Monthly Archives: July 2017

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

Garrison Kellor, Writer’s Almanac

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High Schools Grades Are Way Up, and SAT Scores Keep Going Down

Currently, 47% of high school graduates have an “A” average. In 1998, that figure was 38.9%. Since 1998, the SAT average has dropped from 1026 to 1002 (scale of 1600 points). Brilliant students who can’t take a test? Grade inflation? … Continue reading

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A Baseline Knowledge About Religion Is Missing at the New York Times

On Sunday, July 16, 2017, New York Times reporter Philip Galanes, had his 1 1/2=page interview with Bill Maher and Fran Lebowitz published as a front-page feature in the Sunday Styles section (that is the section with the weddings, goofy … Continue reading

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That’ll Learn Him: Greek Statistician Will Stand Trial for Incorrect Deficit Numbers

Before the Greek debt crisis, the Greek government’s statistics agency, headed by Andreas Georgiou (yes, his name does end in IOU), manipulated the stats and made the Greek budget deficits smaller than the actually were. Under pressure from the EU, … Continue reading

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Mexico Misses Its Deadline on Its Anticorruption Program: The Best Laid Plans of Graft and Men

There were grandiose plans. A full anticorruption effort complete with anticorruption prosecutor, 18 judges to hear corruption cases, and all within one year. Here we are, one year later, and the deadline has come and gone. Lawmakers could not agree … Continue reading

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“If you hold a tiger by the tail, you have a difficult choice to make: Do you let go or not? It’s not a good thing to alienate any legislative leader.”

Richard Runes, a lobbyist for Glenwood Management, testifying in the corruption trial of Sheldon Silver. Mr. Rune also testified, “He was one of the three most powerful people in the state of New York, governmentally.” Mr. Runes had Glenwood retain … Continue reading

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Philadelphia District Attorney Pleads Guilty to Federal Corruption Charge

There’s headline you don’t want to see. R. Seth Williams was charged with providing official favors to two businesses in exchange for cash, Caribbean vacations, airline tickets, expensive furniture, a Burberry watch, a Burberry purse for his girlfriend and a … Continue reading

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“I’m a creep.”

Blog post by Dave McClure, founder and now former CEO of 500 Startups, a Silicon Valley incubator. The post was made after the company confirmed his resignation as CEO. Mr. McClure went on to explain that he made advances to … Continue reading

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