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poltr1I'm going to preface this meme with something else I heard from the everybody-ookla Yahoo group: Last year, a teacher at Rio Rancho High School in Rio Rancho, New Mexico got the sack because he didn't pre-screen his students' poetry for their "poetry slams", which were aired on the school's closed circuit TV system. One of his students read a poem which was critical of the Bush administration. Both the principal and a military liaison accused the girl of being un-American, and ended the poetry readings, as well as the group.
Read more about this story from the Daytona Beach News-Journal website.
(Note: A Google search on "Rio Rancho High School" seems to uncover a pattern of zero-tolerance policies and censorship.)
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was also critical of the Bush administration. Here's CNN's account of the story. A summary of the text is reprinted below.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said,
"I believe that the president's leadership in the actions taken in Iraq demonstrate an incompetence in terms of knowledge, judgment and experience in making the decisions that would have been necessary to truly accomplish the mission without the deaths to our troops and the cost to our taxpayers."
To which House Majority leader Tom DeLay, responded:
"Nancy Pelosi should apologize for her irresponsible, dangerous rhetoric. She apparently is so caught up in partisan hatred for President Bush that her words are putting American lives at risk."
That's right, folks, it's now official: criticize our so-called President and you are endangering American lives.
But a better president than Dubya once said this:
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt (1918)
I suggest the following meme: Everyone who is so inclined, write down the Roosevelt quote on a postcard and send it to the dear House Majority Leader at either of the following addresses:
The Hon. Tom DeLay
242 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
The Hon. Tom DeLay
Office of the House Majority Leader
H-107 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Also send a note of support to Sen. Pelosi.
The Hon. Nancy Pelosi
Rayburn House Office Building
Room # 2371
Washington, D.C. 20515
Let's extend the original meme: Send a copy of the Roosevelt quote to the principal of Rio Rancho High School, the superintendent of the Rio Rancho district, and the President of the Rio Rancho Board of Education.
Rio Rancho High School
ATTN: Mr. Gary Tripp
301 Loma Colorado NE,
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Rio Rancho Public Schools
ATTN: V. Sue Cleveland, Ed.D.
500 Laser Rd.
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Rio Rancho Public Schools
Don Schlichte, Board of Education President
500 Laser Rd.
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Then post this info in your journal and see if we can generate a resounding reminder that dissent and criticism do not equal treason.
Read more about this story from the Daytona Beach News-Journal website.
(Note: A Google search on "Rio Rancho High School" seems to uncover a pattern of zero-tolerance policies and censorship.)
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was also critical of the Bush administration. Here's CNN's account of the story. A summary of the text is reprinted below.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said,
"I believe that the president's leadership in the actions taken in Iraq demonstrate an incompetence in terms of knowledge, judgment and experience in making the decisions that would have been necessary to truly accomplish the mission without the deaths to our troops and the cost to our taxpayers."
To which House Majority leader Tom DeLay, responded:
"Nancy Pelosi should apologize for her irresponsible, dangerous rhetoric. She apparently is so caught up in partisan hatred for President Bush that her words are putting American lives at risk."
That's right, folks, it's now official: criticize our so-called President and you are endangering American lives.
But a better president than Dubya once said this:
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt (1918)
I suggest the following meme: Everyone who is so inclined, write down the Roosevelt quote on a postcard and send it to the dear House Majority Leader at either of the following addresses:
The Hon. Tom DeLay
242 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
The Hon. Tom DeLay
Office of the House Majority Leader
H-107 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Also send a note of support to Sen. Pelosi.
The Hon. Nancy Pelosi
Rayburn House Office Building
Room # 2371
Washington, D.C. 20515
Let's extend the original meme: Send a copy of the Roosevelt quote to the principal of Rio Rancho High School, the superintendent of the Rio Rancho district, and the President of the Rio Rancho Board of Education.
Rio Rancho High School
ATTN: Mr. Gary Tripp
301 Loma Colorado NE,
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Rio Rancho Public Schools
ATTN: V. Sue Cleveland, Ed.D.
500 Laser Rd.
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Rio Rancho Public Schools
Don Schlichte, Board of Education President
500 Laser Rd.
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Then post this info in your journal and see if we can generate a resounding reminder that dissent and criticism do not equal treason.
