America's prettiest sun-soaked research university has somehow managed to become the "Harvard of the West" without getting any of the loathing that befalls the "Harvard of the East." It's time we talk about Stanford as it is: a stuck-up temple to new plutocracy, cronyism, and greed.

Private universities are no different from Hollywood. There's an "it" girl and her name is Stanford. Harvard will now be auditioning for roles as the hot mom.

This weekend, Bing Nursery School, an elite institution for precocious little 2-to-5-year-olds, is holding its 25th Annual Harvest Moon Auction with all proceeds going toward student scholarships. As you might expect from a nursery school where Stanford University connections count so heavily, a handful of the items from the online auction are awfully startup-oriented.