GOODY TWO SHOES: James Taranto Outs Himself: Part II
In a classic example of misleading by omission, OpinionJournal.com editor James Taranto’s bio states, "He attended California State University, Northridge." In a commentary about Marilee Jones, who had lied to her bosses at Massachusetts Institute of Technology about her educational credentials for 28 years, Taranto belatedly fills in the blanks:
I left high school after my sophomore year; and although I spent several years in college, I never bothered to graduate.
Noting that "[b]y all accounts Marilee Jones did an excellent job," Taranto brushes aside the central issue in her dismissal - "[o]stensibly Ms. Jones was forced out because she committed fraud" - before launching into a completely irrelevant disquisition about why higher education is irrelevant.
Taranto argues that a college diploma has become a surrogate for aptitude tests employers are barred by law from administering to job applicants. But companies are not barred from checking the veracity of résumés, as well as from pre-employment criminal and credit history investigations. Someone who misrepresents himself to get a job is, by definition, untrustworthy. A potential embezzler, for instance. Thus, companies rightly remove such people from their employ when they learn of résumé inflation - without regard to competence or performance.
Editorial Note: The Wall Street Journal’s recent World Bank scandal revelations just might get Taranto thinking about additional disclosures he could make to readers of OpinionJournal.com and Best of The Web Today.
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