More Serious Notes

Michael Connelly,"The Folly of Downsizing Book Reviews," LA Times, 29 April, and Motoko Rich,"Are Book Reviewers Out of Print?" NY Times, 2 May, continue the national discussion about the disappearing book review in newsprint.

Tim Burke,"Archives, Nations, Ownership," Easily Distracted, 30 April, hosts an important discussion about the control of archives.

Scott McLemee,"Digital Masonry," Inside Higher Ed, 2 May, explores google and digital history with Jacques-Alain Miller and Bill Turkel.

Radley Balko,"Tanks for Nothing," Reason, 1 May, beat me to the punch on this story from the AJC. Given a sorry recent history of police abuse of power in the Atlanta area, why in hell would Doraville, Georgia (population: 10,000) have use for an armed personnel carrier? Forty years ago, Jackson, Mississippi, became a national laughingstock when it fielded a $15,000 armored car against civil rights demonstrators. We're laughing at you, Doraville! Here's more on police abuse of power -- in Los Angeles.

Even at this distance from a national election, articles like Bruce Bartlett,"Get Ready for Hillary," National Review, 1 May, and Michael Wolff,"Crazy for Rudy," Vanity Fair, June, bode ill for Republican hopes.