Running for President in 2008 - Now

The Democratic candidates are coming out in droves, and though the elections are still a long way off, the run-up has begun. There are plenty of reasons to begin running for president early, but mostly one must guess it is about raising money. Still, I have to think that President Bush's low approval rating is causing folks to come out of the closet early. Now is the best time to bash the president, and no presidential hopefuls want to let this opportunity pass.

Warming Up the Wife

All men know that the primary function of the movie date is to warm the wife/girlfriend up to the awkward advances that you have never improved upon since you were 18. So here are a few recent movies that fit the bill. Notice, that this list makes no claims about the quality of the movies:
The Holiday
Pride and Prejudice
Walk the Line
The Illusionist

I didn't see everything this year, but this past season certainly seemed thin on good romances. Of the list above, I recommend Pride and Prejudice and The Illusionist. Walk the Line may lacks the romantic punch of the others, and The Holiday is almost unendurable. Still, the aesthetic standard here is ROMANTIC PAYOFF. If you get a nap in the theater beforehand, where is the harm in that?

Please feel free to add to this list via comments, as you discover new sources of romantic juice flow inducers...

University Reform in Europe

University reforms in the US mirror changes in Europe

Nicole Itano, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor said, "The tear gas-drenched protests that racked Greece during the past month reflect a broader crisis in higher education across the continent. Beleaguered by a lack of funding, rising numbers of students, and excessive state control, Europe's universities (mostly low-cost or free and funded by the government) are struggling to compete. But many countries are finding reform is not easy to implement - though they agree it is needed. "

The problem Itano points out is that European universities lag behind universities in the USA, "But as a whole, European universities have stagnated and now lag behind American universities by almost every measure - from funding to achievements in research to graduation rates." He sites the Chinese study that shows 8 of the top ten universities are in the USA (Oxford and Cambridge also made the top 10) and the top 100 is again mostly American institutions.

This is pretty humorous, because Margret Spelling is demanding big changes in universities in the USA because our universities are lagging behind the rest of the world. Hmmm.

Super Bowl

Good Super Bowl...well, good first three quarters. Rex sorta threw it away at the end...

Pity Manning got MVP. I thought Addai and Rhodes should have shared the honor. The running game was key to the Indy victory, not Peyton's arm.

I think Prince should have gotten the BPA, biggest penis award. It wasn't so much hand puppets as penis puppets.

Dual Credit Courses

Universities and state legislatures continue to wrestle over the ever increasing costs of higher education. Though the problem is often described as a crisis (recently Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings claimed that universities face a crisis of access, affordability and accountability) one can only assume that the user of this word do not own a dictionary. A crisis is what the folks stuck in the New Orleans during Katrina experienced.

Nonetheless, nobody doubts that university costs are spiraling out of control. The question is, how do we fix it? The answer ought to address this problem it two ways:

1. Identify the cause of the spiraling costs. Is it faculty salaries? Is it administrative salaries? Is it housing, books, food?
2. Once identified, address the cause in such a way as to prevent injury to the quality of the educational experience.

In just a quick glance at Margaret Spellings' study, one wonders what accountability has to do with costs? Spellings claims that universities offer no reliable data on graduation rates or financial aid. This claim is simply false. Universities track this data like bloodhounds. But tracking this data does nothing for reducing costs.

There have been a wide variety of silver bullets to the cost "crisis" in higher education. Since the 1990's they have all been aimed at reducing the amount of time students actually spend on the university campus interfacing with faculty and other students. Examples of these silver bullets include On-line Distance Learning Dual Credit Courses in high school. Both of these solutions suggests that the by reducing the time students spend on campus will reduce the cost of higher education. The problem is that neither system really addresses cost. Taking the student off the campus actually increases the cost of educational delivery. The whole point of the campus is to centralize educational resources. Moving the students off campus means you incur the added expense of transporting the educational resources. The way costs are then reduced, is by failing to transport the educational resources. What is really happening here is that by moving the educational site off campus, you move it out from under the watchful eye of those who care about academic quality. Once it is far away, you provide minimum resources and hence reduce your costs. Of course, you also hurt education.

I will be providing a more in depth study of this material at this website and in Educational Insider in the future. Also, feel free to visit the following websites for my work on distance learning and academic freedom.

http://www.ed.psu.edu/ACSDE/deos/deosnews/deosnews10_3.asp


http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v5n3/pdf/simmons.pdf

Iran in Iraq

The Bush administration is accusing the Iranian's of meddling in Iraq. Am I the only one who is left speechless by this accusation. Let me get this straight; we are accusing them of meddling in Iraq? We, who invaded Iraq, overthrew their government, established a new government based on American values, and currently patrol the streets killing civilians who oppose the new government, are accusing the Iranians of meddling in Iraq?

But it only get's richer. Our biggest complaint is that they are arming the Shiites. Arming the Shiites? The new government we put in place is a Shiite government, with a Shiite police force. And who is providing weapons to that Shiite police force? The USA. We want the Shiites armed.

The real problem here is exactly what everyone warned the Bush administration about before the invasion. The majority of Iraqis are Shiites. The majority of Iranians are Shiites. If you overthrow the Sunni government in Iraq and set up a democracy, you will be creating Iran West. Well, that is what we have done. Remember the Iran/Iraq war that was fought in the 1980's, we supported Sadam and the Iraqis and sold them chemical weapons to use against the Iranians, and that war ended in stalemate? Well, we just won that war for Iran. And now that the Bush administration has realized it, they are pissed at Iran...

The solution, another 21,000 troops. The question is, what the hell for? To fight for Iran and the Shiites? Stay tuned to your local TV station. This can only get better.