A friend who runs the Santa Clarita Republican website forwarded these comments received by email.

I am ashamed to admit that I was a Republican, the way Republicans such as you are acting about President Obama's speech to our school children. He is urging them to study hard and do well in school. What's wrong with that? Did you react this way when other Presidents gave similar words of encouragement to our children? We should be teaching our children to respect our President. Actions such as you are trying to take here will only confuse children or turn them against our President. But I guess that's your object, right?

This speech is intended to be a positive message. Please see it that way. Your calling it a 'highly intrusive Federal manipulation of our local school curriculums" (sic) makes me sick!

- Laverne B

Here was my response:

Hello Laverne,

I believe you may be missing a few points of considerable importance in your analysis. Presidents have spoken to school Children since Jimmy Carter. Reagan and George Bush Sr. both have had addresses to school children. What is different about this case is the unprecedented participation by the national education apparatus. The existence of this lesson plan should concern everybody. There is absolutely no justification for mandating the buy-in for Obama's message. Depending on what that message will be (political or not) will determine if I support my children hearing it, but I cannot abide the exercise that the Educrats have devised to support it. That is what separates this address from Presidential Addresses of the past. Furthermore, it may in fact be against Federal law for the Department of Education to create lesson plans for students. This needs to be verified but if true, it reveals a particularly disturbing lack of judgment on the part of the Secretary of Education.

While we're on the subject of Presidential Addresses, what is with the joint session of Congress on Wednesday? Past Presidents have saved this forum for the delivery of much-needed attention by the President such as following national disasters or to declare war. It is also the place where the President goes to give his annual report to the American people. Obama has already broken with tradition in this by being the 1st President (I think, so let me know if this is inaccurate) to hold a state of the union-like address in the year he takes office. And will he say anything new? Will he announce a re-commitment to including conservative solutions in the package?
Or will he continue to use more carefully chosen words of spin and misdirection? This is all quite overwhelming to me. What do you think?

BTW: I wrote down 5 of my favorite conservative health care solutions here: http://socalpundit.blogspot.com/2009/09/real-healthcare-reform-options-are.html

Regards,

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