Week of June 24, 2013

Up Front

Don't Just Laugh Off Scalia as a Bigot Ira Chernus's MythicAmerica The essence of his objection to the DOMA ruling is to conserve the old so we can avoid the uncertainty of the new. He's still wrong, though. Tags: Antonin Scalia, same-sex marriage, Samuel Alito, Supreme Court

Committee on LGBT History: We Are Proud Historians Helped Make DOMA/Prop. 8 Decisions Possible Tags: Committee on LGBT History, DOMA, Don Romesburg, Proposition 8, same-sex marriage

Historians Played Important Role in DOMA Decision David Austin Walsh The majority opinion in Windsor v. United States validates historical arguments made in amicus brief. Tags: DOMA, historians, same-sex marriage, Supreme Court

Eric Foner: VRA Decision "Green Light" to Disenfranchise Voters David Austin Walsh Clayborne Carson, Eric Foner, and H.W. Brands weigh in on the Supreme Court's landmark ruling. Tags: Clayborne Carson, Eric Foner, H.W. Brands, Voting Rights Act

HNN Hot Topics: Same-Sex Marriage Tags: same-sex marriage, Hot Topics, DOMA, gay history

News at Home

Yes, Paula Deen is a Racist. But It's Not Like She Repealed the Voting Rights Act. Carole Emberton Thank SCOTUS for that. Tags: Paula Deen, racism, South, the N word

San Francisco™, Brought to You By Google Rebecca Solnit Silicon Valley is pushing the middle class out of the Bay Area. Tags: Google, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, technology

Guns and the NSA Make Strange Bedfellows Ira Chernus's MythicAmerica On the right, the resistance to NSA spying stems from the same place as resistance to gun control. Tags: guns, gun control, NSA, PRISM scandal

News Abroad

If The Guy on the Left is Guilty of Espionage ... When Will We Prosecute The Guy On the Right? Josh Brown: Life During Wartime Tags: Dick Cheney, Edward Snowden, Valerie Plame, espionage

What Turkey's Riots Mean Daniel Pipes Keep a close eye on foreign investment. Tags: Arab Spring, Ottoman Empire, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey

Historians & History

LBJ Was a Great President Vaughn Davis Bornet Don't believe the naysayers -- LBJ unleashed the Great Society and kept the peace with the Soviets and Mao. Tags: 1960s, LBJ, Lyndon B. Johnson, presidents

Wabash Cannonball Jim Loewen The origins of the elusive "folk" song. Tags: folklore, origins, songs, trains,

Education

SCOTUS Ruling on Affirmative Action Could Give Private Universities Advantage John Willingham Private schools will have leg up on the publics if not held to same strict standards to "exhaust" all other non-racial admissions factors. Tags: affirmative action, SCOTUS, University of Texas, race

Gilder Lehrman and Dickinson College Partner for Lincoln Online Course David Austin Walsh No, it's not a MOOC. Well, it's kind of a MOOC. But it's mainly a graduate seminar for K-12 educators. Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Gilder Lehrman Institute, MOOCs

Culture Watch

The Man of Steel Rusts Bruce Chadwick And we're not talking about Stalin. Tags: Superman, Man of Steel, movies, Hollywood

King Kong Takes Manhattan... Yet Again. Bruce Chadwick Doesn't the world's greatest city deserve a new nemesis? Tags: King Kong, plays, coming attractions, Manhattan

Books

Richard Breitman and Allan Lichtman's FDR and the Jews Murray Polner The dynamic duo of Breitman and Lichtman successfully defend Franklin Roosevelt's reputation. Tags: Allan Lichtman, book reviews, FDR and the Jews, Richard Breitman