Reading Used to be Fundamental
Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 08:26am
Remember RIF? Reading Is Fundamental? It’s something I remember clearly from my childhood — I grew up with a love of reading passed on to me by my parents and greatly nurtured in school with programs like RIF. Sadly, Bush wants to eliminate RIF’s funding.
Understandable, I suppose, since he’s an illiterate jackass. Find out how you can help. I’ve already gotten in touch with my state reps. You can even have your kids write letters. They must be mailed by the end of May, so do it now.
Michael on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 9:20 am
I remember my Freshman English professor telling me that she could tell with great accuracy the students who’d been readers as children.
To cut this program, with it’s relatively small budget, seems incredibly shortsighted and not at all surprising.
Michael on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 9:21 am
Yeah, “its.”
brigita on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 9:35 am
So…no child left behind unless it’s going to cost something. Or inform them how their sexy parts work.
Lee on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 10:43 am
didn’t his own daughter just publish a children’s book? isn’t his wife a former librarian? how does this even fly in his own family??
boggles the mind.
Susie on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 11:15 am
He’s The Decider!
TandJ on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 11:57 am
I remember this as a kid. A book mobile would come to school and you could pick out two books.
It was wonderful.
freakgirl on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 12:06 pm
OMG the BookMobile!!! THE BEST.
Check it out:
http://www.rif.org/get-involve.....eoNumber=4
This commercial just makes me want to cry.
Emily on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 12:51 pm
remember “Book It!” where you’d get a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut if you read a certain amount of books by a certain deadline? ha! Maybe that was only the midwest.
Um, Laura Bush declared her movement to be fighting illiteracy in this country when she became First Lady. Do she and her husband, like you know, talk?
freakgirl on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I don’t remember that, but apparently the program is still active:
http://www.bookitprogram.com/
ali on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 1:24 pm
personally, i’m not shocked that bush doesn’t support something he can’t do.
El Gato on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 2:55 pm
It’s consistent. He seems bent on promoting ignorance in any way he can, from suppressing scientific research to condoning intelligent design.
cin on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 3:08 pm
My kids have soo many Pizza Hut coupons from the Bookit program we could eat free for a month! Our government continues to prove that people who can’t speak for themselves don’t matter to them. sigh…
Jason on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Wow, just when you think President Shit For Brains can’t step any lower. I suppose he wants to eliminate Rif and replace it with the faith based version so the kids can read about how the prehistoric men rode around on dinosaurs when the earth was created 6000 years ago.
That man takes anti-intellectualism to new and exciting levels.
Larrygrrl on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Pizza Hut started in my home town of Wichita, Kansas. My apologies to everyone worldwide. I don’t remember being bribed with stuffed crust pizza just for reading a couple of books….I think that’s a rural myth. RIF changed my life when I read “Watership Down” in the 4th grade. Terrifying. Bush is a jackhole.