VCU
Ranking success
After VCU Medical Center was named one of Solucient’s top 100 hospitals in the nation for performance improvement last year, a university in China has now ranked VCU among the world’s top universities. VCU stands within the top 200 – in the 153-201 rank to be precise. That means we share the same ranking with Virginia Tech and the University of Turin in Italy, among others. Go us.
Nation/World
Inauguration
Last Thursday, the world saw a commitment to spread freedom and democracy from our newly reinstated commander-in-chief. Unfortunately, so far it has manifested itself in the rather undemocratic form of military action, and only against targets that have vast oil and natural gas reserves – or present a clear and present danger to the security of the United States, depending on one’s point of view.
Either way, democracy is nice to talk about in theory, but maybe the best real-world example that may have been overlooked was the inauguration last Sunday of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who overcame election fraud and political oppression in his own country to become president. Not a single shot was fired.
Tidal waves
The tsunami that devastated coastlines along the Indian Ocean from Somalia to Sumatra was followed by an even larger wave of humanitarian aid from around the world. The hope, then, is that this second wave will not recede as quickly as the first.
Though the world’s nations competed over the New Year to see who would give the most, equally pressing problems around the world still need attention, and large-scale disasters in the past have seen monetary pledges go unfulfilled as the media spotlight faded.
If the solidarity vigil and fundraiser held at VCU on Wednesday for tsunami victims were any indication, there is hope for the future.
Social insecurity
Key to President Bush’s plans to pursue reform for Social Security in his second term is to create a sense of urgency that it needs to be fixed within the next four years. President Bush’s proposal for partial privatization of the system would provide younger workers with “optional” investment accounts – but those who chose not to invest would have to settle for reduced benefits.
Government projections, meanwhile, show the program running just fine until at least halfway through this century. Of course Social Security must be preserved for future generations, but Americans should not be pressured under false pretenses to forgo a basic guarantee against stock market volatility.
Confirmation
In December the nation stood witness as the architects of President Bush’s failed policy in Iraq – including former CIA director George Tenet, who said the case for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was a “slam dunk” – stepped forward to receive Presidential Medals of Freedom.
Now, the man who provided the legal groundwork for the prisoner abuse that has tarred the U.S. reputation in Iraq is all but guaranteed to become our nation’s next Attorney General when he is confirmed by Congress this week. Our top diplomat is now a woman who pushed for war on the same failed WMD claims.
With majority Republican control, the Senate is pressured to confirm the president’s nominees. But it would be nice if the president would pick people without such antithetical credentials.