Free Republic

Here is a clip from Obama's speech tonight saying "We have pulled the economy back from the brink." Also in the video on the topic of Health Care Reform he said "I'm not the first president to take up this cause, but I'm determined to be the last." (Watch Video)

But today, the White House indicated that as a gesture of bipartisanship, President Obama would discuss malpractice reform. “The president is going to talk about the downside of what many doctors have told him is the practicing of defensive medicine, where doctors because they are worried about this order more and more tests in order to make sure that they don't get sued,” Gibbs said on CNN. “That costs our system billions and billions of dollars every year.”

Kids Didn't Hear Obama, But Will be Bussed for Bush Church questions district's "duplicity" on president talks By STACY MORROW Updated 1:09 PM CDT, Wed, Sep 9, 2009 Print Email Share Buzz up! TWITTER FACEBOOK The Arlington Independent School District, which passed on airing President Barack Obama's live classroom address, has announced that some students will be bussed off campus to hear a message from former President George W. Bush on Sept. 21. District officials said it's part of a Cowboys Stadium field trip that the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee invited 28 fifth-grade classes to attend several months...

Second-graders at French Run Elementary in Reynoldsburg (Ohio) eat lunch as President Obama's speech is projected onto a large screen (not visible in this photo) from a live C-SPAN feed.

Print out one of these handy banners and tape to the bottom of your TV screen....You know those annoying news banners at the bottom of the television screen on news channels? Well, here's your chance to make your own and have some fun if you plan to watch Obama's big speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Copy one or more of these into your word processor and print them out on a sheet of paper with a font large enough to be seen from across the room. Then tape to the bottom of the screen as Obama...

  President Barack Obama plans to give a strong endorsement of a public option – or government health-insurance plan – in his remarks to Congress on Wednesday night but will stop short of an ultimatum, leaving wiggle room for negotiation as the bill moves through Congress, according to sources familiar with his remarks.In a speech meant to reset debate on the centerpiece of his first-term agenda, Obama can be expected to use language similar to his Labor Day remarks in Cincinnati, where he said: “I continue to believe that a public option within that basket of insurance choices will help...

Obama didn't come up with the idea of pushing ideology through school children. The link is merely to the book seller site. Not actual text. Here's a bit from a review at The Militant: Youth must march in the vanguard, Guevara insists throughout, taking on the hardest tasks in every endeavor. That is the only road toward becoming leaders of other women and men—just as the officers in the Rebel Army won their stripes on the battlefield. Youth must learn to lead not only their peers, but revolutionists older than themselves as well. You must be a model "for older...

This is the Speechifying Presidency but whatever President Barry Soetoro’s pontifications are on Wednesday night regarding Health Care Reform the fact of the matter is he tried to hoodwink and bamboozle the nation with a rush to passing this bill already. We all know that he originally demanded that Congress have the Health Care Reform bill on his desk to sign before Congress’ August recess. What you didn’t know is that even if Congress would have been totally successful in accomplishing that task Democrats have written the bill so that the actual reform doesn’t start until 2013—2013?!? (see story) Wait...

In a nationally televised event, President Obama plans to speak before a joint session of Congress Wednesday evening. Here is what I have read about the reason for the speech: "The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Obama’s planned address to a joint session of Congress this week “will insert the president into the heated debate in a way he has avoided all summer.” The Washington Post informed readers that the “White House is scrambling to take control of the health-care debate after watching from the sidelines.”

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN DISCUSSION WITH 9TH GRADERS Wakefield High School Arlington, Virginia

I got attacked by the Village Voice today for expressing my rather nasty response to the ObamaDay speech to schoolchildren and the accompanying ideological White House-dictated Department of Education lesson plans for kids (e.g., "Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals"). I don't particularly mind being attacked by the Village Voice. I mean, at least they spelled my name right, as they say. If anything, what bothers me is the smarmy, "They're unhinged...

Here is complete video of President Obama's school speech today, where he urged America's school children to take "personal responsibility" for their lives. While that is a wonderful message to convey, it is at odds with what Obama does with his own Democratic voting blocks. He tells children to take "personal responsibility," but he only wants to expand government to do for people what they often should be doing for themselves. This speech was all about Obama. The children were a backdrop to help him break out of the tailspin he's been in for weeks. But his message is not...

I wasn't sure if there was going to be a live thread or anyone discussing this as it's going on, so....

Bold headlines are attention grabbers, and rarely does the substance of their supporting text prove them correct, but this is a rare moment when (albeit supported by my humble prose) the headline is true. Tomorrow night President Barack Obama will address Congress and the nation, and it will be one of the greatest speeches in the history of mankind. Now, how do I know that? Have I seen the speech? Have I spent the 3-day weekend listening to Churchill, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and re-reading the Gettysburg Address? Was I there were Herodocus debated with Namenicus on the floor of the Roman...

Did Sarah Palin make a statement supporting Obama's speech to the kids? The local liberals have jumped on this claim, as well as crowing about Laura Bush's misguided remarks.

This is a big week for the president's teleprompter. He's first taking it across the Potomac for a speech urging schoolchildren to wash their hands, study hard and stay in school. Good advice for everyone, no doubt, and maybe the advice will stimulate the sale of soap to people who really need it. Politicians particularly should take to heart a presidential admonition to keep their hands clean. Who can argue with that? Democrats everywhere are looking for places where the applause will be at least polite, with no yelling, screaming and waving of hands. The Secret Service, which never sleeps,...

I have no problem with a President of the United States addressing school children, even in the classroom. But when the Department of Education formulates a lesson plan asking teachers to glorify the Office of the President and calls for students to read books about presidents “and Barack Obama,” the line is crossed between a nonpartisan speech and partisan political indoctrination. An address by any president has an impact on a child. Those who grew up in the late 1980s anywhere in the western world likely remember hearing the words of Ronald Reagan. As a nine year old child, I...

<p>The President: 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 twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.</p> <p>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.</p>

Fractured fairytales

As the entire civilized world now knows, President Barack Obama will be addressing the nation’s school children this Tuesday. As soon as this was announced, and the accompanying Department of Education lesson plan released, a storm of controversy arose and suddenly schools were being besieged by angry parents. Bombarded principals, administrators and superintendents all across the country were almost overnight in a mad scramble for cover. I received the following email yesterday from the superintendent of the private school that my children attend. It did save me from having to make the decision as to whether or not take the...

Superintendent Says He's Ordered Students To Watch Address NEW ORLEANS -- Orleans Parish School Board Superintendent Darryl Kilbert said Friday he's ordering teachers, staff and students to watch President Obama's address designated for schools on Sep. 8. The directive impacts students and staff at four Orleans parish schools. And the Superintendent said he's encouraging charter schools within the district to allow students to watch President's address. “Not only will the President’s speech address civic engagement and personal responsibility, both pillars of Louisiana education goals, it will also allow our students to participate in interdisciplinary lessons and discussions,” Kilbert said. The...

Obama must seize his chance to give health care debate clear direction -- editorial Posted by kevobrie September 06, 2009 04:48AM President Barack Obama plans to wade back into the nation's health care debate this week, possibly during a Labor Day speech in Cincinnati and certainly during a televised address to Congress Wednesday evening. Most reports suggest that he hopes to bring some clarity to a discussion that has lost focus amid a flurry of competing congressional bills, wild talk of death panels and other distortions by his opponents and, quite frankly, Obama's failure to enunciate clearly what he wants...

Those who are whipping up hysteria over the president's address are playing a dangerous game with an unhinged segment of public opinion. While it long ago crossed the borders of reason and civility, the hysteria over healthcare reform is -- at some level -- understandable, because wellness and infirmity are really just stand-ins for those most terrifying of issues, life and death. But there is no similar way to rationalize the bizarre controversy now raging over President Obama's plan to deliver a brief televised address on Tuesday to the nation's grammar school children. According to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan,...

Tempe Elementary School District No. 3 Superintendent Tate’s Directive Concerning President’s Broadcast The United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has informed school districts that President Obama will deliver an address to the Nation’s school children on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time. This will be a live broadcast which can be accessed at the White House website: www.whitehouse.gov. The President’s message will also be broadcast on C-SPAN. The President will talk to the children about “persisting and succeeding in school.” Parents who wish to view the President’s message can easily do so by using the White...

A notice has just posted on my county school board website. They aren't showing the speech at all and "invites parents to view and discuss the speech with their children after school" I'm glad Georgia left it up to the school districts and told them they didn't HAVE to show it.

Do You Agree With President Obama’s Plan To Speak To School Students By Video? Do You Agree With President Obama's Plan To Speak To All Public School Children By Video? Yes No Other:

"I think we've reached a little bit of the silly season when the president of the United States can't tell kids in school to study hard and stay in school," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. "I think both political parties agree that the dropout rate is something that threatens our long-term economic success." But critics objected to the language of one of the lesson plans, for students in pre-kindergarten through grade 6, that suggested that students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president." Another assignment for students after hearing the speech was to discuss...

As expected, Fox will not broadcast President Obama's speech on Wednesday. Here's a statement from the network: “The Fox Broadcasting Company will not air the Presidential Address to Congress on Wednesday, September 9 at 8:00 PM (ET). FOX’s sister networks, Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network will air the presidential address in its entirety. FOX will alert viewers with an on-screen graphic at the top of the 8:00 PM (ET) hour that the presidential address is available on Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network.”

Dear Leaders, We appreciate your coordination of communicating the District's press release about the President's address on September 8. We ask that you communicate with your staff on the following instructional matters as well. If teachers choose to show the video in class as part of their curriculm at a later date, they must: 1. be able to tie the video to TEKS for their subject area; 2. notify parents in advance that the speech will be shown and provide information about follow-up assignments or activities; and 3. provide an opportunity for parents/students to "opt-out" if they do not wish...

Hi, kids. My name is Barack Obama and I'm the President of the United States. I'm sure you all know what that means. It means you have to do whatever I tell you because if you don't, I can take away your mommy and daddy and you'll never see them again. So listen real carefully, OK? I know a lot of you haven't been paying much attention to the argument we grown-ups are having about health-care reform. That's all right. It's really complicated stuff. Most of your parents have no idea what it's all about either. All you really need...

President Obama's televised primetime addresses are becoming a tougher sell to the broadcast networks than his sweeping health care reform has been to Middle America. A day after news broke of the president's plan to address a joint session of Congress on health care issues in primetime Wednesday, none of the Big Four networks have said it would carry the address live. Among other things, the nets have been waiting to hear when the address will start, with sources indicating Thursday night that the White House was leaning toward 8 p.m. After a brief honeymoon after Obama's January inauguration, the...

News fairly unbalanced. We report. You decipher. [this means satire, capiche?] A draft copy of President Barack Obama's planned September 8 address to America's public school children, tells students that "If you want to grow up to be like me, you should beg your parents to put you in private school, right now." Although Obama attended public school in Indonesia early in life, he soon switched to a private Catholic school, and from fifth grade through graduation went to a private college-prep school in Hawaii. His own daughters now attend a private school in Washington D.C. "Do you think you're...

Lyon students must get parent approval to watch the speech Parents who prefer their children not watch President Barack Obama's back-to-school speech next week can sign a waiver excluding them, according to a memo sent to Carson City teachers Thursday. “Please provide an alternative setting for those who may not wish to have their children view President Obama's speech,” the e-mail advised. Superintendent Richard Stokes said the district office has received several phone calls this week from parents concerned the address will be politically motivated. “There has been some controversy, and we certainly want to be sensitive to the desires...

They think we're crazy. "They" are the sneering defenders of Barack Obama who can't fathom the backlash against the president's nationwide speech to schoolchildren next Tuesday. "We" are parents with eyes wide open to the potential for politicized abuse in America's classrooms. Ask moms and dads in Farmington, Utah, who discovered this week that their children sat through a Hollywood propaganda video promoting the cult of Obama. In the clip, a parade of entertainers vow to flush their toilets less, buy hybrid vehicles, end poverty and world hunger, and commit to "service" for "change." Actress Demi Moore leads the glitterati...

Minnesota's top teachers union official is urging schools to show President Barack Obama's live speech to students on Tuesday. It's the first day of school for most Minnesota districts. Dooher says some superintendents are getting pressure not to show the speech, and are even getting calls from parents threatening to keep their children home because they don't want them to watch what they view as a political message from the Democratic president. Dooher says the speech shouldn't be taken as political. He says he expects it to focus on the importance of education. A spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of...

Obama Speech to Hit on Familiar Themes By David M. Drucker Roll Call Staff Sept. 3, 2009, 4:10 p.m. When President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, he will try to resuscitate a health care reform effort that’s been badly bruised and battered over the August recess. But according to talking points being circulated in the Senate by the White House in advance of Obama’s prime-time speech, at least some of the president’s message will remain the same: Obama will frame the health care debate as one that pits those who want to improve the system...

Reagan's few words to schoolchildren says more to them than Obama could say in 2 hours of speechmaking. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JKIZ7j20EA I can't watch this without tears in my eyes, or even just hear it. This man understood man, America, and courage.

Bozeman police officer resigns over Facebook comments Reporting from Z7 in Bozeman A Bozeman police officer embroiled in controversy over comments he posted on his Facebook page has resigned. Cody Anderson turned in his resignation Wednesday, Bozeman City Manager Chris Kukulski said at Thursday's weekly city press conference. The resignation went into effect Wednesday. Anderson resigned because he thought it was in the best interest of the police department in light of the controversial comments he posted on this Facebook page, Kukulski said, adding that he agreed with Anderson's decision. Anderson's decision to resign was his alone and he was...

“”Flashback 1991: Gephardt Called Bush’s Speech to Students ‘Paid Political Advertising’ Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), said “The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students.” Such was reported by the Washington Post on October 3, 1991 “

Link can't be posted due to copyright laws, but the poll is here: http://www.azcentral.com/ Do you agree with the parents who are refusing to let their children watch President Obama's education speech at school because they believe he's trying to indoctrinate them'? Yes 54.25% No 45.75% Total Votes: 1777

Allow me to bring you back. It was 1991, when the Democrats controlled the Congress and George H.W. Bush, a Republican, occupied the White House. President Bush gave an address at a D.C. junior high school that focused on the lives of young people, including drug use, study habits and a general inattention to matters of national import. And Democrats hated it. Said then-Majority Leader Dick Gephardt at the time: "The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students."

I've got to side with the libs on this one -- but only to a point.When I heard that the President was going to address school children next Tuesday, my first thought was "Ok, he can impart some wisdom about the value of education." This is something I have talked about before -- how I think BO can have a real impact on a certain sector of students who might otherwise throw away the opportunities available to them.After all, Presidents Reagan and Bush 41 also addressed school children, albeit without any "Menu of Classroom Activities" distributed by the Dept of Ed. And whereas I'm...

If the networks don’t carry it, they ought to be ashamed of themselves,” said Democratic strategist Paul Begala. “It’s not like they’re going to be bumping ‘Masterpiece Theater.’ What are they going to run, bikini models eating worms in some kind of contest?” Actually, such a reality show premise could score better ratings than Obama when he’s talking about health care. This will be the third time since June that Obama has pushed the administration’s health care reform plan to the American people during prime-time, and the ratings indicate that audience interest is dropping.

A groundswell of parent opposition to President Barack Obama's speech next week to students on the importance of education has forced many North Texas school districts to question whether to air it live in classrooms. Obama announced the speech weeks ago, but opposition and concerns spread rapidly Wednesday morning through conservative social networking Web sites and radio talk shows. By midday, local school districts say, they were inundated with hundreds of phone calls from parents urging them to not show Obama's speech at school. Some parents threatened to keep their children home from school if the video was aired. "We...

The Obama administration late Wednesday withdrew a recommendation that school children who watch a video featuring President Obama next week write about how they might "help the president" as part of a classroom assignment. The decision came after conservative critics attacked the plan by federal education officials that teachers supplement the speech with a special curriculum that was designed in concert with the White House.

President Barack Obama's plans for a televised back-to-school address to students next week are drawing fire from some conservatives, who say he's just trying to indoctrinate them to his political beliefs. In the Sept. 8 speech, Obama will challenge students to work hard, set goals for their education and take responsibility for their learning, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a letter to principals. The Education Department is encouraging teachers to create lesson plans around the speech, using materials provided on the department website, that urge students to learn about Obama and other presidents.

Conservatives Urge 'National Truancy Day' For Obama's Back-to-School SpeechSept. 2, 2009 Rob Kuznia--HispanicBusiness.com President Obama on Tuesday will deliver an address to American school children urging them to stay in school and study hard, but to some conservatives, the whole thing smacks of an attempt to indoctrinate kids to a socialist agenda. The uproar -- fueled in part by conservative commentators such as blogger Michelle Malkin and radio host Dana Loesch -- has been so effective that some schools in Texas are making the viewing optional, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Others in Columbia, Missouri are ignoring the address...

Well. Not content with an unprecedented four primetime news conferences to date in his young administration, President Obama now needs to address the entire public school system. And not just for a Hey-Kids-Howya-Doin-I’m-Your-New-President-So-Be-Good-In-School-This-Year-Mmmkay? speech. You know, like back when I was a kid and Jimmy Carter would come around and hand out balloon animals at parties. Or maybe those were clowns. I get confused. Anyway. Nope, Obama can’t just say hey to the kiddies and encourage them to do their homework. He has to make this a — what does the Left call it? — a teachable moment. A speech-in,...

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) had Carl Tomanelli, a retired cop, ejected from her town-hall meeting — when she finally got around to having one — for daring to question the presence of union enforcers in the crowd. On the way out, Shea-Porter taunted him by saying, “I do hope the movie theater can be a little quieter for you.” Instead, Tomanelli went to a forum hosted by Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta, where Tomanelli found a quieter and more open forum:

lol wait until you see his video... I think it’s wonderful that President Obama is making education a priority. And his bookish, pro-intellect personality is good for children to emulate (to a point). Certainly, his academic achievements are an paradigm for kids to aspire to. But like President Bush's, Obama’s first educational foray is an unwelcome one. Bush, who also made education a priority, joined with Ted Kennedy to produce a truly horrendous piece of legislation in No Child Left Behind. NCLB is a well-intentioned disaster at best. Obama’s initial educational push will be what he thinks he does best...