Your Homeland Security tax dollars at work: A man whose jet ski broke down in New York’s Jamaica Bay on Friday evening swam to shore, climbed over an 8′ fence, walked across two runways wearing a bright yellow jacket—passing straight through the airport’s $100 million security system “which exceeds federal requirements,” and consists of...
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Sixty-seven years ago, World War II ended. In Japan, today’s date is officially designated “the day for mourning of war dead and praying for peace” (戦歿者を追悼し平和を祈念する日 Senbotsusha wo tsuitōshi heiwa wo kinensuru hi?). In the USA, it is called V-J Day, but few people any longer take much note of it. All wars are...
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In complex systems, there are always unmet needs and problems to be solved. The more dysfunctional the system, the more numerous are the unmet needs and the more severe are the problems. In other sectors, needs to be met and problems to be solved are the fertile ground from which entrepreneurs emerge. Where is...
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The headline to a Washington Post editorial by Lisa Guisbond caught my attention: “New school year: doubling down on failed ed policy.” But I was quickly disappointed. Guisbond echoed the common complaint that a decade of the federal No Child Left Behind Act focuses too narrowly on testing. Looming national Common Core standards will...
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For a former community organizer, President Obama certainly seems to support anti-democratic activity with zeal—from his disproportionate use of Executive Orders, to this most recent action: According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, At approximately 11:30 am EDT [Thursday], the White House removed a petition about the TSA airport screening procedures from the White...
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Celebrating Life in Union, a new documentary narrated by Andy Garcia, will premiere at the 2012 New York City International Film Festival. Celebrating Life in Union tells the story of the tragedy and brotherhood of a group of former political prisoners from the Cuban Revolution, who fought for, and then were betrayed by their...
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What do you do with a public school district that spends more than $16,500 per student, runs deficits upwards of $11 million, and where student performance has stalled? Outsource school management, according to officials in one Michigan city. Highland Park City Schools are among the lowest ranked schools in the state. Highland Park Community...
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Reader advisory: the following is rated PG-13 Today is the anniversary of Singapore’s independence, and they’re celebrating by urging citizens to make a baby. With headlines like “Thursday’s the Day to Go All the Way for Civic Duty in Singapore,” and a new commercial rap video produced by Mentos to “Get Your National Night...
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There is no topic in healthcare that is more misunderstood than what other countries are doing. At both ends of the political spectrum, the mistake is the same: the belief that other healthcare systems are radically different from our own. They aren’t. Take the United States and Canada. I would say that the healthcare...
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If airports had barn doors, TSA certainly would have closed the one in Newark, with great certitude and force, on Sunday. As it is, they simply shut down the entire airport, resulting in the delay of 65 flights and cancellation of another 100—after an unidentified suspicious woman had not only already boarded her flight...
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