No Crony Left Behind
New Rule: In the next fifteen months, President Bush has to perform at least one act that doesn't make money for someone he knows.
Take "No Child Left Behind." At first it just looked like gentle empty bullshit, a way to neutralize the Democrats edge with voters on education issues. What did it even mean? And how could you be against it? Education. It was a perfect cause that would honor the legacy of any president...'s wife. Which made it even more perfect for pre-9/11 Bush. And who could it hurt? No one. It made Lady Bird Johnson's wild-flowers-by-the-highways project look like the fucking Marshall Plan.
Except, like all Bush ideas, there was more to it. To meet the requirements of "No Child Left Behind" America's public schools have ordered more than eleven million standardized tests in the last two years. (New York State alone ordered 1.7 million.) The cost of the tests -- and the testing industry, including test prep -- now exceeds two billion dollars a year. And 90% of the industry is controlled by five corporations. And the largest of them is McGraw-Hill. And the McGraw family just happens to go back 80 years with the Bushes.
Another beneficiary of No Child Left Behind? Neil Bush's educational software company. The one funded by the United Arab Emirates. The one Barbara Bush said the Katrina victims had to spend her donation on.
Which is, of course, all blood under the bridge. But when Bush does anything, there's always some profit motive behind it. Nothing is free but the hookers. So it wasn't surprising that he announced his post war plans were to replenish the coffers with speeches. But before that, he has to do one purely altruistic thing. Just one.
Bill Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" which airs every Friday at 11PM.
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My honest belief is that Americans will be stupid enough to let the Bush's and Clintons run the country for a quarter of a century.
Taking care of your "cronies" is the new culture.
...just ask Bush's Saudi criminal friends, and
...just ask Clinton's friend, criminal fundraiser Norman Hsu.
Elections are bought. 2000 election was bought, and Hillary is buying the 2008 election.
Who is Dick Cheney's Army loyal to The United States Government or the Republican Party.
They have no constitution. Are we funding our military fully or have diverted those funds to Dick Cheney's private Army.
I see what Dick Cheney meant now,"we will be back and you think you seen power we will show you power." His army will be bigger then the US Military by them.
How can you reconsile two Governments in the same land.
Republicans have formed there own Government.
Secretary of defence Black Water
Secretary of the Media Rupert Murdock
Secretary of Energy Exxon
Secretary of Supply Haliburton
I think that is called treason and traitors.
They took our money and formed there own government. Using the apparatus of our govnerment to collect the taxes they need.
9 trillion in debt is no big deal for them there government is in the black. Black water.
I don't believe anything this administration says. I wouldn't trust Bush to give me the right time of day if he had a clock stapled to his forehead.
CNN: Price of Iraq war 10 times pre-war predictions
David Edwards and Greg Wasserstrom
Published: Friday November 2, 2007
I wonder how many of Bush's friends have made it big while our men and women die in the stinking sand. Can you sue a president for squandering our treasury?
http://raw
Funny, Bill don't all Presidents give speeches after they leave the White House? I believe former President Clinton make tens of millions of dollars a year on speeches. Does that bother you? As far as your conspiracy goes, considering that there are only five major manufactorers of text books is it suprising that the company you mention would do well under this plan? Also, does the Bush's have a financial relationship with the company that you mentioned. If not, then your conspiracy theory is much like other 9-11 theories, a load of bull. Also, the purchase of text books are decisions made by local school boards which you conveniently forgot. These school boards could purchase from any one of the five major companies or small ones that meet act decisions. So much for your conspiracy theories.
BILL!!!!
Bill, Bill, Bill,,, PLEASE!
Look your language is Improving. That is a step in the right direction, BUT get on the proper page here.
Ok,,, Think now!
THINK!
You are a maniacal megalomaniac who believes he knows what is the RIGHT way,,,, Well,,, The ONLY WAY for the whole country to believe, act, dress, sing, make love and think.
With me so far?
Now do you spend the next 50 years, re-writing all the history books, getting YOUR God into schools and YOUR prayers said, canceling all music, art, critical thinking, philosophy and humanities courses, converting liberal professors or firing them, purging all libraries of everything you don’t like??????
Or,,,, OR,,,,,,,,,OR?
Do you spend about 10 weeks setting up a testing system that does precisely the same thing,,,, AND,,,,, If the teachers do not comply with indoctrinating children to the new Academic Taliban ideals,,,, you threaten to take away their money.
In one fell swoop!!!!
WHAM,,, all schools and curriculums swing into YOUR Ideological compliance.
BILL!!!!!!
Education is an art form, NOT an assembly line.
What Bush and the Neo-Cons have done, is Robotize Learning.
Bill, did you know Einstein was horrible at math?
Henry Ford couldn’t even fix his own tractors?
Thomas Edison couldn*t focus more than 45 minutes on one project?
Louis Pasture was a daydreamer and hated chemistry?
Sir Isaac Newton spent more time with seeking God than Gravity?
Every single great in HISTORY was a weirdo and a malcontent and under the Bush-A-Ninnie plans for education they would have been in Special Ed with a teacher that was assured and indoctrinated to believe her testing, that they would never amount to much.
The PLAN,,, don*t change all the books, don*t even re-train the teachers,,, just change the testing.
The Robots will excel,,, and the Dreamers will fail.
GET IT!
All the best
Knute (Neo-LIB)
Can we censure or send Senators and Congress-people to jail for ignoring their duty? The one single oath they take is to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States.
Bush shreds while they snore.
Dems Schumer & Feinstein agreed to confirm the torture-tolerant AG, Mukasey. Torture is illegal according to US and international law. Only Dennis Kucinich has used the word, "impeach". What's wrong with the rest of Congress? They should be jailed right next to the Bushies and Cheney for FAILING to impeach these villans.
the only upside to the writer's strike is that we won't have to listen to bill maher for a while.
Liars Thieves and and Thugs
The entire Bush regime, of course. As Frank Herbert wrote about the thuggish Harkonnens: No godd, never good, good for absolutely nothing.Th
There is also the military, who has been allowed access to the records of all the children so they can target those most likely to join the military. That way they can target their pressure.
Not to mention killing the public school system, and blocking teachers' abilities to teach actual critical thinking and logic.
I work for a major publishing company (not McGraw-Hill) that prints standardized test booklets on 3rd party contract. Part of my job involves working directly with said tests. Even though NCLB keeps me employed, I think it's a stupid, ineffective law that should be repealed.
I think the real blame for school failures lay with parents and communities. Everyone wants to see schools succeed, but very few want to do much to help insure that success, let alone /pay/ for it. Apparently it's OK for old people to collect the social security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits paid for by other people but not OK for some of those same old people to pay for someone else's education.
Bill, your readings of the Little Shrub are right-on, but could you speak to Impeachment? Why is Nancy Pelosi keeping "Impeachment off the Table."?? Couldn't you (or if I missed it, where can I go to get you previous view on this disappointment?) give a cogent reason for her totally unstatesmanlike behavior in her new job. The Cheney / Bush-league administration of liars, incomptents and criminals, according to law, must be Impeached. Why is she counting votes instead of proclaiming that the U.S. will no longer tolerate these clowns?? Please, if you have the time?
Just start learning Chinese...
A lot of kids are extreemly bright, some
will be the CEO of companies. Kids as young
as 4 can tell you what something does on
the computer. But a lot lack motivation,
involvement in school or life at home. They
resent authority, Some grow into the teen
years and decide to take out a few of those
people that they feel have let them down,
or just pissed them off. The school system
doesn't get the chance to teach from K-12,
they have to figure out how to pay for
salaries and make federal guidelines. If
parents had the time, home schooling would
be better.
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