Privatization of Higher Education Deserves Scrutiny and Skepticism


On March 18th, 2015, the Illinois Senator Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) proposed a new set of hardened news rules for students to adhere to if they want grants from the good people of Illinois (News-Gazette, 3-24-2015). Senator Brady’s bill, SB 1565, creates a repayment schedule for students who have received a grant. Students who complete their…

Book Review: King & Maxwell, by David Baldacci


King and Maxwell, by David Baldacci. Grand Central Publishing; Hachette Book Group. 2013. p523. $10 I’m probably guilty of generalizing too often, though in this case my generalization may actually be safe. I may be one of a mere handful of people who had never read a David Baldacci book. He even visited one of…

Marvel’s New Muslim Superhero


Comic books and the related publishing industry have been a serious form of cultural expression since before the days of Clark Kent and Superman. Superman, created by Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster in 1933, was sold to the publisher who would later evolve into DC Comics. Superman became an iconic part of America culture in…

Cyber Spy Network with Global Reach Raises Alarms | csmonitor.com


Cyber spy network with global reach raises alarms [Source: Christian Science Monitor] I’m sorry but to me news like our CSM article here is not news. I am not surprised China, whether sanctioned or not, is trying to hack computers globally. And the correct term is “crack” and not “hack.” Hacking involves coding – programming.…

>Iran and the Debates


> I hope everyone has been watching the debates. They are informative in their content, and, conversely, informative in what they do not contain. Listen for comments about China and India. Are there any ??? Let me be clear, I am not going to use this venue to support either party. I do want to…

>Iraq and Iran: Together for the First Time


>Folks, I see this as a big deal. I have read numerous international articles, within the Arab world and without, and I see this as a concern. Iraq and Iran spent the better part of the 1980’s fighting over the Shatt al-Arab waterway in the southern part of Iraq. Oil, of course, was the contention.…

Who’s the Greater Destabilizer?


In geography, we talk about devolution. Devolution is the breakdown of a state [country/nation] due to internal division. Some other terms that are also associated with devolution are Balkanization, Shatterbelt, and Failing/Failed States. When people within a region, whether that region be a state, nation, or realm, become disenfranchised with their government or method of…