SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:30 P.M. ET: 

OUR FUTURE LEADERS – From MRCTV.org:   "President Ronald Reagan is one of the most famous Americans of the 20th century. Between his acting career and his eight years as president, you would think that his face would be instantly recognizable to anyone with even a basic knowledge of recent American history.  You would think.  As it turns out, a lot of college students at the University of Maryland had absolutely no clue who Reagan was when they were shown a picture of America's 40th president.  A few historically-literate students recognized Reagan right away. But, the majority of those I showed the picture to were completely flummoxed or provided me with wild guesses. Some of those guesses included: John Wayne, Kenny Rogers, George Bush and some guy named Fred Moore."  The University of Maryland this week banned the showing of "American Sniper" to satisfy Muslim students.  Do you think there's a values problem on that campus?

PASSING – We felt as if we knew her.  From NBC News:  "Mary Doyle Keefe, the telephone operator whom Norman Rockwell beefed up for his iconic 'Rosie the Riveter' cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1943, has died at 92 in Simsbury, Connecticut, a funeral home confirmed.  Keefe, who lived in a retirement home for the last eight years of her life, died peacefully Tuesday, Cameron Funeral Home of Granbury said. A graveside service is scheduled for Saturday in Bennington.  The Post cover became one of the enduring symbols of homeland unity during World War II, when women stepped in to the jobs of millions of men who'd gone off to battle. It depicts Keefe holding a rivet gun and a lunchbox with the name Rosie on it, with her feet resting on a copy of Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf.'"  Plenty of Rosies in World War II.  All heroines.

MORE GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – From London's Telegraph:  "He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, a poet and playwright whose works still shape minds and lives more than four centuries later.  But when it comes to the question of to study or not to study the canon of William Shakespeare, only a small fraction of English literature students in America’s top colleges are required to specialise in the words of the bard.  Just four of the country’s 52 highest-ranked academic institutions require students of English literature to take a compulsory Shakespeare course, according to a new report.  The study, 'The Unkindest Cut: Shakespeare in Exile 2015.' was published by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a Washington group that lobbies for traditional academic standards in universities.  The council noted that Shakespeare’s demise as a subject of specialist study mirrored an increase in courses with emphasis on race, class, gender, and sexuality such as 'Literature, Food, and the American Racial Diet' at Princeton University."  Any kid who doesn't understand literature, food, and the American racial diet should not be allowed to graduate from Princeton.  I mean, what else is there?

April 25, 2015