Things Noted Here and There
Some noted, if temporary, transformations: while I feared his momentary silence might mean that Chris Bray had gotten his sorry self blown up in Iraq, he was sitting around in his bathrobe and sucking down beers on leave in sunny California; Margaret Soltan is transfigured as Diana Blaine; congratulations to Konrad Lawson, the young genius behind Frog in a Well, who has passed his qualifying exams at Harvard; and the normally sober Rob MacDougall is translated into wobbly, weak-kneed, saccharin daddyhood. And who wouldn't be?
Tim Burke is looking for suggestions of the names of contemporary writers about the American scene who are particularly perceptive.
Michiko Kakutani,"All the President's Books (Minding History's Whys and Wherefores)," NYT, 11 May, looks at recent books about the Bush administration by a wide variety of observers and finds some common themes.
Timothy Noah,"John Roberts: The Missing Years," Slate, 11 May, wonders whether the White House suppressed a file on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts about"Affirmative Action" that was in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library until Roberts' confirmation hearings. Thanks to Kevin Murphy at Ghost in the Machine for the tip.
Finally, Brett Holman at Airminded hosts History Carnival #31 on 15 May. Send nominations of exemplary posts in history by using the Blog Carnival form or Brett's Airminded contact page.