Michelle Obama’s Message to the Black Community – Education Is Not “Acting White”

It is rare, but I happen to agree with Michelle Obama on something.  Over the weekend she gave a commencement speech at a historically black college and during this speech she said:

“reject the slander that a black child with a book is trying to act white.”

There was a time in my life that I wouldn’t believe that this was so widespread of a belief in the black community.  But that naiveté is long gone.  I have done some volunteer work with the scholarship program in Washington, D.C..  It is basically a voucher program that allows low-income families to apply for money to be used at the school of their choice.  The forms can be a little overwhelming, so I would help parents fill out the forms for the application.  I also did outreach to get as many as possible to apply.  During this outreach I got a little education of my own.  This is a common theme among the inner city blacks, at least in D.C..  I heard this mantra over and over again.   I also heard far too often that learning how to fight wouldn’t happen in those “white schools”.  Sadly, that is true story.

What exactly is “acting white” supposed to mean anyway?  Why would getting an education that can lift your child out of poverty and a life of low earning jobs a bad thing?  Every one of the parents I spoke with were living in low-income, high crime areas of The District.  They have lived the life of not having enough money to get their children into a neighborhood that would provide them a better school and reduce the amount of violence around them.  I went into doing this work thinking every parent would jump at the chance to get some help for their child. Wrong.

Education is an issue that I feel very strongly about.  Every child in this country deserves a quality education; regardless of the income of their parents.  Sadly, when you are living in low-income areas, the public schools are failing your children.  A lack of a good education leads to all kinds of social ills throughout your life and in many instances leads to a life dependent on government subsidies just to survive.  It also costs the taxpayers a great deal of money when you start looking at the rates of incarceration among people who don’t finish high school.  They are far less likely to add to the economy; actually they become a drain to tax payers.  From a human point of view it is a difficult life to lead.

It has also been shown that pay disparities between blacks and whites disappear within one generation.  A black person who finishes two-year of college will have children that makes just as much as their white counterparts.  This is among one of the chief complaints among “civil rights” leaders.  Well, here is a your solution.  Yet, this is something that is rarely, if ever, spoken about by these race hustlers.  They just talk about all that is wrong, but rarely every talk about the ‘unspeakable”.  The apathy in the black community that has haunted far too many and allows generation after generation to live a life of poverty need to hear this message.  You can lift yourself and your family out of poverty by getting yourself an education.

She went on:

“Today, more than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, more than 50 years after the end of ‘separate but equal,’ when it comes to getting an education, too many of our young people just can’t be bothered,” she said.

“Today, instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours, playing video games, watching TV. Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper,” Obama kept going. “Right now, one in three African American students are dropping out of high school, only one in five African Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 has gotten a college degree.”

This is something that the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton don’t understand.  They continue to hold onto the belief that somehow only access to the same public schools that whites go to is enough.  The evidence that clearly isn’t true sadly is the many inner city black youths who are being robbed of a decent education.  This is demonstrated quite clearly when the NAACP sued the City of New York to keep the worst performing school in the country open.  That incident also clearly demonstrated how hypocritical they truly are about the issue.  The lawyer for the NAACP that filed the lawsuit sends her daughter to boarding school in New Hampshire.  If you are stunned by that, you really shouldn’t be.  It is par for the course.  Education for me, but not for thee seems to be mantra of the race hustlers that have money.  Letting those poor kids stay in the under performing schools is perfectly fine, as long as it isn’t their children.

I have waited four long years for the Obama family to make these type of statements.  While I truly believe that singling out people by race is a bad thing, I also truly believe that with the type of platform that they have it is a crying shame that they have not used it more effectively to reach those in the black community.  Simply being president and first lady isn’t enough.  The message must be that you too, with an education, can accomplish what we have accomplished.  You too can make it to Harvard and Princeton if you work hard.  You too can lift your families to greater heights.  I also feel that they need to talk about the family dinner table and the importance of fathers in the home and being around to raise your children.  While I have heard it from him, it isn’t nearly often enough.  Every study shows that having a father around increases grades, decreases drug use, and makes the possibility of that child growing up in poverty that much less.  In fact, the percentage that lift themselves out of poverty is more than 70% when three simple things are done, finishing high school, not marrying before the age of 21, and not having children out-of-wedlock.  This study was also confirmed by a left leaning think tank that tried to prove it wrong.

I will always give credit where credit is due.  I want to hear more of this from Michelle Obama.  I also would like other leaders in the black community to follow her lead.  Lets talk about some of the uncomfortable truths, that sometimes blacks are their own worst enemies.  Believing that getting an education is “white” then getting ahead will be nearly impossible.  The choice is yours black community, the choice is yours.

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Some Thoughts on The Oscars and Flotus

I admit it, I am a huge fan of the Oscars.  I rarely miss watching the ceremony.  I love movies and I really like the fact that most years I have seen most of the movies that are nominated for the big awards.  Now, hollywood isn’t exactly a fan of mine.  Or, I should say my political beliefs.  Many within the industry are outright rude to people who hold my political beliefs.  They call me all kinds of not so nice names and twitter has made it even more pronounced.

So last night I was tweeting while watching the ceremony.  Many of the conservatives around the twitterverse talked about how we shouldn’t watch because of the very liberal slant of the industry and the people within the industry.  I say exactly the opposite.  One of the reasons that democrats win is that use pop culture to influence the masses.

Well, Flotus proved me correct last night.

It’s through cinema, Obama said, that “our children learn to open their imagination and dream just a little bigger and to strive every day to reach those dreams.”

More accurately she should have said that through cinema they influence our children.  Now, don’t take this that I am saying that parents can’t do anything about it, but the influences are still there.

Do you still think we shouldn’t be engaging in pop culture?

The sad fact is this, the lines between politics and pop culture are not just blurred, Michelle Obama and her bangs giving out the Oscar for Best Film shows that the lines have been completely erased.  Sit on the sidelines if you want, but it will be to your detriment.

Quote of the Day – Michelle Obama Edition Part 7

“It is absolutely critical because we know how important it is for our children’s development.  We all know.  Every one of us who are here in this room will do whatever it takes to make sure that our own kids get access to sports and music and arts and recreation.  So if it’s good enough for our kids, it’s good enough for all of our kids, right?”

First Lady Michelle Obama

It is a real shame that she doesn’t feel that other students in Washington, DC have access to the same school her children do.  Her children have never stepped foot in a public school.  What a shame that her husband is doing everything possible to rid D.C. of the voucher program that could allow low income children to the same high quality education Malia and Sasha are getting.

High Schoolers Not Happy with The One Size Fits All Lunch Guidelines – We Are Hungry – Video

My nephew played football and was  high jumper when he was in high school (State Champ in High Jump in his senior year) and during the times that he was either having track or football practice he wouldn’t get home until close to 8 PM.  He left in the morning around 6:30 AM. Luckily he has long since finished high school because I think he would be feeling the same way as these kids.

The stories that have been coming out for the past week would be downright funny if it were not so sad.  The kids are not happy with choices that they are being given.  While many school systems still “allow” you to bring your own lunch, many don’t.  What are these kids supposed to do, starve?

You cannot force kids to eat foods they don’t like.  If they are not getting healthy choices at home, they are not used to eating these foods.  What makes Michelle Obama think that they will eat them in school?  Many of these poor kids are eating much less because they just don’t like what they are being given.

Reason 18,982 to homeschool.

Quote of the Day – Michelle Obama Edition Part 6

So that one new voter that you register in your precinct — think about it — that one neighbor that you get to the polls on November the 2 I want you to understand, that could be the one that makes the difference. That one conversation, that one new volunteer you recruit, that could be the one that puts this over the top.

Here that dems?  Go to the polls on November 2.

Hey I like this idea.

Twitter Fun #Ask Michelle

Of course conservatives couldn’t resist.  Here is a taste:

#askmichelle Does Barack view Orwell’s ‘1984’ as a roadmap rather than a cautionary tale.

Why do you get to eat BBQ ribs and preach healthy food to the rest of us? #AskMichelle

#AskMichelle What’s “the other white meat?’ Poodle or Llasa Apso?

#AskMichelle Most women get irritated when their husbands play golf incessantly. How do you cope?

Dear @MichelleObama: I’m volunteering at a soup kitchen tonight. Gucci or Prada? #AskMichelle

#AskMichelle Who is your favorite Marxist? Besides your husband, of course.

#AskMichelle Are your Mao Christmas ornaments union made in the USA or imported from genuine communist sweat shops in China?

#askMichelle Bill Maher said “Bristol will name her next kid Colt 45.After what shes drinking when she gets pregnant. What do you think?

#askmichelle Why did you get offended by the American flag at the 9/11 memorial last year? #tcot #obamafail #mooch

#AskMichelle If the election of your husband wasn’t the end of the ‘racist era’ in the U.S., then when, pray tell?

Would you call George Zimmerman a white Hispanic? If so, would you call Barack a white African American? #AskMichelle

RT @BowlMeOverVa: #askmichelle You know Jar Jar Binks is trending on @Twitter and you are not?

#AskMichelle Why do u have so much more $$ than me? Shouldn’t u give me some of yours? To be fair?

#AskMichelle: Nevermind Obama, how come YOU stayed in Reverend Wright’s pews for 20 years of virulently anti-American, Marxist propaganda?

#AskMichelle: If family is off limits, why (& how) did your husband get a judge to unseal the divorce records of his previous opponents?

#AskMichelle How much longer is Barack going to lie about his support for gay marriage?

#AskMichelle How many bottles of bubbly did u have once u realized u hoodwinked the country?

#AskMichelle Was Joe right? Does Barack have a big stick?, if so how did he find out?

#AskMichelle: If you were “struggling” to pay student loans, how could you afford a $650,000 house

#AskMichelle Since staying home with my kids doesn’t make me ill, does that mean I am stupid?

#AskMichelle @MichelleObama did you buy your own birth control while in law school?

#AskMichelle I am in the middle of making dinner. Which Gov’t agency should I contact 2 make sure I am doing it correctly?

Quote of the Day – Michelle Obama Edition Part 4

“It is hard to sneak around and do what you want, I have done it a couple of times. But you know one fantasy I have, and the Secret Service they keep looking at me because they think I might actually do it, is to walk right out the front door and just keep walking.”

You know I have that same fantasy.  Take your husband with you when you go.

Quote of the Day – Michelle Obama Edition Part 3

“The days I stay home with my kids without going out, I start to get ill, my head starts to ache.”

Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States and Mother of Two.

Wait, I thought that President Obama said she had to work?  Oh, no, was he less than truthful again?  I am sure that Malia and Sasha will be very happy to read this article when they get older.  They made their mother ill.

Quote of the Day – Michelle Obama Edition Part 2

“When we send our kids to school, we have a right to expect that they won’t be eating the kind of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we’re trying to keep them from at home,”

Michelle Obama speaking while sharing a school lunch at suburban school in Fairfax, VA.  (Lucky me, I got caught in that traffic yesterday)

 

New guidelines have been announced for school lunches.  The guidelines include less fat, less sugar, and less salt.  All good things for our children.

There are about 17% of children across our country who are considered “obese”.  A very stunning number if you think about it.

I have no problem with giving children healthy foods choices at lunch.  But did these kids get fat because of school lunches?  I don’t think so.  Michelle Obama says it herself; ‘at home’.  Children who are not being given healthy choices at home will not be less obese because of this.   Nor will children who only get bad choices at home want to eat this food.  You can serve them healthy food all you like, it is eating that matters, not the serving.

Does this solve the problem?  No, it does not.  Yet one more big government one size fits all solution that is doomed for failure.

 

Quote of the Day – Michelle Obama Edition

They don’t know. They don’t know all that. So we’re going — this campaign is going to be about making sure that people understand all that’s been accomplished. I think people are confused about — some may be confused about how much has been accomplished. But that’s what you do in a campaign.

Michelle Obama on the critics who have been disappointed that President Obama has not kept his campaign promises.

Another words, you are too stupid to see how leftist he has been.

Quote of the Day – Judicial Watch Edition

Read it and weep folks.  I normally don’t say much about the first family, I personally believe that she should be off-limits to bloggers.  But this is way over the top.  I don’t mind that she took her daughters with her to Africa.  I don’t care that members of her immediate family went either.  The plane was going, it may as well have more people on it.  But to label your children as Senior Staff!  What were they in charge of, which flavor ice cream to serve on the plane?  192 meals?  Do these people eat every two hours?  What are they infants? 

According to U.S. Department of Defense’s published hourly rates for the C-32A aircraft used for the trip, Judicial Watch calculated the total cost to American taxpayers was $424,142 for use of the aircraft

The passenger manifests confirm the presence of Obama’s daughter’s, Malia and Sasha on the trip. The two girls are listed as “Senior Staff.” The manifests also list Mrs. Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, and niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson, as well Mrs. Obama’s makeup and hairstylist (Carl Ray and Johnny Wright).

The expense records also show $928.44 was spent for “bulk food” purchases on flight. Overall, during the trip, 192 meals were served for the 21 passengers on board.

First Lady on Fire!

Not the dress. Just a quote from the “reporter”. FLOTUS says it was a date night after all:

Barack and Michelle Obama wrapped up two days of New York fundraising tonight with a gala eventat Gotham Hall, where the First Couple got a little flirty.

“It is great to be in New York,” Michelle Obama said, according to White House pool reports. “And it is great to be here with my husband because the truth in, we rarely get to travel anymore. They separate us. It’s like our date night.”

Some commenters are less than impressed. This about sums it up, I’d say:

youarestupiderthaniam on Sep 21, 12:44 AM said:

Well, well, did O’bummer and Muchelle give the truly rich a lecture on how they are going to be paying a whole lot more if he has his way while fleecing them of up to $38k – the median income of the average American worker?

Of course, I am sure these big buck donors are aware of where O’bozo has spent our tax payer money.

For example, Solyndra – .5 billion down the drain

Fast and Furious – arms to drug dealers that then turn around and kill federal agents

Not two wars, but at least four and depending on how you count them six wars.

Billions to the PLO that has vowed to wipe Israel off the map and has vowed the same to the “great satan.”

Zero employed in the month of August

Inflation at 4% and 10 year treasury bill at less than 2%

In the Congressional Black Caucus wants to dump them.

On fire.

Michelle’s not so private hell

Well, we may have wondered if Carla Bruni’s scoop were true but I think we can wonder no more.

Michelle Obama may like the perks of the presidency but she’s taken advantage of them–with a vengeance.

You’ll note she didn’t get any shopping in at the Vineyard, after the president publicly made a lame joke about it, prior to the trip.

And who in the White House is leaking this stuff about her travel expenses? I suppose the campaign wants to rein in her reign.

Cuz Barack sure has trouble doing that, he’s too busy demonizing the country.

Quote of the Day – Peggy Howell Edition

“When children of higher body weight hear we have to wipeout childhood obesity in one generation, for them those words translate to: we have to eliminate obese children. They hear: your body is bad. They hear: thin equals good, fat equals bad. They hear: your body is bad.  I believe that it was not the intention of the First Lady to cause more pain and suffering for these children, but I also believe that this is one of the consequences of focusing on reducing body size as opposed to improving health. Other consequences include: poor body image, body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, bullying, disordered eating, depression, lower expectations for future success, and sometimes even suicide.”

Nancy Howell,  Public Relations Director of  The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) on Michelle Obama’s campaign on childhood obesity. 

I don’t think anyone can deny that obesity is a problem in this country.  We are some of the fattest people on earth.  But, singling them out is not how you solve the problems.  This drives more tweens and teens to eating disorders.  It is hard enough for a child that has a problem with being overweight, the last they need is the school putting additional pressure on them.    Kids get picked on already for being fat, this whole thing has just made it worse.  I really wish that Michelle Obama had used her platform to keeping families together.  They have done some of that, but not nearly enough.  It is so needed in the black community.

Michelle O meets with Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, one of President Jacob Zuma’s three wives

…at his official residence. Zuma was scheduled to be out of the country. That’s South Africa. Three wives. According to Wiki he’s been married quite a lot, including a “fiancee” by another name he was supposedly to marry last December.

Charges of 3 rapes

A sex scandal:

South Africa has an unemployment rate upwards of 30 percent. In some communities the percentage is even higher. The idea that a president would spend more time dealing with sex scandals instead of fixing the country’s economic woes does not sit well with many people, says Spio-Garbrah.

“Zuma has always presented himself as the common man. The problem for many South Africans is ‘if half of us are unemployed and the rest are barely surviving, how come you can afford to have 19 children, three wives and one girlfriend?'” he says. “For someone who doesn’t have job, who can’t even afford to feed his family, for Zuma to be going around and fathering children left, right and center would irk such a person.”

Former member of the communist party. Living large.

Then there are the corruption charges, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary in most countries, not to mention Chicago.

No wonder he’s out of the country, the State Dept. probably insisted on it.

But why go there in the first place and give recognition in any way to this disgusting president? Before they had apartheid, now polygamy is honored in their leading family. (I guess cuz it’s “anti-colonial” it’s OK) The official line:

“She’s coming on this trip to talk about women’s development and youth development, and South Africa’s a leader in that, not only on the continent but globally,” said Elizabeth Trudeau, spokesman for the US embassy in Pretoria.

Quite the role model.

  –crossposted at BackyardConservative

Wreckovery Summer in the City TWO. Michelle

Buy one get one free. Not so much.

Yessiree, Michelle O is going to be the president’s secret weapon this year. One of his best assets. Will she hold another beer summit in the White House?

More Chicago flash mob reaction. It wasn’t just a suburban biker–two doctors in town for a convention were attacked–on or near what we call here the Magnificent Mile. You know, near the lake. Near the Gold Coast where Oprah has her perch. A comment from the Tribune story:

  Sick-of-the-Chicago-Way at 8:02 AM June 07, 2011 We have a president and Congress that wants to redistribute wealth.  These kids simply chose to remove the middle man from the deal.  Perhaps the solution is a government program that directly gives “disadvantaged” youth Ipads and Iphones

Yes we can. Let’s Move.

P.S. Why does Chicago have one of the highest crime rates in the country? Why is Chicago’s population back to 1920’s levels? In other news, Dems overturn the 2010 midterms in Illinois. …Maybe these women will wise up this time and be immune to Michelle’s message. Especially if they can’t move.

Related post: Women take the long view, drop O in droves

  –crossposted at BackyardConservative

Michelle O. My Plate!

The further adventures of Michelle O.

Can’t you just wait ’til she campaigns in a neighborhood near you?

Let’s Move!

 

 

Is Michelle Barack’s Secret Weapon?

You decide, I’m only partly joking, but already we are bracing for the full-blown campaign. She’s still more popular than he is so why wouldn’t they put her in play. And the press around here will cover for her.

We know it’s going to be nasty because Barack has nothing good to run on. The generic GOP candidate narrowly edges the Barackstar this time round but will competence be enough to cut it?

Will Michelle cultivate the Jackie O look again or will the gloves come off.

Try to imagine a pro-life Obama

From my Green Room post on the slaughter of unborn black babies in NYC:

I have a dream. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more respected black leaders and celebrities would join the fight against this suicidal/genocidal nightmare? Imagine the good that might be done by President Obama if he believed in the sanctity of life. Imagine a pro-life Michelle Obama, fighting for the survival of black babies and promoting the black family instead of haranguing us about childhood obesity. Imagine the all-powerful Oprah taking on this cause.

Read the rest.

 

Memo to M.O. Please M.Y.O.B.

Memo to M.O.  please M.Y.O.B. or at least M.Y.O.B. about my daughter’s BMI. 

As a mother of a child who struggles with weight and whom I encourage to exercise, to eat right and to make good choices, you’re right, it’ hard but it’s my job and I do it out of love for her, not anything else. It’s not your job or your business. 

I don’t want your free advice or your paid for expertise.  I have a pediatrician and I know how to read, cook and teach.  We’ll manage.  

What this country suffers from is your fundamental lack of trust in our capacity to do anything without your imput.  We can’t leave education up to the parents. We can’t leave feeding up to the parents.  How much longer before we can’t leave parenting at all, up to the parents? 

Just surrender your offspring to the State, (Peter Singer will determine if they are Spartan worthy) and get back to working so you can pay your taxes.  Don’t worry, they’ll be JUST fine.  It’s better for them and it’s less stress on you.  We’re from the government, we’re here to help and you know… we’ll take good care of them.