I’ve got a couple of big posts cooking. In the meantime:
WSJ revisits the New Deal and FDR. Bruce Bartlette also commented on how Herbert Hoover’s protectionism was a primary basis for the Depression. Historians are generally way too worshipful of politicans who “do things” and assert authority. They ignore great men like Coolidge who created great economies through benign neglect.
In that vein, I finished Team of Rivals. If it weren’t for Goodwin’s celebrity status, I don’t think the book would be that popular. As a political history of Lincoln’s tenure, with an emphasis on the times he lived in and the back-room deal-cutting that makes politics work, it’s good. As an objective history of Lincoln, it doesn’t. My full review is here.
I’ve been writing about this for some time, but James Taylor (no, not that one), has a great takedown of Mr. Age of Reason, AlGore. You can’t rant about using fear as a political tool and then turn around and use fear as a political tool.
The Bad Astronomer explains the latest cosmological breakthrough. Astounding. If true.