tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52405332024-03-07T18:40:58.865-06:00Doctor CurmudgeonVituperative but thoughtful observations on history, politics, religion, and society.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.comBlogger1046125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-78498665384457342562012-08-11T16:24:00.001-05:002012-08-11T16:24:02.507-05:00Interesting essay (as always with WRM & Co.) saying that Humanities professors should be generalists and that narrowness is killing our disciplines. To be frank, if you teach in core or frosh programs, you are a generalist already. But the point is well taken.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-4922038025625761912012-06-18T17:54:00.000-05:002012-06-18T17:54:02.257-05:00Jargon at Jefferson's Place
Here is President Sullivan's Rotunda speech at UVA. Problem is, sympathetic as I want to be, she's making it difficult. She says she's against the corporatization of universities (huzzah for that -- it's why schools are awash in various layers of bureaucracy, aka the "administrative bloat" that is helping drive up tuition) -- but stoops to using terms likeDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-25805526494436278412012-06-18T15:08:00.000-05:002012-06-18T15:08:18.107-05:00All the Washington Post's Men
Can you imagine this type of article being written in the 1970s, never mind as recent as twenty years ago? The creditable and intriguing push-back against all the shibboleths of Watergate warms this historian's heart.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-60886260436748835382012-06-18T14:52:00.001-05:002012-06-18T14:52:18.849-05:00Follow the Bouncing Ball
How apropos at Euro 2012 this week -- Germany versus Greece.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-74244248785562998972012-06-18T14:47:00.004-05:002012-06-18T14:47:56.703-05:00It's not just students and Joe Biden
From the Providence (RI) Daily Post, 8 May 1858
Plagiarism by a Governor
Lot M. Morrill, Governor of Maine, recently issued a fast day proclamation, a good portion of which was copied, nearly word for word, from a sermon preached several months ago by Dr. Chapin, and recently published by Dewitt & Davenport of New York. Governor Morrill must have Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-52827447523727327452012-06-17T11:44:00.001-05:002012-06-17T11:46:55.171-05:00Where the problem lies
This article in the WSJ points in a direction too many conservatives aren't happy to admit: tuition cost increases are linked to the rise of the for-profit education industry.
What I don't understand is why this should be shocking to anyone. We already know that pro-profit grads are burdened with higher average debt and are often in jobs (and situations) Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-1003847806255719282012-06-16T17:03:00.000-05:002012-06-16T17:03:08.699-05:00We have returnedAfter a forgetful and thoughtless hiatus of three years (shame on me), I have returned and reclaimed the old blog. I will endeavor to be more consistent in posting this time. Really.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-51613356123765712622009-03-08T11:32:00.001-05:002009-03-08T11:36:22.967-05:00An interesting item: historians think they have located a mass grave at the Bunker Hill battlefield in Charlestown, Mass. They'd like to use sophisticated radar equipment to make sure of their conclusions, but there is a problem -- it's underneath some lovely private gardens. "No wonder our plants grow so well," said one homeowner.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-31780955536998071182009-03-06T08:26:00.002-06:002009-03-06T08:39:04.818-06:00It's your bear nowFinally, we see that the economy is called the president's own -- The Obama Market -- rather than the same "we inherited this mess" trope his spokesmen have used since inauguration. Although at last look, MSNBCers were still cawing about the nastiness of the previous president, as if to distract themselves as the walls fall around them. According to Bloomberg, the market has Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-50043453282257483932009-03-04T11:32:00.002-06:002009-03-04T12:00:51.597-06:00Sons of NixonDrudge's headline says "New Enemies List" regarding the White House campaign against Rush Limbaugh.Funny, but I thought the exact same thing this morning, but in another context. Is it me, or is the Obama White House exceptionally prickly when it comes to criticism? The media has been swooning over them for so long that when any doubts are aired by the Fourth Estate, they can't Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-53390350812591174252009-02-28T09:02:00.001-06:002009-02-28T09:05:30.144-06:00When I was at a bookstore about a week ago, a customer came in and asked for a copy of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I chuckled to myself, wondering if he wanted to read it or use the tome as a door stop. But apparently sales of Rand's opus are way up ... thanks to El Presidente?Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-80133158688124325232009-02-23T09:07:00.002-06:002009-02-23T09:11:24.421-06:00If we can combine "enormous" and "gigantic" to get "ginormous," can we combine the same to get "egantic?"Just wondering.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-363525518539474962009-02-17T14:39:00.002-06:002009-02-17T14:41:19.442-06:00Glad to see NRO sensibly casting a handful of presidential votes for Arthur, Harding, Polk, Fillmore, and Coolidge. I especially like the libertarian logic on William Henry Harrison being the greatest: he died before he could do any damage.Here, here.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-72970672586481535982009-02-16T15:20:00.001-06:002009-02-16T15:23:33.168-06:00As it happens, I watched two Lincoln specials last night on tv, both on his youth and pre-presidential/legal career.I'd like to make that host of history videographers out there aware, that I'm more than available for any "Young Franklin Pierce," "Young James Buchanan," "Young Chester Arthur," or "Young Warren Harding" PBS specials you're thinking about. I bet Ken Burns has one of those in the Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-24525876479287293322009-02-15T17:26:00.003-06:002009-02-16T18:53:33.671-06:00Doc's subjective presidential ranking and very brief explanation (Using C-Span's method)1. Washington – no surprises here, the virtuous standard is set2. Reagan – morning in American again, end of Cold War, economic boom3. McKinley – hugely popular, war president, economic boom, clear agenda4. Eisenhower – economic recovery, steady hand in early Cold War5. Lincoln – remember how many people votedDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-78397839921163819942009-02-15T14:01:00.003-06:002009-02-15T14:19:29.343-06:00A Ranking RantC-Span completed a historians’ poll of the presidents, rating different categories of leadership and then averaging them together for a total ranking score. No big surprises given this system of ranking or the historians involved – all the usual suspects finished high: Lincoln, Washington, FDR, Truman, etc. Let me complain about the system of ranking first, and then (given THIS Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-18609845480900274282009-02-09T17:17:00.002-06:002009-02-09T17:20:26.129-06:00Barack as BuckHard on the heels of the Doc's rousing defense of Old Buck comes an essay at the Ashbrook Center site titled "Lincoln...or Buchanan?" Unlike the Doc, if he set up such a title, David Forte is not complimentary when he compares President Obama to President Buchanan.Having lit the fuse, I will now dive into a convenient bunker.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-50397173504165537122009-02-09T15:03:00.001-06:002009-02-09T15:09:25.204-06:00Turns out Heath Schuler (D-NC) doesn't think much of the stimulus or the Pelosi-Reid team. He was one of the eleven who voted against the plan last week."Told you so," the Doc said, purring.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-67461911589355240392009-02-08T20:56:00.004-06:002009-02-08T21:00:21.287-06:00OK, Peter Hitchens is great and everything...sometimes. Like his brother, he says things that makes you believe he is occasionally taking a hit on a crack pipe while trying to make deadline. To wit, way down by the pic of Michelle Obama and Tony Blair:By the way, I am struck by the thought that Barack could easily be The Last Black President, as well as the First.Having done their multi-racial Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-22508626259786170952009-02-08T16:52:00.004-06:002009-02-08T17:33:51.710-06:00Buck OffYes, the Elbert Smith biography is in the University of Kansas presidential series. Elegantly written, interpretively dull and unoriginal. Saying James Buchanan is a poor president is like saying "disco sucks." It's a historical cliche. You want to be original, say something intellectually stimulating, and [gasp] move our collective historical understanding ahead a few steps? Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-34772782849305967912009-02-07T21:06:00.002-06:002009-02-07T21:12:19.898-06:00Given the proclivities our our fearless leader, Dr. C., I feel obliged to link to a post on The Corner related to James Buchanan. A correspondent sends to John Derbyshire a quote from Elbert Smith's biography of Pennsylvania's President...and it makes me think, "damn, that Smith chap can write." Check this out:"Depending upon the national problems, crises, or mood, a president may become Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-68930768629637585002009-02-07T20:56:00.002-06:002009-02-07T21:01:31.415-06:00And, since I am here turning the lights back on and looking in the fridge to see if there is beer left, what the hell has happened to the Obama administration in just two weeks? Weren't they supposed to be the uber-competent ones? Didn't they have the Best Campaign Ever?After two weeks, though, I refuse to draw any conclusions. I mean, I'm a historian not a blogger. But one thing is does makeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-42592531387220132372009-02-07T20:52:00.003-06:002009-02-07T21:04:11.937-06:00Hmmm...does this make Jim Jones the most powerful man in Washington? And, B), what does the Secretary of State think?Really, I am genuinely curious about this. Dr. Potomac and I must ask our friend Professor Headache what he thinks. It seems to be a pile of good-management fluff. But if someone can explain to me how the NSC staff actually works, I am prepared to call it an act of TranscendentUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-57672862525954831242008-12-09T09:12:00.002-06:002008-12-09T09:19:37.753-06:00Winter of DiscontentThings just keep getting worse for Fearless Leader-elect. First, the economy skids into oblivion, taking with it companies and jobs, and putting the country into a recession that's likely to last several years. Then, he hires cabinet members who most see as practical-minded, fairly competent people (most, at least), thereby ticking off the true believers on the far left, whoDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5240533.post-41479897337071836662008-12-02T13:08:00.002-06:002008-12-02T13:14:57.806-06:00The Great Unwanted UnwashedHarry Reid says he's pleased the Capitol Visitor's Center is finished because he won't have to smell the summer tourists anymore. So the Senator is saying all that hot air comes from another source, other than the gum-flappers and media hangers-on?Smell thyself sinner.And here I was thinking the Democrats were the party of the people.Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04259845076953281166noreply@blogger.com0