by Mark Silva
Lost in all the political debate lately, President Barack Obama suggests, is the continuing challenge that failing public schools pose.
"Debates in Washington tend to be consumed with the politics of the moment: who's up in the daily polls; whose party stands to gain in November,'' the president says in his weekly radio and Internet address today. "But what matters to you - what matters to our country - is not what happens in the next election, but what we do to lift up the next generation.''
What's really been lost is a necessary focus on new jobs, according to Sen. Scott Brown, the Republican from Massachusetts whose election in January reconfigured the political calculus of the Senate, where the president now is attempting to win his final push for an "up or down vote'' on healthcare legislation.
"In January of last year, unemployment hit 7.2 percent and our economy was hurting badly,'' Brown says today, in the delivery of the Republican weekly address. "But, early in President Obama's term, he and the Democratic leadership of Congress made takeover of health care their first priority.
""Today, times are even tougher across our nation when it comes to our economy. Nearly one in ten Americans are still out of work,'' Brown says. "And still, the president and Congress are focused on ramming through their health-care bill, whatever it takes, whatever the cost.''
Obama has delayed his planned trip to Guam, Australia and Indonesia a few days to press for final votes on healthcare -- he will leave March 21.
The Obama administration plans to send to Congress on Monday its blueprint for a revision of the federal Elementary Secondary and Education Act, last revised with the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act. Obama calls his educational initiative a "Race to The Top,'' and the administration is funneling billions of additional dollars into it with a proposed new budget for 2011.
"Under these guidelines, schools that achieve excellence or show real progress will be rewarded, and local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down,'' Obama says today. "For the majority of schools that fall in between - schools that do well but could do better - we will encourage continuous improvement to help keep our young people on track for a bright future: prepared for the jobs of the 21st Century.
"And because the most important factor in a child's success is the person standing at the front of the classroom, we will better prepare teachers, support teachers, and encourage teachers to stay in the field. In short, we'll treat the people who educate our sons and daughters like the professionals they are.''
Brown suggests today that the president has lost a promised focus.
"Maybe you remember what President Obama promised in his State of the Union address,'' Brown says in his address. "He said he was going to finally focus on jobs and the economy for the remainder of this year. I applauded him for that. Well, here it is, it's almost spring. And what is he out there talking about again? That same 2,700-page, multi-trillion dollar health care legislation..
'So, an entire year has gone to waste,'' he says. "Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and many more jobs are in danger. Even now, the president still hasn't gotten the message.''
See the president's address above and the Republican address below, and read the texts of both below.
This is the text of the president's weekly address:
"Lost in the news of the week was a headline that ought to be a source of concern for every American. It said, "Many Nations Passing U.S. in Education."
Now, debates in Washington tend to be consumed with the politics of the moment: who's up in the daily polls; whose party stands to gain in November. But what matters to you - what matters to our country - is not what happens in the next election, but what we do to lift up the next generation. And the fact is, there are few issues that speak more directly to our long term success as a nation than issues concerning the education we provide to our children.
Our prosperity in the 20th century was fueled by an education system that helped grow the middle class and unleash the talents of our people more fully and widely than at any time in our history. We built schools and focused on the teaching of math and science. We helped a generation of veterans go to college through the GI Bill. We led the globe in producing college graduates, and in turn we led in producing ground-breaking technologies and scientific discoveries that lifted living standards and set us apart as the world's engine of innovation.
Of course, other nations recognize this, and are looking to gain an edge in the global marketplace by investing in better schools, supporting teachers, and committing to clear standards that will produce graduates with more skills. Our competitors understand that the nation that out-educates us today will out-compete us tomorrow. Yet, too often we have failed to make inroads in reforming and strengthening our public education system - the debate mired in worn arguments hurled across entrenched divides.
As a result, over the last few decades, we've lost ground. One assessment shows American fifteen year olds no longer even near the top in math and science when compared to their peers around the world. As referenced in the news report I mentioned, we've now fallen behind most wealthy countries in our high school graduation rates. And while we once led the world in the proportion of college graduates we produced, today we no longer do.
Not only does that risk our leadership as a nation, it consigns millions of Americans to a lesser future. For we know that the level of education a person attains is increasingly a prerequisite for success and a predictor of the income that person will earn throughout his or her life. Beyond the economic statistics is a less tangible but no less painful reality: unless we take action - unless we step up - there are countless children who will never realize their full talent and potential.
I don't accept that future for them. And I don't accept that future for the United States of America. That's why we're engaged in a historic effort to redeem and improve our public schools: to raise the expectations for our students and for ourselves, to recognize and reward excellence, to improve performance in troubled schools, and to give our kids and our country the best chance to succeed in a changing world.
Under the leadership of an outstanding Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, we launched a Race to the Top, through which states compete for funding by committing to reform and raising standards, by rewarding good teaching, by supporting the development of better assessments to measure results, and by emphasizing math and science to help prepare children for college and careers.
And on Monday, my administration will send to Congress our blueprint for an updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act to overhaul No Child Left Behind. What this plan recognizes is that while the federal government can play a leading role in encouraging the reforms and high standards we need, the impetus for that change will come from states, and from local schools and school districts. So, yes, we set a high bar - but we also provide educators the flexibility to reach it.
Under these guidelines, schools that achieve excellence or show real progress will be rewarded, and local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down. For the majority of schools that fall in between - schools that do well but could do better - we will encourage continuous improvement to help keep our young people on track for a bright future: prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. And because the most important factor in a child's success is the person standing at the front of the classroom, we will better prepare teachers, support teachers, and encourage teachers to stay in the field. In short, we'll treat the people who educate our sons and daughters like the professionals they are.
Through this plan we are setting an ambitious goal: all students should graduate from high school prepared for college and a career - no matter who you are or where you come from. Achieving this goal will be difficult. It will take time. And it will require the skills, talents, and dedication of many: principals, teachers, parents, students. But this effort is essential for our children and for our country. And while there will always be those cynics who claim it can't be done, at our best, we know that America has always risen to the challenges that we've faced. This challenge is no different.
As a nation, we are engaged in many important endeavors: improving the economy, reforming the health care system, encouraging innovation in energy and other growth industries of the 21st century. But our success in these efforts - and our success in the future as a people - will ultimately depend on what happens long before an entrepreneur opens his doors, or a nurse walks the rounds, or a scientist steps into her laboratory. Our future is determined each and every day, when our children enter the classroom, ready to learn and brimming with promise.
It's that promise we must help them fulfill. Thank you.''
This is the text of the Republican weekly address:
Hello, I'm United States Senator Scott Brown from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
"When the people of my state elected me in January, they sent more than a senator to Washington - they sent a message. Across party lines, the voters told politicians in Washington to get its priorities right.
"And from my travels and conversation with people throughout this country, they told me that they want their ;president and Congress to focus on creating jobs and reviving America's economy. Instead, for more than a year now, we have seen a bitter, destructive, and endless drive to completely transform America's health care system.
"In January of last year, unemployment hit 7.2 percent and our economy was hurting badly. But, early in President Obama's term, he and the Democratic leadership of Congress made takeover of health care their first priority.
"Today, times are even tougher across our nation when it comes to our economy. Nearly one in ten Americans are still out of work. And still, the President and Congress are focused on ramming through their health-care bill, whatever it takes, whatever the cost.
"Maybe you remember what President Obama promised in his State of the Union address. He said he was going to finally focus on jobs and the economy for the remainder of this year. I applauded him for that. Well, here it is, it's almost spring. And what is he out there talking about again? That same 2,700-page, multi-trillion dollar health care legislation.
"So, an entire year has gone to waste. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and many more jobs are in danger. Even now, the President still hasn't gotten the message.
"Somehow, the greater the public opposition to the health care bill, the more determined they seem to force it on us anyway. Their attitude shows Washington at its very worst - the presumption that they know best, and they're going to get their way whether the American people like it or not.
"And, when politicians start thinking like that, they don't let anything get in their way - not public opinion, not the rules of fair play, not even their own promises.
"They pledged transparency. Instead, we have a health care bill tainted by secrecy, concealed cost, and full of backroom deals- and that's just not right. They should do better. The American people expect more.
"They pledged a true bipartisan effort. Instead, they have resorted to bending the rules, and they now intend to seize control of health care in America on a strict party-line vote.
"In speech after speech on his health care plan, the President has tried to convince us that what he is proposing will be good for America. But, how can it be good for America if it raises taxes by a half trillion dollars and costs a trillion dollars or more to implement? In addition, how can it be good if it takes another half a trillion dollars away from seniors on Medicare, and still includes all the backroom deals you have been hearing about for months?
"Well, for the past year or more, the new establishment in Washington has tried again and again to sell this plan to the American people. But the Americans aren't buying it, and for good reason. And now, what's going on is a last, desperate power play. They actually tell us that passing the bill is necessary, if only to prove that something can get done in Washington.
"Well, I haven't been here very long, but, I can tell you this much already: Nothing has distracted the attention and energy of the nation's capital more than this disastrous detour. And, the surest way to return to the people's business is to listen to the people themselves: We need to drop this whole scheme of federally controlled health care, start over, and work together on real reforms at the state level that will contain costs and won't leave America trillions of dollars deeper in debt.
"This, above all, was the message that the people of my state sent to the President and the Congress in the election over a month ago.
"You know some of my Democratic colleagues, you know, are being leaned on mighty hard right now. Speaker Pelosi and others are handing down their marching orders, telling them to vote for this bill no matter what. Rarely have elected leaders been so intent on defying the public will. For many members of Congress, the time for choosing is near - do what the party leadership demands, or do what the people have asked you to do. If my colleagues don't mind some advice from a newcomer, I'd suggest going with the will of the people.
"After all, from the very beginning of this debate, the American people have called it correctly. In every part of the country, Republicans and Democrats have agreed on serious, straightforward, commonsense health care reform. They expect us in Washington to do the same - working together, acting fairly and by the rules, and staying focused on the need to make the American economy as strong as it can be. That is the business that brought me here on an unexpected journey to Washington. And, it's the responsibility of everyone sent here to serve our country. We can do better - and I challenge my colleagues and the President to do just that.
"I'm Senator Scott Brown and thank you very much for listening."
Comments
One of the first points that Senator " Staples " Brown will begin to understand, thanks to less than diligent voters of Massachusetts, is the President of the United States can not create a single job, that, that activity is left to the corporations and when they feel like it, they will begin to create jobs again. In the meantime, though, let us not forget, that it was during the infamous Bush&Cheney malfunctioning administrations, that we were told 8 MILLION jobs were lost. I am of the mind that there were many more jobs lost, that their administration has hid the actual numbers, which is really no surprise. They have had that distinct talent of fooling the voters, time and again. On this one, though, one would have to be a real idiot to believe their distortions and lies. It is the Bush&Cheney incompetence and malfeasance that has stuffed America in this economic crater !! Let's not forget, President Obama is in Office a little more than a year, doing the best he can, given the mighty opposition that has amassed against him and what is good for America !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | March 13, 2010 8:59 AM
BO states "but what we do to lift up the next generation". Would that be leave them with a bigger mountain of debt?
Sebnator Brown has a mistatement when he says "he and the Democratic leadership of Congress made takeover of health care their first priority." BO actually passed the Stimulus to put the country deeper in debt and give us higher unemployment - then he tackled health insurance - whcih will put the country deeper in debt and give us higher unemployment.
Why is the federal gov't involved in K-12 education? The states can handle this.
DUMP TRUCK FITZ has had an epiphany "the President of the United States can not create a single job", but it is shrot-lived when lies and says "that it was during the infamous Bush&Cheney malfunctioning administrations, that we were told 8 MILLION jobs were lost." FITZ keeps repeating this new lie of 8 million jobs lost, so he must have found a new loon website.
SUPPORT SMALLER GOV't. DERAIL THE DEMOCRAT-SOCIALIST-FLATLINER AGENDA.
Posted by: Terry | March 13, 2010 9:47 AM
The problem with this Modern Liberalism/Progressivism is it doesn't help people. It makes things "equal", not better.
What Obama is responding to is the utter failure of liberalism. Whatever liberalism touches, things turn worse over time and then the liberals have to apply salves to the pain that their policies created in the first place.
The inner cities are the same way. Fifty years of liberalism has ruined the schools and the inner cities.
And this liberalism is not only from the Democrats, many Republicans have it in them too. We need to vote out the liberals and find more conservative people.
Posted by: Alz | March 13, 2010 9:47 AM
The US is really setting itself up for a quick downfall by axing its schools the way they are doing them.
Canada, and many other civilized societies, actually pay for their kids' college education. In Canada, one of the ways they use to help do that is a restructuring of their High Schools; I think at 14 or so, the kids have to make a choice....college or work. If they choose work, they are put on a path of welding courses, agricultural, etc. and then they graduate those kids (with job skills) at 16. Obviously, the ones that choose college are given a few more years to go to a different school that gears them towards nursing, university, doctors, or whatever. At some point, the kids (or their parents) do start paying for the University level education, but even there, there are many more breaks for the family and student.
It's a whole different model than the states and it seems to be working well. In the states though, there is a moral decay and rot that no amount of good teachers can fix. It is an unfixable situation.
Posted by: Xcellentform | March 13, 2010 9:54 AM
Wow, amazing paranoia Mr. Firzgerald. Thanks for sharing your beliefs that the previous administration is hiding the actual numbers. Can't argue, what with the total transparancy this administration has shown. It would be nice if just one day in the 14 months Mr. Obama's been in office he focused on jobs. Oh wait, he did focus on that for one day.
I'm a Republican, but I have to wonder why the GOP response to a speech about education is to continue to restate the same points on healthcare. Seems the better response would be to point out how the SEIU and NEA have the President in their pockets, and thus make his thoughts on education reform ring hollow. Oh well, same old same old I guess.
Posted by: Longk9 | March 13, 2010 10:05 AM
A.I.G. is freely given between $150 billion and $180 billion in government bailout money to atone for its poor performance. At a small fraction of that one corporate bailout, money has been set aside for improving schools. Yet, schools must chase that carrot being dangled in front of them. If schools are so damn important, why are we not (without hesitation) investing the necessary money into improving them?
This week, my district announced the release of 63 teachers and is currently petitioning the state of Illinois to opt out of Physical Education as a cost cutting measure. Tens of thousands of teaching positions are being eliminated nation-wide. My classes are already at capacity for the size of my room, my textbooks are nearly 15 years old, and my school has only 2 computer labs available for nearly 2,700 students.
I understand that some teachers are just plain incompetent. I work with a few myself. Yet, those of us who innovate, challenge our kids, and devote our time and energies to the craft need financial assistance.
If corporate America drops the ball, we bail them out as "too big too fail." When federal and state governments mismanage their tasks, we citizens still pay out taxes and carry on. I work in an under funded and poorly resourced school. We struggle to cope with larger issues in the community (e.g., gang violence, poverty, etc.) and a long history of district-wide patronage and corruption. Why does my school have to beg for the necessary funds? Aren't we, the public schools that care for nearly 50 million American kids, also "too big to fail"?
Posted by: A Public School Teacher | March 13, 2010 10:15 AM
Someone stated 8 million jobs were lost in the Bush-Cheney years. No source for that figure was given. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that total private industry employment during the Bush-Cheney terms increased from 111,343.300 to 114,917.000 for an INCREASE of 3,573,700.
Posted by: Monroe | March 13, 2010 10:45 AM
Although standardized tests with all of their faults, were only ever supposed to be used to identify schools who needed help, NCLB made it possible for standardized tests to be used as a mechanism for punishing struggling schools and giving them to the private sector via charters and autonomously manged schools. The sad reality is that Obama and Arne Duncan are taking the worst parts of NCLB and amplifying them. This ridiculous Race to the Top competition is an authoritarian tactic to force school districts into privatization schemes like the one Arne Duncan engineered in Chicago where multiple reports have been published about its massive failures. Imagine denying a state badly needed money for education because they don't want to go along with your privatization scheme. Because they still believe in PUBLIC education, because they know that schools should work together and not compete with each other. This business model approach has resulted in multiple problems. Obama, please read Diane Ravtich's new book The Death and Life of the Great American School System. She, unlike Arne Duncan, knows what she is talking about. If you want Wal-Mart executives deciding what our children learn, then you are on the right path. If you want qualified educators making educational policy choices, then its time for change (from the bottom up).
Posted by: Real Reform | March 13, 2010 10:49 AM
I think it is high time that the states aligned their curriculum as one and have standards that ALL American children should be able to do and be assessed for. I understand Texas and Alaska will not be joining the rest of the nation in that endeavor. I never understood why we would have such a diverse educational system state by state. If states adopt these standards, it will help students whose families move during their educational years to be on the same level in their new school. Parental involvement in their local school systems are one of the most important parts of education reform.
The other half of the equation is getting business involved. We need business to help in education in order to make sure students have the right skills when they graduate high school. This will help students to move on to higher education or into the working world whether they'll be fixing my car or become a doctor and fix my body.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | March 13, 2010 11:17 AM
I almost forgot..congrats to the GOP for parading famous naked person Scott Brown all over...first he gets to go to Arizona for gramps, this week he gets to talk on the internets with all the tubes and stuff and say what they tell him to. I can't wait to see where they'll assign him next week.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | March 13, 2010 11:23 AM
"is the President of the United States can not create a single job, that, that activity is left to the corporations and when they feel like it, they will begin to create jobs again"
Don Fitzgerald, IL
------------
How are companies supposed to do that Donny?
You ever hear of something called supply and demand?
When there is limited demand for products because people cant afford them because they had to cut back on spending means there will be a limited supply hence limited jobs.
This is why Republicans favor cutting taxes, it frees up money so private businesses can hire or retain employees, it also puts more money in the taxpayers pockets, money they will spend hence stimulating the economy.
The progressives are against cutting taxes because they believe in the "big government" ideology, meaning they believe its the governments job to provide for the people and since big government costs big money you get big taxes, which of course leaves the people with less money which of course hurts the free market which controls the economy because the economy is dependent on you spending money.
Obama has no interest in stimulating the free market.If he did he would have either cut taxes OR gone with a direct stimulus to the people much like Bush did in 2008.
You give the American worker 10-15 grand each, they will spend it, hence creating more demand for products and creating jobs.
Obama wasn't interested in doing it that way because he wouldn't have gotten any credit for the recovery and the government would have little to no involvement in the recovery. No Obama wants to do it the hard way, via government. That way the government has control over which industries get stimulated and which ones don't. With Obamas stimulus the government is pretty much pulling all the strings because they can choose who they give contracts to.
Posted by: Nick29 | March 13, 2010 11:40 AM
In 20 years as a community organizer in Chicago, Obama did NOTHING to improve the 60% drop out rate in the city, and the 80% drop out rate in the Black community.
But now he and his pals, who oversaw an 80% failure rate for children, are now "experts".
That's like putting Philip Morris and Reynolds Tobacco in charge of the American Lung Association, or Seagrams in charge of Alcoholics Anonymous. Typical Liberal "thinking".
Posted by: Dan C | March 13, 2010 11:44 AM
Is this the same harbinger of "Change" and "Transparency" that TOOK money away FROM the Washington Public Schools??? But HIS daughters ARE in PRIVATE schools. More double standards from the left. Do as I say NOT as do. Must be nice to be part of the pocket stuffing ELITE.
Posted by: senator dirksen | March 13, 2010 12:47 PM
U.S. THE NEXT GREECE? YES, IF THE LOONY LIBS HAVE THEIR SAY.
Health care: Going from broken to broke
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- A few nights ago in the historic Renaissance Grand Hotel in St. Louis, Mo., President Obama reassured a crowd of Senator Claire McCaskill supporters that health-care reform wouldn't just be good for their health, it would be good for the health of the country: "I said at the beginning of this thing we would not do anything that adds to our deficit," he said to the clapping audience. "This plan does not do anything to add to this deficit. And that's how we should be operating."
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What he didn't discuss was what kind of accounting he was using to generate such applause lines. And the answer to that sheds new light on whether the nearly $900 billion measure really delivers the savings -- or, as many fear, does exactly the opposite.
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The issue is critical, because America is hurtling towards a debt crisis. On March 5th, the Congressional Budget Office released a report stating that the federal debt will grow far faster than the president is predicting, reaching a staggering 90% of GDP by 2020. That's comparable to the load now crippling Greece. In a decade, says the CBO, one dollar in six of federal spending would go towards paying interest almost equaling expenditures on Medicare.
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http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/12/news/economy/debt_health_care.fortune/index.htm
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 13, 2010 1:36 PM
According to Donny F. corporations create jobs when they---"feel like it".
So corporations just create jobs when Republicans are in office...thanks Donny F.
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | March 13, 2010 2:00 PM
"Monroe", here are some more reliable figures than the ones you seemed to have pulled out of your hat !! The figures I stated above are definitely more accurate than your fabrications.
http://mediamatters.org/research/200901130021,
Brought to you by a source that appears to be neutral.
"Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media."
For your edification, if you are so inclined.
Also, for more accurate figures: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
I hope you take the time to look at the information and alter your facts, towards a fairer presentation of the Bush&Cheney's disastrous, job-loss record.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | March 13, 2010 2:02 PM
Corporations are not going to create jobs until Obama and his Congress stop threatening them with higher costs, regulations, and taxes. They won't have any cash for payroll. They would be dumb to hire people! Obama health care bill and energy policy are significant threats (promises in action). Obama is increasing unemployment and there is no doubt about it.
Posted by: ken chicago | March 13, 2010 2:25 PM
Let's see, Obimbo puts Arne Duncan, overseer of one of the worst school systems in the nation, in charge of the education department. Everyone is in favor of better education, but folks are getting tired of just throwing money at it. Even under Bush, federal spending on education rose significantly, usually anywhere from 5 to 10 percent a year.
Illinois keeps throwing more money at education too.
I believe nationwide, we spend almost $15,000 per student. Money is not the problem. Money isn't always the answer either. But it is Obimbo's answer to everything.
If the education system is to be improved, and it needs to be, then tenure needs to go, there needs to be more accountability, there needs to be greater focus on core subjects, the politics in schools has to go, and parents have to do a better job too. Parents need to encourage their kids to learn, help them with homework as needed and support the teachers and schools when their kids do wrong or not doing their homework. If these things do not take place, all the money in the world will not solve the problem.
Posted by: John D | March 13, 2010 2:27 PM
Obama to next generation: Get a job and help pay for the debt I put you in. And, I will only take 40%, well maybe 50%, ahh...60%, oh heck, you don't need all that money. I'll GIVE you 20%. What a bright future you have with the Democrats in charge.
Posted by: Free to Watch Liberals Meltdown | March 13, 2010 2:59 PM
Obama will do the opposite of anything that Bush did for no legitimate reason.
Ted Kennedy wiould turn over in his grave if he knew Obama was going to destroy his No Child Left Behind legislation.
Posted by: Chuck | March 13, 2010 3:55 PM
I disagree with our President's statement that "…the most important factor in a child's success is the person standing at the front of the classroom..." The most important factor is the parent. Children should have learned the basic fundamentals before they start school, such as the ABC's, counting, recognizing site words like their name. Some kids come to school with no idea what a book is. Their parents don't read books. If a parent is modeling reading and learning at home, their child has a higher chance of succeeding. Start with the parents. Notice the plural, not the mother, grandma, aunt raising the kid alone. The family dynamic is really important to the success of a child. Why do we keep ignoring the obvious?
Posted by: Anne W. | March 13, 2010 4:10 PM
Great! Another fiasco brought to us by president obonehead.
Posted by: BDD | March 13, 2010 4:36 PM
DUMP TRUCK FITZ,
Brought to you by a source that appears to be neutral.
"Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media."
You must be the most gullible person on the face of the earth, if you actually believe Media Matters is neutral.
Here must be the quote that Dumb Donny is hanging his hat on:"Since the start of the recession in December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 8.4 million" I guess you are don't remember that the Bush-Cheney presidency began in Jan, 2001 and ended in Jan, 2009. Thus, the 8.4 million included 13 months of the BO administration.
Based on the analysis, Monroe, since he used undistorted facts, is the winner by TKO.
FITZ, maybe BO can give you some of that education money since you sure need one.
Posted by: Terry | March 13, 2010 5:18 PM
If Obama does to education what he did to the economy, the next generation will be illiterate.
Which may be his plan, seeing as how illiterate people tend to vote Democrat.
Posted by: Equal time | March 13, 2010 5:36 PM
i got my usual laugh from Alz. He makes his usual liberalism nonsense. he totally ignores history. It has taken the meshing of ideas from a number of sources, both liberal and consaervative to make this country what it is. If you listen to Alz, the US has been a total failure because of liberalism. But it seems to me that this country is still the leading country in the world of a number of ways. But stay true to you rants, Alz. I need the laugh. By the way, Terry, I usually disagree with you on everything. But we are together on the need for the government to lay hands off on education. I don't even believe most Americans want the government involved. It has nothing to do with liberal or conservative. Americans elect local school boards; that's what gives them the power and they don't want anyone from Washington overruling that.
Posted by: Disgusted | March 13, 2010 5:43 PM
Why, in the name of all common sense, would anyone pay any attention at all to a junior senator from Massachusetts whose big claim to fame is some soft core pics he posed for years ago, instead of looking for a normal job bagging groceries? I think it's presumptive on his part to assume the American people have somehow awarded him a "mandate" to govern. As for some here, if the Almighty himself decended from heaven and announced the revision of "No Child Left Behind," they'd declare it all a Commie plot and the Mover of the universe a Progessive stooge. Spare us, please.
Posted by: Hjames | March 13, 2010 5:57 PM
President Obama said: "... the most important factor in a child's success is the person standing at the front of the classroom ..."
This is completely wrong. The most important factor in a child's success is his parents and grandparents. The Federal Government is sabotaging America's future by encouraging parenthood among people who are least capable of raising successful children. The Federal Government provides financial incentives to illiterate, destitute, unmarried teenagers if they have children. It's crazy.
Posted by: tom | March 13, 2010 6:29 PM
No Child Left Behind was basically crafted - or should I have said "crappted" by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, whom Senator Brown replaced.
Unless President Obama has a genie in a bottle who can make public education turn out graduates who know for instance who replaces the President in office if he or she dies and who know that Miami is in Florida and Florida isn't where California is - like the good old days - it won't make any difference. No Child Left Behind is yet another federal program that costs billions and billions and the result is nothing but a continuation of the dumbing down of America.
Posted by: Oak Park Lefty | March 13, 2010 8:24 PM
If "... the most important factor in a child's success is the person standing at the front of the classroom ..." Then we are in big trouble. A teacher instructs a child for a year, no 9 months. When I look back on my life, these people were not the most important factor.
Many others have said it: Parents, family are the most important. Yeah, I know, you liberals don't think parents matter, therefore; you claim that it takes a village, or Eve and Eva, or Adam and Steve. But, like all of your failed theories, a traditional family is the most beneficial to a child. Children are not wards of the state. To be indoctrinated by your stupid progressively worse liberal theories. They aren't lab rats to be subjected to your latest pinhead education experiments. And, Three of the most important things that you liberals leave out of a child's life are discipline, competition, and self motivation.
Posted by: Free to Watch Liberals Meltdown | March 13, 2010 8:50 PM
I agree with Scott Brown on this one. Although I would not vote for a Republican as they are BAT$$$$ CRAZY and would only lead us into war and further tax cuts for the rich and a worse economic crisis, the current administration's priorities are completely out of whack. America first and foremost is about jobs, jobs and more jobs. We have to take back the initiative and challenge other countries and stop rolling over and allowing traitorous companies to outsource everything. Health care is nice ( and I am an Obama Supporter) but you can't eat it , live in it or drive around in it.
Posted by: George | March 13, 2010 10:21 PM
Well at least the Swamp got it right. The president really hasn't done anything to help the economy. And seeing how he is trying to push a far left wing agenda through he will only be a one term president the likes of Carter.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | March 13, 2010 11:03 PM
Yeah, well, the Fortune 500 corporations have not created jobs in the US for quite some years.
They have exported jobs.
Some small machine shop or a Starbucks or something on that order--that has been the "job creation" of late.
Crummy jobs. MacDonald type jobs.
Even good ole Microsoft loves to offshore programming and use "independent contractors" rather than employ Americans as full time employees....
That Bill Gates! What a pince.
Anyway, the problem the Replicans have in this area is:
They don't have a clue how to "create jobs".
Other than sit in a circle and chant: "Lower taxes". MMMMmmmmmmm.
Just as in the health care year-long "debate": they really have no concrete proposals for lowering costs and making coverage universally available.
Of course not. They represent insurance companies and the highest paid specialties like orthopaedists....
Who like things just as they are right now....
Posted by: ornery | March 14, 2010 2:02 AM
"but what we do to lift up the next generation.'' By indoctrination? President Obuma, we're on to you. To bad, so say. Bub by.
Posted by: MAJMark | March 14, 2010 4:38 AM
No Child Left Behind was basically crafted - or should I have said "crappted" by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, whom Senator Brown replaced.
I beg to disagree...that was Bush who brought it to DC after he ruined the Texas schools while governor. Kennedy signed on but he didn't think of it.
Currently the states, other than Texas and Alaska, have joined together to align curriculum and agree to what every student should know each year. It is not mandated by DC -- the states are doing it on their own.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | March 14, 2010 7:22 AM
The Democrats Won’t Talk About This Provision
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The House version of the health-care bill mandates racial and gender quotas — in perpetuity.
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On March 9, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said:
You’ve heard about the controversies within the bill, the process about the bill, one or the other. But I don’t know if you have heard that it is legislation for the future. . . . We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy.
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Pity the Democrats. They just can’t get their message out. Not with a charismatic president (who has delivered 52 speeches on the subject), control of both houses of Congress, the gooey enthusiasm of 90 percent of the press, and more than a year of ceaseless agitation. Their efforts have been thwarted, as they imagine it, by “misinformation,” “distortion,” and the “special interests.” So influential are these dark forces that the leadership cannot shout over them. Speaker Pelosi must pass the grossly unpopular bill in order to get the peace and quiet she needs to explain its virtues.
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But since Speaker Pelosi is so eager for us to know the details, let’s indulge her. Among the specifications of the House bill that passed last November are several sections that mandate racial and ethnic quotas for medical schools and other federal contractors. As Allan Favish reported in The American Thinker, the bill specifies that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, “in awarding grants or contracts under this section . . . shall give preference to entities that have a demonstrated record of . . . training individuals who are from underrepresented minority groups or disadvantaged backgrounds.”
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This, along with other provisions, is broad enough to cover every medical, nursing, and dental school and teaching hospital in the country and guarantees the institutionalization of racial, sex, and ethnic quotas in perpetuity (though the use of the word “underrepresented” before “minority” ensures that the quotas will not apply to Asians or Jews).
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http://article.nationalreview.com/427715/the-democrats-wont-talk-about-this-provision/mona-charen
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 14, 2010 8:59 AM
3.5 million jobs over eight years is still pretty poor performance. That's only 435,000 per year on average. Considering it is generally accepted that there needs to be around 150,000 jobs per month created just to keep up with population growth, that 3.5 looks pretty low.
Posted by: martin | March 14, 2010 11:54 AM
The loss of jobs which started in the previous 4 years is the very reason that it is so important to have a Health Care bill that will help those unfortunate people that have lost their health care. It is a little bit like a Catch-22 but at least President Obama is trying to do "Something" to help people. Unlike the Repukers who only know the word NO, except when it comes to making rich people richer. They care nothing but about themselves, such hypocrites, if they are against all Government then have their Mom/Dad/GrandParents all give their SS check back and let them do the supporting. Naw, they are rich and will not even take care of their own. Total scumbags!
Posted by: Phil B | March 14, 2010 1:51 PM
What Do YOU Know?
Care to know how much you know about what’s going on in the country? Then take a 12 question, 30 second quiz sponsored by the Pew Research Organization to see how well you stack up against the rest of the American population.
Questions cover politics, economics, government, etc. Your results, of course, are totally confidential. Results for the nation are downright scary!
Click here to take the quiz–if you dare: http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1563
Posted by: Berlet98 | March 14, 2010 6:11 PM
A quick question for any of you who believe, incorrectly I might add, that the Administration hasn't done anything in the jobs sector.
Why is it that I imagine the vast majority of you are in support of less government?
Why is it that I also imagine the vast majority of you were against the Bailout, against propping up the car industries (which saved countless jobs and will turn a profit for the taxpayer) in addition to be against the Health Care Reform Bill?
And why is it now that those of you who are against government interference are now looking to the government to end unemployment?
You know what I think? I think President Obama comes up with a cure for cancer today and tomorrow you're railing him for putting oncologists out of work.
Speaking on behalf of the "liberal elite' as you so derisively call us, which I take to mean a college education and the opportunity to travel, I need to let you know that "we're" on to "you" and have been for quite a while.
Without an "enemy" you're impotent.
Without "fear" you're unmotivated.
And without "false patriotism" you're adrift in a sea of passivity.
Hey...remember "Country First?"
Yeah..."Country First" my a**,
Posted by: Booth V. | March 14, 2010 8:39 PM
Marty,
I think BO would take 3.5 million jobs created during his presidency right-now and call it a success. That means, he needs to have the economy create about 5 million jobs in order to be even with President Bush. Want to make any wagers?
Posted by: Terry | March 14, 2010 9:13 PM
Berlet,
11 of 12 and as I hit the one I got wrong (Woman on SC, I knew I hit the wrong answer). Not that tough of a quiz, but you are correct - the American public doesn't know squat. However, the American public probably could rattle off the the Oscar and Grammy winners.
Booth,
Let's see how those created jobs have gone?
http://michaelscomments.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/october-job-losses-accelerate-again-10-2/
Posted by: Terry | March 14, 2010 11:13 PM
I can't keep up w/ the ignorant TeaBaggers and their equally ignorant talkingpoints. Will some TeaBagger please clarify? Are jobs hard to come by or are people w/ unemployment benefits that are about to run out "lazy teetsuckers" at the "government trough"? You can't have it both ways.
Posted by: janet | March 15, 2010 12:58 PM
Under Obama we have lost 4.3 million jobs. Under Obama unemployment increased by 4% nationally and in Illinois by over 6%. Under Obama we have set a new record for a one-year deficit and a one-month deficit. And this year's numbers looked to be going even higher under Obama. Under Obama the federal government has grown by over 100,000 jobs. Since Obama has taken office his approval rating has fallen the faster then any president before him. I asked will the year 2010 be similar to the year 1854 and what followed, I hope not.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | March 15, 2010 4:11 PM
Crooks, do your homework and tell me which president(s) have been the worst for job creation. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/tab/article/
You do trust the Wall Street Journal don't you? Or are they part of the conpiracy too?
Posted by: Xcellentform | March 16, 2010 10:04 AM
As a teacher I found myself focused on one brief comment in Obama's address, "because the most important factor in a child's success is the person standing at the front of the classroom." I beg to differ. The most important factor in a child's success is their support at home. A teacher can beat her brain against the wall trying to get through to a child but without support from the home, there is little hope for success. When will the government start realizing that I spend one hour a day with each student, and that hour is split between 30 different students? Shouldn't the "most important factor in a student's success" be the person who spends the most time, and should have the most influence over, the student?
Posted by: Bethany | March 17, 2010 3:17 PM