Category Archives: humanities

names on the pays

New toy: Dictionnaire Étymologique des noms de lieux en France, by Dauzat & Rostaing. I’m a bit disappointed that it lists only towns, not rivers, but that’s a detail. (Many river-names are too old to analyze anyway.) It’s fun to … Continue reading

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’tis a season

Lent began Wednesday; as Rebecca so wisely observes, what’s a Catholic occasion without an Irish joke?

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øuch

Yesterday I leapt over a shrubbery, twisted my right ankle (mildly), and landed hard on my left knee. Somehow this stiffened the muscle(s) behind the knee. I think of it as a learning experience: like, I never noticed before how … Continue reading

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the peculiar American psyche

Failure and Fantasy, by Lee Harris. . . . tragically, the Arab world seems to be united in wishing to choose the same balm that the Germans chose after the Great War, the indispensable fantasy of those who refuse to face up … Continue reading

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Ouroboros

Alan Bock writes in the current issue of Liberty: The tactic of the “general strike” to shut down a country was developed by radical socialist theorists, known as “syndicalists,” early in the last century. Now, oil company executives are using … Continue reading

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“Just say slavery.” “Slavery it is, sir!”

Thomas DiLorenzo on the role of tariffs in the troubles of 1861. . . . when the Republican Party gained power in the late 1850s the top item on its agenda was to increase the average tariff rate from 15% [in 1857] … Continue reading

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1861 and all that

Roderick Long writes in Shades of Grey (and Blue): To their joint discredit, both Union and Confederacy waged war against the principle of free association. Southern rebels claimed the right to exit the Union, but hypocritically denied slaves the same … Continue reading

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