[Vision2020] President Obama's Socialist Mind-Control "Back toSchool" Speech Released

[Tom Hansen]

"This is something you'd expect to see in North Korea or in Saddam
Hussein's Iraq."

- Oklahoma state Senator Steve Russell about President Obama's "Back to
School" speech.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

> And why should that stop you?  The ability to read, write, or argue
> coherently doesn't seem to be a part of any criteria related to the
> current parental opposition.
>
> Sue H.
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Art Deco
>   To: vision2020
>   Sent: Monday, September 07, 2009 9:08 PM
>   Subject: Re: [Vision2020] President Obama's Socialist Mind-Control "Back
> toSchool" Speech Released
>
>
>   Sorry Dave, but many of those opposed to the speech may not be able to
> read, write, or argue coherently.
>
>   W.
>     ----- Original Message -----
>     From: Dave
>     To: vision2020
>     Sent: Monday, September 07, 2009 8:52 PM
>     Subject: Re: [Vision2020] President Obama's Socialist Mind-Control
> "Back to School" Speech Released
>
>
>     I think the kids whose parents don't want them to hear the speech
> should
>     be made to write a defense of their opposing viewpoint and explain why
>     they should NOT study hard and stay in school.
>
>     Dave
>
>
>     Tom Hansen wrote:
>     > Courtesy of the White House website at:
>     >
>     > http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
>     >
>     > --------------------------------------------------
>     >
>     > Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
>     > Back to School Event
>     >
>     > Arlington, Virginia
>     > September 8, 2009
>     >
>     > The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m
> here with
>     > students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve
> got
>     > students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through
> twelfth
>     > grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
>     >
>     > I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And
> for
>     > those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school,
> it’s your
>     > first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little
>     > nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling
> pretty
>     > good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what
> grade
>     > you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer,
> and you
>     > could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
>     >
>     > I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia
> for a
>     > few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all
> the
>     > American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra
> lessons
>     > herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
>     > Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times,
> I’d
>     > fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d
> complain,
>     > my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no
>     > picnic for me either, buster."
>     >
>     > So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school.
> But I’m
>     > here today because I have something important to discuss with you.
> I’m
>     > here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s
>     > expected of all of you in this new school year.
>     >
>     > Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a
> lot
>     > about responsibility.
>     >
>     > I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you,
> and
>     > pushing you to learn.
>     >
>     > I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you
> stay on
>     > track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour
> in
>     > front of the TV or with that Xbox.
>     >
>     > I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting
> high
>     > standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around
> schools
>     > that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities
> they
>     > deserve.
>     >
>     > But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers,
> the
>     > most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and
> none of
>     > it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities.
> Unless you
>     > show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to
> your
>     > parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it
> takes
>     > to succeed.
>     >
>     > And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of
> you
>     > has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you
> have
>     > to yourself.
>     >
>     > Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single
> one of
>     > you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to
> yourself to
>     > discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can
> provide.
>     >
>     > Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a
> book
>     > or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you
> write a
>     > paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an
>     > inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or
> a new
>     > medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a
> project for
>     > your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a
> Supreme
>     > Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student
>     > government or the debate team.
>     >
>     > And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that
> you’ll
>     > need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher,
> or a
>     > police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or
> a
>     > member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for
> every
>     > single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just
> drop
>     > into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and
> learn for
>     > it.
>     >
>     > And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future.
> What
>     > you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future
> of
>     > this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine
> whether
>     > we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
>     >
>     > You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in
> science
>     > and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new
> energy
>     > technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights
> and
>     > critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to
> fight
>     > poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our
> nation
>     > more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity
> you
>     > develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create
> new
>     > jobs and boost our economy.
>     >
>     > We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and
>     > intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you
> don’t
>     > do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on
> yourself,
>     > you’re quitting on your country.
>     >
>     > Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot
> of you
>     > have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to
> focus on
>     > your schoolwork.
>     >
>     > I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I
> was two
>     > years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at
> times to
>     > pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other
> kids had.
>     > There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There
> were
>     > times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
>     >
>     > So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some
> things I’m
>     > not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my
> life
>     > could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
>     >
>     > But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the
> opportunity
>     > to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our
> First
>     > Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had
> gone
>     > to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she
>     > worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this
> country.
>     >
>     > Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have
> adults
>     > in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone
> in your
>     > family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go
> around.
>     > Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have
>     > friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.
>     >
>     > But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you
> look
>     > like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got
> going
>     > on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having
> a bad
>     > attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or
> cutting
>     > class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.
>     >
>     > Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end
> up. No
>     > one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your
> own
>     > destiny. You make your own future.
>     >
>     > That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across
> America.
>     >
>     > Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t
> speak
>     > English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown
> went
>     > to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she
> worked
>     > hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and
> is
>     > now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being
> Dr.
>     > Jazmin Perez.
>     >
>     > I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s
>     > fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of
>     > treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it
> took him
>     > much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he
> never
>     > fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.
>     >
>     > And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago,
> Illinois.
>     > Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest
>     > neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center;
> start a
>     > program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to
> graduate
>     > high school with honors and go on to college.
>     >
>     > Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you.
> They
>     > faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused
> to give
>     > up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set
> goals
>     > for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
>     >
>     > That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals
> for
>     > your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your
> goal can
>     > be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention
> in
>     > class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide
> to
>     > get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your
>     > community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being
> teased
>     > or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you
> believe,
>     > like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and
> learn.
>     > Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be
> more
>     > ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your
> hands a
>     > lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can
> keep
>     > people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
>     > Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you
> to
>     > really work at it.
>     >
>     > I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be
> rich and
>     > successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is
> through
>     > rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are,
> you’re
>     > not going to be any of those things.
>     >
>     > But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every
> subject
>     > you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework
>     > assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this
> minute.
>     > And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you
> try.
>     > That’s OK.  Some of the most successful people in the world are the
> ones
>     > who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book
> was
>     > rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael
> Jordan was
>     > cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of
> games
>     > and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said,
> "I have
>     > failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I
>     > succeed."
>     >
>     > These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let
> your
>     > failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to
> let them
>     > show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble,
> that
>     > doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder
> to
>     > behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it
> just
>     > means you need to spend more time studying.
>     >
>     > No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things
> through hard
>     > work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new
> sport.
>     > You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got
> to
>     > practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a
> math
>     > problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few
> times
>     > before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s
> good
>     > enough to hand in.
>     >
>     > Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
> when you
>     > need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of
> weakness,
>     > it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when
> you
>     > don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult
> you
>     > trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and
> ask
>     > them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
>     > And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and
> you
>     > feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on
>     > yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your
>     > country.
>     >
>     > The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got
> tough.
>     > It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their
>     > country too much to do anything less than their best.
>     >
>     > It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and
> went
>     > on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat
> where you
>     > sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who
> fought
>     > for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where
> you sit
>     > 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed
> the way
>     > we communicate with each other.
>     >
>     > So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be?
> What
>     > problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make?
> What will
>     > a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years
> say
>     > about what all of you did for this country?
>     >
>     > Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to
> make
>     > sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m
>     > working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books,
> equipment
>     > and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too.
> So I
>     > expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best
> effort
>     > into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So
> don’t
>     > let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself
> down. Make
>     > us all proud. I know you can do it.
>     >
>     > Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
>     >
>     > --------------------------------------------------
>     >
>     > " . . . write your own destiny . . . make your own future . . .
> become
>     > good at things through hard work . . . you can't let your failures
> define
>     > you . . ."
>     >
>     > It's all socialist mind-control.  What's next?  Affordable health
> care?
>     >
>     > Seeya round town, comrades.
>     >
>     > Tom Hansen
>     > Moscow, Idaho
>     >