Teach your kids to recognize liberal spin

The Washington Times ^ | 9/23/12 | Rebecca Hagelin

[Evil Slayer]

Beware — during this heated election season, liberal self-styled “public interest” organizations might try to fool you.

Even though they advance larger government, more taxes, pro-abortion policies and the liberal candidates that support them, you can’t always tell by their ads. Many of these groups even have neutral or civic-oriented-sounding names. Because they sound neutral, their messages often effectively reach new voters who don’t recognize the hidden agendas.

And through it all, our children — the future voters — are watching.

Daily tracking polls (where biased samples determine the polls’ outcome, according to NewsBusters.com, a Media Research Center website dedicated to combating liberal media bias) and TV “political analysts” (passed off as unbiased voices in spite of thinly disguised sympathies) wield disproportionate influence over independent voters. It’s a scary thought, given the close presidential race.

The Obama administration has even gone so far as to try and intimidate the Gallup poll organization, and has now joined a federal lawsuit against Gallup that was instigated by a former Democratic operative.

But more insidious than the Obama administration’s overt political pressure is the subtle influence of neutral-sounding civic groups.

Take the League of Women Voters, for instance. Its name conjures up images of gray-haired grandmas conducting voter registration drives and working the polls on Election Day. Not so.

The league is nothing more than an interest group that aims to drive votes to the Democratic Party. Look at its agenda: It supports gun control, abortion and Obamacare; it favors international arms control, reduced defense spending and greater United Nations control over member countries. It dismisses “religious and moral objections” to government-mandated contraception and abortion coverage and favors abolishing the constitutionally created Electoral College.

Neutral it is not.

[Gaffer]

It is easier to teach your children that most of everything their teachers, the MSM, and their government says is a lie.

[ETL]

Also teach them the evils of communism. And that Obama and his handlers are indeed communists. Refer to my FR Home for convenient one-stop assistance, if you need it.

[luvbach1]

AARP was/is an example of liberal spin on a grand scale.

[netmilsmom]

My poor kids are studying Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Movement. Today I let them loose and said “Answer what is correct. I will go to bat for you if you get a low grade.”

Last week it was Margaret Sanger. I was pretty surprised that eventhough they put in answers about Eugenics and black genocide, they got decent grades. Good thing they know “keywords” for correction and how to add those while getting their point across. Wilson may be the breaker though. They hate that guy.

[super7man]

My daughter came home from HS one night and ripped the family about global warming and our carbon footprint. She was repeating what had been taught to her in History class (History class?). The next day (Friday) she came to me, running late as usual, and said, “Dad, we gotta go. I have a Bio test in first period.”

“You know Hon, I’ve been thinking about what you said last night about our carbon footprint and you are right, we really need to reduce our contribution to Global Warming so I’ve arranged to work from home today and will not be able to take you to school. You’ll have to make other arrangements or stay home today.”

She was livid. I suggested she spend the day doing some research on GW and see if what the teacher told her was right. She was still pi$$ed but started looking into it.

On Monday, she turned in a research paper on GW to her History teacher. It we returned to her on Tues. with a comment at the top “I’ll have to think about this.” I considered it a victory.

With a note from me, she was able to take her Bio test on Monday.

[netmilsmom]

Great Job!

[arthurus]

Make your kids read Henry Hazlitt's Economics In One Lesson at least once and preferably twice. I made my four read it once each in middle school and once in high school. They are unable to listen to liberal economic spin or most any other kind of spin without their brains automatically parsing and rejecting. The book is neither difficult nor long.It teaches the reader to think past the utopian proposal and go straight to "and then B.and then C. end then D. and then..." etc. I have induced other folks' kids to read it with the same result.

[super7man]

Thanks for the note. My kids read Fredric Bastiat’s “The Law”. I think it had a similar effect.

They are good conservative, productive members of society. Daughter 27, expert on nuclear submarine logistics for the Navy. Son 22, Bio-medical engineer already with 2 patents.

Proud Dad.

[arthurus]

Check out the Hazlitt. I have Bastiat's The Law also. It is very good but not so transforming as Economics In One Lesson. One can still argue with Bastiat about his insights. My liberal friends do. And those I have induced to read Hazlitt,also scoffed a first but their economic thinking has changed and one, still being liberal, refuses to discuss economics any more. The other has become steadily more conservative as he sees things not normally thought of as "economic" with the thought progression that is automatic once one has read and understood Hazlitt. Bastiat and most good writers tell you what is real and what you should think about things. Hazlitt instills the thought processes that make reality impossible to block off.

[super7man]

Thanks again. I downloaded it this morning and read it.
It is as you say.

[arthurus]

I got a case of paperbacks years ago before Internet and gave them all away over ten years. I didn’t give them to adults who would accept such and put it on a bookshelf never to be opened. I gave them to kids who asked questions or who seemed interested. Most read them and thus were inoculated against Keynes and Marx and all the rest. Some parents were annoyed. The last one went to an Inet acquaintance overseas. If I see another opportunity to get a bunch for cheap, I will. In the mantime i reccomment the wbsite.