Drudges: Professor X,"In the Basement of the Ivory Tower," Atlantic Monthly, June, explains why"the idea that a university education is for everyone is a destructive myth." I taught, once, in the tower's basement and can recall one class of students I thought might be more productively herded off into a convict labor camp. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.

Fire Fred: Eighteen months ago, we learned that a) Fred Ruhlman, who teaches history at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, claims a doctorate from a degree mill, the American University of London, and b) because of plagiarism, the University of Tennessee Press had withdrawn his book on the Confederacy's Andersonville prison from publication. I e-mailed my friend, Jim Russell, who chairs the department, to ask why Ruhlman was still teaching there. Jim didn't answer me. Spring 2008, Fred's still teaching history at UT, Chattanooga, and we learn that Ruhlman occupies time in class by reading the textbook to the students. So, I e-mailed Jim again. No answer, of course. The department could surely hire people with doctorates from honorable programs, who are not convicted plagiarists and who have some sense that time in class can be better used than reading the textbook to the students.

Mass Murder: Charles J. Hanley,"Mass Killings in South Korea in 1950 Kept Hidden from History," Huffington Post, 18 May, reports that the Rhee regime's murder of tens of thousands of South Koreans at the outset of the Korean War is only now being openly acknowledged in the country.

Oscar Chamberlain - 5/19/2008

I find it strange that Professor X has no anecdotes of success.

Still, his general point, that not everyone is for college, is a good one. I suppose my question for him would be this--should everyone with a high school diploma have a chance to find out?