In Canada we have a commercial that runs at this time of year for Office Depot with the song It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year and I laugh every time I see it 'cause it's the furthest thing from the little rug rats' minds as mom takes them through the store buying school supplies.
This year more than just the kids went back to school. A few politicians entered the hallowed halls of learning. President Obama's trip to the classroom met with mixed reviews.
A seemingly innocuous and apolitical speech to 9th graders about the importance of an education was slammed by his right-wing critics before he even gave it, who accused the White House of political interference and attempting to sway public opinion on the health care debate. Said Florida Republican chair Jim Greer, "President Obama has turned to America's children to spread liberal lies, indoctrinating America's youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves."
Wow, and he believes that shit? That's right folks, the President is taking over the minds of America's youth. Next they'll accuse him of selling them on the benefits of socialism.
Meanwhile in Canada, Ontario's premier Dalton McGuinty went back to school this week, too. In Canada, a provincial premier is like a state governor...minus the extra-marital affair. Did he have an inspiring message to pass on to his province's youth? A stirring oratory on the advantages of a higher education? An announcement, maybe, of his government's investment in building more schools or enriching the curriculum? 
You put your right hand in, you take you right hand out...
This year more than just the kids went back to school. A few politicians entered the hallowed halls of learning. President Obama's trip to the classroom met with mixed reviews.
A seemingly innocuous and apolitical speech to 9th graders about the importance of an education was slammed by his right-wing critics before he even gave it, who accused the White House of political interference and attempting to sway public opinion on the health care debate. Said Florida Republican chair Jim Greer, "President Obama has turned to America's children to spread liberal lies, indoctrinating America's youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves."Wow, and he believes that shit? That's right folks, the President is taking over the minds of America's youth. Next they'll accuse him of selling them on the benefits of socialism.
Meanwhile in Canada, Ontario's premier Dalton McGuinty went back to school this week, too. In Canada, a provincial premier is like a state governor...minus the extra-marital affair. Did he have an inspiring message to pass on to his province's youth? A stirring oratory on the advantages of a higher education? An announcement, maybe, of his government's investment in building more schools or enriching the curriculum? Ah, well, no actually. He was there to wash his hands. Yep, he was teaching first-graders the proper way to scrub their hands so as to minimize their chances of catching swine flu. Was he criticized for warping young minds, for spreading socialism? Far from it. And in the school of public opinion McGuinty's grades are higher than Obama's, hands down.
You put your right hand in, you take you right hand out...
Comments
HEY!
CatLady: To steal and paraphrase a joke had washing will lead to socialism when pigs fly. Oh yeah, swine flu!
I, too, didn't understand the hoopla about the Obama speech.
And I am a conservative, but I thought the extreme right wingers were just ridiculous!
And hey as the Mom of a five year old? Teaching them and reminding them to wash their hands properly?
PRICELESS!
*smile*
Kirsten: Hell, we're not stopping there. Today neo-Marxism hand-washing, tomorrow Neo-Trotsky ear-washing...with Q-tips. Where will it end? Proper table-setting etiquette with neo-linenism!
I would say that I'm neither liberal nor conservative, but I'm so sick and tired of the right-wingers in the U.S., who not only seem dumb as posts to me but even more anxious than liberals to indoctrinate young minds with lies, that I've seriously considered moving to the more neutral land of Canada. I like the food up there, the hockey's great, health care's affordable, vacations are long, the standard of living is high and your political leaders aren't beneath teaching kids how to wash their hands properly, which is probably more important than almost anything else we learn in life.
I swear to you, this latest flap over Obama's speech to kids had me digging through my files for my passport.
Glad you enjoyed this one.
Cause of death rank: 7th leading cause of death in 1999 and 2000 is "pneumonia/influenza" (CDC)
Death rate extrapolations for USA for Flu: 63,729 per year, 5,310 per month, 1,225 per week, 174 per day, 7 per hour, 0 per minute, 0 per second. Note: this automatic extrapolation calculation uses the deaths statistic: 63,730 annual deaths for influenza and pneumonia (NVSR Sep 2001); estimated 20,000 deaths from flu (NIAID)
Those are the stats for the U.S. alone. Worldwide there have been 311 deaths from Swine Flu. Where's this so-called pandemic?
311 is the number they gave on the news last night. Other times I've heard much smaller numbers and still others much larger. I wish they could make up there minds and decide for sure the actual toll!
Skye: An excellent point and thanks for the figures to back it up. Approx 63,000 deaths from influenza vs approx 300 for swine flu. Swine flu isn't the problem. Another animal, all the chicken littles crying the sky is falling is the problem.