kcjenkins Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 THE COW AND THE ICE CREAM ONE OF THE BEST EXPLANATIONS OF WHY OBAMA WON THE ELECTION --From a teacher in the Nashville area "We are worried about 'the cow' when it is all about the 'Ice Cream.' The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year... The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot. The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches. Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Everyone applauded and he sat down. Now is was Olivia's turn to speak. Her speech was concise. She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream." She sat down. The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We want ice cream." She surely would say more? She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn't sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn't know. The class really didn't care. All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a landslide. Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and 52 percent of the people reacted like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other 48 percent know they're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess." This is the ice cream Obama promised us! Remember, the government cannot give anything to anyone that they have not first taken away from someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Perfect. And the little picture, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJack Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Great!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Is ice cream anything like building democracy in Afghanistan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 I wouldn't describe it as building Democracy in Afghanistan - I'd call it a serious effort of "Whak-A-Mole" in Afghanistan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJack Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 So far he is not willing to doing much whaking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Not surprising, since he can't even bring himself to call domestic terrorism what it is when the facts are right there in front of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 I watched Letters Home on Veterans' Day. It's a traveling troupe of actors out of Chicago, so if it gets near you do go see them. In 70 minutes the real letters of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and mothers of soldiers remind you what's happening. Very powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jainen Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 >>mothers of soldiers remind you what's happening<< In my experience, people's mothers are not the best source of reliable information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NECPA in NEBRASKA Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 If anyone is interested in watching a very moving movie that pertains to any war get "Taking Chance" with Kevin Bacon. It is the story of an officer accompanying a soldier's body home. It was beutifully done and a shame that it ever has to happen. A few weeks ago I was at our airport when a plane landed with a soldier's body coming home. It still makes me cry just remembering all the people watching the tarmac out the window silently. This soldier was just now coming home from Viet Nam. This isn't political, just sad. Bonnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Oh, but in this case the "what's happening" is not what's happening in D.C. or Iraq at the governmental level, but what's happening to individuals touched by this war: families missing a member temporarily or permanently, teen soldiers watching friends die in their arms and then returning to college or work without anyone around who understands what they went through, a service woman told she doesn't qualify for mental health help due to her tour in a war zone being too short, children not knowing a parent for a couple of years, delays in continuing education or career, the economic ripples while a breadwinner is in the service, etc. Mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and all of us DO know what's happening on our street, in our town, in our work places. I was in high school and college during Viet Nam and remember classmates in wheelchairs, but also dazed and searching for someone to talk to, a few years older than the rest of us and having gone through things that we didn't even see on TV back then. The real letters of real people remind us that our neighbors might have issues we don't, but that those issues will touch us all in some way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunTaxMan Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 KC, Marvelously put! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joans Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 My husband just got back from Iraq working as a civilian for the military. He worked and talked to many of the military personel over there and he and they are very proud of the work that they are doing over there. Whether we "agree" with the war or not, the simple fact is 9/11 did happen. Our troops, men and women, are over there to make sure that the terrorists are so preoccupied with what the military is doing in their country that they won't have the energy to strike our country again. Sad, to say, but Ft Hood is just a prelude to what will happen in this country if we don't finish what is going on over in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both parties and most Americans have become very "numb" to what has happened in the past and we forget very quickly. This is just my opinion, but I don't like war, but I do want to keep our country and my family safe. We didn't start this, but we do need to finish it or America will look weak and we will be attacked again and again. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and remembers what this holiday is really about. To be Thankful for our freedoms, family and those who have given the ultimate to allow us to have our freedoms ie: this forum to voice our opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jainen Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 >>the simple fact is 9/11 did happen<< I certainly wouldn't call that a simple fact. It's just about the most complex thing in my lifetime. But one thing we can say for sure--it simply didn't have anything to do with Iraq. We could never control international terrorism if we continued to think of it as one great conspiracy. "The terrorists" are not THE enemy. Terrorism is a TACTIC used by a lot of very different enemies, and thank God we finally have a Commander in Chief who understands that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Yeah, right. I rate him right up there with Jimmy Carter on how well he understands the the threat from a nihilistic Islamic fundamentalist ideology. And so far it appears he's capable of equalling or exceeding Carter's ability to facilitate its expansion. But he isn't alone - there are plenty of people in the US and around the world who continue to bury their heads in the sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted November 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 OK, I think it's time to stop this. Enjoy the laugh or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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