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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It should be called NCGA -- No child gets ahead. It's just too bad someone couldn't sodomize the Bush family the way it has raped the middle class.
one alturistic thing. what about starting a cheerleading hall of fame. oh, that won't work he'll be the 1st inductee!!!
hou u during
Many people think Bush is stupid, but I disagree. Obviously, he sounds and looks stupid no doubt about it. But, here's my point : that's because he believes the people he is talking to are stupid. Get it ? He thinks the american citizens (those who vote for him, anyway) are a bunch of dumb bastards who will believe every stupid things he says. Unfortunately, it still works. The man is an artist.
imagine what we haven't dug up or figured out yet?
everytime we dig a little deeper, or pay any attention, we find what this presidency is all about.
following the money, we get to see how sorely that job position is being wasted and on whom.
i'm feeling dennis the menace meets alfred e. newman meets don quixote meets chicken little meets - who's that stupid stubborn guy?
When your decisions are ordained by God, they must be altruistic. Right?
The only GOOD thing that this particular president could do that would really matter would be to fire Cheney, appoint Al Gore as his vice President and then resign his office.
GOD Damned but that WOULD be good!!!!!
People looking at this Presidents record and the trail of wreckage he's producing tend to come to the conclusion that he's utterly incompetent.
But if you consider instead what's making money for him and his cronies, without any regard whatsoever for the condition or future of this country, his record starts to looks very different.
These aren't idiots accidently ruining our country, these are opportunists who are actively pillaging our country.
It's past time we woke up and saw the truth of it. You are right on the money Bill. (pun intended)
Good idea, Bill! Very good!!! Only one problem exists: Bush doesn't understand "altruistic". Sorta typical of a non-reader who also happens to be an idiot. But, hey! nobody's perfect! Y'know, someone has to head the inept corruptible list so Bush might as well suck up & go to it. He couldn't do any worse!
Astute observations as usual, Mr. Maher. I fear, however, that before Bush does something truly altruistic or sincerely compassionate that you will get religion!
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NCLB was predicated on the Houston Miracle when Bush was governor of Texas, and Bush even made his Houston superintendent, Ron Paige, Secretary of Education. They called it the Houston Miracle because schools in Houston with a 90% minority enrollment suddenly started seeing their students pass the standardized tests and have a virtually zero dropout rate. Bush got much acclaim, and he used it in his 2000 presidential campaign. It was too good to be true, and it wasn't. They administratively changed grades, test scores, and attendance records. Total fraud and fabrication. If you haven't read about this, it would be worth your time to do so. This was Bush's training for what was to become the Office of Special Plans and the falsification of the justification for war in Iraq.
Everybody knew the Houston Miracle was a fraud, and everybody in education who had any idea of what he/she was doing knew NCLB could not possible work. It was built on lies, and it had fatal system flaws. It was not implementable.
Speeches Bill? First you have to say one intelligent sentence, followed by another and then another...
But Bill he did do one altruistic thing... He pardoned Scooter Libby. See he's not such a bad guy :)
Here in Florida we have FCAT's for our students,a gift from one of those other Shrubs,
Jeb.The kids spend half the year preparing,and get this, teachers assessments {and jobs}are rated on their students performanc
I seriously doubt altruism is a word Georgie could pronounce, much less understand
It's been happening for years.... yet no one has done anything.
MARK THESE WORDS:
Rather than leave them in the sights of (we pray) an Enraged Electorate (and a Democratic majority with subpoena power AND balls), before he leaves office, George W. Bush will cover the ass of his favorite cronies by PARDONING them, for all crimes they MAY HAVE committed. Dollars to donuts, the Turd Blossom's fix is IN. (Along with Darth Cheney's, Gonzo's, probably even Barney's.)
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