Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Why the “Proposed Koch gift to WCU is a Bad Idea”

About a week ago , I wrote about the events leading up to the dilemma faced by Western Carolina University faculty and administration with being offered a $2 million grant from a Koch Brothers foundation. What I did not mention is the recent domination of the North Carolina university system by Republican minded-administrators such as […]

“Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer”

President Addressing Weapon Safety: Link New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer To me this is “mostly” a reiteration of what is already out there for law with restrictions plus some enhancements. President Obama appears to be calling for enforcement of what is already there for law. There are adders […]

Your Tax Dollars Subsidizing Methane Gas Emissions

Sandwichman at Econospeak has a post up on subsidizing Methane and the BLM. It fits in with the Bundy take over of the Wildlife Refuge Bldg. He credits 538 Politics for this exclusive The Armed Oregon Ranchers Who Want Free Land Are Already Getting A 93 Percent Discount We are paying for the air pollution […]

Universities and Donations – Western Carolina University

What does a public university do when a donation to it comes with strings? This is the situation Western Carolina University finds itself in today as a $2 million donation is being given to it by a Charles Koch Foundation to establish a Center for the Study of Free Enterprise under BB&T bank sponsored department […]

Some Great Reads on a Wintery Night

Been taking some time to recoup from back surgery (8 inch gash Lumbar area), catch my breath, and find some more interesting topics on which to write. There are some awesome reads out there if you just take some time to search for them. – Another Christmas gift from Dean Baker; The Effort to Divert […]

How Probability Is Perceived . . .

I ran across this explanation of Probability as seen by different professions at Sam Wang’s Princeton Consortium and tracked it down to Ben Orin’s Math with Bad Drawings blog. A little about Ben and his blog as told by himself: “This blog is about the things I like. It’s also about the things I can’t […]

For Profit College, Student Loan Default, and the Economic Impact of Student Loans

For Profit Goes on Probation The University of Phoenix has been placed on probation by the Department of Defense preventing the university from recruiting on military bases. The probation comes after the Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General’s investigation into the University of Phoenix recruiting methods, its high costs, and the resulting poor […]