Molly Ivins: Bait-and-Switch Bush

[Dudley_DUright]

With so many delights on our political plate, it's hard to know where to begin. Take that knee-slapping joke by Education Secretary Rod Paige: He called our largest teachers' union "a terrorist organization." In fun, of course. Gosh darn, HEE-HAW! All over the nation, teachers are just chuckling away.

Paige is upset with the National Education Association because it is lobbying in Washington to give states more flexibility and more money in meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. If that makes the NEA a terrorist organization, what does it make the Utah legislature, where its House of Representatives voted 64 to 8 not to comply with any provisions of the law not fully financed by the federal government? And how are we to categorize the Virginia House of Delegates, which voted 98 to 1 to ask Congress to exempt Virginia from the law?

Ten other states have passed or are considering similar "terrorist" legislation. They include diehard Republican conservatives rebelling because the law is a monstrous unfunded mandate -- the very thing Republicans used to complain about. President Bush said in his campaign opener to the Governors Association: "I know in my heart of hearts it's the absolute right role for the federal government -- to provide money, but insist upon results. ... And (if the schools don't pass), there will be special help to make sure they do."

Except, as we find again and again with this administration, that's a bait-and-switch con job. For 2005, the administration has requested $9.4 billion less for No Child Left Behind than the bill supposedly ensures. Title I, the program to help poor kids, is underfunded by $7.2 billion, leaving 5 million kids without academic help. In all, Bush has underfunded the No Child bill by a total of $27 billion since he signed it with such fanfare.

more...

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=16496

[ewagner]

1. Thanks for the heads-up Molly

This is REALLY disturbing:

The Public Campaign Action Fund helpfully sponsored a contest to give better names to the Bush fund-raisers. The finalists are: "The Cash Cowboys," "the Funding Fathers," "Profiteers," "Robber Barons" and "Weapons of Mass Corruption." FYI: One of the Pioneers is Stephen Burke, executive vice president of Comcast, the outfit that plans to buy Disney/ABC, thus creating the world's largest media conglomerate. Bigger than Rupert Murdoch's Fox. Gee, I wonder if they could possibly want something from the Not-Very-Anti-Trust Division of the Justice Department.

Think of the nightmare of having to deal with two FAUX NEWS NETOWRKS

[indepat]

2. Sadly the No Child Left Behind legislation is probably no more fraudulent

than any legislation supported in mass by conservatives, neoconservatives, the hard right. For almost everything they do has the handiwork of some form(s) of disingenuousness, mendaciousness, reichousness, hypocrisy and/or (fill in your own).

[Skittles]

7. f***ed up sh**

I filled in my own

[hatrack]

3. "Right, Dick" - that pretty much says it all

Thank God for Molly Ivins! ;-)

[scarletwoman]

4. Wow, she's good!

One her best yet,imho.

Love this ending:

So here we are in the middle of an outsourcing, off-shoring, downsizing economy, full of temps and part-timers. The CEOs have increased their own salaries by tens of millions of dollars while cutting benefits for the workers. Burger-flippers aside, we are hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs in favor of Wal-Mart jobs -- low pay and no benefits.

So what is our only president doing about it? He's come out for a constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage...

Go, Molly!

sw

[teryang]

5. The bizarre world of totalitarianism

...in the making. Reality is what we say it is. The regime is arbitrary, irrational and fraudulent. The Constitution and the law are irrelevant. They do whatever they want and describe something else.

[sonias]

6. Once again Molly sees right through the bu$h & crony capitalism

The Public Campaign Action Fund helpfully sponsored a contest to give better names to the Bush fund-raisers. The finalists are: "The Cash Cowboys," "the Funding Fathers," "Profiteers," "Robber Barons" and "Weapons of Mass Corruption." FYI: One of the Pioneers is Stephen Burke, executive vice president of Comcast, the outfit that plans to buy Disney/ABC, thus creating the world's largest media conglomerate. Bigger than Rupert Murdoch's Fox. Gee, I wonder if they could possibly want something from the Not-Very-Anti-Trust Division of the Justice Department.
---------------

I think so Molly and you and I and all of DU knows this is a cash and carry administration. One dollar one vote.

Sick bastards! A plague on all your houses!

Sonia