Your Lying Eyes

Dedicated to uncovering the truth that stands naked before your lying eyes.

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17 December 2008

You Can't Buy Publicity Like This

The love affair between the mainstream media and the Messiah-elect continues unabated. Well, it's more a one-way affair - at least the Obama team seems to be holding its needy lover on a very short leash so far. Both coastal arms of the MSM sent little love letters to his holiness the last couple days.

On the east coast, the old grey lady melted over his education policies, particularly the devotion of $10b to early childhood education.
It was the morning after the presidential election, and Matthew Melmed, executive director of Zero to Three, a national organization devoted to early childhood education, could barely contain his exultation.Mr. Melmed fired off an e-mail message to his board and staff, reminding them of President-elect Barack Obama’s interest in the care and education of the very young and congratulating Mr. Obama for campaigning on a “comprehensive platform for early childhood.” Mr. Melmed was not alone in his excitement. After years of what they call backhanded treatment by the Bush administration, whose focus has been on the testing of older children, many advocates are atremble with anticipation over Mr. Obama’s espousal of early childhood education.
And the adulation just goes on from there, with nary a cynical voice to be heard. At one point, we are given a little teaser, that perhaps some negativity might be uttered. But no fear - it was a false alarm.
Debates cut many ways. Some advocates want the nation to start by expanding services to all 4-year-olds. Others say improving care for infants and toddlers cannot wait. Some insist that middle-class and wealthy children must have access to public preschool. Others say the priority should remain with the poor.
Our correspondent quickly jumps in to suggest what the anointed path will be.Mr.
Obama’s platform, which Mr. Duncan helped write, emphasizes extending care to infants and toddlers as well, and it makes helping poor children a priority. It would also provide new federal financing for states rolling out programs to serve young children of all incomes.
Towards the article's end it discusses the boundless dividends such "investments" will pay. It cited the Perry Pre-school study which claimed enormous dollar gains to society of lavish pre-school programs. The reporter did note that some doctrinaire sticklers have criticized the study's small size, but otherwise suggested near unanimity of support for this notion (here's a rather thorough debunking (PDF - see page 19) of these claims that obviously would have killed the reporter to spend two minutes locating). And it gave Obama the last word.
Mr. Obama’s platform accepts the broad logic of the Ypsilanti study. “For every one dollar invested in high-quality, comprehensive programs supporting children and families from birth,” the platform says, “there is a $7-$10 return to society in decreased need for special education services, higher graduation and employment rates, less crime, less use of the public welfare system and better health.”
A 7-10 fold return on your dollar? Such a claim could only be explained by some combination of dishonesty, stupidity, and insanity. Yet here we have a New York Times reporter, a president-elect and apparently the entire education establishment all trumpeting this absurdity. And we wonder how Madoff got away with it?

On the west coast, the LA Times had a nearly identical article, this one regarding Obama's environment team entitled "Environmental groups, scientists cheer Obama appointments." It is a breathless, start-to-finish tongue bathing of Obama and his flawless team. Not a single voice can be heard mentioning that we have here a team of individuals who have, outside of Steven Chu's work at Bell Labs over 20 years ago, never spent a day performing any real work in real market conditions. Aside from Chu, a nobelist, the rest of the team is the embodiment of mediocrity. The much vaunted Carol Browner is an undistinguished lawyer who has made a career of being an environmental scold, while the other two, EPA head-designate Lisa Jackson and Nancy Sutley, are clearly only their because of their color.

You would certainly never gather from the hagiographical reporting what a nightmare the Obama administration is turning out to be. His Treasury secretary is a Wall Street whore. His foreign policy team is a den of incompetents, and his domestic policy team a pathetic assortment of cronies, leeches, race-hustlers and kleptocrats. God help us, everyone.

12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

More posts with charts Please!!!

December 18, 2008 10:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://perezhilton.com/category/barack-obama/



perezhilton is turning on obama, and his opinion is the only one that matters

December 18, 2008 11:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Taking children away from their parents earlier and earlier is the left's way to not only indoctrinate the kids, but to give more jobs to more teachers so the teacher's unions can be a "growth" industry.


Ive seen attempts in the past that wanted to ADD a year of schooling (a 13th year). Now they apparently want to push school back a year before kindergarten and make it mandatory. More jobs for teachers, more indoctrination for the children at earlier and earlier ages.



Anyone who is familiar with the tactics of the left will not be suprised. I think God for the internet, a tool that youth can use to seek out truth and aid and assist their learning irrespective of the pablum they hear in class daily.



Preschool is time that children who are 4 and under should be spending with their parents. Why in the world would we want to rush them so much? They are babies for such a short time.

December 18, 2008 11:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Zeil, go back to the charts. Less bitter old Repub

December 18, 2008 1:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No, I think the bitterness is much more effective than the charts!

December 18, 2008 3:50 PM  
Blogger ziel said...

Less bitter old Repub

Uh, isn't that what I am?

December 18, 2008 6:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ziel. You're great (except when drooling over Palin). Keep it up. I especially like your bitter old Republican posts. You do it very well.

December 18, 2008 7:08 PM  
Blogger Black Sea said...

I too am "atremble with anticipation" when I contemplate the direction of American education, but more in the Jeffersonian sense of "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."

December 19, 2008 12:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

18 Years of Pre K and No Payback

From Cato

December 19, 2008 9:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I too am "atremble with anticipation" when I contemplate the direction of American education, but more in the Jeffersonian sense of "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."

Don't let those fuckers anywhere near your kids. Homeschool them, send them to private school, whatever. And teach them to ride a horse, shoot straight and speak the truth.

December 19, 2008 1:40 PM  
Blogger Steve Sailer said...

The basic idea underlying Obama's thinking is that poor kids parents are so awful that the babies must be taken away almost immediately and largely raised by paid government employees.

December 19, 2008 8:22 PM  
Blogger Dan Kurt said...

re: " Steve Sailer said...
The basic idea underlying Obama's thinking is that poor kids parents are so awful that the babies must be taken away almost immediately and largely raised by paid government employees. December 19, 2008 8:22 PM"

Poor Steve has been captured by his subject of the book "The Half Blood Prince" such that he ascribes "thinking" to Obama.

For heaven's sake, the proposed mandatory enlargement of Pre K and post HS education is a sop to his EduCrat supporters nothing more. It is just another make work jobs program for teachers.

March 07, 2009 6:00 PM  

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