Rod Paige: NEA a "terrorist organization"

[Fenris]

WASHINGTON - Education Secretary Rod Paige called the nation's largest teachers union a "terrorist organization" during a private White House meeting with governors on Monday.

<snip>

"He was making a joke, probably not a very good one," said Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania. "Of course he immediately divorced the NEA from ordinary teachers, who he said he supports."

<snip>

Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, a Democrat, said the comments were made in the context of "we can't be supportive of the status quo and they're the status quo. But whatever the context, it is inappropriate — I know he wasn't calling teachers terrorists — but to ever suggest that the organization they belong to was a terrorist organization is uncalled for."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=716&e=8&u=/ap/20040223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/governors_bush

[mobuto]

1. Very funny

Rod Paige, you'd be out of a job - there wouldn't be a Department of Education - if it weren't for the NEA. Do yourself a favor and shut up.

[markses]

58. For once, you and I agree about something

Rod Paige should have been out of a job before he returned to his office. A fucking terrorist organization? What a dangerous, dangerous thing to say.

[mobuto]

2. Duplicate

Rod Paige is still a horse's ass.

[RobertSeattle]

3. Keep that supply of Conservative Idiots Coming!!!

I think the DU authors might just have to expand the list from 10 to 15 in an election year...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/04/144.html

[benfranklin1776]

4. And they accuse Democrats of supposedly being hateful?

Nothing like yet another good example of Republican Freudian Projection at work. Accuse others of doing one's own worst deeds. Pray tell will Ed Gillespie rush to condemn Mr. Paige's hateful rhetoric with the speed he got himself worked up into a lather about the Bush is Hitler controversy. Here it was a CABINET SECRETARY speaking which is considerably more inflammatory than the views of a private citizen making a video. Pray tell can we expect John Aschcroft to be rounding up teachers who are members of the NEA and shipping them to Guantanamo to be held without trial? These folks are living proof of Twain's maxim that they should remain quiet and be thought the fool instead of opening their mouths and removing all doubt.

[tom_paine]

6. Well said, Ben

I have the idea that if you hooked up a generator to the graves of Franklin, Paine, Jefferson, Madison and everyone but Hamilton (who would probably be very comfortable with the Imperial Family Bush and their Straussian Morality), you could probably generate enough electricity from their spinning to light up a small city for a year!

And yes, as Hitler did, the Busheviks stock in trade is of accusing Jews of doing what they themselves, the Nazis are doing.

Some things never change, eh Ben? Uncle Karl and Gillespie and Rush just dusted off the old Mein Kampf Playbook and found out it still works, when slightly modified for the different nation and era, as well as it ever did..

They must be very pleased.

:puke: :puke:

[benfranklin1776]

16. So true about there being nothing new under the sun.

The one universal constant is that human behavior is want to repeat, particularly when it comes to the affairs of politics and governance. Though the various individual combatants and players may change over time the framework of the essential battle remains the same, namely the haves versus the have nots. One of the great rhetorical tools used by the haves is of course to belittle the havenots by accusing them of dangerous and seditious behavior whenever they have the temerity to join together to combat an oppressive status quo, and the ruling elite thus brand such efforts as treason to the established order. Thus in the Straussian neocon way of thinking those who believe in the institutions of liberal democracy, which include associations of individuals joined together in common cause such as unions, are the enemy and are to be treated as such. Hence the labelling by Mr. Paige since it reflects their worldview.

On Edit: You are so right about Hamilton, he would make a splendid neocon!

[tom_paine]

19. I think Jefferson said it best (although the terminology isn't up to date)

"Where a constitution, like ours, wears a mixed aspect of monarchy and republicanism, its citizens will naturally divide into two classes of sentiment, according as their tone of body or mind, their habits, connections and callings, induce them to wish to strengthen either the monarchical or the republican features of the constitution. Some will consider it as an elective monarchy, which had better be made hereditary, and therefore endeavor to lead towards that all the forms and principles of its administration. Others will view it as an energetic republic, turning in all its points on the pivot of free and frequent elections." --Thomas Jefferson to James Sullivan, 1797. ME 9:377

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1020.htm

Whioch basically is what you're saying, though Jefferson didn;t break it up into have and have-nots, but republicans and monarchists.

But today, Democrats are the republicans and the Busheviks are the monarchists...

[benfranklin1776]

21. Well quoted and well put.

Indeed that is what we see by this crew of neocons. They seek the restoration of imperial rule. Monarchy was the seventeenth century term for autocratic rule which the despots of that era tried to justify with the doctrine of "the divine right of kings." Today Monarchy is outdated of course, so our appointed "leader" speaks of being an all powerful "War President" or joking of the joys of dictatorship, while boasting that he has been chosen by God for his leadership. Political opponents who oppose the "new crown" are considered enemies of the state and they are demonized as Mr. Paige has done. Yes, autocracy by any other name still reeks as foul a stench.

On edit: I agree heartily with your keen observation that Democrats adhere to the Jeffersonian view and are the true republicans.

[w4rma]

88. Note, Jefferson's political party was the Democratic-Republican Party.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Democratic-Republican_Party

[LiberalFighter]

89. The point is??

[CBHagman]

5. So much for that "Grown-ups are in charge" spiel.

Paige's remark was both puerile and incendiary. How unprofessional.

[callous taoboy]

7. Cute little remarks

like this that undermine the hard work of NEA are out of line. I don't care if he was just making a little joke: He should be called on it and apologize.

[JailForBush]

12. "The hard work of the NEA"???

Oh, you were probably commenting on how hard they work at hiding in their offices, stabbing teachers in the back or screwing kids. Nevermind.

[callous taoboy]

25. Teachers

are the NEA! Thanks for the compliment. Sheesh...

[JailForBush]

26. No Kidding.

There are plenty of apathetic back-stabbers in their ranks, too.

But seriously, the "Teaches ARE the NEA" line is a big lie. The NEA recruits a lot of Judases from their ranks, then shits on the rest of them.

[Pikku]

39. Me = Terrorist

Seriously, I'm a teacher, an NEA member, and the NEA speaks for me. I agree with their political platform.

Paige's remark, "joke" or not, is libelous. Membership in a terrorist organization is an illegal action. Paige is accusing me of illegal activity, in print. That's libel.

Resignation. Nothing less.

[childslibrarian]

45. Amen

Resignation

[roguevalley]

73. Not only that. Ashcraft said that he can revoke your American

citizenship if you belong to a terrorist organization.
Wow. After 400 years here, I am toast.

By the way, what do you teach?

[callous taoboy]

76. Thank you, Pikku.

I am a teacher and have been a member of NEA since I started my career 15 years ago. We are not a perfect organization, but to say that we are terrorists is a such a stupid, pathetic thing to say and to agree with. The fact that they are arguing against the insanity of NCLB (and apparently ruffling a few feathers in the process) is why I will continue to pay my union dues.

[proud2BlibKansan]

87. I'm a teacher too

but no longer belong to NEA. But I took offense at Paige's remarks.

Imagine if one of us had called Paige a terrorist - we'd be behind bars!!

[Taeger]

67. NEA officials are elected ...

Unlike the president ;-)

[roguevalley]

72. I'm a teacher (Retired) and have been either AFT (AFL-CIO) or NEA for

twenty-seven years. This is crap on the scale of
vesuvius. Our job is HARD ENOUGH without this crap.

This man hates unions. What else is new? Repigs hate
unions. Any union person who votes for a repig is an
ass.

This man needs fired. Teachers get enough crap, especially
now with No Damned Kid Left Behind Unless Its Politically
Expedient and Matches My Severe and Many Prejudices,
Bigotries and Other Assorted Mental Illnesses!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shit. I hate them.

RV, 27 year elementary teacher, BS, MA with Honors

[callous taoboy]

77. Kudos to you, Roguevalley!

[0007]

18. After being caught for cooking the school books in Texas

and awarded a promotion, Secretary of Education Ron Paige should be held accountable for making such a statement.

[xxqqqzme]

31. I was wondering if this was the

statistic fry cook. After his TX book cookin' was exposed, he should be barred from having ANYthing 2 do w/ education! Moran CEO!

[0007]

52. He'll soon be gone - - along with alot of other Moran CEO's

[Taeger]

68. Unflexible teachers are a roadblock to better education scores ....

They insist on actually ADDING up scores instead of making shit up!!!!

[CO Liberal]

8. CO Liberal: RNC a "Terrorist Organization"

:kick:

[JackDragna]

9. What a shock, coming from Paige.

Ever seen him interviewed? Every time he's asked a question about a problem with education, he just repeats "Well, the No Child Left Behind Act fixes that by..." He could be asked how school lunches could be healthier and I'd guarantee his response would have some element of NCLB in it. The man is an automaton.

[JailForBush]

10. Wow, Rod Paige actually said something intelligent?!

Having spent 16 years in public education and being very politically active for the last six or seven, I can tell you that The NEA IS a terrorist organization. The organization could just as well call itself a bridge club as a teachers' union.

That doesn't mean I support Rod Paige; he's scum, too. Of course, we all know how vigorously the NEA blew the whistle on him - NOT. Nor did the NEA blow the whistle on the late John Stanford, the "George Bush of Education" who Bush almost certainly would have appointed U.S. Secretary of Education if he hadn't died of leukemia (one of the best things that ever happened to education).

On another note, isn't it amazing how many friends Bill Gates has in the NEA? Many of them are remarkably similar to Dick Cheney - they're in hiding. Go figure.

[Sabriel]

11. Dissenters = Terrorists

I see Mr. Paige has picked up and regurgitated the party line on dissent. So if you're against No Child Left Behind, you're a terrorist? I suppose I should watch what I say in my pre-service education classes, lest I be mistaken for an al Qaeda member...rather than a progressive, democratic educator.

[Stefkaskid]

13. "Out of context"

I wonder if the explanation will be that his remarks were taken "out of context". I wonder what Paige's old teachers would say about him? Too bad some network doesn't dig up his 6th grade teacher and ask them about his comments!

[Ripley]

14. The Repukes in Alabama have declared "war" on them.

I read an article this weekend that said that. They have declared war on the teacher's union in Alabama because their lobbyist in Montgomery does too much for them. The heart of the matter is that they want the teacher's to pay for their own health insurance to "fix" the state budget problems. These teachers make $15-20,0000, many of them buy school supplies for their kids out of their own pockets and now they are expected to pay an additional what? $5,000 a year for their health insurance? This is outrageous. They never ask the wealthy landowners and timber industry to buck up and pay their fair share of taxes, but instead attack teachers.

:grr:

[Chomskyite]

15. Hmm

Guess ol' Rod's been imbibing some of Ann Coulter's Kool-Aid.

[JailForBush]

17. Notice anything odd?

Given the Republicans' extraordinary power, and their penchant for viciously attacking anything that gets in their way, I would have expected war beteen George Bush, Inc. and the NEA the day that bastard took office.

Yet I can't recollect Bush even commenting on the NEA, and the NEA's criticism of Bush's insane education policies have been very muted. You can find some criticism on the NEA's website, but it looks to me like a public relations stunt - they want teachers to think the NEA is politically involved and fighting for them. But what has it accomplished in the last 20 years?

With unions like the NEA, who needs enemies?

[0007]

20. Senator Kennedy just brought this subject up on the Senate floor

about the statement by Ron Paige.

He is also tearing junior a new one.

[benfranklin1776]

22. Good for him!

N/t

[rhino91063]

23. THe only domestic terrorist organization I see

Is the one run by bush, cheney and rumsfeld.

[Fovea]

24. Ha Ha Ha... Great Joke Ron

Here's your pink slip. Don't let the door hit you on the ass.

[dryan]

28. Paige Remark

Please tell me if this guy was either drinking or on some sort of medication--this is the only "excuse" that I could tolerate.

[Rich Hunt]

27. no surprise

The right dearly wants to disempower the NEA :

Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform and one of the most influential Republican strategists in Washington, has long recognized the partisan value of vouchers, sometimes euphemistically referred to as "choice." "School choice reaches right into the heart of the Democratic coalition and takes people out of it," he said in a 1998 interview with Insight, the magazine of the conservative Washington Times.

Norquist and others see great political benefit in going after the teachers' unions. During the last thirty years, as private sector unionism has declined, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Association (NEA) have grown in strength. Today, the 2.7 million-member NEA is the country's largest union. The AFT has one million members, mostly in education but also in health care and the public sector.

While both teacher unions overwhelmingly support the Democratic Party, conservatives especially hate the NEA. It is larger, more geographically diverse, with members in every Congressional district in the country, and more likely to push a liberal agenda that includes social issues such as gay rights.


http://www.progressive.org/jan04/miner0104.html

[JailForBush]

29. The problem is that the NEA is so obsessed with gay rights that it

forgets about everyone else. It's really a very clever example of manipulation and propaganda. If you criticize the NEA, people say, "But it defends the gay community!" just as people defend Bill Gates because of his phony philanthropy. So if you criticize the NEA, it means you're a gay basher, just as criticizing Bill Gates means you don't care about children who are dying of AIDS in Africa.

The enormity of the NEA says it all. How can such a vast, powerful organization be as gutless and inept as the Democratic Party?

BINGO! Just as most Democrats are sleeping with Republicans, ditto for the NEA. However, it is possible that right-wingers aren't satisfied with America's biggest Judas and want to eliminate it completely. In that case, we're simply watching two pigs - Republicans and the NEA - fight over the same trough.

I sure with I could get every penny I paid to the NEA in union dues back. The bastards certainly sold us down the creek in Seattle - probably even faster than they did nationwide.

[wabeewoman]

36. Disclaimer

Not everyone in Seattle feels this way. The teachers union in Seattle is powerful. And teaching is one of the few professions left protected by unions. So if they can't ship the jobs overseas, they want to dismantle any power to help American workers. If it wasn't a union, bush and co. wouldn't be looking twice at the NEA. Of course, if it was a corporation, they'd be bending over backwards to help. I swear this administartion sounds like they are the MAFIA.

[proud2BlibKansan]

84. I quit NEA

for several reasons, but you hit one of my main reasons. Why does the NEA get involved in gay rights, abortion, and other issues that have nothing to do with education?? I didn't want my dues money spent on these causes, even though I generally agreed with the NEA's positions. I wanted them to focus on EDUCATION, nothing else. It's a big enough problem, not like they have to go looking for other battles to fight.

But I did think Paige was a pig to call them terrorists.

[alcuno]

30. I finally agree with the words, "We are at war."

This business of labeling all dissent as terrorism is obnoxious and an assault on the nation.

"Uncalled for" Governor Granholm? I think it goes way beyond that.

[Donna Zen]

32. Couldn't ask for a finer day!

At last I'm a member of a terrorist org. That guy Wes Clark told me I was one of the leaders of my country. What's a woman to think? What will the children think?

Thank you spineless Dems for covering Ron Paige's behind for him today. I just want to leave his behind behind, but don't mind me...just keep sending me all that mail asking for donations.

[benfranklin1776]

35. Please consider the sources. Wes Clark's opinon means much more than Paige

General Clark was quite correct to salute you as a leader of our nation. As a professional man who commanded people during his military career he keenly appreciated the benefit to the nation of strong public education and recognized who it is that delivers that education, namely good people such as yourself. The opinion of Mr. Paige, whose sole claim to fame seems to have been his stint as superintendent of the Houston school system when it used Enron style accounting to undercount people who dropped out of school, is quite trifling by comparison. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A14117-2003Nov7?language=printer

So I give you two :thumbsup: :thumbsup: for your good work. I agree though that stronger language was called for in responding to Mr. Paige by both Granholm and Rendell. Such a slur demands a blistering response not gentle reproachment.

[maxrandb]

33. But Nader Said

There is no difference between the repukes and DEMS? Can anyone imagine a secretary appointed by a Democrat saying something like this? But, I bet if a Dem said it, you would have 24/7 coverage on F#$ks News, Limpballs, and Insanity and Bones.

[dad]

70. Nader

Nader did not say that. He said that on many major issues, the Democrats and Republicans take the same position, and I agree with him.

[wellst0nev0ter]

34. If the NEA Really Was A Terrorist Organization

This administration wouldn't be able to find it.

[obietiger]

37. I'm a terrorist?

I never thought I'd be considered a terrorist. I led my students in the pledge every morning of my teaching - then we sang "America" - I decorated the room in red, white, and blue for President's Day. And - I was a delegate to the NEA Convention - a proud member of the organization.

So what gives - where did my beliefs become "terrorist"?

[rfkrocks]

38. what the heck is going on here?

why are children having problems reading and doing math-its the NEA's fault? The NEA causes this? How about families that are torn apart? How about the desolation and abandoment of manner inner cities leaving neighborhoods gutted? How about poverty?-news flash-its been known to cause problems with children learning. How about drugs and violence that go with crime.
You want to change the status quo-try compassion and empathy. Try working with people of all colors to make our country what it is supposed to be and not one giant retail outfit for corporations. These GOPers have such gall. If only they were capable of looking a human in the eye and giving them a fair shake-all they see is perpetual war and hate.

[alcuno]

48. Welcome to DU, rfkrocks.

In GOP world, everyone comes from the same background and looks and acts the same. Their way of dealing with reality is by denying it. I'm a member of the NEA and find their rhetoric truly offensive. This man should be fired, but in GOP world, no one of their "caliber" ever has to face the consequences for his/her actions; that's just for the "little" people.

[ms_splash]

40. Rod Paige is a complete fraud

And he committed fraud. He should be in prison as far as I'm concerned.

Say what you will about the NEA. They definitely have their warts, but Rod Paige is a liar and a cheat. And, of course, Bush made him secretary of education.

Apparently, Rod Paige learned nothing in Kindergarten. Well maybe he dropped out...er, I mean, transferred.

[truthisfreedom]

41. he issued an apology.... link

our Dem representatives in government would do well to learn from this one... he blundered, and then used all the attention he was getting to lay out his message clearly along with a half-hearted apology that magically transforms him into a victim... read it here:

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

"It was an inappropriate choice of words to describe the obstructionist scare tactics the NEA's Washington lobbyists have employed against No Child Left Behind's historic education reforms. I also said, as I have repeatedly, that our nation's teachers, who have dedicated their lives to service in the classroom, are the real soldiers of democracy, whereas the NEA's high-priced Washington lobbyists have made no secret that they will fight against bringing real, rock-solid improvements in the way we educate all our children regardless of skin color, accent or where they live. But, as one who grew up on the receiving end of insensitive remarks, I should have chosen my words better."

[Pikku]

42. Not good enough.

Resignation.

[ms_splash]

43. agree, resignation

[scarface2004]

62. that aint no damn apology!!!

eff you rod and the horse you rode in on!!!

[yellowcanine]

64. It was an "I'm sorry but they deserved it apology"

You are right - as soon as that "but" gets in there the apology is no apology.

[callous taoboy]

78. Never mind, Mr. Paige

that several of my Hispanic students this year, due to low I.Q. scores, will not receive the support that they need because my state does not have the funds to provide programs for low I.Q. kids! To qualify for special ed. in this state you must have a normal I.Q. but exhibit a learning disability in either reading or math. No child left behind, indeed!

[proud2BlibKansan]

85. That makes no sense

Are you the same teacher I posted to a few weeks ago? Special ed is NOT just for LD kids. If that is the only category of kids your state will qualify, then you need to notify the feds. Contact OSEP - you can find it on line, and turn your state in for violating IDEA.

Special ed has many many more categories than LD. Some kids are mentally retarded, some are autistic, some are blind, deaf, etc, etc. I find it nearly impossible to believe that any school district in any state in this country would get away with placing only LD kids in special ed.

Did you take a special ed class in college? You would have learned this then. And if you didn't, there's another IDEA violation. EVERY teacher in EVERY state is required to take a class on special ed in college. You must need a refresher course.

[Jim__]

44. The scary thing is ...

IIRC, the administration only has to, under its own authority, label an organization terrorist and then it can take all kinds of actions against both the origanization and anyone who has contributed to it. This is not funny. This administration has allocated complete dictatorial powers to itself; and now it "jokes" about these powers.

[Jazzgirl]

46. Let's face it....Rod Paige ain't exactly a bright light.

I can't believe this man was superintendent in Houston much less running education for the whole country. What a joke.

[rfkrocks]

47. Job qualifications of Paige

Yeah you wouldn't want an intelligent person to be Secretary of Education. What does intelligence have to do with education anyway-or are you some kind of terrorist?

[RaRa]

50. Yup

I've got a friend at the Dep of Ed (used to be there myself). He was pretty appalled by what this guy has said (and my friend has been appalled by almost everyone he's worked under (but Riley - he was a gem) - has said he's a complete idiot from what he's experienced in the Dept. - and he's encountering Paige's office on a daily basis.

[peterh]

49. In a way, it reminds me of a comment from Jeb Bush….

Commenting on the wildfires in California burning San Frnacisco…which could be a good thing for America….

You expect these types of comments from assholes like rush, hannity and Savage, but when elected and appointed officials start doing it, you know the coup is real and the Cultural War is only going to get worse

We need more people like Kennedy and less eunuchs like Daschle if this party is going to go anywhere….

[Dudley_DUright]

51. NEA response to Paige "terrorist organization" comment

NEA President Reg Weaver issued the following statement regarding Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige's reference to the NEA as a "terrorist organization" today at a private meeting of governors at the White House.

Weaver said, "It is morally repugnant to equate those who teach America's children with terrorists. NEA is 2.7 million teachers and educators who are fighting for children and public education. Yet this is the kind of rhetoric we have come to expect from this Administration whenever one challenges its worldview."

more...

http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2004/nr040223.html

[Pikku]

53. Unsatisfactory.

I wrote NEA and told them, too.

No public figure should be able to malign a group of hardworking people by calling them terrorists, and then shrug it off as a joke.

This joke goes beyond hurting the feelings of teachers. Lord knows we're used to being abused in public discourse. Paige's "joke" is a concrete example of Bush*s habit of painting everyone politically opposed to him as an enemy. Not just a political opponent, but a criminal enemy.

A joke? Here's one. Ha, ha, ha. You're fired.

[Dudley_DUright]

54. I don't think this statement excuses Paige as making a joke

but I do agree that they should have called for his immediate resignation. On the other hand "morally reprehensible" is a pretty strong condemnation.

[alcuno]

55. Think about what message Paige has sent to millions of children

and their parents. There has been plenty of erosion in the confidence in our educators; we don't need the Secretary of Education likening them to terrorists.

[scarface2004]

61. hey rod you pathetic punk.....

yeah you! i m talkin to you you right wing freak head!! go to hell!!!

[diamond14]

56. Under the USA PATRIOT2 act...American citizens can be accused

of being a terrorist by bush* officials...arrested and placed in an undisclosed prison facility...denied an attorney, and denied knowledge of the charges against you...and detained for any amount of time that the government officials decide...with no trial and no contact with anyone else...

attacking teachers as terrorists is a very very scary reminder of what can begin at any time under bush* and what may already be going on...the arrest and detention forever of anyone who objects to bush* policies...this is Mein Kampf...and the Hitler techniques are already in progress...just like Hitler 'pre-emptively attacked Poland and massacred thousands to steal their coal and steel mills....bush* has pre-emptively attacked Iraq to steel their oil....American people are very scared to speak out, as USA citizens are 'disappeared', and anyone speaking out is also labeled as a 'terrorist'....and under the NEW LAWS, these terrorists can be seized and held forever without lawyers or trials or charges...

this is what the bush* Cabinet Officials talk about in their meetings so much, branding people TERRORISTS, and now, USA Cabinet Official Paige just blurted out a little insight into what's next for us...BE AFRAID....BE VERY AFRAID....

[stanwyck]

57. So my parents are terrorists?

My parents, retired schoolteachers with over 60 years of teaching in the public schools between them, were members of the NEA. As a result, they have decent retirement benefits and healthcare. These people gave tirelessly to the education of children and to the community. How dare Rod Paige insult them. Unforgiveable.

[yellowcanine]

59. Resign Ron

This is unacceptable. I am sorry but Paige should resign. After 9-11 a public official simply cannot refer to a professional association of teachers this way, joke or not.

[saigon68]

86. he's now recanted

[metisnation]

60. Blagojevich

Rod has been trying to abolish the State Board of Ed in IL. This is just posturing by the feds to let us know how they feel about the office of education. Most people pay the cost of schooling out of property taxes in most cases 90+%. So lets cut out the bureacracy of Federal Education control..its a states right!!!! You don't pay for it so BUTT OUT! Ron Paige stand in line for your unemployment check dittohead soviet style bureaucrat!!!!!!!!!!!

:kick:

[RichV]

63. WRITE PAIGE AT [e-mail]

Write and give them a piece of your mind. Call for his resignation. This is absolutely unacceptable, outrageous, disgusting, etc.

Teachers are heroes, not terrorists.

Oh, and thanks a lot Secretary Paige. Just a little more content for commercials against your boss.

Again, write the Dept. of Education at [e-mail] to have your voice heard on this matter.

[diamond14]

65. "Teachers are heroes, not terrorists.".....yes, I like that line...let's

use it everywhere and hammer these bastards....

not just any public official...a United States CABINET Secretary....calling OUR teachers 'terrorists'...this is another bush* cabal nightmare...

I agree with everyone....Paige should resign....he cannot be allowed to continue in the important job of Secretary of Education...

Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz was forced to resign after he made disparaging remarks about Black people...and then he did the same thing, apologized....but he was still forced to resign, because disparaging remarks about USA citizens should not be tolerated from Cabinet Officials....after all...these Cabinet Officials work for us, the USA taxpayers...

Paige MUST be forced to resign...in his mind, he equates OUR teachers with terrorists, and that is UNACCEPTABLE....

[llmart]

81. Email them

and demand his resignation. I just did.

The idiocy in this administration is mindboggling.

[Davis_X_Machina]

66. Have any of Junta Boy's...

...usual cheerleaders pointed out that it is racist to critizise Sec. Paige for this statement?

[LWolf]

69. I found this in my in box when I got home tonight.

I worked from 7 am until 7:30 pm today. I did get a 30 minute lunch break, eaten during a grade-level meeting. And then was greeted with this.

I guess it gives them reason to monitor my activity with the local library, etc., now that I'm a terrorist. He was probably listening in tonight at the committee meeting, when a dozen or so of us ripped him, and GWB, and NCLB a new one while we worked to figure out how to teach kids in spite of the reams of new mandates.

I guess we've been turning up the heat enough to get some backlash. The trouble is, backlash from the Bush administration involves terrorist accusations and the patriot act...for anyone who doesn't march the line.

How stupid are these people? Is there a teacher left out there who will cast a vote for GWB? Or are we negligible?

[fizzana]

71. This story could gain a lot of momentum in the next few days.

Even in jest, this is unbelievable.

The good news is that each time stuff like this comes out of their mouths, a few more people are turned off by Bush and his gang.

[Name removed]

74. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CRK7376]

75. Does that mean the "Brown Shirts"

from Homeland Security will be knocking at our door in the near future? So much for NCLB...guess we're all terrorist if we belong to NEA or AFT...What a jackass.....

[skippysmom]

79. Resign now!

Equating our nation's teachers to people who blow up buildings is absolutely unacceptable.

[Rockholm]

80. The GOP is a Terrorist Organization (eom)

[zbdent]

82. It wasn't too long ago that Hillary Clinton made a joke about

gas station attendants.

Wasn't she called upon to resign? Weren't the Screamin' Repukes calling for her head?

"Oh, this was just meant as a joke. Get over it." They're blatently speaking their mind, and when somebody is paying attention, they shi* themselves trying to tell you it was not really what they meant.

[skippysmom]

83. And funny how comparing Bush to Hitler

was so awful, yet comparing teachers to al Qaeda is fine?

Where has my country gone?