Here Kiddies- Come get a cookie... Part 2 - Granite Grok

Here Kiddies- Come get a cookie… Part 2

As a followup to yesterday’s posting, here is my weekly newspaper column as published in the Laconia Daily Sun, which is not available online…

Exercising the First    by Doug Lambert

Education? Marketing? Propaganda.

 

When I wrote of the canceling of the OreoMobile demonstration at the Laconia Teen Center several weeks ago, I reminded readers never to underestimate the ability of the hardcore political left in their attempts to indoctrinate America’s youth. There is no end to the tricks liberals use to ensnare young minds. Through the clever visual use of a popular food treat, the disingenuous purveyors of the leftist, anti-military agenda are quite busy in their mission to bring the upcoming generation into their political camp. What is more innocent than the beloved Oreo cookie? With a hint of Ben & Jerry’s excellent tasting ice cream? Here kiddies… come and get a treat!

As I noted before, nothing could be more insidious than this simplistic sounding fun- because that’s not what it is at all. The demonstration is an overt antiwar, anti-military exhibition using cookies as props. It begins with stacks of large, plastic “cookies” showing the disparity of military spending between the US and other countries, with the “Axis of Evil” included. Naturally, the U.S. “stack” is taller than the rest- implying that we spend way more- and too much- on national defense. The presenter then gives the audience a breakdown of federal budget spending, showing in dramatic fashion, how military dollars spent surpasses those being spent on education, hunger, health care, and other familiar liberal causes. He ends with a call for the redistribution of defense monies to those programs instead- despite the fact that the US Constitution clearly provides for a national defense while saying nothing about the funding of what his group deems important.

Last week, the Daily Sun published a letter and an editorial op-ed piece written in defense of the OreoMobile program, accusing me of putting forth “utter fiction” that prevented “the community from discussing critical issues facing us today.” There is a big difference between “having a discussion” and giving a one-sided lecture dripping with objective points of view sold as fact. While both writers inadvertently prove this point quite well, they missed my main point- this particular “show” is not appropriate for a “Day for Kids” event or the mission of the Teen Center. Most normal folks would agree that the OreoMobile show features topics and themes that go beyond the understanding of young minds (and many adults, too) – unless the mission is to plant an anti-military “seed” that will grow with careful liberal nurturing in the schools. “Oh but Doug, it’s just fun… the kids get COOKIES for crying out loud. What’s wrong with that?”

           

 

Op-ed writer Jack Shanahan wrote that the “critical issues” I prevented the kids from discussing included “the unpopular conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the high cost of living, the federal budget deficit, and the federal debt of $8.4 trillion dollars,” which are, according to the retired admiral, “but a few examples of urgent problems threatening our national security.” He speaks of these themes as if they are fully accepted and agreed-to. Normal conversation for kids at the Teen Center?

The letter writer, the “campaign director” for the OreoMobile’s chief sponsor, a group named PrioritiesNH, wrote about national defense spending as portrayed in the demonstration in question: “Mr. Lambert was pleased that he was successful in banning the OreoMobile from the Teen Center’s event. The irony is that PrioritiesNH’s goal is to shift this wasteful government spending to programs that build stronger families and communities. Programs like Boys and Girls Clubs. If our government spent our tax dollars more wisely, we could better support programs like Boys and Girls Clubs, we could retrain workers whose jobs have gone overseas, we could reduce the deficit, we could invest in renewable energy, we could rebuild aging schools, we could make sure every child in American has health care. And we could do it all with no new taxes.” Sounds to me like he included the entire liberal political agenda, as offered up by Democratic politicians. Again I ask- is this normal conversation at the Teen Center? Is this what kids are talking about these days?

Who are these people so willing to manipulate our children under the guise of “education”? The OreoMobile campaign, as noted in Shanahan’s piece, is conducted by PrioritiesNH, a “grassroots branch of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities.” (BLSP) The PrioritiesNH website says the group’s mission “is to change America’s budget priorities to reflect a national commitment to education, healthcare, energy independence, job training and deficit reduction — at no additional taxpayer expense — by shifting funding from obsolete Cold War and nuclear weapons.” I challenge anybody to tell me this is anything BUT pure politics. I challenge anybody to tell me this is kids’ stuff.           
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What of the ice cream man, Ben Cohen? He likes the kids, right? What’s his gig? In addition to leading and funding the aforementioned BLSP, he funds and runs a group called TrueMajority. In August of 2005, ABC news reported that the funding for the Cindy Shaheen activities at “Camp Casey” in Crawford Texas came from Ben Cohen’s TrueMajority group. ABC quotes Ben Cohen of True Majority:  “People are willing to listen to her and we want to do as much as we can to make her voice heard.” The news item further states, “Cohen’s group has teamed up with Berkeley based MoveOn.org, an anti-Bush group…”

Propaganda? The BLSP website says it all: The Priorities campaign uses creative marketing, professional public relations, creative marketing to educate the public on how the federal budget is sliced up.” Marketing? I thought the Teen Center was hosting a “Day for Kids”?

Doug Lambert’s column appears Thursdays. For more, visit online at www.granitegrok.com and www.gilfordgrok.com.

If any readers can provide more anecdotal or hard-copy information on any of the groups and/or events refered to in this posting, I would greatly appreciate it. Either email me using the "Contact us" button or post to the comments below. I am going to continue to cover and report on these and other activities- the left cannot be allowed to get away with the hijacking of our children’s thoughts…

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