Tried to call up George H W Bush's 1991 speech from your link without success.  Your link DID not that Bush was castigated by the Democrats for doing it.

That was eighteen years ago.

I WONDER HOW MANY SCHOOLS ACTUALLY TUNED IN?  THAT never was addressed.

I rather suspect that had George "Dubya" Bush proposed doing the same thing, districts would've required parent consent for students to view it for the SAME reason districts are requiring parental consent for students to view it now. 

Was it here or on the HTZ where I said that teachers do not run school districts - elected district board members do...

I again have no doubt that Obama's speech to the kids is completely apolitical.

The NEA-generated material MAY be political, tho.  The Teacher's unions DID throw their weight behind Obama.  "What students can do to help Obama" sure sounds pretty damned political.

But, education is NOT under federal purview, or - for that matter state.  It's either a CITY or COUNTY function.  In other words, your local school district has the say on education in your community, like it or not.

And again - like it or not - parents want - and SHOULD - have a say on what extracurricular material their kids get on school time.  School districts are VERY aware of that fact.  Their board seats depends on them being very aware of that fact. 

It's too bad that Obama's education weenies didn't key on those facts.

Sep 6, 2009 -- 8:59PM, rabello wrote:

They should have the same level of distinterest, or interest, whichever the case may be, that they had when Reagan and Bush the Father spoke to school children.  

As it is, it appears that there is a flagrant and deragotory double standard at play, here. 

 Perhaps if they hadn't already spent so much time accusing a successful, educated American citizen of being a fascist/socialist/communist/Muslim totalitarianist/terrorist sympathizer  who wants to "bring down" America -- being anything but an "American", as implied by the crying mom from Colorado -- or acting like lunatics at town hall gatherings designed to discuss health care for all Americans, as opposed to Obama intending to "kill granny,"  they'd have enough credibility left to have their fears taken a little bit seriously.

True, Rabello!

Since Obama took the oath of office, right-wing websites and media outlets have actively instilled fear, anger and hate in the minds of impressionable conservatives.

Sad state of affairs!

Annie

Sep 6, 2009 -- 6:27PM, CharikIeia wrote:

Sep 6, 2009 -- 4:28PM, Mlyons619 wrote:

I dunno, Chari - we don't go celebratin' a "red" holiday...

In any event, not sure at'all what this has to do with the topic at hand?

Never mind, Mark! No harm done.

May 1 (Labour Day) is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators.

Weird that particularly in the USA, this is NOT commemorated...

Some of us in the U.S. do commemorate it, the best we can (though I always have to work on the first of May). Of course, I only found out about the Haymarket Massacre, the CIO, the Cultural Front, etc. in a graduate-level literature course a few years back. Unfortunately, this part of U.S. history appears to be largely forgotten, probably as a result of the McCarthy era (see the reaction of the above-quoted poster who refers to it as a "'red' holiday") coupled with the fact that high school U.S. history classes often, from what I understand, do not get very far past the Civil War and Reconstruction.