I don't know if what Tristan said was serious but let's assume it was, how can you agree with that? Tell me what, can you give me one good reason why an intelligent child born into a poor family is any less deserving of education than an unintelligent child born into a rich family.

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Trust me, I'm a socialist!

There's power in a factory,power in the land, power in the hand of the worker. But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand, there is power in a union.
The union forever defending our rights, down with the blackleg, workers unite. To our brothers and our sisters in many far off lands, there is power in a union.
Money speaks for money, the devil for his own. - Billy Bragg

A sever year old is not going to want to go to school, but that doesn't mean that they know whats best and should be allowed not to go.

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Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Colin Powell and I, both products of public education, would disagree.

Then there parent can make them go. When I say not mandatory I mean not mandatory by law.

Phew, I was worried I'd have to spend pages and pages of posts arguing with you about your ridiculous claims.

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Trust me, I'm a socialist!

There's power in a factory,power in the land, power in the hand of the worker. But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand, there is power in a union.
The union forever defending our rights, down with the blackleg, workers unite. To our brothers and our sisters in many far off lands, there is power in a union.
Money speaks for money, the devil for his own. - Billy Bragg

Education isn't something that people "deserve" or are "entitled to." Besides, there are different kinds of education and we shouldn't dismiss them just because we think "education" means the garbage with which governments indoctrinate their citizens' children. Also, intelligence has very little, if anything, to do with education - education doesn't make someone more intelligent and lack of education doesn't make someone less intelligent.

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A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

What arrogance to think that you are the best and brightest!

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A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

No, but effectively you're saying the richer you are the better education you get, that is the clear implication and can hardly be justified.

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Trust me, I'm a socialist!

There's power in a factory,power in the land, power in the hand of the worker. But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand, there is power in a union.
The union forever defending our rights, down with the blackleg, workers unite. To our brothers and our sisters in many far off lands, there is power in a union.
Money speaks for money, the devil for his own. - Billy Bragg

What if they are an orphan ? What if their parents are so poor that they want an education for their child but they simply cannot afford it ? Just to hell with them ?

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

I'm merely pointing out that my public education was the base for my success. I'm not trying to be arrogant and I apologize if I gave anyone that impression.