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With support from major foundations and political heavy hitters like Barack Obama, universal preschool is the next big thing in education reform. Indeed, it’s second only to universal health care on the liberal wish list. The goal is to offer publicly funded preschool—complete with credentialed teachers and and a standardized curriculum—to all four-year olds during the school year.

Advocates argue that public investments in early education will pay dividends over the long term. Critics point out that the evidence from states that have universal preschool programs shows that whatever benefits kids receive from those programs fade out by the fourth grade.

Since preschool attendance rates in states that have universal preschool are no higher than the national average, universal preschool wouldn’t even increase preschool attendance. It would, however, cost a lot of money, put lots of privately owned preschools out of business, and dramatically decrease early education options for parents.

So what do you think? Is expanding our failing K-12 system the best way to fix it?

This 10-minute documentary is hosted by reason’s Nick Gillespie. It is produced by Paul Feine and Roger M. Richards.

Sick. Just sick.

http://abcnews.go.com/…

The order from Judge Barbara Walther - whose decision to hold the children in temporary state custody was rejected by the Texas Supreme Court last week - calls for more than 430 sect children to be returned to their families starting this morning.In order to be reunited with their children, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints parents must agree that the children will stay in the state, must have their fingerprints taken and must take parenting classes.

Though the children will be allowed to live with their parents, the order does not end Texas Child Protective Services’ investigation into allegations of sexual abuse on the sect’s Yearning for Zion ranch.

The state claims that the sect forces underage girls to marry older men and breeds young men to become sexual abusers.

Walther’s order requires sect families to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, including allowing CPS to interview the children at unannounced times and to give the children medical and psychiatric evaluations.

I guess I was a bit too optimistic prior but this is not surprising. Even though the original call is absolutely known to be fake they continue this infringement on their community. These people are being prosecuted because they have a different culture. No one has come forward to claim they were being held against their will. This is little different from the government taking every single child in a town because someone made a crank call to CPS claiming one of the children in the town was molested.

How is it that a court can rule this an illegitimate raid and yet put these requirements on the parents? When these types of rulings are made aren’t it supposed to negate the governments actions?

The people that support this kind of thing need to watch out. At some point your beliefs will be in the minority and these same busy bodies with guns will come to your home.