Thing I Haven't Yet Noted

Ireland's Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, has announced a two month period of public discussion about a proposal to revoke antiquated laws dating back as far as the Norman invasion. Among those most likely to be revoked: the 1181 Act that barred Jewish people from owning body armor (several of my colleagues are known to be in violation of that one); a 1366 Act that barred English people from marrying Irish people; and a 1285 Act that authorized a corps of watchmen to arrest suspicious strangers. Prime Minister Ahern should speak to President Bush about that last one. Thanks to David Kopel at The Volokh Conspiracy for the tip.

Boosted by Janet Maslin,"Pursuing a Famed Assassin at a Screenplay-Style Pace," NYT, 9 March, and Lynette Clemetson,"Fascinated by Lincoln's Assassination, and the Trail of the Killer," NYT, 15 March, James L. Swanson's Manhunt: The Twelve-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer is at #5 on the NYT's best seller list. A John Hope Franklin student at the University of Chicago and, now, a constitutional law expert at the Heritage Foundation, Swanson had a $500,000 advance for the manuscript and a contract for the film rights two years before publication. Glenn and Helen Reynolds interview Swanson here.

Rob MacDougall,"Superman I: Secret Origins," Old Is The New New, 15 March, reminds you why you've been willing to wait for Rob to resurface. The guy knows a ton of stuff and draws a lot of interesting connections about American pop culture.

Our colleague, Mark Grimsley, continues to add to Cliopatria's History Blogroll. In addition to his prize-winning Blog Them Out of the Stone Age, Mark maintains Radical Civility, which treats issues of faith and values, and, with his military history colleagues, Brooks D. Simpson and Steven E. Woodworth, he just launched Civil Warriors, on which they will discuss and promote their work. Mark's most recent contribution there reflects on his pleasure with the publication of Aaron Sheehan-Dean, ed., Struggle for a Vast Future: The American Civil War. As Mark points out, most of his own chapter in the book was composed on his blog.

Finally, the Pew Research Center reports that President Bush's approval ratings have fallen to an all-time low of 33% and The Onion finds"Bush Increasingly Focused on How Revisionist History Will See Him," 13 March. In fact, this issue of The Onion is unusually loaded with historical interest: 1)"This Day in History: 14 March 1945, Our First Lesbian President"; and 2)"Historians Discover Children's Menu on Back of U. S. Constitution," appropriately recycled from 1 September 2004. Thanks to Kevin Drum and Scott McLemee for the tips.