Category Archives: history

scapegoats

Mom is in town, and yesterday we went to the Arts & Crafts exhibit at the de Young. One of the wall placards says, “The problems caused by free trade and the Industrial Revolution had been recognized since the 1830s … Continue reading

Posted in economics, history | 3 Comments

it’s a day for anniversaries

Several important things happened on April 19, but here’s one of which I was unaware: Charles Darwin died on this date in 1882. It came to my attention because the bookmark of the hour happens to be the Darwin-L archives. … Continue reading

Posted in history, sciences | Leave a comment

collect them all!

In a review of a biography of Lillian Hellman, The Economist used the phrase “at the height of the first cold war in 1952.” I’m always the last to know. Is this usage widespread? When was the height of the … Continue reading

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after this I’ll try to leave the TwoPercenters alone

In an otherwise generally sound call for separation of church and state, 2%Co had this to say about democracy in Dixie (1789-1865): . . . These slaves didn’t always like their lot in life, but according to your logic, Mrs Gong, they … Continue reading

Posted in constitution, history | 8 Comments

Horatio Bunce and Davy Crockett

A friend asked me why Ron Paul voted against a hurricane relief bill; was there something poisonous in it, or did he think it would be ineffective? I replied that I would expect Dr Paul to vote against any such … Continue reading

Posted in constitution, history | 2 Comments

this and that

I’m sneezing up a storm today, and the good old allergy pill hasn’t helped. I do hope it’s not the same virus that afflicted my housemate for two weeks last month. Who is the center of the movie universe? Kevin … Continue reading

Posted in cinema, history, me!me!me!, race | 1 Comment

Russia in three passes

A few years ago we thrilled to an exhibit by the Library of Congress of color photographs of Russian life made in 1909–15. Now I learn that the images shown there are a small fraction of the Prokudin-Gorskii plates, most … Continue reading

Posted in eye-candy, history | 1 Comment