A Meme Worth Doing: At Rebunk, Derek Catsam has a meme worth doing: What Three Books Are You Most Ashamed To Admit That You Haven't Read? Lisa Vox Roy is undoubtedly correct, I think, that most bloggers' memes are worthless time-consumers. But life is short and most of the books that I get asked to review would not be on my short list, so Derek's question helps to set priorities. His list, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Education of Henry Adams, and Moby Dick, is a really good one, especially if you're an American historian. Should. Have. Been. Read. Yesterday. Some of the others that get mentioned in discussion over there – Zinn's A People's History and Brown's Da Vinci Code – probably ought not be on anybody's short list. High in the tall stack of yet unread books beside my bed: Jacques Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present, David Hollinger's In the American Province, and Peter Watson's The Modern Mind: An Intellectual History of the 20th Century. See also: Miriam Burstein at Little Professor and Nathanael Robinson at Rhine River.

Finally, a few short links:
1) the University of Florida's Alligator OnLine has an excellent report on Horowitz's"Academic Bill of Rights" in the Florida state legislature. Fortunately, its sponsors are making enough gaffs in the process that, even if it passes, it is almost certain to be found unconstitutional. See also: Ted Barlow at Crooked Timber, Little Professor, and Sherman Dorn.
2) Scott Jaschik's"Giving Due Process Its Due" at Inside Higher Ed looks at a crucial issue, especially for HBUCs. The attrition rate among historically black colleges and universities has been disturbing.
3) Ahistoricality is keeping a"Hypocrisy Watch" on the Republicans and the Terry Schiavo case. Even if her life were to end tomorrow, this could be a lengthy vigil.
4) At his own blog, Liberty & Power's Chris Matthew Sciabarra is making a point that I've made before about commonalities between Ward Churchill's"little Eichmanns" remark and Ayn Rand's argument. Why is Churchill's point unthinkable, when the mistress of unbridled capitalism had already made it? and
5) There is a crisis in Cliopatrimania. Farangi, the evil one, holds Sepoy for ransom and threatens him with the most vicious torture. We are in secret negotiations at the very highest levels for his release.