Bush Says Learning to Read Can Help Stop Terror

[sabra]

http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/64362

Bush Says Learning to Read Can Help Stop Terror


NEW YORK, NY September 18, 2006 —Fighting terrorism and fighting illiteracy, the agendas of President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush merged today at an event at the New York Public Library.

REPORTER: Speaking at the White House conference on Global Literacy, the president says nations will never defeat terrorism unless their citizens can read.

BUSH: Good trade agreements and tearing down the barriers that prevent people from free flow of goods will help enhance prosperty, but you can't be a prosperus nation if you don't have people who can read.

[Avalux]

1. Um - there's no correlation between literacy and terrorists

Weren't the 9/11 terrorists fairly well-educated? Amazing the shit he can come up with.

[Demit]

2. Especially reading "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S." PDBs.

[Lisa]

25. oh, snap! (n/t)

[sakabatou]

38. Aw, I was about to say that...

[BlueEyedSon]

43. Woo HOOOOOOOOOOO! nt

:rofl:

[Cary]

3. Bush is transitioning from President who has caused the most harm. . .

to our nation, ever, to ex-President who has caused the most harm to our nation.

Notice I didn't say "worst President ever." I think that would be understating the case. It is far more accurate, IMHO, to label him as the President who has caused the most harm to our nation.

And how certain traditional forces have gone along with this and have allowed it is beyond me.

[indepat]

9. Most harm by far, maybe by several quantum leaps?

[acmavm]

11. They'll be digging up dirt on this guy's crimes for years after they're

gone. If we can ever get rid of 'em.

[Deja Q]

4. !

What's worse; Bush's clueless talk about trading or the idiot of a reporter who can't even use Microsoft Word's built-in spellchecker? :eyes:

[POAS]

5. So why doesn't he learn to read and

stop terrorizing the world?

[burrowowl]

33. I wondered the same thing

if Bu$h learns to read, will he stop being a 'terraist'?

[Hepburn]

40. My reaction exactly.

Maybe if Bush had learned to read and had paid one second of attention to the DPB of August 6, 2001, 9-11 would never have happened. What nerve...a guy who barely can read and never seems to comprehend and cannot put together two words in an understandable sentence??? He is talking about a relationship between reading and terrorism. Maybe the asshole should go look in a mirror.

Sheesh!

[Connie_Corleone]

6. The 9/11 hijackers were highly educated and from middle class families.

What the hell does literacy have to do with terrorism?

[Journeyman]

7. He's right - the more people read, the less terrified of him they'll be...

n/t

[BootinUp]

8. This might be the smartest thing he ever said (by accident) n/t

[acmavm]

10. Teach them terrists to read and they'll go to the library and check out

book about building bombs.

That's why they need our library records, isn't it?

[w4rma]

12. Then Bush should learn how to read. (nt)

[The Wielding Truth]

26. Maybe that's why he said the Constitution was "just a piece of paper"?

:think:

Nah... he said he read Shakespear....:spray:

[htuttle]

13. Iraq used to have one of the best educational systems in the Middle East

We took care of that, didn't we?

[Monkeyman]

14. Was it not reported he does not read newspapers or Mag's

[Wise Doubter]

55. Yes, but what he does read....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14576012/&fg=">is very ECALECTIC.

[happydreams]

15. Hillary and Bill Clinton think the same thing

Bill Clinton said that $100 million dollars to educate those in poverty could go a long way towards stopping terrorism.

Hillary Clinton says similar things:

SENATOR CLINTON, CONGRESSWOMAN LOWEY INTRODUCE THE EDUCATION FOR ALL ACT OF 2004


September 29, 2004


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Washington, D.C. - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY18) announced, today, the introduction of legislation that would focus U.S. attention on the need to provide all children around the world with a quality basic education. The Education for All Act of 2004 would do this by concentrating on policy, leadership and resources, three areas in which U.S. action has long been lacking.

Senator Clinton believes that making universal basic education a major goal of U.S. foreign policy, the world and the nation will be safer. "By committing the United States to an initiative that will provide hope to many around the world we will ensure that people will turn against the hate preached by our enemies," Senator Clinton said.

"This isn't just about education - although that is important - this initiative focuses our attention on a glaring global problem. Today, too many children are either not being educated or are being educated to hate," said Congresswoman Lowey. "This is a part of our broader war on terror - by helping these children get a quality education we are promoting stability and prosperity in the future."

In its report, the 9/11 Commission has validated this position by making education in the Muslim world a key part of our long term strategy to combat terrorism. The 9/11 report emphasized that the education system in the Middle East contributed significantly to 9/11.




http://www.house.gov/list/press/ny18_lowey/ETA092904.html

[tomg]

16. So the War on Terror has now become an

all-purpose link to everything. Let's see if it is connected to tooth decay:

Fighting terrorism and fighting tooth decay, the agendas of President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush merged today at an event at the New York Public Library.

REPORTER: Speaking at the White House conference on Global Literacy, the president says nations will never defeat terrorism unless their citizens use dental floss.

BUSH: Good trade agreements and tearing down the barriers that prevent people from free flow of goods will help enhance prosperty, but you can't be a prosperous nation if you don't have people who use dental floss and brush after every meal.

The possibilities are endless.

[jazzjunkysue]

17. Let's hope he tries it before he invades Iran. n/t.

[Mojambo]

18. Dangerously close to an Onion headline there. n/t

[BadgerKid]

19. Is our children learning? (subtle)

[samsingh]

20. then why did he invade Iraq?

[clydefrand]

21. I wish like hell he'd learn to read, then.

[ananda]

22. Perhaps that day in Florida,

that's what he was doing, thinking that reading
My Pet Goat was setting an example that the
terrorists would follow..
.. but no, they could already read and knew
that a terrorist act really would destroy the USA.

And they were right.

Sue

[Lisa]

23. wow -- his comments are getting more and more bizarre

I don't think Jon Stewart is going to need to do ANY work to get a laugh out of that one.


Oh, and some more quotes from Mr. Literacy (who seems to be having problems reading his notes).

"the goals of this country is to enhance prosperity and peace"

"We long for the days when people don't feel comfortable or empowered to take innocent life to achieve an objective."

"One of the most, I guess, heartwarming literacy initiatives that I have witnessed as President was the Women's Teacher Training Institute in Kabul."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060918-9.html

[Megahurtz]

WTF???

:wtf::freak:

[NYC]

24. So, will he be funding the library?

Of course not.

[DrZeeLit]

27. Hysterical. All I can think of is "My Pet Goat"... is this guy for real?

[Claire Beth]

28. bush should set the example

and learn himself.

[daleo]

29. Just don't start your literacy education with "My Pet Goat"

That book didn't help Bush much.

[pinniped]

30. These real or imagined terra-dudes have no problem registering....

and maintaining their real or imagined Islamic militant websites.

[WillParkinson]

31. He is correct!

You learn to read.

You get a library card.

You check out books.

The government looks to see what you're checking out.

And there you have it.

[sofa king]

32. For example, Bush learned how to kill Arabs by reading Camus.

This is akin to having David Crosby warn me not to take drugs, or seeing Kim Jong Il promote democracy, or having Idi Amin lecture me on the benefits of diplomacy.

The message is overshadowed by the stunning hypocrisy of the person delivering the message.

[Charlie Brown]

35. LOL nt

[tblue]

45. What did he learn from those 'Three Shakespeares'?

[EFerrari]

34. I nominate this for Headline of the Year.

:rofl:

[Dem2theMax]

36. Isn't it just sitting there, ripe for the picking?

LMAO. If you need a co-signer for that nomination, I second the motion. ;)

[DoYouEverWonder]

37. What is Bush the boogeyman?

He's all terra, all the time. That is all he talks about anymore. He can't even do a library photo op without connecting it to terra. Everything is negative, everyone hates us, the world is a bad place, that's Bush's only message. I guess the terrrorists have won.

[missTheBigDog]

39. It's going to take years if not decades...

to fix the mess that he caused caused our nation. Not only with relations with other countries, but financially as well. I feel really sorry for our kids who are going to have to pay for his recklessness.

[bdamomma]

41. WTF, does he take his own advice

[BlueEyedSon]

42. Specifically, reading "My Pet Goat"

oh, wait...maybe not THAT book....

[tblue]

44. Does that mean when he learns to read he'll stop terrorizing people?

I'm all for that. Heck, I'll teach him!

[tex-wyo-dem]

46. He's just projecting again (n/t)

[NotGivingUp]

47. learning how toTHINK stops fascism!!!

[GeorgeGist]

48. But do remember...

that it's still unacceptable to think.

[goforit]

49. What an Ass! Yah read the phucking bible!

[Lilith Velkor]

50. Reading Bush's words frightens me.

:shrug:

[geniph]

51. So when do his lessons start?

Will Laura be using flashcards with him?

[bamacrat]

52. Then he should open a fucking book.

[eppur_se_muova]

53. If you can read a paper, you won't support Bu**sh** -- it works!

Bu**sh** pushing literacy? Oh, such bleak irony.

[Anakin Skywalker]

54. "Free Flow of Goods", huh? Does that include

Playboy magazines, I wonder.........Dirty minds want to know. :)

[Wally101]

56. I see what he means.....

If your citizenry is illiterate, then they have no choice but to believe what the government, Imams, Presidents, whatever, pass down to them, thereby propagating whatever agenda they proffer. If they can read for themselves, and have access to other sources of information, they have the opportunity to see viewpoints outside of those that are feeding them information for their own purposes.

Jeez people, just because Bush said it doesn't automatically make it wrong, but I guarantee he didn't THINK of this connection, he probably had it read to him by a staffer. :)