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U.S. Pays Commentator to Tout No Child Left Behind

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Ant:
WASHINGTON Jan 7, 2005 — The Bush administration paid a prominent commentator to promote the No Child Left Behind schools law to fellow blacks and to give the education secretary media time, records show.

A company run by Armstrong Williams, the syndicated commentator, was paid $240,000 by the Education Department. The goal was to deliver positive messages about Bush's education overhaul, using Williams' broad reach with minorities.

The deal, which drew a fast rebuke from Democrats on Capitol Hill, is the latest to put the department on the defensive for the way it has promoted Bush's signature domestic policy

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Jonah Goldberg of the National Review:

Jonah Goldberg: "I think Armstrong Williams should give the money back.  I think he should probably be ashamed of himself for taking it.  I think the White House really screwed up ... all I can say is that if Bill Clinton had gotten caught giving Joe Conason a quarter of a million dollars to be flogging their policies, guys like me would have smoke coming out of our ears, and The Right would go crazy."

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But according to the Education Department:

In a statement, the Department of Education said yesterday that it was an appropriate part of its efforts to explain its policy to "minority parents." The statement said: "The contract paid to provide the straightforward distribution of information about the department's mission and N.C.L.B. - a permissible use of taxpayer funds."

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Well its nice to know we can rely on our government for fair and balanced criticism, of course, everyone who is aware of Bill O'Reilly understands the republican definition of fair and balanced is a little different than everyone else's definition. 

M Dogg™:
As someone who works in the education field, I can honestly say, FUCK NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. It doesn't work, and it's a pill of shit. I work in education. I know.

rafsta:
^^^ what exactly is it ?

Ant:
Here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind

*Jamal*:
No Child Left Behind is military-sponsored, and once students fail to achieve certain requirements, they are no longer eligible for certain financial aid. The next best thing after college of course, for these kids, is the military. Since it is a well-known fact that students who don't achieve "test scores" are mostly inner city minorities, this just goes to show you what this plan is doing. Remember the "Black Unit" in the South Park movie... well, let's just say they're trying to make our army look a lot like that.

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