Monthly Archives: May 2012

Edwards, Bonds, Clemens, and then there are all the criminals on Wall Street

Posted on May 31, 2012 by

Today we learned that Jonathan Edwards was found not guilty on the one count on which the jury could agree. My recollection is that Barry Bonds was found guilty of some absolutely minor offense and walked on the rest. Roger … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Our tax dollars at work — the shame of proprietary colleges

Posted on May 26, 2012 by

Floyd Norris writes today on the NYT’s business page about what ought to be a national scandal. It actually is a scandal but it would appear that the dollars being contributed to our politicians by the for-profit higher education industry … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Policy and Politics | 6 Comments

Guns, germs, and steel

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

I have two copies of this fascinating book by Jared Diamond and now I have watched the three-part National Geographic special by the same name. It’s a book very much worth the read and/or a series worth watching. Here’s the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Making Schools Work

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

That’s the title of David Kirp’s Opinion piece in this Sunday’s NYT. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/opinion/sunday/integration-worked-why-have-we-rejected-it.html I’ll begin with his punchline: School desegregation has been proven to be an effective strategy to close the achievement gap in our public schools, yet we have … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The City of Brookhaven: Yes or No?

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

I’ve written about this once before, but the campaign is heating up. “Yes” and “No” signs have started to appear on the front lawns of neighbors. So far, I don’t sense any ugliness in the campaign, not nearly as much … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy and Politics | 2 Comments

D-E-B-T and Higher Education

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

Andrew Martin and Andrew Lehman have a front page story in Sunday’s New York Times: A Generation Hobbled by Debt. http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=949832&f=19 The top of the fold color picture features Kelsey Griffith, age 23, in debt $120,000 from her college loans, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 1 Comment

Our future is in good hands?

Posted on May 13, 2012 by

This weekend, the 2011 National Environmental Scorecard from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) arrived in the mailbox at home. The Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from about 20 of the most respected environmental and conservation organizations in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy and Politics | 7 Comments

OK, sometimes CNN gets it right

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/12/us/georgia-holocaust-survivor/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Posted in Education | 1 Comment

I’ll never look at the Olympic Flame and feel the same

Posted on May 11, 2012 by

Did you know that the tradition of moving the flame from Greece to the site of the summer Olympics via relay was started in 1936 by Joseph Goebbels as part of the Nazi propaganda machine to add to the myth … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy and Politics | 2 Comments

Loving v. Virginia

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

In 1967, the United States Supreme Court (Loving v. Virginia) unanimously overturned anti-miscegenation laws that were still on the books in 16 states. Alabama was actually the last state to overturn its law against interracial marriage. No one has ever … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy and Politics | 3 Comments