every single western government has adopted the same strategy? Why? Because it works.

Nope. It's because politicians need to be seen doing something, regardless of whether it works or not, or they won't be reelected, which is the first goal of almost every politician.

I dread to think what would of happened if we had a McCain administration..

Same thing, lesser extent. He would need votes too.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Fascinating. So many people in one place with so little idea how world politics work. They are aware that for a free market economy to not collapse business's have to be kept afloat?

Says one school of thought that has, oddly enough, been proven wrong again and again. The huge spending bill passed in the US is bad even for a keynesian bill, because it will take years for all that money to be spent and then it won't help (keep in mind this is according to keynesian theory). But business certainly don't need to be 'kept afloat' by the government. The weaker ones should be left to go out of business (I'm not saying we shouldn't give some banks more money to lend, however).

What's fascinating is that you haven't even heard of other economic schools of thought, especially since one said school has dominated most governments' policies since the second world war.

Also, I got really peeved at how the various news articles said 'tens of thousands of protesters" when they should have said hundreds of thousands.

CR

[Lemur]

Also, I got really peeved at how the various news articles said 'tens of thousands of protesters" when they should have said hundreds of thousands.

According to Malkin et al. the number should be millions. According to the socialist Washington D.C. fire dept, it was around 70,000, still a respectable number.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

^^ Looks like "the zoo has an african lion and the white house has a lyin african"

Also, I got really peeved at how the various news articles said 'tens of thousands of protesters" when they should have said hundreds of thousands.

CR

I think they quit doing official tallies ever since the million man march was estimated at 400,000.

[Meneldil]

Holy crap, I can't believe the POTUS is allowed to make such a speech in front of american children.

USSR of Americanistan, I salute you

[gaelic cowboy]

Holy crap, I can't believe the POTUS is allowed to make such a speech in front of american children.

USSR of Americanistan, I salute you

[Beskar]

^^ Looks like "the zoo has an african lion and the white house has a lyin african"

I completely disagree, why?

Look closely at the picture of the Lion, it is lying down. So it is a lying African. It makes no mention of any people, just lions.

I think it is talking about Obama's den of Lions where he sends holier than thou' republicans who attempt to prove that God will keep them safe, but tragically, fail.

[Louis VI the Fat]

That picture is so racist, it's painful to watch. Is there much doubt she thinks Obama doesn't belong in the White House but in a zoo? And she's not alone.

At any rate, considering the continuity and similiarity between what was said about Obama, Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaing (2005-2008), Bill Clinton, and even Carter, race can not be deemed the deciding factor in Republican animosity.

Moreover, race and political preference are not mutually exclusive. Animosity can awaken dormant racism, can be expressed in racist terms by the less eloquent, and lingering racism can attribute to (the vehemence of) anti-Obamamania. Racist or politically motivated - that is not a matter of either / or.



I think Obama gave the right answer. As so often over the past few months, I admire Obama for his calmness of tone. He's a great diplomat. Composed, reflexive, accepting of his political opponents.

In general, the ball has been firmly in the court of the GOP. Obama has at every opportunity showed a willingness to co-operate. In healthcare in particular, Obama and the Democrats have been extending their hand to the GOP for months. The Republicans, in turn, have gone into a reflexive war-mode. Fine, they are under no obligation to work constuctively with the opposition. It does show that it is the GOP that is the party of polarization and extreme partizanship.