Causes to Cerebrate ...
At Horizon, Alan Allport continues his series,"Some Damn Fool Thing in the Balkans: Thoughts on the Origins of the Peloponnesian War," Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV.
Our colleague, Tim Burke, stalks where angels show better judgment. See both: his"Doing the Math," Easily Distracted, 22 July, and the extended discussion there, in which Burke has the temerity to suggest that the Roberts nomination to the Supreme Court signals the likelihood that Roe will eventually be reversed and that its supporters must prepare for alternative strategies; and Burke,"Horowitz Gets an F," Front Page Rag, 22 July, and Horowitz's rejoinder,"Why the Left (and Timothy Burke) Can't Handle the Truth," Front Page Rag, 22 July. (If you prefer not having to decontaminate your computer after reading the exchange at Front Page Rag, you can read it here at HNN.) At Easily Distracted, Tim's critics on the Left ignore his long history of forewarnings and obvious goodwill in order to kill the messenger; and at Front Page Rag, his critic on the Right ignores the honor done him in review to call the reviewer"ignorant" and"snotty." Those are two adjectives with which Horowitz is all too personally familiar.
Mark Feldstein,"Leak Riddle: Who's Playing Whom?" Washington Post, 24 July, draws on history and experience to conjure with the riddle.
Another Damned Medievalist at Blogenspiel has, not one, but two job offers. Luxury is having to make such decisions!
I mentioned yesterday that my virtual son, Andrew Ackerman of Outside Report, is visiting Atlanta this weekend; and, yesterday, we drove up to Franklin, North Carolina. There, at Fat Buddies, we had tall stacks of the best barbecued ribs I've ever tasted. I am talking about ribs so good that they just beg to be eaten -- stand-up-on-your-plate and fall-from-the-bone beg to be eaten, melt-in-your-mouth beg to be eaten. Then, we drove from Franklin over to Highlands, North Carolina, to visit friends of Andrew's family. The winding route took us through some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I've ever enjoyed: dramatic vistas, extraordinary rhododendron, and beautiful whitewater rapids and water falls. In Highlands, we topped the memorable barbecued ribs with big slices of a rich, moist chocolate cake. It wasn't easily to stay awake for the drive back to Atlanta. But, after a long nap, I am one well-fed, well-rested, and happy Cliopatrician!
Update: Here's Andrew's accounting of the visit, including notes on an awkward conversation with our waitress. How could we convince her in a quick five minutes that Ugandans don't eat white people?