WASHINGTON – In an extraordinary breach of congressional decorum, a Republican lawmaker shouted "You lie" at President Barack Obama during his speech to Congress Wednesday.

After reading the speech and listening to the speech, it was pretty well written and delivered and even had a lot of conservative values to it. However, the praise can be offset with some criticism. I will track these criticisms. 

To begin, the real problem began with the "homework" that was handed out to the schools, that was revised after a lot of outcry; regarding questions like, what can I do for president Obama. Questions like this promote an unconscious commitment to a person, not a country, or in other words, promote him as a demigod rather than a man who holds an office. 

He has a lot of controversial people who make up his cabinet, his advisers and his czars. He’s made a lot of controversial comments about the people of this country and this country in general. Not to mention his ability to make people feel good about how he spoke, rather than listened to what he’s really saying and the words he’s really speaking. 

If one were to add both of the two preceding paragraphs together, then we would conclude (without reading the speech, that he would indeed be delivering something that could be biased and mind altering of the children who are prone to being influenced.

After reading his speech, there are things in the speech that reference ideals like fairness. If we want to run on fairness in this country, then everyone will get the same wage, regardless of their job. There will be no competition  that makes our country strive to be better, and there will be no incentive for people to be great, because their reward is the same as the reward the person who doesn’t give a pooh about what they are doing.  

He makes the remark that anyone can strive to become Senator or Supreme Court Judge Etc, but then goes on to say that the kids can’t be NBA stars, or reality TV stars.  Just who is he to tell kids they can’t be something of this nature?

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things

Just for fun, to prove to myself just how narcissistic this guy is, I counted 58 references to self in this speech. Again, just for fun… 

To sum up my thoughts on the speech, it was conservative in nature which I thought was a good message to deliver to kids. I feel that the administration’s actions leading up to this speech were controversial and I applaud the actions of all who protested those actions and forced the president and his administration to change their tactics. I feel that fairness should have not been in the speech, and telling kids they could be a Senator or Supreme Court Justice and not an NBA star or other type of star, was kind of ridiculous when there are far more NBA stars or reality stars than there ever have been Senators or Supreme Court Justices. So on a scale from 1 to 10, I will give him a 7.5 because it was conservative in nature. I subtracted 2.5 points for the “homework” leading up to the speech, and the references to fairness and telling kids they can do anything if they work hard, but then contradicts himself and tells kids they can’t do other things whether they work hard or not.

. 

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
 

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. 

I knowthat for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imaginethere are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I knowthat feeling. When Iwas young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.   

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because Ihave something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. 

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. 

I’vetalked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. 

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. 

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. 

And that’s what I wantto focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I wantto start with the responsibility you have to yourself. 

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. 

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guaranteethat you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. 

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy. 

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. 

Now I knowit’s not always easy to do well in school. I knowa lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I knowwhat that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when Imissed having a father in my life. There were times when Iwas lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in. 

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. 

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right. 

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. 

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. 

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America. 

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall. 

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expectall of you to do the same. 

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. 

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. 

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK.  Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." 

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. 

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals. 

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. 

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?  

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

This morning I learned that Van Jones, the race baiter that he is, has resigned from his unconstitutionally appointed position.  Though I'm very happy to see a man (if you want to call him that) of this caliber fall in the demise of his own positions and words, I had the feeling of this has to be the beginning.  Jones needs to be the first of the approximately 44 (unofficial count, that I have found), that simply need to go.  This person has made the statement that there are forces that misconstrued his words and are the reason for his resignation.  Yes, these forces are the American Public who wants their government officials to be held accountable to their own words, associations and criminal history. 

There are approximately 3 dozen (official list) of these Czar positions.  However, I found another bloggers list of Czars that seems to me to be a little more in depth, http://investigatingobama.blogspot.com/2009/08/compleat-list-of-czars.html and appears to have more than the 3 dozen or so positions listed.  In fact, there are 44 positions, with 7 more being planned.  My thought after reading the list was this is an insane power grab by the executive branch.  But then I looked at Wikipedia’s list of past presidents and czars, and I was astounded to see this really didn't begin with Obama, rather with Roosevelt and good ol G. W. Bush’s expansion of the list.  Love him or hate him, he started the massive influx of unconstitutionally appointed positions.  After review there were several presidents who had their own Czar lists, but it was G. W. Bush, who made the list go into the stratosphere. Even the president’s I tend to despise the most, had relatively few (Roosevelt, Carter & Clinton). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_czars

Now, I'm not here to jump on Bush for the decision he made to expand the list of unconstitutionally appointed positions, nor am I going to jump on Obama for his decision to expand this list even further to the number approaching 51 from Bush's 36.  I am here to look at the positions, and call for the complete elimination of all of these unconstitutionally appointed positions.  Ok, you got me, yes I’m here to jump on both administrations for these positions. Just who the hell do these people think they are? The thought of the governments expansion, no matter it’s intent, can only have one outcome, TERRIBLE!.

To sum up my thoughts of Van Jones’ early retirement from government service, good riddance to bad rubbish. 

My thoughts on the entire Czar program, close it, NOW! 

My thoughts of Obama overall, RESIGN! 

My thoughts of all in the US Congress, DON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION! 

My thoughts on Glenn Beck and others who have been on this topic, KEEP IT UP!  

My thoughts to everyone reading this, take a stand, and tell this government you value your freedom and expect them to reduce costs, and programs by 99% within 10 years!

God Bless America!

Contact your Senators at http://www.senate.gov/index.htm  | Contact the President at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Check out this site http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ | Look up documents here http://www.archives.gov/nae/index.html | Watch your money disappear here http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer

Ignorance is no excuse for not knowing the laws. 

Dear Mr. Smith:

Thank you for writing to me about pending health care reform legislation.  I am committed to working with President Obama to ensure that Americans have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare that they can rely on.  With the right legislation, I believe we can greatly improve care for our families, while containing the growing costs of health care.

The status quo is unsustainable- Americans will spend more than $2.5 trillion on health care this year, more than one in every six dollars in the U.S. economy.  In all, we spend twice as much per person on health care than other advanced nations, yet the United States ranks near the bottom of the 30 leading industrialized nations in basic measures of health such as infant mortality and life expectancy. 

The situation is even worse for individual families, who are struggling to afford skyrocketing premiums and increased co-pays and deductibles.  Health care premiums have more than doubled in the last nine years, and one respected study shows that, if we fail to act, the average California family will have to spend 41 percent of its income for health insurance premiums by 2016.

The growing number of uninsured is also contributing to higher costs- 46 million Americans do not have health insurance, and every day, another 14,000 Americans lose their coverage when they become seriously ill or lose or change their jobs.  To make up for the coverage gap, families pay on average an extra $1,100 a year in premium costs.

Moreover, poor regulation of insurance companies means that even those with health insurance coverage are not always guaranteed to get the benefits they are promised.  Every day I hear from Californians who can't get health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, or who are denied the medical treatment prescribed by a doctor because of insurance company bureaucrats.  This is wrong, and we have to do better for our families.

That is why I have joined President Obama and many of my colleagues in support of some basic principles for action. Any health care reform must allow every American who likes their current health coverage to keep it.  Health coverage must be made accessible and affordable, and insurance companies must no longer be allowed to discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions or drop you if you become seriously ill.  We must increase investments in prevention and wellness as that will save billions of dollars.  And health care reform must not add a single dollar to the Federal deficit. 

As we move to enact health care reform, I will fight for a bill that meets these principals.  As a U.S. Senator, I can choose from a wide array of health care plans, and I believe that all Americans deserve this opportunity.

Again, thank you for writing to me.  Please feel free to contact me again about this or other issues of concern to you.

Dear Mr. Smith:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the recent Senate hearing with Brigadier General Michael Walsh.  I appreciate hearing from you on this matter.

Shortly after the hearing, I called General Walsh, and we had a friendly and productive conversation.  We expressed our respect for one another and our determination to work together to protect our nation and communities from natural disasters.

Thank you again for writing to me.  Please feel free to contact me in the future about this or any other issue of concern to you.

How dare you address a General (General Michael Walsh) as you did during his briefing to congress last month! Who in the world do you think you are? Trust me Ma'am, if I were still in the Military, I would greet you as Ma'am, only because that is what is bread into every US Service member, otherwise I would call you a much more despicable name that I would not like to use at this time!   

Do you understand that? We are and were all programmed to address women as Ma'am, it's a sign of respect. You're damn lucky he didn't address you as woman after your inept display of self righteousness.

I listened to most of the grilling and at no time, did I hear you sound anything but rude to the man; I honestly don't recall you addressing him as sir or General.

Ma'am, you can and will eventually be replaced in the Senate. I would like to reiterate, you are nothing special! You can't walk on water. You can't cause rainstorms, or drought. You most certainly can’t do anything at all by yourself quite frankly, so why must you act like a spoiled little brat?

Last week when you were addressing Harry C. Alford from the Black Chamber of Commerce, your racism was in full display toward that man. How dare you treat another human being in such a manner? Do you think you are better than that man? I guarantee madam, you are not.

You truly make me sick when you act like a complete a$$ Ma'am! 

• You make me sick to know that you are a senator from my state! 
• You make me sick to know you want to force standards on all Americans and business which will place us all in servitude to the government. 
• You make me sick knowing you love the killing of innocent life with abortion yet cling to the notion that life is precious when it comes to firearms. You Ma’am are a hypocrite to the highest degree!  

Now, grow the hell up and act like the Senator you were elected to be!

Please feel free to call or visit me any time, I would love to tell you how I feel in person!

Truly yours,

Ronald Smith

draw pictures and write as appropriate. As students listen to the speech, they could think about

video project into an assignment. More details will be released via www.ed.gov.