The problem isn’t what we did, it’s that you found out what we did

I’m sure you know about the video of school children being taught a song that praises Barack Obama. It’s been reported by several news outlets.

So, what do authorities of B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, NJ, say? School superintendent says the problem was … that someone videotaped it:

Superintendent Christopher Manno said in a written statement Thursday that the taping itself was out of order, but failed to address whether the the lesson was approved. “The recording and distribution of the class activity were unauthorized,” he wrote in a note to parents and the media.

Read that again.

He doesn’t say anything about public school students — that’s a school funded by your tax dollars, both New Jersey state taxes as well as federal funds from the Department of Education — being taught to sing the praises of Dear Leader. No, the problem is that someone taped it.

You see, now there’s evidence of it.

Think about it.

If someone told you about this story, would you believe it? You might think it’s one of Harvey’s Fake News stories. You’d be saying, “Heh. That’s a good one, Harvey. It’s almost like something that would happen.”

Only, it happened.

They can’t deny it. Because it was videotaped. And is on the YouTube.

And that’s how the left is: “The problem isn’t what we did, it’s that you found out what we did.”

Maybe that’s the way to handle things. That’s how they are handling the ACORN scandal: officials looking into charges over videotaping of illegal ACORN activity instead of the illegal ACORN activity.

I wonder how far this attitude could go. Or how well it would have worked in the past…

  • Ted Kennedy: The problem isn’t that Mary Jo Kopechne died, it’s that you found out about it.
  • Richard Nixon: The problem isn’t that I tried to cover up my staff’s involvement with the break-in at the Watergate, it’s that you found out about it.
  • Jeffrey Dahmer: The problem isn’t that I murdered 17 people and ate parts of some of them, it’s that you found out about it.
  • That guy getting the ticket on the Interstate last week: The problem isn’t that I was traveling 25 miles an hour over the posted limit, it’s that you found out about it.
  • The guy that spit in your food at the Waffle House: The problem isn’t that I spit in your food, it’s that you found out about it.

I wonder how many other ways this attitude could be used to excuse things?

24 Comments

  1. From CBS site:In the video at left, students at New Jersey’s B. Bernice Young Elementary School are shown singing about the president, in one case to the tune of “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” according to Fox News.

    But actually, what Fox said was:One song that the children were taught quotes directly from the spiritual “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” though Jesus’ name is replaced with Obama’s: “He said red, yellow, black or white/All are equal in his sight. Barack Hussein Obama.”

    funny how they left that out….

    First comment on CBS is:”Reminiscent of the Hitler youth singing the praises of Adolph” (that’s the tone of
    MOST of the comments everywhere, I’m surprised they didn’t delete it) so, the first reply to that is “Oh, for God’s sake! You neo-cons are too much!”

    neo-con is basically liberal speak for JEW…… HOW ironic!

    Considering how many of these ARE recorded and end up on line, just imagine how often it’s happening where it’s not!]

  2. Yeah, it’s a dodge. But it *is* a problem for them if someone released videotape of the students without parental consent. At the beginning of each school year we sign a release authorizing the school to use our child’s picture. If we don’t sign it, they can’t so much as put a picture with our child in it on the bulletin board, let alone upload a video of him to YouTube. If the consent forms aren’t all in place, whoever leaked this video has put the school in a major pickle, for which they will catch hell from their district. So I’d guess the reason for this reaction is not intent-to-dodge, but focusing on the first wave of fecal material to come back at them from the ventilation device.

  3. * Nazi Germany: The problem isn’t the dead Jews everywhere, it’s that you’re looking at them.
    * Ford Pinto: The problem isn’t that your car is currently on fire, it’s that you’re looking at it.
    * Barack Obama: The problem isn’t that your wallet is empty, it’s that you’re looking at it.

  4. Well of course they can indoctrinate the children however they see fit. It’s not your business, even if it’s your kid. How dare someone let the parents of these children know what’s happening to them in public school!

    Anyone who doesn’t homeschool their kids these days is either an idiot or doesn’t really like their kids.

  5. * North Korea: The problem isn’t that we’re making nuclear weapons; it’s that you found out about it.
    * Iran: The problem isn’t that we’re making nuclear weapons; it’s that you found out about it.

    I know — let’s all go to the White House and have a beer. That will solve everything.

  6. The problem isn’t that O-bah-muhh spent 20 years listening to a Raaacist! Pastor, it’s that we found out about it.
    The problem isn’t that Mohammed was a pedophile, it;’s that we in the West disapprove of it.
    The problem isn’t that William Jefferson had $90,000 in his freezer, it’s that we found out about it
    The problem isn’t that Sen. Feinstein keeps appropriating Gov’t. money to her husband’s business interests, it’s that we found out about it.
    The problem isn’t that Democrats commit voter fraud, it’s that once in office, they rape the country for all it’s worth.
    The problem isn’t that former Ill. Gov. Blagojevich had pay-for-play schemes going on, it’s that we found out about it.
    “And we would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!”— Every Villain At The End Of The Scooby-Doo Cartoons

  7. Basil, aren’t you banned? (Or are you really just one of the voices in Frank J’s head?)

    [Both. But don’t remind Frank. He doesn’t read blogs — not even this one — and won’t know I’m still lurking around unless someone tells him. – B]

  8. It isn’t that Tim Geithner cheats on his taxes, its that you found out about it.
    It isn’t that Chris Dodd got a sweetheart deal from Countrywide, it’s that you found out about it.
    It isn’t that we want to give healthcare to illegal aliens, it’s that you found out about it.
    It isn’t that Ward Churchill is a fake indian, it’s that you found out about it.
    It isn’t that Barney Frank had a gay brothel running out of his apartment, it’s that you found out about it.

  9. I understand with WH (#5) that the schools in most districts do require parental consent, but this video looks like it was made by an enthisiastic parent with a digi-cam or cell phone. How that parent would consent to this bullsh!t in the first place is troublesome, but whatever; I’m glad they did because it brings to the forefront the concerns of exactly what kids are being taught in public schools. Seriously, songs of worship about a president who hasn’t even accomplished anything, aside from wrecking the economy in the near future, isn’t exactly the same as teaching civics.

    And it’s not a new question. In fact, the growing number of home-school co-ops answers it indirectly. It’s not just the poor performances after the 4th grade & the intentional “dumbing down” of the class academics, but also what kind of nonsense gets taught in place of genuine scholastics and moral instruction. No wonder why home-schooling and educational vouchers scare the progressives to death. It seems hypocritical that the scriptures & ID/creationism are treated as horrible things to teach kids, but hymns to Obama are praiseworthy in themselves.
    So much for separation of church and state; with things like this happening in an increasingly Statist society, there’s no difference now:

    Songs & poems about the head of state are worship
    Our taxes are tithes, aka “what ours is ours & what’s yours is ours, too”
    Evolution is the left’s creation story in schools, sans any reference to a higher being
    “Safe” sex is a virtue
    Abortion is sacred; human life is not

    It was bad enough that ideologically confused college kids said that they looked upon Bill Clinton as a father figure in the 90’s, but with this abomination in the white house now, it looks like Obama’s the new Golden Calf.

  10. Too many good “It’s not…” moments here; I’ll just have a senior moment instead and predict how this latest brainwashing effort by the left is going to turn out: FAIL. Back in the early 60s, as a kid in Massachusetts (where they now declare emergencies and pick successors instead of hold elections for US senate seats, at least when there’s not a Republican occupying the governor’s seat), they distributed these UNICEF boxes in grade school and told us to take them with us when we went trick-or-treating that night. We did. I was surprised how many adults tightened their lips and got these really funny expressions on their faces, but they didn’t say anything. A few of them even gave us a penny or two. But somebody must have done some happy heck-raising after that because we never, ever did that again. “It’s not that we used the schools to raise funds for the UN; it’s that you didn’t like it. We’ll have to be more subtle about such crap from now on.” Worked, too, until the Web became available.

    PS: Welcome back, Basil. Somebody’s already suggested the Rosemary alias strategy; you could be really devious if FrankJ kicks up a fuss and ask for more thyme or tell him to quit parsley’ing all your posts before publishing them.

  11. And what Barb said has another side to the potential failure of such a manipulative display of fealty:

    Christmas, as a celebration of the birth of Christ, is celebrated around the globe in one form or another. Here, it’s occluded by shopping, “the spirit of the season”, Santa Claus, and most disgustingly, kwanzaa (I refuse to spell it with caps). And like the marginalization of a revered day/season to a majority of Americans, this too will be seen by these kids as a lead-in to a big disappointment.

    We all know that Santa Clause doesn’t exist. Christians know that Christmas is not likely the actual time of year that Jesus was born & that this was timed to counter pagan & Jewish calendar holidays by The Church. But still, those were hard truths to accept when we were younger; we were always taught about Santa to the exclusion of religion. Yet it’s easier for a believer to accept that Christ was born months after December than it is for progressives to accept that Christ existed at all, much less His divinity. In short, whatever one believes, it should at least reflect the physical realities.

    These kids are about to go through the same kind of dichotomy with the Obama fad. As they get older, they’ll see – and I’ll do my best to keep things like this fresh in my own kid’s minds – that what was hyped to be the next great step in social evolution was little more than a well promoted propaganda campaign.

    And then I’ll tell them how the soviets did the same while they murdered millions in the name of progress.

  12. I can’t decide whether or not I care about this one.

    First, primary school education is local/state issue. I’m in Texas. NJ can do what they think and we can do what we think and it’s all good. I hate when the feds interfere with our education, so I’m not going to nose into what happens in NJ.

    Second, school kids should be taught that the President is a good guy – regardless of who the President is – because it’s always true, in my patriotic opinion.

    The singing, however, is kind of creepy.

    If it were my kid, I would dig deeper into this particular teacher’s record to make a final determination. Since it wasn’t my kid, however, that ain’t gonna happen.

  13. It isn’t that Basil has snuck back in, Its that we found out about it.

    It isn’t that present hussein is a tool, Its that we found out about it.

    It isn’t that the eastern bloc is trying to distract us from the health care bill being rammed down our throats, Its that we found out about it.

    It isn’t that present hussein has once again embarrassed the country, Its that we found out about it.

    It isn’t that Sasquatch is hiding disguised as present hussen’s wife, Its that we found out about it.

    It isn’s that the u.n. would give our money to petty dictators, Its that we found out about it.

  14. How about:

    It isn’t that you took steroids to excel in the MLB, it’s that we found out about it.

    This one stands true to many other major sports too, but baseball in particular. You had to be pretty dense to not think steroids were a rampant problem in the MLB for most of the 2000’s, and some players almost came to expect that they wouldn’t be investigated based purely on their merits on the field.

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