“President Obama enjoys his new Steelers jersey after making children cry.”
The latest photo caption stupidity from Our Stupid Media (this time from the NBC local news portal):
Here are the header, subhead and beginning of the associated article that, of course, the wingnuts are getting all frothy over:
Sobbing Kindergarteners Snubbed for Steelers?
Kids locked out of White House; officials say they were too late
Thursday was supposed to be the highlight of the year for more than 100 kindergarteners from Stafford County, Va. They got up early and took a chartered bus to the White House for a school field trip. But when they arrived, all the 5-year-olds got was a lesson in disappointment.
The buses from Conway Elementary arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a little later than planned, and they were locked out.
“We were going to the White House, but we couldn’t get in so I felt sad,” 5-year-old Cameron Stine said.
Parents say they were just 10 minutes late for their scheduled tour. School officials say White House staff said they needed to get ready for the president’s event with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, so they couldn’t come in.
“I was angry cause they were disappointed,” parent and chaperone Paty Stine said.
To add to the outrage, Stine adds this bit of teabaggery into the mix:
“Here we have President Obama and his administration saying, ‘Here we are for the common, middle class people,’ and here he is not letting 150 5- and 6-year-olds into the White House because he’s throwing a lunch for a bunch of grown millionaires,” Stine said.
Of course, a key bit of info is buried near the end:
The White House tells a slightly different story. A spokesperson said the group was actually supposed to be there at 9:30, but they held the gates for the group until 10:30, 15 minutes longer than they told the group, but when they still hadn’t arrived, they had to draw the line.
That’s a bit more than “slightly different.” And then there’s the school’s official response:
Stafford School System’s Response Statement regarding Conway Elementary School’s Visit to White House:
Stafford County Public Schools and Conway Elementary School appreciate the efforts of the White House staff on behalf of the kindergarten field trip to the White House yesterday (May 21). The kindergarten teachers and school staff planned the outing and knew ahead of time that if the group arrived late, they would not be able to tour the White House. The school’s White House contact and the White House staff made every effort to accommodate the visit and extended the arrival time as long as they possibly could.
The school principal, Roxie Cooper, and the kindergarten teachers made adjustments in the educational components of the trip and took the opportunity to teach the children about life’s disappointments. The classes discussed that sometimes in life things do not go as planned and we make adjustments. “Even though the schedule changed, the learning continued,” said School principal, Roxie Cooper.
“We commend our kindergarten students and the many chaperones that showed resilience and positive attitudes,” continued Ms. Cooper. The White House has been in contact with the school administration regarding the possibility of rescheduling the tour and has been extremely supportive of the Conway Cougars visit.
- Valerie Cottongim, Public Information Officer
The school acknowledges that it was their fault and that the White House “made every effort to accommodate the visit and extended the arrival time as long as they possibly could,” but one angry mother (possibly with an agenda) gets to drive the story. Thanks Stupid Media!
MORE: “Maybe you forget that HE IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, not the PRESIDENT OF THE STINES”
Posted by Kevin K. on 05/22/09 at 02:39 PM • Permalink
Categories: Images • Politics • Election '08 • Barack Obama • Nutters • Poliblogs • Our Stupid Media • Sports •
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