Passion and Politics

I’ve Moved! Follow me!

Michelle — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:36:10 +0000

Hello!

I have moved my blog and you can find me here.

Can’t wait to see you there!

www.passionandpolitics.com

I Remember

Michelle — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:43:47 +0000

I remember that morning on September 11, 2001, clearly. I was getting my son ready for school. I had the radio turned on and was listening to morning talk radio. Suddenly, the announcer reported that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane come onto the screen. At first, I thought that they were going around the building to survey the damage. It hit the building and flames shot out.

I remember that day.

I remember…

…President Bush’s face when he was told about the attack.

…when the Pentagon was hit.

…when United Flight 93 went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

…the brave passengers of Flight 93.

…when the Twin Towers collapsed.

…watching the coverage all day long, and for days after, weeping.

…when the members of Congress stood on the Capital steps and sang God Bless America.

…when the world mourned and prayed with us.

…the flags that were everywhere.

…the people of New York City and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

…the brave heroes: police, firefighters, emergency workers, clergy and all those that rushed to help without concern for their own safety.

…the men, women and children that were lost and the pain their families endure.

…when we were truly the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

We remember that day clearly.

And we will never forget.

I Don’t Want to Takeover Health Care. Honest!

Michelle — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:18:33 +0000

President Obama spoke to Congress last night and repeated the same things about health care…again. His attitude was partisan and combative with those that disagree with him. Yet, he claims he wants to work with them. But…only if they agree to HIS plan. It’s his way or the highway.

His plan is not health care reform. It is a government takeover, overhaul, power grab of health care. Period.

Dress it up however you like, call it whatever you want. He is now calling the public plan a co-op plan. Co-op = public plan. The public plan that he demands will lead to what they really want. A single payer system. And the Democrats are hell bent to get it.

The President certainly is not listening to what the American people want. Did he pay any attention to the town halls that went on this August? Americans don’t want this plan. Opposition to it is at 49% while only 34% favor it (Associated Press GfK poll).

Does President Obama really want what’s best for the American people? The idealistic claims that he makes don’t line up with what is in bill H.R. 3200 that the House put forth. That bill will gut our current health care system, eventually morphing it into a system completely government controlled. Either the President still has not read H.R. 3200 or he is not being truthful with the American people.

There are problems that need to be fixed with our health care. But Americans want real reform, not the destruction of the best health care system in the world.

The American people deserve better.

“Beware…Politics is in the Air”

Michelle — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:52:11 +0000

“Beware, politics is in the air.” That’s what my daughter said to me in the afternoon on July 4. I want my children informed and I want them to know the issues. I want them to form their own opinions from the facts and be able to express them, even if they disagree with me. However, I do not want their opinions to be manipulated.

On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, President Obama is going to address the school children of America. It is being called historical. Everything Obama does seems to be historical. Other presidents have done this before. But this time the students will be given activities to do after the speech. That’s the problem.

The speech in itself may be fine. The President talking to the school children telling them to work hard, stay in school, etc. can be inspiring. It can be encouraging. But could there be more to it? We don’t know exactly what he is going to say. The original letter from Secretary Arne Duncan to the school principals talks about the historic nature of this speech. It says that the President will be calling for shared responsibility and commitment of educators and parents to ensure that children can learn to compete in the global community for good jobs and to be good American citizens. Added to the letter is a menu of suggested activities for the students to do after the speech.

This makes me very uneasy. A lot of parents and some education experts are troubled by it as well. The timing of the speech make me suspicious of the motives. The overzealous activities are suggestive of putting this president on a pedestal.

In the PreK-6 menu of classroom activities, it was originally suggested that the children answer questions like these:

Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important?
What do you think the President wants us to do?
Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?

Another suggested activity:

Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.

For the students in grades 7-12, the original activities considered are these:

Short readings. Notable quotes excerpted (and posted in large print on board) from President Obama’s speeches about education.
Brainstorm or Concept Web: What other historic moments do you remember when the President spoke to the nation? What was the impact? Students could create a Cause/Effect graphic organizer.
What resonated with you from President Obama’s speech?　 What lines/phrases do you remember?
What is President Obama inspiring you to do?　 What is he challenging you to do?

Having a captive audience of students viewing this speech and then suggesting students perform these activities gives this speech more gravitas than it deserves. It inflates the event to a different level. Asking students how they can help the President, or do what he asks could put undue pressure on them that they must obey him or support him politically.

Yes, he is the president and the office deserves respect. But I want them to have the freedom to disagree with him if they want and that is not the message that is interpreted from these activities.

What if they don’t agree with the speech? Will they be ostracized by the other children? During the election, my daughter felt pressure from other classmates to go along with everyone that was for Obama. Other children felt that peer pressure also. This is wrong.

In 1991, President George H. W. Bush gave a similar speech to students. At that time, the Democrats were very upset, cried foul and said that it was politically motivated. But this time it’s different. It’s their guy. Well, now I’m crying foul.

Many parents are thinking of keeping their children home, so they don’t have to view the speech. I considered this, but I thought that I don’t want to censor my children either. I will discuss the speech with them before and after they view it.

The President can give a speech to the students and if the students want to have a short discussion afterward that could be acceptable to me. But that’s all. Yet, I still don’t trust them. I don’t want it to be Indoctrination 101.

Note: In a revised letter to the school principals, the shared responsibility and competing in the global community concepts have been taken out and the activities in the menus have been slightly changed.

America, Speak Up!

Michelle — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:18:22 +0000

That’s it! I’ve had it! It’s time!

I have never been so inclined to speak my mind before.

I didn’t want the confrontation.

I didn’t want the rejection.

But now….

I have to speak up!

It’s never been like this before. At least not that I remember. People are angry. People are afraid. We are in a fight for our liberties, for our very lives. And it is deadly serious.

Change was the buzzword of the 2008 presidential election. Yes, we are getting change. That was the truest statement that Barack Obama made.

Americans latched onto “Change We Can Believe In” and didn’t bother to delve into the glorious speeches to decipher what he really meant. Transform America. Remake America. Remake it into a very different America.

Our freedoms are being stolen boldly by a President and a Congress who are acting as if they are rulers, not public servants. They want to get their liberal agenda through no matter what the American people want. Because they think they know what’s best. The Constitution be damned!

Well, I don’t like the change that we are being force-fed. I will not sit by passively and let it happen! I don’t want to wake up in an America that is a re-creation of a liberal’s utopian dream.

I will do everything I can to stop the government takeover and overhaul of our healthcare system.

Rebel against them taxing us into the oblivion of bankruptcy that future generations will forever be chained with.

I won’t stand for them telling us how much we can be paid and then take our hard-earned money and give it to those that didn’t earn it.

I refuse to let them tell me what kind of car to drive.

I don’t want the government to be involved in every aspect of my life, even down to telling me what kind light bulb I have to use.

I will fight everything that they are doing to destroy this great nation.

They want to crush the American dream, forcing us all into a cookie cutter mold, where everyone is the same. But, according to liberals, that’s only fair, right?

They may call us “un-American.” But they are wrong.

The American spirit, born the day this country was created, flows in our veins still. And we will rise up and fight to keep our freedoms.

That IS American.

If you don’t like what is happening to our country, please do something about it. Don’t sit idly by and let our rights be usurped. We have to stop letting them bully us!

Call or write your elected officials, members of Congress, etc. and tell them what you think. Get out there and let your voice be heard. Don’t wait.

Speak up America…..It’s time!