Today as President Barack Obama was preparing to deliver a speech to America's students, some school voucher-supporting Democrats in the District of Columbia were gearing up to protest the president's decision to scuttle the city's federal voucher program by blocking the doors to the federal Department of Education building in Washington.
Nikita Stewart of the Washington Post's D.C. Wire blog covered the planned protest in a post this morning and fellow Postie Nick Anderson reported on the protest -- joined by D.C. councilman Marion Barry (D) and led by former D.C. councilman Kevin Chavous (D) -- after the fact shortly after noon.
Local ABC affiliate WJLA also has a story on its Web site.
MSNBC's Chris Matthews has told his viewers that he disagrees with Obama's decision and supports renewing the congressionally-funded D.C. voucher program. It should be interesting to see if Matthews covers the protest today on his "Hardball" program.
I wouldn't hold my breath for any coverage elsewhere on MSNBC or on the broadcast networks tonight, however.
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September 8, 2009 - 15:49 ET by sevenVouchers save thousands of dollars per student. The teachers, Feds and gubment lose control. The education Nazi's are gping crazy about fear over vouchers. Washington D.C. has the top cost in America per student and about the worst records.
→ seven
September 8, 2009 - 15:55 ET by Cool ArrowImagine what a private school could do with $15k/student in DC, or $10k/student in Texas?
Van Jones is a Quitter - FS
Everyone sees it coming
September 8, 2009 - 15:54 ET by KC MulvilleEducation reform is coming, and it will have the same answer as healthcare reform: government takeover. The takeover will have no place for vouchers, alternative methods, or different approaches. It'll have a one-size-fits-all federal program, because they know better than anyone else.
Just remember, Bill Ayers considers himself an educator.
→ Perfect parallel, KC
September 8, 2009 - 16:05 ET by Cool ArrowNot only can you buy your own insurance, you are cordially forced to pay for that of someone else.
Van Jones is a Quitter - FS
We do that already,
September 8, 2009 - 16:09 ET by JerWe do that already, Cool--at least for the medical care of someone else.
Jer
→ Yes, we do
September 8, 2009 - 16:17 ET by Cool ArrowAnd when we see the same percentage of people opting for government care as do public education, government healthcare costs will be just as administratively topheavy as its public school counterpart.
Do you really see no disparity between a lackluster government education at $12k per yr and an excellent private sector education at $7k/yr?
You get the government involved and quality suffers greatly.
I invite you to commit (right now) to buying a GM automobile five years from now.
Van Jones is a Quitter - FS
Not That Different
September 8, 2009 - 22:36 ET by stratmanJer:
We already do "that" for probably everything we purchase.
The cost of all goods and services, including medical goods and services, are increased due to
Medical goods and services are no different than any other goods and services in having inflated costs due to the irresponsible actions of people in our society.
I'm still trying to figure out why in the world ladders come with cartoon stickers on how to use.
Speak for yourself, strat...
September 8, 2009 - 22:56 ET by JerSpeak for yourself, strat...
Without those instructions, I wouldn't know which end was up.
Jer
I just looked at the
September 8, 2009 - 23:13 ET by stratmanI just looked at the instructions and found out I was using the ladder the wrong way. I had it upside down.
Wait a moment. Isn't that what you just said? Dang it, Jer. You used my line!
;-)
strat...
September 8, 2009 - 23:40 ET by JerMy first personal injury case involved a client who had fallen from a ladder which he claimed, and thus we alleged had a material defect in design and workmanship. [The metal frame was slightly torqued.] We had the ladder thoroughly tested by an engineer for [then] Lockheed who concluded there wasn't a damn thing wrong with it.
We made a rather lame effort to go with the Act Of God "it-just-broke" theory, but were basically laughed out of court. I referred out most tort claims after that.
Jer
Good story, one that would
September 9, 2009 - 00:21 ET by stratmanGood story, one that would be better told over cool beverages while grilling up something tasty to eat.
All that BBQ-ing talk yesterday has me in a grillin' mood. Had some great ribs yesterday and would have cooked out today but it was pouring rain.
*I see that I misspelled "torts". Guess I was thinking of cake at the time.
KC: The more I think
September 8, 2009 - 22:55 ET by stratmanKC:
The more I think about your hypothesis that Obama would use the school speech as the opening salvo in his crusade to complete his Education "third pillar", the more I agree.
There was much in that speech today that was age innapropriate for younger kids. Since when is it prudent to tell a kindergartener that his failure in school is his failure for his country?
I don't know how much Obama will discuss Education on Wednesday's prime time speech - he's still trying to sell Crap N Steal and ObamaCare. But I do agree that the kiddie speech was the beginning of his Education push.
Obama doesn't do high drama without a purpose. Given the fact he used the words "I", "I'm" and "I've" 56 times in his short speech, and the impression I get of him as a narcissist, Obama is all about pushing his own agenda. The school speech was not just for the kids.
On the other hand
September 9, 2009 - 01:28 ET by KC MulvilleThink of the narcissism if, on the other hand, Obama was "simply trying to send an inspiring message." Can we find a more ridiculous exercise than to stop the world for an hour because Obama wanted to inspire? What if Father Obama wanted to inspire us computer guys, or the medical profession? Let's stop the world. Our leader wants to inspire us. Right.
When Obama goes to make a speech, or any politician for that matter, you ask yourself the same question as you would any salesman: what's he selling? Why would Obama go to all this trouble, if all he wanted to do was inspire schoolkids? Lesson plans? Planned discussions? Nah. I don't buy it. Politicians never speak to inform. They only speak to persuade.
Will Someone Explain to Obama the Moron and his Worshipers
September 8, 2009 - 16:35 ET by Retired GeekWill Someone Explain to Obama the Moron and his Worshipers what a Trillion dollars is?
The Discovery Science Channel one day estimated that an average human heart beats two billion times in a lifetime.
If that is correct, NO human could count to a Trillion in a lifetime.
A one dollar bill is .oo43 inches thick, one trillion dollars stacked in one dollar bills would be about 68,000 miles high.
The CBO estimated that ObamaCare would cost about 1.1 trillion in 10 years.
Many experts disagree and say the cost will be 2.2 Trillion for ObamaCare, nevertheless a 68,000 mile high stack of dollar bills, is a 'Huge Expenditure' to everyone but Barack Obama and his followers.
The Liberal 'War on Poverty' so far has stacked up dollar bills 2,720,000 miles high with NO END in sight, enough dollar bills to go to the Moon and back about 55 times.
Liberals contend that the 'Reason' the War on Poverty has had little if any effect on Poverty, "NOT enough money has been spent".
Geek, these are the people
September 8, 2009 - 17:20 ET by Cthulhu2012Geek, these are the people who are either born into money, political dynasties, or get college degrees with names like "African American Studies," "Women's Studies," or "Philosophy" from Ivy League universities most folks couldn't hope to attend even with scholarships.
These are folks who I'm willing to bet have never done a solid, honest day's work in their lives-except as a photo op when running for their 27th term.
These are the people who always ran to mommy and daddy when the going got tough.
These are the people who, to paraphrase the mobster from Batman Begins, have never tasted desperate. They don't know what it's like to be so far behind on the rent you're in danger of being evicted. They don't know what it's like to be unemployed for months at a time while you watch your savings dwindle. They don't know what it's like to wonder if you're going to be able to pay your bills because you had to shell out money for an expensive medical procedure that your insurance didn't cover.
These are the people for whom being thrifty means having to buy their arugula at a different whole foods market across town, or having to buy that Toyota Prius instead of that Lexus. I guarantee you if they ever truly DID taste desperate, they'd either commit suicide, go on permanent welfare, or slowly starve to death.
What's my point? My point is simply that these people, with a few exceptions, have no concept of the value of a dollar. They've never HAD to know the value of a dollar. All they've ever done, hell all they've ever known, has been that when you swipe the American Express card at the register your balance goes down a bit and you get what you want. If that card gets denied for some reason, you whip out the Mastercard, pay for the item in question, and have your personal assistant find out what the fuck's wrong with your card.
How can you expect these people to do anything BUT throw money at a problem? That's the only solution to any problem that they've ever used-if there's a problem, throw money at it and it'll eventually go away. Hell, half of them don't even pay taxes (ala Turbo Tax Timmy), so it's not like it's even their money to begin with.
Why choose the lesser of two evils?
Cthulhu2012, I know this
September 8, 2009 - 19:58 ET by hydrodynDMCthulhu2012,
I know this is way way off topic, but are you honestly comparing a major in philosophy with one in African American Studies or Women Studies?
Not really, because
September 8, 2009 - 21:00 ET by Cthulhu2012Not really, because philosophy does have some substance to it. I just couldn't think of a third major...and I had some bad run-ins with some philosophy majors back in my college years. We had a class debate on animal rights in my Philosophy 101 my junior year. For some reason they found the position that we should close factory farms and use the animals for medical tests instead morally repugnant.
Why choose the lesser of two evils?
I'm shocked, absolutely
September 8, 2009 - 16:58 ET by Cthulhu2012I'm shocked, absolutely shocked.
I mean what are the odds of Chris "Thrill Up My Leg" Matthews disagreeing with his One and Only? It's like the man's had a rare flash of sanity and common sense!
Are the stars right? Is the end of the world finally nigh?
Why choose the lesser of two evils?
school of thought
September 8, 2009 - 18:05 ET by cajun2IDEA-- Every university with a School of Journalism should be penalized, scrubbed, restructured, start over. It is obvious they are a dismal failure. Oh, ethics must be back in the curriculum.
An excellent example of
September 8, 2009 - 19:18 ET by G. MayAn excellent example of just how granular the Democrats and lefties are. They try to cater to everyone with a gripe and in turn piss off other constituents with their gripes. The amplifier is that these folks are petulant children who scream really loud and the whole side falls apart.
The left is incapable of compromise.
yes Chris matthews will
September 8, 2009 - 22:05 ET by JAJTyes Chris matthews will report that instead of a tingle up his leg he was experiencing a painful Blue Ball over this.. JAJT
Councilman Marion Barry???
September 9, 2009 - 06:58 ET by SickofLibsI cannot believe the idiots in DC continue to re-elect the crackhead/criminal to public office.
Actually, I can believe it.