Pulaski Day was our favorite day off from school, growing up in Illinois. Even then we knew it was special. From the Chicago Sun-Times: But why is Casimir Pulaski honored here rather than any other Polish war hero from the Revolutionary War? Because Pulaski is easier to pronounce than Kosciuszko. There you have it. Here…
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From the Holland tunnel in NYC. The picture from the story in the New York Times.
James Q. Wilson passed away yesterday. From The Chronicle of Higher Education: James Q. Wilson’s Practical Humanity James Q. Wilson made me a cop, even though I never met the man. I think I heard him give a conference talk once. Many say that Wilson, who died Friday after a battle with leukemia, was a…
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In line with my last post, I got an email around noon yesterday from my favorite editor at the Chronicle of Higher Education. We worked together on my flogging piece. He asked if I could write 1,000 words on James Q. Wilson. Quickly. For $500. Why, yes, I replied, I think I can. I’ve always…
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You might wonder (I certainly do): Does being on national TV for half an hour and having your book plugged in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers actually help book sales? Not really. Now my sales did triple for that week. Yes they did… but we’re still only talking an additional 25 copies sold.…
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So says, again and again, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. I’m rarely shocked by murders. Nine-month-old shot and killed by a “stray” bullet? 12-year-old girl killed in similar (but separate) circumstances? 6-year-old critically injured after being shot by a 15-year-old with an AK47 in an attempted carjacking? (OK, that last one did make me do a…
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From the New York Times: Mr. Ortiz and Mr. Trischitta helped transport three M-16 rifles, one shotgun and 16 handguns from New Jersey to New York. Many had been defaced to remove or alter the serial number. In another scheme, the officers — along with Mr. Mahoney, Mr. Melnik and others — helped transport what…
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“The problem is if they just start lying.” That’s how Erik Mouthaan (Holland’s RTL News) puts it. Or, put less eloquently, this is what I’d say to Rick Santorum, who recently lied about the Netherlands, which seems to be a popular pastime (see, for instance) among US prohibitionists and conservatives. Said Santorum: People wear differ…
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How to make Sudafedfrom crystal meth. [thanks to The Agitator]
Over at the Montclair SocioBlog (“the best blogI bet you don’t read”), Professor Jay Livingston commentson Charles Murray’s new book (no, I haven’t read it either) and Murray’s problem of “The Europe Syndrome.” A lot of Republican politicians have noticed this problem over the pond as well. As Murray says [I’ve added a few comments]:…
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