First we were terrorists, now we're just silly

Name calling. It's usually the stuff of playgrounds and of badly behaved children whose parents haven't taught them the Golden Rule.

For any athiests or those from non-Christian backgrounds who may be reading this post, the Golden Rule was spoken by Jesus and says, in effect, don't do something to someone else if you don't want it done to you.

It's so simple even a child can understand it, and around here my children are not only expected to understand it but to demonstrate it in their daily lives.

I guess our Speaker of the House must have slept through this part of her Catholic elementary school class since she saw fit to call folks protesting the proposed healthcare legislation, "terrorists."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, also a Catholic, apparently slept through his Christian religious instruction, too. He's quoted on the Drudge Report as saying he thinks we've "reached a bit of the silly season" in reference to parental protests nationwide over the plan to air a speech by President Obama to students during the regular school day next Tuesday.

Silly? Really?

I'm working overtime to understand how thousands of American parents, many of whom are raising their children on one income or no income but who still trust in the government schools to do the right thing deserve to be indirectly referred to as "silly."

It's "silly" of parents to NOT want their kids' precious instructional time taken up by some asinine worksheets that ask questions such as "What do you think President Obama is trying to tell you?" or that queries kids about ways in which they can help the president and then submit their answers for later review and discussion with their teachers?

It's "silly" to think that teachers have a million better things to do than probe the minds of children light years away from being able to vote much less use their still-developing thinking skills to contemplate ways they can help the president?

And what sort of "help" does the president really need from school-aged children? See, that's the part that creeps me out. Anyone with half a working brain can find the stories online about the various youth groups nurtured by leaders in such sunny places as Maoist China or 1940s Berlin.

I'm still waiting for the White House to tell us what it took OUT of the speech and the accompanying lesson plans after the s@$# hit the fan last week. Betcha we'll never know.