Still crazy after all these years

                                              ...  Forbes' 2013 list is interesting Many people in academia downplay the importance of the  evaluations of the quality of colleges and universities done by groups like U.S. News and World Report . Nevertheless, the rankings are interesting and provide parents and prospective students with some interesting data. Forbes Magazine issued its earlier, and I was concerned that my alma mater, Penn State, was number 93. However, others, such as the University of Pittsburgh (193), may be even more concerned.  Stanford is number one -- not a surprise there. Pomona, however, is number two. Pomona? The important part of this is what components the groups use in their evaluation. Forbes explained their approach: " FORBES has partnered exclusively with the Washington, D.C.-based  Center for College Affordabilit...

               ... maybe it is time for a housecleaning Reposted from Wed., Aug. 25, 2010 Some of the luster has vanished from those six Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophies. One of the messages that members of the Rooney family have propounded to their Pittsburgh Steeler players over the years was simple: Be someone that everyone in the community can admire, can emulate, can praise -- on and off the field. Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr., followed by his son, Dan, have talked to their players about involving themselves in community activities, whether it be with a charity like the United Way or the Salvation Army or with their church. That message about helping the community made those of us who are Steeler fans proud of our team long before the players had won any Super Bowls. We thought, "Win or lose, the Steelers do things the right way." If players wandered from the flock, the Rooneys reminded them of the Steelers' charact...

After demonizing JFK for decades, now they want to welcome him as their own? Over the Nov. 22 weekend, many republicans have expressed the belief that JFK was a conservative. One person even said that he would have been a classic member of the tea party.  Yikes! What have they been reading? Or drinking? If only they could have known John F. Kennedy as we knew him. I have spent the last 15 years reading many biographies of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his family. Believe me, no one would ever believe that he was a conservative. When he flew into Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, the president knew that he was flying into an area in which many people hated him. After all, he was there to mediate a battle between liberal and conservative Democrats in Texas. {Today no such liberals can be found in that state.) In fact, Texans called him a communist, a socialist, a person who is spending money like a drunken sailor. A full-page newspaper ad on Nov. 22 charged him with treason.  ...

.... and you will find results like this Wyoming Senate Poll: Enzi Leads Cheney by 52 Points http://www.nationaljournal.com/off-to-the-races/why-is-cheney-running-for-enzi-s-wyoming-senate-seat-better-question-why-not-20131118

                   … Jesus Christ was a liberal So, lay off Pope Francis! Yes, Sarah, Jesus Christ was a liberal, and Pope Francis recognizes that the Catholic Church has lost its moorings with Jesus's teachings over the past 35 years. It has forgotten that Jesus was a man of love, a man of peace, a man who cared deeply for the common people, particularly for the poor, the least of our brethren.  Jesus was a person who wanted change in the world, and he pleaded with 12 men to follow him. They did so, but what Jesus was preaching was a radical thought in those days. That is why Jesus was eventually crucified.   Jesus was also a man who believed in inclusion, not in excluding people from God. He believed in equality and tolerance.  In short, that is what Pope Francis has been practicing since his elevation earlier this year.  Pope Francis has shocked the right wing of the Catholic Church by wa...

             Message: Never -- never -- do academic research on Wikipedia (Part One of my piece on Wikipedia) Students should never -- emphasize, never -- use Wikipedia in academic writing. That is my message to them in any of my classes. That does not mean that Wikipedia is worthless. When I wanted to know how old Barbra Streisand is, I scurried to Wiki. It is usually reliable, and her age is no big deal -- except to make those of us who are aging Baby Boomers feel a little more depressed.  However, the story about John Seigenthaler is one that everyone should read. I mention this case any time that I teach research writing.  I have the URL for Mr. Seigenthaler's essay below. Essentially, he was the victim of "Internet character assassination." You need to read his opinion piece from USA Today in 2005: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-11-29-wikipedia-edit_x.htm. Seigenthaler, now 86-years-...

What has happened to our beloved Franco? "Franco’s Tiananmen Square moment" Oh, how I yearn for the Franco Harris of old, the affable, hard-running and successful Pittsburgh Steeler and Penn State Nittany Lion running back. He was so beloved by Pittsburgh that some in the city paid a sculptor to build a statue recalling Franco in arguably the greatest moment in Pittsburgh Steeler history: The Immaculate Reception.  In fact, the Steelers built a monument of their own and unveiled it last Dec. on the 40th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20121222/steelers-immaculate-reception.ap/> Today, many in Pittsburgh and in Penn State are wondering what has happened to be beloved player who became a successful businessman after his football career ended.  In fact, he is almost a cartoonish character with some of what he has done since the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke in late 2011.  Today, the students at Penn St...

                                                               ... a difficult conundrum More than 89 years ago, my uncle was killed by the Ku Klux Klan in Lilly, Pa. Phil Conrad was not an African-American; he was the son of an Irish-immigrant mother who, along with his German-American father, raised him as a Roman Catholic. The KKK was targeting Catholics in that era, not African-Americans, as they did in the aftermath of the Civil War. My Uncle Phil, whom I never knew, may have just caught a stray bullet on that night, but recent evidence indicates that a Klansman may have targeted him in the aftermath of the burning of crosses in Lilly. More than 400 Klansmen descended on Lilly on that fateful April evening, one in which three men were ultimately killed and approximately 20 more were injured. The KKK had instiga...

                          and it is a breath of fresh air Only six months have elapsed since Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis I, but what he has done in that time has been simply incredible. If nothing else, he has changed the narrative of the Catholic Church, the story about what Catholicism is supposed to mean.  The words that have entranced many in the church -- and even those outside of it -- were found in a 12-thousand word piece in America Magazine , a Jesuit publication . Francis's  interview with a fellow Jesuit priest, Father Antonio Spadaro, reinforced what he has been saying and doing since he became pope in March. <http://americamagazine.org/popefrancis> The pope emphasized that the church had been too strident in espousing opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception.  “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. . We have to find ...

                               Kudos to McClatchy This is overdue. McClatchy papers are now requiring those who post comments after news stories of columns to use their names. They must have a Facebook account and picture for anyone to make comments.  If you ever read any of these comments, they can be libelous, racist, sexist -- you can continue the list. Essentially, they can be very demeaning to other people.  Since these people have a handle like 4xtradude or some other silly name, assuring their anonymity,  they are never held accountable for their comments.  I never read these comments until the Jerry Sandusky case occurred. I am not sure why I did so with this case, but they often gave a feel for how people were thinking.  The intent of these newspapers is to eliminate those kinds of comments. "Posting will require real names and some kind of picture or i...

Dear Peggy, Oh how your heart must ache for Ronald Reagan. You must daily yearn for the return of the pompous, intellectually deficient that you have elevated to the status as savior. However, let's take a look at Ronnie's record. First, Ronald Reagan had one opportunity to stand up to terrorism. That was in the Oct. 23, 1983 bombing in Beirut, Lebanon that left 299 servicemen from both the U.S. and France dead.  Reagan's response: He cut an ran.  In fact, Ms. Noonan must realize that the Repubs have a woeful record in national security affairs. Woodrow Wilson won WWI, FDR won WWII, and Nixon lost the Vietnamese War.  The greatest victory in the Cold War was the use of brinkmanship used by President John F. Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis in Oct. 1962. That was a victory, Peggy. Then of course we have two wars and the Repubs started and then left hanging in the wind in Iraq and Afghanistan.  So, Peggy, what sayest thou about this? Yes, Pres. Oba...

Sometimes, I wonder how dumb our congressmen think we are From Tom McClintock, R-Calif. "Traditionally, this nation (the U.S.) has never attacked another nation unless we ourselves were attacked or an ally was attacked. Unless those conditions are present, I would be very, very skeptical of declaring war against Syria." http://www.opb.org/news/article/npr-what-one-gop-congressman-would-do-about-syria/ Note: I agree with him about Syria, but this man was born in 1956. He should know what happened in Iraq. That is a blatant lie. American History lesson number one: The U.S, attacked Iraq in 2003 because they might have weapons of mass destruction or nuclear weapons (those non-existent mushroom clouds that Condi Rice discussed). None were found by the American lead investigator after the fall of Saddam Hussein.  Iraq was a sovereign nation ruled by a despicable despot, but we had no right to attack them, just as we have no right to attack Syria. In addition, Congre...