I found this in my local paper, it shows how desparate the Republicans have become here in South Florida.

Parents, check the kids' candy extra carefully this Halloween. Some Broward Republicans plan to drop a little something extra into the bags: a piece of political propaganda.

Each is about 3 by 4 inches on heavy paper, the brainchild of Sharon Day, Broward's state Republican committeewoman. When parents go through the kids' candy, they'll find messages telling them, "Don't Make Everyday Halloween in America! Keep Barack Obama from using your hard earned dollars as his own personal 'Trick or Treat' bag!"










Republicans plan special goody for trick-or-treaters -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Boy, I'm glad I don't live there. I'd be TICKED OFF if my kids got something in THEIR bag like that. Ridiculous! No one, either party needs to put anything political in a KIDS bag.

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Mom to Jake, Zach & Meghan
SJCC STREAKS FOOTBALL!!
CLEVELAND BROWNS FOOTBALL!

It smells to high heaven of desperation....

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

Do you feel like you want to get involved in the political process but you don’t know how? Do you feel like there’s something important coming up in the Presidential elections? Get involved in KIDS FOR OBAMA! Studies have shown that kids can affect their parents and their siblings’ opinions and even change the opinions of older family members . . . including those of voting age. Are you still with me? Great, Let’s get started!

Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need | Kids for Obama Starter Kit

I don't like it either way, but marketing to kids is out of control in this country.

The way this election has been going, I'm sure there is somebody in the Obama camp that is mad they didn't think of it first.

I'm curious as to why it would upset you? I've seen marketing in my kids Halloween bags before. It doesn't upset me. I just through it away. . .kinda like those political postcards that are coming in the mail everyday now. I got six today! I don't even look at them. They just go in the trash.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

I have NEVER seen marketing in my kids Halloween bags...never. And my kids (who don't trick or treat anymore because of their ages) are 15 and 18---so we have had many years of TOT'ing behind us. This is just lowlife to do this. As I said, can you spell D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-I-O-N?

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

I'm confused about your message. When you say, "I've seen marketing in my kids Halloween bags before," do you mean general commercial marketing ("Trix Are Good For Kids") or political marketing? They are different.

And honestly, you can't forgive a really bad idea from your camp by saying that, if the other side was smarter, they would have thought of it, when it just was a really, really bad idea. Because that just means that you thought it was a good idea. And seriously, it wasn't. And you don't make it a better idea by saying that the other side wishes that they had the same sort of brainstorm.

It's dumb.

I've never seen political marketing. I have seen local marketing, and religious marketing in the kids' ToT bags....

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I haven't had a single ad in any of my kids almost 24 years of TOT ing. I would have been furious. It is a silly idea and more than likely will turn people off whatever they are trying to sell. I don't think I could ever vote for a candidate that put campaign info in children's bags.

Once, when I was in WA, the teachers put a little ad in the kids friday folder so they would tell their parent's to vote yes on the M and O levy. Not only did the admin get phone calls that weekend, the M and O levy failed miserable the following week.

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GO NAVY WRESTLING!!BEAT ARMY!!!
RJB 3/18/60 - 5/22/04
We miss you, sweet brother
God Bless the USA!!!!! Praying for my Youngster son at United States Naval Academy, class of 2014!!

what is an M and O levy?
I know it has absolutely no relation to the topic at hand--I'm just curious.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

In WA state, they don't fully fund education. Well, they think they do but you know they don't cover extracurricular items like books, busses, stuff like that. So a school district has to ask the voters to vote a Maintenance and Operations levy so they can have things that are considered "extra" for the students.

The school district I was chairman of on the school board was in a district that had about 1100 students and the town was proud of the fact that they hadn't passed an M and O levy in over 40 years. Sigh. They also hadn't passed a construction levy either for capital projects either. Which meant the middle school kids went to a school that was ancient and over crowded. The M and O levy was tried over 12 or 13 times, each time written differently with different items on it changing the cost to the taxpayers. Finally, it came down to we couldn't have sports if we didn't have a levy. Once that was stated, they passed one the next time. Didn't pass one for books or field trips or science equipment, but one for football. Go figure.

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GO NAVY WRESTLING!!BEAT ARMY!!!
RJB 3/18/60 - 5/22/04
We miss you, sweet brother
God Bless the USA!!!!! Praying for my Youngster son at United States Naval Academy, class of 2014!!

well, we all know that football will take you far in the world

We did a "technology" levy last year, so the school could upgrade computers and get some better technological equipment (like a scoreboard that lights up).

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Yes. . .commercial marketing. And if you don't like political marketing to kids how do you feel about Obama doing it? If it's a bad idea for one then it is a bad idea for both. . .not that hard to figure out. I still honestly don't see the problem. It's a piece of paper. . .if you don't like it, throw it out.

Can somebody give me one good reason. . .some logical, moral dilema with this. Seriously folks. . . this is the "issues"???

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

It happens a lot here.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Yeah, it made me so angry that people in that town were PROUD that their kids didn't have a single (not one!!! microscope in the high school science room when I was first elected about 23 years ago. It was rediculous) But don't let there not be a football game or basketball game due to lack of money for busses, gas or new uniforms.

Even better, once the M and O passed, the budget was presented to us. I flipped because out of 6000 dollars 4500 went to football program and exactly 100 dollars went to wrestling program. But since that time they have been able to run M/O levys pretty regularly. They can't pass a construction levy yet so the middle school kids still go to a school that was built in the early 1900s. It is heated with steam. They don't have a playground. We had to build an elevator outside the main part of the building to become ready for the disabled. I loved that town but it was so hard to get things done for education. the very real sentiment was "It was good enough for me and my pa so it will be good enough for my son". The sad thing was that there is a deal where if you are retired and make a certain amount of money each year, you could arrange to not have to pay the extra taxes. But the elderly retirees would come out each time we ran one and vote no. In small towns, the amount of older voters is greater than the young voters. At least in my little town.

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GO NAVY WRESTLING!!BEAT ARMY!!!
RJB 3/18/60 - 5/22/04
We miss you, sweet brother
God Bless the USA!!!!! Praying for my Youngster son at United States Naval Academy, class of 2014!!

I'd be interested in what you think that Obama did, since you seem to think that he did something equivalent when you said "how do you feel about Obama doing it?" What do you see as equivalent to putting putting Halloween treats in a bag that said, "'Don't Make Everyday Halloween in America! Keep Barack Obama from using your hard earned dollars as his own personal 'Trick or Treat' bag!'"

I'm missing the link myself.

Is there something I missed, where he handed out Halloween candy to grade school children with McCain and Palin on them, saying that "These are the ghouls and gobblins of your future. Fear Them!"

I guess I'm in the minority, this wouldn't bother me. I'd probably just and toss it in the trash. Every year my kids end up with a few religious pamphlets or flyers. Not a big deal.
Now air heads and laffy taffy I hate that crap! They always manage to get it on the carpet or something.

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Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

I thought the outrage was based on the fact that the message was in kid's halloween bags. I guess I assumed we were arguing against political marketing to kids. You did say that your problem was with political marketing vs commercial marketing. That being said. . .I provide a link to Camp Obama, where it even says, hey kids, you can persuade the voters you know. Have a party in my honor. To me that is political marketing to kids.

If your problem is with the slogan that's another issue.

ETA: btw. . .McCain and Palin aren't handing it out.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Halloween should be the sacredly non-religious holiday that almost everyone enjoys. It should not be tainted with politics or religion. It should be kept pure and hedonistic and full of monsters, witches, clowns and tons of candy. There are 364 other days of the year for all the brain washing.

Uh. . .Halloween is a religious holiday.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

It should be quite obvious if you care to think about it, but you have to GO TO THE CAMP OBAMA site to get the information. These idiots/zealots are putting this trash into UNSUSPECTING CHILDREN"S BAGS WHO DID NOT PURPOSELY VENTURE THERE....DUH

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

So political marketing to kids is ok in your book?

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

I would say leave it to the parents. No child will find the info on the site by themselves. So if the parents choose to get their children involved who cares. As far as a stranger trying to get my child involved in their trash. No way is that right.

That makes no sense or you know very little about kids. My 6yr old found the Camp Obama sight all by herself.

And if you are opposed to strangers getting your child involved in their trash, then you have never watched Cartoon Network or surfed the internet. Marketing to children in this country is HUGE!!!

Average American children see around 3000 advertisements a day on TV, the Internet, billboards, and in magazines and over the course of a year they view 40,000 television commercials alone. Industry spends an estimated $12 billion on advertising to children each year. More than 160 magazines are targeted toward young people and teen focused magazines contain as much as 45% more advertisements for alcohol products. Evidence also shows that the amount of advertising to children is increasing.

Advertising to children - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Maybe you should take that up with Madison Avenue.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Perhaps to you. But not to me, nor to anyone I know. I'm sorry if you thought I was making light of one your high holy days.

Well. . .maybe you should Google "Halloween origins". Just because it isn't to you doesn't make it any less true.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

I call bs on this. I have a very smart 6 1/2 year old and there's no way she'd be coming up with that site, or any site not directly related to one of her interests. Plus, at that age she doesn't (and shouldn't) have unsupervised internet access. Maybe you have different rules in your house, but either way I'd like to know what key words your child was searching that led her to a political site.

Maureen

Apparently you DON"T get it that what these idiots are doing is GUERILLA MARKETING. GUERILLA MARKETING that is totally unsolicited information FORCED upon the unknowing kids. That should be obvious. This is UNWANTED and sneaking it into an unsusecting minors candy is obscene! This is totally different than perusing a site on the internet. A web site with the name CAMP OBAMA is not hiding behind a costume and a bag of candy.

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

I would think a RESPONSIBLE parent would be watching what is put into their children's bags. And especially check it all out at home before a child is allowed to have anything from the bag. If nothing else to make sure the "treats" are ok for the child to eat.

A RESPONSIBLE person would not be trying to sneak propaganda into a child's bag. Shows what kind of supporters McCain has.

I always checked my childs' TOT bags when they got home before they were allowed to eat their candy. That has nothing to do with these sleazebags' dirty tricks. That is the point of these posts...not who is the better parent. Snide innuendos don't mask the underhandeness of the dirty deeds.

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

Oh, you mean like the NEA using school property email to send out memos to all the teachers telling them to wear blue to school and encourage school children to 'vote for Obama'?? Is that what you're talking about??

I do not KNOW that is was school property or union property or whatever----BUT, they are ALL ADULTS....not children being stalked by underhanded adults hijacking their trick or treating. To equate one to the other is utterly ridiculous...even if your accusations are true and SCHOOL PROPERTY was used, which I definitely do not know to be true.

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

Yes, it's true. It happened right here in Virginia. There's an entire thread about it that was posted a few weeks ago. It was on public school property which is paid by our tax dollars, and yes, all children were subject to the teachers wearing blue and talking about Obama. However, the NEA overstepped their boundaries a bit because the memo was halted by a number of principals and superintendents because even they knew it was WRONG! There is no difference. Our children go to school to learn -- not to be indocrinated by some left-wing liberal teachers' union hawking Obama.

If you cannot see the difference between teachers wearing blue to school and idiots putting propaganda into little kids' trick or treat bags you are beyond help or reason.

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

And you're blind.

My children are not allowed to use the internet unsupervised so they would not find the site. Anyone who allows their young children access to a computer without constant supervision is unfit to have children.

Seeing ads on TV is not the same thing as putting trash into their ToT bags. I have control over what is allowed for my 6 and 8 year old and I want to keep it that way for now. Plus we only go to neighbors who we know for ToT and they also have children and would never give out such trash. Even those who are of a different politcal party than us as we are all friends in my neighborhood.

I also know what my kids are watching on TV.

It was actually a banner ad. I think it was a Nickelodeon. . .but it could have been another similar site. She didn't Google Obama, that's for sure.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

That's all fine and dandy. You hover over your children the entire time they are on the computer? I have 3 kids. . .that would be 3 hours of standing over their shoulders while they play on pbskids.com . I type in the sites that my 6 yr old goes to. Yes. . .sometimes she clicks on the banners. . . but those sites have banners marketed towards kids. She's not going to find any porn or the likes. BUT she will apparently find Camp Obama.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

I guess so. . .because it sure looks to be the same. Except with the note in the candy is just a piece of paper that can be thrown away. A teacher has a BIG influence and authority over a child and isn't going anywhwere.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

It is all well and good for you to CLAIM that there was evidence of teachers indoctrinating students. However, even FoxNews.com article states that the teachers were asked to wear blue with NO PARTY OR CANDIDATE AFFILIATION" mentioned on the clothing. Teachers were also told not to speak of specific candidates, but to encourage students 18 older to register to vote.....yeah, I can really see where that is subversive AND hijacking a day of joy for little kids so stands alongside these nutjobs trying to hijack Halloween...these two things look like identical twin sisters to me (insert sarcasm)

Virginia Teachers Union Sparks Outrage With 'Obama Blue Day' - FOXNews.com Elections

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

How is getting a piece of paper in their ToT bag hijacking the day???

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

This thread cracks me up...if Obama supporters were the ones filling the treat bags of children with ads you'd (general GOP 'you') be singing a different tune. Ya Betcha.

Come on....I mean, .......seriously????????? What child who goes out tot'ing even votes so needs warning or advice? So what is the point.....ridiculous to even ask........

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

I bet they'd be ok with it if it were condoms.

Exactly! You said that it was hijacking their Halloween. How is it possibly ruining their Halloween to put a piece of paper along with their treat in their bag?

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

I didn't see any huge outrage over Camp Obama.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

I'll tell you the difference in my opinion. Camp Obama is not being pushed into my kids persoan things. Such as trick or treat bag. You have to go online to get to Camp Obama which means you or your child is finding the site again NOT being pushed into someones personal things. The political crap in the trick or treat bags is being put into someones bags without being asked if they want it or if their parents want it. It's ridiculous. I have NEVER recieved ANY type of thing like that in my kids bags. Not religious, marketing or anything. And I don't expect it now. If I see it in the bags, I look or they show me after EACH house I will take that piece of paper back to the owner as I don't want it in my kids bags.

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Mom to Jake, Zach & Meghan
SJCC STREAKS FOOTBALL!!
CLEVELAND BROWNS FOOTBALL!

Of course it does.

I assume that at Christmas you honor Thor the god of thunder or perhaps Elah-Gabal a Syrian sun god. The Persian god Mithras or a host of other deities that are associated with that particular celebration?

What a celebration started as, has little to do with why we are celebrating. In fact the similarities are often very much like the original festivities but the meanings and reasons have changed over the years.

I can celebrate anything at anytime for whatever reason I choose. As can you. So if you want to celebrate the pagan gods at Halloween or just dress up and have fun, you are free to do either or both. If you want to exchange gifts at Christmas and have a tree and ignore the pagan origins of the day then you are free to do so.

According to you libs, Fox News is not a reliable source. Why would you believe them now??

Read what she said. EVEN Fox news admits it. Do you need me to write slower for you?

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Reading is Fundamental.

Don't some of you have a broom to ride tonight?