School Defends “Occupy” Song For 8-year-olds | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

By Todd Starnes/TWITTER

A Virginia school district is defending a song allegedly written and performed by a group of third graders about the Occupy Wall Street movement that conservative bloggers are calling a form of indoctrination.

The song, “Part of the 99,” was performed by children at Woodbrook Elementary School in Albemarle County, Virginia.

A spokesman for the school system said as far as they were concerned there isn’t a controversy and called criticism of the program unfortunate.

“We really don’t censor the topics that students come up with,” school spokesman Phil Giaramita told Fox News & Commentary. “This is the first time we’ve had the lyrics of one of these songs criticized.”

The controversy surrounding the song was first reported by the Weasel Zippers website.

“They’re actually claiming third-grade children wrote these lyrics and chose the topic as well,” Weasel Zippers wrote. “Because what eight-year-old child isn’t obsessed with class warfare?”

Giaramita said the song was part of a program sponsored by Kid Pan Alley. The boys and girls worked with a facilitator to come up with a theme and lyrics for a song. The songs are not allowed to promote any political or personal agenda.

“This was written four months ago,” he said. “And I think this particular issue of the Occupy movement was being looked at in a different way than it is today.”

But some critics are wondering how a group of eight-year-old children could write the following lyrics:

Some people have it all
But they still don’t think they have enough
They want more money
A faster ride
They’re not content
Never satisfied
Yes — they’re the 1 percent

I used to be one of the 1 percent
I worked all the time
Never saw my family
Couldn’t make life rhyme
Then the bubble burst
It really, really hurt
I lost my money
Lost my pride
Lost my home
Now I’m part of the 99

Some people have it all
But they still don’t think they have enough
They want more money
A faster ride
They’re not content
Never satisfied
Yes — they’re the 1 percent

I used to be sad, now I’m satisfied
’Cause I really have enough
Though I lost my yacht and plane
Didn’t need that extra stuff
Could have been much worse
You don’t need to be first
’Cause I’ve got my friends
Here by my side
Don’t need it all
I’m so happy to be part of the 99

Giaramita said he has no doubts that eight-year-old children could write such lyrics and denied that teachers might have influenced their song choice.

 
School Defends “Occupy” Song For 8-year-olds | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

The Bin Laden Effect: How Nancy Pelosi and Stephen Colbert Learned to Lo...

Sen. Schumer on the Three Branches of Government

Left wing climate of hate and assassination

Successful propaganda is composed of equal parts deception and suppression, and the apparatchiks in the mainstream media are much better at the latter.

They may have erred in pushing the Arizona assassination attempt beyond its ideological limits last week, but they succeeded brilliantly a few months earlier in suppressing news of a nearly lethal attempt by a genuine leftist.

In September 2010 Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was scheduled to speak at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City.

At some point, wearing black clothes and a bullet-proof vest, 22 year-old Casey Brezik bolted out of a classroom, knife in hand, and slashed the throat of a dean. As he would later admit, he confused the dean with Nixon.

Read more: Left wing climate of hate and assassination

What Happened to the Antiwar Movement?

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - Illinois considers corporate tax rate hike

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - Illinois considers corporate tax rate hike

Illinois is considering hiking corporate taxes to the highest level of any US state as part of a financial reform package that political leaders in the cash-strapped state are rushing to complete ahead of the swearing-in of a new legislature on Wednesday.

The state’s finances are in crisis. It faces a $15bn budget deficit, an unfunded pension liability of at least $80bn, and more than $8bn of unpaid bills to schools, universities and social welfare organizations.

Read the rest of the article here.

GOP Rep Explains Floor Rant: ‘This Is Why the People Have Thrown You Out’

He's right this is why the Democrats were thrown out but if the Republicans pull this same kind of bullshit when they are in charge then out with them as well.



Here's the “official” 4:30 version on the C-SPAN YouTube channel. Here’s why you should watch:


After Buyer is finally permitted to speak on this video, there is a short gap before Richardson is told to call a recess (4:00). Keep watching the bottom of the screen then for an entertaining gesture of exasperation by Buyer, who leaves his seat to walk by where he knows the main House camera is pointing.

Meet the Liberal Elite!

What's the Matter With America? (Soros, Huffington, Maher, & Olbermann C...

Cafe fan banned in case smell of bacon offends Muslims

I can't wait for the lawsuit to be filed by CAIR right here in the United States on similar grounds.

We can't be offended if Muslims want build a mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero because we are racist and intolerant but the smell of bacon can shut down a business because it offends the Muslim neighbors. Wow! What a world we leave in thanks to the liberals.

Cafe fan banned in case smell of bacon offends Muslims

Planning officials acted against Beverley Akciecek, 49, after being told her next door neighbour's Muslim friends had felt ''physically sick'' due to the ''foul odour.''

The fan has been in Beverley's Snack Shack takeaway in the Shaw Heath area of the town for the past three years.

And the mother-of-seven whose husband Cetin, 50, is himself a Turkish Muslim work more than fifty hours a week buying, preparing and cooking hot and cold sandwiches and hot-pots for their customers.

But neighbour Graham Webb-Lee complained that his Muslim friends refused to visit him becase they ''can't stand the smell of bacon.''

And councillors at Liberal Democrat run Stockport Council in Greater Manchester ruled the 'odours given off from the vent were unacceptable for neighbouring residents.'

Mrs Akciecek who plans to appeal against the decision said, "I just think it's just crazy. Cetin's friends actually visit the shop, they're regular visitors, they're Muslim people, the come in a couple of times a week.

''I have Muslim people come in for cheese toasties. Cetin cooks the food himself, he cooks the bacon.

"When we go to a cafe my husband wouldn't be offended by the smell of bacon. His friends are not offended by it, we have three visitors who come here for a sandwich, friends of my husband, and the smell doesn't offend them at all.

''My brother-in-law doesn't flinch if he comes and we've just taken out three trays of bacon."

The couple took over the take-away on Adswood Road in Cale Green, Stockport, in 2007 from the previous owner and replaced the exisiting extractor fan, which had been there for six years, with a new modern one.

They claim they received no complaints about the cafe which is open from 7.30am-2.30pm six days a week, until around eighteen months ago when they received a letter from environmental services to say Mr Webb-Lee had complained about the smell.

"We've never had a problem about the smell because everything is pre-cooked," said Mrs Akciecek.

"We cook it in the oven so there's no foul smell. It's pre-cooked so the smell isn't as strong when we're frying it off. It's like living next to someone who's cooking a Sunday breakfast but it's not constant it's just in the morning.

"It's been a sandwich shop for about eight years, cooking exactly the same stuff. The lady before me did double because they were actually building new houses across the road so she was really busy. She was here from 6am-4pm because they were so busy.

"They were there before me but they were also there when the lady who owns the business was here and she was doing double what we are. She had five staff, you can imagine how bust that shop was and they never complained at all."

They say that Environmental services had been out to inspect their property after their neighbour complained about a foul odour last year, but they ruled that the smell was not causing a problem.

"Environmental services said everything is ok. They kept coming back and guaging it and said there was no problem and because they didn't take any action they complained again," she added.

The couple had never applied for planning permission as they had simply replaced an existing extractor fan with one of the same size and in the same position, but, following further complaints from their neighbour, they were informed by the council they would have to apply retrospectively as an objection had been raised.

They applied for planning permission in May this year, but the application was refused at a meeting of Stockport Area Committee on October 14. Mr Webb-Lee objected to the aplication - complained that his Muslim friends refused to visit him becase they ''can't stand the smell of bacon.''

Mr Webb-Lee said, "The vent is 12 inches from my front door. Every morning the smell of bacon comes through and makes me physically sick.

''I have a lot of Muslim friends. They refuse to visit me anymore because they can't stand the smell of bacon."

A spokesman for Stockport Council said, "'The retrospective application was rejected on the grounds of residential amenity, as the committee felt the odours given off from the vent were unacceptable for neighbouring residents.

"We will ensure that the cafe complies with this decision and removes the extractor fan."

 

Oklahoma City district pushes pause on hip-hop curriculum that denigrates Founding Fathers

More of your hard earned dollars being spent on denigrating the Founding Fathers. Is it any wonder that inner city kids are continuing to fail in the public schools when this is the type of education they are receiving?

Oklahoma City district pushes pause on hip-hop curriculum NewsOK.com

BY MEGAN ROLLAND
Oklahoman
Published: October 1, 2010

Concern over a new hip-hop curriculum that refers to the founding fathers as "old dead white men” has delayed the program's rollout for at-risk students, Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Karl Springer said.

"We're making sure that whatever we do, first, we do no harm,” Springer said. "The science behind the concept is wonderful. There may be some things, though, that are inappropriate that we need to be careful about.”

Known as Flocabulary, the program is a music-based educational tool that uses raps, rhythms and rhymes to help students learn and memorize everything from vocabulary and English to math and social studies.

About 15 teachers have complained or expressed concern about the rap song lyrics, said Ed Allen, president of the Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers.

"I just don't think we were real careful where we deployed it,” Allen said. "Not all parts of it are real affective for the more troubled youth.”

It is the U.S. history curriculum that has raised concern.

One of the rap songs — "Old Dead White Men” — chronicles the shortcomings of the early leaders in the United States.

Of President James Monroe's tenure, the rap says: "White men getting richer than Enron./ They stepping on Indians, women and blacks./ Era of Good Feeling doesn't come with the facts.”

That's followed up by an assessment of President Andrew Jackson's checkered dealings with American Indians. "Andrew Jackson, thinks he's a tough guy./ Killing more Indians than there are stars in the sky./ Evil wars of Florida killing the Seminoles./ Saying hello, putting Creek in the hell holes./ Like Adolf Hitler he had the final solution./ 'No, Indians, I don't want you to live here anymore.'”

Springer said he was concerned about some of the lyrics, and that's why the district is holding off on the program until it's been evaluated.

Flocabulary CEO and co-founder Alex Rappaport said the lyrics are made intentionally provocative and sometimes humorous to create student engagement among some of the toughest-to-reach students in the nation.

"In general, the purpose of our program is to motivate students, and we often say the enemy here is student apathy,” Rappaport said. "We want students to ask questions and challenge assumptions that are made and think critically about historical themes.

LA Times - $69 million in California welfare money drawn out of state

It is any wonder that California is bankrupt. It just goes to show that the liberal utopia known as California is a complete failure. I wonder what an investigation of liberal bastions like New Jersey and New York would turn up.

$69 million in California welfare money drawn out of state-Las Vegas tops the list with $11.8 million spent at casinos or taken from ATMs, but transactions in Hawaii, Miami, Guam and elsewhere also raise questions. Officials say budget cuts hinder investigations.

By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Sacramento — More than $69 million in California welfare money, meant to help the needy pay their rent and clothe their children, has been spent or withdrawn outside the state in recent years, including millions in Las Vegas, hundreds of thousands in Hawaii and thousands on cruise ships sailing from Miami.

State-issued aid cards have been used at hotels, shops, restaurants, ATMs and other places in 49 other states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, according to data obtained by The Times from the California Department of Social Services. Las Vegas drew $11.8 million of the cash benefits, far more than any other destination. The money was accessed from January 2007 through May 2010.

Alan Grayson needs to be run out of office now!!!

Alan Grayson states that his opponent in Florida is the Christian version of the Taliban.


Scary right. Except Grayson has manipulated the original audio so badly that it can't even be said that Webster's statements were taken out of context. Here is what Daniel Webster actually said:

The race in Florida's 8th district is an example of the types of people that the Democratic Party wants to control our country. I therefore urge you to support Daniel Webster even if you aren't from Florida. I don't know alot about Webster but he is certainly a better choice then the despicable Rep. Grayson.

Chris Matthews compliments the Tea Party? And other odd recent statements by Matthews

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What Do Prince and H.R. 1586 Have in Common?

First they don't read the bills that they pass.....


 or even know what provisions the bill contains...

Now these clowns in Congress can't even take the time to name a bill. A bill by the way, which spends $26 billion of our tax dollars.

Is it any wonder that Congress has an 11% approval rating.

What Do Prince and H.R. 1586 Have in Common?

Ronald Reagan vs. Today's Democratic Leadership

A child should lead Arlington

From the Boston Herald

By Michael Graham
July 1, 2010

In Yiddish, Sean Harrington is a kochleffel- a pot stirrer. He’s the kid who won’t sit down and shut up.

Three years ago, Sean showed up as a freshman at Arlington High and noticed that many classrooms were missing their American flags. He also picked up on the fact that, unlike most local schools, Arlington High didn’t begin the day with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Unfortunately for Arlington officials, he had the chutzpah to do something.

He complained. He questioned school officials. When I spoke to him yesterday, he said he was particularly annoyed when committee members couldn’t tell him why the pledge had been abandoned in the first place. “It’s their job to know.”

So he started gathering signatures on a petition to bring back the pledge.

Normally, students who annoy their classmates “speaking truth to power” are admired by edu-crats. That’s because typically these students are mush-headed liberals. Petitions denouncing Israel or for lauding GLBT diversity - these Arlington’s School Committee can handle.

But a kid who gathers signatures from folks like John Kerry and Charlie Daniels to support patriotism? Sean had Arlington school officials completely flummoxed.

In the end, however, Arlington’s elected School Committee deadlocked, and his proposal to begin each day with a voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance went down. Sean may have brought in 700 signatures, but Arlington liberals just needed three votes on the committee to keep it out.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1265035&srvc=home&position=emailed

We have truly lost the war when children are prevented from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance because teachers won't participate.

A Great Video Blog On Rand Paul's Statements Regarding the Civil Rights Act

SA@TAC - Rand Paul's Practical Philosophy

Student Objected to ‘Sicko’ Final Exam, Called ‘Teabagger’ by Teacher

California Is Bankrupt!!! But The Greedy Banks Are Being Blamed For Not Accepting Its IOUs?

It was less than a year ago that our leaders blamed the banks for our current depression. Congress said it was the greed of Wall Street bankers that lead us to where we are today and made a big show of it before the television cameras showing how they were going to punish those greedy bankers. While its certainly true that banks played it fast and loose with lending standards and allowed many unqualified people to buy homes that they couldn't afford, they weren't solely to blame. As Fred Lucas of CNSNews.com reported yesterday Congress was equally to blame:

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the chief culprits in the housing crisis because they encouraged people who could not afford payments to borrow money, according to a congressional report released Tuesday." http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=50680

Now I wouldn't hold by breath if you expect Congress to hold hearings on its own culpability anytime in the near future.

So lets fast forward to today and we see that California, that utopia of liberal thinking and policies, is as broke as some third world nations. California needs to close a $26 Billion budget gap and there seems to be no resolution in sight. But in the mean time it has to pay its bills so it began issuing IOUs to state contractors to keep them working. These IOUs are redeemable for the face value plus 3.75% annual interest but not until October. Banks in California have decided that they will redeem these IOUs only until Friday, July 10th. After Friday they are only going to offer loans to the holders of the IOUs.

Now if you look at it from the banks' perspective there is a good chance that California may not be able to resolve its fiscal crisis by October and therefore the IOUs may not be worth the paper they are printed on. Also banks, after being burned by the housing crisis, are extremely risk adverse at this time and frankly do not have the cash reserves to float the state's obligations. But rather than seeing the logic of the banks' positions and commending them for being fiscally responsible they are being made out to be Ebenezer Scrooge. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124692354575702881.html

I hope the Banks stand fast, as they should, because ultimately they are responsible to their shareholders not the politicians in Sacramento.

PS- California, if it was its own nation, ranks as sixth in the world based on GDP. The fact that it is bankrupt shows what is going to happen to the rest of the country if we keep pumping money into entitlement programs.