George H.W. Bush's School Speech (1991) & Pres. Reagan's School Speech (1988)

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/04/HP/A/22807/US+Presidents+Address+Students.aspx

How dare they attempt to brainwash our students!

:eyes:

Much of the controversy stems not from the speech itself but from the proposed lesson plans that were to accompany the speech. The Department of Education offers teachers a menu of lesson plans, which originally included a lesson plan for students in pre-kindergarten through grade 6 suggesting that children “write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president." Another assignment for students after hearing the speech was to discuss what "the president wants us to do." These lesson plans are viewed as overstepping boundaries and the president pushing his own agenda. Since the speech is supposedly only to encourage students to stay in school and the importance of education, then the lesson plans should not be asking students to consider how they can help the president. After uproar on these lessons plans, they have since been changed and the lesson plans have been stressed as optional for teachers to use if it may help supplement their own lesson plan for the day. There are parents who say that the Department of Education should not be creating lesson plans for the schools, as that is a state responsibility and not the federal government's. Other opposition comes from the fact that the President’s constitutional powers are explicit. They include the "Executive Power." They include being "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States" and a few more listed in the Constitution, including preserving and protecting the Constitution.

I know it's hard to remember after the previous administration, but the president is the president of the entire country, not just his political cronies and bankrollers. Sure, it was difficult to remember that when Lurita Doan, head of GSA, held a mandatory staff meeting for her employees to learn how the agency could "help our candidates." Or when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales referred to George W. Bush as "my client."

Citizens being asked to support the president! The republic totters!

If it wasn't for the latent racism, it would almost be laughable.

Obama's "agenda" is to demonstrate that education is essential to not only economic success but also good citizenship. Please elaborate on how that is overstepping the bounds of the president's constitutional authority.

The lesson plans.

Those on the right kept telling people how they should respect the office of the president even if you don't like who is in charge. The office of the president asking kids how they can help is not scary in the least, and had it been done under bush and the left complained we would be called unpatriotic, etc and so on.

The right just wants something to bitch about as usual.

so wipe the foam off of your mouth and repent.

Bush Sr. asked that the letters be sent into him, Bush Jr as that students send money in to him. Obama asked students to write letters to themselves about how to help the President. It might have been better to ask the students to think about ways to help the country, but that is a minor quibble - unless it is twisted out of shape by some paranoid racist idiot.

As for the constitutional points you list, when did any of that stop Nixon, Reagan, Bush I or Bush II from over stepping the bounds of executive power? Not to mention the defacto president for 2001-2009, The Dick Cheney, who tried to claim that the office of Vice President had no restrictions on it at all.

Constitution? What constitution - the one Bushco violated for eight years?
Plueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez. Didn't Bush's brother promote text books with a RW agenda? Spare me.

better country? Fucking commie socialist nazi asshole. What are you un-American? Do you hate this country? Go back to freepville and report this: Those crazy America lovers over at DU have gone off the deep end! They want their kids to work together with the president to try to improve the country!

Oh and tell me were you ranting and raving about Bush's signing statements which excluded the Executive from all those nasty "constitutional powers" you talk about?

I posted a thread today about being tired of debating clueless fucks like you. Still am.


Oh and BTW the "lesson plans" have always been optional.

Oh one more BTW.. It was the speech you right wing nut cases were complaining about. Then you all jumped up to make up some other shit when it was thrown back in your face.

Never been on "freepville", don't know what it is. I'm not a commie, socialist, nazi, or an a$$hole.
I don't get that anyway, i would think that someone you think that is not-supporting Obama's administration would automatically exclude them from being labeled a commie, socialist or nazi. I'm sorry you are so angry and sorry if I angered you, didn't mean to. Just trying to have adult conversations.

we don't trust newcomers who claim to not understand why we think Glenn Beck is crazy. Have you ever seen him? Listened to him? The man is a lunatic - clearly in need of major mental therapy.

What is anybody trying to HIDE?

there is no liberal media - the TV news is corporate owned - the repukes run hate radio - the only sanctuary for those of us who think for ourselves is places like DU and we don't like it when repukes come over here to disrupt

if there is no liberal media, then explain why, for example, none of the major news programs or newspapers covered the van jones situation?

I'd like to know that myself

about what republicans were angry about, then expected to have an "adult conversation"? Sorry I don't debate lies, republican talking points(same as a lie) or trolls.

If you want to have a "grown up" conversation then just fucking admit you and the people who were screaming about socialist indoctrination were fucking wrong and move on. But you can't. People like you are all over the TV today saying the speech was changed.
You make up these fantasies about Obama and then when they turn out to be bullshit you make up some other bullshit to cover your original bullshit. YEah you are quite the "grown up". :rofl:

and how dare you include "preserving and protecting the Contstitution" - that rat bastard last "president" YOU supported WIPED HIS ASS with the Constitution

And also I am not a Republican and I didn't like George Bush at all. I didn't support him. I think he was an embarrassment. Please let's have adult discussions and not make any assumptions about eachother, thank you.

is it any wonder how someone like bush was allowed to destroy America?

have an adult discussion with someone who has to ask why we think Glenn Beck is crazy? NO FUCKING THANKS. Go the the freak republic - your kind of ignorance is very welcome there.

Why would you guys give people REASONS to think that you are unreasonable?? You shouldn't do that. You should always take the high ground. Why would you want to resort to name-calling and swearing? I just don't get it. Maybe I'm too old and mature for most people on this site.

why don't you just say YOU PEOPLE and be done with it? Beat it.

Just because we don't share the same views? It's important to have healthy debates.

I live in Texas - if I want to know what asshole conservatives think I can watch TV, listen to hate radio or talk to my ignorant neighbors. THIS FORUM IS FOR DEMOCRATS.

I leave you with this though, I think it would do you some good to talk to listen to the "other side" once in a while, you might learn something. It's unfortunate how closed-minded you are. I wish you well.

look what repukes did to America the past eight years - and look at them now, screaming about death panels and Obama's birth certificate - I AM NOT INTERESTED IN WHAT REPUKES THINK

Some of it's from here:

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:z-iYfdXQO5AJ:www.examiner.com/x-1146-Seattle-Eastside-Family-Examiners~y2009m9d7-President-Obamas-speech-to-schools-What-is-your-district-doing+Much+of+the+controversy+stems+not+from+the+speech+itself+but+from+the+proposed+lesson+plans+that+were+to+accompany+the+speech.&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

it's because it wasn't part of the original writing and was the stuff the wingnut put in themselves after the copy/paste. There was no segue to it or explanation of how it related to the rest of the post.