First

...but do they receive federally-funded health care? That is, after all, paramount on the Dems agenda.

You seek group hugs, Sauron gives none.

(Besides we are having trouble with that mental picture of that large Kennedy dispensing same, ack!)

The Lidless Eye! It BURNS...it sees into our living rooms...our toddler's playrooms...always searching, always seeking votes.

Teddy Kennedy, advised that Bush also wanted to promote Head Start's original purpose - teaching pre-schoolers to read, huffed:

This administration will go to any lengths to embarrass the public school system. How would it look if these tykes could read better than their older siblings -- think of the self esteem issues. No, I contend -- and I think Sandra Day O'Connor will back me up on this -- that every child has a Constitutional right to enter the public school system unburdened with reading skills.

In this fashion we will be able to ensure the future of our cherished program of social promotions in K-12, and our lucrative remedial education curriculum in colleges across this great nation of ours. Here we take the good time and trouble to convince the public that the NEA and the Democrat Party have their best interest at heart in order to protect our phony baloney jobs, and now we have to put up with this. I am depressed.

is this satire? i cant tell.

...dude...you have, like...TOTALLY summed it up for us...

The Head Start kids would be all, "Hey, check out this Plato dude", and the teachers would be all..."Give that to me right now! Go to the corner with the other kids and watch Teletubbies - it's more age-appropriate". And, like, kids would be reading books and newspapers on their own instead of participating in "teachable moments", so they wouldn't like, have the benefit of having teachers explain current events to them.

Will they have brown shirts like Hitler Youth?

Can't read.
Can't write.
Can't do math.

But they're very inclusive, open-minded (empty minded), and they have high self-esteem. Perfect Democrats!

Kennedy Youth
would then run alongside
Kennedy's Little Spies,
formerly known as
the Peace Corps.

And What percentage of these youth are the result of dalliances between Kennedy family members and bar bimbos and/or waitstaff at their compound?

They will have to revise "hug, play with and entertain".

No hugging, anyone working with children is "encouraged" not to touch them in any way. It makes the teacher/child care worker open to abuse claims.

The current educational plan seems to be to make sure no one feels like a failure at anything, regardless of how well they actually do, which sets them up to require government support when they graduate and find that skill and competence do matter. How is this different?

Teach them our ways, while they are young!

Is this a:

1. Teddy (The fat, liberal, drunken senator, who runs nude on the beach) Kennedy quote,

2. A NAMBLA directive,

3. Or BOTH?

P.S. Sorry if the nude Teddy reference, caused anyone to lose their lunch!

Maybe they can be given swimming, and life saving lessons, so they don't end up like ted at chapaquiddick?

Or maybe hillary and bill, can give a class on how to elimate political enemies, and get away with it! They learned from ted and then perfected it, to a fine art!

they will also be taught to drink responsibly..... just like a Kennedy.

For seven years I ran my own tutoring business, and while I was doing that I earned an M.S. in developmental psychology. Your faux article is very entertaining, but in all seriousness, the Head Start program, while not perfect, has been invaluable to underprivileged children. The Head Start program helps promote reading readiness skills and early literacy. In my estimation, the greatest benefit of Head Start is that it puts children from impoverished backgrounds on a much more nearly even footing with their more fortunate peers, promoting early academic success. We have a societal choice between expending our resources on prevention (such as Head Start,) or cure (Special Ed., Truancy Officers, etc. for children who with the proper early intervention could have succeeded in the mainstream.) My Grandmother, a longtime Capitol Hill Staffer for a Republican Congressman and an ardent Republican herself, used to say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I agree with her.

False LFC imitation thing!
You cannot hide.
Crawl back into your filthy den, ssslave!
These needy little headstart worms are not for you to eat. And don't you ever talk again about the Olog-hai breeding program.
We ride over you in search of Bagginsss.

Dear C.A.,
"Figures don't lie... but liars use figures", that having been said, the reasearch outcomes on Head Start as an effective intervention to teach pre-reading skills is pretty limited.
Research was done doing massive language enrichment (2-3 hrs daily), to try to instill the language mechanics in children who fell at the lower end of the language development spectrum (20%ile and lower). The initial results were promising, however, longitudinally the children did not maintain their gains.

Bitterly Cynical Sarcasm starts here.
Headstart turns out to be government sponsored baby sitting, and horribly expensive at that. I suppose it's better than leaving the kids at home with no one or worse... their mothers. I used to work in a poor rural school district and the eagerness with which some persons were rid of their children was horrid. They would try to lie about their age to get them into school early, or seek an exemption for early admission.

Try this thought:

Every honest hard-working person has a contribution to give to society. Honest craftsmen, solid laborers, child rearers, farmers these persons are desparately needed in our society. Poets, advertisers, linguists, actors, entertainers ... life would go on without them, but lots of them read so very well and are academically gifted.

Our society undervalues trades and over-values advanced education. Persons view advanced education as the route to "easy money" and thus everyone wants admitted to college, whether they belong there or not. Thus everyone who graduates highschool must be prepared for college for our society to succeed.

I think we need a change in values where character and craftmanship are valued over possessions, money and the perceived esteem of higher education.

I'm 12 credits off of my doctorate, and from what I see, most of higher ed is smoke and mirrors designed to befuddle the un-learned.

If you want some proof, either think back to your own experience, or ask someone else...

Ever had a professor that was obviously a fool?

How much do you value an honest and accurate mechanic for your car?

Maybe a troop of KYs (as a Kentuckian, I resist that designation for the Kennedy Youth) can be assigned to follow Teddy around with little casks of martinis. Much like St. Bernards.

All fine and well. Now where's the liquor cabinet?

A troop of Kentuckians could follow Teddy around with barrels of Blantons, Makers Mark and Knob Creek, but that SOB would probably ask for Southern Comfort (hardley even a "whiskey" much less a bourbon) b/c he is such a bafoon.

Fr. Sarducci:

Well said. My mother and one of my best friends never went to college and I'll put them up against the postgrad folks anyday for sheer character, guts, and common sense.

I only have a BS (how appropriate) and 2 AA's and I didn't get my BS until I was 39. I was busy raising kids and making a home before that and it was my first priority. My husband has a Masters, but we have always seemed to be able to communicate on a wide variety of subjects.

I have friends with PhD's and friends who have a HS diploma - and Frenchman notwithstanding, I can usually spell, too...

I have a B.A. (double major) and a J.D., and I can't spell a lik.

I wish to add that skilled craftsmen (auto mechanics, brick layers, carpenters, etc) can still earn good money, even in today's economy. Craftmen will always earn fair decent compensation so long as there is a demand for the skill and aren't a bunch of people with same skills (see, supply and demand, I learned about it getting my B.A.).

The key is "skilled." It means you know something, even if you primarily use your hands to do something. Obviously, you don't need a college degree for some types of skilled labor.

In Atlanta, I can go down the road to one of several gas stations and pick up all the cheap labor I need to move rock around. A strong back is a cheap, abundant commodity.

I meant to delete the word "fair" from my second paragraph above. So long as the labor market is "free," what you earn is by definition "fair."

c.a. -

"the Head Start program, while not perfect, has been invaluable to underprivileged children."
Really? Invaluable? Can you quantify the invaluable contributions made by Head Start? Studies, facts, numbers?

"The Head Start program helps promote reading readiness skills and early literacy." Do you have any studies to back up this claim? Parents bringing their children to their local library will also promote literacy - why do we need a massive federal program to do something that parents should be doing on their own? Children are a parental responsibility.

"(Head Start) puts children from impoverished backgrounds on a much more nearly even footing with their more fortunate peers, promoting early academic success." Underprivileged, more fortunate - can you try to use less emotive descriptors? Why is a child considered privileged when this child has a mommy and a daddy who do not depend on government handouts? When a child is born who exactly is responsible for providing enough privileges so that the child is not underprivileged? Are some children overprivileged? Does it really take a village to raise a child, or does it take two parents?

"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
With 1 in 4 underprivileged males between the ages of 18 to 29 in prison, parole or probation, would more Head Start money make this ratio better?

An ouce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? That is a 1:16 ratio. We should start seeing some results soon? I suspect, however, that those running these government "prevention" programs will simply stick out their hand for more money while the problems being prevented persist.

Reached for comment Andrew Cuomo stated, "I think we should just junk the whole program because, frankly, a hug from a Kennedy is just not worth much."

Actually, a hug from a Kennedy never ends with just a hug.

sometimes it ends in a gurgle

Southern Comfort? I prefer Vicks Formula 44-D.
They taste the same, but the Vicks will get rid of a cough.

With Teddy Kennedy...everything begins and ends with a CHUG!

Isn't he the guy who needs a crane to move around? Sorry, just a cheap shot. By the way, saying things like this tends to give the liberals ammo when they call us 'mean-spirited.' I'm not defending them, and I take as many, if not more cheap shots as anyone else here. Speaking of which, doesn't Ted Kennedy like cheap shots? You can get drunk for less that way! (cheap shot #2)