The Daily Top Five

Here are today's Top Five

1. What have we wrought in political correctness when a 4 year old is disciplined for hugging a teacher? Betsy Newmark points to the story our of Waco. From press accounts, maybe the boy crossed the line, but did intend to and with what mindset? Sure, we need to protect against sexual harassment and molestation, but does that mean we have to abandon common sense?

2. The Supreme Court is currently considering two school integration cases from Seattle and Kentucky whereby the school's policy uses race to determine what school to send kids to. While Brown v. Board in 1954 ended de jure racial segregation, proponents of teh polcy claim that de facto segregation based on housing patterns has taken its place and schools have a duty to provide a diverse educational experience. Thomas Sowell calls it like it is:

The racial dogmas have changed since 1954 but they are still dogmas. And flesh-and-blood children are still being sacrificed on the altar to those dogmas.

Some of the learned justices are pondering whether there is a "compelling" government interest in creating the educational and social benefits of racial "diversity." If so, then supposedly it is OK to do to white kids today what the Supreme Court back in 1954 said could not be done to black kids -- namely, assign children to schools according to their race.

Read the whole thing.

3. Michael Barone is setting the record straight about a recent Washington Post article on dairy farming politics. He correctly notes that the problem is not lobbying or campaign contributions, although that is the way some people will undoubtedly see the article, but rather the problem is a big government program of price supports for milk production.

4. When do two activities that taken individually are legal but when done in conjunction are now prohibitied. Only in the arcane world of campaign finance and the FEC. The Center for Competitive Politics has the story. I will have more detailed comments later.

5. Why does the National Education Association keep preaching the smaller class sizes sermon over and over again, despite no proof of smaller class sizes making education better for kids? Because they need members to pay for the quite exorbitant salaries of the national staff. In case you are wondering, the 600+ staff of teh NEA makes an average of $178,000 in salary and benefits in 2005-6. To be fair, not everyone makes that kind of cabbage, but when the salary to benefits ratio is almost $60 million to $47 million, it is hard to cry for the staff.