Is It Worth $205,280?

Is college necessary seems to be the question of the moment. What is the lifetime payoff of a college degree? In April the unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was 4.5%, among high-school graduates, it was 9.7%. I do not argue against a college degree, but question its price is worth what you get. Student debt now is higher than credit card debt in America.

People with more education do have greater job satisfaction and the networking developed through ones college can last a lifetime. We believe the major issue facing higher education is not only the rising costs of attending, but just as important the lowering of standards and academic rigor of attending. Is that B.A., B.S., M.B.A., M.S., PhD, EdD really worth it?

Not only are our college graduates available to shoot a beer, text 100 words in a minute, search for a paper topic on Google – but can they write a professional letter, deliver a speech for ten minutes in front of a group of strangers, research a problem, lead people? These are the issues facing higher education – the jury is still out.

COMMENCEMENT 2011 – TOM BROKAW commencement address Saturday at St. Lawrence University, in Canton, N.Y., "Live Modestly":

“In the past four years you have been witness to and in too many case, felt the pain of, the most devastating economic recession since the Great Depression. Some of you may have parents who lost jobs or homes. While you were here, preparing to take your place in a society that values and rewards higher education, others your age were in uniform and in harms way in the two longest wars in our history, wars that are not yet over and every week bring painful news of loss of life or limbs to too many American families. We owe them more than a yellow ribbon on our cars or trucks, more than a singing of God Bless America.

You are leaving this sanctuary of learning and innocence in a season of uncertainty and anxiety. Daily there are painful reminders that the economic model that has defined your lives was a house of cards. Indeed, it is a shambles that will not be easily repaired, and even then, it will have a far different shape and evoke far different expectations.

We lost our way and allowed greed and excess to become the twin pillars of too much of the financial culture. We became a society utterly absorbed in consumption and dismissive of moderation. A friend, a very successful businessman who nonetheless lives a temperate life, says appropriately we have to replace want with need. It’s not what we want that should rule our lives but what we need. And, it goes without saying, what we can afford.

You’ll not solve global warming by hitting the delete button; you’ll not eliminate reckless avarice by hitting backspace; you’ll not make society more just by cutting and pasting.
And do not surrender the essence of the human experience to 146 characters on a Twitter or a Facebook, however seductive the temptation. You’ll not get a Google alert when you fall in love. You may be guided by the unending effort of poets and artists, biologists and psychiatrists to describe that irreplaceable and still mysterious emotion so essential to the human condition but all the search engines in the universe cannot compete with the first kiss. It will do us little good to wire the world if we short circuit our souls. Remember, too, that somehow before BlackBerries and I-phones, lap tops and video games, great and welcome change was achieved.

You’ve been told recently you’re about to enter the real world. That’s misleading. Your parents and I do not represent the real world. Neither does this institution, for all of its obvious qualities. The real world was junior high. You’ll be astonished by how much of the rest of your life will be consumed by the same petty jealousies you encountered in adolescence, the same irrational juvenile behavior, the cliques, the dumb jokes and hurt feelings.

Most of all, remember – you cannot get through this world alone. You need each other – and we need you to celebrate one another in a common cause of restoring economic justice and true value, advancing racial and religious tolerance, creating a healthier planet.

We do that by listening and reasoning not by shouting and fighting. Beware of ideological tyranny and uncompromising certainty. Do not become hostage to the orthodoxy of others.

This country was built on big, bold ideas that served the common welfare. We’re a democratic republic, not a collection of fiefdoms changing the fundamental rules of governance with every election cycle.

No remarks of mine or parental advice will be adequate substitute for your own determination and commitment to excellence. We’re not your GPS system; at best, as commentators and parents, we’re road signs. You must find your own way and I have little doubt you will.

On these occasions in the past I’ve said, It’s easy to make a buck; it’s tough to make difference. Then a parent suggested a re-wording: It’s tough to make a buck but if you make a lot of bucks, you can make a big difference. So for a time I offered both observations as a final word.

This year and these times required still another revision: It’s a lot tougher to make a make a buck but making a difference has its own rich reward.

Go forth and make a difference. God knows, we need your help.”

A total of 548 degrees will be awarded at St. Lawrence's ceremony. There are 527 candidates for bachelor's degrees and 21 candidates for master's degrees.
* The five most popular majors this year are, in descending order:
- Psychology
- Economics
- English
- Government
- Biology

In 2010, the top five in descending order were psychology, english, economics, history and government.

The total four year cost for the average student to attend St. Lawrence University was $205,820.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Greg Ball …famous father of Geoff & Alex, John Fogerty (66), Kirk Gibson (54), Rudy Giuliani (67), Lenny Kravitz (47), Mark Howe (56), Jim Lehrer (77), Hank Williams Jr. (62).

COMMENCEMENT SEASON - RR always enjoys a good graduation speech. Here is Willis Group CEO Joe Plumeri from May 15 at the College of William & Mary discussing his rise from humble beginnings in Trenton, N.J. and career encounters with Sandy Weill in 1968 and Henry Kravis in 2000. Video: http://bit.ly/lTEpyh

DICK CHENEY's book - "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir," by Dick Cheney with Liz Cheney - will be out Aug. 30, the Tuesday before Labor Day, and people who have read it say that it peels back some skin: unquestionably the most unvarnished of the Bush administration memoirs. Cover image, showing a pensive Cheney, hands in pockets, alone in the White House Cross Hall.

LINKEDIN: ARE YOU KIDDING? - The enormous day-one IPO pop for shares in business networking site LinkedIn (which RR still can't really figure out how to use and which Alec Baldwin recently mocked on "30 Rock") had everyone talking about a return to the go-go 1990's when any dot-com could double or more on its first day. LinkedIn closed at $94.25, more than double its offering price of $45 but off the day's high of $122.70. The closing price represents a multiple of nearly 600 times the site's trialing earnings of $15.4 million, a completely insane number. The shares are likely to come back to earth. But the underwriters, including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorganChase, have some explaining to do after leaving so much money on the table for LinkedIn executives and shareholders who sold into the IPO. One banker at a firm not on the deal told M.M.: "If I were an existing LinkedIn shareholder I would not be very happy right now."

BE WELL - Ron Harris and Nancy Scali, having a tough fight with cancer. We all support you and you are in our prayers.

Next week, our Jack Ass of the month.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA
May 23, 2011
#II-4

I Don't Get It

Have you ever watched a play and did not have a clue what the play was about? Have you ever read a book and when finished with it did not understand what the book was about? Have you ever sat in a meeting or had a conversation and knew nothing about what was discussed? Have you ever been in a classroom and the lecture the instructor was giving the class was going completely over your head? If someone tells you they can explain cloud computing, adaptive-learning software and smartphone apps they think they get it but they do not.

I have found that the older you get it becomes less and less important to get it. When you are a teenager or a young adult, if you don’t get it you just act like you do. In your twenties and thirties and you don’t get it, you not only act like you get it but also explain what it is all about.

But now as one grows older, who cares. I don’t get it and I even admit that I don’t get it. Too bad other aspects of life are not as easy to ignore or deal with.

DEAR RINK RATS:

The other day I wanted to get in contact with a friend, I telephoned his home, he was not there so I left a message on his answering machine. The next day he left me a text message on my cellular telephone. I returned the call to his cellular telephone, he was not there so I left a message on his cellular answering system. He sent me an email the next day to my gmail account and asked that I send him an email to his Hotmail account, for which I proceeded to do. He then posted a message to me on his Facebook page and asked that I respond via his Twitter account. Weeks have gone by, through various platforms and I have not been in contact with him yet. How do I speak to my friend?

--Frustrated With Technology

Dear Frustrated With Technology –

I don’t get it!

--Rink Rats

DRIVING THE WEEK - Strauss-Kahn to enter a not-guilty plea this morning and will probably make bail ... The federal government is likely to hit the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling today leading to a series of moves by Treasury including tapping federal retire programs to temporarily fund operations. But a debt limit deal appears no closer with House Speaker John Boehner saying yesterday he has seen "no real action" from the VP Biden-led talks ... Per Mike "Playbook" Allen, House Budget Chair Paul Ryan will push back hard today on Medicare, the social safety net, taxes and more at the Economic Club of Chicago ... Fed Chair Ben Bernanke speaks at conference in Washington today on the government's role in innovation ...

SUMMER TRAVEL TIPS – The cheapest plane tickets are on the following days: Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Best day and time to purchase a plane ticket is Tuesday at Noon, this is when airlines post and free up seats.

APPLE IS WORLD'S TOP BRAND - Apple has overtaken Google to become the world's most valuable brand with an estimated brand value of more than $153bn ... For the last four years, Google has dominated the BrandZ Top100 ranking of the most valuable global brands, compiled by Millward Brown, a subsidiary of advertising company WPP. ... Thanks to the success of the iPad tablet and iPhone mobile - among both consumers and corporations - Apple's brand value has surged in the last year to overtake that of the search engine company.

WHAT HAPPENED? - L.A. Times A1, "A bond torn over time: From friends and others come differing narratives of how the Schwarzenegger-Shriver marriage eroded," by Robin Abcarian and Mark Z. Barabak: "Some close to Schwarzenegger spoke of a loving marriage that slowly broke apart over time. Friends of Shriver portrayed her as trapped for years in an unhappy relationship that reached a breaking point after the deaths of her parents and a difficult transition back to private life."

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN - Queen becomes Britain's second-longest reigning monarch - Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday became the second-longest reigning monarch in British history, clocking up a total of 21,645 days on the throne. Only Queen Victoria, the current monarch's great-great-grandmother, has reigned for longer. Elizabeth, 85, acceded to the throne on the death of her father on February 6, 1952, and has reigned for 59 years and 95 days plus 15 extra leap-year days, totalling 21,645 days. ... Victoria ... reigned for almost 64 years before her death in 1901. Queen Elizabeth II will surpass her record in September 2015.

WORDS OF THE MONTH –

quaff \KWOFF; KWAFF\, intransitive verb:
To drink a beverage, esp. an intoxicating one, copiously and with hearty enjoyment.

transitive verb:
1. To drink (a beverage) copiously and heartily

noun:
1. An act or instance of quaffing.
2. A beverage quaffed.

siempre, adverb
always

Lo de siempre, por favor.
My usual, please.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Yogi Berra (86), Bill Dillhoefer ...best practice swing in golf, Barbara Colley …famous entrepreneur, Reggie Jackson (66), Shelly Lamotte …famous consultant and Cornell grad., Stan Mikita (71), George Strait (59), Mike Wallace (93), Stevie Wonder (61).

COMMENCEMENT 2011 - HOWARD FINEMAN ('70) commencement address Saturday at Colgate University, in Hamilton, N.Y., "Carrying the Torch in a Digital Age": "Being informed is no longer a passive process, if it ever was. You have to be an active participant in becoming and staying connected to the world. Here is my brief guide about how to do so. It's journalism 101 for civilians ... The best antidote to propaganda is skepticism. Never rely on one source, be it a person, a newspaper, website, tweet, or a government official. ... Leave your comfort zone; read the 'other' side(s). If you watch MSNBC watch Fox, too. And vice versa. It won't kill you. Scan websites as far away from your own thinking as you can stand ... As Nietzche said, whatever doesn't kill you will make you stronger. OK, maybe you should avoid Glenn Beck. ...Talking to people face-to-face -iris-to-iris - is indispensible because, sadly, it is increasingly rare; traveling to distant countries and cultures ... is crucial because doing it virtually is way too easy now."

HOCKEYTOWN MOURNS – Both of Rink Rats picks to play in the Stanley Cup Finals have been eliminated in Round two of the playoffs, Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings. Detroit’s season is over but so many things to be hopeful about came out of this series even with the disappointing end: Jimmy Howard, Pavel Datsyuk, Nik Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg. There’s plenty of reason to look forward to next season already.

We were impressed by the class showed by the Red Wings in their defeat and play in the seven game series with San Jose. This cannot be said for the Los Angeles Lakers classless exit from their playoff series with Dallas. Why is the NBA so popular? I don’t get it!

Next week, our monthly review of economics and finance.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA
May 16, 2011
#II-3

Top Five

Every six months Rink Rats has a Top Five Blog, here we go.

Top Five Seinfeld Shows:
1). The Contest
2). The Opposite
3). The Marine Biologist
4). The Boyfriend
5). The Puffy Shirt

Top Five Reasons The Economy is Still In Trouble:
1). 57 straight months of housing price decline.
2). Erin Burnett leaving CNBC for CNN.
3). The new hookah store in the Village of La Verne. What’s up with that?
4). $15 Trillion in U.S. Federal Debt.
5). Commodity prices: corn, sugar, rice, oil, gold and tuition.

Top Five Daily Newspapers Circulation:
1). Wall Street Journal – 2,117,796
2). USA Today – 1,829,099
3). The New York Times – 916,911
4). The Los Angeles Times – 605,243
5). The San Jose Mercury News – 577,665

Top Five Hospitals by Speciality:
1). Cancer – University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
2). Heart & Heart Surgery – Cleveland Clinic
3). Neurology & Neurosurgery – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
4). Psychiatry – Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
5). Rehabilitation – Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

Top Five Reasons to Not Get in Debt:
1). Frank McCourt
2). General Motors
3). State of California
4). AIG
5). Alexis Bellino, Orange County Housewife

Top Five Profitable 2010 U.S. Corporations:
1). Wal-Mart
2). Exxon Mobil
3). Chevron
4). ConocoPhilllips
5). General Electric

Top Five Gardening Tips for Spring:
1). Mulch around plants to help with weed control and retaining moisture.
2). Prune shrubs, trees and perennials back that were not pruned in the fall.
3). Save space in a vegetable garden when planting tomatoes, plant pole beans and squash in the same area. Beans will climb tomatoes, and squash plants will act as ground cover which maintains moisture for all.
4). Recycling water, especially rainwater is a good idea.
5). Sharpen tools, it makes gardening work much easier and fun.

Top Five BBQ Tips:
1). Baste not waste
When it's time to baste the meat, cut an orange or lemon in half. Dip the juicy part of the fruit into a marinade and rub directly onto the meat. Easy and gives the beef a tasty twist.
2). Beer the Beef!
Add a tablespoon of beer to marinade to give it just the right kick--and it keeps the meat extra moist and tender.
3). Stop the stick
Tired of food always getting stuck to the grill? When you go to throw on the meat, first brush it with a little vegetable oil or olive oil and the sticky situation is gone.
4). No-fuss husking
Who has time to husk corn? With our tip, you do! With the husk still on, cut off both ends of the corn, roll it on your counter top, and watch the husk come right off!
5). Tea time and "me" time
Tired of plain iced tea? When making a pitcher for you BBQ, grab a frozen can of concentrate and stir in a couple of scoops. Orange juice, lemonade, and strawberry are some great-tasting choices! “I got this out of Facebook.”

Top Five Reasons The Lakers Are Out of the Playoffs:
1). Who Cares
2). Egos
3). Khloe Kardashian
4). Vic “The Brick” Jacobs
5). Too old

Top Five Reasons “They paved paradise And put up a parking lot”
1). Money
2). We did it that way at The University of San Francisco.
3). Create new job titles
4). Who cares about athletics.
5). Climate Action Plan

Top Five Reasons Facebook IS Dumbing Down Society:
1). “I am eating at Applebee’s tonight and having so much fun!”
2). Write a letter, how do I do that?
3). “My fortune cookie this week is …”
4). I hate my life but do not have the guts to do anything about it.
5). Sarah Palin

Top Five Reasons the U.S. Is Better Off Today:
1). Our citizens do not wear hats like Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.
2). Osama is history.
3). Kendra was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars.
4). Only 14 Oprah shows left.
5). Donald Trump will never become POTUS.

Top five reasons to Read Rink Rats:
1). It is cool.
2). I am related to him.
3). It beats Facebook.
4). Cheap news and entertainment.
5). We read it at St. Lawrence University.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Candice Bergen (65), Tony Blair (58), Mort Sahl (84), Bob Seger (66), Pat Summerall (81), Bono Vox (51), Steve Yzerman (46), Brian Williams (52), Mark Zuckerberg (27).

Next week, words of the month and Dear Rink Rats.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA
May 9, 2011

#II-2

Year Deux Entrée

Year Two of Rink Rats begins with the news of the death of Osama bin Laden. Our thoughts are with many people today but especially with Rink Rats friend Kevin G. and all his fellow New York City firefighters, paramedics and police officers. The grief will go on but today is cause to feel a sense of justice has been done.

INSIDE THE SITUATION ROOM – President Obama rejected original plan for bombing; wanted proof - Navy SEALS held two rehearsals last month, with war cabinet monitoring from White House - Raid planned for Saturday but pushed off a day because of weather - Chopper stalled as it hovered over the compound - Forces blew it up and left in a reinforcement craft -- How the fiery raid went down, as told to Rink Rats by senior administration officials: The compound -- about an acre, with a three-story house - is in Abbottabad, a suburb of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Officials were very suspicious of the 12- to 18-foot-high walls, and seven-foot wall on the upper balcony. Residents burned their trash, and there was no telephone or Internet connection to the compound, valued at $1 million. But officials never had anything directly proving that Osama bin Laden was living there. The U.S. had discovered the compound by following a personal courier for bin Laden. Officials didn't learn his name until 2007, then it took two years to find him and track him back to this compound, which was discovered in August 2010. "It was a "Holy cow!" moment," an official said.

The original plan for the raid was to bomb the house, but President Obama ultimately decided against that. "The helicopter raid was riskier. It was more daring," an official said. "But he wanted proof. He didn't want to just leave a pile of rubble." Officials also knew there were 22 people living there, and Obama wanted to be sure not to kill all the civilians. So he ordered officials to come up with an air-assault plan. The forces held rehearsals of the raid on April 7 and April 13, with officials monitoring the action from Washington.

As the actual raid approached, daily meetings were held of the national security principals, chaired by National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, and their deputies, chaired by John Brennan, the president's counterterrorism adviser. At an April 19 meeting in the Situation Room, the president approved the assault, in principle, as the course of action. He ordered the force to fly to the region to conduct it. On April 28, just after his East Room announcement that CIA Director Leon Panetta would be succeeding Robert Gates as Defense Secretary, the president held another meeting in the Situation Room, and went through everyone's final recommendations. He didn't announce his decision at that time, but kept his counsel overnight.

At 8:20 a.m. Friday, the president informed National Security Adviser Tom Donilon that he was authorizing the operation. Donilon signed a written authorization to CIA Director Leon Panetta, who commanded the strike team. The raid was scheduled for Saturday, but weather pushed it to yesterday. The Navy SEALs arrived at the compound at 3:30 p.m. ET yesterday and were gone by 4:15 p.m. Obama monitored the operation all day from the Situation Room, surrounded by Donilon, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and others. Panetta was at CIA headquarters, where he had turned his conference room into a command center that gave him constant contact with the tactical leaders of the strike team.

The helicopter carrying the assault force appeared to stall as it hovered over the compound, producing heart-stopping moments for the officials back in Washington. Aides thought fearfully of "Black Hawk Down" and "Desert One," the failed Iranian hostage rescue mission. The pilot put the bird down gently in the compound, but couldn't get it going again. The assault force disembarked. "They went ahead and raided the compound, even though they didn't know if they would have a ride home," an official said. The special forces put some bombs on the helicopter and blew it up. Bin Laden resisted the assault force, and was shot in the face during a firefight. With the team still in the compound, the commander on the ground told another commander that they had found Osama bin Laden. Applause erupted in Washington. Reinforcements came and picked up the SEALs, who had scavenged every shred and pixel of possible intelligence material from the house. U.S. forces took photographs of the body, and officials used facial-recognition technology to compare them with known pictures of bin Laden. It was him.

N.Y. Times front page: 2-line, all-cap, ital. banner, "BIN LADEN KILLED BY U.S. FORCES IN PAKISTAN, OBAMA SAYS, DECLARING JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE" See the page. http://bit.ly/kA0bDQ

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – George Clooney (50), Willie Mays (80), Sula Vanderplank …famous woman of the world, Tammy Wynette (69).

TALK RADIO ALERT - "Reliance on Uncle Sam hits a record: 2010 income was 18.3% entitlements, Americans depended more on government assistance in 2010 than at any other time in the nation's history ... A record 18.3% of the nation's total personal income was a payment from the government for Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, unemployment benefits and other programs in 2010. Wages accounted for the lowest share of income - 51.0% - since the government began keeping track in 1929."

PHILANTHROPY WATCH - L.A. Times second front, "DONORS TO FUND FREE USC TUITION: Couple's $110-million donation will provide scholarships for about 100 students a year," by Larry Gordon: "The University of Southern California will announced last week a $110-million donation for scholarships from a Colorado couple who made a fortune in the oil and gas industry. The gift is expected to cover tuition and some expenses for about 100 academically gifted undergraduates at the Los Angeles campus each year. The donation from USC engineering school alumnus John Mork and his wife, Julie, is aimed at encouraging more of the nation's top students to attend USC. ... John Mork, 63, is chief executive of the Denver-based Energy Corp. of America ... Mork said he worries that well-paying blue collar jobs are disappearing in America and that he wants as many young people as possible to obtain a university education as the ticket to a middle-class life."

RINK RATS FAVORITE - The CNBC anchor Erin Burnett has signed a long-term contract with CNN ... The signing will represent a shift to general news anchoring for Ms. Burnett ... Burnett, who was considered a rising star within CNBC and its parent, NBCUniversal Media, held talks with two broadcast networks, ABC and CBS, before deciding to join CNN ... Burnett could end up with an afternoon or evening time slot on CNN.

MORNING NEWS -- NBC ... is expected to hold a news conference Monday morning to announce that Ann Curry will succeed Meredith Vieira as the co-host of 'Today' ... in June ... Natalie Morales, a 9 a.m. anchor of 'Today,' will replace Ms. Curry as the news anchor, and Savannah Guthrie, a White House correspondent and MSNBC anchor, will become the 9 a.m. anchor.

DEBT CEILING UPDATE - Amid the jubilation over Bin Laden's demise, Congress will also return to Washington to a continued FY2012 budget battle and the imminent debt ceiling crisis. M.M. hears that Treasury is likely to offer an update to Congress early in the week on when the $14.3 trillion borrowing limit will be reached. ... The statement is likely to reiterate the May 16th initial date but could change the amount of time Treasury will be able to use "extraordinary measures" to avoid default. ... Business groups have also been preparing during the recess to make the case to members that the limit must be raised to avoid massive negative market reaction that would result even if the rhetorical point that the U.S. could divert existing resources to make interest payments is technically true. "The perception of possible default is what matters," one executive said last week, "not the Washington bean-counting."

MARKETS - The death of Osama bin Laden is sparking a rally in equity markets around the world, with U.S. stock index futures pointing to a sharply higher open this morning. A strong rally could give the Dow its first close above 13,000 since May 2008.
As has been the case in recent years, April ended with strong gains across the board for Wall Street's major averages, led by a 4% jump for the Dow. The news has also sparked a selloff in gold and silver, a drop for oil, and a rebound for the U.S. dollar off 3-year lows.

CONGRATULATIONS – To the University of La Verne baseball team for finishing in second place in the SCIAC with an overall record of 25-14 and a 20-8 league record. Chances are slim the second place Leopards will get an at-large D-III playoff bid with University of Redlands and Chapman College slated for spots. But a great season non-the-less especially under the dark cloud of future of instability as far as playing fields is concerned.

What was that vision we were talking about last week?

Next week, spring gardening, cooking and Dear Rink Rats.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA
May 2, 2011

#II-1

Spring Cleaning

As we conclude our month long anniversary blogs, Rink Rats posts some observations and information. In other words time to clean out our database closet and make ready for the upcoming new year of Rink Rats blogs.

POTUS – President Obama has had a rough couple of years on the job, some of the events not of his doing and some out of his control. But, one area of his Presidency that has been under his control and in trouble, is his decision making on many key issues. By seeking consensus, compromise and judging political fallout, the amount of time it takes him to make decisions is troubling. Examples: Guantanamo prisoner status, reaction to BP oil spill, North Africa turmoil, Budget and debt ceiling decisions, and working with Wall Street and Corporate America in dealing with the economy. Yes these issues are complex but on all these issues the decision making process has been nonexistent or slow in there formulation.

To quote a not so famous Business Instructor The President has got himself in a real “pickle” partly due to his lack of strong decision making. Americans see Wall Street and Corporate America making cash again with big profits. But unemployment and recovery is sluggish at best. Oil and commodities (wheat, corn, and sugar) are all at record highs, the dollar is near or at record lows and beginning this summer interest rates will begin to increase – a tough environment to get reelected. How to get out of this pickle, instead of preaching Federal spending encourage the country through strong leadership to invest in people capital. Lead Corporate America to invest in hiring new employees, new training and industries to get the economy moving. Lead Federal, State and Local government to stop the gravy train and reduce public spending. Lead Americans to be responsible in education and environmental issues to reduce our need for oil and consumable resources.

A tall order but with Leadership it can be done and we believe the American people will truly accept.

PAULV – There are new forces in higher education, some exist inside the walls of scholarship and others outside. “American colleges and universities have a history of old forces being pulled by new ones – the GI Bill in the 1950s, the growth of science in the 1960s, the expansion of coeducation in the 1970s, the success of affirmative action in the 1980s, the broadening of international studies in the 1990s, and the campus building boom-virtual and physical-in the last decade. “

“An organization with a confident sense of its future is stronger than one wedded to its past, even a past no longer than five or ten years.” Thus we return to Leadership and this is what confronts new leadership just weeks away from the University of La Verne. What emerging themes will most likely propel the new President? Or will there be any themes? Perhaps to establish a culture of thrift in the midst of economic uncertainty, perhaps to recognize the new forces that exist in higher education and a plan to confront and cultivate them, perhaps to develop a new culture of innovation and defining the form and function of a liberal arts curriculum fit for a generation living in the 21st century.

Truly a tall order but one that can be accomplished by establishing the trust of a shared vision, not a vision belonging exclusively to a board, a president, a faculty, or a particular constituency. Rather the entire University of La Verne community realizing we share a common vision of education, service to the community and this University’s role in fulfilling this vision to our students and the community.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING - L.A. Times second front, "Poll casts a cloud on Brown's tax plan," by Anthony York, in Sacramento: "Public support for Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to solve the budget crisis with a June election is eroding as other officials warn that delaying such a move until late fall, as the governor is considering, could trigger a cash crisis and a fresh round of state-issued IOUs. Anew survey from the independent Public Policy Institute of California shows that 46% of likely California voters back Brown's call for a five-year extension on some sales, income and vehicle taxes to help balance the state's books. Just two months ago, 53% of voters surveyed by PPIC said they would approve of the taxes. The public appetite for a special election also seems to be on the wane."

WHAT DROUGHT - In all the decades that Mammoth Mountain has been a destination for SoCal skiers, this looks to be the winter with the most snowfall. At least since they began keeping records in 1969, with snow falling again last week...the Eastern [Sierra] Resort realized a record snow fall for the season of 637 inches.

HARD LESSONS - The trials of Kaplan Higher Ed and the education of The Washington Post Co.," by Steven Mufson and Jia Lynn Yang: "The Post Co.'s reliance on federal student loan money grew. By the end of 2010, more than 90 percent of revenue at Kaplan's biggest division and nearly a third of The Post Co.'s revenue overall came from the U.S. government. Public money means public accountability, and critics said Kaplan fell short. Two-thirds of Kaplan's students drop out before graduating. In Kaplan's largest unit, nearly one-third default within three years of leaving the school. ...

CHINA HITS TRADE DEFICIT - Xinhua/Beijing: "China saw a trade deficit of $1.02 billion between January and March this year. It's the first quarterly trade deficit in six years, according to figures released Sunday by the General Administration of Customs. China has reported a trade deficit of $1.02 billion from January to March this year. In comparison, the country gained a trade surplus of 13.91 billion US dollars in the first quarter of last year."

It was also predicted this past week that China will pass the United States as the world’s largest economy by 2016 and you think gas is expensive now.

SIREN - USA Today lead story, "Percent working lowest since '83: Aging population, recession in play," by Dennis Cauchon: "Only 45.4% of Americans had jobs in 2010, the lowest rate since 1983 and down from a peak of 49.3% in 2000. Last year, just 66.8% of men had jobs, the lowest on record."

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Carol Burnett (78), Jay Leno (61), Nicklas Lidstrom (41), Tim McGraw (44), Willie Nelson (78), Al Pacino (71), Richard Riordan (81), Jerry Seinfeld (56), Joe Zanetta …. famous good friend.

BOB WOODWARD and BEN BRADLEE AT THE NIXON LIBRARY - James Hohmann, in Yorba Linda: "A crowd of almost 1,000 welcomed Woodward and Bradlee with a standing ovation [last week] ... They spoke in a room designed as a replica of the White House East Room. Bradlee, leaning on a cane, ... marveled at how many people still care about a decades-old conflict ... Woodward is 68, seven years older than Nixon at the time of his resignation. ... Woodward gave the crowd his theory that he sees the term 'Watergate' as shorthand for five different wars waged by Nixon. The first was the administration's campaign against the anti-Vietnam war movement. The second was the war against the press and White House aides suspected of being disloyal. The third was efforts against those seen as abetting the anti-war movement and opposing the president's reelection. ... The fourth war was the cover-up. The fifth was a 'war against history.'"

WISHFUL THINKING? NFL releases 2011 schedule - NFL release: "The NFL announced ... its 17-week, 256-game regular-season schedule for 2011, which kicks off on Thursday night, September 8 in Green Bay and concludes on Sunday, January 1 with 16 division games. The season begins with the NFL's annual Thursday primetime kickoff game. The opener on September 8 on NBC (8:30 PM ET) will feature the past two Super Bowl winners when the defending-champion Green Bay Packers welcome the Super Bowl XLIV- champion New Orleans Saints to Lambeau Field. In a format introduced in 2004, the Super Bowl champion annually hosts the NFL Thursday night season kickoff. The NFL will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on Sunday, September 11, the first Sunday of the regular season. On that day, the New York Giants will travel to Washington to face the Redskins (4:15 PM ET, FOX) followed by the New York Jets hosting the Dallas Cowboys (8:20 PM ET, NBC)."

"The Buffalo Bills will play a game in Canada for the fourth consecutive season when they host the Redskins at the Rogers Centre on Oct. 30 in Toronto. ... The Thanksgiving Day games include the Packers at Detroit, Miami at Dallas and San Francisco at Baltimore, when new 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh faces the Ravens and coach John Harbaugh in the first meeting between sibling head coaches in NFL history. The Packers play the Bears in the only game on Christmas Day. There are 13 games scheduled for Dec. 24, including the Giants against the Jets."

WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS - turns 50 on Friday - ESPN release: "ESPN will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the iconic ABC Sports program Wide World of Sports with a multi-platform celebration, highlighted by 70 hours of memorable moments on ESPN Classic. ... Originally envisioned as a fill-in show for one summer, Wide World of Sports debuted April 29, 1961, with a young future legend, Jim McKay, as host. The opening show featured the Drake Relays from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, along with the Penn Relays from Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Unexpected popularity led to WWOS becoming a fixture on Saturday afternoons - and eventually an iconic program in sports television history.

ANNIVERSARY QUIZ – this month we will be giving a quiz every week to celebrate our First Year, the first person to pick the correct answer in our comment section will win a special Rink Rats prize:

China bought one-quarter of which U.S. crop in 2009?

(a). Apples (b). Pecans (c). Peaches (d). Pumpkins

Last Week’s Quiz Answer: (d) Mountain West

SUNRISE over Central Park, as captured by Howard Wolfson from the window of the plane as he flew down with Mayor Bloomberg for "Fox News Sunday." http://politi.co/i7CIRZ

Next week, year two begins.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA
April 25, 2011

#1-53

Rest Stop

We all know what they are, rest stops. You see them off the interstate, but we always streak by them at 80 miles per hour to get to our destination faster, then we can rest. But we never do.

This week Rink Rats takes a rest stop, time to recharge and get a better perspective on life. In this world of I-this and 200 channels one should stop and rest. Many of us think we stop and rest, but do we really?

A rest stop can be a ten minute walk during the work day, a long weekend to visit family, a visit to your local park or garden to take in the beauty, an hour in your local library, simply a rest stop is time to relax and be yourself. No sucking up to your boss, significant other, kids – just suck up to you.

Put the email away, no Facebook, Twitter, Nightly News, office politics, for ten minutes, ten hours, ten days, or ten months – just take the time you need.

So Rink Rats this week is taking a rest stop. We hope you do to.

"A Rest Stop"

Tucson, AZ Botanical Garden

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to E.C. Hasse … the best Dad, Jessica Lange (62), Jack Nicholson (74).

ANNIVERSARY QUIZ – this month we will be giving a quiz every week to celebrate our First Year, the first person to pick the correct answer in our comment section will win a special Rink Rats prize:

Which of these regions saw the strongest growth in the 2010 census?

(a). Great Plains (b). Rural New England (c). Mississippi Delta (d). Mountain West

Last Week’s Quiz Answer: (b) one-third

Next week, our first year anniversary month concludes.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Tucson, AZ
April 18, 2011

Dear Rink Rats

Our anniversary month continues this week with the best of Dear Rink Rats:

DEAR RINK RATS:

I need your advice; I am getting tired of the rat race of private business. So I am thinking about teaching Business at the Graduate Level. What salary should I expect from this profession? I am currently making $185,000 per year in private business.

--Hopeful Academic

Dear Hopeful Academic –

You are in for a shock, according to the most recent faculty salary survey conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education (2009-2010) here are the salaries for Graduate level teaching:

Private Institution:
Professor - $101,290
Associate Professor - $76,311
Assistant Professor - $63,574
Instructor - $51,195

Public Institution:
Professor - $89,808
Associate Professor - $71,516
Assistant Professor - $60,612
Instructor - $43,772

Harvard has the highest salary for a Professor: $193,800.

You might want to look at becoming a College President:

Private Institution - $582,661
Public Institution - $388,995

Good luck, teaching is a wonderful profession.

--Rink Rats

The following live among us and are voting citizens:

DEAR RINK RATS:

I’ve suspected that my husband has been fooling around, and when confronted with the evidence, he denied everything and said it would never happen again.

DEAR RINK RATS:

Our son writes that he is taking Judo. Why would a boy who was raised in a good Christian home turn against his own?

DEAR RINK RATS:

My wife is mean and short tempered I think she is going through mental pause.

DEAR RINK RATS:

My forty year old son has been paying a psychiatrist $150.00 an hour every week for two and a half years. He must be crazy.

Please keep sending in your letters.

APRIL 15 – Tax filing day is upon us, here is some data to get you in the mood:

THE BILLIONAIRE'S GUIDE TO PAYING NO TAXES - Bloomberg Businessweek cover, "The More You Make, The Less You Pay," by Jesse Drucker: "For the 400 U.S. taxpayers with the highest adjusted gross income, the effective federal income tax rate fell from almost 30 percent in 1995 to just under 17 percent in 2007, according to the IRS. And for the approximately 1.4 million people who make up the top 1 percent of taxpayers, the effective federal income tax rate dropped from 29 percent to 23 percent in 2008. It may seem too fantastic to be true, but the top 400 end up paying a lower rate than the next 1,399,600 or so."

NATIONAL DEBT - $14.29 trillion

THE REAL FIGHT – For now no Federal Government shutdown. Rink Rats have also been warning for weeks that failing to raise the debt limit would be a far scarier economic prospect than some temporary furloughs. The rest of the world seemed to catch on this weekend after the budget deal. The late-Friday agreement, in fact, was a disappointment to some on Wall Street because rather than exhausting appetites for a showdown, it instead set up the debt limit as the next big political smackdown with partisan blood lust still thick in the air.

FINANCE THIS WEEK - The debt limit debate, Obama's Wednesday deficit reduction speech and an expected agreement from the Senate's "Gang of Six" on proposed entitlement cuts will eat up most of the oxygen but there is a lot more afoot at the crossroads of Wall Street and Washington: Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen speaks at the Economic Club of New York today in remarks that should signal the central bank's current take on the economy and the likelihood of an end to quantitative easing and (gasp!) rate hikes in the foreseeable future ... Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing Tuesday on implementation of the derivatives portion of Dodd-Frank with testimony from Treasury, the Fed, CFTC and SEC and industry officials. ... G20 meets in Washington this week to talk about global imbalances, among other issues.

... First quarter earnings season kicks off in earnest this morning with results from Alcoa, which is expected to get a nice bounce from rising aluminum prices. Analysts expect Alcoa to earn 27 cents per share, up from a loss of 19 cents last year ... Companies in general are not expected to keep up with last year's blistering pace of 41 percent earnings growth but the numbers should be pretty solid. ... JPMorganChase reports on Wednesday and CEO Jamie Dimon may have more to say about the debt limit issue on the bank's conference call.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Seve Ballesteros (54), Tom Clancy (55), Andy Garcia (55), David Letterman (64), Loretta Lynn (76), Steve Martin (66), Bruce McNall (61).

ANNIVERSARY QUIZ – this month we will be giving a quiz every week to celebrate our First Year, the first person to pick the correct answer in our comment section will win a special Rink Rats prize:

What proportion of American Adults gets less than the recommended seven hours of sleep per night?

(a). one fourth (b). one third (c). one half (d). two thirds

Last Week’s Quiz Answer: California Silicon Valley

COLLEGE HOCKEY GAMES OF THE WEEK – Congratulations to the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs for winning the NCAA D-I hockey championship, next year look out for St. Lawrence University Skating Saints –they will be tough.
Season to date (3-11)

GREEN-JACKET DAY - The Masters finish "was so wild that eight players had at least a share of the lead on the back nine. ... [South Africa's Charl Schwartzel] ... became the first Masters champion in its 75-year history to finish with four straight birdies, giving him a 6-under 66 for the best final round by a winner in 22 years. ... There was a five-way lead at the top at one point, and only the final hour sorted it all out."

Rink Rats 2011 Baseball Picks: American League - East: Boston, Central: Detroit, West: Texas, Pennant: Boston. National League - East: Atlanta, Central: Cincinnati, West: San Francisco, Pennant: Atlanta. World Series Champs - Boston Red Sox.

NHL 2010-11 STANLEY CUP PREVIEW – Another season concludes for the best sport in the world. Back in October Rink Rats predicted the following season winners: Eastern Conference winners: Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Washington; Western Conference winners: Detroit, Vancouver and Los Angeles; Stanley Cup finalists: Washington & Detroit; Stanley Cup Champions – Washington Capitals.

We were correct with Washington, Detroit and Vancouver – we shall see about the Playoffs. Good luck to our favorite teams Red Wings, Kings and Ducks – playoffs begin on Wednesday April 20.

Next week, our first year anniversary month continues.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA
April 11, 2011