Web Watch

Yes, the time to file your taxes is only a month away.

Has the panic set in?

Itemize or not? What can I itemize?

You’d think we would know these answers by now. But rules change and there’s always a chance you’ll miss something.

Fear not, there’s walletpop.com.

One page on site delves into the itemization question “to itemize or not” with TaxGirl, Kelly Phillips Erb.

Other useful links include a guide to which forms to use; the TaxGirl’s take on deducting health insurance premiums; and, maybe just for fun, “Nine Unusual Sales Taxes Taking a Bite Out of Your Wallet.”

Have fun!

Web Bits

Mickey Rooney Takes Stand Against Elder Abuse: Mickey Rooney spoke out against elder abuse before a senate committee on aging…. “Unfortunately, I’m testifying by the committee today not just as a concerned citizen, which we all should be, but as a victim of older abuse -- elder abuse, myself,” Rooney said. Read more ...

No Contradiction: Almost all colleges and universities seek diversity in their student bodies and their faculty as well as staff. This is often one of two major goals for these institutions, the other of which is academic excellence. But, in my experience, many faculty and some administrators view diversity and academic excellence as competing goals. Moreover, some view concerns about diversity largely as a form of political correctness. Is concern for diversity merely a form of political correctness, or is there really some educational benefit to a diverse student body and faculty such that diversity contributes to rather than competes with academic excellence? Read more ...

Why Blame the Teachers? In public debate and private conversations, teachers have come under increasing criticism for being ineffective and overpaid. Yet not long ago, education reform efforts sought to elevate the prestige and pay of teachers as a key to improving achievement in the classrooms. How and why have public views of teachers changed? Read more ...

The Crisis at Medgar Evers College: The current standoff between William L. Pollard, the president of Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, N.Y., and a one-of-its-kind criminal justice think tank run on that campus by ex-prisoners with doctorates is emblematic of what researchers say is a widespread ambivalence over how to help the formerly incarcerated re-enter society. Read more ...