This Just In ...
Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
What do President Obama and the Franklin School District have in common?
Hmmmm.
There are two elements to this particular story. Let’s start with the Obamessiah.
On September 8th (the first day of classes for many school kids) President Obama will speak to students all across
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent a direct order to school administrators that dictated the following:
“This is the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation’s school children about persisting and succeeding in school. We encourage you to use this historic moment to help your students get focused and begin the school year strong. I encourage you, your teachers, and students to join me in watching the President deliver this address on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.”
There’s more.
That same DOE (Department of Education) is instructing (ordering) teachers in Grades 7 to 12 to ask their students: Why does President Obama want to speak with us today? How will he inspire us? How will he challenge us?
Once the Great Obama has spoken, teachers of younger students, KG to Grade 6 are supposed to have them write letters to themselves about what they can do to help his Holiness (That would be the Obamessiah).
From the DOE website:
Fact sheet, Activities for Grades PreK-6, and Activities for Grades 7-12
Can you imagine if George W. Bush had sent a similar directive ordering all schools to listen to his message? There would have been shouts of indoctrination, propaganda, and brainwashing!!
And those outcries would have been correct!
Why is Obama reaching out to school kids? To indoctrinate and brainwash, for sure. But he also is using the kids to get to their parents.
To be Barack Hussein Obama is to be cool.
To be Barack Hussein Obama is to be worshipped and adored.
Not lately.
So, the Egomaniac-in -Chief has to get his groove back. To do so, he will use persuasive force, a teleprompter (so he doesn't **** up), and kids. And chew up valuable teaching time as well.
Now for the second element of our story, the Franklin School District.
Here is a sizeable excerpt from my blog of December 28, 2007: The Top Ten Franklin Stories of 2007, #4:
"On April 2, 2007, the day before
Franklin school officials sink to sleazy new low to get votes
The Friday before Election Day, during school time, hundreds of
Doors to the Assembly reportedly were locked so no one could leave and no one could enter to see and hear what was going on.
I wrote the following:
The impropriety of this action by
It smacks of a desperate, underhanded, sleazy maneuver by folks who must be very worried about the outcome of the election. On principle alone, these referenda need to be resoundingly rejected.
Shame on the
Later on April 2, I blogged an e-mail I received from a Franklin parent:
Now that the school district has given the senior class a civics lesson and is encouraging them to exercise their right and privilege to vote(many for the first time):
1. Will they be excused from school to vote?
2. Will the students get a lesson in how to register to vote; how to determine what district they live in; and where their polling place is located?
3. Will they provide transportation to the polls?
4. Will they earn a grade for voting---how are the students going to be assessed following this civics lesson? Will they have to wear the I Voted sticker as proof of voting?
5. Will they tack on an additional 2 hours to the make up school days since the students missed first/second hour to attend this civic lesson?
I have more questions to add but the most important one is:
When will the investigation into the legality of this action begin? Who will be held accountable?
The referenda failed miserably.
Not long after the election, the District Attorney’s office began to investigate and wanted answers from outgoing Superintendent Bill Szakacs.
No charges were filed, but the DA’s office is still reviewing other options.
Again, the “Assembly” was extremely unethical. Supposedly learned officials should have known better. They thought they could get away with it, and that’s why they did it.
School officials who objected at the time weren’t loud, persistent, aggressive, or effective enough.
The
Students, their parents, and taxpayers deserve much better."
-----December 28, 2007 (This Just In, FranklinNOW.com)
There you have the two elements of this story.
Have you figured it out?
What do President Obama and the Franklin School District have in common?
That's easy.
They both love captive audiences.
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1989: George H. W. Bush gave televised address to students about drug use. To watch then-President George H.W. Bush's speech, which was delivered at noon from the White House library, "many schools held assemblies or brought television sets into the classrooms so students could watch Mr. Bush," according to a New York Times article published at the time. The Times further reported that "[a]t least 15,000 superintendents and 55,000 principals were notified by the Education Department of the speech today."
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Lame.
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Back to topdave53132 - Sep 03, 2009 8:39 AM - Report Abuse
1991: Bush addressed students on importance of education. The Associated Press reported at the time that Bush "had URGED teachers and principals beforehand to let their students tune in to the speech, carried live by the Cable News Network and public television":
President Bush perched on a stool in an eighth-grade classroom Tuesday and exhorted American students to ignore peers "who think it's not cool to be smart."
"What's so great about being stupid?" asked the president in a speech to students at Alice Deal Junior High School and beamed into classrooms across the nation.
The White House had URGED teachers and principals beforehand to let their students tune in to the speech, carried live by the Cable News Network and public television.
Bush sat by the blackboard in the front of history teacher Cynthia Mostoller's classroom and READ HIS TEXT FROM THE TELEPROMPTERS at the back of the room.
dave53132 - Sep 03, 2009 8:34 AM - Report Abuse
I suggest you go put on an Elvis "record"… this fear mongering one is broken.
It's hard to imagine anything more ridiculous than attacking the president of the United States for talking to students about the importance of getting a good education and being a good citizen.
It would be absolutely inappropriate, even outrageous, for any president to use a forum of this kind for partisan purposes. It would be wrong to even mention health care or other hot-button issues. But according to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, “During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.”
Is the GOP opposed to that message? If the POTUS was going in person to their own child’s classroom to tell them to stay in school and study hard, would conservatives keep their kids home to protect them from that "vile" message? Is the hate that deep, the lack of respect so visceral?
In the words of Buzz Lightyear "You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity. "