President Obama says he will be too emotional to speak at daughter's graduation.

Courtesy of ABC News:

While lunching at the Jolly Pumpkin Brewery in Detroit today, Obama told his lunch companions that he turned down a request to speak at Malia’s graduation, saying he will be too emotional. 

“Malia's school asked if I wanted to speak at commencement and I said no,” the president said. “I'm going to be wearing dark glasses ... and I’m going to cry.”

You know after the last couple of days it's nice to hear how a REAL parent responds to their children.

And I am totally with the President on this, I get all damp around the eye sockets every time I even look at a picture of my daughter from when she was a little girl, or hear about how well she is doing today.

The President is a good man, and clearly an even better father. 

Hey remember that racist alternative school principal? Yeah she's been fired. Sorta.

Courtesy of WXIA:  

The private school principal who gained national attention for a racially charged comment she made during a graduation ceremony has been fired, but still owns the school and will likely reap any financial benefit from it. 

Dr. Heidi Anderson, chair of the board of directors at TNT Academy, wrote in a letter sent to the Gwinnett County NAACP that the board voted to dismiss school director Nancy Gordeuk: 

"In light of recent events, the board of directors of TNT Academy has moved to dismiss Nancy Gordeuk as principal. During the coming transition, we will continue to prioritize support for our most recent graduates. Moreover, we will continue our commitment to providing students with the best educational classes, transcription services, and academic credit recovery possible."

So this woman is "fired" and yet will still get paid?  #justwhitepeoplethings.

Remember this is not only a woman who started berating people as being rude for talking through a valedictorian speech that SHE totally forgot about and insulted black people for walking out, but she is also the person who claimed that the devil made her do it.

The devil.

Sounds to me like this is just a cosmetic change to protect from losing its accreditation, and that the school will function as always, with this Gordeuk woman making decisions as before and reaping the financial benefits as if nothing ever happened.

You know for awhile I was kind of confused as to what kind of "alternative" school this was. But not anymore.

TNT Academy is a non-traditional school for home-schooled students hoping to obtain accredited degrees.

Ahh, homeschool. That explains a lot.

You know my daughter attended another one of these "alternative" schools while SHE was homeschooled in Georgia. 

It was also a crappy educational program that failed to help my daughter get the accreditation she needed to graduate, even though she completed ALL of the course work.

Eventually I had to help her get her GED here in Alaska, which she managed to do in record time.

One of the parents said that they paid $3,000 to attend this school for a year, and that there was an additional $300 fee for the graduation ceremony. Sounds like a huge rip off to me.

Catholic school principal sends out invitations for graduation dance featuring Ellen DeGeneres, suddenly remembers she is gay, and then demands them all back so that she can destroy them.

Invitations for the eighth grade graduation dance at St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School, and Principal Nancy Matteo.

Courtesy of Philly.com:  

The principal of a Catholic school in Bucks County is apologizing to parents for using a photo of Ellen DeGeneres on an invitation to an Oscars-themed graduation dance, and is demanding students return them to be destroyed. 

It was "completely wrong" to use DeGeneres' picture because the lesbian celebrity "lives her life outside the teachings of the Catholic Church," St. Andrew Elementary School principal Nancy Matteo wrote in an email to parents on Tuesday. 

The text of the message was provided to Philly.com. The email doesn't specifically mention DeGeneres' sexual orientation. She famously came out in 1997 and married actress Portia de Rossi in 2008.

The image appears to be from when the famous comedian, hosted the Academy Awards in 2007. 

And though the email does not specifically mention that DeGeneres likes the ladies, the principal's reasoning does not seem to leave much doubt that her sexual proclivities are the only problem.

In the email, Matteo says she was "obviously NOT thinking" when she let the invitation to the June 8 dance be distributed with DeGeneres’ photo. "Perhaps I was distracted by the Oscar," she wrote, calling the entertainer a "poor role model." "A role model, as defined by Webster's Dictionary, is a person who is unusually effective or inspiring in some social role, job, position, etc.," the email says. "This does not describe her at all. We work so hard to be good role models and then I go and do something stupid!" 

"Something that stupid." What exactly about using the photo of Ellen DeGeneres would call for such strong language?  And what in the world would cause her to want them back simply to destroy them?

"I need every single invitation returned and I will personally destroy them," wrote Matteo, who in 2002 became the Newtown school’s first lay principal, according to its website. 

She added: "Once again, I am sorry for my lack of forethought. I look forward to receiving the old invitations and distributing new ones." 

I don't watch Ellen's show, but from everything I have EVER seen about her she is an incredibly gracious, kind, and loving individual, who often uses her show to reward people who are kind to others with extravagant gifts.

In other words Ellen DeGeneres is perhaps the very definition of a good role model.

Which means that the ONLY possible problem that this principal could have with using that photo, is that Ellen is gay, and to Catholics that makes her a sinner.

Well I see only one sin here, and it was certainly NOT one committed by Ellen DeGeneres.

I feel sorry for the children that are being educated in such a hateful environment.

Sarah Palin to give another high school commencement speech. That's what you get for graduating in Alabama kids.

"See, people think I'm smart. I mean it's just Alabama, but still."

Courtesy of Al.com:  

Former Alaska Gov. and former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be the commencement speaker at New Hope High School's graduation ceremony May 21 at the Von Braun Center at 8 p.m. 

Superintendent David Copeland said Palin's friendship with a grandmother of one of the graduates was a key factor in getting her to speak. He said New Hope High has about 77 students scheduled to graduate next Wednesday, the smallest graduating class in the Madison County school district. 

School officials will limit attendance to include the schools, businesses, and communities of New Hope and Owens Cross Roads in order to maintain the integrity of the graduation ceremony.

Yeah after all you want to keep those reporters showing up and telling the world about her mispronunciations and problems with syntax now can you?

The principal is apparently a fan of the Palin mythology.

New Hope Principal Lavell Everett says his seniors are excited and deserve to hear from such a high profile leader with humble beginnings similar to his students. 

"She's the epitome of hard work. She's had to work for everything she's gotten. Our kids are the same way," Everett said. "She's just a real person and we're real people in New Hope. We tell it like it is, we stick up for each other and we treat people with respect and that's what we're all about:New pride, new passion, New Hope."

"Epitome of hard work? She's a real person? Treats people with respect?" Boy is this guy in for a disappointment.

Hey I wonder if she will tape a dollar to every graduates chair like last time?

Well at least one Alabamian is looking at this with his eyes wide open.

This is what, Clete Wetli, chair of the Madison County Democrats had to say: 

"I really thought it was a terrible joke or a prank. I think it's absolutely appalling. Surely the could find somebody who would be less divisive and more inspirational for the students. Time and time again, she's really embarrassed herself and also embarrassed the country. I'm not sure what the reason would be they would ask someone like that to speak at a commencement ceremony. I thought it was a joke at first - a really bad joke. 

"I thought it was a fake news story. That's the thing I don't understand. Why in the world would you do something like that when she has such a legacy of misquotes and gaffes and on and on and one. Why would the school want to embarrass itself having someone like that speak at the graduation ceremony. To that point, part of what we expect students to do is to follow through with things. She didn't even finish her term as governor and used her 15 minutes of fame to do nothing but enrich herself and carry on this ideological agenda. I think it's a horrible choice."

Now this is a guy who will NOT be disappointed by Palin's appearance, because she will be just as pathetic as he is expecting her to be.

Air Force Trainee challenges having to swear an oath to God in order to graduate and wins. Fundamentalist freakout in 3..2..1

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Air Force Trainee Jonathan Bise and others will be offered a chance to recite and sign a secular oath as part of their graduation ceremony on Tuesday, after officials noted that they had erred in including the phrase, "So help me God" as mandatory in both written and verbal versions. 

"Our previous legal advisors were mistaken in advising us that it was required," Maj. Stewart L. Rountree wrote in a letter, addressing the planned revision. "Our current legal advisors made me aware and we will ensure it reaches all corners of our program." 

Bise, of Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, had earlier contracted the help of the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center and the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, asking them to step in on his behalf after allegedly being forced to sign a pledge contrary to his "deeply held beliefs" last month. 

“A non-religious person cannot be forced to affirm the existence of a God,” said Appignani Humanist Legal Center Coordinator Bill Burgess in a statement. “The law is clear that such demands violate the constitutional mandate of church-state separation and the right to freedom of conscience. This officer-to-be must be allowed to omit theistic language from his commissioning oath.” 

A letter to Air Force officials at Maxwell from the group similarly warned that the initial language of the oath was a violation of Bise's constitutional rights, and that a failure to offer Bise a secular option would subject the base to a suit in federal court.

As you know I view protecting the rights of the non-religious in much the same way I do protecting the rights of the LGBT community, and hope very much that we can have a movement equally successful in the years to come. 

Remember Atheists and Humanists don't want to take anything away from religious people we simply do not want religion or God forced upon us, or used as a way to oppress or isolate us.

Picture of the day.

I missed this earlier but apparently THIS is the picture that Palin has prominently displayed on her Facebook page to commemorate her commencement speech at Republic High School.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case I would say it is worth at LEAST that many.

President Obama addresses the graduates of Morehouse College.

If you can imagine what it must be like for a graduate of Morehouse, the same school that produced the great Martin Luther King Jr, and other African Americana leaders, to hear the first black President in American history give their commencement speech, you can imagine that there was NO amount of rain that would dampen their spirits.

No, rain was not enough to wash away their pride.

(H/T to the Obama Diary,)

Willow Palin gets invited to the prom, and Bristol blogs about it. (So I guess I kind of have to mention it to.)

Courtesy of Nancy French's Bristol's blog:

 I’d just like to say how proud I am of my sister Willow. She graduated from high school more than a year early! And she did that while holding a job, and helping out with Tripp, Trig, and Piper. 

Now she’s starting new adventures. On my upcoming Lifetime reality television show, you’ll get a sneak peak into her future. What do you think she’ll do next? Here’s a hint: she’s not quite finished with her education yet. Any guesses on what career she’ll pursue? (By the way, the show will probably air in June — thanks for all the questions about it. I’ll definitely let you know when to tune in!)

I guess beauty school, with a side order of unplanned pregnancy. Do I win!


And speaking of Willow, this week her best guy friend asked her to Prom. While this is always a fun (and potentially awkward!) time of high school, I thought the way he asked her was just perfect. Check out the YouTube video he made for her below. But before you go and start saying it was “so sweet,” note that she sent him back a picture that had a box marked with a check mark next to the word “Duh.” 

Okay here is the video posted by Willow's "friend" Alaskan Monster.  (I kind of think it's sweet.)

I am not exactly sure that this guy wants to keep his YouTube account open the public, and I am positive that a certain Mama Grizzly will not be too happy to see all of these private pictures of her daughter displayed on the internet without proper compensation, but I personally hope that this is a good guy and that Willow has a great time at her prom.

And whatever you do, don't so what I did. Not that I'm finally ready to admit doing anything of course. (I still need to check the statute of limitations. Must be up by now, right?)

P.S. Remember Willow, don't let your sister drive.

I'm just not sure it's safe.

Stephen Colbert gives the 2011 commencement speech at Northwestern University.

It is twenty minutes long, but VERY funny and worth it!

Like Daughter, Like Father, Chuck Heath Gives Wildly Inappropriate Speech at Colony High Graduation.

From the Opinion section of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman:

To the editor:

Tuesday night I attended the Colony High School graduation ceremony in Wasilla. I was thrilled that Chuck Heath (father of Sarah Palin) would be the keynote speaker. Both my children had him as a substitute teacher and their days with him were insightful, educational and fun.

Chuck explained how he taught all his children to hunt, track and field dress game. Then, trying to be humorous, he said he was going to teach his daughter how to field dress a donkey this fall.

I was dismayed at the suggestion of evisceration of Democrats — a partisan statement that was supposed to be a nonpartisan night of celebration. Did Chuck hope that by giving a stump speech that mirrored his daughter Sarah’s views that it would increase support for her? What message was he trying to convey to the graduates?

The “speech,” reminiscent of a Christian revival, ended with Chuck demanding the “G-word” be integrated back into public schools and government. A celebration for the senior class turned into a political diatribe and was both disappointing and inappropriate.

I am guessing that Chuck was asked to speak because Willow is a student at Colony High this year.  I would have thought that in the past, considering the rivalry that has existed between Palmer and Wasilla for decades, that he would not be their first choice.  Of course after this he may never get asked by any high school in Alaska again.

What is it that Bill Maher said about Rand Paul last night? "The shit does not fall far from the bat"?  Sounds fairly appropriate in describing Sarah and her dad as well.