Via MetaFilter, I came across this article which talks about how a fourth grade teacher (directly or indirectly) in Seattle prompted her students to draw frightening pictures of what would happen if the city closes a local fire station as planned. The pictures include captions like "This is what will happen if you take E16 away" and shows a burning building with children inside. City Council members are in an uproar over what has been called manipulation and using scare tactics to intervene in a budget debate. I have to agree that it sounds manipulative on the surface, but the teacher alleges, in the article, that the facts were presented in an unbiased manner by a local fireman, and that she didn't force the kids to draw the pictures. Interesting read, either way.