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Climate concerns

Where will New York City be 50 years from now? America like a swan with its head in the sand I am not a scientist, but I know a problem when I see evidence of it. A few years ago, "60 Minutes," one of the few mainstream TV shows that I trust, showed a scary scenario. They took a location in the Arctic and showed what it looked like ten years before the show aired, and then they showed what it looked like on that day.  The difference was frightening. It was frozen ten years ago, but one decade later, it was just water rushing into the Atlantic Ocean.  The ice was gone. In that script, they mentioned that New York City will be submerged sometime in this century.  Some current stories are focusing on this. Here is a story and headline from last Nov. in "The Guardian," a British paper. "Major storms could submerge New York City in next decade." <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/16/climate-change-report-new-york-city> ...
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"Internet character assassination" on Wikipedia

             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-...
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Why did Mike Tomlin start hiring black coaches after 15 years?

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Brian Flores … hiring Flores probably rankled Goodell To place this into context, understand that the only reason that the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin 15 years ago is because he was black.  Why? He had never even been a coordinator anywhere, never in the NFL. The only reason that he was interviewed was because of the “Rooney Rule.” That rule is one named after the late Dan Rooney who led the effort to force every NFL team to interview at least one black coach when it had head coaching openings.  The Steelers had focused their coaching search after Bill Cowher left on Ron Rivera, then a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Their interview with Tomlin was a peremptory one, something to satisfy the smell test.  After all, why interview a guy who was just a defensive coach? Coordinators are the people who are hired for the big gig.  Tomlin, though, is a great talker, and he wooed Dan Rooney so much that he was hired for the position.  Which begs the q...
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