U.S.
News and World Report does a ranking every year of the "top
schools." And every year, the schools
that don't show up at the top complain. Now,
46 university presidents say they will no longer participate in the survey.
Newsweek tries
to sort out the fight.
The Philadelphia
Inquirer says that the US News
rankings are overrated and that the power they have taken on has gotten out of
hand.
Check your local schools -- how do
they respond to such surveys? Do students and counselors take them seriously?
Track
the Candidates
OpenSecrets.org has some nice new tools for the 2008 campaign.
- Get micro-local in the key states of California,
Florida, New
York, Texas and Illinois.
You can see how cities, even zip codes, are supporting individual candidates.
I really
like this color-coded map showing which candidate has raised the most in
which states. It is a little busy right now because of the number of candidates,
but it will get cleaner soon.
Just pop a name into this
database and see who he or she gave money to.
Are
There More Dogs in Pounds on July 5?
For years I have heard this is true. The story goes that dogs run away during
fireworks displays. The
Humane Society says it is true:
Pets across the nation often become frightened and frantic by the noise and commotion of Independence Day. In fact, animal shelters across the country are accustomed to receiving "July 4th" dogs -- dogs who run off during fireworks celebrations and are rescued by animal control officers or Good Samaritans who take them to the safety of the local shelter.
I have also, over the
years, heard that newspapers get more missing-pet ads right after July 4. I cannot prove it to be so -- but maybe you can.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
