Barack Obama is the bravest man in America. He actually uttered the words “merit pay” to an auditorium full of angry teachers (that’s redundant, huh?). He also said No Child Left Behind is not the spawn of Satan and ineffective teachers need to take a hike.
Effectively, Senator Obama declared war on the National Education Association.
Teachers HAAAAATE the idea of merit pay only slightly more than they hate No Child Left Behind and tend to take the extreme view on the issue. Jut as fundies present stem cell research as tantamount to ripping unborn babies from unsuspecting, young, white moms as they walk to church, many teachers present merit pay as getting paid solely on student performance, threatening already low salaries. NEA members in attendance responded as if Senator Obama had called them all the c-word.
“I can’t imagine if he were informed he would come before 10,000 people and say what he said,” says New Jersey Education Association President Joyce Powell.
Barack, you’re not the unreasonable one in this argument, but that’s beside the point. Geeks are much less scary than teachers. We won’t threaten your campaign if you favor Star Trek over Star Wars.
Score
Snarling, salivating teachers: 1 Geeks: 0
Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
