This one is more than a little creepy, so bear with me. After you read the article, which I found on Hotair, we’ll discuss it in a broader sense than just a bunch of 8 year old children being asked by the State to rat out their parents in New Jersey. Before anyone points out to me that the Governor of New Jersey is a Republican and would be considered by some to be an actual conservative, let me destroy that rebuttal now. Chris Christie is Governor, but the apparatus that he won the right to manage has been built by a Democrat power structure that has been in place for decades. The Education system in America has been the province exclusively of the most committed leftists in this country since the early 1970′s, and this has been true regardless of who has occupied the White House.
For context, some appropriate quotations from our Constitution:
AmendmentI.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right
of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.AmendmentIV.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue,
but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affi rmation,
and particularly describing the place to be searched,
and the persons or things to be seized.
From the article:
Seriously now, how hard is to write questions for third-graders that don’t (a) address creepy topics like cannibalism, (b) ask how many slaves it would take to pick an orchard clean, or (c) intrude on their and their family’s privacy by asking them to write about a secret they had trouble keeping? The answer obviously is (d) very.
Choices a and b were the stuff of math homework assignments earlier this year in schools in D.C. and Georgia, respectively, while c appeared on a statewide standardized test in New Jersey just this week. The test, given to 4,000 students, was a dry run for the Garden State’s Assessment of Skills and Knowledge.
snip:
The Associated Press quotes Susan Engel, a lecturer in psychology and director of the teaching program at Williams University, who said the question isn’t troubling to her:
Asking about secrets is a good way to get children to write, she said. And, she said, children at that age are unlikely to say something that would offend their families, or even bare their own souls. ‘I think by and large, kids are not going to tell a real secret,’ she said.
That reaction begs the question of what to do in the case where children do reveal real secrets—and closely guarded ones at that.
With absolutely no respect to Susan Engel, this has nothing to do with teaching children the basic skills of writing. There would literally have to be thousands of better suited topics for the purposes of getting kids to open up and strut their creative stuff. What I did on my summer vacation always seemed to be a good topic to get the kiddies writing. This has everything to do with getting children to feel comfortable with the concept of ratting out their parents. It has everything to do with getting kids to feel more comfortable confiding in the State and the representatives of the State than with their own families.
As creepy as all of this is, it pales in comparison with the prospect of having a man like Barack Hussein Obama put in charge of a Big Brother apparatus poised to take complete control of America. You may think I am being a little hysterical here, and perhaps I am. It’s just that we already have real live examples of this being played out right now. Barack Obama personally threatening Romney campaign donors with IRS audits and worse is nothing more than old school Chicago style thuggery in action. What’s new about it, is that now it is coming from the White House itself, and not just Mayor Daley’s office in the Windy City.
Richard Nixon had an enemies list as well, and he paid a heavy price for it. He lost the respect of much of the nation, and deservedly so. He was lambasted in the media for it, and deservedly so. There is one major difference between Richard Nixon’s enemies list, and the current version being kept by Barack Obama. Richard Nixon, who was known for his paranoia, kept a list of enemies whom he thought were in fact enemies to the national security of the United States. Barack Obama is keeping a list of people who are enemies to his electoral prospects. While Nixon’s list was probably reflective of that as well, he at least attempted to rationalize it in his own mind. He felt he was doing the right thing, for the benefit of the nation. Barack Obama hasn’t the encumbrance of believing in or caring one wit about our nation. His list is simply meant as a means to create harassment for people who would help to seek his ouster come November, which is a protected right of every American Citizen as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
What should frighten us all however are these two stories combined. Think for one moment of the prospect of your children being asked in their schools to let the public sector union teachers know in advance which of their parents are contemplating financial support of someone opposing Barack Obama’s reelection bid for his 7th term as President. Then the phone call comes from the office of his Unity Czar, Van Jones, very subtly laying out your options in the pay to play life we all will be subjected to. “Nice family you got there, it would be a shame if your allotment of health care units would be cut in half. If your wife for example should meet with an accident, you might not have enough units to get her the treatment she needed.”
The problem with the above paragraph of course is that most of it has either been passed into law already, or put into actual practice by various bureaucracies. The only thing missing from the unfortunately already possible scenario would be Obama’s ability to serve more than 8 years as President. But if you had asked me 20 years ago if we Americans would be willing to give up our entire cadre of Constitutional Freedom for an empty promise of Hopety Change, I would have sworn that you were nuts. If this was possible, than yes certainly repeal of the 22nd Amendment would also be possible.
Cross Posted at Musings of a Mad Conservative.
Tags: Chicago, Daley Machine
Possibly so, but not for Obama. Mr.Hopen Change doesn’t have the political momentum to get an amendment to the Constitution passed,not in these very divided times. We’ll see if he manages to even get re-elected. The way he’s been throwing out distractions, I believe that his internal numbers look terrible.
But Flyover… It’s for the children…..
@ Iron Fist:
He still has time for another first. Divorce Mooch and marry a man. Have the First Gentleman taking trips on the tax payers dime
@ Iron Fist:
I agree that the Zero is going down by a landslide, and in fact began predicting that I believe right around November of 2008. You can probably find many of those predictions on the hallowed pages of the Blogmocracy as well. I am just pointing out that these are dangerous times that we are in, and we need to get this man and his band of thugs out of Washington, not just for the time being, but permanently.
Allowing any man, no matter how much political capital he may or may not have, this kind of power is never a good idea. The inform on your parents and friends theme is hardly new to the past couple of weeks. Remember the varying iterations of Attack Watch? If you couple that with the nice life you got there, shame if anything were to happen to it theme of the Chicago crowd, then it really wouldn’t matter how much momentum the people in charge had electorally. If Obama wins in 2012, we may be closer to that Dystopia being reality than either of us believes.
Democrats Consider a Post-Pelosi Future
Heehee! They did have a certain Weiner
@ waldensianspirit:
He’s waiting for his second term to do that. It will be so progressive of him.
@ Iron Fist:
If Obama gets a second term ,recaptres the House
& holds the Senate,I expect him to really reach.
I could see a Constitutional Convention to “reform”
the document.
For the sake of national unity & economic justice you
would have to give up most of your stuff.
But , I don’t think that he will be reelected.
Obama on the economy: “I support same sex marriage”
Obama on energy: “I support same sex marriage”
Obama on national security: “I killed Bin Laden with my bare hands and did I mention I support same sex marriage ?”
The death of common sense is here when you can not-see (see what I did there) that the State is emotionally violating your children. Even if you ostrich your way through the agenda, you ought to be able to protect your kids. If you would not ask your kid what their biggest secret is, how is it possible to let a school teacher do so?
John Difool wrote:
Obama on Moochelle; “I did not have sex with that woman.”
@ Iron Fist:
he wants to distract. I wouldn’t be shock if Obama attacks a TV show like Bush in 92 did with Murphy Brown.
@ yenta-fada:
This is Maoist. It was no innocent childrens Mao
Christmas tree ornament on their tree.
Anita Dunn admires Mao & Mother Theresa & sees
them on the same level.
Obama & his people are like a gaggle of the nuttiest
professors that you ever had.
@ RIX:
The sheer number of fronts that Ozero is pushing is going to have a backlash.
@ Rodan:
Nah,he wouldn’t attack the TV industry. Too many in that industry donate to him. He is trying to distract from the economy, though. I think they have internal polling indicating that if the election becomes about the economy he loses. This with gay marriage is a ploy to shore up his base, and, indeed, a segment of the base I wouldn’t think needs shoring. I mean, can you see Andrew Sullivan coming out (so to speak) against Obama? It would never happen. No, this act smells of desperation, and it is way early for them to be desperate. By doing this now, it gives the churches something to preach against for six months, and churches do hold sway in a lot of communities even today. Now, I don’t think the black churches will preach against Obama and gay marriage, but Obama has already started a war with the Catholic Church, and it is too easy to see him mandating that all churches offer gay weddings if they want to retain their tax-exempt status for Protestant Churches to take this lying down.
@ Iron Fist:
You might find this interesting.
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/05/14/video-preachers-in-baltimore-blast-obama-for-same-sex-marriage-stance/
@ Flyovercountry:
@ Iron Fist:
Here’s a hopeful sign.
The Romney campaign plans to do the opposite of the McCain campaign
@ Flyovercountry:
There are some, but I don’t expect it to last. Look at the way black churches have turned a blind eye to the ravages of abortion in the black community. If it were happening anywhere else in the numbers it is happening in th eUS, they would not hesitate to call abortion genocide. But because it conflicts with core Democrat doctrine, black churches (in general) say nothing. Is this because black Baptists believe differently than white Baptists? Only on this specific issue. I predict that once the black churches aclimate themselves to the President’s new, evolved stance, they will turn a blind eye towards it.
@ Rodan:
I saw that. I worry that they are letting the Press dictate what they will do vis a VP. They want to “avoid a Palin mistake”, but Palin was the only thing that kept McCain from losing by double-digits. She might have even won the damned thing for him if he hadn’t thrown her to the wolves. If they want to “avoid the Palin mistake”, they have to first realize that betraying her was the mistake. No matter who Romney picks, the MFM will try their level best to destroy them. That is a given. They should make the best pick, then go to war with the press for the inevitible firestorm.
@ Rodan:
It won’t happen since most TV shows are so liberal what would he complain about? Its always the conservatives that would say something since TV tries to push the boundries of taste constantly.
@ MikeA:
He can go after Ancient Aliens. Obama can claim its racist since it implies that Aliens built the Pyramids. The ancient Egyptians were Black, so it implies Blacks can’t build pyramids!
////
I am joking, but who knows!
@ Iron Fist:
I really like Susana Martinez as VP or Bobby Jindal. Romney needs someone younger and moire energetic.
yenta-fada wrote:
I agree, he is going to fall because of his hubris.
He attacks anybody with money that is not one of his
donors, but he enjoys a fabulous lifestyle.
He sneers & mocks, but is probably our laziest president.
@ Rodan:
The only problem with Martinez is that she says she doesn’t want it. Whether she would actually turn it down is another question. I like her position on most things, and think she’d be a good addition to the team. She’d likely bring New Mexico along, and might make places like Nevada doable. It is, as much as anything, a chess match now. We have to get the 270 Electoral votes. I am excited, but I am also worried. So much is riding on this election. Obama is the most Left-wing President we have ever had. If he is re-elected, I can see him trying to rule as dictator, especially if the Republicans take the Senate and hold the House.
@ Rodan:
Sage advice, I love it.
@ Iron Fist:
he’s 3rd world Liberation. Its his agenda.
@ Flyovercountry:
Do the opposite of McLame!
Flyovercountry wrote:
They do need to keep Steve Schmidt from being their diviner of what went wrong though.
Oops, wrong reply
Rodan wrote:
They do need to keep Steve Schmidt from being their diviner of what went wrong though.
Every single day some more creepier comes out about obama. Good heavens asking children on a test to give up a secret? Children in elementary school will write all kinds of things. Whether it is true or not.
just in case anyone was paying attention
Lily wrote:
in East Germany, the best spies for the state were the kids.
coldwarrior wrote:
I’m sure because of their innocence. This is beyond the pale in my opinion. Right now 4 more years of bho seems like a nightmare.
@ coldwarrior:
Ron Paul! He still wants to make trouble at the Convention. I’ve always seen Paul as kind of a Ralph Nader figure. He has a really small but really rabid following. He was taken more seriously than he deserved to be. I hope he is gone for good after this year.
@ Iron Fist:
He is the perennial crazy uncle that seems to show up every presidental election. His followers are just as crazy. You would think he would get the hint with his low numbers.
@ Iron Fist:
Charles Johnson swore Ron Paul was on the very of re-establishing the 4th Reich.
@ Rodan:
Good heavens really? I swear cj is a blooming idiot.
I am sure cj is all on board with this….
CNN Compares Romney To 1960s Segregationist George Wallace…
http://weaselzippers.us/2012/05/14/cnn-compares-romney-to-1960s-segregationist-george-wallace/
@ Lily:
Yeah he thinks Ron Paul is at the center of some Nazi conspiracy.
@ Rodan:
He’s really stuck on stupid.
@ Lily:
Don Lemon who is usually not a bomb thrower made a
ridiculous analogy.
Segregation relatively speaking was not around that long.
Whereas traditional marriage has been Part of Western
tradition through the ages.
Comparing Romney to Wallace is the type of liberal insult
that has turned people off & one of the reasons BHO is
losing
Iron Fist wrote:
Alas, there’s still his son, Rand, who’s a chip off the ol’ block. As he’s the junior Senator from my own state, I offer my apologies. I voted for him and that vote still gives me pause.
@ RIX:
Yes it was a terrible analogy. For one I don’t see gays being forced to the back of the bus or different water fountains or such stuff like that at all. Not to mention Wallace was a democrat. They are really reaching here.
RIX wrote:
This stuff is thin gruel from the onset; we’re quickly coming to the point where even his allies are tentative in defending it. There’s an exodus away from Obama coming in the Dem ranks.
@ MacDuff:
I don’t know much about Rand, but I do know that it is possible for children to hold vastly different political views than their parents. My parents are both as far left as is possible for anyone on planet Earth to actually be, and I would consider myself to be distinctly more of a conservative. Rand has been a staunch supporter of the free markets, and in particular an advocate for doing away with the stench of the nanny state style of regulation choking our economy. At the very least, he comes off as at least sane, when venturing away from the economic issues and into the territory that made all of America label Ron Paul as the GOP’s crazy old uncle.
The Preezy of the the American Steezy is just a big sleezy: “I gotta get my shit”
Apparently more evolving is going on. Really this is the main issue lately?
Dem Rep. James Clyburn: I Have “Evolved” Past My “Fundamentalist Christian Indoctrination” And Now Support Gay Marriage…
http://weaselzippers.us/2012/05/14/dem-rep-james-clyburn-i-have-evolved-past-my-fundamentalist-christian-indoctrination-and-now-support-gay-marriage/
Flyovercountry wrote:
Well, he’s got another four years on his contract so there’s no real option than to wait and see. My perception is that he’s inherited his father’s isolationism, but, that’s a discussion for another day. Today, Obama needs to go and all else pales in comparison.
Keep It Simple:
Message to the U.S. Congress.. Your local Congressman/lady.
“Those who continue to support the spineless John Boehner will not be supported by American Voters.”
“You guys in the U.S. House now,, can and will be replaced”.
signed
U.S.A.
@ Lily:
I expect that we’ll see a lot of that over the next six months. It’ll tell you who takes their Christianity seriously, and for whom it is secondary to politics…
@ MacDuff:
Yup, Obamas divinity is wearing real thin.Even a lot of his supporters have to believe now that he is a poor product
of affirmative action.
@ Lily:
Exactly, gays do not suffer institutional discrimination
in jobs & public accomadations etc.
Iron Fist wrote:
Really unbelievable how many throw their Christian belief’s aside to support/(worship) bho! Good grief how many warnings are there in the Bible against this?
RIX wrote:
No they don’t … this is really an agenda against the Churches, our belief in God. They claim this is a civil rights issue.
Really? The ability to have sex with whatever or whoever is a civil rights issue? How far down this rabbit hole will it go? Next..children? Animals? Good grief.
@ RIX:
But wait they have ‘gay only hotels’! Isn’t that discrimination??
http://www.fla-keys.com/keywest/gaykeywest.cfm
Lily wrote:
In Birmingham they love the Guv’nor…ooh ooh ooh.
Such school assignments were common in the former DDR (East Germany).
Usually one would find out that one of their ‘privileges’ were revoked if someone tipped off the STASI. And the one to tip them off? Why, their own children!
Lily wrote:
Crass discrimination, where is my lawyer?
Doesn’t Rosie O’Donnell sponsor a lesbian cruise?
@ RIX:
Lily wrote:
Translated: I sold my soul to the Devil for 30 pieces of Silver.
huckfunn wrote:
Preezy be keepin’ it real!
@ RIX:
God, I hope activities on said cruise don’t include Salad Tossing!
/EEEEWWWWWW!
doriangrey wrote:
Indeed and that seems to be on the rise. Selling your soul for 30 pieces of silver.