Land O Links

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but a little want of knowledge is also a dangerous thing" -- Samuel Butler, 19th century English author.

* The United States earns a C- on child well-being in a report on national results around the globe. "For early childhood, the nation received a C-, based on early-learning program availability and enrollment, as well as parental access to childcare." Bridge Magazine has been doing considerable reporting on the gaps in Michigan's early childhood programs: http://www.firstfocus.net/news/press_release/america-earns-c-on-kids

* Michigan did not come out too well in this state-by-state ranking of differences in pay by gender. Women in Michigan earn 62 cents, on average for each $1 earned by men. That places the state as fourth-worst.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2012/10/
gender_income_inequality_maps_by_county_and_by_state.html

* "One University of Minnesota study that began in the 1970s followed 267 children of first-time low-income mothers for nearly four decades. It found that whether a child received supportive parenting in the first few years of life was at least as good a predictor as I.Q. of whether he or she would graduate from high school.":

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/opinion/sunday/kristof-cuddle-your-kid.html

* The state of Minnesota is claiming the power to ban its residents from taking free online college courses from Coursera, a California-based operation. Coursera doesn’t offer degrees or college credits, just free classes. In other words, Minnesota is saying it has the right to ban the transmission of knowledge. Oh wait, Minnesota changes its mind:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/10/19/minnesota_coursera_ban_state
_won_t_crack_down_on_free_online_courses_after.html

* The federal Transportation Security Administration wouldn't do something that aids the flying public, surely?

http://www.propublica.org/article/tsa-removes-x-ray-body-scanners-from-major-airports

* Do corporate board of directors serve a function in the 21st century economy?:

^{http://blogs.hbr.org/fox/2012/10/throwing-out-insiders-corporate-boards.html}