Education:

Many, many, many years ago, in a time now long past, and often misremembered, my little high school in the mid-west had a graduation rate of 90 percent or better. I had no idea what an anomaly that was at the time. I simply thought very nearly everyone went to and graduated from high school.

The truth is that as recently as the early 1980s American high schools were only graduating students at a 75 percent rate. That rate is now down to 70 percent. Here's the question: what are those students who never graduate from high school doing?

Of the ones who do graduate, nearly two out of three go on to college. In other words, about 50 percent of American youth have at least some college (slightly more than half of those who go graduate), while 30 percent never graduate from high school. That's a significant gulf, with significant questions about a work force in a state of flux. (See Edward Fiske's Op-Ed piece in today's New York Times.)

Here's the Dude demonstrating the value of an Ivy League education in preparing you to communicate: "First, we would not accept a treaty that would not have been ratified, nor a treaty that I thought made sense for the country." — George W. Bush, Washington Post, April 24, 2001. (And that clearly illustrates why the economy is simply in a down turn and not a recession.)

China Demographics: "45 percent of Chinese women surveyed say they do not want to give up their careers to get married." (Source ngm.com)

NPR Reports on a World War II Hero, Whose Story Was Mis Told and under Reported:

National Public Radio reports the story of Marine Pvt. Guy Gabaldon, who single-handedly captured more than 1,400 Japanese prisoners during World War II. His commanding officer recommended him for The Congressional Medal of Honor, but it wasn't granted. A movie was made, but Gabaldon, a Mexican American, was portrayed as white.

It's an old story. If the truth doesn't fit what we want to believe, then we change the truth.