President Bush is coming to the rescue. He is developing a summit on school violence. AG Gonzalez and Ed. Sec. Spellings have been tasked with bringing together parents, teachers, students, administrators, law enforcement officials, and other experts to discuss the best ways to keep violence out of our schools. (No mention of any kind of controls on weapons.)
Children and teachers should never fear for their safety when they enter a classroom.
That's right, Mr. President, and I'd be willing to bet that your task force will come up with many lofty goals, just as you did with No Child Left Behind. And I'd be willing to bet that with those lofty goals there will be totally inadequate funding, just as there was with NCLB. And even though there will probably be, God forbid, other school shootings, I'm sure you will declare that your plan is working well, just as you have claimed the great educational gains that have been made under NCLB, just as you tell us how swimmingly things are going in Iraq, the tremendous steps toward democracy that have been made.
After all, your word is law. You've made sure of that.
True, children shouldn't have to fear going to school; just as soldiers shouldn't have to fear going into battle with inadequate equipment and protection; just as people living in the richest country (Well, at least it used to be.) in the world shouldn't be dying prematurely for lack of adequate health care; just as people in that same country shouldn't be homeless more than a year after Katrina; just as freedom-loving people in that country shouldn't have to fear the dismantling of the Constitution, the very cornerstone of its foundation; just as people in that country shouldn't be condemned to a life with debilitating diseases because of your hypocritical refusal to fund stem-cell research; just as my grandchildren and their grandchildren should not have to spend their working lives trying to pay down the debt you have inflicted on them. I could go on and on with things people in this once-great country shouldn't have to fear.
One of the greatest things we should not have to fear is that an innocent statement made at the wrong time or place might be misinterpreted by your official "ears" that would jeopardize our freedom. We should not have to fear that we could be arrested and held without ever knowing why or ever being able to get justice. We should not have to fear that your stubborn denial and lack of attention to global warming will lead to untold climate catastrophes.
You somehow seem to have confused talking about and promoting your lofty goals for actually implementing those goals, providing the funding and the experts (not your cronies) to bring them to fruition. You see, we are on to you, Mr. President. We know that when you make promises you don't give an at's rass as to whether they are kept. When you see problems and cry your crocodile tears and promise yours and Laura's prayers, we know that once out of sight, it is out of your mind. We know that your one and only concern is grabbing the power to insure the greatest bottom line for you and your friends.
I wish we could rest easy, Mr. President, but as long as you and your party own the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, as well as most of the mainstream media there will be no rest. But there is one more thing of which you should be aware: it won't last forever. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't end sometime around next January.