Wake Up Mommy and Daddy

Good Morning, Breakfastpoppers. Today is Monday, June 20, 2016. Our pious friend, Mantis Manny, is at the breakfast table this morning. It has come to Manny's attention that our government is once again hard at work seeking to undermine the sanctity of our families. The Senate has passed a bill that severely curtails parental, state and local control over schools. Manny has asked for the pleasure of our company this morning. He wants to discuss the current state of affairs in our nation over a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs. I will be mixing up a batch of Irish coffees to warm the chill that will surely descend upon you when you realize what is happening. We hope to see you soon.

The bill under consideration by Congress is going to fund psychological testing and profiling of the nation's children. Schools will be gathering massive amounts of information on students. The data will delve into the children's social and emotional learning attitudes, beliefs, values, and more. Trust me when I tell you that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Once the government begins something, it's scope and reach always escalates and expands. The legislation has been named SETRA. It stands for the Strengthening Education Through Research Act. The bill breezed through the Senate without opposition. It is still in the House. Let's hope it dies a speedy death.

The Federal Education Bureau, which was supposed to be disbanded under Reagan, would waste 3 billion dollars of our money on so-called "research." Grants would be given to states to construct more databases designed to hold our children's most private and personal information. The databases will be referred to as "longitudinal data systems" for reasons I can't fathom. The hideous legislation also funds a series of tests to be instituted across the nation. The real focus of the bill deals with researching children's subjective emotions, values, attitudes and beliefs, referred to as their "affective domain." Couching the aim of the tests into catchy phrases and terms, doesn't really disguise what is going on. Once again, the government is sticking its massive nose into areas where it is not welcome and doesn't belong. It seems that Washington is going to get inside our children's heads and use the information to "mold" them into the kind of citizens the state approves of. There is nothing in the Constitution that allows for this type of intrusion, and it must be stopped before it starts.

The government is trying to insert itself into the most personal parts of our children's lives. As parents, we must pull back in the other direction to stop this dangerous intrusion. Just think about the implications of this legislation. Big Brother will be assessing our children from the moment they enter school until they enter the workforce. Children will be programmed to think and react in a certain way, meaning they will be forced into behaving just how the government wants them to behave. The kids can kiss their parents good-bye. For that matter, they can kiss their privacy good-bye. This intrusion by government will follow them everywhere in life, and that is just too awful to contemplate.

It's time to put our foot down and shut down this misguided and dangerous legislation. The potential for misuse of all this private information is too big to fathom or stomach. Anyone with a government pass could potentially read up on our children from birth throughout adulthood. Hackers could get into the system and use what they find there for hideous purposes. We have to stop the horror before it blooms into a nightmare. We have to stop the federal government in its tracks, and we don't have time to waste. Short of pulling our kids out of school and becoming home schoolers, we have to let Congress know that we are aware of their efforts, and we have to tell them in no uncertain terms that we will fight them every step of the way. Our kids are relying on us to protect them and do the right thing. Let's stay on top of this issue and give it the painful death it deserves.

Manny's Song

The moment I wake up

Before I stretch my wings

I say a little prayer for the children!