Originally Posted by Matthew A Brown

It's the work of Bav-MOOOOORRRRRRDAAAAA

Originally Posted by jessefive

That is a shame. That poor kid is going to turn into one of those internet jokes. Soon he'll be photoshopped so that he's riding a pony, a bunny, and eventually that hardcore dancing girl.

He'll have to get a face transplant to hide his identity.

Originally Posted by Matthew A Brown

The above-stated elements are that of a super achiever. The problem is, these people embraced criminals as their role model and attached a dream to them. This leads to self-destruction. Because negative influences got to these people first, our society is putting highly motivated, ambitious people in prison. If these people were inspired with positive goals, at an early age, they would be helping to build a better world. We are talking about millions of intelligent minds wasting away in prison, because of self-destructive dreams, people who could be living highly productive lives.

Education's policy of using standardized tests, for measuring education efficiency, is increasing the number of students who give up and join the self-destructive group. The 30% student failure rate is the result of a "one system for all" policy. The academic based education system will never meet their needs no matter how much money is spent. There needs to be alternate education opportunities. Instead of pressuring students to adapt to the system, the system should adapt to the students' by recognizing individual learning personalities and offered learning opportunity that is in harmony with their learning personality.

Every individual not only has a social personality that is different from everyone else, we also have a learning personality that is different from everyone else. Our learning personality is the combination of natural talent, personal interest, current opportunity, social environment, character, motivation and how the brain processes information. Anyone can develop a productive skill if their learning opportunity is in harmony with their learning personality.

The education system requires every student to be an intellectual. If they don't measure up to intellectual standards, they are labeled failures and considered dummies. Through self-fulfilling prophecy, the labels prove to be correct. Because the system conflicts with learning personalities, 30% of our teenagers drop out of high school. If our society wants to solve the street gang problem, we have to recognize learning personalities and expose young people to positive role models in a different type of learning environment, where academics is a byproduct. Project based education can achieve this goal through self-discovery.





Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
James S. Brady Briefing Room




Press Briefing
view




12:03 P.M. EDT

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everyone. I just want to take one brief moment to use this opportunity to talk about Andy Card, who is in his last week here at the White House, after having served the President and the American people for more than five years. The President has talked about what a great Chief of Staff Andy has been, having served the nation with honor and distinction. And just on a more personal level, I think it's really hard to fully express the high regard with which the White House staff holds Andy. Andy has earned our highest respect and admiration, and those of us who have been honored to serve with Andy are really going to miss him. We wish him all the best.

And with that, I will be glad to go straight to your questions.

Q Is there a group that greeted him this morning on arrival?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, there were some. I was not here quite that early, but there was a group that wanted to wish him well and be here when he got here. You know that Andy arrives very early in the morning here at the White House, before most people are even here. And I know that Andy was there to greet the President in the Oval Office this morning, as he does just about every morning. And I know that Andy will be there to say goodbye to the President and Mrs. Bush as they depart for Camp David this afternoon to join their family and spend the Easter weekend there.

Jessica, go ahead.

Q Does the President --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me go to Jessica, and then Helen. I'm sorry, I'm going down in order here.

Q Scott, a number of members of the military have called for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Does the President still have full faith and confidence in him, and is there any plan to replace him?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I think that a -- to the first part of your question, when you asked about confidence in him. I think that you said, members of the military. I think there have been some former members. So I think we ought to draw that distinction, because if you go and look at what the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the other day, he was speaking his own personal view, and he is someone who is held in very high regard and has earned the respect of all those serving in the military.

General Pace said, as far as he is concerned, this country is exceptionally well served by Secretary Rumsfeld. He went on to say that, "Nobody, nobody works harder than he does to take care of the PFCs, and lance corporals, and lieutenants and the captains. He does his homework. He works weekends, he works nights. People can question my judgment or his judgment, but they should never question the dedication, the patriotism, and the work ethic of Secretary Rumsfeld."

So I think you have to put that in context and look at what General Pace himself said --

Q And with respect, those are --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- who has worked with him closely over the last few years.

Q Those are General Pace's views. Does the President share those views, and does he have full faith and confidence in him?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history. The Secretary has led the Department of Defense during two wars -- wars that resulted in the liberation of 25 million people in Afghanistan and 25 million people in Iraq. The Secretary is also overseeing the transformation of the military, so that we are better prepared to confront the threats that we face in the 21st century. We are a nation at war and we are a nation that is going through a military transformation. Those are issues that tend to generate debate and disagreement, and we recognize that.

Go ahead.

Q Does the President think that he can continue to conduct a war without end, without raising taxes, which money -- the cost of this war is expected to go up -- almost $2 trillion. Guns and butter, you cannot -- who is going to pay for this?

MR. McCLELLAN: You bring up a very good point.

Q Future Presidents?

MR. McCLELLAN: You bring up a good point. We are a nation at war, and that's why it's important that we keep our -- that we make sure we meet our priorities --

Q Who is paying for it?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's what I'm getting to. It's important that we meet our most important priorities during this time of war, and it's also important that we work extra hard to hold the line on spending elsewhere in the budget. And that's why the President talked about the importance of making sure that we're spending the taxpayer dollars wisely. And earlier today, he talked about how over the last two budgets, we have actually cut non-security discretionary spending. This last budget, we were able to get Congress to pass a reduction in the growth of mandatory spending, as well. That's a significant step forward. It's a good start. But there is more to do. And the President is going to continue urging the importance of, one, keeping our taxes low, and, two, spending the taxpayer dollars wisely --

Q That will handle the cost of the war?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's absolutely critical to keeping our economy strong. Our economy is strong. The President talked about that earlier today. We saw just on Friday that more than 200,000 -- well, 211,000 jobs were created in the month of March alone. We've had more than 5.1 million jobs created over the last two, two-and-a-half years. And so we have an economy that is moving forward, it is growing very strong, and if we're going to keep it strong, then we need to keep taxes low.

And this is an important debate that comes up in a year like this: who is going to protect our taxpayer dollars. And the President laid out what the debate is. The debate is between those who want to keep taxes low to keep our economy growing, and then those who want to raise taxes. And we've seen many Democrats --

Q You can have the guns and butter --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- many Democrats want to raise our taxes. And the President has pointed back to what they said a few years ago, when they said that tax cuts would do nothing to create jobs. Well, more than 5.1 million times, they have been proven -- they have been proven wrong.

And we are engaged in a global war on terrorism. And the cost of inaction is far higher -- we are laying the foundations of peace for generations to come. But we're going to make sure that our troops and our military has everything they need to complete the mission and do the job when it comes to prevailing in the war on terrorism. And that's why the President has outlined budgets that meet our most important priorities and hold the line on spending elsewhere.

Jim.

Q I'm wondering what you might have about ElBaradei's trip to Iran. If you haven't heard anything yet, when do you expect to hear something? And do you think a report will come before the end of the month?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that it's expected at the end of the month, around the 28th or 29th of this month. And certainly we look forward to seeing his report. The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency is in Iran to evaluate the nuclear programs that they are engaged in. And that's going to be an important thing to look at by the United Nations Security Council and others.

Q Would you characterize -- would you characterize him as your best hope right now for verifying what, if anything, is true about Iran's claims?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that is the purpose. The IAEA board passed a resolution calling on the regime to take certain steps, to come clean, to fully suspend their enrichment and reprocessing activities. They made an announcement the other day, saying that they are moving forward on their enrichment activities. That is in clear violation of the Paris Agreement they made with the Europeans, and it also continues to show their defiance toward the will of the international community that was expressed by the Security Council in a presidential statement reiterating what the IAEA board said.

And so what's going to happen is that he is there, he will evaluate their activities, he'll report back to the Security Council, and the Security Council will look at those issues. There are consultations that are going on. Our Undersecretary, Nicholas Burns, is going to be engaging in some more consultations with his counterparts. I know that the Permanent Five is continuing to have some meetings -- the Permanent Five of the Security Council.

So we'll continue to talk with the Security Council, we'll continue to talk with our other friends and allies about what steps to take if Iran continues on its current course. The regime is showing continued defiance, and it is time for the Security Council to act on the diplomatic front if they continue down that path.

Q But who is he meeting with today, and what have you heard about today's meeting?

MR. McCLELLAN: You'll have to ask the International Atomic Energy Agency about his meetings; what he has seen. I'm not going to try to do an on-the-spot report on where he is.

Q Does the President think that retired generals, by virtue of no longer being in service, have less valid opinions about Secretary Rumsfeld?

MR. McCLELLAN: I've never heard him express it that way. People are going to express their opinions; they have the right to do so.

Q Does the President consider their views or their perspective, since they're not in the chain of command and might be freer to speak?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President looks to -- well, first of all, I think that that is somewhat insulting to our commanders, because our commanders are people of high honor and integrity. General Pace spoke the other day in the briefing at the Department of Defense, and he talked about how -- I'm going to go back to his own words.

This is, again, the Chairman of our Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said, "In the last couple of days there have been several articles, opinion pieces, editorials about the responsibility of senior U.S. military officers to speak up, to tell the truth as we know it, and that is a sacred obligation of all of us who are fortunate to represent all the members of the Armed Forces and to have the opportunity to participate at this level."

And then he went on to talk about some of the views that have been expressed by others in the lead up to the -- or the planning going into Iraq. And he said, "We had then, and have now, every opportunity to speak our minds. And if we do not, shame on us, because the opportunity is there. It is elicited from us; we are expected to." Then he went on and talked about -- with Congress, during the confirmation process, how he was asked, "Will you, General Pace, if confirmed, give your personal opinion when asked?" And he said -- and the answer to that question is, "Yes I will, sir. And I have been for almost five years now, asked my personal opinion multiple times by members of the Congress of the United States in testimony, and I have spoken my personal opinion. I've given my best military advice to the Secretary and to the President, as have the other officers who have the privilege of being Joint Chiefs or being combatant commanders. Our troops deserve and will continue to get our best military thinking."

So he was talking about that to talk about how the system works, and how he has observed it over the last several years. And I think it's important to listen to what he had to say. He has a good firsthand account of it.

Go ahead, Sarah.

Q Thank you. My question has been answered in part, but has the President talked to, or does he intend to talk to, the five generals who are now saying Defense Secretary Rumsfeld should resign?

MR. McCLELLAN: I know of no plans. He's well aware of their opinions.

Q Scott, going back to Iran, in the meeting Wednesday, that just happened with the Ghanian President, is that the first personal meeting by phone or in person the President has had since all of this Iranian issue about --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, the first?

Q Is this the first meeting with someone from the U.N. Security Council that the President --

MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, President Kufuor?

Q Yes. Is this the first meeting President Bush has had with a member of the U.N. Security Council personally --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he's had some discussions -- no, he stays in close contact with Prime Minister Blair, as you know. He talks to him on a weekly or every-other-week basis. He stays in pretty frequent contact -- well, Germany is not on the Security Council, but he stays in pretty frequent contact with Chancellor Merkel of Germany. They are certainly someone who have been involved in the negotiations that were going on. But we've seen that the regime is not interested in moving forward on those negotiations.

Q So what was the the conversation --

MR. McCLELLAN: So he's had a number of conversations.

Q So what was the conversation between President Bush and President Kufuor on the --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, they discussed a range of issues. First of all, they talked at length about the -- some priorities when it comes to Africa and Darfur and fighting HIV/AIDS. They did talk about the Security Council and they talked about the issue with regards to the Iranian regime and its pursuit of nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian program. The President brought that up and he expressed the views that you have heard him expressing publicly.

Q So there was nothing new? Did he ask the --

MR. McCLELLAN: This is an issue that -- and we have talked about it in our National Security Strategy. This is one of the greatest challenges facing the world. And the international community is united in our concern about the regime developing a nuclear weapons capability or know-how or nuclear weapons.

And so the President tends to bring this issue up in meetings he has with world leaders, whether they're phone calls or meetings in person here at the Oval Office -- in the Oval Office. The President brings this issue up on a regular basis. It is an important priority that needs to be addressed. It is a threat that the Security Council needs to act on to address.

Q So do you think the President -- would you classify it as the President bringing this U.N. Security Council member up to date, or trying to talk to him about what the plans are --

MR. McCLELLAN: Sure. He expressed -- the President expressed his views of where things stand, and Secretary Rice has expressed our views very publicly yesterday when she said that it's time for the Security Council to act on the diplomatic front if the regime continues down this course. The regime has -- the regime's announcement the other day is only another signal of their defiance of the international community. And it only further isolates the regime from the rest of the world.

Go ahead.

Q Secretary Rumsfeld in the past has said that he's offered his resignation to the President, but the President has refused. Has Secretary Rumsfeld recently offered --

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have any update. That would be a question to ask him. I don't have any update.

Q And can I just ask you to explain a little bit, why do you feel it's so necessary -- if you could explain why it's necessary to distinguish between a retired member of the military and an active in talking about evaluating their opinion?

MR. McCLELLAN: I didn't think I said that. I just said that --

Q Well, with Jessica --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?

Q But with Jessica, you made it a point to clarify that right away.

MR. McCLELLAN: That was General Pace. Or, was that Kelly, I think, was bringing up former -- you said military officials, and I was just saying these are some former members of the military.

Q And why is that?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's just a fact.

Q But are you somehow suggesting that --

Originally Posted by pinkrobe

The Sleeper Has Awakened!!!!!

Originally Posted by chimblysweep

no

Originally Posted by summerinside

I dont know if it can, despite how hard we try to kill it.

Originally Posted by ZachS

Originally Posted by celephaiz

yeah, fabian is the new jesus

Originally Posted by genericbikedude

does that mean that we can crucify him and stick a spear in his abdomen?

Originally Posted by mcatano

Can't you see what we're doing to this poor guy? It's like this: