Originally Posted by Ryzorian (Post 768495)

I can see both points. Still, the dept memo was the real concern, and yes, it has Maoist ideas behind it. Besides, if some parent doesn't want his kid to see the president, dumb as it may be, that's thier right.

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 768496)

I am a little surprised, solemnclockwork, you would be against the idea of the leader of America addressing the nation's children.

A ten-minute speech televised to students has nothing to do with health care. Think about it this way: If he were to say "I do not have time to address the nation's children because I need to focus on health care" it would be political suicide, and frankly, BS. So please don't play that card.

Speaking to children on the first day of school is a bit of a presidential tradition, even if not every president has done it. Reagan did it. Bush Sr. did it. No one was up in arms. But why does Pres. Obama elicit such fear? Why do people feel like they need to protect their children from the words of the president? This is unprecedented disrespectful behavior.

I honestly do not know why people would be against this. I have my suspicions, but I will save those for now. I don't listen to conservative radio, so I can only guess that Rush and Sean have a hand in the president=boogieman hate machine that seems quite powerful right now, and is mostly based on unsubstatiated rumors and all-out propaganda lies.

Originally Posted by solemnclockwork (Post 768501)

Ok, good one with the "you people", Great, now I'm a right-wing extremist. (this is what making me mad most of all).

Originally Posted by solemnclockwork (Post 768501)

I wouldn't put it passed them to "AstroTurf: the town-halls, would I? Tell was Van Jones a conservative lie?

If it must be said, I DO NOT LISTEN TO RUSH, AND I DO NOT WATCH SEAN ON A REGULAR BASIS, only when I don't want to change the channel and by that time I'm watching the food channel. (I actually find his show boring.)

Let me put into perspective on what I have said.

I don't believe he should be speaking to the students, why you might ask, several reasons. Right now he needs to be working on health care, and putting up a BI-partisan bill. Arguably you can say kids are important, but are they going to go down a drain if they are not spoken to by the president? I question the effectiveness of this (If it inspires one kid to do good then it was a success). One could also say he is wasting around a hour of actual class time, but that arguable too. Education system needs fixen, but talking and trying to inspire people only go so far before reality hits them. Simply put, in a way there are more pressing concerns right now then giving a speech, which could be given at a later date, while also putting the focus on education.

there is some truth in ignoring the far-lefts/rights, and not giving them a platform

Line that up with what you posted. NO where did I say, because of the content of the speech or what he might say, I wanted him to speak DID I? Thanks for putting words into my post.

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 768502)

So with this logic the president should not be throwing out baseballs, going to church, celebrating Christmas, roasting hotdogs, sleeping, or anything that is not about fixing health care or the education system. He would be impeached in a week. Considering the amount of vacation time the last president took, spending a few minutes encouraging students to stay in school seems like a very good use of his time. Those few minutes might make a difference in some children's lives, and dare I say I doubt anyone would be worse off by it.

Originally Posted by solemnclockwork (Post 768510)

Apples and Oranges. by work I mean office time, and by that I mean focus, and time spent on this speech instead of given to health care. Please read what I have posted, I have highlighted several key parts of that paragraph, which should explain I'm not losing sleep over this, and the contrast view I have on the subject.

I don't believe he should be speaking to the students, why you might ask, several reasons. Right now he needs to be working on health care, and putting up a BI-partisan bill. Arguably you can say kids are important, but are they going to go down a drain if they are not spoken to by the president? I question the effectiveness of this (If it inspires one kid to do good then it was a success). One could also say he is wasting around a hour of actual class time, but that arguable too. Education system needs fixen, but talking and trying to inspire people only go so far before reality hits them. Simply put, in a way there are more pressing concerns right now then giving a speech, which could be given at a later date, while also putting the focus on education.

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 768514)

Repeating yourself time and time again is not going to answer my questions. There is enough time in the day to do both, so this is really a non-argument. I think you would have to agree. If it was veterans or elderly people he was asked to talk to no one would say it was a waste of his time. Why you think it is because it is children is a mystery to me.

Speeches are not avoided because there are pressing concerns, speeches are made because there are pressing concerns. I agree, the education system in America needs work. Maybe this isn't going to fix it, but if 10 kids decide to stay in school rather than drop out because what the president says next week, I think it is worth it. I think you can agree to that.

(Where was the part where I said "you people" and made you so mad again?)

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 768514)

I am a little surprised, solemnclockwork, you would be against the idea of the leader of America addressing the nation's children.

I honestly do not know why people would be against this. I have my suspicions, but I will save those for now. I don't listen to conservative radio, so I can only guess that Rush and Sean have a hand in the president=boogieman hate machine that seems quite powerful right now, and is mostly based on unsubstatiated rumors and all-out propaganda lies.

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 768514)

spending a few minutes encouraging students to stay in school seems like a very good use of his time. Those few minutes might make a difference in some children's lives, and dare I say I doubt anyone would be worse off by it

Originally Posted by seiki (Post 768515)

I want to know what he is going to say exactly. It just seems like a good time to (and this might sound awful) try and get the kids to like him. think if he talks to kids they will like him. he is an adult who took time to talk to them and it just seems like a ploy to raise his popularity. Sadly I am biased as he is a democrat so i do not seem to trust him fully. he isn't a bad person but i just believe in different things than him.