Jefferson's Garden

Slaveholder or not, it's really hard not to love Thomas Jefferson. Getting into his gardening method is one of so many good reasons.

Sealed!

I guess it's a lot easier to just blame the federal government for everything when you veto a measure allowing public examination of state records, as Bobby Jindal did for the oil spill. Even the Louisiana legislature, i.e., the most publicly responsible, least corrupt public body the world has ever seen, is outraged.

Hey, remember when people considered Bobby Jindal a legitimate presidential candidate? Good memories...

Things That I Should Probably Read That I Dread Reading

This.

I'm going to try to give it a fair shake when it comes out, but I'm already curious about how Rohter, who made much of his career in Brazil by unashamedly and partisanly bashing Lula (including calling him a "drunk" with no evidence whatsover) is going to provide a narrative that praises the growth under Lula's watch (I'm going to guess he goes with the "it happened in spite of Lula" meme, though I'm willing to be proven wrong). Additionally, the publisher's description of the book may be inaccurate, but it sure sounds like Rohter's still up to his shallow analysis and borderline-stereotyping, based on that description (though hopefully it was a publisher's decision).

Hack-Off!

Oliver Stone responds to Larry Rohter (and while far from sympathetic to Stone on this, I stand by my "Rohter as the bigger hack" comments).

UPDATE: Rohter responds to Stone's response. It's worth reading (as well as the takedown of his response), but for those who are lacking the time or patience, let me just say: Larry Rohter does not let facts that disprove his claims prevent him from continuing to trumpet those claims.

UPDATE (2): And just to make clear, Stone shouldn't get a free pass on this, either. I think Stephen raises a couple of good questions.

Steve Forbes: Making Jeff Sessions Look Classy Since Today!

Forbes celebrating Robert Byrd's death.  Very nice!

FIFA's Biggest Fans

The NBA!

This World Cup referring makes the NBA look really impeachable. And I love how FIFA's response to this onslaught of incompetence is to ban in-stadium replays.

Jack McCallum makes a convincing argument as to how this referring is hurting the game catching on in the U.S. 

Republicans--The White Man's Party

If you are going to be the White Man's Party, as the Republicans more surely are, you might as well go all the way and attack Thurgood Marshall when Marshall's son is in attendance:

Ranking member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) criticized Kagan for having "associated herself with well-known activist judges who have used their power to redefine the meaning of our constitution and have the result of advancing that judge's preferred social policies," citing Marshall as his son, Thurgood Marshall Jr., sat in the audience of the Judiciary Committee hearings.

Classy.

And when does the idea that Democrats are the activist judges end, particularly given the Roberts court vastly remaking the law? I suspect this is happening, but good god.

The Kind of Ideological Consistency Only Antonin Scalia Can Provide

Since the Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that state and local governments cannot restrict the 2nd Amendment and must fall under federal law, I look forward to the 5 conservative justices also throwing state abortion restrictions out as unconstitutional.

It's all about rigorous intellectual consistency with these guys, right?

Byrd

RIP, Robert Byrd, Senator and fiddler. 

And a pretty good fiddler in fact. The voice I can give or take, but he's certainly a solid mountain fiddler.

Sliders

This isn't the type of food I usually eat, so perhaps I'm not the target demographic.

But what the hell's the deal with sliders? I can get 3 tiny hamburgers instead of one? Why would I do this?

I can think of 2 reasons for this. First, you are with 2 other people and none of you are very hungry. But you really want the taste of beef in your mouth. And really, who hasn't been in that situation.

The other way this works is actually a good reason--each slider is different. If you gave me 3 hamburgers (or veggie burgers as the case may be) and one had brie on it and another had blue cheese and other had grilled zucchini, that might be pretty cool.

But as is, you are ordering 3 tiny hamburgers with a dollop of ketchup and a pickle on it. Wow. Awesome.

Does Anybody Else Smell Fire?

Let Cleveland's annual fire-sale and dumping of veterans commence. Something tells me this trade won't be quite as good as the "Felix Fermin-for-Omar Vizquel" trade, though.

Hack Jobs

Not sure which of these hack jobs is more wretch-inducing, Oliver Stone's no doubt horrible film on Hugo Chavez or Larry Rohter's article attacking it while attempting to debunk the entire Latin American left in a few paragraphs.

RIP - Fred Anderson

Saxophone great Fred Anderson has died at 81. In my experience, Anderson has been overlooked for the Coltranes, Colemans, Braxtons, and others, but his importance to late-20th century music is enormous. In addition to being a top-notch jazz performer and composer, he was a founder of the AACM in Chicago and continued to support rising talent by sustaining the Velvet Lounge. Anderson's death leaves a hole in music that will be hard to fill.

The Return of Debtors' Prison

I definitely need to read more about this, but I am deeply disturbed by what is basically the return of the debtors' prison.

Random Thoughts from a Day in the Archives

Researching has always presented a certain challenge for me. The problem is that I am chronically fidgety. Under normal circumstances I have about 5 things going on at once. Going to the archives means only doing one thing. That kind of discipline is really hard for me. Maybe medication would help. Whatever. Anyway, to make up for the lack of clutter in my mind, I tend to just start thinking of things. Here are a few thoughts from today:

1. You know what the problem is with people today? A lack of doggerel. Back in the day, horrible poetry was everywhere. You never see that today. What will entertain researchers of the future?

2. The acceptance of computers into the archives means I can now listen to music, which does help me. However, if someone can explain why I'm such a sucker for 60s and 70s English folk music, I'd appreciate it.

3. Those archivists--if only they would stop giving extremely helpful suggestions that enlighten me on collections I would never know about otherwise and were extremely helpful for my book, I'd get through my entire research agenda on this trip.

4. I've decided to bring my book up to 2000 (as opposed to 1940 for the dissertation). This is getting pretty interesting. It's certainly easier to write modern history. When you are looking at a subject as abstract and difficult as I am, finding an archive where people are saying exactly what you want them to is very unusual. But it sure is more common with comment periods on federal legislation. Nothing like wackos writing in complaining about the Endangered Species Act.

5. There are only 2 good reasons for researching a topic I think. One, the topic touches you in a personal way. Two, the research takes you to the place you want to be (whether that's nearby or far away). If there are other reasons, I don't know them. I am in Seattle. Is there anywhere better than Seattle in the summer? I don't think so. I've always said that there's probably some amazing topics to write about on the history of North Dakota. Why? Because who actually wants to spend time there? And if a topic doesn't have a personal connection to you, whatever that may be, I don't see how you can spend the time it takes to write a book. Obviously, there are other perspectives of course, but I couldn't do it.

6. Given my decision to move the book up in time, it would be super helpful if Bob Packwood's papers came available. Plus, that would be an entertaining archive to explore...

Slight Mea Culpa

For all I've been poking fun at the World Cup and soccer in general, i.e. The Officially Acceptable Sport for Progressives (TM), the second half of that Italy-Slovenia game was about the most exciting sporting event I've seen in quite awhile.

Also, one thing I hate about soccer is the faking of injury. That is incredibly lame. Incredibly. I think that officials after the game should be able to review the injuries and provide a post-game red card for those faking injuries. You know where injuries aren't faked--the NFL. Let's see those Italian guys think so flippantly of injuries after Troy Polamalu lays them out.

Traitor

Not that I really care, but is it completely wrong to root for Algeria over the U.S. today? I mean, doesn't the U.S. deserve to lose in the World Cup. We are the imperialist power in everything else, so sucking at what really matters to much of the world seems to be fitting. Plus today's matchup has a sort of Battle of Algiers feel to it. In other news, perhaps American kids doing lame dancing in discotheques should keep a watch out today.

Update--And I guess imperialism won the day. 

Does Exxon-Mobil Corporate Headquarters Have a Gilded Hall They Call "Main Street"?

I hate so much that Republicans always talk about themselves as the voice of Main Street. Here's "reasonable conservative" (TM) Kathleen Parker talking about her new CNN show with Eliot Spitzer:

"With Eliot Spitzer as my co-host, Wall Street and Main Street will finally meet. It can't possibly be boring.”

First of all, yes it can be boring.

Second, what the hell does Kathleen Parker know about Main Street?  When was the last time she walked down a dying Main Street in Ohio or Michigan? Probably never and if she has, I'm sure it was just to prove a point. So if by Main Street you mean the main street of a tony South Carolina or Florida suburb, I'm sure Kathleen Parker knows it really well. But if by Main Street you mean a place where average Americans exist, I don't think she knows it at all.

Enjoy Your Sushi Now

Among the many things that outrage and depress me about humanity, our treatment of and disregard for the oceans is near the top, and I'm not talking about oil spills (though there's that, too). Yet another species faces extinction, and the disappearance of blue tuna could catastrophically change the nature of the oceanic ecosystem. All so the Japanese (and Americans, and Europeans) can get their quality sushi. Disgusting.

The Award For Maximum Stereotypes in One Column Goes To...

Roger Cohen!!!

Seriously, that is a pretty impressive set of national stereotypes used to throw together a column on the World Cup. I mean, Cohen totally deserves his job, after all who else could possibly write such a hilarious column. Cohen is clearly superior to all other political writers out there.

He does deserve one demerit however--how could he not talk about the French surrendering their matches at the first sign of adversity? I mean, it's such a perfect stereotype. And for this World Cup, it's not entirely false!!