SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – FROM THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION:    Southern New Hampshire University has apologized to a student who failed an assignment because her professor insisted Australia was a continent, not a country.  “We have apologized to Ashley, replaced the instructor, & are reimbursing her tuition for the course,” the university said on Twitter.  Ashley Arnold, who is completing a sociology degree online, filed a report with the university when she received a failing grade on a project outline that was supposed to compare a social norm in the United States with that of another country, BuzzFeed News reported.  Her grading rubric was filled with multiple zeros because, according to the professor, “Australia is a continent; not a country.” She told Arnold that the “error made it nearly impossible” for her to have accurately completed the assignment.   Stories like this are, sadly, fairly common.  Many "instructors" need some instruction themselves.

OH PLEASE – FROM DAILY MAIL:   A tiny endangered butterfly could stop President Donald Trump from building his beloved border wall.  A lawsuit has been filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, environmental groups and the State of California against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  It outlines that the Quino checkerspot butterfly, Riverside fairy shrimp and the Pacific pocket mouse will be threatened if the border wall is built.  The butterfly, which is native to southern California and Northern Mexico, is already on the endangered species list.  The lawsuit contends that the Department of Homeland Security does not have the ability to waive environmental laws requiring review before building the wall.  The suit seeks a ruling that a border wall with Mexico must go through normal environmental reviews, which could block construction or at least cause major delays. The challengers contend that authority to waive the environmental reviews falls under a 2005 law which has expired.  So concerned about butterflies, so unconcerned about American citizens put at risk by undocumented immigrants. 

OLYMPIC RATINGS DROP – FROM DEADLINE.COM:   A tape-delayed opener to the Games in South Korea that brought in 27.8 million viewers on the network produced a chilly 12% ratings drop from the official start of the last Winter Olympics just over four years ago in Sochi.  With geopolitical tensions, VIP seating plans, 1,200 pre-recorded morphing drones, VR and the newly minted team of Katie Couric and Mike Tirico, the Comcast-owned net tried hard to make the event seem almost as brand new and sparkling as the ice beneath 2010 figure skating Olympic champion Yuna Kim when she lit the cauldron at the end of the live across all time zones extravaganza. Still, despite thousands of performances, a distinct injection of imagination and that always trivia filled Parade of Nations, and coming off a less than gold initial and unofficial first day, NBC also came up short in the ratings, again.  Sports have had a tough time on TV recently.  Could it be the overt politicization that we've seen?  Even in NBC's Olympic coverage there is the insistent commentary about how North and South Korea are playing together under one flag.  It is meaningless.  The North is engaged in a charm offensive, but not one missile or nuclear bomb has been dismantled.  Viewers are aware of the whitewash, with its not-so-subtle anti-Trump message about love on the Korean peninsula.

February 10, 2018