Archive for May 2011
Blagojevich and the Founders
It’s open season on the Founders. Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), who is looking at a run for president as an Extreme Right-wing choice, has already revealed that she became a conservative in reaction against the “snotty” Aaron Burr. Upon examination, it turned out that she really was reacting against Gore Vidal’s novel, Burr, and its…
Read MoreMessing Around With Your Votes, Part II
“Voter identification” has become a major Republican Party initiative. Complaining loudly that there must be blatant voter fraud out there — though there is little evidence of it — Republican legislators have busily been enacting stricter voter ID measures in many states. These new requirements generally require that a voter present a photo identification card…
Read MoreMessing Around With Your Votes, Part I
Two recent developments illustrate how the democracy we enjoy here in the Citadel of Liberty is both flawed and fragile. First, a movement is gathering force for a back-door change to the largely indefensible practice of electing our presidents through the electoral college. Second, a contrary movement is sweeping the states to require tough voter…
Read MoreTruth Through Fiction
I am working on a project involving late 19th-century America, so wanted to get a better feel for the thinking and diction of the period. I remembered a claim by someone (it would be better if I remembered who) that the best way to appreciate an earlier time and place is to read a good…
Read MoreJudging a Book By Its Title: Forgetting The Forgotten Founder
In my experience, choosing a book title is an agonizing process. The title must perform several functions at once: It must give the reader some idea what is inside the covers, and do so (as my spiritual adviser Paul Dickson insists) at a distance of ten feet from the bookstore shelf. These days, it must…
Read MoreKilling bin Laden
Why am I not elated by the killing of Osama bin Laden, when so many of my neighbors and friends are? I can do the realpolitik calculation. He initiated/inspired/caused several deadly attacks on my neighbors and friends. Killing him will not likely end those attacks entirely, though it may discourage his adherents and disrupt their…
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