Monday 12 December 2005

White House, GOP Deny Obama Charge; Call For "Intelligent Ownership" Alternatives

Voucher Program For Private Schools To Offer Curriculum "Since Public Schools Won't Be Around Much Longer"

In a keynote address at the annual meeting of Florida Democrats at Walt Disney World Saturday evening, Illinois Senator Barak Obama charged that the Republicans controling the Federal Government are practicing "Social Darwinism", drawing sharp criticism from White House, the GOP and Televangelist Pat Robertson this morning.

Obama (D-IL), the only African American in the U.S. Senate, offered the gathering the glaring example of how "some Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans still live in cars while Republicans in Washington prepare next week to enact $70 billion in tax breaks".

"It's sink or swim," said the recently Grammy-nominated Senator.

As Reuters reported, Obama stated "It's called the 'Ownership society' in Washington. This isn't the first time this philosophy has appeared. It used to be called Social Darwinism."

This morning, the White House criticized Obama for "exploiting the issue of Hurricane Katrina" and that he was "appropriating the President's agenda for 2006."

"The President", offered White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, "will be submitting to the new Congress after the holiday break a comprehensive plan for 'Intelligent Ownership'."

A short time later, in her own press conference, Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings confirmed that the Administration is "laying out" an "Intelligent Ownership" plan.

"It's at the top of the list", said Spellings. "It very comprehensive and it will have a Voucher Program with it, for private schools to offer 'Intelligent Ownership' alternatives, since we can't count on public schools being around much longer."

In keeping with the President's vision for "Intelligent Ownership, Spellings clarified that the "Voucher Program is more, or less, moral support. The private schools will have to pick up the tab for it, or get sponsorships to implement the program".

President Bush set off a firestorm of controversy earlier this summer, when speaking with a group of Texas reporters, the President advocate that he believed "Intelligent Design" should be taught in schools, alongside with the competing theories of evolution.

A broad spectrum of the scientific community is critical of "Intelligent Design", saying there is no scientific evidence to support it, no education value in teaching it and that it is false marketing effort to introduce religious and Chrisitian thinking to students.

Fred Spilhaus, executive director of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) said that "what the president has done is give impetus to people who would like to push their side of this agenda, and that's a real problem."

"President confuses science and belief, puts schoolchildren at risk."

The American Institute of Biological Sciences, the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society also released statements saying that intelligent design has no place in the science classroom.

In September, the issue went into the court system after a Dover, PA school board was sued, over the seperation of Church-and-State, for requiring students to hear about Intelligent Design in a biology class.

In a subsequent election, the entire schoold board was voted out-of-office, drawing the ire of Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson, who warned the citizens of Dover, PA “I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected him from your city,” on his daily television show “The 700 Club.”

Obama stated to the Florida Democrats that "they have a philosophy they have implemented and that is doing exactly what it was designed to do. They basically don't believe in government. They have a different philosophy that says, 'We're going to dismantle government'."

Naming the Republican Party directly, Obama charged that they believe, "You are on your own to buy your own health care, to buy your own retirement security ... to buy your own roads and levees."

When apprised of Obama's comments, Robertson declined comment, saying only that "I hope the good Senator doesn't need God's help anytime soon."

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, slammed Obama, saying that "he's following Lieberman, since the Democrats have no ideas of their own to implement."

"This is more of the Democratic Party's 'rejectionist' vision," said Mehlman. "They can't accept how the President has established a strong foreign policy, with bringing democracy and victory to Iraq so they are not going to get behind the President's strong and clear domestic policies."

"Maybe he has stardust in his eyes," offered Mehlman. "He's up for a Grammy Award so he's probably been hanging out with those liberal Hollywood-types."

In Washington, Bob Woodward, Washington Post reporter and author, told his editor and colleagues that he'd be "really envious of Obama if he wins that Grammy."


















President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney said, according to the White House, that they "enjoyed very much" the private screening of "Brokeback Mountain" and that it "brought back some good memories from some days down in Crawford"

The White House insisted the President was referring to the work of clearing brush and horse riding only