What A Hoot

Everyone knows the old saw about how media lefties, when venturing from their coastal enclaves, need a visa to visit the rest of the country. A few years back this was brought to life by the internal memo warning reporters to make sure they had their shots up to date before venturing off to Alabama and North Carolina to observe those odd creatures, NASCAR fans, in their natural habitat.

Now we have a real screamer: left wing academics gathering in Berkeley, CA to figure out the "Tea Party". This is one of the most (unintentionally) amusing things I've read in a long time.

I'll offer something that may help. There is no such thing as the "Tea Party". It doesn't exist. It's like Francis Marion... a ghost... The Swamp Fox.

H/T: Maggie's Farm

Big Demographic Shifts

Way back in the fall of 1971 I went off to college. At that time 61% of all degrees awarded in the USA went to men and 39% went to women.

Last Saturday I attended the graduation of one of My 3 Sons. Now, nationally, 59% of all degrees awarded are going to women and 41% go to men. The projection for 2019 is a complete reversal of the 1971 statistics with 61% of degrees going to women and 39% going to men.

Why the change? I surmise it's mainly for two reasons. First, women are encouraged more to aspire to an education and those careers that require a degree. But as powerful a reason is the rise of a computerized, high tech world. I think that many men graduating from high school see that there are decent paying careers available for them in technology that require a tech school education rather than a traditional college degree program.

Beyond these two reasons is a bigger, looming issue-- the roles of men and women in modern Western Civilization. Those roles have changed a great deal, as have birth rates, since I set out for college back when Nixon was in the White House.

The Obama Presidential Library

Back from the beach and the first thing I see is that the esteemed University of Chicago has approached Lord Obama about locating his presidential library there.

I can see why they want it. After all, he's a Nobel Peace Prize (TM) winner!

Besides, it ought to be a pretty interesting tourist stop. Nobody ever seems to be able to find anything the guy wrote in his brief career, so I suspect it will be focused more on hands-on exhibits, and videos than, ahem, documents. They'll probably have a theater where you can watch a hologram of Rev. Wright preachin' and teachin'. Of course, you'll get up and leave just before he says anything controversial. Another feature could be a lifesize recreation of a Weather Underground couple's Hyde Park, Illinois living room where you can sit and listen to Marxists drone on about how horrible America is. When they stop talking you ask them for campaign contributions so you can bring CHANGE to this abysmal nation.

But, the greatest feature will be the room where you can stand at a podium and read soaring yet empty rhetoric written by Dave Axelrod off a teleprompter. As you look out at a computer generated adoring crowd they'll chant the name you've typed into a computer to activate the attraction. So, instead of OH-BOMB-AHH, they'll chant, for example, MIS-TER-DART. Pretty cool stuff. They're working on a way to make sure nobody can make the crowd chant something like: YER-AH-FRAWD!

I can't wait. I HOPE they start building it toot sweet.

No Liberty Required

By now you've probably seen Klavan's advice to college grads.
But, if you haven't-- it's right here. Well worth your 5 minutes.

Move-In Weekend Is Here

Saturday we'll be hitching up the buckboard and hauling Dartlad The Youngest two and a half hours west of here where he'll begin his freshman year of college. Then Sunday we'll have an instant replay, this time a 90 minute drive to the south, where Dartlad The Middlest will move into the choicest digs on campus for his junior year.


Matriculate well, boys.



(Painting of Pops seeing me off to school back in olden times. Thanks to Mr. Rockwell for the illustration. I sure miss that old collie.)

Video Games and High GPA's

They don't mix.

But then endless hours on Youtube, YTMND, etc. don't mix with high GPA's either. All things in moderation-- except studying and reading.

Much Too Young To Feel This... Old

Today the youngest Dartlad will graduate from high school. Next weekend the oldest will graduate from college out on the West Coast.

These are big events in their lives. They are a big deal to their grandparents too. And these graduations make for some very proud parents too.

Now go away while I get all misty.

'Tis The Season

Most adults in America know the dread deadline of April 15th. For those of us with (multiple) college age children the tax season brings an added bit of pain: FAFSA. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Perhaps the most perplexing part of the FAFSA process is that you really need to have your federal taxes completed before you fill in the FAFSA forms. But, in many cases, FAFSA needs to be sent in 60 days before the IRS deadline. So, while you're still waiting on all the information needed to do your 1040 you have to use the information from the yet-to-be completed 1040 to fill in the FAFSA. Nice.

My kids point out that I've gotten much grayer since the first of them went off to college. I can't imagine why.