Why Primary Care Doctors are Fed Up
The article below is from CNN.com. Please read! It explains in layman's terms what bureaucracy looks like in the trenches.
Dr. Vance Harris says primary care doctors get minuscule payment for saving the system huge sums of money.
(CNN) -- Health policy experts agree that any reform in our health care system must include a well-educated, caring primary care doctor who is able to manage the health of his or her patients with an eye to using resources optimally to keep costs down.
That's a tall order and it seems that few policy makers realize the value of primary care physicians.
People are making a huge assumption in this reform effort that as we extend coverage to millions who don't have health insurance, there will be doctors there to actually provide the health care. Fewer and fewer medical students are choosing primary care and many primary care doctors are leaving the field.
Let me share with you why we are losing so many primary care doctors. What follows are a few examples I experience each week.
How many dozens of chest pain patients have I seen in the last month for whom I didn't order an EKG, get a consult, set up nuclear imaging or send for a catheterization?
Only I have the advantage of knowing how anxious some are and that they have had similar symptoms over the last 20 years. After a history and exam, I am willing to make the call that this is not heart disease. In doing so, I save the system tens of thousands of dollars.
Most of these patients are worked into a busy day, pushing me even deeper into that mire of tardiness for which I will be chastised by at least six patients before the end of the day. My reward for working these people in and making the call is at most $75.
How many times has an anxious patient come in demanding an endoscopy who I examined and then decided to treat less invasively for three to four weeks first? Few of these patients are happy no matter how many times I explain that it is reasonable to treat their reflux symptoms for several weeks before endoscopy.
This delay in referral has led to many tense moments in the last 20 years. The cost savings to the system is thousands of dollars each and every time I am willing to make the call and go with the treatment. My reward is about $55 from Medicare and private health insurers.
How many low back pain patients have come to the office in agony knowing that there has to be something serious to cause this kind of pain? A good history and exam allows me to reassure the patient that there is nothing we need to operate on and that the risk of missing anything is low.
This takes a lot of time to explain as I teach them why they don't need an MRI. If someone else ordered the MRI, guess who gets to explain the significance of bulging disks to an alarmed patient? Setting realistic expectations on recovery and avoiding needless imaging helps saves the system thousands of dollars. My reward is another $55.
How many diabetics do I struggle with, trying to get them to take better care of themselves? How many hours have I spent with teenage diabetics who will not check their blood sugar and forget half of their insulin doses?
Hundreds of hours seem wasted until one day they open their eyes and want to take care of themselves. My reward for years of struggle is a few hundred dollars at best. The savings to society for my hard work and never-give-up attitude is in the tens of thousands of dollars.
I am in my 22nd year in practice, now caring for 3,600 patients. Having me in the system has resulted in savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars each and every year. My financial incentive to hang in there and work harder is that I now make less than half what I did 20 years ago. This year I will make even less.
These are the reasons so many physicians have left medicine entirely and most of us who are left wonder how long can we continue to work like this? I have always served my fellow man out of a sense of love and compassion. That's why I went into medicine.
I have been richly rewarded by my patients over the decades as they have appreciated my judgment and skills. Isn't it a shame that after all this time and with skills honed by decades of experience, many of us can no longer afford to work as a physician?
No one is talking about this on the national level. If they don't address these issues, then good luck having physician assistants provide the safety net with two years of training. Good luck getting newly trained physicians once they see our salaries. Good luck finding internists in your community with only 1 percent of medical students going into internal medicine.
Good luck recruiting primary care specialists when we are projected to be short 39,000 by 2020, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. And nearly half of all doctors surveyed by the Physicians' Foundation have said that over the next three years they plan to reduce the number of patients they see or stop practicing entirely.
I know this is true because I am struggling to find a primary care doctor to take care of my wife and myself. Now that is ironic. Anyone know who is taking new patients in California?
Some Facts about Obamacare
If you follow my blog, you may remember a post or two about how the left misleads the public by not getting into specifics. My favorite example is the one about mothers in the workforce, how "70% of mothers work outside the home today." The media LOVE to report this technically accurate statistic so the feminists in the media who work full-time and year-round feel better about their choice to leave their children all day, every day in substitute care. I mean if "everyone's doing it," it must be a perfectly normal thing to do -- right?Everyone is not doing what the women in the media do. In fact less than 40% of married mothers in America work full-time and year-round. Most are either unemployed or work part-time. This information can be easily found at the U.S. Census Bureau.
Obamacare -- or Obamascare -- is another example. President Obama loves to report the...again, technically accurate statistic (again, from the Census Bureau) that there are "47 million people" in this country who lack health insurance. What he WON'T tell you is that of this 47 million, nearly 18 million earn over 50K per year and can afford their own insurance. (Over 9.7 million earn 75K or more).
Of the remaining 29 million, 9.5 million are illegal aliens.
Of the 19 million left, nearly 8 million are under the age of 18 and are thus eligible to participate in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
That leaves 11 million Americans -- many of whom are between 18-24 and choose not to have insurance because they consider themselves young and healthy.
Obama has since recanted his numbers and, I believe, has brought the number down to "30 million" in his speeches. Even if this were more accurate, which it's not, do you really want someone in office who distorts the facts to pursue his own agenda?
All it takes is a simple search. Either the President doesn't do his homework (or have his people do the homework), or they do it and deliberately mislead the public. I don't know which is worse.
The government and the media: corrupt, corrupt, corrupt.
Kids' Values in the United Kingdom
This is pathetic. I know they're just kids, but it's the second to last paragraph that struck me.SIMON Cowell is more famous than God or the Queen, according to a new poll.
The National Kids' Day survey asked 1,600 under-10s from around the UK who they thought was the most famous person in the world.
The X Factor judge came first, with God and the Queen in second and third place.
John Lennon was lambasted back in the 1960s when he quipped that The Beatles had become "bigger than Jesus", but perhaps his claim wasn't so outlandish after all ...
'Good looks' grabbed the top spot as the 'best thing in the world', and the 'very worst thing in the world' was being fat.
The research was carried out by Luton First.
Speaking of Being Conservative and/OR Religious
I'm going to pull from my favorite writer's book to explain being conservative and/or religious. In fact if you've never heard of Dinesh D'Souza or read his book Letter to a Young Conservative, you need to order a copy from Amazon TODAY. Seriously. It's a short, easy-to-read, well worth your money (though you can get it for practically nothing on Amazon) book that was hailed by Jonah Goldberg an "intellectual Swiss Army knife" for conservative-minded people. I find a lot of time people know what they think but struggle to explain WHY they think the way they do. If you identify with this, D'Souza's book is your answer.From chapter one:
The conservative virtues are many: civility, patriotism, national unity, a sense of local community, an attachment to family, and a belief in merit, in just desserts, and in personal responsibility for one's actions.
For many conservatives, the idea of virtue cannot be separate from the idea of God. But it is not necessary to believe in God to be a conservative. What unifies the vast majority of conservatives is the belief that there are moral standards in the universe and that living up to them is the best way to have a full and happy life.
From a personal standpoint, I identify wholeheartedly with this last statement. While I am not a particularly religious person -- and by that I mean I am not a faithful churchgoer, nor do I consider what any particular religion would "tell me to do" under certain circumstances. But I have always believed in God and -- since I went to Catholic school and am raising my children Catholic -- have attended umpteen Masses in my 41 years. That said, I'm much more likely to turn to a mental health professional (but only because I know a great one) before a man of the cloth if I need outside help.
My point is that there are many conservatives in the world who are not religious, per se. I think the media do everything they can to label conservatives as religious, but this is not an accurate assessment of what it means to be conservative.
And that's all I have to say about that.
The Insidiousness of Media Bias
Here's an example of how insidious media bias is:Yesterday morning I was at the YMCA, and I watched a Today show clip of the woman who's about to give birth to another woman's baby due to an embryo "mix up." During the interview the reporter asks the mother how she made the decision to have the baby after she found out another woman's baby was planted inside her.
"Mrs. Savage, I know you're very religious and so terminating this pregnancy wasn't an option for you..." -- blah, blah, blah.
The reporter at NBC had to get the religious comment in there b/c adding this caveat suggests it's "normal" to be tolerant of religious people who are against abortion. After all, their religious views demand it of them. They know not what they think.
People who are opposed to abortion personally -- not for religious reasons but because they think -- oh, I don't know, that it's just plain wrong and should thus be minimized at all costs -- are not considered normal. The media has no tolerance for these folks b/c, to them, women's "rights" trump all else.
In other words, implicit in the exchange yesterday is that it's okay for religious people to have a problem with abortion. They can't think for themselves and have to follow orders. But "regular people" (keep in mind that over 90% of Americans consider themselves religious) who aren't governed by religion are enlightened folks who understand that women's rights include the right to end a pregnancy whenever they see fit to do so.
More Obama Arrogance
I think this statement below from Obama is fascinating. Rather than accept reality -- that people just don't agree with his health care agenda -- he sees the resistance as his "not breaking through." The arrogance is astounding. Saying you're not "breaking through" indicates that any reasonable person -- if Obama could just explain himself better -- would agree with him.The idea that he IS breaking though and people just disagree escapes him.
"I think there have been times where I have said I've got to step up my game in terms of talking to the American people about issues like health care," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos, who asked if the president had "lost control" of the debate.
"Well, not so much lost control, but where I've said to myself, somehow I'm not breaking through," Obama responded.
Irving Kristol
"A liberal is a person who sees a fourteen-year-old girl performing live sex acts onstage and wonders if she's being paid the minimum wage." -- Irving KristolTake Back America Conference
HERE is the conference I'm preparing for, in case you missed it awhile back. There are an expected 600 attendees for this conference, which I believe is their largest yet.We just may be seeing a resurgence of common sense in this country.
Sketchy Blogging
Bear with me, please, as I'm speaking at a conference next week and simply must focus on writing what I'm going to say.I'll be back!
How Most Americans Think
Below is a description of "the conservative woman," taken from the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Obviously it applies to men as well; Clare Boothe just happens to be a conservative women's organization. The definition below doesn't just define the "conservative" thinker; it also defines libertarians and moderates.Most Americans identify with the paragraph below, whether or not they call themselves "conservative." I say this b/c we know that only 21% of Americans refer to themselves as liberal; the rest -- 41% conservative and 34% moderate -- lean right. America is indeed a conservative nation. (This is also evident in the massive resistance Obama is getting across the board.) I pasted this paragraph below to help those who know how they think but can't always express it the way they'd like. It may be helpful when you're in a conversation with a left-leaning American.
The Conservative Woman
Conservatism is neither a religion nor ideology, explained Russell Kirk; "it is a state of mind, a type of character, a way of looking at the civil social order ... The conservative is a person who endeavors to conserve the best in our traditions and our institutions, reconciling the best with necessary reforms from time to time." She may be a social networker, but the conservative woman's identity isn't dependent upon a group. She is her own woman.
Her allegiance is to individual liberty and Individualism, the salient characteristic of Western Civilization, and to its economic system, free-market capitalism. She holds absolute the premise that power flows from the Creator to the people, who only loan it to the State.
The conservative woman rejects the social system known as Collectivism and its economic system, socialism, which robs her of her liberty, her social and economic choices, and the rewards of her labor.
How Do You Get Your News?
A new poll shows most Americans still get their news from television. (See below.) THIS is why the Internet is so critical and will, I believe, eventually be the way most people get their news. While you have to be careful about which site you're getting your news from, the Internet allows for far better accuracy b/c it isn't beholden to a two-minute blurb. It's comprehensive.September 13, 2009
Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low
Public Evaluations of the News Media: 1985-2009
The poll finds that television remains the dominant news source for the public, with 71% saying they get most of their national and international news from television. More than four-in-ten (42%) say they get most of their news on these subjects from the internet, compared with 33% who cite newspapers. Last December, for the first time in a Pew Research Center survey, more people said they got most of their national and international news from the internet than said newspapers were their main source.
The Truth about Feminism
Several posts ago I linked you all to an article I wrote called "The Myth of Female Empowerment." If you missed it, you can scroll down to find it or go to my website and click on the Articles heading.Opposing Views posted the article on their site, and some of the comments are as follows:
"Feminism is what gave you the right to write and be taken seriously."
"These women want to take us back to the stone age and they're oblivious to the fact that feminism is what has given them the credibility that they have. Ms. Venker, if not for feminism you'd be at home with kids crawling all over the place and not have the opportunity nor the time to state your views."
"It is only because of feminism that [Venker's] opinions are even considered in the public sphere."
The reason people respond this way to those who argue against feminist thought is because college professors and the media have been so successful in preaching feminist theory that few dare to question their analysis. The other day I turned on the television and heard a female reporter say that the number of women in the workforce is about to surpass men -- but there was a caveat. "Women still do not earn as much as men. We still have a wage gap," she said.
The wage gap is feminists' signature phony assertion, used to assure Americans that women are still not viewed as men's equals. What that reporter won't tell you is that the wage gap between men and women exists b/c it reflects the choices most women in the country make -- willingly. The vast majority of women choose to make concessions for motherhood by opting to move in and out of the labor force as the needs of their families change. For some, this will mean women disappear from the marketplace for large chunks of time, thereby compromising their career trajectories.
The most common misperception among people -- as evident by the comments above -- is that feminism is solely responsible for the freedoms women now enjoy. The truth is far more complex. Feminism has been divided into three parts: first-wave, second-wave, and third-wave. First-wave feminism refers to the original feminists of our time: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and the like. These feminists helped to ratify the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the government from denying any citizen the right to vote based on gender. It was passed in 1919, and ratified by thirty-six states in a little over a year.
Great. Women could now vote. Who would argue with that?
Then came the Great Depression, which required massive government intervention into the economy and had major effects on gender issues. Women went to work in the factories, but the politics of that time -- fostered by the retooling of wartime factories for domestic use -- caused women to be home bound, as wives and mothers. After the war many women returned home, as much of the industrial economy rushed to rehire men. This is not to say ALL women did, or that NO woman was "allowed" to work outside the home. But it is true it was the norm for women to "stay home," as we call it today. The reasons for this, however, had more to do with the social and political upheavals of that time than some full-scale plan to oppress women, as people have been led to believe.
Then, between the mid-forties and mid-sixties women grew increasingly frustrated with their role at home because by the 1950s women's lives began to change considerably. The advent of the washing machine and other modern conveniences allowed women, for the first time, to explore other ventures. Until that time, women had been juggling child care alongside mind-numbing household duties. When their last child trotted off to school, these mothers discovered they had hours to fill while their clothes were being washed for them. This was an enormous boon for women.
Bu then a problem of a different sort emerged, and that's when second-wave feminism came on the scene. Some of these women were discontent. With time on their hands to think about their lives – something women in previous generations could only dream about – women began to realize they could have something for themselves if they wanted. But for many women, hobbies weren’t enough. Many desired the same kind of lives their husbands enjoyed during the day, and those who were ambitious and resourceful made it happen -- even if they faced discrimination in the process. Those who were not able to do this drank, or stewed, or became so emotionally distraught they found it difficult to be good mothers. Their discontent hung like a cloud over the house, and Betty Friedan -- who was a great example of this kind of person -- tapped into this discontent with her book The Feminine Mystique. And so, in 1963, the idea that women should have their own identities separate from husbands and children was born -- and women inhaled the dream.
Unfortunately, feminism didn't stop there. Rather than just present the idea that life outside the home was one option among many, that some sort of "balance" between work and family was possible, feminism morphed into something else. Modern feminism is, at root, predicated on the notion that women are victims -- that the traditional definition of men's lives are in fact superior to the traditional definition of women's lives. As such, feminists have made it their mission to get women out of the home and into the workforce in mass droves -- and they've been very successful. But in order to accomplish this, feminists need Americans on board with their views on two issues: abortion and day care. Without everyone agreeing on these two issues, modern feminism ceases to exist.
Ironically, "real" feminists -- the original feminists -- were pro-life. And apparently they're not alone in their opinions. According to Public Agenda, the premier nonpartisan polling organization which provides "unbiased and unparalleled research that bridges the gap between American leaders and what the public really thinks about issues," 53% of Americans believe abortion is "morally wrong." A mere 38% believe it is "acceptable" -- but to listen to the media (where most modern feminists reside) you wouldn't know this to be true.
As far as day care is concerned, feminists demand universal child care and see it as society's duty to help women balance work and family. YET, according to Public Agenda, 70% of parents with children under 5 agree that “having a parent at home is best" and a full 72% of parents -- including the majority of low-income parents -- believe parents, not the government, are responsible for child care costs.
So in the end, it is abundantly clear that modern feminists do not speak for the majority of women in America. For more information about the truth, I encourage those who are interested to go to www.suzannevenker.com and click on Mom Facts at the top.
How Quickly We Forget
Below is plucked from a recent article in WND.Conservative talk-show hosts saw a White House scheme to turn public schools into indoctrination centers where the socialist ideology of Obama would be spoon-fed to captive audiences of children forced to listen to Big Brother -- and then do assignments on his sermon.
The liberal commentariat raged about right-wing paranoia.
Yet Byron York of the Washington Examiner dug back to 1991 to discover that, when George H.W. Bush went to Alice Deal Junior High to speak to America's school kids, the left lost it.
"The White House turned a Northwest Washington junior high classroom into a television studio and its students into props," railed the Washington Post. Education Secretary Lamar Alexander was called before a House committee. The National Education Association denounced Bush. And Congress ordered the General Accounting Office to investigate.
Obama's actual speech proved about as controversial as a Nancy Reagan appeal to eighth-graders to "Just say no!" to drugs.
Yet, the episode reveals the poisoned character of our politics.
American Jews Explain the Culture War
So this morning in the WSJ there's an opinion piece by Norman Podhoretz, whose new book Why Are Jews Liberals? was just released.Podhoretz explains that Jews are not predisposed to be liberals. "Jewish law permits abortion only to protect the life of the mother; it forbids sex between men; and it prohibits suicide." Moreover, the Jewish immigrants who began coming here from Eastern Europe had to struggle a great deal. They called America "the golden land" and appreciated the freedoms and opportunities that only America could provide. Jewish law and Jewish history, then, would seem to predispose Jews to be conservative.
And, of course, some are. But a whopping 78% of Jews voted for Barack Obama.
Podhoretz explains that liberalism has become more than a political outlook for Jews. It's become a bona fide religion, thereby expunging Jewish law. The question is why? The answer can be found in America's culture war.
When a modern liberal (who's not to be confused with a classic liberal) looks at this country, he sees "injustice and oppression of every kind -- economic, social, and political. By sharp contrast, conservatives see a nation shaped by a complex of traditions, principles and institutions that has afforded more freedom and prosperity to its citizens than in any society in human history."
This is the crux of the divide that now defines American culture. It doesn't matter whether you're Catholic, Jewish, Baptist, Protestant (or whatever else). In the end you fall under one of two categories: liberal or conservative. As much as we wish it weren't so, one of these philosophies (whether you see injustice or prosperity) ultimately defines you. There is, of course, a spectrum within each label. We don't all think one way or the other about each and every issue. If you follow my work, you know I lean left on several issues. But in the end, we each fall under one of two umbrellas whether we want to or not.
I have a sign on my refrigerator that reads, "Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." I read it every day to remind myself of my overall philosophy in life. No modern-day liberal could have this on his fridge. To a liberal, life is 90% what happens to him and 10% how he reacts to it. Liberals, like modern Jews, see America as a place of oppression, a place that "needs to be changed -- and apologized for to other nations."
So the lesson is this: Regardless of what one's religion is, or what the history of a people are, today's Americans are defined by a new religion. One religion thinks America is great; the other doesn't.
This is an oversimplification, I know. But it often does come down to just that.
The Broken American Male -- A Review
In the new book The Broken American Male, Rabbi Shmuley -- star of TLC's Shalom in the home -- argues that American men have "lost the ability to love their wives and inspire their children."He points out that women "enjoy many of the same rights and opportunities of men," -- which is evident by the fact that there are more women than men in college today and in the fact that women will soon surpass men in the marketplace -- but are nevertheless unhappy. He asks, "What is the cause of their deep discontent? Why are women so deeply unhappy in their marriages?" Shmuley says he "doesn't support everything in the feminist agenda" but goes on to say this:
Think about what a bum deal marriage is for women. She takes her husband's last name, thereby compromising her identity. She bears the children, thereby disfiguring her body. She works outside the home and then comes back to even more work inside the home, thereby compromising her peace and rest. Why would any woman agree to this?
Despite Shmuley's insistence that he isn't a "radical feminist," this is an entirely radical statement.
To be sure, Shmuley is dead on in his analysis of an American culture obsessed with "success" -- success in the traditional sense. Materialism abounds, yes; but both men and women are the culprits. Certainly there are men whose ambition blinds them to what's really important in life -- I was married to a man like this once, so I know they exist -- but I think it's unfair to suggest these men are the norm in today's society.
Most men are not broken. The reason women are unhappy today -- which I am in the process of analyzing in a book -- is far more complex than Shmuley seems to understand. As is the reason for the family breakdown. At one point he writes this:
In searching for the corosive influences that most plague the American family, we could identify several causes. We could focus on the instability created by a 24-hour economy and the workaholic parents who try to keep up. We could look at modern media distractions -- from TV, to movies, to iPods, to the Internet -- that are causing families to cease to communicate. We could speak of the two-income family and how moms having to work outside the home robs the family of its most important nurturer. We could find hundreds of unconnected reasons for the breakdown of the American family.
Hundreds of unconnected reasons? What? There aren't hundreds of reasons at all. He just identified the three main culprits. To say they're unconnected is absurd. And to point the finger at men -- who (unless they're Neanderthals or over 50) are more committed, loving, and supportive of women than they've ever been in the history of time is even more absurd.
Shmuley is correct in his analysis of what plagues the modern generation, but I'm afraid his assessment misses the mark. He may see all kinds of miserable men in private practice, but they do not represent the average American male. There's an entire country that exists between New York and California -- and there are many happy men to be found. Perhaps they could teach us a thing or two.
By the way, imagine if a book were titled The Broken American Female -- and How to Fix Her? How well do you think that would go over in modern day America?
Men are stomped on left and right in this country. It's about time we celebrated the good ones.
U.S. vs. Other Countries
Progressives think the U.S. is the worst place to live. How'd you like to live in China?Woman beaten to death at China Wal-Mart: police
BEIJING — A woman in eastern China was allegedly beaten to death by five employees of a Wal-Mart store who accused her of shoplifting, a police report and state media said Tuesday.
Police have arrested two employees from the store in Jiangxi province, while three others are being investigated, Jingdezhen city police said in a report on their website.
According to the report, the woman was beaten outside her home near the Wal-Mart on August 30 and died in a city hospital on Wednesday last week from injuries suffered during the beating.
Police said the five Wal-Mart employees had stopped the woman in the street and demanded to see her receipt, but she refused because she could not verify their identities, it said.
Following an argument, the five Wal-Mart employees began beating her, it said.
The English-language China Daily on Tuesday identified the victim as Yu Xiaochun, 37.
"They started to hit her because she didn't do what they said," the paper quoted her husband Chen Baolin as saying.
"I got there and tried to stop them but they kept beating her."
It was not immediately known if the woman had shoplifted, the paper said.
The beating intensified as she tried to telephone for help using her mobile phone, it added.
In a statement, Wal-Mart said it was "fully cooperating with the relevant authorities and will release further details as it is appropriate".
"We extend our condolences to the family of the deceased.... The incident and cause of death is the subject of an investigation."
The Speech
In case you miss it, here it is.Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.
And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
Obama's Speech to Kids
I must part with my conservative friends about this whole Obama speech thing. While I don't like the sound of it, the reality is that we don't know what he's going to say. I understand that's part of the problem in and of itself, but still...we simply must pick our battles. If we pick on everything the man does at every turn, we'll lose credibility.If I have to eat my words because he does something stupid, so be it. Let's just wait and see.
Greatest Movie Line Ever
This is hysterical, and I have to share. It's an exchange among three characters in a movie from the 1940s:Bob Hope (the husband): You live here?
Richard Carlson (the neighbor): Yes.
Bob Hope: Well, maybe you know what a zombie is.
Richard Carlson: Well, yes, I do. It seems when a person dies and is buried there's a certain priest who has the power to bring him back to life.
Paula Goddard (the wife): How horrible!
Carlson: It's worse than horrible because a zombie has no will of his own. You see them sometimes, walking around blindly with dead eyes -- following orders, not knowing what they do, not caring...
Bob Hope: You mean like Democrats?
Politically Correct America
I heard from an old friend the other day who lives on the East Coast. He and I used to talk politics a lot, and I remember for years he tried to make his right-of-center positions known. He would get so frustrated with the way things were...Apparently, the last 15 years have done a number on him. He now lives on a farm, as far away from city life as he can get. He told me this in an email: "I have learned not to express my opinions anywhere except in my home.....EVER."
Now you tell me how liberal bias in this country in any different from fascism.
Gay Ice Cream
Now I've seen it all...Human Events
I will be writing for Human Events beginning this week.Human Events has been around for 50 years and was considered Ronald Reagan's favorite newspaper. Contributors include Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Newt Gingrich, John Stossel of 20/20, and others.
I am be pleased and honored to be part of Human Events.
Take Back America Conference
Dear Readers,I will be speaking at the upcoming How to Take Back America Conference, which happens to be in St. Louis this year. The conference will include the best conservatives in Congress -- such as Michele Bachman of MN, Tom Price of GA, Steve King of IA, and Tom McClintock of CA -- as well as Mike Huckabee on Saturday night.
There will be many different speakers conducting mini-workshops to address important issues. (Mine is on feminism's attack on marriage and motherhood.) If you are not a tea-party person, this is a great way to get involved if you're concerned about the direction of our country and want to do something about it.
If you cannot attend, please pass this email on to those you think may be interested.
Here's What Liberal Bias Looks Like at the Elementary Level
Go to www.michellemalkin.com and try to find the video of the teacher from Asheville, NC, who tried to act impartial when discussing politics with her students but instead fueled the kids with liberal propaganda.The Magazine Industry
Read below.This is one area of the economy for whom I'm not crying. While I can't speak for every magazine, with the exception of Real Simple -- and maybe Rachel Ray's magazine --most of these magazines are not worth your hard-earned money. In fact many are downright harmful.
Newsstand Magazine Sales Continue To Drop
Average single-copy circulation at leading U.S. consumer magazines for the first half of 2009, among magazines that reported totals to the Audit Bureau of Circulations:
1. Cosmopolitan - 1,616,908 (down 7.8 percent)
2. People - 1,319,350 (down 12.77 percent)
3. Woman's World - 1,175,550 (down 8.31 percent)
4. First - 1,066,167 (down 9.29 percent)
5. Us Weekly - 843,479 (down 2.98 percent)
6. In Touch Weekly - 745,123 (down 17.67 percent)
7. O, the Oprah Magazine - 693,054 (down 5.58 percent)
8. Family Circle - 673,286 (down 22.55 percent)
9. In Style - 625,589 (down 20.13 percent)
10. Star - 601,115 (down 14.29 percent)
11. National Enquirer - 591,269 (down 11.14 percent)
12. Glamour - 589,665 (down 14 percent)
13. Men's Health - 503,929 (down 9.87 percent)
14. People Stylewatch - 497,608 (down 2.85 percent)
15. Life & Style Weekly - 478,788 (down 7.82 percent)
16. Good Housekeeping - 468,661 (down 17.68 percent)
17. Woman's Day - 410,147 (down 22.38 percent)
18. Weight Watchers - 399,337 (down 10.37 percent)
19. OK! Weekly - 398,360 (down 20.41 percent)
20. All You - 394,363 (down 2.85 percent)
21. Real Simple - 393,578 (up 1.17 percent)
22. Every Day with Rachael Ray - 375,773 (down 8.38 percent)
23. Vogue - 374,750 (down 2.79 percent)
24. Maxim - 350,242 (down 17.91 percent)
25. Vanity Fair - 334,667 (down 11.11 percent)
FOX
Over the weekend my husband and I ended up in a political pow wow with a friend of ours who was passing through town. He and his wife vote Democrat (but we don't hold that against them -- ha).At any rate, the subject of FOX came up, as it inevitably does when conservatives and liberals get together. Our friend took the predictable position: FOX is totally biased. Glenn Beck is the devil reincarnate, as is Greta and all the rest.
Here's the scoop about FOX news: FOX absolutely has conservative journalists on board. It may even have more conservatives than liberals; I don' t know b/c I don't follow it closely enough. FOX is not the only place I get my information. It's not even my main source. My main sources, as anyone who follows me knows, are The Wall Street Journal and the Drudge Report. I also get loads of information from sources many people wouldn't know about b/c they're just not as interested as I am in pursuing these other avenues.
But back to FOX. As I told my friend, FOX news has become the success it has b/c it speaks to the majority of Americans -- 40% of whom are conservative and 35% of whom are independent. The point isn't that FOX is conservative; the point is that it offers information from a right-of-center view as well as a left-of-center view. That some of the folks who provide commentary happen to be conservative is beside the point. You can be personally liberal or personally conservative and still provide programming from both sides of the fence. That's what FOX does that no one else does. CNN, in the past year, has tried to save face by following suit -- and is doing a pretty good job I think. But I don't watch enough of CNN to make a fair judgment.
The truth is that most of the people who hate FOX don't watch it. They catch one show in particular and base their entire view of FOX on that one program, or that one person -- which is ridiculous when you consider the fact that FOX is on all day long, with many different programs. Some are straight news; some are commentary. Personally, I would like a little less commentary and more straight news myself. I don't really care what O'Reilly or the rest of them think, but I love that I can get information that I would otherwise never know about.
And that's what makes FOX FOX.
