As reported over at media matters, they can take the most benign thing and make it into some conspiracy to "indoctrinate" children:
I know, I know. You think I'm kidding. Or exaggerating. That I'm caricaturing the conservatives' position in order to make them look ridiculous.
Wrong. They defy caricature. There's nothing you can imagine that is too crazy for these people to say. They'll claim Barack Obama was secretly born in Kenya (his birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers were just one part of an elaborate, decades-long conspiracy involving Kenyans, the media, Hawaii's Republican governor, and the Stonecutters). They'll say he has a diabolical plan to create government "death panels" to kill off the old and the young. They'll claim he is building a secret private army (consisting of -- I swear I am not making this up -- AmeriCorps and Peace Corps volunteers) that is "just as strong" as the U.S. military so that he can "seize power" and create a "thugocracy."
And when President Obama delivers the least-controversial message you could possibly imagine -- "Stay in school" -- they call it "indoctrination" and an attempt to "get 'em while they're young," warning, "They are capturing your kids" and "your republic is under attack."
That's right: "Your republic is under attack," and Barack Obama is "capturing your kids." By urging them to stay in school and ... learn. As Education Secretary Arne Duncan explained in a letter to schools:
In a recent interview with student reporter, Damon Weaver, President Obama announced that on September 8 -- the first day of school for many children across America -- he will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of education. The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.
http://mediamatters.org/column...
This sprang the lunatic fringe into action, led by none other than Glenn Beck who someone, ANYONE clearly needs to encourage to take his meds, even if they must force feed them to him. Unfortunately he was not alone in lunacy:
So Glenn Beck and his fellow tinfoil hat-wearers sprang into action. Beck went off on his "indoctrination" rant, warning of secret private armies (no, he isn't worried about Blackwater -- it's the thought of English majors signing up to help teach people how to read that keeps him up at night).
WorldNetDaily said Obama's planned speech "raises the specter of the Civilian National Security Force" and promoted comparisons to Hitler's youth brigade. Mark Steyn said the speech is part of a "cult of personality," though he did admit it isn't on the scale of Saddam Hussein's.
NewsBusters' Mark Finkelstein alerted his followers to the striking similarity between President Obama's plan to encourage students to work hard and Chairman Mao's leadership of China. Because, you know, one day you're urging kids to get good grades, and the next you're ordering mass executions. Duh.
Their solution?? Lets keep our kids out of school so they can be as ignorant, misled, and totally uninformed as we are. Then they can embark upon a career flipping burgers at Mickey D's or a similar service type job the Republicans love to create while outsourcing jobs with real wages and benefits:
Some conservative media didn't simply complain about Obama's dastardly efforts to promote hard work and learning among America's schoolchildren. No, they came up with a solution: Children should stay home from school.
Radio host Tammy Bruce asked "TownHall Patriots" to help organize "PASS Day Picnics" -- that's "Parentally Approved Skip School Day," for the uninitiated. In a blog post under a close-up photo her hand holding a gun, Bruce added that "Urkel" -- that's her pet name for Obama; get it? -- is going to "make[] a grab for your kids" and that he is "setting us on fire."
Newsmax writer Pam Geller agreed that the last place kids should be next Tuesday is school, urging parents to keep their kids home lest they be "brainwash[ed]" by the "fascist in chief."
What's the lesson in all of this? That we shouldn't ever take anything the conservative media say seriously? Well, sure. That's a start. But -- and maybe it's just me -- I think there's a real opportunity here. If the conservative media show such knee-jerk opposition to anything Barack Obama says that they'll urge schoolchildren to skip class so they don't have to hear the president poison their minds with a bunch of nonsense about studying and working hard, Obama should use it to his advantage. Just think how vigorously Fox News will promote health care reform -- if President Obama comes out against it.
You know something?? Here in Kentucky a parent can actually be put in jail if their child misses too much school for unexcused reasons. I think if these lunatics keep their children out of school on next Tuesday they should be charged for contributing to the truancy of their children and brought into court like the hate-filled criminals they are.
But that is just me....
|
