AMERICA IS TURNING INTO A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES

IF YOU READ NO FURTHER... :

- America Is Turning Into a Confederacy of Dunces (FP) "As Sol Stern of the Manhattan Institute notes in the Daily Beast: 'By the end of the 1990s, two thirds of high school seniors were unable to identify the 50-year period in which the Civil War was fought; half didn’t know in which half century World War I took place. More than half could not name the three branches of government. A majority had no idea what the Gettysburg address was all about. Fifty two percent chose Germany, Japan or Italy as ‘U.S. allies’ in World War II.' It gets worse: 'Several years ago Newsweek asked a sample of 1000 voters to take the same test that new immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship must pass. One third of the respondents couldn’t name the vice president and half didn’t know that the first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Only one third knew that the Constitution is considered the nation’s highest law.' If we don’t revitalize civics education, we will be entrusting our future to people who cannot name all three branches of government — a feat that only one-third of respondents in one recent survey could pull off. Such abysmal ignorance is no obstacle to training clients at a gym or performing myriad other jobs, but it is a deal-breaker in making informed decisions at the ballot box. The way we are going, one of these days a Bernie Sanders or, heaven help us, a Donald Trump will not just be a candidate for president. He will actually become president."

BUSINESS:

- Central Banks Consider Bitcoin’s Technology, if Not Bitcoin (NYT) "If the central banks succeed, it would be one of the greatest unexpected twists in new technology: An invention aimed at dethroning central banks and making it harder for money to be tracked instead ends up empowering those central banks and making money more easily traceable."

- South Koreans live in 'the Republic of Samsung,' where the Galaxy Note 7 crisis feels personal (LA Times) "Samsung accounts for 20% of the country’s gross domestic product, and its footprint is everywhere. South Koreans can grab a drink from their Samsung refrigerator while watching a Samsung television in their Samsung-made apartment, then use their Samsung credit card while out running errands."

- This might help explain why corporate boards are still an old boy’s club (WaPo) "Companies with the highest percentage of female directors have been shown to outperform on return on equity, return on sales and return on invested capital. They pay less to gobble up other firms. They have lower stock price volatility. And those with more women at the top have even been shown to have fewer governance controversies, such as bribery and fraud."

- Millennials aren't big spenders or risk takers, and that's going to reshape the economy (LA Times) "Instead of material wealth, millennials [adults under 35] show off through their travels, hobbies and even meals, which get photographed and posted on Facebook, Instagram and other social media."

HEALTH:

- W.H.O. Urges Tax on Sugary Drinks to Fight Obesity (NYT) "A tax on sugary beverages raising their price 20 percent would result in a proportionate reduction in their consumption, the agency said."

- The Obamacare problem that Democrats don’t want to talk about (Vox)

NEWS:

- Barack Obama: Now Is the Greatest Time to Be Alive (Wired) "Here’s another thing I believe: We are far better equipped to take on the challenges we face than ever before. I know that might sound at odds with what we see and hear these days in the cacophony of cable news and social media. But the next time you’re bombarded with over-the-top claims about how our country is doomed or the world is coming apart at the seams, brush off the cynics and fearmongers. Because the truth is, if you had to choose any time in the course of human history to be alive, you’d choose this one. Right here in America, right now."

- Hillary Clinton, Paul Ryan and the relationship that could shape Washington (WaPo)

- Pentagon Confronts a New Threat From ISIS: Exploding Drones (NYT)

- Conundrum for Justices: Does a Design Patent Cover a Whole Smartphone? (NYT)

SCIENCE:

- How Obama brought capitalism to outer space (WaPo) "'It will become one of the great ironies in the history of exploration into space that someone many politicians called a socialist was a champion for the possibilities of capitalism in space,' said James Muncy, a space policy analyst at PoliSpace, a consulting firm. Obama 'stepped in and said we're going to try public private partnerships, and it is working.'"

SPORTS:

- NFL Ratings Just Fell Off a Cliff: Why? (The Atlantic) and The likely leading causes of the NFL’s significant TV ratings decline (WaPo)

TECHNOLOGY:

- We Must Remake Society in the Coming Age of AI: Obama (Wired) "In 2013, Oxford professors Carl Frey and Michael Osbourne predicted that machines could replace about 47 percent of people’s jobs over the next two decades. Their results were the sheet music for a chorus of pundits arguing that AI will decimate our society. The President takes a more optimistic view. 'Historically, we’ve absorbed new technologies, and people find that new jobs are created, they migrate, and our standards of living generally go up,' he says. But he also sees that today’s version of that technological evolution means some high-skilled workers will lose their jobs, and that low-wage, low-skill workers might end up with lower wages."

- Barack Obama Talks AI, Robo Cars, and the Future of the World (Wired)

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