Thanks to Jonathan Dresner for reference to Ellis Henican's remarkable column on the Bush administration's proposal to appropriate $1.5 billion to defend marriage. Of course, there'll be no end to the hypocrisy of the pols who plunder both the public trough and marriage's beds. It turns out that marriage is most endangered in Bush country and among us evangelicals.

Take a look at this story about Winston Churchill and his companion, Charlie. As King said,"Longevity has its place." Long live Charlie!

Attrition rates among graduate students in the humanities and the need for reform in graduate education are important recent themes at Critical Mass and Invisible Adjunct. Tim Burke looks sympathetically on the complaints, but suggests that some grad students should just ..., well, attrit.

When administrators do not defend free speech rights in academic communities, it's a problem. When they are the ones obstructing freedom of speech in their communities, they should resign. The Mobile Register carries a good article about ham-fisted attempts to suppress freedom of speech at the University of Alabama. There is more on the story at Liberty & Power.

The sense of loss when thoughtful speech goes silent, even momentarily, is a good reminder of the necessity of defending and supporting it. Two of my favorite blogs, Invisible Adjunct and Moby Lives, are on temporary hiatus and life is the poorer for it.