Thursday, March 5, 2009

DC Opportunity Scholarships - A Death Sentence for Children and DC Catholic Schools?

This week, the Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) sent out an email alert asking all members of the Archdiocese of Washington to help save the DC Opportunity Scholarships.

The Wall St. Journal profiles two of the recipients:

Dick Durbin has a nasty surprise for two of Sasha and Malia Obama's new schoolmates. And it puts the president in an awkward position. (He couldn't give a dead rat's butt about this to be honest. IMHO.)

The children are Sarah and James Parker. Like the Obama girls, Sarah and James attend the Sidwell Friends School in our nation's capital. Unlike the Obama girls, they could not afford the school without the $7,500 voucher they receive from the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. Unfortunately, a spending bill the Senate takes up this week includes a poison pill that would kill this program -- and with it perhaps the Parker children's hopes for a Sidwell diploma.

Known as the "Durbin language" after the Illinois Democrat who came up with it last year, the provision mandates that the scholarship program ends after the next school year unless Congress reauthorizes it and the District of Columbia approves. The beauty of this language is that it allows opponents to kill the program simply by doing nothing. Just the sort of sneaky maneuver that's so handy when you don't want inner-city moms and dads to catch on that you are cutting one of their lifelines.

That's the reality that the Parkers and 1,700 other low-income students face if Sen. Durbin and his allies get their way. And it points to perhaps the most odious of double standards in American life today: the way some of our loudest champions of public education vote to keep other people's children -- mostly inner-city blacks and Latinos -- trapped in schools where they'd never let their own kids set foot.


The MCC tells us that of the 1,700 students helped, almost 900 of them attend Catholic schools! Wow. Can you imagine that not only will these students will be given almost a education death sentence (and we all know how the MCC is against the death penalty) but will be the death knell for how many more Catholic schools?

To many of us, this may seem outrageous. How can Dick Durbin (Dem - IL and Senate Majority Whip), Eleanor Holmes Norton (Dem - DC) and the others allow are children to suffer in this manner?

It is easy and something that I have been saying for a couple of years: they know you will vote over and over again for them, no matter how they make your children suffer, no matter how many children are aborted, etc.

So, I have a couple of questions:

If you are an employee of the Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) do you regularly vote Democrat? Did you vote to keep the Democratic Party the majority party?

If you are an employee of the Archdiocese of Washington (or just stationed here), did you vote for the Most Merciful, Lord High Barack Obama and to keep the Democratic Party the majority in the Congress?

Are you Catholic and does your child (children) participate in this program? Did you vote for the Most Merciful, Lord High Barack Obama and to keep a Democratic majority in the Congress?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, they you have gotten what you voted for. You have a choice when it comes to abortion, but no choice when it come to education.

11 comments:

Katherine said...

President Obama has announced his support for this program.

Anonymous said...

Katherine,
Where and when did the President announce his support for the voucher program? I'm afraid you are wrong about this.

Katherine said...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday that poor children getting vouchers to attend private schools in the District of Columbia should be allowed to stay there, putting the Obama administration at odds with Democrats trying to end the program.

Duncan opposes vouchers, he said in an interview with The Associated Press. But he said Washington is a special case, and kids already in private schools on the public dime should be allowed to continue.

"I don't think it makes sense to take kids out of a school where they're happy and safe and satisfied and learning," Duncan told said. "I think those kids need to stay in their school."


While I appreciate the Administration's support, I don't think the earmark for DC vouchers can go on forever. At some point, the program has to be authorized or the DC government step in and pay for the costs.

A WASHINGTONDC CATHOLIC said...

I am not certain how that quite shows that the Most Merciful, Lord High Barack Obama supports the program.

All it shows is that the Sec. of Ed. (and btw, we have a Dept. of Ed. that does not educate) has given some tacit support, it really is up to the Congress to authorize.

The Most Merciful can now play this both ways. If it fails, he can say that his administration supported it. If it passes, he can say that he did not support it (and thereby appease the union thugs).

Katherine said...

AWDCC,

Your reponse is one of the most convoluted I have ever read.

The Administration has indicated its support. if you are withdrawning your previous comments about our President and now saying that the matter rests with Congress, I appreciate the retraction.

Given the GOP push to strip out ALL earmarks, it seems they are not perfect friends of this program either.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with The Washington DC Catholic on this one. President Obama has not announced his support for this progarm. Secretary Duncans remarks can be interpreted to mean that the children who are currently in the program should be allowed to stay, but no more new children should be allowed to enter. When the 14 million dollars runs out, the program will end. Will the President lobby the Congress to support this program? There is no point in kidding yourself about this Katherine,he will not do it. Do you think Mayor Fenty is making phone calls in support of this program? Face it, the Republicans are a lot better on this issue than the Democrats are. We should not try to fool ourselves about this. The Archdiocese of Washington has been trying to fool people into believing it knows what it is doing when it comes to Catholic education in the city when the fact is they do not have a clue. I do not want to imitate them. Nobody should want to imitate them.

Katherine said...

The Archdiocese of Washington has been trying to fool people into believing it knows what it is doing when it comes to Catholic education in the city when the fact is they do not have a clue. I do not want to imitate them. Nobody should want to imitate them.

So, given that, explain again why we should support this congressional earmark to fund the voucher program?

A WASHINGTONDC CATHOLIC said...

Actually, I am not retracting anything.

The Most Merciful Lord High Barack Obama is working both sides of the street -- so the speak.

If it passes the Congress, he can say he did not support it and come out smelling like a rose to the union thugs. If it does not pass, he can tell those who will suffer, that his adminstration supported it.

However, getting back to your original statement was that the President has announced his support for the program. You STILL have not proven your original statement.

When he actually says it, then your original statement will be true. Until such time, it is FALSE.

Katherine said...

The Most Merciful Lord High Barack Obama...

It does annoy the heck out of you that the American people, with Catholics in the lead, support our President, with the shrill opposition hoping he fails, becoming more and more a marginal element of the civic discussion.

Oh well!!!!

A WASHINGTONDC CATHOLIC said...

Katherine:

Once again, you have attempted to change the subject but that is typical of most liberals, when they cannot prove their point.

Thank you for your readership.

Anonymous said...

Okay, let me see if I can get this back on point. Katherine, let me explain. I think an essentially clueless person can come up with a good idea from time to time. I think we should support this program because it helps families to get the good education that they want for their children. This is a program I would like to see liberals and conservatives support. The fact that the Archdiocese supports this program is very positive. I do not oppose everything the Archdiocese stands for as far as Catholic education is concerned, but I have found it necessary to oppose a lot of what has been done lately. It is not just that the Archdiocese seems clueless, it is that they have been plain flat dishonest. For example, they have advanced a distorted view of a school which is part of the Catholic consortium, St. Thomas More. The church has made the untrue claim that there are 80 Catholic children attending this school. The Archdiocese is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into this school which has practically no Catholic students, while at the same time it claims it can not find the resources for other schools which have a far larger number of Catholic students. It makes no sense at all. If you thought I was trying to equate your words and your actions with those of the Archdiocese, please know that was not my intent. I want to get Democrats and Republicans together on this issue. I think I have my work cut out for me trying to get you and the Washington Catholic together. Let's all get together on this one issue. I have to be honest about President Obama and this issue. He does not support this program. I hope we will be able to turn him around in the future.