Obama asks us to "love and value" our children. New budget cuts 57,000 kids off of Head Start.

[grahamhgreen]

OBAMA (on Newtown): "We have to do more to heal troubled minds. We have to do everything we can to protect our children from harm and make them feel loved and valued and cared for." http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/16/nikki_giovanni_on_1_year_since

Meanwhile, 57,000 kids are to be cut out of Head Start:

David Cay Johnston: "And we’re going to kick 57,000 poor children out of Head Start, which means we’re going to narrow their economic futures and make all of us worse off in the future." http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/16/makes_absolutely_no_sense_david_cay

In my view, it's time to start implementing the ideals put forth by Obama in his speech on Newtown.

[sabrina 1]

1. And how many more have had their food stamps cut?

Words mean nothing when you are starving.

[woo me with science]

2. And how many more will suffer from his predatory TPP? nt

[liberal_at_heart]

3. and when that child's school doesn't score high enough on state standardized tests, we will reduce

the amount of funding that child's school gets. Instead of helping that school, we punish it and all the children that go to that school.

[abelenkpe]

51. Why don't more people recognize

That this is a cruel policy designed to make sure less affluent schools fail?

[woo me with science]

56. People are still connecting the dots on corporatism in general.

Each issue is propagandized separately, so that people won't see the overarching theme, which is the sale/privatization of this country and transformation of its human citizens into mere sources of profit for the corporate elite. It's easy to be fooled by seemingly earnest talk of "high standards" if you don't see the larger motive and patterns.

A lot of people can see first-hand the malignancy of high stakes testing in their children's experience. What they don't necessarily see until it is pointed out, is the larger goal....the common theme here: .to corporatize education and capture this huge, permanent market for profiteering....just as other basic human needs, like the need for health care, are being captured and profitized.

In a corporate-run state, the people are merely "human resources" for profit, and we live in a corporate-run state now.

[JoePhilly]

4. Obama hates kids.

I guess.

[SomethingFishy]

10. Yes that's it. It's not that he's making mistakes,

or using poor judgement, it's that he hates kids. Or that he has no choice. Or that it's actually a good thing.

I think a new schtick is in order.

[pampango]

12. Or that he does not get to determine the budget unilaterally. If he had that power, I doubt

that the budget would look like it does.

[grahamhgreen]

17. We need to all understand, as the President does, that cutting funding for our kids has negative

consequences. We need to push back on the R's for this.

Every talk about the budget should open with, "Well its terrible what the Republicans are doing to our children, but..."

[liberal_at_heart]

22. He fully supports Arne Duncan and Race to the Top is his No Child Left Behind. It is his program.

This is on him. I hold him fully responsible for our continued failing education system. My son is autistic, in special education, has dysgraphia, and is being forced to take a Common Core English class. All of which Obama fully supports. Education is the issue that turned me into an independent. If Obama and the other democrats want my support they will repeal Race to the Top, Common Core Curriculum and start demanding more funding for all education, not just math and science to continue to please our corporate masters.

[daleanime]

29. +1

[woo me with science]

57. +1 The Obama administration advocates these malignant policies,

which are entirely consistent with the overall corporate direction of his administration.

[grahamhgreen]

16. For God's sakes man, I'm suggesting we implement his plan, lol!

[MannyGoldstein]

28. No, but he only *likes* rich kids.

The rest... meh. At least that's what his policies indicate.

[JoePhilly]

46. Warren and Sanders too, apparently.

Being pure and meeting Manny's standards was too much for them.

[Egalitarian Thug]

61. Indifference is much worse than hatred. n/t

[LiberalAndProud]

5. The sequester cut the 57,000 slots.

Head Start funding was partially restored under the budget agreement. Although no one knows exactly, quite,

it might be a restoration of about 50 percent of the cut funding.
http://edsource.org/today/2013/head-start-funding-partially-restored-in-federal-budget-deal/53839

The sequestration makes a cut look like an uncut. Marvelous, no?

[woo me with science]

42. The chocolate ration has been increased!

[Egalitarian Thug]

62. Not yet, but they're definitely considering it. n/t

[brooklynite]

6. That's the budget that Warren and Sanders agreed to bring up for a vote?

Guess there's plenty of love to go around...

[spanone]

7. congress writes budget

[MannyGoldstein]

27. And Obama signs 'em... with gusto.

FDR had about one veto per week. Obama? One per year.

[spanone]

31. gusto? if you say so.

[MannyGoldstein]

32. He always has the option to veto them

Just like FDR did.

[Ikonoklast]

63. Warren or Sanders could have filibustered the bill to restore those cuts, an actual filibuster.

They didn't do anything to stop it, in fact they liked the bill enough to vote "Yes".

Hate on them, too.

[KoKo]

64. I don't hate on them...I wish they had filibustered the bill. But....

its what we deal with and I doubt that Hillary would have filibustered the bill either if she was still in Senate or she would veto the bill if she was President.

It's possible Bernie and Warren didn't want the Sequester to continue and hoped to fix what's wrong in the bill later. I agree they should have made a stand if their vote wasn't needed for it to pass in the Senate.

Still...I believe they both have better ideas than the DINO DEMS and REPUGS. We thought the same about Obama...and see what happened.

[Ikonoklast]

65. I see. They get an apology for 'doing their best', Obama gets the blame.

Good God, the hypocrisy is stunning.


You don't think the president isn't thinking the very same thing?

Do you think he actually enjoys that the compromise bill is sticking it to those kids?

WARREN AND SANDERS ARE JUST AS RESPONSIBLE.

[grahamhgreen]

71. Well, we can can all agree that we can use the budget to paint Republicans as not caring about

children, I hope.

[JoePhilly]

45. I hear Warren voted with Gusto on this deal.

[Rex]

8. Really sir, you need to tell this to Congress!

We all love our children, sadly nobody in Congress does.

[Cal Carpenter]

9. The role of government isn't to 'love and value'

It may, however, be to feed and educate, or at least ensure those things happen. We can't implement ideals, we can implement *policies*.

Rhetoric =/= policy and it is long past time everyone comes to terms with that - regardless of party or anything else.

[woo me with science]

24. The difference between a government of, by, and for the People

and a government of, by, and for Corporations is that the former is informed by human priorities, values, and goals...the welfare and well-being of human beings.

The only driving goal of a corporation, by definition, is to grow its own profit and power.

Policy always reflects values, for good or for evil. Corporate policy elevates profit at the expense of human beings, which is a value judgment. It is our responsibility to demand a government that serves the human goals we envision for our society, which should include valuing every person.

Corporations would like nothing more than to spin cynical rhetoric to divorce the purpose of government from the human beings it is created to serve.


.

[Recursion]

11. Call John Boehner and convince him to pass a better budget

You do know it's the House that does that, right?

[Puzzledtraveller]

13. Nth dimensional chess!!!

Very soon we will be in string theory chess.

[geek tragedy]

15. No, it's called 2nd grade level civics.

That's when we were taught about this thing called Congress that actually determines the budget and spending.

[politichew]

14. Um...

“All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.”

— U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 7, clause 1

Save the attack ad drivel for people that don't understand basic civics.

[grahamhgreen]

19. I would suggest that when Obama signs the budget he makes a statement chastising the republicans for

their cutting funding to children, while increasing funding for war. And suggests that they do better in the future, at minimum.

I'm not saying it's his fault, just that his and our ideals are at odds with the budget that was passed.

[Demo_Chris]

18. Obama loves our kids enough to spy on them. At least he's not blowing them up, right? nt

[woo me with science]

20. Well, only one that we know of so far.

[Demo_Chris]

30. That's different, he's brown so it's okay to murder him...

[LeftyMom]

35. He should have thought ahead and had different parents, same as the Head Start kids.

[great white snark]

21. Obama passed the budget? Onus fail.

After having the unpleasant task of reading some of your replies I'm convinced your vindictiveness overrides any knowledge of how government actually works.

[grahamhgreen]

36. What? I'm suggesting that we implement the policies in his speech rather than give in to the Ryan

plan as if Ryan had been elected.

I hope you support the President and the words he spoke as I do!

[woo me with science]

23. Love all the Third Way posts pretending Obama opposes any of this.

Of course, Obama has the unilateral power to decide whether or not to push for the predatory TPP. Yes, children will suffer from this abomination. All Americans will suffer.

And as for the budget, the only clues we have to his true goals are the SUGGESTIONS AND OFFERS he has made...which repeatedly request austerity for the people and gifts for corporations and the MIC.

Look at the OFFERS, and look at what was never on the table.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022060108

[Cali_Democrat]

38. Warren and Sanders voted for the budget on Wednesday

Your thoughts?

[woo me with science]

39. One of the most interesting aspects of the Cult of Personality

is its almost childlike assumption that everyone else is part of a Cult of Personality, too.

It reminds me of a particularly delicious Columbo episode in which the sociopath murderer reveals herself by offering her stepdaughter the ransom money as a bribe to keep silent about her father's murder.

Columbo nearly taunts her at the end: "You assume that everybody is just like you are...and you're greedy. You honestly believed that Margaret would accept money to forget about this murder."

The funny thing here is that you probably don't even grasp the absurdity of the trump card you just tried to play.

[Jackpine Radical]

60. Nice shot.

Right on the mark.

[Cali_Democrat]

67. You're gonna have to do better than that. Name calling is what is childlike.

Do you realize how often I've been called a cultist for supporting Obama? Actually, I've also been called an Obama hater when I've disagreed with his policies.

I really don't mind the name calling though. Refer to the "Cult of Personality" if you like. As you can see, I have little concern with how folks perceive me.

I do my own thang.

It still doesn't change the fact that folks like you praise Warren and Sanders while denigrating Obama and ignore the fact that they support the same bills in Congress time and time again.

There's a record out there. The folks constantly denigrating Obama while ignoring Warren and Sanders are people who like to create fictitious politicians that only exist in their minds, but don't exist in reality.

It's much easier to govern from behind a keyboard than it his in the halls of Congress or in the White House.

[bobduca]

43. "EMBRACE THE SUCK"

That should be the pragmatic centrist's motto!

[ItTakesAllKinds...]

25. Gotta learn Newspeak is all!

Down is up: film at 11

[MannyGoldstein]

26. "Make No Mistake™... only by smashing the poor can we aid the poor...

"There is no greater gift that we can leave to our children than even bigger banks, and even more wealth for the wealthy. Right Jamie? Right Lloyd?"

[woo me with science]

33. Woo hoo!

Third Way!

[JoePhilly]

47. Right Liz? Right Bernie?

[jsr]

34. Those 57,000 kids need to hire a lobbyist on K Street

to better make their case.

[Spider Jerusalem]

40. Blame the Republicans in Congress.

Republicans and conservative Democrats aren't going to pass a budget without some significant spending cuts. Appropriations bills require a 60-vote majority in the Senate to pass. The Republicans have 45 votes out of 100, and conservative Democrats probably account for another 10. Anything that passes is going to be a compromise.

[woo me with science]

41. Therefore, Democrats must always start negotiations at a Republican wet dream.

They could never get anything anyway, holding *only* the Presidency and one House of Congress....so why try? Best to go all in for the Koch agenda from the start.

[Spider Jerusalem]

44. Did you miss the part about needing 60 votes to pass a budget?

55 > 60 (much less than 60 when you consider that anywhere from ten to twenty of those 55 Democratic senators are going to be conservative and moderate).

[woo me with science]

49. Right. So why even try?

Last edited Thu Dec 19, 2013, 10:30 AM - Edit history (2)

Why even put anything on the table except corporate sop and bludgeons to the poor?

[JoePhilly]

48. Probably why warren and sanders caved on this.

[woo me with science]

50. This seems to be the attempted "trump card" du jour.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4198204

It's cute, but it doesn't really address the point, which is this administration's pattern of behavior, even from the start of "negotiations."

[JoePhilly]

53. They could have voted against this

if they wanted to.

It will be fun watching the purists look the other way each time this happens.

[woo me with science]

55. Oh, you got me. A mortal wound.

According to the Cult of Personality, I have been slayed.

The record, the extensive record, no longer exists. They are exactly the same now, Obama and Sanders.

You win.

[JoePhilly]

59. They are the same ... willing to vote or sign,

pragmatic legislation.

And the purists HATE that.

btw ... how many actual tough votes as Warren had to make so far?

The GOP obstruction has helped the purists stay pure because it means Warren has not had to vote very often. That makes it easier for her to stay pure.

Over time, she'll develop a "record" too. And it will get tougher to remain pure.

And I suspect the purists will struggle, but forgive her, as she votes pragmatically from time to time.

[Ikonoklast]

66. Joe, there are many here that on a fundamental level, just do not understand politics.

Funny how they can blame Obama for signing the very bill their current can-do-no-wrong-perfect-in-every-way sacred cows voted for and then sent to the president to sign, but try to either dismiss those votes as them being 'pragmatic' on the matter, or try real hard to ignore like it just never happened.

[yeoman6987]

54. Probably why warren and sanders caved on this.

I don't understand why they voted for it. They had enough votes without them. It would have been better for them not to vote yes to the budget. It makes me wonder why they voted yes. I could see MAYBE if the Democrats had 58 votes and needed those two to vote with them, but they didn't need them at all. Very telling.

[JoePhilly]

58. They were being practical.

Their votes were not needed. But having all of the Dems vote YES is a statement.

So Warren and Sanders set principle aside, and voted in a pragmatic, political manner.

The purists will hate it, but sit quietly, and hope no one notices.

[winter is coming]

52. Yes, we need to love and value our children because the government doesn't give a shit. n/t

[grahamhgreen]

68. We are the government.

[winter is coming]

69. No, we're not. We should be, but we're not. n/t

[Trillo]

70. It's a really nice speech.

Good luck on healing troubled minds, it is much easier to not trouble them in the first place.