President Obama on Tuesday will deliver an address to American school children urging them to stay in school and study hard, but to some conservatives, the whole thing smacks of an attempt to indoctrinate kids to a socialist agenda.
The uproar -- fueled in part by conservative commentators such as blogger Michelle Malkin and radio host Dana Loesch -- has been so effective that some schools in Texas are making the viewing optional, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Others in Columbia, Missouri are ignoring the address altogether.
The speech will be streamed live on the White House Website at 12 noon Eastern time.
"Schools have used students as little lobbyists on everything from illegal immigration to gay marriage to anti-war activism, and most recently, Census collection," Malkin writes. "Will Obama be able to resist issuing a call to youth arms to marshal help in passing his legislative agenda?"
Loesch went a step further this week, urging parents to keep their kids at home on Sept. 8, which she is calling a "National Truancy Day."
"Take a day of vacation," she wrote on her blog. "Go to the zoo. Anything that would save your offspring from what I will bluntly say is just the quasi-fellating of the executive branch."
Also in a huff is Florida GOP chair Jim Greer.
"While I support educating our children to respect both the office of the American President and the value of community service, I do not support using our children as tools to spread liberal propaganda," he wrote in a letter, according to the Huffington Post.
A White House official told Fox News that Obama's speech to students has nothing to do with policy.
"The goal of the speech and the lesson plans is to challenge students to work hard in school, to not drop out and to meet short-term goals like behaving in class, doing their homework and goals that parents and teachers alike can agree are noble," he said. "This isn't a policy speech. This is a speech designed to encourage kids to stay in school."
del.icio.us
Digg It!
E-Mail to a Friend
Printable Version
Comments