Monday, August 22, 2005
Back to School: Is YOUR Child Opted Out?
Well, it's Back to School time again, and I wonder how many high school students will be encouraged to "become all they can be," by just signing on the dotted line and taking a number in Bush's War on American Families.
What's that, you say? You want to support America but don't want to fight in a war or have to kill people? You're thinking about a career as a youth minister? No problem! We'll just send in the same Army recruiter who recruited Casey Sheehan. You know, the one who "promised" Casey he could be a chaplain's assistant! Now, where's that pen???
Of course, as everyone who's followed Cindy Sheehan's plight in regards to her son knows, that wasn't the way things turned out. When Casey got to boot camp, they told him -- oops, guess that position isn't available after all. Guess we'll have to make you a mechanic instead, and you know where we send our mechanics.
So, on April 4, 2004, the world lost a fine young man'd been prepared to make the world a better place by spreading the truth about God -- you know, the "real" truth -- not the kind Bush spews to hide his real motives for this war. Casey and his mother didn't just talk the talk like Bush, they walked the walk. Before the war, Cindy was a youth minister at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Vacaville. Also before the war, Casey - her first child of four - was an Eagle Scout and the counselor at the Pendola Church youth camp near Grass Valley.
As of August 21, 2005, there have been 2,053 coalition troop deaths in the war in Iraq: 1,861 Americans, 93 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Dane, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Hungarian, 26 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, one Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians. Faces, names and numbers, and all for....what????
Unfortunately, there's still a lot of unsuspecting students - and parents - who aren't aware that buried deep in the "No Child Left Behind Act" there's a clause stating that high schools receiving federal funding are REQUIRED to turn over student information to local military recruiters (which in turn is submitted to the Pentagon), unless the parents opt out in writing.
And, they're not just collecting names. Many parents and students are unaware that the Pentagon has developed a database of 30 million 16-25-year-old students, which includes the following information about the student:
By completing the steps on this page, parents can generate letters to both the Pentagon and their child's school that will opt their child out of BOTH local and Pentagon databases. The site has a built-in search to help parents locate the school district superintendent for their child's school, then generates the two opt out letters, ready to be signed and mailed.
Okay, so I'm talking the talk. Have I walked the walk? You bet. I received a letter dated August 8, 2005, from the Sioux City Community School District's Superintendent of Schools, Larry D. Williams, acknowledging receipt of my request and stating that my opt out request is in conformance with [the school's] understanding of Federal statute and my rights as a parent and citizen.
Superintendent Williams also stated, "You make several positive suggestions, which, coupled with information we have received from the attorney for the School Administrators of Iowa, makes sense. I will seek to develop a mechanism whereby families are at least aware of the option that the Federal statute gives them."
He copied the letter to my son's principal and his high school counselor.
Because most high schools turn over their student lists to military recruiters in October, it's imperative we get as many kids as possible "opted out" during the month of September.
If you'd like more information on No Child Left Behind and School Opt-Outs, visit Leave My Child Alone.
For more background information on the Pentagon's illegal database, click here.
What's that, you say? You want to support America but don't want to fight in a war or have to kill people? You're thinking about a career as a youth minister? No problem! We'll just send in the same Army recruiter who recruited Casey Sheehan. You know, the one who "promised" Casey he could be a chaplain's assistant! Now, where's that pen???
Of course, as everyone who's followed Cindy Sheehan's plight in regards to her son knows, that wasn't the way things turned out. When Casey got to boot camp, they told him -- oops, guess that position isn't available after all. Guess we'll have to make you a mechanic instead, and you know where we send our mechanics.
So, on April 4, 2004, the world lost a fine young man'd been prepared to make the world a better place by spreading the truth about God -- you know, the "real" truth -- not the kind Bush spews to hide his real motives for this war. Casey and his mother didn't just talk the talk like Bush, they walked the walk. Before the war, Cindy was a youth minister at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Vacaville. Also before the war, Casey - her first child of four - was an Eagle Scout and the counselor at the Pendola Church youth camp near Grass Valley.
As of August 21, 2005, there have been 2,053 coalition troop deaths in the war in Iraq: 1,861 Americans, 93 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Dane, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Hungarian, 26 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, one Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians. Faces, names and numbers, and all for....what????
Unfortunately, there's still a lot of unsuspecting students - and parents - who aren't aware that buried deep in the "No Child Left Behind Act" there's a clause stating that high schools receiving federal funding are REQUIRED to turn over student information to local military recruiters (which in turn is submitted to the Pentagon), unless the parents opt out in writing.
And, they're not just collecting names. Many parents and students are unaware that the Pentagon has developed a database of 30 million 16-25-year-old students, which includes the following information about the student:
- their name
- their address
- their e-mail address (slick move; how many 16-25 year-olds let their parents read their e-mail?)
- their cell phone number (another slick move for reasons stated above)
- their ethnicity (oh yeah - we know which students really don't have a lot of options once they leave high school)
- their social security number (wait a sec - if they're only 16, is this legal???)
- their areas of study
By completing the steps on this page, parents can generate letters to both the Pentagon and their child's school that will opt their child out of BOTH local and Pentagon databases. The site has a built-in search to help parents locate the school district superintendent for their child's school, then generates the two opt out letters, ready to be signed and mailed.
Okay, so I'm talking the talk. Have I walked the walk? You bet. I received a letter dated August 8, 2005, from the Sioux City Community School District's Superintendent of Schools, Larry D. Williams, acknowledging receipt of my request and stating that my opt out request is in conformance with [the school's] understanding of Federal statute and my rights as a parent and citizen.
Superintendent Williams also stated, "You make several positive suggestions, which, coupled with information we have received from the attorney for the School Administrators of Iowa, makes sense. I will seek to develop a mechanism whereby families are at least aware of the option that the Federal statute gives them."
He copied the letter to my son's principal and his high school counselor.
Because most high schools turn over their student lists to military recruiters in October, it's imperative we get as many kids as possible "opted out" during the month of September.
If you'd like more information on No Child Left Behind and School Opt-Outs, visit Leave My Child Alone.
For more background information on the Pentagon's illegal database, click here.
