Free Republic

Education: Oklahoma joins South Carolina and Indiana in opposing one-size-fits-all U.S. education standards that have turned schools into leftist re-education camps, with political statements masquerading as instruction. Not as much attention has been paid to Common Core as has been paid to ObamaCare. But like the faux Greek columns in Denver at Barack Obama's nomination in 2008, they were supposed to be the twin pillars of his legacy. Both, however, are fake promises, Trojan horses for government control of key sectors of American society and our economy. Five years ago, 46 states gave up a big chunk of their sovereignty...

OK, this was weird. Obama wants kids to put on jammies, drink hot cocoa and talk about Obamacare. Yuck.

Propaganda: A lesson plan for third-graders linked to a controversial federal education initiative makes sure America's next generation does not forget who is the one we have been waiting for. During the Soul Train Awards in 2012, comedian and actor Jamie Foxx exhorted a wildly cheering crowd to "first of all (give) honor to god, and our lord and savior Barack Obama," exhibiting the all-too-widespread hero worship that casts rational thought aside and labels even legitimate criticism as virtual blasphemy. The same cult of personality is creeping into lesson plans and reading materials being created under the guise of the...

(Update: Adding more on opposition to Core, where Duncan spoke) U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a group of state schools superintendents Friday that he found it “fascinating” that some of the opposition to the Common Core State Standards has come from “white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.” Yes, he really said that. But he has said similar things before. What, exactly, is he talking about? In his cheerleading for the controversial Common Core...

Schools: Opposition is rising to new national education standards pushed on public schools. They have turned schools into re-education camps for liberalism, with political statements masquerading as English lessons. If one had to include one speech by President Ronald Reagan as recommended reading in a national standardized curriculum it might be the one in which he stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" One might pick Reagan's first inaugural address when he said, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Or even his 1964 "A...

Today being United Nations Day, and with Halloween next week, I thought this was appropriate-

An Oregon-based ad agency has been generating national attention for its ads promoting Cover Oregon, The Beaver State’s the version of an Obamacare health insurance marketplace. The generally pointless ads cost taxpayers $3 million, reports Fox News. They feature ostensibly catchy musical numbers and have sort of a hipster, granola, outdoorsy vibe. They offer no clue what they are about until the very end, when the words “Cover Oregon” appear on the screen along with a website. One version of the ad also bothers to list a phone number. Now, North, the Portland-based agency, wants high school marching bands to...

The Los Angeles Unified School District has a graduation rate of 66% well below the national average of 78.2%. Despite this, the LA school district is going to spend nearly a million dollars training kids to promote Obamacare. Heartland.org reported, via Human Events: The Los Angeles Unified School District will use a state grant to train teens to promote ObamaCare to family members. Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange, announced grants of $37 million on May 14 to promote the nationally unpopular law. LAUSD will receive $990,000. The district listed as a primary outcome for its project, “Teens trained...

We're now getting reports of group smashing windows @ Broadway/Pine business. #SeaMayDay See more, including pictures at link.

In this day and age, the 18- to 34-year-old crowd have lived up to their reputation as perpetual renters. Most blame the trend on the housing crisis, which led so many homeowners to downsize and stunted the home buying power of younger consumers. But whatever trauma the Great Recession had on the minds of millennials, it hasn't stymied their hopes for owning a home of their own one day, a new study shows. Real estate tracker Trulia found more than 90 pecent of millennial renters plan on buying a home in the next two years. The question is whether they'll...

Obama's Eviction Notice: November 2012 "We are socialists, we are enemies of today's capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are all determined to destroy this system under all conditions." --Adolf Hitler, Quoted in John Toland, "Adolf Hitler", p22 4. The hand sign on the right is that made by The hands of the Führer Adolf Hitler as he organized his speech. This picture captures Hitler's hands as he speaks of the unity...

A new video from the founders of a celebrated advertising agency features children “of the future” singing about the aftermath of a Mitt Romney presidency: A world where sick people are required to “just die,” the atmosphere is “frying” and “oil fills the sea.”The children, who stare blankly at the camera throughout the video, even take pains to explicitly mention that they blame “mom and dad” for all those horrors.The video — from the founders of the advertising agency that came up with the celebrated tagline “Got milk?” and boasts clients like Cheetos, Netflix, the National Basketball Association and Nintendo...

I saw that movie 2016: Obamas America last night, awesome movie, but one part that almost made me puke up my popcorn was this part near the ending. Anyone see this yet? I found it on Youtube. Is child abuse suddenly legal in this country? That's news to me. Be advised: This is a MEGA-barf alert! Watch at your own peril! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdPSqL9_mfM&bpctr=1348321141

Barack Obama and his campaign hoped to make ObamaCare their pitch to get younger voters more enthused about the election this year --- a perverse but not forlorn hope, as I'll explain in a minute. That may be even more true in North Carolina, where Democrats are holding their convention this week, and where Obama needs to generate the visible and noticeable excitement among college-age voters that was so apparent in 2008 and has been lacking in 2012. Peter Hamby at CNN reports why that may be a bigger problem for North Carolina college students in particular, as the costs...

Nearly four years after enthusiastic younger voters poured into polling booths to help push Barack Obama over the finish line and into the Oval Office, their hope has turned to fear and pollster John Zogby says that they are ready to give up on politics. “I truly am worried about today's twenty-somethings,” he frets. “They are our global generation and I have seen them move from hope and grand expectations for themselves and their world to anxiety and disillusionment. We can't afford to lose them,” he adds.

America's First Lady Michelle Obama today announced a new competition, under her "Let's Move" childhood obesity-fighting initiative, that gives children an incentive to come up with healthy, nutritious, delicious and everyday meals. The prize will be to attend "a 'State Dinner' just for kids" at the White House in Washington in August 2012. "Calling all kid chefs: Here's your chance to share your favorite delicious and nutritious lunch recipe with First Lady Michelle Obama," a letter from the White House to children via e-mail said. Obama hopes to "solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation," and invited parents...

While we have rescued our economy from catastrophe, we have also begun to build a new foundation for growth." Barack Obama from the White House, August 7, 2009 In 2008, Obama inspired legions of young Americans who bought into his "Change you can believe in" campaign message. According to the Pew Research Center, voters under the age of 30 supported Obama over John McCain 66:31 – by far the largest disparity between young voters and other age groups in any presidential election since exit polling began in 1972. In addition to the critical vote totals, Obama attracted thousands of high...

Watch the video. The story doesn't mention the characteristics of the mob members. Wonder why not? Mpls. Police Ponder 8 P.M. Curfew After Youth Mob AttacksThere have been six mob attacks, in all, since February. Now, police are now wondering if an 8 o’clock curfew keeping anyone 17 and under from two downtown streets will stop the violence. Nicollet Mall is a destination for many. Outdoor patios where drinks and food are served are a draw not only to people who live here, but also tourist. Since February, when the sun goes down, later in the evening, mobs of teens...

<p>PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) - Seven black teens have been arrested on suspicion that they committed a hate crime when they attacked a 15-year-old Hispanic boy while he was walking home from school in Southern California, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.</p>

How Occupy Wall Street plans to spring back to actionBy Gloria Goodale | Christian Science Monitor – 23 hrs ago **SNIP** Dubbed National Occupy Washington (NOW), the event began with a march on the Environmental Protection Agency – accompanied by a brace of alpacas, a large polar bear, and a even larger blow-up of planet Earth. **SNIP** “We are preparing to give people the skills and training they need for longer and more powerful involvement,” he says, adding, “the tents were just a tactic, not the purpose of this movement.”