Grinding Meathead – The Handle Turns

They can say anything they want about me,” Reiner says of critics. “I’ll take the hits as long as I reach my goal.” (Lori Shepler / LAT)

Rob Reiner meets with the press in Sacramento for the first time since the questions about the management of the program he oversees came to light and it turned into ... Sausage, Sweet Sausage!

Some choice excerpted statements -

Rob Reiner, movie director/activist: ""Let me finish. Let me finish. Let me finish."

Reporters made hamburger out of "Meathead" today, as he publicly answered questions for the first time about the possible misuse of taxpayer money. - abc7news.com
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Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a University of Southern California political analyst, said voters haven't focused on the debate, but "if charges are filed, all bets are off" on his political future. - USATODAY
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Director Rob Reiner's reviews have never been worse.His latest movie — "Rumor Has It" — was panned by the critics the world over. It's "Reiner's slow slide toward oblivion," opined an Associated Press movie critic. Bermuda's Royal Gazette: "Rumor has it you should avoid this flick." And Taiwan's Taipei Times: "The movie was directed between naps."

But Reiner is learning the hard way that facing down his critics in Hollywood is nothing compared to those in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. "Hollywood? It's like child's play," he said. "This is much, much worse." -- And if that's not enough, Reiner was recently lampooned on Comedy Central's "South Park." They called him fat. - LA Times
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Claiming he consulted with educational experts, interestingly Reiner failed to sit down with any associations representing preschools. He failed to consult with any of the California K-12 school reform groups. And he never talked with any home-schooling organizations. So, who did he consult? The existing interlocking layers of dysfunctional bureaucracy, California state, county and district levels of education, where parents, voters and taxpayers have very little say or control. Prop 82 will hand preschools over to the same bureaucracy.

Reiner also fails to consider the substantial analysis and findings on the effects of early preschool on under 5 year olds in his efforts to gain preschool for all.

Consider: Stanford University Findings: In their review, "How Much is Too Much? — the Influence of Preschool Centers on Children's Development Nationwide" they detail their analysis which utilized data from 14,162 kindergartners and their parents and teachers. Which found that children from poor families had gains in cognitive skills when attending preschools by about 10%, and double that for English-proficient Hispanic children. However, they also found that there is less evidence of cognitive skill gains for youngsters from middle-class home, or for other children from lower-income families compared with their counterparts who remain at home with a parent. - Renew America

ht: Hugh Hewitt

And, of course, there is much MORE and the audit hasn't even taken place. Sweet Sausage will be turned HOT if the results are as suspected. Keep watching, as the handle turns.