3rd letter to the editor from a Florida Christian school student compares Obama to Hitler.

[madfloridian]

This is the third in what is apparently a letter writing assignment from the Landmark Christian School in Haines City, Florida. I posted about the other two letters to the editor a couple of days ago, but I missed this one. The others concentrated on the fact that President Obama does not consider we are a Christian nation, that he is wants to take from hard workers and give money to slackers (paraphrased), and that he is keeping us from turning to God.

President Barack Obama

This student is an 11th grade student at the school, as were the two letter writers the next day...leading many to assume it to be a class assignment.

I realize that there's a big controversy on whether or not the students should be allowed to listen to the President's speech on education. I personally don't agree that students should or should not be forced to listen to the President. I think it should be the student's choice. I, myself, wouldn't want to listen to him because I've seen and heard his socialistic agenda and views.

With the President wanting to speak to the youth, it reminds me of how Hitler targeted and convinced the youth about his agenda and views. Why would I want to listen to someone that resembles a socialist and a dictator? I know it's just a speech about education and how we need to take it seriously but how far is America willing to go for this man? Are we just that blind?

At least someone calls him out in a letter to the editor today. It is a mild rebuttal compared to what it could have been.

Know Your Opposition

It appears the 11th graders at Landmark Christian School in Haines City had a recent letter-writing assignment (letters, Tuesday and Wednesday). LCS should be lauded for encouraging civic participation.

Allow me a few short observations. First, some think it wiser to know your opposition than to ignore it. That way we understand its strengths and weaknesses. Refusing to read what he writes or hear what President Barack Obama may say neither refutes nor weakens his position. It just leaves you ill-equipped to rebut him intelligently.

Next, I'm no biblical scholar. Still, I understand that Jesus had some specific words on how we treat the least among us. Likewise, I believe he answered in the affirmative when asked, am I my brother's keeper? And I've been told that true charity focuses on the need for help, not the cause of the need.

I agree that civic participation should be lauded, but I also value a true education....meaning that varied sides of an issue are presented. ThisThreadIsSatire was brave and used the word "indoctrinate" in regard to the other two letters.

I do not know which private religious schools get public taxpayer money for vouchers, but I do know that approximately 40,000 students go to private school on my tax money. So I question what is taught, as is my right.

The other two letters accused Obama of being a socialist, having too much charisma, and keeping our nation from turning back to God.

If you cannot see past the charisma, speech quality, and promises of wealth, and see the fact that he basically stands strong for socialism, then I am not the ignorant one, you are.

..."The Constitution and other foundational documents were written to protect our religious rights. "In God we trust" is written on all of our coins for a reason. Without God, America would not be such a prosperous nation. In Psalm 9:17, the Bible says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." America is quickly forgetting God, especially if its leader, who was elected by the people, claims we are not a Christian nation. We need to turn back to God before he turns his back on us.

Please note the tone. "I am not the ignorant one, you are." Pitting us against each other instead of truly seeking knowledge.

There was a comment in the comments section of the TBO education blog that rang so true with me.

Splintering segments of the community in private religious schools, minority focused schools and magnet schools is not advancing our society.

Children are not learning a broad curriculum together, they are instead being isolated from one another and focusing on ego-centric curriculum that is self serving rather than focused on the common good.

It's a mistake to cater to a population that does not want to look beyond themselves to become part of something bigger and in all likelihood better than what they can create on their own.

Those letters wreak of the splintering being done in the name of religion in this country.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Guess they don't teach history at the Landmark Christian School.

I take it back. The Landmaark Christian School doesn't seem to teach English, composition, history, or critical thinking.

[Divine Discontent]

2. Ah POLK COUNTY - where redneck bigoted white trash goes when they're scared of living in Orange Co.

Haines City? You mean where that Snyder Tire place is at, with JESUS SAVES up on each side of their big sign so they can get Christians business?

Someone needs to buy Polk County and charge an exhibit fee to watch the neanderthals at play!

God help me... I have to drive thru that cesspool every month to visit an elderly friend.

[hobbit709]

3. I lived in Winter Haven for 3 months back in 1973.

It was weird enough then and it appears to be 10 times weirder now.

[BlueJazz]

11. Amen..I have to drive (sometimes) through that Shit-hole. About 4/5 of...

..the population makes the Redneck Dudes in "Deliverance" look like College Professors. :)

[RagAss]

15. Yes, it is quite a shithole.

[Gman2]

4. Privatize their FUCKING water, trash, fire, police, Do away with zoning.

[madfloridian]

5. PBS editorial on this type of voucher....Dec. 2008

Vouchers of dubious quality

I find it hard to get accurate numbers on the ones who get the various vouchers. This editorial is critical of this type.

School voucher advocates are trumpeting a report that concludes that one of Florida's voucher programs saved Florida $38.9 million last year, or $1.49 for every dollar spent on the so-called "corporate scholarships" that low-income students use at private schools. The celebration by voucher fans is premature and not entirely honest, because the study by the state's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability does not consider the quality of private school education that the students who use corporate vouchers receive.

More from the editorial:

The state isn't really saving money if it's shuffling low-income students off to poor quality schools any more than it would save money if it bought cheaper, inferior vehicles for highway patrol officers or built buildings that folded in the first hurricane. But the corporate voucher program always has been about ideology, not quality. Former Gov. Jeb Bush was determined that the state would offer vouchers. Low-income students are eligible for the corporate vouchers regardless of how well their designated public school is rated or how well they may have been doing in public school. Students entering first grade or kindergarten are eligible for the vouchers even if they haven't attended public school at all. Moreover, the Legislature and former Gov. Bush steadfastly have refused to provide any meaningful point of comparison between public and private schools that accept the vouchers.

The role of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in public schools and the lack of any FCAT role in voucher schools remains particularly hypocritical. In the last decade, the state has made the FCAT the be-all and end-all of public school assessment. Teacher bonuses, promotion and graduation depended on FCAT scores. Principals who couldn't raise FCAT scores were dismissed. Electives disappeared from the curriculum so teachers could focus on FCAT skills.

But private voucher schools, many of which have a religious curriculum, have not been required to give the FCAT to students using the state-sponsored vouchers. Voucher schools are required to administer a "norm-referenced" test of the school's choice. But there is no penalty if the school's test scores are poor. For private voucher schools, the state's position always has been that if the parents are happy, the state is happy. Why aren't public school parents granted the same level of trust?

Yes, exactly...why test public schools to their death yet not require if of the private schools.

[ezdidit]

6. America's Answer to the Madrassa.

Non-critical thinking is not thinking at all. It is rote memorization. In this case, it's just a mantra of Republican talking points. Such a shame.

Socialism is the Police & Fire Departments, the Library and street repairs. It is Medicare and VetsCare & TriCare. For that matter, the military is a socialist system, organized and maintained by the Federal government. So, if you want to go back to a system that is "pure survival of the fittest," you'll have to leave this country.

[vinylsolution]

7. The teabaggers' Utopian dream....

.... looks a lot like Somalia.

No government, but lots of lovely guns - and so many free, free people.

I think only Alan Grayson can save Florida from itself.

[madfloridian]

8. lol great graphic.

:hi:

[BluDemocratGirl]

12. Make that GlenBecKKKstan!

I can't stand that ignorant bastard. I wonder what grades that stupid boy is getting at that school.

[Anakin Skywalker]

20. Dumbasses Get A+ at Private Schools

such as the one quoted. All you have to do is be obedient. Regurgitate RW propaganda. Worship Sarah Palin. Worship the Bush Klan.

[2Design]

9. rw country and State n/t

[Hekate]

10. Florida has a population of retired Jews. Wonder if any Holocaust survivors would volunteer...

... to teach these little ignoramuses about the real Adolf Hitler?

Actually, having known a few Holocaust survivors myself, there are always some who are more than happy to educate the young. The problem in this school would be the hostility they would likely encounter, which at their advanced ages would be difficult to deal with.

What a country.

Hekate

:argh:

[sakabatou]

13. Didn't Reagan speak to kids at school?

How come nobody compares him to Hitler for that?

Besides, I'm calling Godwin.

[Lasher]

22. All three prior Republican presidents made similar appearances at public schools.

There were no Republican complaints in 1991 when President George H.W. Bush spoke at a Washington, D.C., school and told the students, "Write me a letter — I'm serious about this one — write me a letter about ways you can help us achieve our goals."

Nor did Republicans claim that Ronald Reagan was trying to create a cult of personality, as some did this time, when he spoke to students at the White House in 1988, near the end of his second term. Answering questions, Reagan boasted of economic progress and a patriotic revival under his administration. He also said he opposed rigid gun controls or handgun bans.

More politics there than in Obama's school session. At a meeting with students before his speech, the president did tell a questioning youth that he favors universal health insurance and thinks it can be done. But he never mentioned his policy agenda in his speech.

President George W. Bush was at a Sarasota, Fla., school reading to pupils on Sept. 11, 2001. He was to have delivered a back-to-school talk there, but never did. The terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington intervened.

Article here

Here's a related article: (Texas) Kids Didn't Hear Obama, But Will Be Bussed for Bush

[Dr.Phool]

14. Too many christians.....

Not enough lions.

[madfloridian]

16. lol

:hi:

[Turbineguy]

17. The student is entitled to write.

And the IRS is entitled to review the school's tax status.

[madfloridian]

18. True.

:hi:

[The Wizard]

19. Religion is the gift Great Zeus

gave us as a curse on humanity.

[pundaint]

21. Has anybody experienced any group more stupid than born again Floridians?

I've been all over the country, and there have been individual challengers, imhoffe, for expample, but as a group they're number 1. It's like they're allergic to information. The only competition they have in my experience is from Texas. It's like they believe that God gave us brains so we can prove our faith by not using them, then He went and hid a bunch of dinosaur bones, and put special carbon isotopes in them to test our faith. And these Christians say that the devil is the trickster. Strong believers in the bible as a lucky charm, but not so much in the teachings.

[geckosfeet]

23. Have these children read Hitlers letters? Books? Studied the history of Germany

and Europe from mid 1800's through WWII?

If they haven't, I do not think that they have the credentials to compare anyone to Hitler.