I work at a University and there is a reason why academics and the liberal/left are so closely aligned. They have the same character. When dealing with either you come to the realization that they are convinced they are smarter than everyone else and therefore can do any job better than anyone else. Business, governance, are all the same to them in that they are our superiors.

"And WWll saw America and her allies bomb the enemy into oblivion." That´s how you win wars, not by building infrastructure for the evil enemy as we foolishly do in Afghanistan.
Bring our fighting men home ... NOW.

I can personally attest to the observed character flaw endemic in the academy. As a research chemist I have worked for many companies both large and small. When I interview with a small company coming out of an academic lab one of the first questions I ask is "Is the founder still here and in what capacity".

I like the founder to still there, if his vision was good enough to start and build the companys technology, he should still be a driver. I don´t want to climb on board as he bails out.

Second question " who is in charge of marketing and business development?". If the answer is so and so for this and so and so for that I´ll continue to dig into the companies viability. If the answer is the founder I´m out.

I´ve watched several companies with brilliant technologies die as a clueless academic who is tops in his scientific field decides he must also be tops in business development and marketing. Working for one of these is a nightmare, they won´t listen to anybody anout anything.

The result is as predictable as sunrise tomorrow.

I am in full agreement with poster #3. I have also done quite a bit of business consulting and assistance. I found that the higher the person trying to build the business is from an academic point of view the lower the chances are that the business will succeed. I have tried to advice even people with business degrees, accoutning back ground, and they are complete idiots to work with. They will bob their heads, smile and then go off on some wild, crazy, unworkable tangent. You come in, fix the mess, straighten up the shop and in a month, they are right back to their loony ways. However, I could not count the number of hard working, low education types I have helped who almost all made it. They listen, work hard and are willing to do what ever it takes to make their business work. They also understand the importance of good cash flow- something the over educated idiots could never grasp. They always had the idea that if they got into trouble they could apply for a new loan, a government grant or get a relative to risk their money. Eventually, they all ran out of other people´s money and went bust.

I, also, have come to the realization that formal education weeds out the thinkers and rewards the memorizers.

The ZOMBIES are here and they are in charge.

Clinton also disrespected the military and cut it by half. A lot of the money George Bush had to spend was to build it up again--only to have another anti-American (Obama) come along and tear it down again. Word has it they don´t even have money for parts to repair equipment. Good luck to the unions when he has all the factories shut down. Lots of young men have learned pride, self-confidence and focus, and led long productive lives because of their service.

Sounds like when I was on active duty in the mid seventies. It sucks as you spend most of your time trying to keep the equipment running rather than training. When you are in an artillery Fire Direction Control section that means someone can die if you make a mistake. And there are many jobs in the military where a mistake means someone is injured or killed. Training saves lives.