Posted on 02/28/2004 9:46:09 PM PST by Hillarys nightmare
Education Secretary Rod Paige compared the nation's teachers to terrorists, looking to shift blame for the Bush administration's failures that are leaving millions of children behind. The White House faces increasing pressure over President Bush's broken promises regarding the No Child Left Behind Act, with a growing number of states taking action to opt out of the law's unfunded mandates.
Speaking in a private meeting with governors from around the country on February 23, Paige described the National Education Association, the nation's largest organization of teachers (with 3 million members), as a "terrorist organization."
Paige has previously said that teachers are a "coalition of the whining" and accused them of trying to "distort information" on the NCLB Act.
The Bush administration has been under increasing pressure from teachers, parents, school administrators, and state governments as Bush has repeatedly failed to give states the funds they need to meet the stringent goals set out in the No Child Left Behind Act.
For example, the Republican-controlled House of Delegates of Virginia recently passed a resolution 98-1 calling on Congress to allow the state to opt out of No Child Left Behind, saying the law costs "literally millions of dollars that Virginia does not have."
Utah's Republican-dominated House passed a measure 64-8 stating that the state will not comply with any requirements of the law that are not fully funded by the federal government.
With states mired in their worst fiscal crises since World War II, more than a dozen states in every region of the country have considered or passed measures calling on more funding for the law or choosing to opt out. Without the funds promised by President Bush when he signed NCLB (and subsequently left out of his future budgets), states have been unable to afford the stringent requirement of the law without massive cuts to their current education programs, leaving millions of children behind.
Your comments?
Today at our GOP Lincoln Day breakfast, Sheriff Reichert who solved our Washington State Green River Serial Killer investigation said: "Because I was in a non-partisan position I couldn't talk about my political affiliation. So now that I'm running for office people ask me if I'm a Republican. Am I a Republican? You're damn right I'm a Republican!" I love this guy! LOL
That is, Paige is/was right--the NEA "is" a terrorist organization. I like the way Jerry Pournelle put it--something to the effect that if the NEA policies had been instituted on US children by a foreign power, we would consider it an act of war.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.