Tidbits on April 6, 2005
Bob Jensen at Trinity University 

For earlier editions of New Bookmarks go to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm 
Archives of Tidbits: Tidbits Directory --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

Click here to search Bob Jensen's web site if you have key words to enter --- Search Site.
For example if you want to know what Jensen documents have the term "Enron" enter the phrase Jensen AND Enron. Another search engine that covers Trinity and other universities is at http://www.searchedu.com/.

Bob Jensen's home page is at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/

Campaign for Trinity University --- http://www.trinity.edu/departments/public_relations/case_statement/index.htm 

Even Jensen did not get not get fooled by these Brown University April 1 jokesters making fun of the remarks of Larry Summers..  This is funny The Brown Daily Herald on April 1, 2005 at  http://snipurl.com/BrownApril1

France declares war on the United States
France declared war on the United States three weeks ago. You didn't notice? Clearly, you're not French. This war is being fought against one of America's greatest exports. Not rock 'n roll. Not McDonald's or the Disney Co. This time it's Google that the French have in their crosshairs. Jean-Noel Jeanneney, president of France's Bibliotheque National, or National Library, declared last month that Google's project to create a searchable online database of the world's books constitutes the sunrise of an American hegemony over information and literature. Jeanneney's call to arms rattled French President Jacques Chirac's saber. Along with French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, announced on March 17 that France would study ways for the European community to embark on a similar project so as to counter Google's thrust into the heartland of Euro-culture.
Robert MacMillan, "La France Contre Google," The Washington Post, April 5, 2005 --- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27282-2005Apr5.html?referrer=email

All this for free:  Google's free service will be able to store two gigabytes of e-mail messages
Google Inc., the Internet search engine company, is doubling the amount of storage offered on its e-mail service and plans to remove limits on message capacity as it competes for users with Yahoo Inc. Users of Google's service will be able to store two gigabytes of e-mail messages, double the storage previously offered, the director of the company's e-mail group, Georges Harik, said. One gigabyte, or 1,024 megabytes, is roughly equivalent to the content in 32 feet of shelves filled with books.
Bloomberg News, "Google Doubling Storage on Free E-Mail Service," The New York Times, April 2, 2005 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/technology/02google.html

Yet another reason to have a big IRA
The ruling offers a new layer of federal protection for IRA assets, which could make transfers and contributions to IRAs more attractive. That could be good news for many people with creditor concerns -- such as doctors, business executives and other professionals -- who feared moving their assets into IRAs after changing jobs or opening their own business.
Christopher Conkey and Rachel Emma Silverman, "High Court Rules IRAs Untouchable:  Unanimous Decision Means Retirement Savings Are Protected From Creditors," The Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2005, Pag D1 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111262374010897093,00.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal

The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies is an institute for advanced research in the social sciences. It builds a bridge between theory and policy by conducting basic research on the self-organization and governance of modern societies --- http://www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/index_en.html
Reports sometimes are only printed in German, but at other times there are English translations.
Especially note the discussion papers at http://www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/pu/discpapers_en.html

Path dependence as a concept in institutional theories has become increasingly popular in economics and other social sciences. The key idea is that in a sequence of events, the latter events are not (completely) independent from those that occurred in the past. Yet, common usage of the concept often subsumes two markedly different models and approaches to understand historical sequencing. The two main processes of the past shaping the future – diffusion and developmental pathways – must be distinguished analytically. This paper juxtaposes (1) the unplanned "trodden path" that takes shape through the subsequent repeated use by other individuals of that spontaneously chosen path, and (2) the "branching pathways" or juncture at which one of the available alternative pathways must be chosen in order to continue a journey. Furthermore, the typical approaches and their explanatory purchase are discussed in reference to explanations of institutional change. The paper shows that the first path dependence theorem is too deterministic and inflexible, whereas the second approach is sufficiently supple to analyze various forms of institutional change.
Bernhard Ebbinghaus, "Two Approaches Applied to Welfare State Reform" ---
http://www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/pu/abstracts/dp05-2.html

From one of the leading law school advocates of open sharing
Many of Eben Moglen's papers on patents and copyrights can be downloaded from http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/

My good friend John Howland, a professor of computer science, recommends these particular papers for starters:

• The dotCommunist Manifesto
  http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/dcm.html
• The Invisible Barbeque
  http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/barbecue.html
• Anarchism Triumphant:  Free Software and the Death of Copyright
  http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/anarchism.html
• Freeing the Mind: Free Software and the Death of Proprietary Culture
  http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/maine-speech.html

Professor Moglen runs a blog called "Freedom Now" at http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/blog
Entries are relatively infrequent and date back to April 2000
There are also a few links to audio and video presentations.

Bob Jensen's threads on OKI ,DSpace, and SAKAI: Free sharing of courseware from MIT, Stanford, and other colleges and universities --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI

Bob Jensen's thread son copyright law and the evil DMCA are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/theworry.htm#Copyright

"Other" Postmodernists
Mary Ann Dellinger is an associate professor of Spanish at Virginia Military Institute by choice. She wears a uniform to class, responds to “Ma’am", and has been complimented on her crisp salute by several members of the VMI Corps of Cadets. The Postmodernists featured in this piece are real.
Mary Ann Dellinger," On Being the ‘Other’," Inside Higher Ed, March 31, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2005/03/31/dellinger

Taxation disparity between treaty-country versus non-treaty-country foreign students
What I find troublesome is the disparate treatment of treaty-country students with non-treaty-country students. For example, a Chinese F-1 student can exclude all scholarship income and $5,000 TA/RA compensation. A non-treaty country student has to follow US law on scholarship income, which means any student-athletes getting room and board in the scholarship has to pay tax (only the personal exemption can be claimed; no standard deduction). Even worse is the payroll group at universities sometimes doesn't have the necessary checks and balances to ensure that the student has sufficient withholding. The foreign students don't know how to complete the W-4, and some check MFJ, when there is no such thing as a joint NRA return. Last night, one poor student owed $500+ on the federal return and another $500+ on the Connecticut return. The W-2 had almost no federal or state withholding. That student was in shock!
 [Amy.Dunbar@BUSINESS.UCONN.EDU}, April 1, 2005

"Seven grain" is not the same as "whole grain."
Most popular breads are made with some type of wheat flour. But a wheat kernel has three layers -- the fiber-rich bran outer layer; the endosperm middle layer; and the wheat germ, the nutrient-dense embryo. The most healthful breads use the whole kernel -- thus the name "whole-grain breads." But bread makers often strip away the bran and the germ, which allows them to make soft, airy breads with a longer shelf life. Although extra vitamins and minerals are added to replace the lost nutrients, this "enriched" flour isn't a replacement for the lost fiber.
Tara Parker-Pope, "Health Mail Box," The Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2005, Page D4 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111266192479797889,00.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal

Question
Why should teaching a course online take "twice as much time" as teaching it onsite?

Answer
Introduction to Economics:  Experiences of teaching this course online versus onsite
With a growing number of courses offered online and degrees offered through the Internet, there is a considerable interest in online education, particularly as it relates to the quality of online instruction. The major concerns are centering on the following questions: What will be the new role for instructors in online education? How will students' learning outcomes be assured and improved in online learning environment? How will effective communication and interaction be established with students in the absence of face-to-face instruction? How will instructors motivate students to learn in the online learning environment? This paper will examine new challenges and barriers for online instructors, highlight major themes prevalent in the literature related to “quality control or assurance” in online education, and provide practical strategies for instructors to design and deliver effective online instruction. Recommendations will be made on how to prepare instructors for quality online instruction.
Yi Yang and Linda F. Cornelious, "Preparing Instructors for Quality Online Instruction, Working Paper --- http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/ojdla/spring81/yang81.htm

Jensen Comment:  The bottom line is that teaching the course online took twice as much time because "largely from increased student contact and individualized instruction and not from the use of technology per se."   Online teaching is more likely to result in instructor burnout.  These and other issues are discussed in my "dark side" paper at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/theworry.htm 

Bob Jensen's threads on the positive side are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/assess.htm

Bob Jensen's documents on education technology are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/0000start.htm

Note:  A number of interesting replies to the above quotation (that I circulated on the AECM) will be posted in my forthcoming April 15 edition of New Bookmarks.

NYSE Monopoly Power:  Hard to teach an old man new tricks
The Republican Mr. Donaldson [will] to join the two Democratic commissioners on the Securities and Exchange Commission to alter the national stock market system. (The other two Republicans will vote no.) By voting to not only perpetuate the outmoded "trade-through" rule but extend it further, Mr. Donaldson will be handing a plum to his old employers at the Big Board who want to protect their "specialist" trading system. Along the way he'll be saddling the nation's investors with less efficiency and competition. The irony here is that this entire exercise began as an SEC effort to modernize the national market system, the regulation of which has changed little since the 1970s. Leading the to-do list was reform of the trade-through rule, which was introduced in 1975 and dictates that traders must do business with whatever exchange shows the "best" price for a stock. That rule might have made sense back in the days of slow and regional markets. But with today's technology allowing for instant trading, the rule has become a roadblock to the very efficiency and competition it was designed to foster.
"Donaldson's Dinosaur," The Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2005; Page A14 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111257230421296673,00.html?mod=todays_us_opinion

Donaldson's defense of his decision --- http://accounting.smartpros.com/x47641.xml

"Once a jolly swag man camped beside a billabons . . . ": Australian sacrifices in our troubled times
Nine brave Australian soldiers have given their lives to the noble cause of helping our neighbours in a time of need. The entire nation mourns this grievous loss – which comes on top of the death of Private Jamie Clark last month in the Solomon Islands – and opens its heart to the families of the outstanding men and women killed in Saturday's helicopter accident. But their deaths are not in vain and tell an incredible story about our developing role within the region where we live. Laying up in Singapore after its relief work in tsunami-shattered Aceh, until Monday...
The Australian, April 4, 2005

Mossberg on how to organize your digital photographs
Two of the best photo organizers have just been updated, and I have been testing them on my collection of more than 10,000 digital photos. One is Picasa 2, which runs only on Windows and is now a free offering from Google, which purchased Picasa last year. The other is Apple Computer's iPhoto 5, which runs only on the Macintosh. It comes free on every new Mac. Existing Mac owners can buy it as part of the excellent $79 iLife suite, which also includes programs for organizing and editing music and videos, and for authoring DVDs.
Walter S. Mossberg, "The Best Photo Organizers," The Wall Street Journal,  March 30, 2005; Page D1 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111213157670592309,00.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal

Making Student Life Educational
Colgate’s effort comes while many colleges are struggling with how to promote activities that revolve around more than drinking, and to maximize the education students get outside the classroom. The push at Colgate also reflects a sense that approaches focused solely on prohibition-style alcohol rules are doomed to fail. One of the most novel Res Ed programs, “Breaking Bread,” is an attempt to show students with divergent interests that they can meet in a relaxed atmosphere, even if it isn’t over a beer. Breaking Bread gives students $100 to go grocery shopping so long as dinner serves multiple student groups that do not typically meet. “After the Constitution, the potluck dinner is the greatest invention of democracy,” Weinberg said. One of Breaking Bread’s most resounding successes was a feast for Sisters of the Round Table, an organization of minority women, and Rainbow Alliance, a group for gay students. About 15 students sat down to corn bread, mac and cheese and fried chicken and talked about gender issues in minority communities. “We talked about family experiences and racism within the queer community,” said Jack Skelton, a senior who identifies himself as queer. “It was a comfortable space to talk. It was probably one of the better experiences I’ve had on campus.” Of course, many student interactions will not be as positive as Skelton’s. But, Weinberg says, even the classic nightmares of freshman year are potential “educational moments.” “We don’t want to miss a great moment like that first dispute of college with your roommate or neighbor,” Weinberg said, adding that it should be a time to test problem solving skills. “There’s so much potential for learning there.” It is all part of the vision Weinberg has for Res Ed, which he believes will help produce not only educated students, but citizens ready to function in a community. He noted that in the past, when students had problems with neighbors, classes, facilities or administrators, they would come into his office with “10-page manifestos” detailing “what they wanted me to do. Now, they understand that this is their community, not a hotel, so they come in with coherent, one-page memos, and make a business pitch about what they can do, and how I can facilitate that. I’ve seen a complete cultural shift on this campus.”
David Epstein, "Making Student Life Educational," Inside Higher Ed, March 30, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/03/30/colgate

The Peak Oil Theory is Scary:  Imagine empty supermarkets and super cold (north) or super hot (south) living
The issue is Peak Oil, the theory that the world will face a sudden, cataclysmic decline in supplies after global production peaks in the next 20 years. According to McNamara, who believes it will happen sooner rather than later, the direct impact on our lives will be greater than terrorism, global warming or bird flu. "The challenges we face after Peak Oil will require localised food production and industry in a way not seen for 100 years," he says. "Local rail lines and fishing fleets will be vital to regional communities. Self-contained communities living close to work, farms, services and schools will not be merely desirable; they will be essential."
Christopher Kremmer, "Running on empty," Sydney Morning Herald, April 2, 2005 --- http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/04/01/1112302233942.html

The worst kind of intolerance comes from what is known as reason.
Miguel de Unamuno

Atkins is out:  Carbs back on menu
Atkins is out, carbs are back and low GI (glycaemic index) is the weight-loss trend on everyone's lips. Britain is in the middle of a GI frenzy, spurred in part by an Australian book. Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, co-author of The Low GI Diet: Lose Weight With Smart Carbs, said the GI concept had caught on here, but not to the extent of Britain where supermarket giant Tesco had begun to label selected foods with their GI rating. "It's gone from not even registering in the UK to being really big in the last three months," said Brand-Miller, whose New Glucose Revolution series has sold more than 2 million copies in 12 countries.
"Carbs back on menu," Sydney Morning Herald, April 3, 2005 --- http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/04/02/1112302292364.html

Political affiliations of the media --- http://cs-people.bu.edu/anurodhp/mediaparty.htm
Jensen Comment:  He seems to have left out Fox Network

Forbes Magazine prefers Firefox
This superior (Firefox) browser was created by the Mozilla Foundation, a not-for-profit group set up by AOL/Netscape refugees whose software benefits from the collaborative efforts of open source development. One of the best features of Firefox is tabbed browsing. You can keep open any number of Web pages and toggle from one to another by simply clicking on its "tab." This keeps your screen from being overrun by browser windows. No doubt Microsoft's Internet Explorer will soon offer this handy feature. But there's more to like about Firefox, including faster loading Web pages and virtual immunity from dreaded spyware and adware. This browser comes set with a pre-activated pop-up blocker, which allows you to selectively block specific advertisers like banner ads from AOL, Doubleclick.net and RU4.com. There are more than 240 added functionality tools that you can easily download, including FlashGot, Adblock, CookieCuller and ForecastFox. Firefox is available across nearly all operating system platforms.
"Firefox," Forbes --- http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/review.jhtml?id=7702

Smoke a Skookum Creek premium pack:  I wonder if peyote is what make some packs premium
A Native American tribe in Washington state is preparing to make and sell its own brand of cigarettes at a fraction of the cost of mainstream brands in an effort to diversify its income for tribal members. The Squaxin tribe, located on a small patch of land 50 miles southwest of Seattle, will begin selling its "Complete" brand of cigarettes made by its Skookum Creek Tobacco company for $16 for a carton of 10 packs. That's about the price of two packs of premium-brand cigarettes in New York City, and well below the $35 to $70 per carton normally charged in the United States. Premium brand and generic cigarettes can be bought on other Indian reservations for as low as $22 per carton. The tribe's cigarettes can be sold cheaply because the tribe is not subject to most taxes paid by tobacco companies, said Kelly Corman, the tribe's legal counsel and spokeswoman. The only tax that will apply is a state tax, although even those proceeds will be used by the tribe instead of going to Washington state.
Reed Stevenson, "Native American Tribe to Launch Own Tobacco Brand," Reuters, April 2, 2005 --- http://snipurl.com/ReutersApril2
Jensen Comment:  My guess is that arbitragers will buy out everything before you get a chance to see a pack on the reservation

Jane Fonda surfaces with yet another apology
The actress defended her trip to Vietnam in 1972, which won her the nickname "Hanoi Jane." But she said her visit to a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun site used to shoot down U.S. pilots was a "betrayal" of the U.S. military. "The image of Jane Fonda, Barbarella, Henry Fonda's daughter ... sitting on an enemy aircraft gun was a betrayal," she said, calling the act, "The largest lapse of judgment that I can even imagine." But she said she did not regret visiting Hanoi, or being photographed with American prisoners of war there.
"Jane Fonda Regrets 1972 Visit to Vietnam Gun Site," Reuters, March 31, 2005 ---
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050331/en_nm/people_fonda_dc_3

Justices Say Law on Sex Bias Guards Against Retaliation, Too
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the federal law barring sex discrimination in schools and colleges also prohibits school officials from retaliating against those who bring sex discrimination complaints. The 5-to-4 ruling resolved conflicting interpretations in the lower courts over the scope of the law, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. While the margin was narrow, the language of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's majority opinion was sweeping. For Title IX's advocates, who have been placed on the defensive in recent years by complaints from critics that the law's obligations are too burdensome, the ruling was a decisive victory.
Linda Greenhouse, "Justices Say Law on Sex Bias Guards Against Retaliation, Too," The New York Times, March 30, 2005 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/politics/30scotus.html?

Organizations can give higher raises to younger employees:  This may impact on colleges
The city's decision to grant a larger raise to lower echelon employees for the purpose of bringing salaries in line with that of surrounding police forces was a decision based on a 'reasonable factor other than age' that responded to the city's legitimate goal of retaining police officers,'' Stevens wrote. Federal appeals courts previously were sharply divided over whether the 1967 age bias law permits impact suits. Legal experts have said workers making age bias claims generally win their lawsuits less than one-third of the time.
"Court Lowers Threshold for Age Discrimination Suits," The New York Times, March 30, 2005 --- http://snipurl.com/AgeDiscMarch30

If you live and "work" in one state, you may have to pay income tax in a state you don't set foot in during the year
In a case that could have wide implications for the growing practice of telecommuting, New York's highest court ruled that a man who lives out of state and works by computer for a New York firm must pay New York state tax on his full income.  The New York Court of Appeals said computer programmer Thomas Huckaby, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., owed New York income tax for his full salary, not just the time he spent working at his employer's New York offices.  Mr. Huckaby, whose home state doesn't have an income tax, paid New York state tax on about 25% of his income over two years for the time he spent working there for the National Organization of Industrial Trade Unions.  The court upheld a state tax-department ruling that all his income should be taxed. That amounts to $4,387 plus interest. However, the ruling could lead to much greater income for the state as it is applied to the growing field of telecommuting.
"New York Court Puts Tax Bite On Telecommuting," The Wall Street Journal, March 30, 2005 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111211594999192054,00.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
Jensen Questions:  Suppose a CPA telecommutes to an office in Manhattan, lives in Nevada, and telecommutes entirely on  her firm's clients in California.  Where is she supposed to pay a state income tax on her full salary?  How can she work it so a per diem for working on California clients from her Nevada home is deductible?   Would it be worthwhile to resign from her NY firm and simply start outsourcing?  Or would she owe a California income tax even if she's now telecommuting out of her own firm in Nevada?  Would she be entitled to moving expenses if she moved closer to her clients but only telecommuted the same as before she moved?  Are the tax rules for moving expenses technologically obsolete?

Soaring Revenues at the University of Phoenix
Revenues for the Apollo Group, which controls the University of Phoenix, for the three months ending February 28 were more than 25 percent higher than the comparable period a year ago, Apollo said in its quarterly earnings report. Enrollments as of February 28 at Phoenix and Apollo’s other institutions were also about 25 percent higher than they were a year ago, 283,800 students compared to 227,800 students on February 29, 2004. But those increases were not enough for some investors, who wanted to see more growth, according to an article in The Arizona Republic.
"Phoenix Rises," Inside Higher Ed, March 30, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/03/30/quicktakes

Ice Age Blamed on Tilted Earth
But some scientists believe a larger effect could be generated if the eccentricity fluctuations are coupled with the precession, or wobble of the Earth’s axis. It's like what is seen with a spinning top as it slows down. Earth’s axis is currently pointing at the North Star, Polaris, but it is always rotating around in a conical pattern. In about 10,000 years, it will point toward the star Vega, which will mean that winter in the Northern Hemisphere will begin in June instead of January. After 20,000 years, the axis will again point at Polaris. Huybers said that the seasonal shift from the precession added to the eccentricity fluctuations could have an important effect on glacier melting, but he and Wunsch found that the combined model could not match the timing in the sediment data.
Michael Schirber, "Ice Ages Blamed on Tilted Earth," Live Science, March 30, 2005 --- http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/050330_earth_tilt.html

 Jacoby’s “age of academe” may be winding down and a new era emerging
Today, however, there are signs that Jacoby’s “age of academe” may be winding down and a new era emerging. While universities continue to play an important role in intellectual culture, increasingly they are no longer the only game in town. With the rise of the knowledge economy and the spread of decentralizing technology, the academy is ceding authority and attention to businesses, nonprofits, foundations, media outlets, and Internet communities. Even more significant, in my mind, the academy may be losing something else: its hold over many of its most promising young academics, who appear more and more willing to take their services elsewhere — and who may comprise an embryonic cohort of new “postacademic intellectuals” in the making.
Diana Rhoten, "Mind the Gap," Inside Higher Ed, April 4, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/careers/2005/04/04/rhoten

If your thesis offends two Students, you may lose Your Job
Tschaepe said that he thinks the students and administrators overreacted to his thesis because it dealt in part with Deep Throat, comparing the porn classic to more contemporary examples of the genre. But Tschaepe stressed that the thesis featured no illustrations, had scenes described “in a clinical almost biological way,” and was focused on ideas, not sex. “We’re talking about Lacanian psychoanalysis,” he said, “not porn.”
Scott Jaschik, "Offend 2 Students, Lose Your Job," Inside Higher Ed, April 4, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/04/04/adjunct

Transparency or a ‘Selig Strategy’?
The polar extreme of these viewpoints, of course, is David Horowitz’s Academic Bill of Rights (ABOR), which the AAUP has formally condemned as a political intrusion into the academy. The “Selig Strategy,” however, represents a remarkably ineffective response to the ABOR movement. Public support for ABOR derives from a perception that most professors have little interest in restoring intellectual diversity to the academy. In light of scandals at such prestigious institutions as Columbia and Colorado, faculty organizations issuing blanket assertions that all is well in their ranks and dismissing outside criticism as illegitimate only reinforces the impression that the professoriate has something to hide regarding the ideological tenor of classroom instruction. There are, of course, occasions — the McCarthy Era was one, the early stages of the Vietnam War, perhaps, another — that justify aggressively utilizing the principle of academic freedom to prevent inappropriate outside scrutiny. But higher education, like baseball, is an institution whose survival depends on public support. Just as Mark McGwire sacrificed the public’s trust when he told congressmen that he would not “talk about the past,” so too will higher education’s public standing be diminished by continued claims that academic freedom allows the professoriate to ignore allegations of ideological bias. Even institutions not reliant on taxpayer support cannot long flourish in an atmopshere of widespread public distrust of the academy’s values.
K.C. Johnson, "Transparency or a ‘Selig Strategy’?" Inside Higher Ed, April 1, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2005/04/01/johnson

Grants for pluralism and academic freedom
The Ford Foundation has announced a new program to promote “pluralism and academic freedom” in higher education. Grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded to colleges that “create a campus environment where sensitive subjects can be discussed in a spirit of open scholarly inquiry and intellectual rigor and with respect for different view points.” In other foundation news, The New York Times reported that grants by foundations increased in 2004, following two years of declines.
Inside Higher Ed, April 4, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/04/04/quicktakes

One of the biggest cases of fraud in the history of science.
For centuries, the 7-foot marble figure of the mythological Atlas has bent in stoic agony with a sphere of the cosmos crushing his shoulders.  Carved on the sphere — one of only three celestial globes that have survived from Greco-Roman times — are figures representing 41 of the 48 constellations of classical antiquity, as well as the celestial equator, tropics and meridians.  Historians have long looked on the Atlas as a postcard from the past — interesting largely as astronomical art. But as Schaefer approached, he began to notice subtle details in the arrangement of the constellations. It wasn't that anything was wrong with the statue. If anything, the positions of the constellations were too perfect to be mere decoration. He was more than a little intrigued. No, this was no mere piece of art. Taking out his camera, he was about to take a journey through the centuries to unravel one of the great mysteries of the ancient world and uncover key evidence in what may be one of the biggest cases of fraud in the history of science.
"Ptolemy Tilted Off His Axis," LA Times, March 30, 2005 --- http://snipurl.com/tiltMarch30

He got what he deserved:  The robber was left holding a bag of poop
The robber was left holding a bag of poop. That's all he had to show for the holdup of a 32-year-old woman walking her dog Monday night on Monroe Avenue in Kensington.When the gunman realized what was in the baggie he had just grabbed, he threw it down in disgust and repeatedly demanded money, pointing a gun at the woman, police said. After a third demand, he turned the gun toward the woman's small dog, Misty. "He pulled the trigger on the gun twice, but it didn't fire,"  said...
Joe Hughes,"Armed Robber's Luck with Dog Walker Stinks - LOL!!!" Union-Tribune, March 30, 2005 ---  http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050330-9999-7m30misty.html

We can only hope the victim was also talking in her sleep
A 911 operator in Anne Arundel County, Md., faces accusations of sleeping on the job -- but she's not the first. This time, a supervisor caught the dozing dispatcher last Sunday before it could affect any emergency calls, WBAL-TV in Baltimore reported. A caller to 911 heard, for almost two minutes, snoring while calling in an emergency last August. Since then, authorities have increased lighting at the dispatch center and added
"911 Dispatcher Falls Asleep During Call," WFTV.com, March 30, 2005 --- http://www.wftv.com/news/4329110/detail.html

e-Learning Glossary compiled by Eva Kaplan-Leiserson --- http://www.learningcircuits.org/glossary.html
Bob Jensen's links to glossaries are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/245gloss.htm

This is fun and educational.  Try making it a family game and score it in terms of the number of miles off in your locations of the states. (forwarded by Dick Haar)