Free Republic

(Editor's Note: This is the first in a series examining the clash between the Bush administration and the nation's largest teachers' union.) (CNSNews.com) - U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige's recent criticism of the National Education Association was an election-year ploy designed to fire up the conservative base, according to a current and a former lobbyist at the NEA Randall J. "Randy" Moody, currently the NEA's chief lobbyist, told CNSNews.com that Paige's labeling of the union as "obstructionist" was an unfair attack. The union wants changes to the No Child Left Behind Act, the bipartisan education law enacted in 2002. "Our...

February 25, 2004 Dear Editor, The efforts of the National Education Association and the Arizona Education Association will not be minimized nor will our membership be marginalized by the caustic and unfounded remarks spewed by Secretary of Education Rod Paige. In fact, his unrepentant attacks have galvanized educators throughout the state and nation. Our members are the National Education Association. We’ve asked Congress to fix and fund the No Child Left Behind Act. It is a law that is well intentioned but deeply flawed with its unfunded mandates, its one-size-fits-all approach to learning and its heavy reliance on standardized tests...

Liberal groups on Monday plan to launch a petition drive, urging President Bush to fire Education Secretary Rod Paige. Paige recently apologized for a remark in which he described the National Education Association as a "terrorist organization." But MoveOn.org and another group called Campaign for America's Future are not accepting Paige's apology. "Parents, teachers and students across the country are outraged that the Bush administration is attacking teachers instead of listening to them to ensure a high-quality public education to every child," the groups said in a joint press release announcing the launch of Monday's petition drive. Paige made the...

<p>March 6, 2004 -- U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige - in hot water for calling the National Education Association a "terrorist" organization last month - received a standing ovation yesterday from nearly 1,000 members of the Black Alliance for Education Options in Milwaukee. The Black Alliance - which supports charter schools, home schooling and other educational reforms aimed at helping black youth - remained on its feet for five minutes after Paige was introduced, one participant told Post State Editor Fredric U. Dicker, adding, "Everyone I talked to agreed with him that the NEA is an obstacle to education reform. So when a man tells the truth, he needs to be supported."</p>

<p>The Massachusetts teacher of the year refused to attend an event in Washington honoring the nation's top educators because US Education Secretary Rodney Paige had called the nation's largest teachers' union a "terrorist organization."</p> <p>Jeffrey R. Ryan, a history teacher at Reading Memorial High School who lost a friend in the Sept. 11 attacks, said he could not accept Paige's apology for the Feb. 23 remark about the 2.7-million-member National Education Association.</p>

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Who would ever think that smoking pot or snorting a line of blow would put more money into America's educational system? I, for sure, was never one to make this connection. But, after seeing curious (mis)statements over the past month coming out of Washington, one could be forgiven for mistakenly believing this. Just a little more than a week ago, Secretary of Education Rod Paige took it upon himself to steal the power of labeling groups as "terrorist." No longer would it be the State Department or the National Security Council...

Paige has had hell to pay this week for comparing the largest U.S. teachers' union to a "terrorist organization" during a private White House meeting. The New York Times called the remark "staggeringly stupid." And indeed, it wasn't the smartest thing to say, even if in jest, because it puts the unions on the defensive allowing them to create the sort of self-righteous noise that detracts the public from real education reform. That said, the remark was right (even if it wasn't politically correct). The two largest unions, the AFT and NEA, hold public education system hostage. They are fundamentally...

Education should be about children, not partisan politics. Yet, sadly, there has been a lot of political posturing on this issue lately. It may be inevitable during an election year. I admit that last week I, too, ratcheted up the debate with a very poor word choice to describe the leadership of the nation's largest teachers union. I chose my words carelessly, and I am truly sorry for the hurt and confusion they caused. I especially want to be clear on one point. As ill-considered as my words were, my disappointment was directed only -- and I mean only --...

Education Secretary Rod Paige compared the nation's teachers to terrorists, looking to shift blame for the Bush administration's failures that are leaving millions of children behind. The White House faces increasing pressure over President Bush's broken promises regarding the No Child Left Behind Act, with a growing number of states taking action to opt out of the law's unfunded mandates. Speaking in a private meeting with governors from around the country on February 23, Paige described the National Education Association, the nation's largest organization of teachers (with 3 million members), as a "terrorist organization." Paige has previously said that teachers...

ORLANDO - Education Secretary Rod Paige again apologized Friday for calling a teachers union a "terrorist organization," yet repeated his criticism that the National Education Association obstructs federal education policies. "In this post 9/11 world, the word I used obviously has a grave and sad meaning," Paige said at a convention of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "I wish I had used different words to express my point, and for the insensitive choice of words, I express my deepest regrets." Paige touched off the controversy Monday, when he made the "terrorist" remark at a gathering of governors. The...

Is NEA a 'terrorist organization'? Posted: February 27, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Brannon Howse© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com On Feb. 23, 2004, at the National Governor's Association meeting in D.C., United States Secretary of Education Rod Paige called the National Education Association "a terrorist organization." The firestorm has started and Paige will be asked to apologize – but should he? Before the NEA gets up on their soap box about being called a terrorist organization, they should remember that they and many of their liberal members have spent years hurling insults at moms, dads, taxpayers and teachers that have been fighting for traditional academics...

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate's second ranking Democrat, said Thursday that Education Secretary Rod Paige should resign for comments he made earlier this week describing the National Education Association as a "terrorist organization." "I met with the governors who were there, and Secretary Paige did not say once that the National Education Association was a 'terrorist organization,' he said it twice," Reid told CNSNews.com. "I think it's despicable. I personally think the secretary should resign." Reid, the Senate's minority whip, joins a growing chorus of lawmakers advocating Paige's resignation. Over the course of the...

(2004-02-24) -- U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige issued an apology today for joking that the nation's largest teachers' union is a "terrorist organization." "It was an inappropriate choice of words to describe the NEA as a 'terrorist organization'," said Mr. Paige. "I consulted a dictionary today and found several more appropriate terms to describe the highly-paid Washington lobbyists who masquerade as altruistic advocates for America's children. Therefore, I revise my previous remarks. The NEA is not a terrorist organization. The NEA is an extortionist, obstructionist, monopolistic cabal." Mr. Paige added that his remarks did not necessarily apply to America's...

U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige is frustrated with teachers union officials and their opposition to the education reform legislation known as No Child Left Behind. But Paige's comparison of the National Education Association to a "terrorist organization" was uncalled for and further tarnished the lackluster reputation he has established as the nation's top education administrator. Paige made his remark in a Monday meeting with governors. There's no denying Paige's passionate support for Bush's education agenda, but opposing the president's policy is no act of terrorism -- except maybe in a dictatorship. By maligning the NEA with an inflammatory label, Paige...

Schoolchildren should be subjected to “airport-style” on-the-spot X-ray searches in order to stem the “growing weapons carrying culture”, a teacher union said today. The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) called for “zero tolerance” of knives and other weapons on school premises. The union’s general secretary Eamonn O’Kane said police should conduct the searches in a sample of schools to begin with to prevent street violence spilling over into classrooms and playgrounds. “Unfortunately, such strategies are necessary now that the increasing use of weapons in crime on the streets is threatening to disturb the relative calm and...

"[Calling the NEA a 'terrorist organization' is] the most vile and disgusting form of hate speech, comparing those who teach America's children to terrorists." — Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe. Of course Rod Paige was wrong when he called America's most powerful teacher's union a "terrorist organization." Al Qaeda isn't nearly as bad at terrorism as the NEA is at educating our children. Everyone agrees, including Secretary of Education Paige himself, that his flippant comment went too far. He apologized, the White House is pleased that he apologized, and the Democrats are thrilled to have yet another opportunity to...

od Paige, the education secretary, made a staggeringly stupid comment this week, comparing the nation's largest teachers' union to a "terrorist organization" because it opposes many elements of the two-year-old No Child Left Behind Act. This is the latest in a series of missteps by Mr. Paige. President Bush came to Washington saying that education would be a centerpiece of his domestic agenda. Yet he chose as his education secretary someone who seems incapable of representing that policy or putting it in place. If the president wishes to succeed, he will need a far more composed and capable secretary of...

Teachers Union Asks Bush to Fire Education Secretary for 'terrorist' Remark Feb.24, 2004 By Ben Feller / The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Education Association asked President Bush on Tuesday to fire Education Secretary Rod Paige for calling the union a "terrorist organization." The White House said Paige's job was safe. Paige, who made his comment in a private meeting with governors Monday, later apologized for his choice of words but maintained the union uses "obstructionist scare tactics" in its fight over the nation's education law. Reg Weaver, president of the union of 2.7 million teachers and other...

WASHINGTON - Education Secretary Rod Paige says he chose poor words in calling the nation's largest teachers union a "terrorist organization," but he stands by his claim that the group uses "obstructionist scare tactics" in its fight over the nation's education law. Paige used the terrorist reference Monday in a private White House meeting with governors while answering a question about the National Education Association, which has 2.7 million members. His words startled members of his audience, triggered outrage from prominent Democrats and deepened the divide between the country's top education official and its largest union. Paige told The Associated...