Starbuck's announced yesterday that it is making it possible for 135,000 part- and full-time employees to complete a college degree from its education partner, Arizona State University, through an individualized online degree program. Starbucks is going to pick up 100% of the tab for the second two years of the degree program, and most of the first two years' costs.

This is a breakthrough initiative where no other major corporation has gone. With the skyrocketing cost of higher learning and the difficulty rank-in-file employees have in completing college, let alone high school, Starbucks may have broken the code on addressing this country's most serious issue: education.

Over the weekend we once again listened to more deliberations by the President on military intervention in Iraq for another few billion dollars. At the same time, the US educational system ranks 17^th among 50 countries assessed, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.