Jonathan Alter, an Obama lapdog on education

Unbelievable

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-11/obama-shows-spunk-pushing-brave-education-plan-jonathan-alter.html?wpisrc=nl_wonk

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I woke up to that message this morning.

Jonathon's Alters name in the link made me wonder if 0400 am was too late or too early for a drink,,,while I was considering that. I noticed the link went to Bloomberg.. I'd have given the editors there credit for more sense.  Bloomberg has a decent reputation, and as far as know isn't hurting for good writers with solid backgrounds.  Why in the hell are they publishing a writer who was a senior editor at Newsweek, and helped drive the weekly from one of the most respected widely and read publications in the country, to a company the owners literally gave away to an aging billionaire a year ago.

I passed on the drink, fixed coffee and read..

Sadly his appearance in Bloomberg wasn't the only thing unbelievable.  he wrote on a subject he knows virtually nothing about.  In fact the only thing he knows is if Obama's for something, he's for it too.  He's as loyal to Obama as Joseph Goebbel's was to Hitler, he has about as much respect for America's Constitution as Goebbels did.  He makes that clear

Republican lawmakers complain that the White House waivers run roughshod over the legislative branch -- and they’re right. But gridlock demands more robust use of presidential authority and, at least in this case, we’re getting it. Unless Duncan’s action is challenged and reversed on constitutional grounds, No Child Left Behind will be left behind for good.

He knows it's a direct violation of  Article I Section 1 of the Constitution but his attitude is do it anyway and make the American people take it to court.. Then he made a statement comparing Obama's shrewdness to that of "Tricky" Dick Nixon, (I added the Tricky).  Alter seems have forgotten what Nixon's shrewdness,  contempt of the Constitution, Congress and the American people got him.  The jackass goes on to say Republicans broadly support Obama, but they're politically committed to opposing him at every opportunity.  Alter seem to have forgotten there are over 80 new Congressman... elected because the American People oppose Obama's policies . 


To make a lie plausible there has to be some truth in it.. Jonathan Alter knows this and he correctly manages to point out a number of the flaws and failures of the widely hated No Child Left Behind law.  Educators, those not on the payroll of the Administration or Billionaires who stand to make billions more off Obama's plan have referred to the scheme as No Child Left Behind on steroids.. while Obama publically talks about the flaws of standardized testing in NCLB, his  RTTT agenda requires a lot more testing with the Federal Government keeping personally identifiable records of the progress of each child.. So much for the 4th Amendment/   


For the next several paragraphs he rehashed the talking point;s Secretary of Education Duncan made made last Monday right after Obama tried to reassure Americans that having our credit rating down graded was a mistake on SP's part and had nothing to do with is spending money we don't have..  After Obama and Duncan were finished speaking the Dow dropped another 400 points,  In all fairness I think that had more to do with Obama.


Common Core Standards- a plan to indirectly nationalize school curriculum's. Common Core nationalizes the tests kids will be required to to take that grade not only them, but determine whether or not their teachers earn more than a minimum living wage.   After telling is what a wonderful idea Common Core, and by logical extension  nationalization is, Alter praises the states "Leading the pack"  

"..................... Colorado, Indiana and Florida are leading the pack in developing the sophisticated accountability standards necessary for better performance........

We won’t know until September exactly what Duncan will demand of states in exchange for granting them waivers, but the price is likely to resemble the requirements imposed by Race to the Top, the competition launched by the Department of Education in 2009 that has inspired a flowering of reform across the country"

Is it my imagination or do we have a repeat of Pelosi's infamous you have to pass the law to find out what's in it?  We didn't pass it, we got it shoved down out throats and we're trying our damnedest to  spit the F'ng thing out.  Clearly Obama and Duncan. with Alter wagging his tail err keyboard behind , think they can make the suckers fall for the same bull manure over and over..

As for leading the pack,  I can't speak for Colorado or Indiana but a few weeks ago Dr Rich Swier of Sarasota Florida posted this blog about Florida's Passage of Obama's scheme... Swier is a retired US Army Lt Colonel with a doctorate in education,  he says it better than I can:

Florida Sells the Souls of Its Public School Students for $63 Each

By: Dr. Richard Swier ( Scribe ) on Jul 16, 2011 | 0 Comments

Have you heard something about a national education initiative titled: Race to the Top (RTTT)? Well this initiative was created from whole cloth by President Obama’s Secretary of Education Arne...

READ MORE >>

Jonathon Alter finishes with a paragraph that once again show his arrogance, Obama worship and contempt for our Constitution, our Congress and the American People...

Duncan will need to use the power of the executive branch to enforce both the requirements of Race to the Top and whatever broad reforms he demands in exchange for state waivers. If that requires withholding federal funds from recalcitrant states -- good. If it means overriding a dilatory and dysfunctional Congress -- even better. 

 In a strange way Alter's final comment offers a bit of hope..  there is very little doubt what Duncan's demands will be-- Regulatory compliance without any legislative authority to back it up, a routine tactic in Castro's Cuba, not long ago it was common place in Qaddafi's Libya.  As long as there hasn't been to much public outcry the Senate is content to let Obama do what he wants,, there is a limit to how far they can let him go without risking the wrath of the American People

Over riding Congress by Executive order is treason, that's not a word to be used lightly.  It was seen as a possibility by the men who wrote the Constitution.  It should be enough to give the US Senate a badly needed and well deserved kick in the ass. 

Bloomberg wisely makes it clear the views expressed in Alter's piece are his own-- not the views of Bloomberg

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