F'ed up priorities. . .asking school children to miss school to save gas

[wndycty]

. . .but not asking SUV drivers and other gas guzzlers to sacrifice.

Georgia governor asks state's schools to close to save gas

(Atlanta, Georgia-AP) Sept. 23, 2005 - Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue Friday asked the state's schools to take two "early snow days" and cancel classes Monday and Tuesday to help conserve gasoline as Hurricane Rita threatens the nation's fuel supply line.

If all of Georgia's schools close, the governor estimated about 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel would be saved each day by keeping buses off the road.
-snip-

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3891567&nav=0RaP

[YOY]

1. Would they ask 'Church Goers' to miss their weekly dosage?

Oh I forgot...fundementalism is the Neocon substitution for education...silly me.

[tjdee]

2. Republicans don't care about education anyway.

They really don't.

This will cause problems for kids whose parents have to work (but I suspect Sonny is thinking hey, if they don't go to work, they don't use gas! Ain't I smart?) .

This is a stupid idea, and you're right, people with SUVs should be asked not to fill their humongo tanks. People in general should be asked not to fill above half, or something.

Not keep the kids out of school for pete's sake! What happens if the gas situation gets worse? First resort is to cancel school? Huh?

:eyes:

[seabeyond]

3. yep. lets see all the moms take kids to school

sit out in the yard and teach some classes. screw em. academics is our only hope for our youth. i am smack in it with two kids. a lot of teachers are parents. they will take kids out on the lawn too. their kids are in those classes.

i am fighting the nation, to keep academics, the word, in my home.

[seabeyond]

4. my kid does not have books. my kid is supplied by me.

why not. might as well do the rest of it too.

and then a big fuck you republican adm thru out the nation.

[koopie57]

5. I read this last night

and it was like the last straw for me. I tried to write what I was thinking and feeling but it sounded like I was a nut! To close schools to save gas.

One of the years that we lived in South Dakota the weather was bad for the whole winter. They did everything they could to make sure the kids got the required number of days in by late starts, early quits and in the end the kids were ripped off. They didn't seem to realize that these kids needed to be in school to learn, not just for daycare or to get the money from the government.

Is our children learning? And why are we surprised when kids don't feel it necessary to finish school or to put an effort into homework and school assignments? The kids are learning exactly what we are teaching them ...... unfortunately.

[madrchsod]

6. makes sense to me

snow days in georgia? hell they haven`t used snow days around here in the last few years in northern illinois because we haven`t had any snow. 250,000 gallons at 2.50+ a gallon........

[BiggJawn]

7. Get the kids on their bikes.

Oh, how silly! I forgot, Predators and Perverts line the routes leading to school just WAITING to snatch 2-3 liddle kiddles for the day...

Wouldn't be a solution for Rural schools, unless you tell the Senior boys to bring a dozen or so Elementary kids in the back of their Diesel F-350's and RAMs (the ones with the "Bumper Nutz") when they come to school...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. In a gas based economy, any conservation hurts short run

But keeping kids away from school hurts long run, period.

Keeping people from shopping hurts the stores.

250,000 gallons of fuel is less than a million dollars. Meantime you have to pay teachers and especially administrators.

I don't think there is a "threat to the nation's fuel supply line" in the sense that I don't think there is really a severe shortage. Supply dislocations, particularly in the SouthEast, yes.

He wants to keep gas prices down to save his bacon. Repiglican?

[blondeatlast]

9. Too late for LBN; this needs kicked and nominated.

This is a blatant example of Republican priorities at their worst.

Does anyone wonder how the post-Katrina debacle happened still? this is exactly the same type of thinking.

[wndycty]

10. Hello

:kick:

[chalky]

11. Exactly WHO is supposed to watch these kids when they're out of school?

Mom or Dad will have to miss work to watch those kids. Or, worse yet, pay someone else to watch them. Let's see how well THAT'S gonna fly.

[blondeatlast]

14. YES! GRR. In my son's district, there will be at least one day

a month that there will be half-days and a few days off during the year.

That means: sending my son to day-care at my expense, taking a day off of work, or the struggle to find a babysitter.

It absolutely cracks me when it happens. I fortunately can often arrange to work from home, but the vast majority of parents have nothing approaching that luxury.

Short-sighted thinking by politicians gets us NOWHERE--but it gets us there fast...

[MindPilot]

12. How about national stay-home days?

Public transportation could still operate on holiday schedules, but it would be like xmas day with everything but essential services shut down.

[blondeatlast]

15. See post #11 for a reason why this is a BAD idea. nt

[MindPilot]

21. unless mom or dad is a cop, firefighter, or other essential worker,

they would be home too. I mean everybody stays home--not just the kids.

[blondeatlast]

23. Gotcha. Sorry for the misunderstanding. nt

[rbajai]

13. Great point.

Ah no, we wouldn't DARE say anything bad about SUVs. That might decrease SUV sales and cut into the industry's profits. And you know what would happen, the Repugs would lose an important part of their base. And the repugs don't want to do THAT.

Doesn't some company make a hybrid SUV? I thought I heard that one time.

Anyhow, we will undoubtedly see more and more stories like this in the near future as the energy crisis comes to light.

[LeftyMom]

30. There are three hybrid SUVs on the market

They're versions of the Ford Escape, Toyota Highlander and a Lexus somethingorother. If I'm not mistaken the Lexus uses the hybrid system for more power and isn't much more efficient than it's ICE-only counterpart.

[Tsiyu]

16. No child left behind a desk

Great. Repukes always think up the greatest ideas, don't they?

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. Perfect meme. We need to get that out there

[Tsiyu]

19. actually antigone382 thought it up

She's a smart kid. She says thanks!

[jwirr]

18. This is going to be happening in other places also.

When the bushies cut the state funds then governors cut the county and school district funds and when the schools run our of money something has to give. This is the thing that the right wing did not tell their followers that when the feds stop paying the buck stops in their own back yards.

[donsu]

20. yes, totally disgusting to dump this on the kid's education

what about the private schools of the rich?

wouldn't want to bother the rich

wouldn't want to bother the corporations

who cares if the kids grow up ignorant?

[watercolors]

22. write or e-mail*

I just sent off message" PARK AIR FORCE ONE do your job from the White House. That is what you are being paid for,save our tax dollars. we should not have to cut shool and work hours!While we the people have to conserve on fuel consumption it is disgraceful you fly around for photo ops and fund raisers!"

[wndycty]

24. Kick

:kick:

[RepublicanElephant]

25. are the bosses of the parents who couldn't find childcare...

...gonna get with sonny's program and excuse their employees' absenteeism?

i doubt it.

way to go sonny.
another bright idea from the guy who got elected on the rebel flag issue.

[all.of.me]

26. reminds me of the bumpersticker about bake sales and bombs

[Field Of Dreams]

27. Great ... make kids miss school and make parents of public

school kids waste their own gas getting kids to child care for these two days off?

Doh!

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. You know they are going to make these days up.

So technically they aren't really missing school.

But I do agree this indicates some pretty f'ed up priorities.

[FreedomAngel82]

29. I don't see how it'll help personally

:shrug: What will two days do? :shrug: What about the adults who drive their SUV's like you said? :eyes: Oh yes, I'm sure it'll help a lot. Oy.

[Spinzonner]

31. Probably not a major factor especially when school buses

and carpooling is used.

However, it may be worth looking at going to four-day, 10-hours per day work weeks for large businesses that can schedule that way for at least some of their workers to cut down commuting.

And incentives for telecommuting should be considered again, especially now that there is so much broadband support available.

[RebelOne]

32. I'm not complaining because I work in Cobb County,

so the traffic will be lighter on Monday and Tuesday. Anyone who lives in the Atlanta area will know what I mean. But I do sympathize with the parents who have small children in school.

[SunDrop23]

33. This is ridiculous.

[Kailassa]

34. 2 days this year, 10 days next year

When it becomes obvious that gas-guzzling countries need to revise many of their policies and encourage public transport, let's distract everyone from the problem and introduce the notion that childrens' education is an optional extra, thus killing two birds with one stone.