Nominees for Worst.Historical.Analogy.Ever.:
William Chafe for: Duke lacrosse players = murderers of Emmett Till
Ellen Goodman for: Global Warming deniers = Holocaust deniers
William Kristol for: Barack Obama = Stephen A. Douglas
Walter Olson for: Duke lacrosse players = Scottsboro boys
Hat tip to Robert Farley and Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns, and Money for their nominations. More fodder for bad analogies (and worse): there's a new rape allegation at Duke. Thanks to Chris Richardson at Outside Report for the tip.

At Science and Reason, Charles Daney posts"A Brief History of Algebra." Thanks to Ed Darrell at Millard Fillmore's Bathtub for the tip.

Elizabeth Schmidt,"Erasing Slavery," NY Times, 11 February, reviews Saidiya Hartman's Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route. Thanks to Mary Dudziak at Legal History Blog for the tip.

The Manhattan Institute's Heather Mac Donald double dips at City Journal and Front Page Rag to call the choice of Drew Gilpin Faust as president of Harvard a"Faustian Bargain". Faust is a respected historian, an admired teacher, and an experienced administrator, so fuggedaboudet. See: Jay Mathews,"Seeds of Leadership on a Va. Farm," Washington Post, 12 February. Congratulations to Dean Faust and the University.

At View from the Right, Carol Ianonne interviews John Agresto about his experience as American advisor for Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq from September 2003 through June 2004. Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the tip.

Recommended:"Flat Soccer Balls to Iraq," Rants from the Rookery, 6 February; and"‘The Best General Around'," Cunning Realist, 11 February. Thanks to Ahistoricality and Chris Bray at Historiblog-ography for the tip.

Finally, on CNN, Jack Cafferty asks Wolf Blitzer:"Is Anna Nichole still dead?"