Health Care Bill Could Face String of Legal Challenges

Organizations and lawmakers opposed to the health care reform package are getting their legal briefs in a bunch, threatening to challenge the constitutionality of the sweeping overhaul should it make its way to President Obama's desk.

Republicans have agreed to allow the Democratic-led Senate to move up the time for a final vote to 8 a.m. Thursday so that lawmakers and their staff can go home for Christmas. But GOP supporters aren't backing down on their threats to put a stop to the legislation using whatever legal means possible.

Two key issues seem to be attracting the bulk of the legal threats: a mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance and the special treatment that states like Nebraska are getting in the bill.

On the first issue, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., on Tuesday renewed the call to examine the constitutionality of whether the federal government can require Americans to purchase a product.

"I don't believe Congress has the legal or moral authority to force this mandate on its citizens," Ensign said in a statement, raising what's known as a "constitutional point of order." Such procedural challenges are rare and typically lead to a vote.

The non-profit Fund for Personal Liberty, as well as a Virginia-based group called the 10th Amendment Foundation, already have threatened to file suit in federal court over this issue if the health care bill passes.

The Constitution allows Congress to tax, borrow, spend, declare war, raise an army and regulate commerce, among other things. Proponents of the insurance mandate point to the Commerce Clause in arguing that Congress is within its rights to require health insurance and dismiss such potential legal challenges.

But foes say the across-the-board requirement is too broad.

"I personally do not believe the Congress has the authority to enact an individual mandate requiring a person to purchase a product from a private seller," said Kent Masterson Brown, lead counsel with The Fund for Personal Liberty. "I don't think the power is there. This is not regulating anything."

He said his group would be joined by the Washington Legal Foundation in filing suit against the health care bill.

"This thing may be stillborn, even if it passes," he said.

Even though Obama argues that the mandate is similar to laws requiring drivers to obtain auto insurance, opponents cite several key differences. First, the auto insurance mandate is avoidable, since anyone who doesn't want to pay doesn't have to drive. Second, auto insurance is mandated in large part so that drivers carry liability insurance to cover damages to other people and cars -- not themselves. Third, auto insurance regulation occurs at the state level.

When the Congressional Budget Office considered the idea of a health insurance mandate back in 1994 under the Clinton administration, it concluded that the mandate would be "an unprecedented form of federal action." The only congressional mandate close to that was the draft, the CBO concluded.

Ensign cited that finding in his complaint.

Still, the legislation does provide for federal subsidies for those who might have trouble affording insurance coverage, and it provides for exemptions for some individuals.

Other legal objections are emerging in the wake of a concession that Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., won for his state as a condition for his support of the health care bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed to provide for full and permanent federal aid for Nebraska's expanded Medicaid population. It was only one of a slew of hand-crafted sweetheart deals for those senators who agreed to support the bill.

But the Nelson deal swiftly drew the ire of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has asked his state's attorney general to give the issue a legal review. He told Fox News on Tuesday that other states can probably bring a "constitutional challenge" over the issue. He said it's unfair for one state to get special treatment while others pick up the tab.

"I don't believe most senators believe this is OK," Graham said. "I think it stinks. I think it's sleazy."

Graham said his state could file an equal rights suit under the Constitution. The Constitution calls for "equal protection" of all citizens.

Likewise, two Republican state representatives from Tennessee on Monday asked their state attorney general to look into the issue -- they called the Medicaid expansion an "unfunded mandate."

Rep. Debra Young Maggart and Rep. Susan Lynn claimed the Nebraska deal was unfair to other states and asked that Attorney General Robert Cooper take "appropriate legal action" against the federal government if the bill becomes law.

"It is clear by the wording of the legislation itself that not every state would face a similar and equal burden," they wrote. "We see this as a violation of equal protection of the law, an affront to our sovereignty, and a breach of the U.S. Constitution."

The non-profit Liberty Legal Institute is poised to assist states that are considering filing suit against the government over the health care bill. The group would not disclose where the suits might come from, but claimed great interest in putting health care reform to the legal test.

"There are a lot of states that are concerned that this violated the 10th Amendment and they are weighing their options," Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel, said in a statement.

The 10th Amendment declares that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are "reserved" for the states or "the people."

Still another challenge is coming from Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who on the Senate floor raised concerns about a section in the health care bill that appears to say that the Senate cannot make changes to it in the future.

"It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection," the section says.

DeMint said he found that "particularly troubling."

"We will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a Senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law," DeMint said. "I'm not even sure that it's constitutional."

The overall section the senator referred to applied to the creation of an Independent Medicare Advisory Board.

But a senior Reid aide noted that the language restricting the repeal of the measure only applied to one subsection -- a subsection dealing with the manner in which the proposal for the board is introduced and considered in Congress. The aide said the language DeMint found "troubling" did not apply to board or its duties as a whole.

Plus the aide noted that the language can be waived by a 60-vote majority in the Senate.

"It's really a sign of desperation," the aide said.

Send the ACLU a CHRISTmas Card

A couple days ago I got this fwd and thought it quite a "clever"! I'm sure it has been circulated before but had to share in case there are those out there that haven't seen it.

...................................................................................................................................................
Christmas cards. This message is coming early so that you can get ready to
include an important address to your list.

Want to have some fun this CHRISTMAS? Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD this
year.

As they are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this
holiday, we should all send them a nice, CHRISTIAN card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world..

Make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it.

Here's the address, just don't be rude or crude. (It's not the
Christian way, you know.)

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York , NY 10004

Two tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they
wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions. So spend
44 cents and tell the ACLU to leave Christmas alone. Also tell them that
there is no such thing as a " Holiday Tree". . . It's always been called a
CHRISTMAS TREE!

And pass this on to your email lists. We really want to communicate with the
ACLU! They really DESERVE us!!

For those of you who aren't aware of them, the ACLU, (the American Civil
Liberties Union) is the one suing the U.S. Government to take God, Christmas
or anything Christian away from us. They represent the atheists and others
in this war. Help put Christ back in Christmas!

A YouTube Video Makes Me Question College Classes

In college I took my share of Socialist...I mean Sociology Classes. I didn't realize really until now though how anti-capitalistic some of those classes were.

Kind of sad that even with as educated as I've become I was still under the impression that my education was relatively socialism free. I remember thinking it was a treat when my Sociology Class screened Roger and Me, a Michael Moore film. And I remember thinking, I'm going to take this with a grain of salt, since I already knew that Michael Moore films weren't really the most unbiased documentaries. Even when my super-Obama-loving documentary film class Professor refused to show Michael Moore films, I didn't realize just how corrupt his movies are. It took a comedian's YouTube video for me to realize something interesting about Moore's films and in the bigger picture...my college experience.



If you had a chance to watch the video above you heard the "interviewer" ask "Michael Moore" why he choose not to include the interview with "Roger" in Roger and Me. If you haven't been "fortunate" enough to see Roger and Me let me fill you in. Basically, Michael Moore spends the entire documentary trying to get an interview with then GM CEO, Roger Smith, who had closed several plants in Flint, Michigan, which "devastated" the city economically. Well, since the whole premise was based on the the fact that Moore couldn't get an interview with the big bad corporation, you would think this movie would be totally discredited and ignored when you find out that he actually did get the interview.

But I NEVER heard that from any of my liberal college professors in all of the 3 classes where that film was shown. They failed to mention, discuss or analyze the film with that information. This film has been shown to hundreds of students year after year in every Intro to Sociology class at my college at least. How many of them have heard the truth? I emailed an old friend of mine from college who was a sociology major to see if she ever heard about this. I've yet to hear back from her. (But she bathed in the kool-aid right after we graduated so I don't know if its that shes ignoring me, the message or just busy.)

Moving on...There was one class in specific that I remember watching this film in, American Contemporary Society. I hated that class with all the fiber of my being. There was always something very disturbing and annoying about class and now I realize that we spent an entire semester focusing on anti-capitalist topics.

We spent an extra long time on one topic in particular; the "Great American Streetcar Disaster". We spent weeks talking about the big bad car companies that bought out all the streetcar companies and destroyed them by creating a monopoly that has ruined our worlds environment and devastated the infrastructure for future America.

Of course I wiki-ed this topic to see if I could remember more about it and this is the article that appeared: Great American Streetcar Scandal
The Great American streetcar scandal (also known as the General Motors streetcar conspiracy and the National City Lines conspiracy) is a conspiracy in which streetcar in the United States were dismantled and replaced with buses in the mid-20th century as a result of illegal actions by a number of prominent companies, acting through National City Lines (NCL), Pacific City Lines (on the West Coast, starting in 1938), and American City Lines (in large cities, starting in 1943).

Now, I was amazed at first to think maybe I was wrong. Maybe this wasn't some anti-capitalism, anti-corporation Professor skewing her class in the direction she wanted. But upon close inspection of the wiki article I notices something else. A closer look at the page reveals a disclaimer :
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (August 2009)

It is just hysterical to me that I was almost fooled again! Neutrality, such a simple word and yet it is so often ignored. This was for me a lesson to be a little more careful about what I'm reading, hearing and taking in. During college I was obviously being informed and attempted to be molded by the professor that I had, but now, in the real world there are just as many liberal influences that we need to wary of.

I've spent a lot of time talking about the influences of left-leaning ideals in schools across the country, but I'm only just now realizing that simply because we've left the halls of our alma maters doesn't mean that we are free from misinformation and left-leaning biases. We must always be vigilant about the neutrality of even the most seemingly benign sources.

White House Quietly Pushing for Govt-Run Health Care Option

WHEN WILL IT DIE??!?!?!?!!?!

............................................................................................................................................................

Obama Quietly Tries to Shore Up Senate Support For Public Option

Reporting from Washington - Despite months of outward ambivalence about creating a government health insurance plan, the Obama White House has launched a behind-the-scenes campaign to get divided Senate Democrats to take up some version of the idea for a final vote in the coming weeks.

President Obama has cited a preference for the so-called public option. But faced with intense criticism over the summer, he strategically expressed openness to health cooperatives and other ways to offer consumers potentially more affordable alternatives to private health plans.

In the last week, however, senior administration officials have been holding private meetings almost daily at the Capitol with senior Democratic staff to discuss ways to include a version of the public plan in the healthcare bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to bring to the Senate floor this month, according to senior Democratic congressional aides.

Among those regularly in the meetings are Obama's top healthcare advisor, Nancy-Ann DeParle; aides to Reid; and staff from the Senate Finance and Health committees, both of which developed healthcare bills.

The measure that goes to the floor will be an amalgam of the two committees' bills, put together by Reid and key Democrats. The health committee bill contains a national government plan; the finance committee version does not.

Obama has also been reaching out personally to rank-and-file Senate Democrats, telephoning more than a dozen in the last week to press for action.

The White House initiative, unfolding largely out of public view, follows months in which the president appeared to defer to senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill as they labored to put together gargantuan healthcare bills.

It also marks a crucial test of Obama's command of the inside game in Washington in which deals are struck behind closed doors and wavering lawmakers are cajoled and pressured into supporting major legislation.....(continued)

End of Month Polling Numbers, Approval Ratings

Rasmussen:

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll: -10
The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number
who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve.

32% Say Iran is Top Threat to U.S.

Just 33% Say Country Heading in Right Direction

43% View Obama's Olympic Trip as Bad Idea---36% Disagree

83% Say Congress Should Post Bills Online For All to Read Before Voting On Them

Government Ethics Edge Out Economy As Top Issue Among Voters

Just 30% Say U.S. Will Be Most Powerful Nation At End of Century

30% Confident in U.N. To Fight Terrorism

60% Favor Less International Economic Oversight, Not More

Great Introduction of Valerie Garrett's Role in the Obama Administration

Full-Length Documentary: The Obama Deception

The Obama Deception is a hard-hitting film that completely destroys the myth that Barack Obama is working for the best interests of the American people....


**Note: I haven't seen this whole film yet**

...The Obama phenomenon is a hoax carefully crafted by the captains of the New World Order. He is being pushed as savior in an attempt to con the American people into accepting global slavery.

We have reached a critical juncture in the New World Order's plans. It's not about Left or Right: it's about a One World Government. The international banks plan to loot the people of the United States and turn them into slaves on a Global Plantation.

Covered in this film: who Obama works for, what lies he has told, and his real agenda. If you want to know the facts and cut through all the hype, this is the film for you.

Watch the Obama Deception and learn how:

- Obama is continuing the process of transforming America into something that resembles Nazi Germany, with forced National Service, domestic civilian spies, warrantless wiretaps, the destruction of the Second Amendment, FEMA camps and Martial Law.

- Obama's handlers are openly announcing the creation of a new Bank of the World that will dominate every nation on earth through carbon taxes and military force.

- International bankers purposefully engineered the worldwide financial meltdown to bankrupt the nations of the planet and bring in World Government.

- Obama plans to loot the middle class, destroy pensions and federalize the states so that the population is completely dependent on the Central Government.

- The Elite are using Obama to pacify the public so they can usher in the North American Union by stealth, launch a new Cold War and continue the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.infowars.com
http://www.prisonplanet.tv

School Kids Taught to Praise Obama...But It's Not Indoctrination!

I am speechless.





Articles:

NJ Principle Unapologetic for Videotape: FoxNews

The principal of a New Jersey elementary school where young students were videotaped singing the praises of President Obama is making no apologies for the videotape and says she would allow the performance again if she could, according to parents who spoke with her Thursday night.

Three parents told FOXNews.com that Dr. Denise King, principal of B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, N.J., defended the controversial performance, which was videotaped and posted on YouTube, when they approached her during a "Back to School" event.

Parent Jim Angelillo said King told him the lesson was merely part of Black History month, and not an attempt to indoctrinate students, as critics have charged. He said he believes teachers have the freedom to express their political views, but not in the classroom.

"Freedom of speech, not freedom to teach," Angelillo told FOXNews.com.

King has long been a fan of Obama, hanging pictures of the president in her school's hallways and touting her trip to his inauguration in the school yearbook.

Included in the full-page yearbook spread were Obama campaign slogans ("Yes we can! Yes we did!") and photos King took in Washington on Jan. 20, when she attended the inauguration.

There also were photos taken at the school depicting students doing Obama-themed activities about their "hopes for the future," featuring posters of Obama. According to the yearbook, students watched the inauguration in class.

Parents said Elvira James, the teacher of the class that was videotaped, also seemed to be promoting Obama.

"She praised him, she put pictures on the walls," said Jim Pronchick, whose 8-year-old son, Jimmy, was in James' class last year. "When he won (the election) they really went off."

Leslie Gibson, who has two children at the school, said she was "shocked" at the videotape, adding that political beliefs, like religious views, should be kept at home. She also said King made a "big deal" about her attendance at the inauguration.

"Throughout the school, there were signs posted supporting Barack Obama quite a bit," Gibson told FOXNews.com. "I understand it's a historical event, but on the same token, I like politics to be left at home and I think she should follow that as well."

Attempts to reach King on Friday were unsuccessful. A recording at the school said its mailbox was full and could not accept new messages.

A search of public records revealed that King, 46, of Cinnaminson, N.J., last voted in 2004 and had not declared any political affiliation. No records of political contributions could be found.

In November, the 9,700-plus residents of Burlington, N.J., a Philadelphia suburb, voted overwhelming for Obama, who received 3,285 votes to Sen. John McCain's 1,308.

The controversy over the YouTube video extended into northwest Arkansas on Friday, as officials at the Bernice Young Elementary School in Springdale said they had been received calls from across the country and Canada from irate parents and other individuals.

Principal Debbie Flora told the Associated Press that the callers claimed the school was teaching political opinion and that some "did not use very kind language."


Glenn Beck on Video:

Chick Chat: Shunned Religion, America's Youth and the Danger of Our Entitlement

When get a fwd message I usually take a glance at it, have a good laugh if its particularly funny. Read it if its particularly interesting or discard it if its none of the above. I find that it rare to come across a forward that really makes me ponder something. When I received the message below I couldn't stop thinking about it. It is simple, and cheesy but it really made me start to wonder about the repercussions of excluding religion from so much of our society.

..............................................................................................................................................................
Message:

Dear God:

Why didn't you save the school children at...

Virginia Tech 4/16/07
Amish Country, PA 10/2/06
Columbine High School 4/20/99
El Cajon, California 3/22/01
Santee, California 3/ 5/01
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma 12/6/99
Deming, New Mexico 11/19/99
Conyers, Georgia 5/20/99
Taber, Alberta, Canada 5/28/99
Littleton, Colorado 4/20/99
Richmond, Virginia 6/15/98
Fayetteville, Tennessee 5/19/98
Springfield, Oregon 5/21/98
Edinboro, Pennsylvania 4/24/98
Jonesboro, Arkansas 3/24/98
Stam P, Arkansas 12/15/97
West Paducah, Kentucky 12/1/97
Pearl, Mississippi 10/1/97
Bethel, Alaska 2/19/97
Moses Lake, Washington 2/2/96

Sincerely,
Concerned Student

..............................................................................................................................................................

Reply:
Dear Concerned Student:

I am not allowed in schools.

Sincerely,

God

..............................................................................................................................................................

The forward goes on to cite Madeline Murray O'Hare, Dr. Benjamin Spock, the entertainment industry and parental compliance as definte contributers to this lack of religion in schools and moral inadequacies of our youth.

I was fortunate enough to go to Christian school my whole life and had parents that were strict in the sense that I was raised not watching excessively violent, sexually promiscuous movies or similar music. But how much of my generation was raised in such an environment? The answer is not much...and I agree with the assumption that some of that violent, sexually promiscuous drug culture has resulted in atrocious and horrific deaths of Americans.

I am one of the thousands of people in this country that has been directly affected by one of those deaths. When I was a mere freshmen in college I ran in the same circles as a young man who we lost at the Virginia Tech tragedy.

I refuse to believe that this was a single incident (proof we also see in the list above that) by one deranged young man. Would all these young people who commit these crimes have acted in such manners if they had had different influences in life? This we'll never know! But what we do know it that violence in schools has become significantly more prevalent in the past couple decades. After God was banned from our conversations and after children were being raised in these "no-discipline-kum-bay-yah-everything-is-yours" households.

I've mentioned before my generation's sense of entitlement and I think this fits right into the picture. We've always been entitled to watch what we want, listen to what we want, play with what we want. own what we want, and in general get anything and everything we want. Everything from the new version of Halo to "getting rid" of those that bully us in high school.

My generation has a lot to learn...about compassion, about consequences, about love and about hate, about violence, sex, and drugs, and about right and wrong.

Barack Obama: In His Own Words: Sep 21st (Glenn)

Transcipt, Charts and Video

...............................................................

"How about the funding for ACORN?"
"Frankly its not something that I've followed closely, I didn't even know ACORN was getting a lot of federal funding."-Barack Obama

.:: Glenn::. Tonight I've decided to ask the President some questions and use the answers that hes already given because he is not giving anything new...I hear people say, he ran as a centrist and now he is not governing that way...I maintain that Obama told us absolutely everything that he was going to do and he still is, every step of the way. People just didn't listen, they only heard what they wanted to hear.

"I have not said that I was a single payer supporter because frankly, we historically, have had an employer-based system in this country with private insurers and for us to transition to a single payer system, I believe would be too disruptive."- Barack Obama

.::Me::. So he is not for a single payer system not because its
fundamentally bad, but because its too "disruptive"?

.::Glenn::. Well what I happen to know is that a few years ago Obama said this...

"I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer, universal health care plan...A single payer health care plan--universal health care plan. That's what I'd like to see." - Barack Obama to the AFL-CIO in 2003

.::Video::.Portions Shown



.::Video::. Tides Center Rep talking about how a we will move towards the single payer system without being so disruptive.

.::Chart::.

Here are a couple other blog posts on the Soros-Obama Connection:
Little Green Footballs
WebLoggin

.::Glenn::. Is it even feasible to have this number of marxist, radicals, anti-capitalist etc near him?.... Maybe the President is blind to character? Maybe the President is part of the problem? Maybe the President is in danger because no one is vetting these people? Is the FBI even showing up for work? That's for you to decide. But You won't be able to decided if the people the President grants interviews too only ask him insipid shallow questions over and over and over again...

Obama's favorite line when deflecting questions is...Bush look at that guy.
Bush had czars too!...Yeah some people were yelling back then too and I have the archives to prove how much I was yelling at that guy. But Bush's czars didn't have the radical ideology many of these people do...
He will say that Bush started us down the path down socialism...and he would be right by that.
Bush started the crazy spending...he'd be right again....
Bush started the bailouts...yes he did, hated him for it.

My question to President Obama would be um, I'm sorry, is this just Bush's third term? Are you continuing all of his policies?

....Anyone out there who voted for Obama should be asking themselves, jeeze did I misunderstand that President because I thought he believed in change? Or was it that he misunderstood me?

We should have seen this coming before his first day in office when he said this, "We are 5 days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America"-Barack Obama

.::Paraphrasing Glenn::. Obama has been compared to FDR, Kennedy, Lincoln, is that because people are afraid to just look at him? Why is no one making him talk about his mentor- Frank Marshal Davis- a radical communist? Do you still care lessons from your mentor with you? Is it reasonable to ask what part of Davis he carries around with him? No one is looking at his college years. Look at what he says about his associations in college.

"To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminist and punk-rock performance poets." - Barack Obama, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

.::Glenn::. "I hate to keep bring up the past but we have to ask. He chose his friends carefully back then, the question is does he choose his advisors closely now."

Video: Van Jones talking about Redistributing Wealth

.::Glenn::. That sounds radical to most Americans but listen to what our own President says

"The Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth...The tragedies of the civil rights movement was , um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers though which you bring about redistributive change." - Obama on Chicago Public Radio, 2001

.::Paraphrasing Glenn::. Are we listeneing American?? Because he is telling us that we have dismissed the community organizers...ACORN, Tides, SEIU, Apollo etc... that can put together the coalition that can bring about change...

...............................................................

Barack Obama on ACORN

"How about the funding for ACORN?" George Stephanopoulos
"Frankly its not something that I've followed closely, I didn't even know ACORN was getting a lot of federal funding."-Barack Obama
"Well the Senate and the House have voted to cut it off." George Stephanopoulos
"Ya know, what I know is what I saw in that video was certainty inappropriate and deserves to be.."-Barack Obama
"So your not committing to cutting off federal funding?" George Stephanopoulos
"George this is not the biggest issue facing the country, its not something I'm paying a lot of attention too." -Barack Obama

"Before I even get inaugurated, were going to be calling all of you in to help us shape the agenda. Were going to be having meetings all across the country with community organizations [ACORN] so that you have input into the agenda for the next presidency of the United States of America"- Barack Obama

.::paraphrasing Glenn::. Obama also closely tied to SEIU, which ACORN founder Wade Rafky is also closely tied too...

"I've spent my entire adult life working with SEIU. I'm not a newcomer to this. I didn't just suddenly discover SEIU..."-Barack Obama

.::Glenn::. Then there is Ameri-Cor, or is it Ameri-Cor. I'm not really sure what the president is describing here.

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the nation security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force thats just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded."-Barack Obama

.::Glenn::. Really, why do we need that?

"Ive been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career. Even before I was an elected official, when I ran project vote voter registration drive in Illinois, when I ran project vote voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciated your work." -Sam Graham-Felsen, Ran Obama's Campaign Blog

...............................................................

.::Glenn::. Just past week he has raised the possibility of amnesty and citizenship for the 20 million people who are already here illegally.

"If someone is here illegally they won't be covered under this plan. That's a commitment I've made. But I also want to make this clear. Even though I don't believe we can extend coverage to those that are here illegally, I don't believe that we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken.......If anything this debate underscores necessity for passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all." - Barack Obama

...............................................................
Obama and ACORN

Guest: John Fund, Author, Stealing Elections, The Wall Street Journal

.::Glenn::. He didnt know they were getting federal funding?
.::Fund::. It's curious because ACORN has gotten federal funding throughout his existence and he has a long hisotry of working with ACORN. He was a trainer for them in Chicago and a lawyer for them. I suspect at some point ACORN paid him, I suspect some of that was federal funds.

.::Note::. ABC was the ONLY Network
to ask President Obama about ACORN

.::Fund::. Obamas campaign spend over $800,000 with an ACORN affiliate to get out the vote. Voter registration...and the money was categorized and reported to Federal Election Commission as staging and lighting....Then they corrected themselves when they got caught by a Pittsburg paper. So the Obama campaign was not particularaly eager to have people know that they were hiring a ACORN affiliate to help with voter registration.

.::Fund::. Its strange because throughout his career he has been proud of being affiliated with ACORN....He knew everything about and now he knows nothings about ACORN makes me think something is there...All I know is that he is retrieting from ACORN faster than a speeding bullet.

.::Fund::. He just refered to the conduct as inappropriate, I think almost anyone would have used a stronger word.

.::Note::. Then attorney Barack Obama
represented ACORN in Lawsuit in 1995

...............................................................

San Diego ACORN Scandal

To quote Jon Stewart: "Where are the Investigative Journalist?"


Part 1



Part 2

............................................

House Votes to Defund ACORN

WASHINGTON — The House has voted to deny all federal funding for ACORN, the community organizing group that has been caught up in several scandals.

The House action came several days after the Senate took a similar vote to block the Housing and Urban Development Department from giving grants to ACORN.

Republicans, long critics of the liberal-leaning group that advocates for the poor, led the effort to cut off all federal funds.

California Republican Darrell Issa, who sponsored the measure in the House, says the "scandal surrounding the criminal activities of ACORN have called into question their role in all aspects of government."

The vote, on a provision attached to a student aid bill, was 345-75. All 75 no votes were Democrats.

House Documents to Defund ACORN

PJTV Video Breakdown of Czars with Pictures

Inform yourself on all the different kinds of Czars with pictures and basic descriptions

White House Archiving Social Networking Sites

White House Storing Comments Posted to Its Web Pages

The White House is collecting and storing comments and videos placed on its social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube without notifying or asking the consent of the site users.

Courtesy of Fox News

The White House is collecting and storing comments and videos placed on its social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube without notifying or asking the consent of the site users, a failure that appears to run counter to President Obama's promise of a transparent government and his pledge to protect privacy on the Internet, the Washington Times reported.

Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the White House signaled that it would insist on open dealings with Internet users and, in fact, should feel obliged to disclose that it is collecting such information.

"The White House has not been adequately transparent, particularly on how it makes use of new social media techniques, such as this example," he said.

Defenders of the White House actions said the Presidential Records Act requires that the administration gather the information and that it was justified in taking the additional step of asking a private contractor to "crawl and archive" all such material. Nicholas Shapiro, a White House spokesman, declined to say when the practice began or how much the new contract would cost.

Susan Cooper, a spokeswoman for National Archives and Records Administration, said the presidential records law applies to "social media" and to public comments "received by the president or immediate staff."

Courtesy of Fox News

.........................................................................

Obama White House Has Secret Plan To Harvest Personal
Data From Social Networking Websites

Courtesy of National Legal and Policy Center

NLPC has uncovered a plan by the White House New Media operation to hire a technology vendor to conduct a massive, secret effort to harvest personal information on millions of Americans from social networking websites.

The information to be captured includes comments, tag lines, emails, audio, and video. The targeted sites include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and others – any space where the White House “maintains a presence.”

In the course of investigating procurement by the White House New Media office, NLPC discovered a 51-page solicitation of bids that was filed on Friday, August 21, 2009. Filed as Solicitation # WHO-S-09-0003, it is posted at FedBizzOps.com. Click here to download a 51-page pdf of the solicitation.

While the solicitation specifies a 12-month contract, it allows for seven one-year extensions. It specifies no dollar cap. Other troubling issues include:

extremely broad secrecy terms preventing the vendor from disclosing to the public or the media what information is being captured and archived (page 7, “Restriction Against Disclosure”)

wholesale capturing of comments by non-White House staff on publicly accessible sites

capturing of content of any type (text, graphics, audio, or video)

capturing of comments by both Obama critics and supporters, with no restriction as to how the White House would use the information.

This is the third controversy involving the White House internet operations in less than a month. First, Obama’s New Media operation asked supporters to send information about critics of the White House health care effort to a White House email. This provoked a storm of criticism and the White House retreated. Then large number of people complained of getting email spam from the White House supporting the President’s health care position. Again the White House was forced to back down.

Now the same people at the White House are at it again with an ambitious plan to harvest huge amounts of information from the web and specifically social networking sites.

Given the White House’s recent abuse of its New Media operations, this huge, new secretive program is yet another sign that this Administration is at best indifferent to privacy rights and at worst prepared to violate civil liberties for political purposes.

Perhaps anticipating negative reaction to the invasiveness of the plan, a justification is provided in a Q&A. section of the solicitation. Question #9 reads:

The Presidential Records Act does not require the storage or archiving of non-EOP content, as such is there a specific reason as to why the content provided on EOP related websites in the form of comments is included in these archiving procedures?

Answer: The PRA includes in its definition of presidential records content ―received by PRA components and personnel. Out of an abundance of caution, we are treating comments made by non-PRA personnel on sites on which a PRA component has a presence as presidential records, requiring them to be captured or sampled.

Of course, this interpretation of the Presidential Records Act is so expansive that virtually any communication mentioning the president or the Administration could become subject to collection and archiving under the Act. This is not out of an “abundance of caution,” but out of an over-abundance of power. President Obama should make sure that this plan goes no further.

11 Ways Baucus Plan Is Just New Path to Government Takeover of Health Care

From Jim DeMint's (R-SC) website:

The chairman’s health care proposal (known as the "chairman's mark") that was released by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in advance of next week’s Finance Committee Markup is just more of the same big government policies that have been proposed by this Congress and this administration for months. The chairman’s rehashed proposal does nothing to increase Americans’ access to affordable health care coverage. In fact, the Baucus plan includes several devastating provisions that hurt the ability of millions of Americans to keep the coverage they currently have (and like).

Moreover, the combination of tax increases, penalties, new government health care programs, increased fees on private health care entities, and destruction of current health care coverage products will force this nation into the grip of a government-run health care system.

Chairman Baucus’ proposal:

1. Creates FANNIE MED Health Insurance Entities That Will Lead to Government Takeover: This bill uses taxpayer dollars to subsidize cooperative health insurance agreements that will be overseen and regulated by federal bureaucrats and, overtime, could be bailed out by taxpayers. As Majority Leader Reid has said himself, this is simply the “public option” by another name, and is nothing more than a new path to a government takeover of health care. Like the public option, taxpayer-subsidized co-ops will force millions of Americans out of their current plans and into government-regulated care. This nation has seen a similar model in our government-run mortgage market and America has spoken out on this issue: no Fannie Med.
   
   
2. Could DOUBLE Health Insurance Premiums for Millions of Americans: The chairman’s mark will effectively raise premiums for millions of Americans who purchase health insurance in the individual health marketplace. In fact, the Council for Affordable Health Insurance has indicated that the proposed combination of risk adjusted premiums, individual mandates, and guaranteed issue coverage could raise premiums as much as 95 percent in the individual market, impacting millions of Americans who purchase health insurance outside of their employer or as small business owners. This proposal not only destroys the ability of Americans to purchase health insurance they can afford, own and keep, but also violates the President’s campaign promise that every American would be able to “keep their health plan.”
   
   
3. Regulates EVERY Americans’ Health Coverage, by PENALIZING Anyone Without a Government Approved Plan: The chairman’s mark will mandate that every American get health care coverage and, moreover, will define what benefits individuals must get to avoid government penalties on their income (as high as $3,800 per family) -- again, violating the president’s commitment to the American people to not raise taxes on Americans making below $250,000 per year.
   
   
4. Does Little to Improve Competition Across State Lines: This bill does nothing to create a competitive national market in which uninsured Americans can choose from hundreds of health insurance plans in any state in the nation. Rather, the chairman’s mark allows states to build compacts for interstate purchasing -- an idea that does little to eliminate the big insurance industry’s hold on insurance commissioners who for years have blocked consumer-friendly, interstate competition.
   
   
5. Expands a Broken, Bankrupt Entitlement Program: For the past several years, we have heard from states on the impact of Medicaid costs on state budgets. In fact, just this year, the federal government bailed states out in passing billions for Medicaid in the stimulus package to pay off states’ debt. Aside from the daunting fiscal impact on states, such an expansion would be a mistake because Medicaid does not provide high-quality health care. Yet, Sen. Baucus and his Democrat colleagues believe that adding millions more Americans to Medicaid should be considered health care “reform.”
   
   
6. Taxes Health Care Benefits for Millions of Middle-Income Americans: The Baucus plan proposes to further tax health savings accounts and caps the benefits of flexible spending accounts -- impacting nearly 20 million Americans in the coming years. In addition, the Baucus plan proposes to tax comprehensive health insurance benefits that are valued at more than $8000 for the individual or $21,000 for families. Such a proposal will impact thousands of working Americans -- again, violating the president’s promise to not tax individuals making less than $250,000 per year.
   
   
7. Increases Taxes on Small Businesses: The chairman’s mark places an annual penalty (per employee) if health coverage is not offered by an employer. Such a provision could deteriorate the employer market over time -- forcing individuals into a government run health care program -- as many employers might see the penalty as an opportunity to drop employees’ health care coverage since such a penalty is less than the average cost of employer-provided health benefits.
   
   
8. Creates a New Government ‘Institute’ Similar to Bureaucracies in Other Nations Used to RATION Care: The chairman’s mark creates a new institute for comparative effectiveness research that could, ultimately, contribute to the denial of coverage for certain health care services. The chairman’s mark is careful in clarifying that, “prohibited from denying coverage based solely on a study conducted by the Institute,” however, it is never made clear that such denials could be made in consideration of the Institute’s research and conclusions. A similar bureaucracy in the United Kingdom has been used to ration health care.
   
   
9. Contains NO Tort Reform, Protecting Trial Lawyers While Costing Patients Hundreds of Billions Each Year: The chairman‘s mark expresses the “Sense of the Senate” that health care reform “presents an opportunity” to address medical malpractice reform -- however, the proposal does nothing to truly curb the devastating impact defensive medicine has had on our nation’s health care system. Independent analysts have estimated that defensive medicine used as a result of frivolous lawsuits adds more than $200 billion in unnecessary expenses to the cost of health care each year.
   
   
10. Negatively Impacts Seniors’ Ability to Access Medicare Advantage Programs: The Baucus plan makes adjustments to how Medicare Advantage plans are paid -- consequently impacting the current Medicare Advantage market and potentially shifting beneficiaries from their current plans. Again, this is a violation of the president’s campaign promise to not impact Americans’ current coverage.
    
    
11. Creates New Government Bureaucracy to Oversee Medicare Reimbursements: The Baucus plan would establish a politically-appointed Medicare Commission that would develop and submit proposals to Congress that “would reduce Medicare spending.” While the chairman’s mark does make an attempt to limit the commission’s autonomy, it is important to note that the commission will act very much like a “Super MedPac” and will ultimately have the ability to impact provider reimbursements and appropriate category of services approved under Medicare.

Sophi Elena Video: Prank @ Organizing for America Rally

Clever Logo...Funny how there were no outside signs allowed at the Organized for America Rally, only inside signs were allowed.

Handling Presentation Trust

Now it seems that the White House has FINALLY released the statement that Obama is going to give the children of America. It doesn't seem to have anything fishy in the content, but that doesn't make the way they handled the whole situation, the study guide that was presented beforehand or the trust that the public has in the President any better.

So ready for Happy Obama Speech Day! Oh wait, that's everyday! He is too narcissistic to stay off your TV screen, moving on....

In the teachers guide, there were major issues with the way the questions were phrased. There were totally one sided and a little bit like the 'I Pledge' video. i.e. writing letter to themselves about how they can help Obama. Now that was eventually changed but I have to ask how many little mix ups does it take for an administration to be seriously questioned. They didn't think this through to begin with because this could have been completely avoided if they had just given the public what they asked for, a preview.

This whole uproar was also very telling about the general public's trust in our President. When Bush addressed students in 1991 the big issue was the financial cost of the speech. In this case, it was much more fundamentally based, more about the content and purpose than the economic retributions. Which I might add should be just as controversial as the they were in the 1991! Just because he has released his speech doesn't retract the fact that he is spending tons of money in a time when resources should be limited.

Here is the speech that the President is giving the students: (I haven't had time to read the whole thing yet ha! I wanna see a pre-k student sit through this doozy!)

The President: Hello everyone - how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still Summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday - at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.

I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world - and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor - maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine - but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life - I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that - if you quit on school - you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life - what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home - that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer - hundreds of extra hours - to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education - and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you - you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust - a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor - and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you - don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down - don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

...........................................................................................................................

I would be getting mega-punished if I was a student in Broward County because there is no way I would be going to school tomorrow. Then I would sue for being forced to do something. For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, the most liberal county in Fla has made Obama's speech mandatory. The superintendent, James Notter (super Obama supporter!) said that it was a key portion of thier civic duty education.

So our young minds are learning civic duty from Obama...what is it they say, a picture says a thousand words...

I wonder what kind of lawsuit can be filed? I would like to know how this differs from, for example, disceting a frog? For what I know if you have some sort of issue with dissections there are generally other options to fufill the requirement. Why not in this case?

Here is the section of the Sun Sentinal article that talks about Broward County's superintedents choice to force students to watch Obama's speech:

In Broward County, students in the public schools won't have a choice.

Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter wrote in a memo to principals Thursday that students will not be allowed to opt out of viewing Obama's address. The district has encouraged civics education through programs such as Kids Voting Broward and by watching presidential inaugural addresses, Notter wrote, so letting students skip Obama's speech "does not align with our practices and responsibility to provide a well-rounded, quality education for all students."

That doesn't mean all school activities will cease during Obama's talk. Notter said schools can record the address and watch it later if the broadcast time conflicts with previously scheduled tests, field trips or other events.

In his opinion, Notter said in an interview, having childen listen to the country's elected leader "is some of the purest of civics education." Letting them choose whether to not to attend would set a bad precedent, Notter said. He compared it to students who might object to saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

"You don't get to go out into the hall," Notter said. "You're there and you're silent."

In Broward County, some parents who disagree with Obama's politics are threatening to keep their children home Tuesday if schools won't schedule an alternative noontime activity.

"I believe as a parent that I am the one who should teach my child about personal responsibility and life goals," one parent wrote in an e-mail to the Broward School Board. "I do not agree with any of President Obama's views and policies so I would appreciate if my child did not participate."

Some parents also took exception to the U.S. Department of Education's suggested list of questions for teachers to their students about the speech. Included in the guide for seventh- through 12th-grade students are the questions "How will [Obama] inspire us?" and "How will he challenge us?"

Obama's speech will not mark the first time a U.S. president has directly addressed the nation's schoolchildren. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush gave a 15-minute speech to students focusing on the evils of drug use, then another in October 1991 that urged students to study hard and stay away from drugs.

House Democrats criticized Bush for the 1991 speech and accused the U.S. Department of Education of providing free political advertising to Bush, who was gearing up for his re-election bid the following year.

CC: Propraganda Similarities

As someone who has studied propaganda films as well, as had propaganda victims within my family I think a lot of the disgust and fear I have for the 'I Pledge' video has deeper roots.

I see it as a very bold step in the wrong direction with messages delivered by many people whose voices are influential for the ill-informed Americans. When I watched this video I thought of two things, Triumph of the Will and my uncle.

Triumph of the Will, a Germany propaganda documentary by Leni Rienfenstahl is hands down one of the most brilliant documentaries and most scary portraits ever presented to the world. I'll never forget when we watched it in my doc film class my professor told us that we might be confused at the end of the night and boy was he right!

Technically, this film is superb and the information it provides about Hilter's Germany is both terrifying and tantalizing. After watching this film one could easily see how people feel in love with the idea of Hitler. The idea of serving him or helping him improve the country. The film promotes ideology that is both rational, heartfelt and reasonable. Much like many of the ideas seen in the "I Pledge" video.

If I remember correctly some of the main themes in Triumph of the Will was unity, so there is no big wonder why the 'I Pledge' video made me remember this historical propaganda doc. I dug a little through my old college paper and found a few important quotes, "The Party is Hitler - and Hitler is Germany just as Germany is Hitler!" Also, at a youth rally: "As you selflessly work for this nation...As you are loyal to us, so will we be loyal to you."

Do me a favor, watch the end of the I Pledge video starting at 3:52- end.


Transcript:
All: I pledge to be a servant to our President and all mankind, because together we can, together we are, and together we will be the change that we see.

Some other key phrases from other portions of the 'I Pledge' video are, "I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama." and "I pledge to integrate into my heart what I already know in my head, which is that we are all in this together."

Now, do me a favor, watch the beginning of this clip from Triumph of the Will starting at 0:10 - 1:45




Transcript from the clip:
Here we stand. We are ready to carry Germany into a new era
Group Leader: Here we stand, ready to carry Germany into a new era. Germany! Comrade, where are you from?
1st Man: From Friesland.
Group Leader: And you, comrade, where are you from?
2nd RAD Man: From Bavaria.
Group Leader: And you?
3rd Man: From Kaiserstuhl
4th Man: From Pomerania.
5th Man: And from Königsberg.
6th Man: From Silesia.
7th Man: From the seaside.
8th Man: From the Black Forest.
9th Man: From Dresden.
10th Man: From the Danube.
11th Man: From the Rhine.
12th Man: And from the Saar.
All in Unison: One Nation, one Leader, one Reich. GERMANY! Group Leader: We are all at work together
All: In the turf marshes and we in the furnaces and we in the quarries. we are reclaiming the North Sea. We are planting trees. We are building roads from village to village from town to town. We are making new fields for the farmers. Forest and fields, land and bread, for Germany! CUT to closeup of Adolf Hitler

Now, I realize that they aren't saying the same exact words but there is something eeirly creepy about this scene compared with the 'I Pledge' video. The chanting. The "for the good of the whole" mentality. The environmental undertones. The exhalation of the leader. These qualities are what led me to classify the 'I Pledge' video as undoubted propaganda!

I actually found the whole documentary on YouTube. Click here to check it out! Seriously recommended.


Now, you heard me mention my uncle wayyyy up at the top of the post. Well, I wanted to share a little personal story that I've been hearing my whole life. As many of you probably know already, my family is Cuban and my uncle, specifically, had a very disturbing run in with some creative education.

My uncle was just going into first grade when Fidel was just getting vocal about his true political goals. My grandmother told me that one day my tio came home and was sitting at the table having a snack when she asked him how his day was and he said that Fidel had visited his school. My grandmother, not quite understanding asked him to explain. This is what he said,

"Well, the teacher had us all take everything off our desk and close our eyes. Then she asked us to pray to God for a piece of candy. So everyone prayed and when we opened our eyes there was no candy on our desks. So then the teacher told us to close our eyes again and this time to pray to Fidel for a piece of candy and we opened our eyes and everyone had a piece of candy on their desk!"

Can you imagine first grade students in Utah when they went home... "Mommy, we learned to serve our President today!" I don't know about you but that sounds kinda similar to, "Mommy we learned to worship Fidel today."

I immediately thought of this story when I saw the 'I Pledge' video earlier this week and I wanted to take a moment and explain why I was so greatly affected by the YouTube video. These couple of examples are just a few personal 'off the cuff' facts that came to my mind when I saw the ad. They are by no means the most wonderful or perfect examples for why this video is scary.

Even though this video is fishy, it is by no means a one time example of the indoctrination that the youth of this country is facing on a daily basis. I'm going to do a little researching on this, but on the radio today I was listening to FoxNews talk about the textbooks. The facts that our children are using to learn, or I should say, not learn the truth about American History. Textbook "writers" are creating this rose-colored fairytale about U.S. History that are simply inaccurate in so many ways. They have been slowly indoctrination students for years!!

My mother said something to me today and as each hour passes I'm more and more convinced shes right. She said, "This country is going to destroy itself from the inside out and the roots started growing a long time ago." I really hope that she is wrong in this case but I know I can't sit around and just hope.

When I have kids I know I'm going to become aware of what they are are learning. I know its difficult but it is so important to teach your children the real foundation, history and beliefs of this country. For some really good resources check out this foundation called Wallbuilders. They have CD's, MP3 and a bunch of really useful information.

Good Luck America!