James O'Keefe, the filmmaker who teamed with National Journalism Center intern Hannah Giles in the ACORN video sting, now faces the prospect of being prosecuted by the Baltimore City State's Attorney for violating a Maryland law that makes it illegal to tape an individual without their prior permission.
If he is convicted, O'Keefe could spend five years in the Maryland State Prison. Yes, you read that right. Here's the complete statement issued late yesterday by the prosecutor, Patricia Jessamy:
"Baltimore, MD – September 11, 2009 – We have received inquiries from citizens and the media asking whether the Baltimore City State’s Attorneys Office would initiate a criminal investigation for acts allegedly committed at ACORN offices located in Baltimore. The only information received in reference to this alleged criminal behavior was a YouTube video. Upon review by this office, the video appears to be incomplete. In addition, the audio portion could possibly have been obtained in violation of Maryland Law, Annotated Code of Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article §10-402, which requires two party consent.
"If it is determined that the audio portion now being heard on YouTube was illegally obtained, it is also illegal under Maryland Law to willfully use or willfully disclose the content of said audio. The penalty for the unlawful interception, disclosure or use of it is a felony punishable up to five years.”
Jessamy, a Democrat, was appointed to the State's Prosecutor position in 1995 and has since been re-elected to the job three times. Among the items listed on Jessamy's extensive resume of accomplishments is that she is president of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center. She also lists her prior membership on the Governor's Council on Child Abuse and Neglect from 1995 to 1998!
Let's be clear about what is happening here: O'Keefe and Giles dressed up as a pimp and prostitute and walked into the Baltimore ACORN office seeking "tax advice" for a brothel that would include the use of 13-year-old sex slaves from San Salvador. Two ACORN advisers happily provided all kinds of advice about how to deceive federal and state tax authorities about the true nature of the "business," and how to insure that the prostitutes "keep their mouths shut."
In other words, two ACORN employees appear to have voluntarily become accessories to multiple federal, state and local crimes, including child abuse, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, tax evasion, and immigration law violations. The two ACORN employees may also have thus provided hard evidence that their employer should be prosecuted as a criminal enterprise under the RICO statutes.
And the Baltimore City State's Attorney may prosecute the two people responsible for exposing this heinous operation!
By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
09/12/09 7:56 AM EDT
Meanwhile, in most states there are video cameras posted on traffic lights to expose bad drivers speeding? Should that be illegal as well? The driver did not get permission to have his car videod.
DO YOU THINK THIS IS FAIR? DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD PUSH THE WHEEL IN GETTING MARYLAND'S LAW CHANGED.
WE NEED YOUR COMMENT. PLEASE GIVE YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS SO WE CAN COMMENT BACK TO YOU.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
FIRST PHOTO OF JAYCEE DUGARD AS AN ADULT
magazine. Her kidnapper, Phillip Garrido owned Printing for Less, a printing business, where Jaycee helped run it. She was known by customers who dealt with her.
In back of their business card is an image of a gorgeous young woman who some believe is Jaycee. They put make up on her to make her look lovely for the picture. Some speculate that her denim jacket was in the 80's, but she could have gotten it from a thrift shop. The owner of Wayne's Barbershop in Pittsburg, Calif. met Jaycee several times when Garrido took her with him to get his hair cut. Garrido also gave him his business card with Jaycee's picture in the back. He swears it's her. Everyone is wondering what she looks like today.
Some speculators feel it might not be her, but an image of what Phillip desired in a woman, which is why he kidnapped Jaycee.
At present, her psychologist is helping her deal with confusion over her rescue, the breakup of what she thought was her family and the challenge of starting a new life. She revealed how she was raped after one month of being kidnapped.
We hope and pray that Jaycee and her daughters will adjust in society and have a happy life with the rest of her family We wish them the very best.
ACORN
i heard they found another corrupt office in Brooklyn. Now they are going to file charges against the two people who did the video pretending to be pimp and prostitute, There was a law in Maryland that defendents have to be warned that a video is being taped of them with their knowledge. Something is wrong with this. I have to look into this further. Too be continued....
.
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Monday, September 14, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
MORE BREAKING NEWS CHILD PROSTITUTION INVESTIGATION IN WASHINGTON, DC ACORN
Washington, DC ACORN Video: Child Prostitution Investigation
by James O'Keefe
And then, we drove down to DC…
The scenario we posed the ACORN Housing employees in Baltimore is due to the application of similar power tactics. We gave ACORN a taste of its own medicine. ACORN was alleged to be thug-like, criminal, and nefarious. This criminal behavior was evidenced by a video of Baltimore ACORN community organizers breaking the locks on foreclosed homes. Instead of railing against their radicalism, it is best to bring out this type of radicalism. Hannah Giles and I took advantage of ACORN’s regard for thug criminality by posing the most ridiculous criminal scenario we could think of and seeing if they would comply–which they did without hesitation.
Additionally, instead of focusing on foreclosure itself, which has become seemingly as politicized as abortion, we focused on crimes more difficult for the left to defend: trafficking of young helpless girls and tax evasion. The first group represents the severely disadvantaged, the second a threat to the distribution of wealth.
While manipulation or entrapment occurs when people are encouraged to do things they otherwise wouldn’t, the pre-set trap is their own. These tactics allow the viewer to see ACORN’s soul; their playing field and their morality, out in the open. Their system is based on conflict and change for its own sake. This system is based on totalitarian principles and class war techniques. These people understand pressure, power and self-interest. When the Baltimore employees saw we were shady dealers, their instincts clicked in, as we were prime recruits.
ACORN has ascended. They elect our politicians and receive billions in tax money. Their world is a revolutionary, socialistic, atheistic world, where all means are justifiable. And they create chaos, again, for it’s own sake. It is time for us to be studying and applying their tactics, many of which are ideologically neutral. It is time, as Hannah said as we walked out of the ACORN facility, for conservative activists to “create chaos for glory.”
PLAY TRIVIA SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BOTTOM
by James O'Keefe
And then, we drove down to DC…
The scenario we posed the ACORN Housing employees in Baltimore is due to the application of similar power tactics. We gave ACORN a taste of its own medicine. ACORN was alleged to be thug-like, criminal, and nefarious. This criminal behavior was evidenced by a video of Baltimore ACORN community organizers breaking the locks on foreclosed homes. Instead of railing against their radicalism, it is best to bring out this type of radicalism. Hannah Giles and I took advantage of ACORN’s regard for thug criminality by posing the most ridiculous criminal scenario we could think of and seeing if they would comply–which they did without hesitation.
Additionally, instead of focusing on foreclosure itself, which has become seemingly as politicized as abortion, we focused on crimes more difficult for the left to defend: trafficking of young helpless girls and tax evasion. The first group represents the severely disadvantaged, the second a threat to the distribution of wealth.
While manipulation or entrapment occurs when people are encouraged to do things they otherwise wouldn’t, the pre-set trap is their own. These tactics allow the viewer to see ACORN’s soul; their playing field and their morality, out in the open. Their system is based on conflict and change for its own sake. This system is based on totalitarian principles and class war techniques. These people understand pressure, power and self-interest. When the Baltimore employees saw we were shady dealers, their instincts clicked in, as we were prime recruits.
ACORN has ascended. They elect our politicians and receive billions in tax money. Their world is a revolutionary, socialistic, atheistic world, where all means are justifiable. And they create chaos, again, for it’s own sake. It is time for us to be studying and applying their tactics, many of which are ideologically neutral. It is time, as Hannah said as we walked out of the ACORN facility, for conservative activists to “create chaos for glory.”
PLAY TRIVIA SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BOTTOM
Thursday, September 10, 2009
BREAKING NEWS ACORN GOT CAUGHT ON TAPE
This report was to be presented tomorrow. However I could not help myself. You need to know now what transpired.
A young lady who is a reporter with her associate posed as a hooker and pimp. They went to Acorn to get money to open a house of prostitution. They told the agent who was an accountant, that they are bringing in young thirteen year old girls as prostitutes. The agent told the young women to use another name and not to tell anyone what it really is.
Seeing is believing
Please view video
MORE BREAKING NEWS ABOUT THE SAME THING CAUGHT IN WASHINGTON ACORN OFICE. STAY TUNED.
As I looked on the internet for news of the Baltimore Md incident regarding the ACORN corruption, I found nothing. The only media who broadcasted it was Fox News. Google News had it on their web site today. Horray for Google. They get everything. Who needs to read other newspapers. Google has it all. In my humble opinion, all the other medias are biased.
A young lady who is a reporter with her associate posed as a hooker and pimp. They went to Acorn to get money to open a house of prostitution. They told the agent who was an accountant, that they are bringing in young thirteen year old girls as prostitutes. The agent told the young women to use another name and not to tell anyone what it really is.
Seeing is believing
Please view video
MORE BREAKING NEWS ABOUT THE SAME THING CAUGHT IN WASHINGTON ACORN OFICE. STAY TUNED.
As I looked on the internet for news of the Baltimore Md incident regarding the ACORN corruption, I found nothing. The only media who broadcasted it was Fox News. Google News had it on their web site today. Horray for Google. They get everything. Who needs to read other newspapers. Google has it all. In my humble opinion, all the other medias are biased.
OBAMA'S SPEECH TO THE NATION
Obama's speech last night was remarkable. Critics said it was too long. I could have listened to him for hours. His passion for the Health Care reform was genuine and convincing. It sounds like a dream come true for many Americans. Critics said, that if the plan was so good, why didn't they do it in past years? Why didn't they stop the Medicare fraud before? There were only a handful of medical professionals that got busted. My humble opinion is that they did not have the manpower to go after everyone who double billed, and commited fraud in various departments. How are they going to enforce this Health Care plan now? Obama said, that if they can stop the medical fraud, they will have the money to enforce this plan. Ouch!
Did you hear about the Cash for Clunkers? The Obama program promised the auto purchasers $4500 to trade in their clunkers in order to purchase new cars. The used cars had to be destroyed. The government would reimburse the auto dealers up to $4500 in cash. The dealers waited, and waited for their money and one by one they backed out of the program.
Another reason for backing out of the program, the auto dealers were never informed that the Government wanted the dealers to collect taxes from the customer if they owned money to the government for any reason. Not sales tax, nor luxurey tax. The dealers said they were not tax collectors and had no way of knowing if their customers owed any money personally. The dealers were only told this new peice of information while waiting for their money. Some dealers had to go out of business because of the money due them from the government. The government would not issue money to the dealers unless the auto dealers collected the additional tax money.
It was difficult for the government to handle this deal. So how are they going to handle this wonderful health care program. I love it, by the way. I hope it works for everyone. Critics say it cannot work, and has not worked in other countries. What is your opinion. Please comment at bottom of page
"Using massive cuts to Medicare as a way to pay for more government-run health care isn't the kind of change Americans are looking for," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Thursday in a speech on the Senate floor. "Americans want savings from Medicare to be used to strengthen Medicare, not to create a system that would ... lead to a government takeover of health care."
September 9, 2009 6:48 PM
Former Obama adviser Van Jones, who resigned over the weekend after criticism over his past statements about Republicans and association with the "9/11 Truther" movement, is now working out of an office at a liberal think tank, according to reports.
Politico and the New York Daily News report that Jones is utilizing space at the Center for American Progress (CAP) as he thinks about his next move.
It was previously reported that he had taken a new job there, where he has worked in the past, but CAP later clarified in a statement that he hadn't taken a new job.
"We have offered Van office space for him to work out of while he figures out what he wants to do next," CAP spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said.
CAP was founded by John Podesta, who was President Obama's transition team leader and was chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton.
Politico's Ben Smith had this to say about the move, even though it doesn't include a new job: "The welcome from the establishment Democratic political and policy shop demonstrates that Jones, despite having resigned from the White House, remains very welcome in the party."
Jones did get the ball rolling, pushing among other initiatives the $150 million in Pathways out of Poverty grants from the stimulus funds targeted for low-income and minority neighborhoods. Whoever replaces him has to see those grants and other federal green jobs programs through, and push for expansion of those programs.
Jones will land on his feet, rejoining with groups like Green for All and the Apollo Alliance to continue advocacy, but voters and activists must push the White House to stay committed to green jobs for the ghettos as well. The White House should not let Jones' role go vacant for too long. They should either replace him immediately with someone who's experienced in delivering successful green jobs programs -- someone like Majora Carter, formerly of Sustainable South Bronx, Robert Bullard of the Environmental Justice Resource Center, Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice or Peggy Shepard of WEACT in Harlem.
If not, Jones' former responsibilities should be folded under the Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Labor, whose Secretary Hilda Solis wrote green jobs legislation when serving state public office in California.
If the White House chooses to abandon green workforce policy altogether, that is when real disappointment should set in, and the community organizers, activists and voters should rally. Except for that total abandonment, the resignation of Van Jones does not have to equal the end of green jobs for the poor.
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Did you hear about the Cash for Clunkers? The Obama program promised the auto purchasers $4500 to trade in their clunkers in order to purchase new cars. The used cars had to be destroyed. The government would reimburse the auto dealers up to $4500 in cash. The dealers waited, and waited for their money and one by one they backed out of the program.
Another reason for backing out of the program, the auto dealers were never informed that the Government wanted the dealers to collect taxes from the customer if they owned money to the government for any reason. Not sales tax, nor luxurey tax. The dealers said they were not tax collectors and had no way of knowing if their customers owed any money personally. The dealers were only told this new peice of information while waiting for their money. Some dealers had to go out of business because of the money due them from the government. The government would not issue money to the dealers unless the auto dealers collected the additional tax money.
It was difficult for the government to handle this deal. So how are they going to handle this wonderful health care program. I love it, by the way. I hope it works for everyone. Critics say it cannot work, and has not worked in other countries. What is your opinion. Please comment at bottom of page
"Using massive cuts to Medicare as a way to pay for more government-run health care isn't the kind of change Americans are looking for," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Thursday in a speech on the Senate floor. "Americans want savings from Medicare to be used to strengthen Medicare, not to create a system that would ... lead to a government takeover of health care."
Political role reversal
The dueling sound bites frame a political role reversal.
The dueling sound bites frame a political role reversal.
When the Republicans were in power, their attempts to cut Medicare to reduce government spending ran into a wall of opposition from Democrats. Now that Democrats are in control, they're calling for hundreds of billions in Medicare cuts to help the uninsured get coverage
September 9, 2009 6:48 PM
Van Jones Plotting His Next Move
(You Tube)
Politico and the New York Daily News report that Jones is utilizing space at the Center for American Progress (CAP) as he thinks about his next move.
It was previously reported that he had taken a new job there, where he has worked in the past, but CAP later clarified in a statement that he hadn't taken a new job.
"We have offered Van office space for him to work out of while he figures out what he wants to do next," CAP spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said.
CAP was founded by John Podesta, who was President Obama's transition team leader and was chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton.
Politico's Ben Smith had this to say about the move, even though it doesn't include a new job: "The welcome from the establishment Democratic political and policy shop demonstrates that Jones, despite having resigned from the White House, remains very welcome in the party."
Jones did get the ball rolling, pushing among other initiatives the $150 million in Pathways out of Poverty grants from the stimulus funds targeted for low-income and minority neighborhoods. Whoever replaces him has to see those grants and other federal green jobs programs through, and push for expansion of those programs.
Jones will land on his feet, rejoining with groups like Green for All and the Apollo Alliance to continue advocacy, but voters and activists must push the White House to stay committed to green jobs for the ghettos as well. The White House should not let Jones' role go vacant for too long. They should either replace him immediately with someone who's experienced in delivering successful green jobs programs -- someone like Majora Carter, formerly of Sustainable South Bronx, Robert Bullard of the Environmental Justice Resource Center, Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice or Peggy Shepard of WEACT in Harlem.
If not, Jones' former responsibilities should be folded under the Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Labor, whose Secretary Hilda Solis wrote green jobs legislation when serving state public office in California.
If the White House chooses to abandon green workforce policy altogether, that is when real disappointment should set in, and the community organizers, activists and voters should rally. Except for that total abandonment, the resignation of Van Jones does not have to equal the end of green jobs for the poor.
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OR
866 515 2787 EXT 6062
If you want to Pay Off Your House don't refinance
www.RapidHousePayOff.com
Do Your Homework - learn more
Innovative Financial Concepts
Wayne Shapiro
954-701-5566
954-255-6446 Fax
Independent Insurance Advisor
Life Long Term Care
Health Mortgage Protection
Dental Critical Illness Cash
Annuities Medicare Supplements
Disability Tax Free Retirement plans
Mortgage & Debt Elimination
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Be Mortgage & Debt Free in Less Then Half The Time
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
READ OBAMA'S PREPARED SPEECH TO BE GIVEN TO SCHOOL CHILDREN TODAY
For those who did not have a chance to read or hear Obama's speech to be given to school children today, I have copied it for your review.
By The Associated Press (AP) – 3 hours ago
The prepared text of President Barack Obama's back-to-school address scheduled for Tuesday, as released in advance by the White House:
OBAMA: Hello, everyone — how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday — at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.
I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer — maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper — but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor — maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine — but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life — I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that — if you quit on school — you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.
Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home — that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer — hundreds of extra hours — to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.
And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education — and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you — you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust — a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor — and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you — don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down — don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
COMMENTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former First Lady Laura Bush says she supports President Barack Obama's planned speech to children. The former school teacher tells CNN that it's "really important for everyone" to respect the president. She says her husband, former President George W. Bush, agrees, adding that Obama also doesn't need "second guessing" on the part of a former president.
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By The Associated Press (AP) – 3 hours ago
The prepared text of President Barack Obama's back-to-school address scheduled for Tuesday, as released in advance by the White House:
OBAMA: Hello, everyone — how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday — at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.
I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer — maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper — but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor — maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine — but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life — I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that — if you quit on school — you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.
Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home — that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer — hundreds of extra hours — to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.
And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education — and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you — you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust — a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor — and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you — don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down — don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
COMMENTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former First Lady Laura Bush says she supports President Barack Obama's planned speech to children. The former school teacher tells CNN that it's "really important for everyone" to respect the president. She says her husband, former President George W. Bush, agrees, adding that Obama also doesn't need "second guessing" on the part of a former president.
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