Do I Have This Right? During Bush's campaign he said over

[MaryH]

and over that he was for re-educating people who are out of jobs. And one of the things they would do was to make the Pell Grants available.

One of the first things this Congress did was to cut back 90,000 Pell Grants. Isn't that so?

I'm getting questioned by right-wingers who really don't have an answer to that. They tried to rephrase the questions to how much we were spending on education under Clinton and what it is now under Bush? I don't know those figures. But I don't think that is the issue.

I'm sure I heard Bush talk about Pell Grants over and over and over.

[durablend]

1. "Election's over..."

"I just wanted your vote, now get lost"

Pretty much spells it out.

[Cary]

2. It's all Clinton's fault.

[boi1946]

5. Look at the NEA's website.

If I remember correctly, B* and Co budgeted some 39 billion for NCLB, but distributed 9 billion less than they said they would. Looks good on paper and when they say it, but they don't deliver. Same applies here. Got to go feed the dogs....

[Ardee]

14. nea.org

Test and Punish
If you thought things couldn't get worse, consider this: The number of schools subject to punishment under the so-called "No Child Left Behind" law has skyrocketed. Title I schools face stiff consequences if they fail for two years to meet the dozens of test score and attendance targets that together make up what the law calls "adequate yearly progress" (AYP). It's been two years since the law has been in effect, and the tallying has begun.
In the 39 states reporting their AYP results by NEA Today's press deadline, the number of schools that missed AYP for two or more years reached 6,794, or 12 percent of the schools in those states—nearly double the number as last year. As a result, Title I schools in this group must now let parents transfer their children to other schools at the district's expense—even if the receiving schools have no space. And the penalties just get stiffer for schools that miss AYP again.

On the bright side, most states had fewer schools that missed AYP for at least one year. Last year, nearly a third of the nation's schools missed AYP. Unfortunately, this year's results are not comparable to last year's because some of the federal rules have shifted and some states are applying the rules differently.

Next year, things likely will get worse because the AYP standards will be even higher. Several states predict that nearly every school eventually will fail as the standards keep going up—unless educators persuade Congress and the President to fix the law. To help, go to www.nea.org/lac.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It seems to me that Bush actually cut 27 billion from the NCLB bill ,making it basically an unfunded mandate that states are struggling to meet.....

[Make7]

3. From the third debate:

SCHIEFFER: Let's go to a new question, Mr. President. Two minutes. And let's continue on jobs.

You know, there are all kind of statistics out there, but I want to bring it down to an individual.

Mr. President, what do you say to someone in this country who has lost his job to someone overseas who's being paid a fraction of what that job paid here in the United States?

BUSH: I'd say, Bob, I've got policies to continue to grow our economy and create the jobs of the 21st century. And here's some help for you to go get an education. Here's some help for you to go to a community college.

We've expanded trade adjustment assistance. We want to help pay for you to gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.

You know, there's a lot of talk about how to keep the economy growing. We talk about fiscal matters. But perhaps the best way to keep jobs here in America and to keep this economy growing is to make sure our education system works.

I went to Washington to solve problems. And I saw a problem in the public education system in America. They were just shuffling too many kids through the system, year after year, grade after grade, without learning the basics.

And so we said: Let's raise the standards. We're spending more money, but let's raise the standards and measure early and solve problems now, before it's too late.

No, education is how to help the person who's lost a job. Education is how to make sure we've got a workforce that's productive and competitive.

Got four more years, I've got more to do to continue to raise standards, to continue to reward teachers and school districts that are working, to emphasize math and science in the classrooms, to continue to expand Pell Grants to make sure that people have an opportunity to start their career with a college diploma.

And so the person you talked to, I say, here's some help, here's some trade adjustment assistance money for you to go a community college in your neighborhood, a community college which is providing the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century. And that's what I would say to that person.

Source: Commission on Presidential Debates
__________

I'm sure there are more examples, that's the one I remembered off the top of my head.

-Make7

[Ms_Mary]

6. In one debate, didn't he also use NCLB for an unemployment question?

[KlatooBNikto]

7. Jobs of the Twenty First Century.

He is correct. they are as follows:

In India: Computer programmers, Systems Analysts, Consultants, Doctors, lawyers, engineers, research Scientists.

In China: Manufacturing Engineers, Assembly Workers, Pharamaceutical producers.

In the U.S: Hamburger Manufacturing Engineers, Taxicab Driving engineers, Massage Parlor Operators, Wal Mart Greeters,Grocery Store Shelf Stockers and Liquor store Clerks and lottery ticket sellers.

[blondeatlast]

12. Notice he said "expand Pell Grants."

A clever weasel, if you ask me.

There are hundreds of thousands of students who would not be in college without Pell Grants, simple as that.

So, the Radical Right CUTS them--but OFFERS THEM to more people. Guess who the "more people" are?

WEALTHIER PEOPLE. Yup. Fewer poor people receive them, so fewer poor people attend college. People who ordinarily wouldn't qualify (and you had to be in pretty sad shape to qualify for a Pell in the past) now do.

So MORE people get them, but fewer people who really need them. He EXPANDED the program while cutting it.

See how it works?

These are evil, but brilliant minds here, and you really have to watch the language they use.

[truhavoc]

4. Just take every favorable word he said and expect the opposite

The people that voted for him will not hold him accountable either. All they will say is "at least gays can't get married and Bush is going to put social cons in the courts"...Makes you wonder what kind of platform this man could have truthfully run on and still win?

[quiet.american]

10. Don't forget

They'll also say, "Well there are other issues that are more important -- at least he's pro-life."

Given the absurdity of that statement on its face, it's really something to see the denial mode kick in when the Kool-aid drinkers are presented with the following information:

When President Bush took office, the nation’s abortion rates were at a 24-year low, after a 17.4 percent decline during the 1990s. This was a steady decrease averaging 1.7 percent per year. (The data come from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life using the Guttmacher Institute’s studies.)

Enter George W. Bush in 2001. One would expect the abortion rate to continue its consistent course downward, if not plunge. Instead, the opposite happened.

We found four states that have posted three-year statistics: Kentucky’s increased by 3.2 percent from 2000 to 2003. Michigan’s increased by 11.3 percent from 2000 to 2003. Pennsylvania’s increased by 1.9 percent from 1999 to 2002. Colorado’s rates skyrocketed 111 percent. We found 8 additional states that reported statistics for 2001 and 2002. Eight states saw an increase in abortion rates (14.6 percent average increase).

Under Bush, the decade-long trend of declining abortion rates appears to have reversed. Given the trends of the 1990s, 52,000 more abortions occurred in the United States in 2002 than would have been expected before this change of direction.

[blondeatlast]

13. Not quite true. You have to pay VERY careful attention to language

with them. See my explanantion of "expanding Pell Grants" above.

[izzie]

8. We need other things more. Like congress getting re-elected.

We need more pigs in congress.

[blondeatlast]

9. Go to your nearest public library or bookstore. Get your hands on

"Don't Think of an Elephant" by George Lakoff; ISBN (your bookseller will be grateful for an ISBN!) 1931498717.

It's a quick read, 144 pgs, and only 8-10 dollars.

Lakoff explains the phenomenon you are experiencing very well and offers ideas on how to battle it.

I can't recommend this book enough. It's cheap, it's quick, and I suggest we buy as many as we can, so we can mark them up like crazy--I may have to buy a new copy.

[Eric J in MN]

11. We have a growing population and inflation.

You can't just take absolute numbers.